Zurich [Switzerland], November 27 (ANI): Either Italy or Portugal will fail to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar as the two sides were drawn in the same qualifying playoffs. Scotland-Ukraine, Wales-Austria, Portugal-Turkey and Italy-North Macedonia are among the play-off semi-final ties as...

   Milan [Italy], November 27 (ANI): Italian club Juventus FC is under investigation for false accounting. As per a report in Goal.com, Italian police visited Juventus’ office in Turin and Milan on Friday and they ended up taking the documents concering transfers, invoices and financial statements....

   Panaji (Goa) [India], November 27 (ANI): SC East Bengal head coach Jose Manuel Diaz is wary of the threat posed by ATK Mohun Bagan players ahead of the much-awaited Kolkata Derby in the ongoing Indian Super League (ISL). ATK Mohun Bagan and SC East Bengal will lock horns in the fan-favourite clash...

   Reports have claimed that Lionel Messi has won the 2021 Ballon d’Or awarded by France Football, which would be the seventh time the star has received the accolade.According to Sky Sport Italia journalist Matteo Moretto, the PSG star has already informed his friends, and presumably his family too,...

   Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 25 (ANI): Defending Indian Super League (ISL) champions Mumbai City FC on Thursday launched the club’s official Esports team. Recognising the global reach of Esports along with its ability to bring fans closer to the club, Mumbai City FC, following today’s...

   Even in a sport as old as football, the rules of the game can change. The same is true off the pitch, as with the introduction ten years ago of regulations known as financial fair play.Designed to ensure

   MADRID - On a bad day, Maria Tikas receives four or five abusive online messages suggesting that she only got her job as a journalist because she offered sexual favors to her bosses.Some messages include graphic sexual images. Others suggest a woman cannot know anything about covering soccer for...

   A diplomatic row has broken out between Norway and World Cup hosts Qatar after two journalists were arrested in the Middle Eastern country.NRK sports reporter Halvor Ekeland and NRK cameraman Lokman Ghorbani were apprehended on Sunday while preparing to head to Doha Airport.Just hours earlier, they...

   New Delhi [India], November 24 (ANI): One day is left for the women’s football team match against Brazil, and the Indian side is hard at work, as they prepare for the big game. The team has managed to squeeze in four different training sessions in Manaus, Brazil, and head coach Thomas Dennerby...

   Real Madrid and France star Karim Benzema has been found guilty of conspiring to blackmail former teammate Mathieu Valbuena in a sex tape scandal, receiving a one-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of ?75,000.The verdict at the Court of Versailles ends a saga stretching back over six years...

   Be careful: not all Russian words that sound familiar mean what you would expect them to. If you have ever learned Russian as a foreign language, you know that its grammar can tie your brain in knots at the beginning. But as exhausting as it is to memorise the six different ’cases’, and get your...

   Russia are one of 12 teams in the World Cup play-off draw on Friday. Here’s how they could reach the finals in Qatar in 2022.After missing out on automatic qualification in agonizing fashion earlier this month, Russia are two matches away from a place at the showpiece next winter via the play-offs...

   Provided by Xinhua It is a big dream for me to play in a team. Before that, I felt that one-legged people were living on an isolated planet, said a player from an Egyptian amputee football team.by Marwa YahyaCAIRO, Nov. 23

   A top cyclist has admitted to an ugly altercation with police and apologized after being punished by a court following a drunken incident that his lawyer claimed was driven by Covid vaccine fears.Colorful three-time world champion Peter Sagan was with his brother when police stopped him in what...

   A top cyclist has admitted to an ugly altercation with police and apologized after being punished by a court following a drunken incident that his lawyer claimed was driven by Covid vaccine fears.Colorful three-time world champion Peter Sagan was with his brother when police stopped him in what...

   Lionel Messi has discussed his future, Cristiano Ronaldo’s time at Manchester United, his favorites for the Champions League and the impact he expects new boss Xavi to have at Barcelona.Both of the sporting icons switched employers switched employers during a hectic summer transfer window.While...

   Roman Abramovich’s transfer guru at Chelsea, Russian-Canadian Marina Granovskaia, has been given a major honor by a star-studded jury including former Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchenko.While the likes of Champions League-winning Chelsea chief Thomas Tuchel and Premier League-lifting Man City coach Pep...

