Football

Kane guides Bayern to 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in UCL Q/F first leg

Harry Kane delivered for Bayern Munich on his return from injury, scoring a goal and helping set up another in his team's 2-1 win at Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday. Kylian Mbappe scored Madrid's goal after the visitors had taken a two-goal lead at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium. Kane had been listed as a gameday decision after missing the team's Bundesliga match last weekend because of an ankle injury. The result left Bayern with an edge ahead of the second leg in Germany next week as it tries to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time since 2023-24, when it was eliminated by eventual champion Madrid. "We are still alive, clearly," Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said. "We are one goal away. We have shown that we can win anywhere. We showed it with the scoring chances that we had against an opponent that we knew was going to make it difficult for us." Arsenal won 1-0 at Sporting Lisbon in the other quarterfinal on Tuesday.

Arsenal beat Sporting as Havertz nets late winner in UCL quarterfinal

A second straight Champions League semifinal is in sight for Arsenal. Kai Havertz scored in stoppage time on Tuesday to seal a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon at Estadio Jose Alvalade to put Mikel Arteta's team in control of the quarterfinal tie. The substitute fired past goalkeeper Rui Silva from close range to give Arsenal the advantage ahead of next week's second leg at the Emirates. In Tuesday's other quarterfinal, Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 2-1 at the Bernabeu. Havertz settled a tight game in Portugal by combining with fellow substitute Gabriel Martinelli in the first minute of added time. With one touch the German controlled Martinelli's defense-splitting pass in the box and then converted with a side-footed finish. "To score a late goal is always nice," Havertz told Amazon Prime. "We will take that result. There is still a lot of work to do next week." Victory saw Arsenal bounce back from successive defeats which cut its quadruple trophy hunt in half in recent weeks. Loss

UCL quarterfinals: PSG-Liverpool, Real Madrid-Bayern take spotlight

Football at its very best. That was Arne Slot's memory of Liverpool's richly entertaining meeting with Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last season. OK, Liverpool ultimately went out, beaten at Anfield in a round-of-16 penalty shootout by the team that would go on to win the competition for the first time, but Slot loved the way his side played and still maintains it was "the best game I've managed in my career." They meet again almost 12 months on, with Liverpool - and Slot - in a very different place. Indeed, the Dutch coach appears to be fighting for his job heading into the upcoming quarterfinal doubleheader with the European champions that starts with the first leg in Paris on Wednesday. A 4-0 loss at Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday was Liverpool's latest poor result of a season that initially began with so much hope after the club's record summer splurge of $570 million on new players on the back of cruising to the Premier League title. With the Reds ha

Vinicius lauds Yamal for condemning anti-Muslim chants in Spain friendly

Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior praised Barcelona star Lamine Yamal for publicly condemning anti-Muslim chants in a recent match, saying players need to stick together in the fight against discrimination. Vinicius spoke Monday, less than a week after Yamal criticized the chants by Spanish fans in Spain's friendly against Egypt last Tuesday. Yamal, who is Muslim, said the chants were disrespectful and intolerable. Vinicius, a Brazil international, has been often subjected to racist taunts while playing in Europe and is vocal about the fight against racism. He said "it's always complicated" to talk about the subject but "these things happen a lot." "Hopefully we can continue with this fight," he said. "It's important that Lamine speaks about it. It could help others. We are famous, we have money, we can balance these things better, but the poor people and the Blacks who are everywhere, they surely struggle more than we do. So we have to stick together, those who have a stronger ..

Lautaro Martinez shines with brace as Inter Milan rout Roma 5-2 in Serie A

Lautaro Martinez is back from injury, and Inter Milan is back looking like the Serie A leader again. Lautaro scored twice in his first action since February and Inter routed visiting Roma 5-2 on Sunday to end a four-match winless streak across all competitions. Lautaro scored in the second and 52nd minutes at the San Siro. Hakan Calhanoglu - fresh off helping Turkey qualify for the World Cup - Marcus Thuram and Nicolo Barella also found the net for Inter. Gianluca Mancini, along with Barella a member of the Italy team that failed to qualify for the World Cup, scored a momentary equalizer for Roma. Then Lorenzo Pellegrini pulled one back for Roma after the Giallorossi had gone four goals behind. Inter, which had its advantage sliced from 10 to six points before the international break, moved nine points ahead of city rival AC Milan and 10 ahead of defending champion Napoli, which hosts Milan on Monday. Bologna prepares for Aston Villa Earlier, Bologna won 2-1 at relegation-threate

