Johannesburg (AFP) – Egypt sorely missed injured captain Mohamed Salah as they slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat by Ethiopia on Thursday in 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying.   A strain ruled out the prolific Liverpool scorer after he defied his club last Sunday and played in a victory over Guinea despite not […]

Geneva (AFP) – Spain registered the first win of their Nations League campaign on Thursday as Pablo Sarabia's early goal was enough for a 1-0 victory over Switzerland. Sarabia capitalised on a Swiss error at the back to give Luis Enrique's side the lead in Geneva and that was enough for the visitors in a […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Portugal scored twice in five minutes to beat the Czech Republic on Thursday and open up a two-point lead at the top of Group A2 in the Nations League. Joao Cancelo and Goncalo Guedes were on target in the 33rd and 38th minutes in Lisbon as Portugal continued their strong start in […]

Bellinzona (Switzerland) (AFP) – Sepp Blatter struck a "gentleman's agreement" with Michel Platini to pay him a million Swiss francs ($1.02 million) a year as an adviser, the former world football chief told their trial on Thursday. The French football legend had jokingly asked Blatter for a million, without specifying the currency, and the then-FIFA […]

Algiers (AFP) – An Algerian court sentenced Algerian football star and ex-Porto striker Rabah Madjer to six months in jail on Thursday for making "false declarations", local media reported. Madjer, who owned two newspapers, was found to have continued to bank cheques from a public advertising agency for a year after the papers were closed. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Gennaro Gattuso has been confirmed as the new coach of Valencia, the La Liga side announced on Thursday. The 44-year-old, who last managed Napoli, will replace Jose Bordalas who was sacked by the club last week. Gattuso has also managed AC Milan, where he played as a combative midfielder for 13 years, […]

Paris (AFP) – The head of Paris police acknowledged on Thursday the "failure" of security operations for the Champions League final last month and apologised for tear-gassing supporters as they tried to enter the stadium. The football showpiece hosted by Paris on May 28 was marred by scenes of mayhem as Liverpool fans struggled to […]

London (AFP) – Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has apologised to fans after the Premier League club only narrowly avoided relegation in the penultimate game of the season. A dramatic 3-2 victory against Crystal Palace extended Everton's top-flight stay to 69 years. But that uplifting end to the season for Frank Lampard's team could not obscure […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate insists England's established stars deserve his loyalty because they would "die for each other" on the pitch. Southgate's side have gone two games without a win in the Nations League after rescuing a 1-1 draw in Germany in their Nations League group clash on Tuesday. Harry Kane's late penalty cancelled […]

Paris (AFP) – Belgium tore Poland apart to win their Nations League match 6-1 in Brussels on Wednesday. Belgium lost their opening game to neighbours Netherlands but responded with an increasingly dominant performance and finished the game with five goals in just over 30 minutes.  "It brings extra emotion when you lose against your rivals […]

Dublin (AFP) – Viktor Tsygankov lifted Ukraine's spirits after their painful failure to qualify for the World Cup as the midfielder clinched a 1-0 Nations League victory over the Republic of Ireland on Wednesday. Tsygankov struck with a fine free-kick early in the second at Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Ukraine held on to that slender lead […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wout Weghorst ended Wales' World Cup party and shattered their 19-match unbeaten home record in dramatic fashion as the Netherlands won 2-1 in Wednesday's Nations League clash in Cardiff. Wales will head to Qatar in November for their first World Cup appearance in 64 years after beating Ukraine 1-0 in […]

London (AFP) – Everton owner Farhad Moshiri has apologised to fans after the Premier League club only narrowly avoided relegation in the penultimate game of the season. A dramatic 3-2 victory against Crystal Palace extended Everton's top-flight stay to 69 years. But that uplifting end to the season for Frank Lampard's team could not obscure […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Senegal coach Aliou Cisse wants the September Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers postponed to allow the five countries representing the continent at the World Cup to play friendly matches.    Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia have qualified for the November 21-December 18 Qatar tournament and the African sides have only […]

Vienna (AFP) – An independent inspection of the Ernst-Happel Stadium pitch on Wednesday concluded that Austria's game against France could go ahead even though a huge hole appeared during a Nations League match against Denmark earlier in the week. With a sold-out match against world champions France scheduled for Friday, the Austrian football federation (OFB), […]