   Zurich [Switzerland], November 23 (ANI): Argentina striker Lionel Messi and Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo headlined the nominations for The Best FIFA Football Awards 2021 revealed the governing body. The winners of awards will be revealed at an online ceremony on January 17 2022. The...

   Within days of the Chicago Red Stars making an appearance in the National Women’s Soccer League championship game, the organization’s head coach resigned amid multiple allegations of abuse. Allegations about Rory Dames came to light after an investigation from the Washington Post was published...

   Manchester City advanced to the knockout stages of the Champions League as winners of Group A on Wednesday night following a 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Etihad.PSG also qualified for the last 16 after RB Leipzig obliterated Club Bruges 5-0 to go third on four points in the group...

   Spanish great Sergio Ramos could make his long-awaited first appearance for Paris Saint Germain in this evening’s Champions League group match with Manchester City.The 35-year-old defender has not played for the French side since joining from his long-time club Real Madrid in July due to a...

   Tight end fuels 'Score More n' Feed More' going into holidays Kevin Parrish Jr. For Zach Ertz, Thanksgiving is about showing appreciation.Since arriving in the desert in October, the Arizona community has embraced the tight end and his wife, Julie, following his trade from...

   Late in the third quarter, as the Cardinals nursed a 10-point lead in Seattle and quarterback Colt McCoy broke down still photos with quarterbacks coach Cam Turner, Kliff Kingsbury had something to say.He called over the rest of the offense, which had hit a lull after halftime. Kingsbury was...

   TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Sardar Azmoun could be set to leave Zenit in the January transfer window, as the Russian giant eyes a swap deal for Atalanta forward Aleksei Andreyevich Miranchuk, Italian media reported. - Sports news - The Iranian forward’s deal will run until the summer and Zenit wants to sign...

   TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Iraqi Football Federation announced the departure of head coach Dick Advocaat following the national team’s recent poor results in the AFC Asian Qualifiers - Road to Qatar. - Sports news - The 74-year-old Advocaat, who vacates the post after only three months, will be...

   BERLIN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund came from behind after goals from Emre Can, Donyell Malen and Erling Haaland and overpowered hosts Wolfsburg 3-1 at the 13th round of Bundesliga on Saturday. Both sides staged a lively opening period as Dortmund’s Marco Reus tested Wolfsburg keeper...

   ROME, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Atalanta broke a jinx in Serie A as it edged past Juventus 1-0 on Saturday, claiming its first away victory on the Old Lays’s turf since 1989. Juve was just back from a Champions League fiasco against Chelsea in the midweek and in a dire need of a domestic victory to keep...

   BERLIN, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- German giants Bayern Munich defended their top spot after carving out a hard-earned 1-0 win over resilient Arminia Bielefeld on the sole goal form Leroy Sane at the 13th round in Bundesliga on Saturday. The Bavarians took the reins from the starting whistle and pressed...

   MONTEVIDEO, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Palmeiras successfully defended their Copa Libertadores title on Saturday after an extra-time goal from substitute Deyverson gave them a 2-1 victory over Flamengo. Deyverson broke the deadlock in the 95th minute after Gabriel Barbosa had cancelled out Raphael Veiga’s...

   KUALA LUMPUR, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Football as a sport will rebound in 2022 following a strong recovery in 2021 from the COVID-19 pandemic, delegates at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) heard on Saturday. AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa said the sport is recovering slowly...

   MADRID, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- La Liga leaders Real Madrid entertain third-placed Sevilla on Sunday night in a game that has a lot to say about both sides’ title hopes. Real Madrid climbed to the top of the table last weekend after a 4-1 win in Granada, and a 3-0 victory in the Champions League away...

   BERLIN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Following are the German Bundesliga standings after Friday’s match (tabulated under matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): 1. Bayern Munich 12 9 1 2 41 13 28 2. Borussia Dortmund 12 9 0 3 30 18 27 3. Freiburg 12 6 4 2 18 11 22 4. Bayer...

   PARIS, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Following are the French Ligue 1 standings after Friday’s match (tabulated under matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points): 1. Paris SG 14 12 1 1 32 14 37 2. Nice 14 8 3 3 25 11 26 3. Rennes 14 7 4 3 24 12 25 4. Lens 15 7 4 4 27 20 25 5....

