Tokyo (AFP) – Japan's northern Hokkaido region has decided to ban spectators at the Olympic football matches hosted in the area, expanding unprecedented steps to hold the Games mostly behind closed doors due to the pandemic. Local governor Naomichi Suzuki announced the move late Friday night, reversing a decision a day earlier by Olympic organisers […]

Bedford (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Were it not for the grey skies and threat of rain as they sip espressos and talk football outside La Piazza Caffè, Luciano Lambiase and his friends could be in Naples or Rome. But the retired factory engineer, 66, and his boyhood friends Pasquale Spadaccino and Franco Bulzis, both 73, […]

Brasília (AFP) – Luis Diaz scored a sensational winner with virtually the last kick of the match as Colombia beat Peru 3-2 in Brasilia on Friday to finish third in the Copa America. The goal was the 24-year-old Porto forward's second of the match and came just 10 minutes after Gianluca Lapadula looked to have […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane's winner against Denmark to send England into their first major tournament final for 55 years was his 275th goal for club and country. Yet, at 27, the England captain is still yet to win a trophy. That could all change spectacularly on Sunday should Kane become the first Englishman since […]

London (AFP) – England and Italy are holding their collective breath as the clock counts down to Sunday's Euro 2020 final showdown which will be watched by around 65,000 fans at Wembley and millions more on television. The anticipation is great in England, as the hosts sense that this is their time to end a […]

London (AFP) – Raheem Sterling will complete a remarkable journey from vilified scapegoat to England legend if the forward inspires his side to victory in Sunday's Euro 2020 final against Italy. Sterling has been England's most influential player during their historic run to a first major final in 55 years. Gareth Southgate's side are one […]

London (AFP) – Italy's old guard Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci will have the task of stopping English 'youngsters' Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling in the Euro 2020 final in London on Sunday. The Juventus centre-backs are the only survivors of Italy's 4-0 final loss to Spain in Euro 2012, and central to the side […]

A controversial transfer made the masses question his ambition. Injuries have taken a toll on his body. Now, he is one win away from immortality. Child prodigies face immense pressure in their adolescence. Many of them crumble before they reach adulthood. Neymar relished in the attention and attracted more eyes to him with his hairstyles, […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Alphonso Davies was ruled out of the CONCACAF Gold Cup on Friday after suffering an ankle injury in training, Canada Soccer said in a statement. The Bayern Munich star, who played for Canada at both the 2017 and 2019 tournaments, has returned to Germany for treatment, the governing body said. The […]

London (AFP) – England captain Harry Kane expects Sunday's Euro 2020 final against Italy to go down to the wire because the teams are so evenly matched. England and Italy head into the Wembley showdown as the tournament's two stand-out sides. Four-time world champions Italy, who last won the Euro in 1968, made a flying […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Raja Casablanca of Morocco and JS Kabylie of Algeria take impressive CAF Confederation Cup unbeaten records into the final in Benin economic capital Cotonou on Saturday. Neither team have lost since the play-offs last February in the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League. Raja have gone 10 matches since an […]

London (AFP) – Wolverhampton Wanderers have signed left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri on a permanent deal from Angers, the Premier League club announced Friday. The Frenchman has signed a five-year contract after impressing on loan at Molineux last season. Ait-Nouri, 20, who made 24 appearances for the Midlands club under former manager Nuno Espirito Santo last season, […]

London (AFP) – England defender John Stones has challenged his team to make their Euro 2020 "dream" come true when they face Italy in Sunday's final. Gareth Southgate's side have reached the country's first European Championship showpiece after 55 years without a major final appearance. England will win just the second senior international honour in […]

Milan (AFP) – Jose Mourinho's trophy cabinet may be bulging but new Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri said Friday that counts for nothing as the former Chelsea managers prepare to share the Stadio Olimpico next season. Mourinho will coach Roma while Sarri takes charge of city rivals Lazio, both housed in the same stadium in the […]

Rome (AFP) – Defender Leonardo Bonucci warned that Italy were not scared of taking on hosts England on home soil in the Euro 2020 final on Sunday. Italy are targeting a second European title after 1968 while England have never won the continental tournament, with their only major trophy the 1966 World Cup which they […]