Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi's third goal from a free-kick in as many games this year secured Barcelona's place in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey as the holders beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to edge through 4-3 on aggregate on Wednesday. Luis Suarez's 100th Barca goal and Neymar's penalty cancelled out Athletic's 2-1 first […]

Paris (AFP) – Captain Thiago Silva showed the wasteful Edinson Cavani how to do it with two crashing headers as holders Paris Saint-Germain surged into the semi-finals of the French League Cup with a 2-0 win over Metz on Wednesday. Also into the last four are Nancy, Monaco and Bordeaux, who won their quarter-final 3-2 […]

Milan (AFP) – A late penalty from Miralem Pjanic saw holders Juventus scrape through to an Italian Cup quarter-final clash with either AC Milan or Torino after a nervous 3-2 win over high-flying Atalanta. Atalanta travelled to Turin looking to cause an upset as they enjoy their best season in years under Gianpiero Gasperini, who […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Luis Suarez became the third-fastest player to score 100 goals for Barcelona after reaching his century in just 120 games on Wednesday — trumping even Lionel Messi. The Uruguayan volleyed home Neymar's cross in acrobatic fashion at the Camp Nou to put Barca 1-0 up on Athletic Bilbao in the second leg […]

Paris (AFP) – FIFA's decision to expand the World Cup to 48 teams starting with the 2026 tournament prompted one major question: who can host the global showpiece in its revamped format? North America is the favourite and in pole position with other former candidates relegated to outsiders. Several harbour ambitions of organising the 2026 World […]

Chicago (AFP) – France, Germany and England will face the United States in March in the second edition of the SheBelieves Cup women's tournament, the US Soccer Federation confirmed on Wednesday. The four-way event will be played at three venues in the northeast between March 1 and 7 as a round-robin tournament. Women's World Cup […]

FOX Sports has hired Kate Abdo as studio presenter for its soccer coverage, a source has revealed to World Soccer Talk. Abdo, who previously worked for FOX Sports as a guest host during the network's coverage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, will join the network's coverage of soccer and is expected to play […]

Milan (AFP) – Federico Bernardeschi netted an injury-time penalty to fire Fiorentina into the quarter-finals of the Italian Cup with a 1-0 win over Chievo on Wednesday. Chievo looked to have held on for extra time at the Artemio Franchi stadium until the referee pointed to the spot after Bernardeschi was felled from behind by […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona won't put their financial future at risk in negotiating a new contract for Lionel Messi, the club warned on Wednesday, in comments that will encourage his many suitors across Europe. Messi and club captain Andres Iniesta are entering the final 18 months of their current deals at the Camp Nou meaning […]

Doha (AFP) – Oscar insisted on Wednesday that quitting the English Premier League to play in China was not a step down — but admitted that the mind-boggling financial offer was a definite incentive. In his first substantive comments since leaving Chelsea for an eye-catching 60 million euros ($63 million), Oscar said the big-spending Chinese […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City have been charged by the Football Association over anti-doping procedures, the governing body announced on Wednesday. "Manchester City have been charged in relation to The FA's Rules on Anti-Doping," an FA statement read. "It is alleged the club failed to ensure that their 'Club Whereabouts' information was accurate, contrary to […]

London (AFP) – Former France midfielder Claude Makelele has been appointed assistant coach of Premier League strugglers Swansea City, reuniting him with manager Paul Clement. The 43-year-old Makelele, capped 71 times, signed for the rest of the season in what promises to be a tough battle to preserve Swansea's Premier League status — they are […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane once again left Cristiano Ronaldo out of his squad that travels to Sevilla on Thursday holding a 3-0 lead for the second leg of their Copa del Rey last 16 tie. Madrid made light of Ronaldo's absence in the first leg as a double from James Rodriguez […]

Berlin (AFP) – Divers are planning an underwater search of Hamburg's port for missing merchandise manager Timo Kraus, who works for the city's Bundesliga club, local police confirmed on Wednesday. The 44-year-old father of two has not been seen since leaving a riverside bar in the city's port on Saturday night after meeting colleagues. The club […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Wilfried Zaha scored his first goal for African champions the Ivory Coast as they trounced Uganda 3-0 Wednesday in a warm-up match for the 2017 Cup of Nations. The Crystal Palace and former England winger struck with a low shot after a superb solo run during the second half in Abu Dhabi. […]