News

New Japan football coach impressed after win
New Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said he was satisfied with the teamÂ´s performance after watching his new charges beat Paraguay to avenge their defeat in the first knockout stage of the World Cup.

Mexico lose to Ecuador in friendly
Mexico suffered a rare home defeat on Saturday, losing 1-2 to Ecuador in an international friendly.

Columbus Crew, Real Salt Lake win in Major League Soccer
Columbus Crew kept their Major League Soccer momentum going with a 0-1 win at DC United while New York Red Bulls crashed to a 1-0 defeat at Real Salt Lake.

FootballÂ´s star strikers find their feet
With one sumptuous swing of his right foot against Liechtenstein on Friday, David Villa moved to within one goal of RaulÂ´s all-time goalscoring record for Spain.

England goalkeeper plays down expectations on new stars
England goalkeeper Joe Hart insists it is too early to start tagging his generation as the players to breathe new life into Fabio CapelloÂ´s team.

Brazil: Corinthians close on top spot, Botafogo drop points
Corinthians beat Goias 5-1 on Saturday to keep pressure on Brazilian leaders Fluminense while Botafogo dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Gremio.

Ancelotti quashes Italy rumours
Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti has dismissed rumours suggesting that he may become the Italy coach by insisting he is enjoying his Stamford Bridge adventure.

Alves happy at Barca
Dani Alves has insisted that he is happy at Barcelona and not worried about his future despite ongoing speculation over his new deal.

Coentrao set to miss Norway qualifier
Portugal left-back Fabio Coentrao has been ruled out of his side's Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway on Tuesday night.

Los Angeles Galaxy held at Chicago Fire
Los Angeles Galaxy scored an injury time equaliser to take a point from their away match at Chicago Fire on Saturday.

Totti dismisses retirement rumours
Roma striker Francesco Totti has dismissed rumours that is ready to retire from football.

Roma refuse to rule out Behrami swoop
Roma president Rosella Sensi has revealed that the Serie A giants are still tracking West Ham United defender Valon Behrmai despite missing out on the Hammers player this summer.

Winning start as South Africa seek redemption
South Africa launched a challenge for African Nations Cup redemption by outplaying minnows Niger 2-0 Saturday in the north-east city of Nelspruit.

Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland, Ukraine draw 1-1
Poland finally ended their goal drought on Saturday, but last-minute defensive errors saw them draw 1-1 in a friendly against fellow Euro 2012 hosts Ukraine.

EtoÂ´ strikes twice in Nations Cup, Saadane quits
Samuel EtoÂ´o scored twice as Cameroon won in Mauritius Saturday and Rabah Saadane quit as Algeria coach after a home draw with Tanzania when the 2012 African Nations Cup qualifiers kicked off.

Japan beat Paraguay to avenge World Cup defeat
Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa scored the only goal as Japan beat Paraguay 1-0 on Saturday in their first game after the World Cup.

Carragher scores for Reds and Blues in testimonial
Jamie Carragher scored for Liverpool and Everton as his current club secured a 4-1 win over the team he supported as a boy in his testimonial at Anfield on Saturday.

Fifa opens second hope centre in Kenya
FIFAÂ´s ambitious project to construct youth centres as a lasting legacy to hosting the first World Cup in Africa continued with the opening of the second Football for Hope Centre in Nairobi on Saturday.

Dawson hands England, Spurs major injury setback
Michael Dawson has been ruled out of EnglandÂ´s Euro 2012 clash with Switzerland and will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after spraining knee and ankle ligaments during the 4-0 defeat of Bulgaria.

Saadane steps down after Tanzanian shock
Rabah Saadane resigned as Algeria coach on Saturday following FridayÂ´s disappointing 1-1 draw with minnows Tanzania in their 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, the Algerian Football Federation (FAF) announced.

Malouda urges France to channel pain of defeat
Florent Malouda says FranceÂ´s players must harness the "hatred of defeat" as they try to regroup after falling to a shock defeat against Belarus in their Euro 2012 qualifying opener.

Gerrard happy with statement victory
Steven Gerrard believes EnglandÂ´s 4-0 victory over Bulgaria was the ideal statement of intent as Fabio CapelloÂ´s team try to erase the bitter memories of their World Cup flop.

Houllier tight-lipped over Villa speculation
Former Liverpool manager Gerard Houllier is staying tight-lipped amid reports he is in contention for the vacant managerial position at Aston Villa.

Coentrao ruled out of Norway Euro 2012 qualifier
Portuguese defender Fabio Coentrao was ruled out on Saturday of TuesdayÂ´s Euro 2012 qualifier against Norway after injuring his right thigh in FridayÂ´s opening qualifier a 4-4 draw with Cyprus.

French Euro defeat labelled catastrophic by press
FranceÂ´s opening Euro 2012 qualifier 1-0 defeat by Belarus provoked united despair from the French press on Saturday.

