Paris (AFP) – The Euro 2016 final will feature a duel between boyish poster boy Antoine Griezmann and preening superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to be the dominant number seven. Griezmann, 25, is the tournament's top scorer bidding to deliver success for the home nation in his first major international final. Ronaldo wept teenage tears after Portugal's […]

Paris (AFP) – Talented left-back Raphael Guerreiro is one of three members of the Portuguese squad who will be facing the country of his birth in Sunday's Euro 2016 final against France. Guerreiro and goalkeeper Anthony Lopes were born and brought up in France, which is home to a huge Portuguese migrant population. Midfielder Adrien […]

Marseille (AFP) – Euro 2016 was meant to be Paul Pogba's tournament, putting the seal on what could be a world record setting transfer away from Juventus. But Antoine Griezmann's match-winning performances against Germany and Iceland have made him the darling of the host nation. Pogba was expected to light up his maiden European Championship […]

Paris (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo's battle-hardened Portugal stand between hosts France and a cathartic victory in Sunday's Euro 2016 final at Stade de France. The stadium was targeted by suicide bombers during France's friendly against Germany last November in attacks across Paris that left 130 people dead. It cast a black shadow over the tournament, […]

Germany vs. France. The rare marquee matchup that delivered on its massive potential. How would Europe react to such an epic night and rare result? Let’s take a look. Germany’s Bild forlornly shouts the name “Weini!” as one of its most accomplished players failed his country. The subheadline incredulously exclaims, “Of all people Schweinsteiger, of […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Chris Coleman, basking in the success of Wales's run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, said Friday the upcoming 2018 World Cup campaign will be his last as manager. The 46-year-old, who took Wales to their first finals since the 1958 World Cup and then oversaw a superb campaign only ended […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Welsh star Gareth Bale and his team-mates paraded through the streets of Cardiff packed with an estimated 200,000 fans raucously cheering them on Friday as they returned from their Euro 2016 heroics. Having exceeded even the wildest dreams of the Welsh — more used to seeing their rugby team triumph […]

London (AFP) – Talented teenage midfielder Lewis Cook will get a chance to shine in the Premier League after Bournemouth signed him from fallen English giants Leeds United on Friday. The 19-year-old — the Football League Young Player of the Year last season after impressing for the struggling second-tier outfit — signed a four-year contract […]

Paris (AFP) – UEFA on Friday dropped proceedings against Liverpool and France international defender Mamadou Sakho over a doping infringement, it said. "Following a hearing with the lawyers of the player and experts of the WADA-accredited laboratories on this case, the CEDB has decided to dismiss the case," UEFA said in a statement, referring to […]

Miami (AFP) – Mexico could open the final round of qualifying for the 2018 Russia World Cup at arch rival United States as a result of Friday's draw for the six-team, round-robin schedule. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) conducted the draw for the "hexagonal" ahead of September's concluding semi-final round […]

Madrid (AFP) – A Spanish judge on Friday dropped a fraud and corruption case against Brazilian superstar Neymar and his father in relation to the player's 2013 transfer to Barcelona. However, the judge said that irregularities in the high-profile transfer were detected, but it was an issue for a civil court, not a criminal court […]

Paris (AFP) – After 12 traumatic months buffeted by terror attacks, political turmoil and floods, France finally has something to shout about with its team's success in Euro 2016. As the host nation's new sweetheart Antoine Griezmann and his team-mates prepare to do battle with Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Sunday's final, an unfamiliar feeling of […]

For soccer fans in the United States, the 2016/17 Premier League will herald two major changes. First, the early kickoffs for Premier League games on Saturdays will begin at 7:30am ET instead of 7:45am ET. That'll impact soccer fans on the west coast of the United States most who will need to ensure that they're […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Nigerian international winger Ahmed Musa became Premier League champions Leicester City's second acquisition in a week on Friday for what is believed to be a club record fee of £16.6 million ($22 million, 20 million euros). The 23-year-old, who announced his talent globally in scoring a brace against Lionel Messi's […]

Marseille (AFP) – Slovakian international defender Tomas Hubocan has joined Marseille from Dynamo Moscow, the French League 1 outfit said on Friday. The 30-year-old played twice for Slovakia at Euro 2016 and spent six years at Zenit St Petersburg before his move to Dynamo two seasons ago. Marseille have already snapped up over the summer […]