Page 7 - Football

Argentina one draw away from booking their place in 2026 FIFA World Cup

Argentina didn't miss Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martnez and other key players and beat Uruguay away 1-0 in convincing fashion in their South American World Cup qualifying match. Thiago Almada scored the winner with a powerful curled shot from the edge of the box on Friday, putting the defending champions one point away from its direct spot in the tournament next year. Argentina leads the round robin competition with 28 points after 13 matches, and could secure its place with a home draw with Brazil on Tuesday. The team of coach Lionel Scaloni already has 15 points ahead of 7th-placed Bolivia, with only five rounds to the end of the competition. The last time the two soccer powerhouses clashed, Argentina won 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. Earlier, Ecuador defeated Venezuela 2-1 and moved into second place in South American World Cup, edging close to reaching the tournament once again. Brazil is third with 21 points, one ahead of Uruguay and Paraguay. Colombia, with 19 .

Tuchel sets high standards after winning first game as England boss

Thomas Tuchel kicked off his England reign with a 2-0 win against Albania at Wembley Stadium and immediately demanded more from his players. Myles Lewis-Skelly and Harry Kane ensured a winning start for Tuchel in the World Cup qualifier on Friday but the German coach sounded far from satisfied with his first game in charge. "(We) can do better. We have to do better," Tuchel said. He added the team was too slow in the second half and lacked aggression in attack. Tuchel became the 11th straight England manager to win on his debut. But his frank assessment of the performance was evidence of the standards he wants to set after being charged with ending the team's decades-long wait for a major trophy. His first job is to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico and this was a straight forward win for No. 4-ranked England in its first qualifier. England dominated possession and chances against 65th-ranked Albania. It took 20 minutes for the f

Uefa Nations League QF 1st leg final score: POR 0-1 DEN; NED 2-2 ESP; FRA 0-2 CRO; GER 2-1 ITA

UEFA Nations League quarterfinals HIGHLIGHTS: Ronaldo and Mbappe failed to score in the first leg. The second leg of QF will take place on March 24 at 1:15 AM (India time)

Paulo Dybala to undergo thigh surgery and miss rest of Roma's season

Roma's attempt at returning to the Champions League took a hit with the announcement on Thursday that Paulo Dybala will undergo left thigh surgery ruling the Argentina playmaker out for the rest of the season. Dybala was injured during a 1-0 win over Cagliari on Sunday. Paulo Dybala will undergo surgery in the coming days following an injury to his left semitendinosus tendon, Roma said. The player and the club have mutually agreed that this is the best course of action for an optimal recovery. Roma has surged up to seventh place with a 13-match unbeaten run under Claudio Ranieri in Serie A and has won six straight in the Italian league. The Giallorossi are four points behind fourth-placed Bologna and the final Champions League spot. Roma has not played in the Champions League since 2018-19. Roma was eliminated from the Europa League by Athletic Bilbao last week. The often-injured Dybala has six goals in 24 appearances this season. He has not reached 30 appearances in a Serie A s

FIFA World Cup 2026: Japan becomes first team to qualify after Bahrain win

The win on Thursday guarantees Japan one of the two automatic spots in Group C of the Asian qualifiers, securing their place with three games still to play.

Chris Wood wants automatic World Cup qualifying for Oceania minnows

New Zealand captain Chris Wood says it's "only fair" that FIFA's smallest confederation, Oceania, has been given direct qualification to the 2026 World Cup. New Zealand will play Fiji and Tahiti will play New Caledonia in Wellington, New Zealand on Friday in the semifinals of the Oceania qualifying tournament. The final will be played in Auckland next Monday and the winner will be among the first teams to join hosts Canada, the United States and Mexico at next year's expanded 48-team World Cup. It's the first time a team from Oceania has directly qualified for the World Cup finals rather than having to go through an intercontinental playoff. The loser of the Oceania final still will have a chance to qualify through a playoff series involving teams from the Asian, African, South American and CONCACAF confederations. New Zealand, at 89 in the FIFA rankings, is favored to qualify as the largest Oceania nation and after also qualifying through a more rigorous process for the finals in

FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers full schedule, live time, streaming in India

This is the first-ever FIFA World Cup which will see 48 teams feature in the competition and three host countries (Canada, Mexico and USA) co-hosting the event.

