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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AFP) — Slovakia coach Jan Kozak resigned on Sunday following a 2-1 defeat to the Czech Republic in the Nations League, the country’s football federation said. “We reached an agreement today with the coach Jan Kozak to end our cooperation at his request,” the federation said in a statement. Saturday’s loss at home to the Czechs left Slovakia bottom of their group and without a point after two matches. The 64-year-old Kozak, a […]
by Thomas Allnut Agence France Presse VALENCIA, Spain (AFP) — Juventus believe they can win the Champions League with Cristiano Ronaldo, but they had to start by beating Valencia without him after he was controversially sent off on his debut in the competition for the Italian champions on Wednesday. A tearful Ronaldo left the pitch in disbelief in the 29th minute, having aimed a petulant, but seemingly harmless, kick at Valencia defender Jeison Murillo. […]
SHANGHAI, China (AFP) – Highly respected Dutchman Guus Hiddink was named on Monday as the new coach of China’s under-21 football team, tasked with leading the country at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. The 71-year-old joins another well-known veteran coach, the Italian World Cup winner Marcello Lippi, in taking a major role in China’s aggressive push to finally become a force in international football. The 70-year-old Lippi has been in charge of the senior side since […]
TURIN, Italy (AFP)–A Turin hit by Cristiano Ronaldo fever awaits the striker on Monday as Juventus prepare to unveil the surprise signing, that after the end of the World Cup, puts all eyes on the Italian champions and Serie A. Juventus shirts emblazoned with “Ronaldo” and the number 7 have been selling like hotcakes, while 5,000 shopkeepers in the north-western city are putting up posters that read “Bem-vindo!” — welcome in Portuguese. One ice-cream parlor […]
SAINT PETERSBURG, Russia (AFP)–Paul Pogba dedicated France’s World Cup semi-final win against Belgium to the 12 boys who survived a harrowing ordeal trapped underground in Thailand. The final five members of a young football team were rescued from a flooded Thai cave on Tuesday after spending 18 harrowing days trapped deep inside, completing an astonishing against-the-odds rescue mission that captivated the world. Elite foreign divers and Thai Navy SEALs extracted the final batch of four […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)–England and Manchester United top career goalscorer Wayne Rooney praised his homeland’s “fantastic” World Cup effort on Monday, cheering the buzz and belief their semi-final run in Russia has inspired. Rooney appeared at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new $200 million home stadium of DC United, where the 32-year-old striker makes his Major League Soccer debut Saturday against Vancouver. “They are doing fantastic. Hopefully we can get the win,” Rooney said. “It’s […]
NEW YORK, United States (AFP)–Maxi Moralez struck in the 85th minute Sunday as New York City FC turned the tables on crosstown rivals New York Red Bulls with a 1-0 Major League Soccer win at Yankee Stadium. City, thrashed by the Red Bulls by 4-0 scores in May and June, won the rubber match to climb into second place in the Eastern Conference, extending their home unbeaten streak to nine games. With David Villa and […]
BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP)–Jailed former Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has decided to cease commenting on the World Cup for Brazilian television to avoid breaking election rules. The 72-year-old leftist politician was the front-runner for October’s presidential elections until his incarceration in April after being convicted of accepting a bribe from Brazilian construction company OAS. “In order to comply with the electoral legislation, which prohibits pre-candidates from participating in radio and TV programs from […]
PARIS, France (AFP)–France international Yohan Cabaye has quit Crystal Palace for a two-year contract with Al Nasr in the United Arab Emirates. Cabaye, 32, had the option to extend his stay in the English Premier League, where he has plied his trade with Palace since 2015, but opted for Dubai. The central midfielder, capped 48 times by France and part of the national teams that played at the 2012 and 2016 Euros as well as […]
MOSCOW, Russia (AFP)–Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said he had done his research on Colombia and that his “power and agility” helped save Carlos Bacca’s penalty in a nail-biting shootout victory that saw England reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday. The Everton player was criticized after conceding Adnan Januzaj’s winner in a group-stage 1-0 loss to Belgium, including by his Belgian counterpart Thibaut Courtois, who said he was too small. But Pickford hit back after his […]
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AFP)–Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said his side should accept they will be the underdogs in their World Cup quarter-final against star-studded Brazil on Friday. Belgium booked a last eight berth to face the Selecao with a last-gasp 3-2 win over Japan in Rostov-on-Don on Monday when Nacer Chadli scored the 94th-minute winner as the Red Devils came from 2-0 down. Martinez’s side will face Brazil in Kazan and he says Belgium must embrace […]
Saransk, Russia (AFP) — Tunisia won their first match at a World Cup for 40 years on Thursday, beating Panama 2-1 to leave Russia on a high. The North African side fell behind to a 33rd-minute own goal from Yassine Meriah but battled back to score twice in the second half through Fakhreddine Ben Youssef and Wahbi Khazri. Tunisia, ranked 21st in the world, finished third in Group G behind Belgium and England. “Today’s […]
