Tel Aviv (AFP) – Surprise French champions Lille beat Cup winners Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the Champions Trophy season curtain raiser in balmy Tel Aviv on Sunday. Portuguese midfielder Xeka scored the winner just before half-time with an unstoppable strike from outside the penalty area that left PSG stopper Keylor Navas no chance. PSG arrived […]

Streaming service Cinedigm announced this week a partnership to make Real Madrid TV available to viewers in North America. Real Madrid TV will feature thousands of hours of fan-centric soccer content leading up to the 2021-2022 season and will also feature 2-3 matches on delay per week once the season kicks off. The service will […]

It seems that the theme for the U.S. at this Gold Cup has been, 6-1 thrashing of Martinique aside, winning ugly. Two of the three Group Stage games finished 1-0 (against Haiti and Canada). Then the quarterfinal against Jamaica finished 1-0. And so naturally then the semi-final against Qatar played out the same way, with […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus are confident of signing Italian midfielder Manuel Locatelli after making a "suitable offer" to Serie A rivals Sassuolo, the Turin club's director Pavel Nedved said on Saturday. Locatelli, 23, burst into the limelight as a replacement for injured Marco Verratti during Italy's Euro 2020 triumph scoring a brace in the group […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Australian Ange Postecoglou lost his first Scottish Premiership game in charge of Celtic on Saturday as promoted Hearts grabbed a late 2-1 victory. Postecoglou, who arrived from J-League club Yokohama F. Marinos this summer, suffered a second defeat in four days after being knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Danish […]

Tel Aviv (AFP) – Staging Sunday's French Champions Trophy between cup winners Paris Saint-Germain and league champions Lille in Israel may be controversial — but the man behind the Tel Aviv showdown says the country can only benefit. Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams has brought the high-profile French football season-opener to Israel, and the Canadian-born entrepreneur says the […]

Miyagi (Japan) (AFP) – Substitute Rafa Mir hit a hat-trick as Spain finally saw off Ivory Coast 5-2 in extra time in the Tokyo Olympics men's football on Saturday to set up a semi-final with hosts Japan. Brazil defeated Egypt 1-0 thanks to a first-half strike by Matheus Cunha and will play Mexico in the […]

Paris (AFP) – French Cup winners Paris Saint-Germain can exact revenge on league champions Lille in the Tel Aviv-hosted French Champions Trophy on Sunday as Mauricio Pochettino embarks on his first full season at the helm of the club. The Argentine has warned whoever lines up in any match for the Parisians this season must […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal have signed England defender Ben White from Premier League rivals Brighton, the London club announced on Friday. The 23-year-old, a member of England's Euro 2020 squad, has now completed a medical. Although no fee, nor the exact length of a "long-term" deal has been disclosed, British media reports suggest White has […]

On Thursday, Qatar was defeated in the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal to the United States. Despite the loss, the Qatar national team impressed a lot of neutrals during the tournament with their positive, attacking play and fast pace. With the World Cup taking place in Qatar next year, the semifinal provided the U.S. with an […]

Glasgow (AFP) – If new Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou needed any reminding, this week's Champions League qualifying defeat by Midtjylland underlined the size of the job facing the Australian as heads into his first Scottish Premiership season. Last term, Celtic's bid for a record-breaking 10th successive Scottish title wasn't simply ended by Rangers but overwhelmed, […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Megan Rapinoe scored the winning penalty after goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saved two spot-kicks as the United States defeated the Netherlands 4-2 in a shootout following a 2-2 draw to remain on course for a fifth Olympic women's football title. Vivianne Miedema fired the Dutch ahead in Yokohoma but two quick goals from […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford is to undergo shoulder surgery, the Premier League giants announced Friday, and could now miss the opening months of the new season. The 23-year-old has long had shoulder trouble, nursing the injury for much of last season and during his involvement in Euro 2020, where Rashford was […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Sam Kerr scored twice as Australia beat Team GB 4-3 after extra time Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Olympic women's football tournament, while Canada edged Brazil on penalties following a goalless draw. Britain appeared on course for the last four as two second-half goals from Ellen White gave them a […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk returned to action for the first time in nine months in a pre-season friendly on Thursday. The 30-year-old suffered knee ligament damage in the Merseyside derby against Everton in October. He subsequently missed the rest of the season as Liverpool were dethroned as Premier League champions as […]