Tokyo (AFP) – Japan forward Keisuke Honda has slammed former national team boss Vahid Halilhodzic's methods as the fallout from his abrupt dismissal as coach continued in the run-up to the World Cup. The talismanic 31-year-old, who had become a peripheral figure under Halilhodzic, told Japanese broadcaster NHK that he was frustrated at the rigid […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australian football chiefs were forced to deny Tuesday that veteran Tim Cahill was in the country's World Cup squad for commercial reasons after in-form Hibernian striker Jamie Maclaren was axed. The 38-year-old is the Socceroos' most prolific scorer with 50 goals, hitting the net at three previous World Cups. His record speaks […]

Lyon (AFP) – After painful defeats in recent continental finals, Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid are determined to justify their status as favourites in Wednesday's Europa League showpiece against Marseille in Lyon. Atletico lost in extra time to Real Madrid in the Champions League final of 2014, having been seconds away from victory in 90 minutes, […]

Sydney (AFP) – In-form Hibernian striker Jamie Maclaren was axed from Australia's World Cup squad Tuesday as coach Bert van Marwijk trimmed it to 26 players, with Bristol City skipper Bailey Wright also cut. Long-term backup goalkeeper Mitch Langerak was another to miss out in the cut to the initial 32 selected last week, along […]

Madrid (AFP) – When German Burgos was told in 2003 he needed surgery to remove a cancerous tumour on his left kidney, Atletico Madrid's goalkeeper said it would have to wait until after the next game. Now Burgos is preparing to take charge of Atletico's Europa League final against Marseille without Diego Simeone, standing in […]

With the Premier League season coming to an end, Manchester United clinched their spot in second place with 78 points. It's the most points the Red Devils have earned since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013. Hats off to Mourinho for this accomplishment. But if a casual football fan sat down and watched […]

The 2018 World Cup kicks off on Thursday 18 June as hosts Russia entertain Saudi Arabia on the opening night, before a weekend packed of action that includes Portugal-Spain on Friday night, France-Australia, Argentina-Iceland and Croatia-Nigeria on the Saturday, and Brazil-Switzerland and Germany-Mexico on the Sunday. England are not in action until the Monday when […]

Modena (Italy) (AFP) – Between eight and ten million packets a day, each with five cards, perhaps including the coveted ones of Lionel Messi, Neymar or Cristiano Ronaldo — as World Cup fever builds the Panini sticker factory in Italy is working flat out. With Panini, Italy are guaranteed not to miss out on the […]

Real Madrid's shirt for the 2018/19 season will feature a classic white and black design from adidas. The new shirt design, which will be officially revealed later this month by Real Madrid and adidas, features the Adidas Climachill template, which has debuted for the 2018 World Cup shirts. With images from the experts at FootyHeadlines, […]

The first el Clásico of 2018 featuring Barcelona and Real Madrid averaged 1.4 million viewers across beIN SPORTS and beIN SPORTS en Español on US television this past Sunday. The exciting 2-2 draw was watched by 1,057,992 viewers on beIN SPORTS en Español combined with 342,372 viewers who tuned in to watch the game on […]

As we know, the United States men's soccer team failed to qualify for this year's World Cup. This simple fact sent shockwaves throughout US soccer. Everyone, it seemed, has an opinion on what went wrong and what the nation has to do to improve. Few, however, are actually in any sort of position to affect […]

Arsenal's new manager for the 2018/19 season will be fielding a team that features a very innovative shirt design for the new season. The Gunners will continue to have Puma manufacturing and designing their shirts. For the 2018/19 Premier League season, Arsenal will be wearing a red and white home shirt that features a band […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has refused to clarify the future of Antoine Griezmann, amid speculation the striker is set for a move to Barcelona. Barca were forced in January to deny publicly they had agreed a deal to sign Griezmann, who has indicated he wants his future resolved before the start […]

Paris (AFP) – Russia's football association has been fined 30,000 Swiss francs (25,000 euros) following racist chants by supporters during a friendly between the World Cup hosts and France in March, FIFA said on Tuesday. Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele were the target of monkey chants during the match in […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte dodged questions over his Chelsea future ahead of Wednesday's clash with Huddersfield, which could be his final home match at the helm of the deposed Premier League champions. Speculation has been rife all season that Conte's tenure will come to an end this summer after periods of public disgruntlement from […]