Bordeaux (AFP) – Gareth Bale and Wales will play their inaugural European Championship finals game on Saturday mixing the joy of a special day with nerves over whether they can get back to winning ways. The Group B game against Slovakia will be the first time that a Wales team has appeared at a major […]

Paris (AFP) – France vowed drastic measures to ensure the smooth running of Euro 2016, as strikes and terror fears threaten to overshadow Europe's showcase football event, which kicks off Friday. The action on the pitch starts when hosts France face Romania in the Stade de France in Paris at 1900 GMT, but industrial unrest […]

Pasadena (United States) (AFP) – Mexico survived a first half barrage and a clear-cut penalty shout to beat Jamaica 2-0 in the Copa America Thursday, booking a quarter-final place with a game to spare. The win leaves the Reggae Boyz still searching for their first goal and unable to go through, with Uruguay also knocked […]

Marseille (AFP) – Anything less than a win over Russia on Saturday could scupper England's Euro 2016 hopes, goalkeeper Joe Hart has warned as Roy Hodgson's new-look Three Lions bid to end 50 years of heartache. England take on an injury-depleted Russia at Marseille's Stade Velodrome desperate to avoid a repeat of the 2014 World […]

Philadelphia (AFP) – Uruguay were sent spinning to the brink of elimination from the Copa America Centenario after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Venezuela. Uruguay, the record 15-time Copa America champions, were on Thursday left staring down the barrel of their first group phase exit since 1997 after Salomon Rondon's first half goal at […]

Paris (AFP) – Didier Deschamps' France start the European Championship finals against Romania on Friday with the country plunged into strike chaos but among favourites to win the trophy. Under a state of emergency since the November 13 Paris attacks and with strikes threatening rail travel and garbage collection, the nation is counting on the […]

Despite Arsenal's game against the MLS All-Stars being officially sold out, tickets can still be purchased on the secondary market. With the capacity of San Jose's Avaya Stadium at only 18,000, it's no wonder that Arsenal vs. MLS All-Stars is the hottest ticket in town. In fact, tickets for the 2016 MLS All-Star Game have […]

Paris (AFP) – France kicked off Euro 2016 festivities with a huge open-air concert at the Eiffel Tower Thursday, as President Francois Hollande vowed the event would run smoothly despite ongoing strikes and looming terror attack fears. Security was tight as French DJ David Guetta performed in front of some 80,000 cheering fans at the […]

Paris (AFP) – President Francois Hollande vowed Thursday to take "all necessary measures" to ensure the smooth running of the Euro 2016 football tournament in strike-hit France, as bags of uncollected rubbish piled up in Paris streets. The run-up to Europe's four-yearly football extravaganza has been blighted by strikes and street protests over the French […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Much-travelled Turkish international striker Colin Kazim-Richards joined Brazilian side Coritiba from Scottish champions Celtic on Thursday, the Scottish Premiership team announced. The 29-year-old England-born forward, for whom Coritiba will be his 12th team and Brazil the seventh country in which he has played club football, had only been at Celtic since February […]

Paris (AFP) – Overflowing rubbish bins, transport strikes, violent political protests, and floods — the image of France as Euro 2016 kicks off on Friday is worrying tourist chiefs. With the world's eyes on France, tourism officials fear the country's current difficulties could tarnish its reputation for years to come. As hundreds of thousands of […]

Madrid (AFP) – European champions Real Madrid saw two of their stars go under the knife on Thursday as Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas and Brazilian right-back Danilo both had foot surgery. Danilo had been carrying a right-heel injury for some time but saw out the regular season as Real narrowly missed a Liga, Champions […]

Tulle (France) (AFP) – French President Francois Hollande said he was ready to take "all necessary measures" to ensure rolling transport strikes don't disrupt the smooth running of the month-long Euro 2016 football extravaganza. "I will be paying close attention tomorrow and if decisions need to be made, they will be made," Hollande said Thursday […]

Paris (AFP) – France captain Hugo Lloris insisted Les Blues "don't feel like favourites" despite being fancied to win Euro 2016 which they start on Friday against Romania on Friday. The hosts start the 24-team tournament at the Stade de France in Paris hoping to emulate the French sides that won the 1984 Euros and […]

Zurich (AFP) – Kosovo and Gibraltar are to play 2018 World Cup qualifiers after being admitted as new members of FIFA, world football governing body confirmed on Thursday. "UEFA's Emergency Panel has today decided that Kosovo will join Croatia, Iceland, Ukraine, Turkey and Finland in Group I, and Gibraltar will join Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, […]