Leeds beat West Ham on penalties to reach first FA Cup semis since 1987

Leeds threw away a two-goal lead in second-half injury time and had a double scare in extra time before going on to beat West Ham in a penalty shootout on Sunday and reach the FA Cup semifinals for the first time since 1987. Mateus Fernandes and Axel Disasi struck in the 93rd and 96th minutes as West Ham leveled the score at 2-2 at London Stadium and forced extra time - where two goals for West Ham were chalked off for offside - before Leeds won the quarterfinal shootout 4-2. West Ham debutant Finlay Herrick saved a penalty from Joel Piroe but Leeds eventually prevailed with Pascal Struijk scoring the winning penalty. "At least I'm old enough that I was already born when there was the last semifinal for Leeds United in the FA Cup in the '80s," Leeds manager Daniel Farke said. "It was a crazy game." The thousands of West Ham fans who had left early were trying, and failing, to get back in when Taty Castellanos thought he had put the Hammers ahead in the opening seconds of extra tim

Argentina football team deceived Kerala by not coming to play: Abdurahiman

Kerala Sports Minister V Abdurahiman on Thursday said that the Argentina football team allegedly deceived the state by not coming to play a match even after receiving money for it. Abdurahiman said that he had really wanted the Argentina football team and Lionel Messi to come to Kerala and play a match in the state. "For that, I had held several discussions. It was also not an easy task to find sponsors to arrange the Rs 250 crore to be paid to the international football team. "But, after receiving the money, the Argentine football team cheated us. We did not expect such a betrayal from them. Not coming after promising to do so," the minister told a TV channel here. He said that when he enquired, he found out that Argentina had done this to five other countries. "They took money from those countries, but never went there to play. It is a situation where a case will have to be filed against the Argentine football team, and they will have to pay us compensation," Abdurahiman said.

Here's why Italy failed to qualify despite a 48-team FIFA World Cup

Even the largest-ever World Cup, expanded to 48 teams, could not accommodate the storied Azzurri. A nation that once defined footballing excellence now finds itself absent from the global event.

Portugal beat USA 2-0as Americans lose 8th straight game vs European teams

Francisco Trincao scored in the 37th minute, Joao Felix added a goal in the 59th and Portugal beat the United States 2-0 in a friendly on Tuesday night to deal the Americans their eighth consecutive defeat against European opponents. U.S. star Christian Pulisic was moved from a wing to the top of the attack but failed to convert a pair of good scoring chances. Pulisic, who played only the first half, is scoreless in eight national team games dating to November 2024 and in 12 games with AC Milan since Dec. 28. Preparing to co-host the World Cup, the U.S. has been outscored 22-6 during its losing streak against Europe and is winless against the continent in 10 matches since 2021. U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino announces his World Cup roster on May 26, and the Americans play their last warmups against Senegal five days later and Germany on June 6. The Americans open the World Cup on June 12 against Australia, face Paraguay a week later and close the first round vs. Turkey on June ...

Iran soccer team honors victims of deadly missile attack on school children

Players held small backpacks as Iran's national soccer team used a match against Nigeria on Friday to honor the victims of a deadly missile strike on an elementary school. More than 165 people were killed, most of them children, when a Feb. 28 strike, likely launched by the U.S., hit the school in southern Iran. Neither the United States nor Israel has accepted responsibility for the attack, which has come under staunch criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups. The U.S. military is investigating and has said it would never target civilians. During the national anthem Friday, the Iranian team honored the memory of the slain children by placing small pink and purple school backpacks in front of them. Video of the ceremony also showed the players wearing black armbands in remembrance of those killed since the war began. The match was played in Antalya, southern Turkey. Nigeria won 2-1 in a game that was a World Cup tuneup for Iran, ahead of the tournament being co-hos

Mbappe shines as France beat Brazil 2-1 in 2026 FIFA World Cup warmup

The traffic on the way to France's World Cup tuneup against Brazil was a problem. Kylian Mbappe's knee was not. The former Paris Saint-Germain and current Real Madrid star showed no ill effects from his knee injury on Thursday when he broke free for a goal to give France an early lead on its way to a 2-1 victory in a friendly between two of the world's top teams. Mbappe missed almost a month with a left knee sprain for Real Madrid before coming on as a substitute in the last two matches. France coach Didier Deschamps started Mbappe but had him on a limit of about an hour; he came off for a substitute in the 65th minute. "He has a lot of desire, a lot of soreness in his legs," Dechamps said. "Beyond that - the quality to make to make a difference, he's always had." With a crowd of 66,215 heavily favoring Brazil, Mbappe and Hugo Ekitike gave France a 2-0 lead on the same pitch where they will play their final group stage game of this summer's World Cup, against Norway and Erling ...

