Page 54 - Football

UEFA Euro Qualifiers: France emerge victorious, defeat Greece 1-0 at home

In the UEFA EURO Qualifiers match, France defeated Greece 1-0 in a thrilling encounter on Tuesday at the Stade de France stadium.

India had the chance to host Lionel Messi's Argentina but not enough funds

Argentina were keen to play a friendly match in India, but the AIFF had trouble arranging he required funds

Mbappe insists he'll start next season at PSG, plays down fuss about letter

Kylian Mbapp insists he will start next season with French champion Paris Saint-Germain, and the superstar defended his decision to inform PSG by letter that he won't trigger a 12-month extension on his contract. The 24-year-old Mbapp has been in the spotlight all week after writing to tell PSG of his plans. By declining the option, his contract will expire at the end of next season. I've already answered the question. I said my objective was to continue with the club. Staying at Paris Saint-Germain is my only option, for the moment, he said Thursday at France's training camp. I'm ready to come back at the restart. I hope the next questions are about the (France) match. Mbapp tried to play down the fuss about his letter. The letter was sent before (the France squad met up), said Mbapp, who will captain Les Bleus in a 2024 European Championship qualifier at Gibraltar on Friday. I didn't think a letter could kill someone or that I offended anyone. All I did was send a letter. You can

Lionel Messi, Argentina set to pull huge crowd in Beijing exhibition game

Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning Argentina teammates are expected to draw almost 70,000 fans to Beijing Worker's Stadium for an exhibition against Australia. With tickets starting at around $80 for Thursday's game, local supporters are excited to see Messi and continue the World Cup celebrations. Fans have flocked to all opportunities to see the Argentine star since the team arrived in China, with large crowds angling for photographs and chanting his name. Messi's move to continue my path in Miami last week made global headlines after he turned down extremely lucrative offers from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in favor of Major League Soccer. He said that after winning the World Cup, it was his time to go the United States and live football in another way. Before then, he's with the Argentina squad that is scheduled to play Australia in the Chinese capital and take on Indonesia in Jakarta four days later. Australia coach Graham Arnold said he was looking forward to giving a selec

Sky's the limit and a long way to go for Sandesh Jhingan after 50 caps

On March 12, 2015, 21-year-old Sandesh Jhingan stepped onto the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium pitch in Guwahati wearing the blue of India for the first time.

Real Madrid look to finally sign Kylian Mbappe after Benzema's departure

The door looks wide open for Real Madrid to try signing Kylian Mbapp, because Karim Benzema's sudden departure leaves the Spanish giant short of a star striker. Madrid will hope it's third time lucky, after Paris Saint-Germain rejected an offer of 180 million euros ($190 million) for Mbapp in 2021. Madrid missed out again last year when Mbapp amid frenzied speculation that Madrid would get him to join signed a new three-year deal with PSG until 2025. Now he's stunned the club by saying he will not trigger a 12-month extension on his contract, which expires at the end of next season. The France superstar confirmed his decision in a letter to PSG, a person with knowledge of the correspondence told The Associated Press on Monday. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said PSG would not allow Mbapp to leave as a free agent. This immediately raised the possibility of an immediate transfer bidding war by Madrid and other clubs this summer. The 24-year-old Mbapp has

Football: Barca striker Robert Lewandowski rules out move to Saudi Arabia

FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski ruled out moving to the Saudi Professional League this summer as "he has other priorities" and his contract with the Spanish champions is valid until 2026

Football: Five bids received for direct entry into I-League 2023-24 season

The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) has received five bids for direct entry into the I-League 2023-24 season with proposals for teams from places like Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru.

