London (AFP) – Sam Allardyce's departure as England manager was essential to preserve the Football Association's integrity as "guardians of the game", the governing body's senior figures said on Tuesday. FA chairman Greg Clarke and chief executive Martin Glenn met with Allardyce at Wembley to seal his fate after damaging newspaper revelations left his position […]

There is no shortage when discussing talented, young Premier League players. Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley, Anthony Martial, and Marcus Rashford are regularly praised for their high level of play, and rightfully so; however, Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi should also soon be considered a budding star as well. No, the 20-year-old winger is not necessarily […]

Paris (AFP) – Andre Schuerrle smashed in a late equaliser as Borussia Dortmund held Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday, while Leicester City claimed another famous European victory. Premier League champions Leicester made it two wins from two in their debut Champions League campaign as Islam Slimani's first-half goal secured a 1-0 win […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Leicester City striker Islam Slimani resumed his torment of Porto as the Premier League champions preserved their 100 percent Champions League record with a narrow 1-0 victory on Tuesday. Playing in their first ever Champions League home game, Claudio Ranieri's Leicester prevailed thanks to Slimani's 25th-minute header to make it […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – US international striker Clint Dempsey has been ruled out of the remainder of the 2016 season as he battles his irregular heartbeat problem, his club said Tuesday. The Seattle Sounders said the forward, who returned to light training on September 14 after discovery of the problem in August, had stopped training […]

Moscow (AFP) – South Korean winger Son Heung-min got Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League campaign up and running with a 1-0 win at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday. Son picked up a pass from Erik Lamela after 71 minutes to score his fifth goal in five games for the north Londoners. The three points put Tottenham second, […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Andre Schuerrle rescued Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday with an 87th-minute equaliser to seal a 2-2 draw with Real Madrid and deny the Spaniards a rare Champions League win in Germany. Real were minutes from a first win in Dortmund in six attempts, and the result means the Spanish giants have won […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger has challenged Arsenal to aim for top spot in their Champions League group as they prepare to face Basel on Wednesday. Wenger's side have made it through the group stage for the past 16 years but have failed to get beyond the last 16 in the previous six attempts. The […]

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Sevilla took a big step towards reaching the knockout stage of the Champions League for the first time in six years as Wissam Ben Yedder's header ensured a 1-0 win over Lyon on Tuesday. Ben Yedder was left with the simple task of heading into an empty net from Luciano Vietto's […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Title-holders Ivory Coast, hosts Gabon and former champions Algeria and Ghana were named Tuesday as the top seeds for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations tournament. Ivory Coast defeated four-time champions Ghana after a penalty shootout in Equatorial Guinea last year to win the African football showpiece a second time. Algeria conquered […]

London (AFP) – Sam Allardyce's straight-talking style helped land him the England manager's job, but just 67 days later it has cost him the dream role he coveted for years. Allardyce, known as "Big Sam", was secretly filmed by The Daily Telegraph giving advice on how to circumnavigate transfer rules and mocking the speech impediment […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Kevin De Bruyne is out of Manchester City's Champions League trip to face Celtic in Glasgow, his manager Pep Guardiola confirmed on the eve of the game. "Kevin is not a big injury — in two and a half or three weeks, maybe he will be ready," Guardiola said at Celtic Park […]

London (AFP) – Sam Allardyce's reign as England manager came to a humiliating end on Tuesday as he departed after just 67 days in charge following his controversial comments in a newspaper sting. Allardyce's reign was sensationally brought to a close as he paid the price for indiscreetly talking with undercover Daily Telegraph reporters posing […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Sam Allardyce left his post as England manager 67 days after his appointment on Tuesday. Here AFP Sports looks at five other managers whose reigns lasted an even shorter space of time (days in brackets): Steve Bruce – Wigan (55) Ironically the front runner in the betting to fill the […]

Naples (Italy) (AFP) – Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar said he will be looking to put bad memories of previous visits to the San Paolo behind him when Benfica face Napoli in the Champions League on Wednesday. The 37-year-old spent "seven beautiful and successful" years with Serie A giants Inter Milan, helping them to Champions League […]