Italy seal 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in WC qualification playoff semis

Italy finally won a match in the World Cup playoffs. Now the four-time champion needs to win one more to avoid failing to qualify for a third straight time. The Azzurri beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in the European semifinals on Thursday. Sandro Tonali broke the deadlock with a half-volley early in the second half for Italy at home in Bergamo and then set up another goal for Moise Kean. "After taking the lead, we cleared our minds," Italy coach Gennaro Gattuso said. "We put in a good performance. This should be a confidence boost for Tuesday. We have to win. We have no other choice." Also advancing to the playoff finals scheduled for Tuesday were Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Poland, Turkey, Kosovo, Denmark and the Czech Republic. Italy next visits Bosnia and Herzegovina needing another victory to reach the upcoming tournament in North America and avoid going at least 16 years without even playing a match at soccer's biggest event. Bosnia beat Wales, and the Czech Republic beat Ir

Ireland suffer blow as Szmodics stretchered off in World Cup playoff tie

Ireland midfielder Sammie Szmodics was stretchered off after being left unconscious following a heavy collision with an opponent in a World Cup qualification playoff game against the Czech Republic on Thursday. Szmodics collided with Czech player Stepan Chaloupek as they both moved toward a high ball. Szmodics collapsed to the ground immediately and seemed to display involuntary arm movement. Medical staff treated Szmodics on the ground for several minutes before he was moved onto a stretcher with support for his head and neck. Fans sang and applauded as Szmodics was carried off. "He was knocked out cold," Ireland coach Heimir Hallgrimsson said. "At least he's conscious now. He will stay here tonight." Hallgrimsson was hopeful that Szmodics would fly back on Friday. Szmodics, who plays for Derby in England, had only been on the field for less than two minutes after coming off the bench for Ireland in the 115th minute of extra time before the incident happened. He was replaced by .

Mexico set for Portugal test at Azteca despite injury concerns

Mexico's Javier Aguirre prefers not to dwell on absences and instead focus on players he has available for two warmup matches ahead of the World Cup. Mexico is missing 12 regular call-ups including captain Edson Alvarez and five other starters as the team prepares to face Portugal on Saturday and Belgium three days later. The match against Portugal marks the reopening of the iconic Azteca Stadium, which has been closed since May 2024 for renovations to host the third World Cup in its history. The game against Belgium will be played at Soldier Field in Chicago. The absences include six players from the team that won the regional Nations League and the Gold Cup last year. "Half of the team that won two titles, with whom you forged a family bond and a commitment, and who lifted a trophy today, are not with you," Aguirre said at a press conference Thursday. "It's by no means an excuse because other Mexicans are emerging in the same positions and they will try." Among the injured playe

FIFA scraps 2000 hotel bookings in Philadelphia before 2026 WC; here's why

FIFA has said that the cancellations should not be interpreted as a reduction in planning or scale. Instead, it is part of a structured process followed in the lead-up to major tournaments

Mohamed Salah's top 5 iconic moments during his time at Liverpool FC

From crucial goals to historic performances, here are five of Salah's most memorable contributions in a Liverpool shirt.

Mbappe played on despite injury after Real Madrid scanned wrong knee

Mbappe's problem began after a knock during Madrid's La Liga defeat to Celta Vigo last December

Pep's Man City dominate Arsenal to win English League Cup at Wembley

The first major domestic trophy of the season is Manchester City 's. And after a dominant 2-0 win against Arsenal in the English League Cup final on Sunday, it may not be the last. Manchester-born Nico O'Reilly sealed victory with both goals in the second half at Wembley Stadium. The win could also have delivered a psychological blow in the race for the Premier League title as Pep Guardiola aims to chase down Arsenal's nine-point lead at the top of the standings. "(It's an) unbelievable feeling to win a final and to beat this team. We know how good they are," O'Reilly told Sky Sports. "We need to build on it now, it'll give us momentum." This was serial trophy-winner Guardiola flexing his muscles. It was his 16th major trophy as City manager and a record fifth League Cup. He has won 34 career titles as a manager including his time at Barcelona and Bayern Munich. And, once again, he was stamping out Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta's own ambitions, having twice beaten his former assista

La Liga: Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid preview and live streaming details

With both teams in top form and crucial points at stake, the latest Madrid derby promises to be a gripping encounter that could have major implications in the title race.

EFL Cup final: Arsenal vs Manchester City preview and streaming details

For Arsenal, this final represents a chance to end a decades-long drought in the competition, having last lifted the trophy back in 1993.