Here's why Messi was detained by Chinese authorities at Beijing airport

A video shows Lionel Messi standing in the Beijing airport, holding his passport, surrounded by a group of police officers

Mbappe informs PSG he will not trigger contract extension, says report

Kylian Mbappe has told Paris Saint-Germain he will not take up the option of a 12-month extension on his contract, which expires at the end of next season. The France superstar confirmed his decision in a letter to PSG, a person with knowledge of the correspondence told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The person also said PSG would not allow Mbappe to leave as a free agent, raising the possibility of an immediate bidding war by other clubs and potential transfer this summer. The French club, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, has already seen Lionel Messi leave for nothing in return, with the Argentine great making a stunning move to MLS team Inter Miami. There is also uncertainty about the future of another PSG star Brazil international Neymar. But the potential departure of the 24-year-old Mbappe would be the greatest loss to PSG, given that he is a national icon and wi

Pep Guardiola wins the treble again: Is he the greatest football manager?

By winning the UEFA Champions League final with Manchester City against Inter Milan on June 11, 2023, Pep Guardiola has become the first player to win the treble twice with two different teams

FIFA U-20 World Cup: Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 to lift their maiden trophy

Forward Luciano Rodriguez scored late as Uruguay secured their first Under-20 World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Italy here.

India clears Pakistan football team's participation in SAFF Cup: AIFF

The Indian government has cleared the Pakistan football team's participation in the SAFF Cup in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday. AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said India has "done its part" by clearing Pakistan's participation in the eight-nation regional tournament and it's now up to the neighbouring country to complete the formalities. "Yes, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Sports Ministry all have cleared (Pakistan's participation)," Prabhakaran told PTI. "We have done our part. We welcome them (Pakistan). All the participating countries have got visa clearance. They have to do their part of the visa formalities." India and Pakistan are in the same group and they face each other on June 21 in their campaign opener. This is the first time in five years that the two neighbouring countries would be playing against each other. The last time India took on Pakistan on the football field

Lionel Messi spurns $400 mn Saudi offer to join David Beckham's Inter Miami

Lionel Messi plans to join Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, turning down a deal from Saudi Arabia that would have paid him $400 million annually

AC Milan star Zlatan Ibrahimovic announces retirement from football at 41

Known as a consistent trophy collector, Ibra amassed more than 30 trophies over his 24-yr professional career. He made over 900 appearances at both national and club levels and scored over 500 goals

FIFA U20 WC: Italy see off Colombia to advance to 3rd successive semifinal

Jhojan Torres gave Colombia a lifeline with a superb curling effort from just outside Italy's penalty area, but it proved to be a mere consolation

FIFA U20 WC: Debutants Israel knockout Brazil by 3-2 to enter semifinal

Israel will now play the winner of the match between USA and Uruguay in the semifinals

Lionel Messi leaves team amid boos after final match: Club website

Lionel Messi didn't care about the boos in his final game for Paris Saint-Germain as the French league champion lost to Clermont 3-2. Disrespectful PSG supporters booed Messi when the Parc des Princes announcer read his name on a warm evening. A few minutes later, Messi walked onto the field with a smile on his face, holding his three children's hands before the team photo and kissing them on their foreheads before kickoff. I would like to thank the club, the city of Paris and its people for these two years. I wish you all the best for the future, Messi told the club website. In two seasons at PSG, Messi won two French leagues and the French Champions Trophy and notched 32 goals and 35 assists in all competitions. Messi scored in a 1-1 draw at Strasbourg a week ago to help PSG clinch a record-extending 11th French league title. By notching a 496th career league goal, the Argentine genius also broke Cristiano Ronaldo's scoring record for Europe's top five leagues. The World Cup wi

Cristiano Ronaldo reveals his biggest challenge in Saudi Premier League

One of the best striker in the past decade, Cristiano Ronaldo revealed the challenges he had to face in Saudi Arabia after he joined Al Nassr in January

PSG coach Galtier confirms Messi's departure, says to leave after season

Lionel Messi is to play his last match for Paris Saint-Germain against Clermont on Saturday, as the club's head coach Christophe Galtier confirmed his departure at the pre-match press conference