Page 43 - Football

Brazil ends year in poor shape under interim coach as it awaits Ancelotti

Until this year, Brazil's national soccer team had never lost three games in a row. The Selecao had never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home. It had never had anything but wins against a visiting Venezuela team, for many years the weakest in South America. Interim coach Fernando Diniz, however, has had to endure all those setbacks in only a few months on the job all while Brazil hopes that Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti will soon take over. Diniz's troubles, and the lack of a confirmed answer from Ancelotti, have increased the pressure on the Brazilian team, even though qualifying for the expanded 2026 World Cup is still expected despite a 1-0 loss to Argentina on Tuesday. The top six teams in the South American qualifying group will gain direct entry to the 48-team tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The seventh-place team can earn a berth in an intercontinental playoff. Brazil, the only team never to miss a World Cup, has won only three of nine matches

World Cup Qualifier: ARG beat BRA 1-0 after crowd violence delays start

Many fans came to the Maracana Stadium to watch Lionel Messi in his likely last match in Brazil, a superclasico in World Cup qualifying against the hosts. Instead, they saw Nicols Otamendi score the only goal in a 1-0 win for Argentina after a brawl between fans that delayed the start of the game. The World Cup champions inflicted the first home defeat on Brazil ever in World Cup qualifying. It was Brazil's third consecutive loss in the round-robin tournament another negative mark for new coach Fernando Diniz. Messi left the pitch in the 78th minute amid a mixture of jeers and applause from Brazil fans. Dozens of children arrived at the Maracana wearing the shirts of Barcelona, the star's previous club, and Inter Miami. The Argentine star wasn't able to end one of his last barriers in the sport at the Maracana, though, to score against the Brazilians in a World Cup qualifier. Argentina will return home not only atop the South American qualifying standings but also having given it

US court denies woman's appeal of Ronaldo's 2010 hush-money settlement

A US appeals court sided Tuesday with Cristiano Ronaldo, rejecting an appeal by the lawyer for a woman trying to force the international soccer star to pay millions more than the USD 375,000 in hush money he paid her after she accused him of raping her in 2009. Kathryn Mayorga's lawyer had asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a federal judge's dismissal of the case in Las Vegas in June 2022 and reopen the civil lawsuit she filed in 2018. They argued US District Judge Jennifer Dorsey should not have rejected Mayorga's attempts to unseal and make public the confidentiality agreement she signed in 2010 in accepting payments from Ronaldo. A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based appellate court disagreed. It also rejected their argument that the judge abused her discretion by dismissing the case with prejudice, which prevented Mayorga from refiling the case, and took the unusual step of levying a $335,000 fine against her lawyer, Leslie Mark Stovall. "The district .

World Cup 2026 Qualifier India vs Qatar highlights: India lose 0-3 to Qatar

India vs Qatar football match highlights: Qatar would have won by a bigger margin had they not missed several chances while dominating throughout the 90 minutes at the Kalinga Stadium.

Football injuries cost leading leagues $767 mn in Qatar World Cup Season

In Premier League, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Chelsea suffered most injuries last season. Champions Manchester City had fewer injuries than any other club that finished in top eight

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Manvir helps India beat Kuwait 1-0 in away match

Manvir Singh struck a late goal as India beat Kuwait 1-0 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup second round qualifiers match here on Thursday. Manvir scored with a left-footed shot in the 75th minute as he connected a Lallianzuala Chhangte cross to help India win the match at the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium here. Kuwait ended the match with 10 men as their player Faisal Alharbi was sent off after picking his second yellow card in the third minute of the added time for a high boot challenge on Chhangte. India play Asian champions Qatar next on November 21 in Bhubaneswar. India are placed in Group A alongside Qatar, Kuwait and Afghanistan with the top two from the group progressing to the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The top two teams from each group will also secure qualification for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup. The Blue Tigers have never advanced to the third round of AFC's FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Ranked 106th in the world, India had beaten Kuwait (149th) on penal

