Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Iceland goalkeeper Hannes Halldorsson was on cloud nine after stopping Cristiano Ronaldo from making history as the Atlantic island minnows held Portugal to a 1-1 draw on their Euro 2016 debut. The Real Madrid ace had ten shots on goal in Saint Etienne but failed to become the first man to […]

TV viewing audiences for ESPN's coverage of Euro 2016 are greater so far than FOX Sports' numbers for Copa America Centenario. That's based on the reported ratings data that's available for the first 7 games of the tournament on cable/satellite. For ESPN's first seven Euro 2016 games, the network's viewing average is 872,857 per match (6 games on ESPN, 1 game […]

Zurich (AFP) – Diego Maradona has offered to support new FIFA chief Gianni Infantino's bid to improve the running of football in Argentina. Speaking upon his arrival in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, the Argentine legend said: "I'm not going to be a FIFA observer, I'm coming to collaborate directly with Gianni Infantino. "I'm not going […]

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Minnows Iceland earned a 1-1 draw with Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal on their European championship debut as the superstar forward failed to score as he equalled his country's apparence record. A superb finish by Nani gave Portugal the lead before Iceland's industrious midfielder Birkir Bjarnason levelled for the Scandinavians in Saint Etienne. […]

Paris (AFP) – UEFA told Russia on Tuesday it will be kicked out of the Euro 2016 if its fans cause more stadium trouble, while France arrested a group of Russian supporters. Europe's governing body found Russia responsible for the fans who charged into a section occupied by England supporters at the Russia-England game in […]

Marseille (AFP) – Albania coach Gianni De Biasi feels his underdogs could score against France in Marseille on Wednesday to get his team's Euro 2016 prospects back on track. After defeat in the Group A opener against Switzerland, Albania need to at least avoid defeat tomorrow to keep their hopes alive of progressing to the […]

Sling TV has added FOX Sports 2 to its long list of channels that are available on its Sling Multistream package. For soccer fans, that means that subscribers can now choose from programming available from the FOX broadcasting network, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and FX. Previously, FS2 wasn't available in the package. But now […]

Bordeaux (AFP) – Hungary coach Bernd Storck showered praise on 40-year-old goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly after he became the oldest player in European Championship history in Tuesday's shock 2-0 win over neighbours Austria. Kiraly, famous for his grey tracksuit trousers, celebrated the record-breaking occasion by keeping a clean sheet as he eclipsed the old mark set […]

Marseille (AFP) – France coach Didier Deschamps has called on Les Bleus to move up a gear against an Albania side that he insisted could trouble the Euro 2016 hosts. Deschamps' men earned the perfect start to the competition with a 2-1 win over Romania at the Stade de France in Paris last Friday. But […]

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo leads Portugal's attack against minnows Iceland on Tuesday at Euro 2016 and could make history by becoming the first player to score at four European championship finals. The Real Madrid ace is joined by former Manchester United teammate Nani up front as Iceland make their debut at the finals […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazil sacked their coach Dunga on Tuesday following a stunning first round exit at the Copa America Centenario edition. After an opening 0-0 draw with Ecuador was followed by the 7-1 win over Haiti, Brazil needed a draw with Peru Monday to reach the quarter-finals but crashed out of the […]

Birmingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – China's Tony Xia completed his takeover of relegated former Premier League side Aston Villa on Tuesday after passing the English Football League's owners and directors test. Xia, whose Chinese name is Xia Jiantong, purchased Villa last month for a reported $87 million (77.6 million euros) from American Randy Lerner and […]

Bordeaux (AFP) – Adam Szalai and Zoltan Stieber scored second-half goals as Hungary stunned highly-fancied Austria 2-0 in their Group F opener in Bordeaux on Tuesday. Austria, tipped as tournament dark horses, dominated the opening period but Szalai fired Hungary ahead on 62 minutes with Stieber wrapping up a shock victory over their old rivals […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey's young midfielder Ozan Tufan was Tuesday targeted by mockery at home and abroad after pictures showed him smoothly adjusting his hair at the very moment Croatia's Luka Modric scored a stunning match-winning volley in Euro 2016. Tufan, 21, was scapegoated by many fans for Turkey's disappointing 1-0 defeat by Croatia over […]

Lille (France) (AFP) – Russia's preparations for their second Euro 2016 Group B game against Slovakia in Lille on Wednesday have been overshadowed by UEFA's threat to kick Leonid Slutsky's team out of the competition. UEFA on Tuesday fined the Russian Football Union and said the country would be sent home from France if there […]