England defender Dawson out of Switzerland clash
Michael Dawson has been ruled out of EnglandÂ´s upcoming Euro 2012 clash with Switzerland after injuring a knee during the 4-0 defeat of Bulgaria, the English Football Association said on Saturday.

Benzema fit for Bosnia clash but trio ruled out
FranceÂ´s selection problems deepened on Saturday when three strikers were ruled out of TuesdayÂ´s Euro 2012 qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina, but Real Madrid attacker Karim Benzema was passed fit.

Rioting in Brussels, more than 200 fans arrested
More than 200 German football hooligans have been arrested after clashing with police during rioting in Brussels in the wake of GermanyÂ´s 1-0 win over Belgium in a Euro 2012 qualifier.

Capello explains Rooney role
England Fabio Capello has revealed how he changed Wayne Rooney's role in England's triumphant display against Bulgaria.

Rooney benefited from free role - Walcott
England winger Theo Walcott was impressed with Wayne Rooney's display as he played in a free role against Bulgaria.

Carragher takes swipe at Souness
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has taken a swipe at former Reds manager Graeme Souness' tenure at Anfield, claiming that the English manager is the one who 'knocked Liverpool off their perch'.

Robinho feels at home at Milan
Former Manchester City striker Robinho said Saturday that he felt at home at new club AC Milan, a team he claimed had "Brazilian blood".

Germany's Loew eager for more points in Euro football
Germany coach Joachim Loew said he is looking forward to taking on Azerbaijan at home on Tuesday after his side opened their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a 1-0 win over Belgium.

Hat-trick hero Defoe relishing Rooney partnership
Jermain Defoe believes his partnership with Wayne Rooney has put England back on track after the strike duo tormented Bulgaria in FridayÂ´s 4-0 victory at Wembley.

Italy football coach praises fledgling team
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli praised his fledgling team and claimed they were on the right path following their 2-1 win against Estonia.

Cyprus stun Portugal in eight-goal draw
Portugal were held to a spectacular 4-4 draw by Cyprus in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier, a result that will be received as a victory by the visitors.

Greece fail to convince against Georgia
Euro 2004 champions Greece were held to a disappointing draw in Friday's qualifying match against Georgia.

Huntelaar bags three as Netherlands cruise to win in San Marino
World Cup finalists the Netherlands did as expected to beat San Marino 0-5 in their Euro 2012 qualifying opener.

Wernbloom inspires Sweden to beat Hungary
Two goals from Pontus Wernbloom were enough for Sweden to earn a 2-0 victory over Hungary in their opening European Championships qualifier.

Blanc Â´not worriedÂ´ after Belarus football shock
Laurent Blanc refused to press the panic button despite seeing France fall to a dispiriting 1-0 defeat at home to Belarus in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier here on Friday.

Fahey leads Ireland to victory in Armenia
Ireland Republic have started their 2012 European Championships campaign with a narrow 0-1 win at Armenia.

Van der Vaart reveals Atletico offer
Tottenham Hotspur's new signing Rafael van der Vaart has revealed that Atletico Madrid were the only ones who had made an offer for him with Bayern MÃ¼nchen failing to table a "concrete" bid.

Evergreen Klose strikes to sink Belgium
Evergreen striker Miroslav Klose backed up his wish to keep playing until the next World Cup with a second-half goal to seal GermanyÂ´s 1-0 win over Belgium in FridayÂ´s Euro 2012 qualifier.

Torres back in business as Spain cruise
Liverpool forward Fernando Torres scored a brace as world champions Spain began their European title defence with a convincing 4-0 win over Liechtenstein on Friday in their opening Group I qualifier for the Euro 2012 finals.

Scots held as killer instinct goes missing
ScotlandÂ´s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign began with a 0-0 draw against Lithuania on Friday, but Craig LeveinÂ´s side will be disappointed with the result after carving out the best chances.

Italy escape with narrow Estonia victory
Italy survived a scare as they came back from a goal down to escape from Tallinn with a 2-1 victory over Estonia in Euro 2012 qualifying Group C on Friday.

Riise reveals American dream
John Arne Riise has revealed that he would like to end his career in MLS, once he has left Roma.

UEFA on corruption watch in Latvia, Platini says
UEFA chief Michel Platini on Friday said European footballÂ´s governing body has the Latvian game under the corruption microscope, in the wake of a match-fixing scandal which saw a club axed from the top flight.

Slick Turkey give Hiddink winning start
Turkey made a perfect start to life under Guus Hiddink by confidently beating Kazakhstan 3-0 in their opening 2012 European Championship qualifying match here on Friday.

MexÃ¨s unsure about future
Roma defender Philippe MexÃ¨s claims he is unsure about his future at the Italian club.