We need longer leagues to improve quality of Indian football: Terry Phelan

Former Man City defender and the sporting director for the South United football club, Terry Phelan talked about the importance of grassroots development in Indian football.

Chhetri scores 95th international goal in comeback match after retirement

Chhetri scored his 95th goal for India against Maldives. Check full list of international goals scored by Chhetri.

India vs Maldives HIGHLIGHTS: Sunil Chhetri scores as India beat Maldives 3-0 in Shillong

Sunil Chhetri scores his 95th career international goal on his return to the national side as India got themselves a long awaited win under Manaolo Marquez.

Inter beat Atlanta 2-0 to boost their chances of Serie A title defence

Inter Milan took a significant step to keeping its Serie A crown with a 2-0 win at title rival Atalanta. Carlos Augusto and Lautaro Martinez scored in the second half to lift the league leader three points above second-placed Napoli and six points above third-placed Atalanta. Napoli had earlier been held 0-0 at relegation-threatened Venezia. The fight for the final Champions League spot is also tight, with just six points separating six teams in the race for fourth place after more misery for Juventus, which lost 3-0 at Fiorentina. TOP SPOT It was a head-to-head clash for top spot in Bergamo, with Atalanta knowing that victory would move it level on points with Inter and Napoli. Both sides had great chances in an entertaining first half, with Inter going closest with less than seven minutes on the clock. Marcus Thuram was on the verge of wheeling away in celebration as he swept a finish past Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi and toward the far corner, following good play wit

Leverkusen regain form with late goal to secure 4-3 win over Stuttgart

Bayer Leverkusen rediscovered some of the late-goal magic from its title-winning season as Patrik Schick's added-time header sealed a 4-3 comeback win over Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Trailing 3-2 on Sunday, Leverkusen was heading for a fourth successive loss in all competitions before Victor Boniface's pass deflected in off Angelo Stiller for an own-goal in the 88th minute. Jeremie Frimpong then crossed for Schick to head in the winning goal in the fourth minute of added time. "Perhaps sometimes you need wins like this to show the spirit is still there," Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah told broadcaster DAZN. The win brought back memories of Leverkusen's tendency to turn games round in the last minute when it won the Bundesliga title last season. It also cut Bayern Munich's lead at the top of the standings over second-placed Leverkusen to six points after Bayern drew 1-1 at Union Berlin on Saturday. "We just want to get on (Bayern's) nerves until the end," Leverkusen midfielder .

Messi-Picault stars as Inter Miami beat Atlanta United 2-1 in MLS 2025

Lionel Messi scored early and Faf Picault scored the winner after subbing in late to rally Inter Miami to a 2-1 victory over Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Picault's first goal this season came in his second appearance with an assist from defender Jordi Alba his second in the 89th minute on Sunday night. Messi scored the equaliser in the 20th minute. It was his first goal in two starts this season. Brooks Lennon made his 200th career start and first this season and immediately had an impact in the 11th minute when he sent a crossing pass to Emmanuel Latte Lath, who sent a header past former Atlanta United goalkeeper Rocco Ros Novo. It was Latte Lath's third goal in his fourth career start. Miguel Almirn also had an assist his second this season and 30th of his career. The goal ended a 195-minute scoring drought. It was a club-record-tying 39th career assist for Lennon equaling the mark of Julian Gressel. Lennon saw action for the first time since injuring his shoulder

Carabao Cup final, Liverpool vs Newcastle Highlights: NEW lift maiden title, beat LIV 2-1 in final

FanCode will live stream the Carabao Cup 2025 final match between Liverpool vs Newcastle United live in India on their app and website.