   PARIS, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Following is the French Ligue 1 result on Friday: Lens 2 Angers 2 Playing on Saturday Lille vs Nantes Nice vs Metz Playing on Sunday Saint-Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain Bordeaux vs Brest Lorient vs Rennes Monaco vs Strasbourg Reims vs Clermont Montpellier vs Lyon...

   BERLIN, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- Stuttgart returned to winning ways and extend Mainz’ winless run to three straight games after goals from Hiroki Ito and Borna Sosa secured the Swabians a 2-1 victory at the opener of the 13th round in Bundesliga on Friday. Stuttgart needed no warmup time and came to...

   ZURICH, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The fifth-ranked team from South America will play the fifth-placed side from Asia for a berth at next year’s World Cup in Qatar, FIFA said on Friday. The World Cup draw, held in Zurich, also pitted the fourth-placed team from North, Central America and the Caribbean ...

   MADRID, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The 15th round of matches in La Liga this weekend includes three vital games in the race for the title as well as another difficult test for new coach Xavi Hernandez. Here are some things to look out for this weekend in Spain. 1. Villarreal another test for Barca It has...

   BUENOS AIRES, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Striker Braian Romero scored twice as River Plate secured their first Argentine league title in seven years with a 4-0 home win over Racing Club on Thursday. Agustin Palavecino gave the hosts the lead by slotting home a low effort after an Enzo Fernandez through...

   JERUSALEM, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Israeli champion Maccabi Haifa suffered 1-0 home loss to Bundesliga side Union Berlin in the fifth round of Group E in the UEFA Conference League on Thursday evening. Haifa remain with four points at the bottom of the four-team group where Union stand in third place....

   By Oliver Trust BERLIN, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Dortmund suffers from a quality problem of the squad. The early group exit in the Champions League due to a 3-1 defeat against Sporting is not only endangering the season goals but turns the attempt to keep star-striker Erling Haaland into a...

   CANBERRA, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Australia is set to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup after being awarded preferred candidate status by the governing body. World Rugby announced that Australia’s bid to host the tournament has been awarded preferred candidate status. It means that Rugby Australia (RA)...

   BEIJING, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Super League club Guangzhou City chief executive Huang Shenghua said Chinese football is badly in need of a steady system. The lack of a steady system has hampered Chinese football development, said Huang. What now we need most is a steady domestic competition...

   RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Flamengo missed a chance to make up ground in the Brazilian Serie A title race with a 2-2 draw at Gremio on Tuesday. After a first half of few opportunities for both teams, Flamengo forward Vitinho Santo struck twice in 16 minutes to hand the visitors a 2-0 lead....

   By sportswriter Wei Hua HONG KONG, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- After a year’s absence, the Ballon d’Or presented by France Football is set to return next week. Amid the speculations, Lionel Messi’s victory is seemingly foreseeable, but it is not a sure thing as Jorginho and Robert Lewandowski have blown...

   PARIS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Following are the teams qualified so far for the 2021-2022 UEFA Champions League last 16: Group B - Liverpool (England) Group C - Ajax (Netherlands) Group E - Bayern Munich (Germany) Group F - Manchester United (England) Group H - Chelsea (England), Juventus (Italy)

   PARIS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Following are the UEFA Champions League standings after Tuesday’s matches (tabulated under matches played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, against, points): Group A 1. Manchester City 4 3 0 1 15 7 9 2. Paris SG 4 2 2 0 8 5 8 3. Club Brugge 4 1 1 2 5 11 4 4. RB Leipzig 4 0 1...

   by Marwa Yahya CAIRO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Egypt’s amputee football team are preparing ahead of their first participation in a regional African tournament that will kick off on November 26 in Tanzania. We started forming a one-legged team in 2018 after a photo of Mahmoud Abdel Azeem, who is the...

   MADRID, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are both in UEFA Champions League action on Wednesday night in important matches for their European future. Real Madrid travel to Moldova to face Sheriff Tiraspol, who produced arguably the shock of the tournament so far when they won 1-0...

   RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Brazil and Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson has bemoaned his national team’s lack of fixtures against European rivals ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup. The five-time world champions have not met European opponents since March 2019, when they beat the Czech...

   David McWilliams: Irish soccer is the winner as Premier League loses its way The Irish Times