Everton gets biggest sporting sanction in EPL history for financial breach

Everton was handed the biggest sporting sanction in the Premier League's 31-year history on Friday for breaching the competition's financial rules, with the deduction of 10 points dropping the team into next-to-last place in the standings. The northwest club reported three-year losses totaling nearly 372 million pounds ($454 million) last season. The league's profit and financial sustainability rules allow clubs to lose a maximum of 105 million pounds ($128 million) over a three-year period or face sanctions. The league referred Everton to an independent commission in March because of the alleged breach of profitability and sustainability rules, following complaints from a slew of rival clubs. A five-day hearing was held last month and the commission has now published its verdict, which sees Everton fall from 14 points to four with immediate effect. That's the same number of points as last-place Burnley. Everton has a superior goal difference. The club, which is planning to move t

Messi's Argentina lose 1st match since World Cup, Colombia beat Brazil

Lionel Messi could not help Argentina extend its unbeaten streak since its World Cup title. Uruguay beat Argentina 2-0 at La Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires on Thursday in a World Cup qualifying match, its biggest victory so far under new coach Marcelo Bielsa. Argentina hadn't lost a competitive match since its group-stage opener against Saudi Arabia during last year's World Cup in Qatar. Brazil continued its so far poor campaign in qualifying with a 2-1 loss at Colombia, its second consecutive defeat in the round-robin competition. Striker Luiz Diaz scored twice on headers to lead an impressive turnaround at the Metropolitano Stadium in Barranquilla, with his father celebrating in the stands only days after being released by kidnappers. Argentina still leads the 10-team South American qualifying group with 12 points from five matches. Uruguay is second with 10 points. Colombia has nine and Venezuela eight. Brazil will host the World Cup champions at the Maracana Stadium in Rio d

World Cup, IND vs NZ SF: Kohli plays football with Beckham; watch video

Beckham was accompanied legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as he entered the ground. Kohli, who was warming up then, kicked the ball towards Beckham, who kicks the ball back to him

We are at right stage: Chhetri ahead of India's FIFA WC qualifier match

The 39-year-old footballer also accepted that they are in a strong group in the World Cup qualifiers

28th Senior Women's National Football Championship set to begin on Sunday

DL Roy Memorial District Stadium in Krishnanagar, West Bengal, will host the four-team Group B from November 15 to 19

Man United manager Ten Hag under more pressure as international break looms

The pressure is mounting on Erik ten Hag as his Manchester United reign descends deeper into crisis. The 4-3 loss against Copenhagen in the Champions League on Wednesday was yet another blow for the Dutch manager in a season that is unravelling by the week. He says he is waiting for one moment to turn the campaign around. It needs to come quickly. United now faces the humiliating prospect of being eliminated from the Champions League after the group stages; its defense of the League Cup has already ended and five losses in 11 Premier League games have silenced pre-season talk of a potential title challenge. In any ordinary season United would be expected to sweep its way past teams like Luton at a packed Old Trafford on Saturday. But this is clearly no ordinary season for the 20-time league champions. Last week the club denied a report it was exploring alternatives to Ten Hag after a troubled start to the campaign. A win against Luton would do little to quieten speculation about h

AIFF sacks secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran due to breach of interest

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Wednesday announced that it has sacked secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran due to "breach of trust". Prabhakaran's sacking comes 14 months after his appointment to the high-profile job even as the national federation did not mention what the breach of trust was that prompted the action. "The All India Football Federation hereby announces that the services of Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran have been terminated due to breach of trust with immediate effect as of November 7, 2023," the AIFF statement read. "The AIFF Deputy Secretary, Mr M Satyanarayan, will take charge as Acting Secretary General of AIFF with immediate effect," the statement added. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey served the termination letter on Tuesday to Prabhakaran, who was appointed on September 3 in 2022 and took charge on September 6. Prabhakaran has not yet reacted to the development but is expected to give his version soon. AIFF vice-president NA Haris told PTI that even the A

AIFF sacks its secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran due to trust deficit

