France missed a chance to take control of Euro 2012 qualifying Group D after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Belarus on Friday.
Laurent Blanc s France came into the match in Minsk top of the group, four points ahead of second-placed Belarus.
Victory at Dynamo Stadium would have blown the lead out to eight points and with four matches of the qualification remaining put France within touching distance of a place in next year s finals.
But they made hard work of the match from start to finish and proved unable to avenge a 1-0 home defeat in the first meeting between the teams in September last year.
It has been an inspiring end to the season for Eric Abidal, who overcame a cancer scare to be given the honour of lifting the Champions League trophy for Barcel…
While Serbia are on track to qualify for next year s World Cup in Russia, there are problems beneath the surface.
As former midfielder and the country s most-capped player Dejan Stankovic puts it, Serbia are well on the way to the World Cup under head coach Slavoljub Muslin, who has the Balkan nation top of Group D after five games.
But, domestically, Serbian football is struggling.
Once the home of European champions Red Star Belgrade in 1991 the SuperLiga provides little on the continental stage as finances cripple the titleholders and city rivals Partizan in their attempts to challenge abroad, despite maintaining a reputation as a production line for some of Europe s finest players.
Still recovering from the tumultuous breakup of Yugoslavia, Red Star…
The third-round draw for the FA Cup was made on Sunday, with Premier League and Championship clubs entering the competition.
All fixtures will be played over the weekend of January 6/7 and include an all-Premier League meeting between Arsenal and Liverpool, Wear-Tyne derby clash between Sunderland and Newcastle, while reigning holders Manchester City face Huddersfield.
Here the PA news agency looks at some of the best ties to watch in the third round.
Sunderland v Newcastle
The third round will bring the first Tyne-Wear derby since 2016
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)
One of the biggest draws of the third round sees fierce rivals Sunderland and Newcastle go head-to-head for the first time since 2016.
The last meeting between both …
Los Angeles FC coach Steve Cherundolo labelled Denis Bouanga as unstoppable when the forward is at his best.
Bouanga came off the bench to score the winner as LAFC beat FC Cincinnati 2-1 over the weekend.
That victory saw LAFC, fresh from winning the US Open Cup, clinch their spot in the playoffs.
Bouanga, who has scored 18 goals and set up a further eight in MLS this season, was not impressed with having to settle for a super-sub role, but Cherundolo cares not.
Denis always wants to play; he never wants to rest, Cherundolo said.
He was quite upset with me for not starting. And that s okay. Everybody can hate me, that s fine.
But I think freshness and also making sure he s getting enough rest makes him also better.
Obviously, h…
Having been treated to a month of non-stop international football with Euro 2024 and the Copa America, the fun continues at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Sixteen teams will play across seven different stadiums in the men s tournament, and all will hope to have a gold medal placed around their necks on August 9 at the Parc des Princes.
There will be a new champion this time around, with Brazil, who triumphed in Tokyo, not participating in this year s tournament.
Will it be Thierry Henry s France, or will Argentina and Spain continue their recent international success on the global stage?
Here, we have a look at all the key information ahead of the action unfolding.
Brazil are back-to-back men’s gold medallists!
Antony s fabulous assist…
Central Coast Mariners confirmed the appointment of Alen Stajcic as their head coach on a three-year deal.
Stajcic took over as a caretaker at the A-League strugglers in March, having previously coached Australia s women s team.
The 45-year-old oversaw improvement in Gosford, with two of the Mariners three wins for the season coming in the six games Stajcic coached.
Central Coast – the 2013 champions who have finished bottom the past two seasons – named Stajcic their coach until the end of 2021-22 on Thursday.
I would like to thank the Central Coast Mariners for inviting me to this great club. It s been an absolute privilege being the caretaker coach of this team, he said in a statement.
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners)
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After a frustrating start to their Copa America campaign, Brazil return to action on Friday, facing Paraguay in a crucial Group D clash at Allegiant Stadium.
The Selecao were held to a 0-0 draw by Costa Rica in their opener, while Paraguay couldn t complete a comeback and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Colombia on matchday one.
Paraguay
The opening half-hour against Colombia was initially promising for Paraguay, as Daniel Garnero’s side effectively frustrated their opponents with a compact, low block. However, the game’s dynamics shifted when Daniel Munoz scored in the 32nd minute, forcing Garnero to alter his tactics and leaving Paraguay needing goals to overturn the deficit.
Historically, La Albirroja have struggled to …
As we head towards the final few 2022 World Cup qualifiers, 13 of the 32 participants are still yet to be confirmed.
Japan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Canada have sealed their places in Qatar in the last week, but nerves are still jangling for those uncertain of theirs.
The play-offs in the UEFA and CAF regions come to a head, while there remain some final issues to be ironed out in the group stages in the AFC, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL sections.
The inter-confederation play-offs also take shape, with the winner of the OFC section to be confirmed.
Here, Stats Perform runs through how the last few embers of qualifying is looking in each region…
AFC (Asia)
Nations already qualified: Qatar (hosts), Iran, South Korea,…
Joao Moutinho s late strike downed an insipid Manchester United as Wolves recorded a 1-0 win in the Premier League on Monday.
Wolves had not played since December 19 due to COVID-19 issues but dominated the opening proceedings at Old Trafford, United only holding on thanks to David de Gea repeatedly thwarting Bruno Lage s side.
Substitute Bruno Fernandes and Roman Saiss traded second-half strikes against the woodwork, either side of Cristiano Ronaldo – stand-in captain in the absence of Harry Maguire – seeing a goal ruled out for offside.
Moutinho then struck with eight minutes remaining to condemn Ralf Rangnick to his first defeat in charge of the Red Devils, who sit seventh in the league – four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
4 João Mout…
Bitter rivals USA and Mexico are set to square off in one of the final warm-up games for the 2014 World Cup, with a lot of fireworks expected despite the fact that this is a friendly game.
The match takes place on April 2 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona and tickets for the big game are already .
United States will play three warm-up games in the build up to the 2014 World Cup, with the Mexico game sandwiched between international friendlies against Ukraine and Nigeria.
Team USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann plans to use the high-profile match against their arch rivals to test his charges before he delivers the final verdict on a 23-man squad that will represent the country in Brazil.
We are going to be watching our players very carefu…