Carabao Cup Winners, runner-ups list: EFL history - all you need to know

Liverpool hold the record for the most EFL Cup titles, having won the competition 10 times.

Liverpool vs Newcastle United Carabao Cup final live match time, streaming

The live streaming of the Carabao Cup final between Liverpool and Newcastle United will be available on the FanCode app.

Real Madrid refuses to play without a 72-hour rest between matches

Real Madrid won't agree to play another game without 72 hours of rest between matches. The club made the announcement, which was confirmed by coach Carlo Ancelotti, after its 2-1 win at Villarreal on Saturday. Madrid's game at Villarreal game kicked off at 6:30 p.m. local time (1730 GMT) on Saturday. Madrid had played a Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday that started at 9:00 p.m. and lasted 120 minutes plus a penalty shootout. This is the last time we will play within 72 hours, Ancelotti said, before adding that the club had asked La Liga to push its game back to Sunday. The club said it will consult with FIFA about the scheduling of this week's games.

Mbappe nets twice to surpass Ronaldo's debut season tally at Madrid

After a slow start to his Real Madrid career, Kylian Mbappe has already surpassed one of the club greats. Mbappe scored twice in Madrid's 2-1 comeback win over Villarreal on Saturday to take his tally to 31 goals in all competitions this season one more than Brazil striker Ronaldo managed in his first campaign at the club. It also helped Madrid open up a three-point lead atop the Spanish league over Barcelona, which has played two games less. Long gone are the scoring troubles Mbapp endured in his first months at Madrid. Having surpassed Ronaldo's tally from 2002-03, the former Paris Saint-Germain player is now closing in on the 33 goals that Cristiano Ronaldo scored in his first season with Madrid in 2009-10. They are legends who marked eras with the club, Mbapp said about the two Ronaldos. If I score more goals than Ronaldo and Cristiano it doesn't mean that I am better, just that my first season is better. Scoring goals is important, but it is even more so if we win La Liga, th

Bundesliga: Bayern held to 1-1 draw at Union Berlin, Dortmund slip to 11th

A mistake by young goalkeeper Jonas Urbig meant Bayern Munich dropped points for the second Bundesliga game in a row with a 1-1 draw at Union Berlin. Bayern seemed on course for victory when Leroy San scored in the 75th minute after Bayern had struggled to break through Union's deep defensive line, but Urbig's error eight minutes later proved costly. Urbig came off his line to deal with a deflected cross which looped high into the air, but he could only palm it to Union striker Benedict Hollerbach, who hit it in low to level the score. Bayern's lead in the Bundesliga over Bayer Leverkusen increased to nine points, but Leverkusen could cut the gap to six with a win Sunday over Stuttgart. Union is 13th. We're not happy with the result but it wasn't a bad performance, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said. While Bayern has been strong in the Champions League, beating Leverkusen 5-0 over two legs to reach the quarterfinals, its Bundesliga form has dipped. The draw with Union follows a 3-2

Forest edge closer to Champions League as City stumble against Brighton

Champions League qualification is getting tantalizingly close for Nottingham Forest. For Manchester City, there's still plenty of work to do. Forest, a team many might have thought would be battling relegation this season in the Premier League, moved just a point behind second-place Arsenal by beating Ipswich 4-2 on Saturday. More importantly perhaps for Forest, the gap to City grew to six points after the soon-to-be-deposed champions drew 2-2 at home to Brighton. City is hanging onto fifth place, which is likely to be the final Champions League qualification position from the Premier League for next season. Certainly any ambitions for a record-extending fifth straight league title are long gone for City, which is 22 points behind first-place Liverpool with nine games left. Own-goal costs Man CityCity twice took the lead in the first half, through Erling Haaland's penalty and Omar Marmoush's fierce outside-of-the-area shot, but was pegged back each time by an opponent also in ...