Paris (AFP) – Portugal may have experience of a European Championship final, but Sunday's Euro 2016 showpiece against France will be a role reversal for them. Cristiano Ronaldo was a teenager when Portugual, with Luis Figo as their talisman, suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Greece before a disbelieving crowd in Lisbon in the Euro […]

Paris (AFP) – France want to write football "history" by winning the Euro 2016 final against Portugal on Sunday to bury team scandals and help the country recover from the Paris attacks, captain Hugo Lloris said. Portugal's coach Fernando Santos insisted however that his side were also determined "to write a new chapter in our […]

Paris (AFP) – Key factors that could decide the Portugal-France Euro 2016 final on Sunday: How do France contain Cristiano Ronaldo? Ronaldo became the first player to score in four European Championship finals and despite failing to fire on all four cylinders the Real Madrid star is an omnipresent danger. France acknowledge they will have […]

Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – Portugal coach Fernando Santos laughed off a suggestion that Sunday's Euro 2016 final against hosts France could be Cristiano Ronaldo's last for his country. Ronaldo's great rival Lionel Messi announced his retirement from international football after Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the Copa America final in June. Ronaldo, 31, […]

Paris (AFP) – France want to write football "history" by winning the Euro 2016 final at home six years after a damaging player revolt and as the country recovers from the Paris attacks, captain Hugo Lloris said Saturday. With Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal also riding a wave of national fervour ahead of Sunday's final at the […]

Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – Portugal centre-back Pepe declared himself fit on Saturday for Sunday's Euro 2016 final against hosts France at Stade de France. The wily Real Madrid defender, 33, missed Portugal's 2-0 semi-final win over Wales on Wednesday due to a thigh injury, with Bruno Alves taking his place, and trained separately on Friday. […]

Paris (AFP) – If Didier Deschamps steers France to a Euro 2016 triumph against Portugal he will become only the second man to have won the competition as a player and a coach. Former Germany coach Berti Vogts was the first to have won the tournament as a player and a coach, 24 years apart. […]

Covering a team over the course of a soccer season is tough, in the sense that you see your team in a different way than a fan who attends the same games. Despite rules against cheering and journalistic standards that demand an air of neutrality when writing about the squad, you cannot help but grow […]

Newcastle (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Senegalese international striker Papiss Cisse became the latest high-profile player to quit Europe for China on Saturday, signing for Shandong Luneng from Championship side Newcastle United. The 31-year-old, who scored 44 goals in 131 appearances for the Magpies in four-and-a-half years, signed for the Chinese Super League side for an […]

Rome (AFP) – Marcelo Bielsa, who pulled out of coaching Lazio in a shock move just 48 hours after his appointment was announced, has blamed the club for his exit saying it had failed to sign a single player. The intense Argentine, known as "El Loco" (the Madman), called Lazio boss Claudio Lotito overnight Thursday […]

Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps urged his players to be constantly mindful of Cristiano Ronaldo in Sunday's Euro 2016 final and insisted that the Ballon d'Or will be a battle between the Portugal captain and Lionel Messi. Deschamps said he wanted France's rising star Antoine Griezmann to be on the world player […]

Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – France's run to the Euro 2016 final on home soil has given the country "an escape" after the horror of last November's Paris attacks, captain Hugo Lloris said on Saturday. The rolling attacks on the French capital, claimed by the Islamic State group, left 130 people dead and led to calls […]

Paris (AFP) – For Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal the Euro 2016 final on Sunday offers a golden opportunity to end a miserable record in meetings with France. As well as having home advantage and history on their side from wins in their last two major tournament finals on home soil, Les Bleus can claim to be […]

Paris (AFP) – The Euro 2016 final will feature a duel between boyish poster boy Antoine Griezmann and preening superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to be the dominant number seven. Griezmann, 25, is the tournament's top scorer bidding to deliver success for the home nation in his first major international final. Ronaldo wept teenage tears after Portugal's […]

Paris (AFP) – Talented left-back Raphael Guerreiro is one of three members of the Portuguese squad who will be facing the country of his birth in Sunday's Euro 2016 final against France. Guerreiro and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes were born and brought up in France, which is home to a huge Portuguese migrant population. Midfielder Adrien […]