Madrid (AFP) – As a pot-bellied, softly-spoken, 65-year-old, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque can rarely be described as a man on a mission. Yet he is determined to put right a disastrous World Cup two years ago when La Roja defend their European Championship title. "The origin of everything is Brazil and the disappointment of […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic assistant manager John Collins heaped praise on striker Leigh Griffiths after he bagged his 40th goal of the season in his side's 2-1 defeat by St Johnstone. The Hoops frontman became only the eighth player in the club's history to reach the 40-goal barrier in a season when he scored a […]

Mexico City (AFP) – The head of Russia's 2018 World Cup organizing committee admitted on Wednesday that a lot of construction work remains, but said the country is not running behind in its preparations. Alexey Sorokin, chief of the local organizing committing, said ahead of a FIFA congress in Mexico City later this week that […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was thrilled with his side's late equaliser in their 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Anfield, but bemoaned his players' lack of patience. Eden Hazard's fine finish for Chelsea in Wednesday's Premier League game left Liverpool staring at a first home reverse since the 1-0 defeat by Manchester United […]

Sunderland (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce steeled the club for a crucial close season as they bid to end their reputation as Premier League relegation escape specialists. Allardyce hailed the club's "miraculous" effort to secure their top-flight future with a game to spare after a 3-0 victory over Everton on Wednesday condemned neighbours Newcastle United and Norwich City to […]

Liverpool (AFP) – An injury-time Christian Benteke goal earned Liverpool a point against unlucky Chelsea in a hard-working 1-1 draw at Anfield on Wednesday. Eden Hazard’s first-half opener was a thrilling finish worthy of winning any contest and it looked like it would be enough until Benteke nodded in Sheyi Ojo’s cross late on as […]

London (AFP) – Newcastle United and Norwich City were relegated from the Premier League on Wednesday as Sunderland secured their survival with a one-sided 3-0 victory over Everton. Sunderland centre-back Lamine Kone's first two goals for the club and a Patrick van Aanholt free-kick took Sam Allardyce's side four points clear of danger with one […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Newly-crowned Scottish champions Celtic suffered only their fourth league loss of the season as a much-changed Hoops side slipped to a 2-1 defeat to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday. Celtic, who made seven changes from Sunday's win over Aberdeen that clinched their fifth Scottish Premiership title in a row, took […]

NBC Sports has announced its schedule for the final day of the Premier League season, which they're calling it Championship Sunday when all 10 games will be shown live across NBC's array of networks. The game that has been given prime billing is on NBC, which features Manchester City away at Swansea City as the […]

Paris (AFP) – Bordeaux recovered from falling behind to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal to hold champions Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw in a rearranged game in Ligue 1 on Wednesday. Ibrahimovic had put the visitors in front with his 36th league goal of a remarkable campaign just before the hour mark, but Nicolas Pallois […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck will be out for around nine months after undergoing knee surgery, the club announced on Wednesday, ending his hopes of playing for England at Euro 2016. The 25-year-old forward damaged cartilage in his right knee during a challenge with Bacary Sagna in Arsenal's 2-2 draw at Manchester City […]

Madrid (AFP) – With less than a month until Euro 2016 gets underway in France, fans of defending champions Spain still do not know if they will be able to watch the finals on TV, as no media outlet in Spain has bought the rights to the tournament. The high price demanded by European football […]

Paris (AFP) – Bastia's Brazilian striker Brandao was last month given a five-month suspended prison sentence and a 20,000-euro ($22,859) fine on appeal for his 2014 headbutt on Paris Saint-Germain's Thiago Motta, judicial sources revealed on Wednesday. Brandao, 35, was initially condemned to one month in prison by a Paris court along with the 20,000-euro […]

Bucharest (AFP) – Cameroonian international Patrick Ekeng, who died last week playing for his club Dinamo Bucharest, was suffering from "serious heart problems", autopsy results revealed on Wednesday. The 26-year-old collapsed to the ground seven minutes after coming on as a substitute in a Romanian league game against Viitorul Constanta last Friday. He was rushed […]

Berlin (AFP) – Joachim Loew will look to add the European crown in France to Germany's 2014 World Cup triumph, but the head coach of 'die Mannschaft' has worries surrounding his team. With the clock ticking down to Germany's first Group C game against Ukraine in Lille on June 12, Loew is waiting on captain […]