Montevideo (AFP) – Argentina maintained their unbeaten start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, cruising to a 3-1 victory at 10-man Venezuela on Thursday night. In his first match for his country since moving to Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi struggled to stamp his authority on the match in Caracas, but it mattered little. Lautaro Martinez […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Algeria trounced Djibouti 8-0 on Thursday to match the African World Cup winning margin record for a qualifier set by the Democratic Republic of Congo and equalled by Libya. The Congolese trounced Djibouti 9-1 in Kinshasa in 2002 qualifying and Libya overwhelmed Sao Tome e Principe 8-0 in Tripoli in an eliminator […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Islam Slimani scored four goals as Algeria equalled the widest winning margin for an African World Cup qualifier by crushing 10-man Djibouti 8-0 in a Group A rout on Thursday in Blida. The Lyon forward netted twice in each half and the other scorers for the Desert Foxes were Ramy Bensebaini, Baghdad […]

Doha (AFP) – Australia convincingly beat China 3-0 on Thursday as the final stage of Asian qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday. The Socceroos' emphatic win in Doha came hours after Oman had caused a major upset edging past Japan 1-0 in Suita while South Korea were held to a […]

Paris (AFP) – Sweden beat Spain 2-1 in Stockholm on Thursday to take control of their group in World Cup qualifying, while Italy were held by Bulgaria in their first match since winning Euro 2020. Elsewhere, Belgium thrashed Estonia, England thumped Hungary in a match marred by reported racist chanting and Germany claimed an underwhelming […]

Budapest (AFP) – Rampant England eased past Hungary in Budapest Thursday with a second-half four-goal barrage that propels Gareth Southgate's men toward qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. After a first half bereft of shots on target, Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock with a clipped shot 10 minutes after the break before a […]

Stockholm (AFP) – Viktor Claesson secured Sweden a 2-1 victory over Spain in World Cup qualifying on Thursday for a third win in three games and top spot in Group B. Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler scored five minutes into his Spain debut, but Alexander Isak replied almost instantly for the hosts in Stockholm. Claesson grabbed […]

St. Gallen (Switzerland) (AFP) – Germany laboured to a 2-0 win over Liechtenstein in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday as Hansi Flick made a low-key debut at the helm. Chelsea striker Timo Werner broke the deadlock just before half-time in St Gallen before Leroy Sane doubled the lead late in a frustrating second-half for […]

Florence (Italy) (AFP) – Italy made an underwhelming return to action after triumph at Euro 2020 on Thursday as the Azzurri only managed a 1-1 draw with Bulgaria in a low-key 2022 World Cup qualifier. Some 14,000 fans showed up for the Group C clash at the half-capacity Stadio Artemio Franchi in Florence to welcome […]

London (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo will wear Manchester United's iconic number seven again after Edinson Cavani agreed to surrender the shirt. Ronaldo followed in a long list of United legends to have worn number seven during his first spell with United from 2003 to 2009. The 36-year-old rejoined United from Juventus last week, but Cavani […]

Le Mans (France) (AFP) – France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga said on Thursday he was proud to have joined Real Madrid. Camavinga, 18, left Rennes for the 13-time European Cup winners on Tuesday for a reported 31 million euros (36.6m dollars) plus nine million euros more in bonuses. "It's a dream, every player wants to play […]

Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe has withdrawn from the France squad after suffering a right calf injury and will miss two World Cup qualifiers, the French Football Federation (FFF) said on Thursday. The Paris Saint-Germain striker felt "pain" in his calf during France's home draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. He underwent examinations […]

Athens (AFP) – Olympiakos centre-back Ruben Semedo was released on 10,000 euros ($11,860) bail on Thursday after the Portuguese international was accused of rape. The examining magistrate and the prosecutor agreed the 27-year-old, accused of the rape of a 17-year-old girl, could be released without any restrictive conditions, according to judicial officials. Semedo, who made […]

Oslo (AFP) – Norway coach Stale Solbakken has caused controversy in the country by calling for people to vote against the government in the upcoming parliamentary elections over the strictness of its coronavirus rules. Solbakken was angry that the 28,000-capacity Ullevaal Stadion could only be a quarter-full for Norway's 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in […]

Seoul (AFP) – Iraq held South Korea to a 0-0 draw in Seoul on Thursday in the opening game of the final World Cup qualifying round. The home team dominated proceedings and came close to breaking the deadlock, but Dick Advocaat's side defended stoutly. South Korea's best chance came after a first-half corner, when the […]