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PARIS, France (AFP) — Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo won a record-equaling fifth Ballon d’Or award for the year’s best player on Thursday. The Real Madrid forward’s second successive win drew him level alongside Barcelona rival Lionel Messi on five Ballons d’Or, after the Argentinian took second in the vote, with Brazilian Neymar third. The 32-year-old was the top-scorer in last season’s Champions League as Real successfully defended the trophy with victory over Juventus in June, […]
by Emmeline Moore Agence France-Presse TURIN, Italy (AFP) — Lionel Messi started on the bench but Barcelona advanced to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday and clinched top spot in Group D after drawing 0-0 with Juventus in Turin. Last season’s finalists Juventus remain second in the group following the stalemate, a point ahead of third-place Sporting Lisbon, and can secure their qualification with victory at Olympiakos on December 5. Five-time European champions Barca came into […]
by Peter Stebbings Agence France-Presse SHANGHAI, China (AFP) — A one-legged footballer has captured the hearts of millions of Chinese fans after a widely circulated video showed him holding his own against able-bodied opponents and scoring a rasping right-footed drive. The exploits of 21-year-old He Yiyi, who lost his leg to childhood cancer and uses crutches to support himself when playing, have earned him several endearing nicknames including “Angel with Broken Wings”, “Ball King with […]
by Jed Court Agence France-Presse PARIS, France (AFP) — Lars Stindl scored a last-gasp equalizer as world champions Germany played out an entertaining 2-2 draw with France in Cologne on Tuesday, while Spain were held by Russia in a 3-3 friendly thriller. France and Germany are among the favorites for next year’s World Cup in Russia, and Stindl’s injury-time effort extended Joachim Loew’s side’s unbeaten run to 21 matches. “We conceded the goal from nothing to make […]
by Emmeline Moore Agence France-Presse MILAN, Italy (AFP) — Italy failed to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1958 on Monday as they were held to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of their play-off at the San Siro by Sweden, who qualified with a 1-0 aggregate victory. The four-time champions dominated possession but struggled to create enough clear-cut chances, as Sweden secured a first appearance at the finals since 2006 courtesy of […]
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras (AFP) — Australia edged closer to a place in the 2018 World Cup finals on Friday after grinding out a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Honduras in their Asia-CONCACAF playoff. Socceroos striker Tomi Juric missed golden chances in each half as the Australians dominated a physical Honduras side without managing to find a precious away goal at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano. Nevertheless Ange Postecoglou’s men will return to Australia for Wednesday’s second leg confident […]
by Tom Williams Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — With both squads beset by injuries, Friday’s Wembley friendly between England and Germany represents an opportunity for fringe players and untested youngsters to stake claims to World Cup places. Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Raheem Sterling are among the players to have withdrawn from England’s squad, while world champions Germany are without Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Mueller. Whilst the fans who make their way to […]
by Lajla Veselica Agence France-Presse ZAGREB, Croatia (AFP) — Croatia will hope Real Madrid star Luka Modric can carry the nation to the World Cup finals as they go into the first leg of a tricky play-off with Greece on Thursday. The 32-year-old captain has faced a tumultuous year, with his shining reputation tarnished by a scandal in June over allegedly false testimony he gave at a major corruption trial. But anger from the fans appeared to […]
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AFP) — From its unique history to its passion for chess, books and football, here are five things to know about Iceland, which votes in legislative elections on Saturday: – Crime – Contrary to the dark goings-on in Nordic noir literature, Iceland is a tranquil North Atlantic island of 335,000 people, where police patrol unarmed and homicides are extremely rare. The country has on average only 1.8 homicides a year. As a result, […]
by Laura Bonilla Cal Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) – A US judge on Wednesday imposed the first sentence in the sweeping FIFA corruption scandal, sending a Guatemalan former official to jail for eight months and saying that he had destroyed people’s faith in soccer. Hector Trujillo, 64, stood with his head bowed, eyes cast toward the floor and wiped away tears as he heard his fate in a federal court in Brooklyn, four months […]
by Kieran CANNING Agence France-Presse BARCELONA, Spain (AFP) – Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu faces the club’s members at an annual general meeting on Saturday fighting an increasingly difficult battle to balance the conflicting interests of fans in favor of Catalan independence and millions of supporters in the rest of Spain and around the world. A powerful symbol of Catalonia, Barca have been caught in the political crossfire since an independence referendum for the wealthy northeastern region […]
by Nick Szczepanik Agence France-Presse LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has dismissed suggestions from Watford striker Troy Deeney that his players can be bullied and show little stomach for a physical battle. Deeney made the remarks after Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Vicarage Road last weekend, when his introduction as a substitute unsettled the Arsenal defense and turned the game in Watford’s favour. But Wenger, speaking ahead of the Gunners’ visit to Everton on […]
