Bratislava (AFP) – When Slovakia beat Luxembourg last October to clinch qualification for their first-ever European Championship finals, captain Martin Skrtel made a very special TV appearance, gatecrashing the Slovak coach's interview with a local channel. "Slovakia, Slovakia," he yelled at the camera, jumping wildly, stripped to the waist, displaying his tattoo slogan "Veni, Vidi, […]

Copa America Centenario began on Friday with the United States facing Colombia, and boy was the result disappointing. There were very few bright spots for the US. Colombia took a 2-0 lead into halftime and never allowed the US to pose anything resembling a threat in the second half. But there is no time to lament […]

London (AFP) – Former Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro on Tuesday agreed a deal to settle a case against Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho for alleged discrimination for an undisclosed sum. "The parties agreed to the settlement of this dispute on confidential terms," a Chelsea representative said at the start of a brief hearing.

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – A glance at Wales' record in qualifying for Euro 2016 reveals a glaring truth: stop Gareth Bale, and you have a very good chance of stopping Chris Coleman's team. That Wales are gearing up for a first major tournament since 1958 owes much to the brilliance of Bale, who scored […]

Zurich (AFP) – Granit Xhaka's transfer to Arsenal for a fee reported to be about 40 million euros means there is pressure on the Swiss midfielder to prove his worth at the European Championship finals. Despite being just 23, the rising star has been capped 41 times, with former Swiss national coach Ottmar Hitzfeld branding […]

The European Championships are almost upon us, and England go to France on the back of three straight wins in their warm-up matches. Amidst the optimism that comes with this good form, and a theoretically simple group to negotiate, there is some concern due to the fact that the team has not looked fluid offensively. […]

London (AFP) – Studious and well-travelled, Roy Hodgson has the weighty responsibility of ending England's 50 years of major tournament heartache at the European Championship in France. After a run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2012, less than two months after succeeding Fabio Capello as manager, Hodgson presided over a galling group-phase exit at the […]

Melbourne (AFP) – Midfielder Giannis Maniatis scored a spectacular 60-metre goal as Greece beat Australia for the time in 38 years in Melbourne on Tuesday. The Greeks won 2-1, with Olympiacos midfielder Maniatis netting a stunning goal over the head of stranded Australian goalkeeper Adam Federici in the first half. Greece took the game to the […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney is facing the biggest fight of his 13-year international career to hold onto his England place going into the European Championship. England's talisman ever since he burst onto the scene as a preternaturally gifted 18-year-old at Euro 2004, Rooney has gone to five major tournaments as one […]

Rome (AFP) – Former Italian international striker and AC Milan coach Filippo Inzaghi has taken charge of Venezia in the third division, the club said on Tuesday. The 42-year-old Inzaghi, who also played for Juventus in a sparkling career, coached Milan in the 2014-2015 season, but was replaced by Sinisa Mihajlovic after guiding them to […]

Paris (AFP) – Having scaled the international football heights as a player, Didier Deschamps now has his sights set on leading France to European Championship glory on home soil as coach. Deschamps was captain of the French team that won the World Cup at home in 1998 and also led Les Bleus to glory at […]

Madrid (AFP) – Neymar could follow Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi to court after Spanish prosecutors asked for the Brazilian striker to be tried over his murky multi-million-euro transfer to the Catalan giants. Prosecutors from Spain's top criminal court accuse the 24-year-old, his father, Barca's ex-president Sandro Rosell and the club itself of concealing the true […]

Beijing (AFP) – Fabio Cannavaro will return to China to coach Tianjin Quanjian FC, the official Xinhua news agency said Tuesday on its Twitter account. The former Italy defender, who captained his country to World Cup victory in 2006, has already got Chinese experience under his belt following a one-year stint as coach of Guangzhou […]

Chantilly (France) (AFP) – Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand was the only absentee as England staged an open training session in front of schoolchildren at their Chantilly training base north of Paris on Tuesday. Bertrand missed England's 1-0 win over Portugal last week with a knock and is now doubtful for their Euro 2016 opener against […]

Paris (AFP) – French coach Didier Deschamps has imposed a lights out at midnight regime in the team base as he prepares his players to launch the European Championship finals on Friday, according to striker Olivier Giroud. "He (Deschamps) doesn't want any music after midnight so the players have to leave the games room," Giroud […]