The final round of qualifiers for the the 2017 African Nations Cup will take place this weekend from September 2nd to 4th, and the good news is that many of the games will be available for viewing in the United States. The current round consists of 13 groups with all group winners qualifying for the […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wayne Rooney will remain England captain going into the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, manager Sam Allardyce confirmed on Monday. The 30-year-old striker, who also captains Manchester United, has been England's skipper for the past two years. He will don the armband under Allardyce for the first time on Sunday […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The dwindling English talent pool in the Premier League may leave England's new manager Sam Allardyce with no option but to naturalise overseas-born players, he said on Monday. After naming his squad for England's opening 2018 World Cup qualifier in Slovakia on Sunday, Allardyce revealed he had made an unsuccessful […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Diego Maradona junior has finally been accepted by his father, Diego Maradona the Argentinian football legend, with whom he spent this last weekend in Buenos Aires. Diego Junior was born in Italy in 1986 from an extra marital affair but was never previously officially recognised by his father, even after being […]

London (AFP) – Five things about Moroccan international midfielder Sofiane Boufal who joined Southampton in the English Premier League on Monday for a reported club record £16 million ($20 million/18 million euros): Growing in stature The 22-year-old attacking midfielder will join the growing band of small players aiming to make a big impact on the […]

Lyon (AFP) – France international Alexandre Lacazette has been told to rest after a knock sustained in Lyon's 4-2 defeat to Dijon on the weekend whilst teammate Nabil Fekir has started his recovery after undergoing surgery, the Ligue 1 club announced Monday. Preliminary scans showed that Lacazette had not suffered any major damage to his […]

Lisbon (AFP) – European champions Portugal will take on Switzerland in their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier without rising Bayern Munich star Renato Sanches, the Portuguese federation said on Monday. The 19-year-old midfielder who moved to Germany after a sensational season with Benfica and a thrilling showing at Euro 2016 has a torn thigh muscle. […]

Matchdays 7 and 8 of the South American qualifiers for World Cup 2018 take place Thursday, September 1 and Tuesday, September 6. The kickoff times for both matchdays are not very conducive for those who do not like spoilers as both beIN SPORTS networks and the companion streaming service (beIN SPORTS Connect) will be getting […]

Madrid (AFP) – Stand-in Spain captain Sergio Ramos has expressed his surprise at Iker Casillas's exclusion from Julien Lopetegui's first squad as Spain boss. Ramos is expected to lead the 2010 world champions in their first 2018 World Cup qualifier against Liechtenstein on September 5 after the 35-year-old Casillas was dropped in favour of David […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Lionel Messi's return to international duty with Argentina could be delayed by a groin injury his club side Barcelona stated on Monday. Messi was set to return for the two-time world champions' World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela after reversing his shock decision to retire from international football in June. […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Diego Maradona was not able to leave Argentina on the weekend because his passport had been reported "stolen", preventing him from travelling to Dubai, according to his lawyer. "It's a very rare occurence," said Diego Morla, the double World Cup winner's lawyer. "They told him his passport had been reported as […]

Marseille (AFP) – American businessman Frank McCourt, former owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team, on Monday entered into exclusive discussions for the acquisition of Marseille football club. McCourt sealed the deal in a meeting with incumbent owner Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, who will maintain a minority shareholding, and Marseille mayor Jean-Claude Gauldin, saying afterwards that […]

The 4th Round of CONCACAF World Cup Qualifying comes to a close Friday, September 2 and Tuesday, September 6 with the final 2 matchdays of the round. Reminder: The top 2 teams from each of the 4 groups advance to the 5th and final round of qualifying (the Hexagonal where the top 3 gain a […]

Now that the international break is upon us, there are plenty of games to look forward to. The action in Europe kicks off on Wednesday with several friendlies. Meanwhile, Thursday, September 4 will mark the start of qualifying for 54 FIFA affiliated nations of UEFA for World Cup 2018. The nations will be divided into 9 groups of […]

Madrid (AFP) – The Madrid city government said Monday it will pursue Real Madrid for 18.4 million euros ($20.6 million) in illegal state aid that the European Commission ordered the club to repay. Real, Spanish champions Barcelona and other clubs were found to have received an "unfair advantage" by the commission in July due to […]