Evian (France) (AFP) – Germany defender Mats Hummels said they will use painful lessons, learnt from their Euro 2012 defeat to Italy, for Saturday's quarter-final against the Azzurri. The Italians humbled Germany 2-1 in the Warsaw semi-final four years ago when Mario Balotelli's first-half goals fired them to the Euro 2012 final. Germany face Antonio […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate could be in line to succeed Roy Hodgson as manager on an interim basis in the wake of England's latest embarrassing early exit from a major tournament. English football has embarked on another round of soul-searching after one of the most humiliating nights in the country's history saw them go […]

Saturday night’s broadcast of San Jose Earthquakes against LA Galaxy averaged 1 million viewers on Univision, the first time that MLS has hit that number since 2008. The broadcast of the California Clasico was the first MLS match televised live on Univision since 1999. No regular season or post-season MLS game has ever drawn those […]

Annecy (France) (AFP) – England-slayers Iceland hope to harness their underdog status to put the psychological pressure on Euro 2016 hosts France in Sunday's quarter-final. "The pressure was always so much more on England – that was a game for them to lose," said Heimir Hallgrimsson, who combines his role as joint coach alongside Lars […]

London (AFP) – Newcastle United snapped up goalkeeper Matz Sels for a reported fee of £4.5 million (5.4 million euros) from Belgian side Gent on Wednesday. The 24-year-old, voted goalkeeper of the year last season in Belgium, signed a five-year contract and becomes Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez's first summer signing, as the Spaniard looks to […]

Vienna (AFP) – Austrian captain and Leicester City defender Christian Fuchs announced his retirement from international football on Wednesday, after his team unceremoniously crashed out of Euro 2016. Touted as dark horses before the tournament, Austria failed to reproduce their impressive qualifying form, losing 2-1 to Iceland in their final group game last week to […]

Chantilly (France) (AFP) – In attempting to unpick England's Euro 2016 humiliation by Iceland, captain Wayne Rooney and outgoing manager Roy Hodgson touched upon a common theme: mental readiness. England have now gone eight major tournaments without reaching a semi-final. Previous failings have been ascribed to factors such as the lack of a mid-season break […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Like neurotic parents, Argentines swung from criticism to unconditional love for their star footballer Lionel Messi this week, providing the soccer-mad nation's many therapists with rich material for psychoanalysis. Fans' frustration at the superstar's missed penalty in Sunday's defeat to Chile in the Copa America Centenario soon gave way to panic […]

Out of the top 5 most-watched Copa America Centenario games on Univision this June, four of them featured Mexico. But the game that was the most-viewed was the final between Argentina and Chile, which was watched by 6.8 million people. Meanwhile, the United States did well in the TV viewing numbers, averaging 3.31 million viewers […]

Milan (AFP) – Sampdoria coach Vincenzo Montella was on Tuesday appointed as the new coach of AC Milan on a two year contract, the Serie A side announced. The 42-year-old Italian succeeds Cristian Brocchi, who has fulfilled the role as caretaker boss since Sinisa Mihajlovic was sacked in April. Milan finished last season in seventh, […]

The aftermath of England’s devastating and deplorable loss to Iceland is no time for quiet reflection and understated contemplation. A ruinous result like this one deserves the height of hyperbolic reaction found only in England’s titillating tabloids and brilliant broadsheets. The Sun’s back page plays on the Iceland supermarket chain’s one-time slogan “Mum’s gone to […]

Chantilly (France) (AFP) – Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn hinted on Tuesday that Gareth Southgate will become interim England manager and suggested a female coach could succeed Roy Hodgson on a permanent basis. The FA is looking for a new England manager after Hodgson, 68, announced his resignation following Monday's humiliating elimination by Iceland […]

For Copa America Centenario, Univision averaged 3,099,625 viewers per game over the 32-game tournament. The impressive numbers illustrate how perfect of a competition this was for Univision. Not only did it feature the popular Mexico and USA teams in North America, but the tournament was filled with some of the brightest teams as well as […]

Dinard (France) (AFP) – Wales insist they have no regrets about the leaked video which showed them celebrating on Monday night as England were knocked out of Euro 2016. The footage, filmed inside the team hotel as the squad and staff watched England's defeat to Iceland, shows the Wales camp jumping up and down just […]

Paris (AFP) – England on Tuesday surveyed the wreckage of their humiliating Euro 2016 exit as now former coach Roy Hodgson agonised over a defeat that added to the nation's sense of post-Brexit turmoil. Iceland, the smallest nation ever to play in a major tournament, erupted in celebration after sending England crashing out with a […]