LONDON — England head coach Thomas Tuchel strode confidently in to Wembley Stadium on Wednesday with a single-minded vision to win the 2026 World Cup for the success-starved soccer nation.
A whirlwind week has seen the 51-year-old German sign an 18-month contract to lead England to the tournament being played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Thomas Tuchel. Our #ThreeLions head coach from 2025.
STOCKHOLM/PARIS — Allegations of rape against French footballer Kylian Mbappé are "totally false" and "a slanderous rumour", his representatives said, and his lawyer said he was beyond reproach, following media reports that Mbappé was the subject of an investigation over an incident in a Stockholm hotel on Oct. 10.
Mbappé rape rumors
Swedish prosecutors confirmed in a statement in response to the media coverage that a probe into an alleged rape at a hotel in central Stockholm had been opened, but they did not identify a suspect.
WARSAW — First-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo helped group leaders Portugal to a comfortable 3-1 victory away to Poland in the Nations League on Saturday as they continued their perfect start to the competition with three wins.
Silva put Portugal in front after 26 minutes, netting from Bruno Fernandes' headed assist, before Ronaldo doubled their lead 11 minutes later with a low, first-time shot.
Cristiano Ronaldo goal vs Poland
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A Copa del Rey red card in the preliminary round of the competition has gone somewhat viral after a player punted the ball into an opponent’s face.
During Wednesday’s game between Astur and Promesas EDF, chaos erupted near the sideline that would see two red cards. Two players were battling for the ball as it went out of play and an Astur player shoved an opponent into the wall close to the sideline.
Nottingham Forest have been fined $979,500 and warned for misconduct in relation to a social media post criticizing the referee after their Premier League defeat by Everton last season, the Football Association said on Friday.
Forest were angered at being denied three penalty claims in the 2-0 loss and minutes after the game they issued a statement on Twitter accusing Video Assistant Referee (VAR) Stuart Attwell of being a Luton Town fan.
LONDON — Greece beat England for the first time as striker Vangelis Pavlidis earned the visitors a richly-deserved 2-1 victory to put them in control of Nations League Group B2 at Wembley on Thursday.
While Pavlidis's winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time sparked wild celebrations among the Greek fans, England stand-in manager Lee Carsley got a sobering reality check.
Two victories since Gareth Southgate stood down had raised Carsley's stock as a likely full-time option, but after a ragged defeat at the hands of Greece, his hopes may have dwindled.
The Christian Pulisic penalty kick debacle during AC Milan’s 2-1 defeat to Fiorentina on Sunday has drawn a wide range of reactions. ESPN FC pundit and former Chelsea midfielder Craig Burley pointed his blame at the American forward for the situation.
MANCHESTER — Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui has undergone a corrective heart procedure after experiencing palpitations but is expected to be available to play in the next few weeks, according to team sources.
Mazraoui withdrew on Monday from the Morocco squad for two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Central African Republic on Saturday and Tuesday.
Mazraoui heart procedure
ATHENS — The body of British-born Panathinaikos and Greece defender George Baldock was found on Wednesday in a swimming pool at his home in the southern Athens suburb of Glyfada, police sources said.
The cause of death remained unknown.
Police tried cardiopulmonary resuscitation on the 31-year-old former Premier League player but could not revive him, a police official said.
The time of death was put at 10pm (1900 GMT).
George Baldock death
Barcelona shared new Camp Nou renderings this week as the future home ground of the Spanish giants begins to take shape. The club have been playing in the Barcelona Olympic Stadium since 2023 while renovations take place.
The new renderings come with good and bad news as the recent images are incredible, however a return date isn’t known. Originally the plan was for Barcelona to play in a partially completed Camp Nou on November 29 for the club’s 125th anniversary.
Barcelona vice-president Elena Fort said that those plans have been scrapped.