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) has sacked its secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran due to "trust deficit", a top official said on Wednesday. AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey served the termination letter on Tuesday to Prabhakaran, who got the high-profile job on September 3 in 2022. "The AIFF president has issued the termination letter to Prabhakaran. He is no longer the AIFF Secretary General," AIFF vice-president NA Haris told PTI. "Deputy secretary general Satyanarayan M will discharge his duties as acting secretary general," he added. Haris said there has been a "trust deficit" between Chaubey and Prabhakaran and even the AIFF executive committee members are not happy with the way the sacked secretary general worked. Prabhakaran was appointed at the first executive Committee meeting of the new dispensation which took charge after the elections on September 2. He was earlier serving as Football Delhi president. He resigned from that post and took charge as AIFF secretary

Messi's trip to China for a pair of Inter Miami exhibition games called off

Lionel Messi evidently won't be playing in China this month after all. Inter Miami announced Wednesday that its planned trip to China for a pair of exhibition matches has been called off. The team announced the trip last month, with a pair of games originally scheduled for Nov. 5 and Nov. 8. It would have been at least the eighth time that Messi the World Cup champion for Argentina and now an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, after receiving the annual award yet again earlier this week played in China, and the total attendance for the two planned matches could have exceeded 100,000. Inter Miami said the reason was unforeseen circumstances. The tour promoter, NSN, said the decision to cancel was out of respect to Chinese officials following the death last week of the country's former second-ranking leader, Li Keqiang. He was China's top economic official for a decade. TyC Sports, a network in Argentina, reported Monday that the trip was called off. The team did not confirm that decis

Football legend Lionel Messi wins Ballon d'Or award for record eighth time

Aitana Bonmati, the Spanish footballer representing Barcelona and the winner of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup got the Women's Ballon d'Or award, which was presented by Serbian tennis legend Djokovic

Indian women football team's Olympic dreams over after loss against Vietnam

Having lost their second consecutive match in a row, India is now out of contention for the Olympics despite having a match in hand

Lionel Messi earns $20.4 million under contract with MLS' Inter Miami

Lionel Messi's annualized compensation from his Major League Soccer contract with Inter Miami is just over $20.4 million, the MLS Players Association said. Messi earns more than the entire payroll of all but three other MLS teams and twice as much as every player combined on Orlando City. The 36-year-old star has a $12 million base salary and total guaranteed compensation of $20,446,667, the players association said in its 2023 salary update. Those figures cover what Messi receives from his MLS deal, which runs through the 2025 season, including any marketing bonus and agent's fees. They do not account for any additional agreements with the team or its affiliates, or for any performance bonuses. He has the highest total compensation in MLS, followed by Toronto's Lorenzo Insigne at $15.4 million, Chicago's Xherdan Shaqiri at $8,153,000, the LA Galaxy's Javier Hernndez at $7,443,750, Toronto's Federico Bernardeschi at $6,295,381 and Austin's Sebastin Driussi at $6,022,500. Miami top

Ronaldinho ignites Durga Puja festivities, casts spell on WB football fans

Wearing his infectious goofy grin, 'Samba Magician' Ronaldinho cast a spell on the football-crazy denizens of Kolkata as his arrival for a two-day visit here ushered in an early onset of the Durga Puja festival. The Durga Puja, the grandest festival in the region, traditionally commences on the sixth day (Shasthi) following Mahalaya, but it got rolling on the second day itself with the 'Gaucho' inaugurating a series of pandals. On a day Union Home Minister Amit Shah also came to inaugurate a Durga Puja pandal, it was the Brazil legend who took all the limelight. Wherever he went, chants of 'Ronaldinho, Ronaldinho' and 'Brazil, Brazil' echoed through the crowd, as hundreds of fans eagerly gathered to catch a glimpse of the former Barcelona and AC Milan star. Ronaldinho got himself dressed up in casual shorts, a loosely-fitted navy blue T-shirt, and topping it with his signature snapback cap. "Muchas gracias. Mucho carino (many thanks, much affection)," the 'King of Jogo Bonito' ...

Ronaldo lays down objective with Portugal, hopeful to feature in Euro 2024

Ronaldo was once again on the scoresheet following a brace in Portugal's 3-2 victory over Slovakia in the UEFA Euro Qualifiers on Friday