Paris (AFP) – French champions Paris Saint Germain have fought off rivals across Europe to snap up giant Belgian international defender Thomas Meunier from FC Bruges, the Qatar-backed club said on Sunday. The 6ft 3in (1.9m) right-back, 24, who featured twice for Belgium at Euro 2016, has signed a four-year deal for an undisclosed fee. […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal have agreed a deal to bring 21-year-old Japanese international striker Takuma Asano to North London from J-League side Sanfrecce Hiroshima, the Premier League club said on Sunday. Capped five times by Japan, Asano is in line for the Japanese squad at the Rio Games, was rookie of the year in Japan […]

Montpellier (France) (AFP) – An emotional Antonio Conte admitted Italy's exit to Germany at the quarter-final stages of Euro 2016 had left him facing his "most difficult" day, opening the door to a return as coach of the Azzurri one day. Italy exited the tournament after an epic 18-kick penalty shootout that saw players from […]

Evian (France) (AFP) – Germany's Mario Gomez has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2016 through injury while Sami Khedira and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger are doubts for Thursday's semi-final, the German Football Federation (DFB) said Sunday. Gomez underwent a scan on Sunday that showed the striker suffered a torn thigh muscle in the […]

Paris (AFP) – Iceland fans staged a Viking invasion of Paris on Sunday, hoping that their team can pull off another giant-killing feat against host nation France in the Euro 2016 quarter-final. Several thousand fans turned bars near the Paris landmark Moulin Rouge into a sea of blue and red Iceland shirts as the surprise […]

Evian (France) (AFP) – In reaching the Euro 2016 semi-finals, Joachim Loew has maintained his impressive record of consistently steering Germany to the final stages of major tournaments — yet is still facing criticism at home. Germany face France or Iceland in next Thursday's Marseille semi-final as die Mannschaft look to add a fourth European […]

Evian (France) (AFP) – Germany striker Mario Gomez has been ruled out of the rest of Euro 2016 through injury while Sami Khedira and captain Bastian Schweinsteiger are doubts for the semi-final, the German Football Federation (DFB) said Sunday. Gomez underwent a scan on Sunday that showed a torn thigh muscle, the DFB said, while […]

Geneva (AFP) – The governance of new FIFA president Gianni and his lifestyle have drawn criticism in an internal memo of world football's governing body, published online by the Swiss weekly SonntagsZeitung. The 11-page memo, dated May 23 last, concerns the first two months of Infantino's presidency and its unnamed author sent the document to […]

London (AFP) – A former chairman of England's governing Football Association has said the organisation has "failed" over the last 10 years because of its "amateur structure". England's humiliating exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of rank outsiders Iceland sparked the resignation of manager Roy Hodgson and led to a fresh bout of soul-searching […]

London (AFP) – Former England assistant coach Gary Neville has blasted reports he fell out with Roy Hodgson during Euro 2016. The Observer newspaper reported on Sunday that then England manager Hodgson and Neville had disagreed over tactics during the tournament which ended for England when they suffered a humiliating loss to Iceland in the […]

Dinard (France) (AFP) – There will be no love lost between Real Madrid team-mates Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo when Wales face Portugal in Wednesday's Euro 2016 semi-final, Welsh manager Chris Coleman said on Sunday. The clash between 26-year-old Bale, the tournament's joint-top scorer with three goals, and Portuguese superstar Ronaldo, 31, will be the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has warned his Manchester City players that they have to prove themselves all over again following his arrival at the club. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach was making his first public appearance as City handler on Sunday in front of thousands of fans at a festival […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany look set to be without key midfielder Sami Khedira for the rest of Euro 2016 due to a groin muscle tear, according to reports in the German media on Sunday. Khedira limped out of Saturday's quarter-final win over Italy on penalties after just 15 minutes to be replaced by captain Bastian […]

London (AFP) – Marseille's Belgian international striker Michy Batshuayi has signed a five-year contract with Chelsea, the Premier League club confirmed on Sunday. A 6.5-million-euro signing from Standard Liege in 2014, Batshuayi scored 17 goals in Ligue 1 last season, and 23 times in all competitions. The 22-year-old was part of the Belgium squad at […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Kelechi Iheanacho will miss the Olympics because new Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants him to stay at the English club for pre-season training instead of . The 19-year-old striker was selected in Nigeria’s 35-man provisional squad for the football tournament at next month's Games in Rio de Janeiro. That […]