France

Kylian Mbappé responds to Emi Martínez's World Cup taunts

PARIS - France striker Kylian Mbappé has shrugged off Argentina keeper Emiliano Martínez's taunts after the World Cup final, saying he did not "waste energy on such futile things" as he awaited the return of Paris Saint Germain teammate Lionel Messi.

Mbappé became the second player to score a World Cup final hat-trick as he dragged his country back into the match with a late second-half double and an extra-time penalty, which was still not enough as Argentina prevailed in a shootout.

Neymar destruye el alma de un rival con un magnífico combo de elástico y túnel

El PSG volvió a la acción de la Ligue 1 tras el parón que significó el Mundial, enfrentando al RC Estrasburgo, en un partido que básicamente fue una cápsula de exhibición de las mejores virtudes y los peores defectos de Neymar Jr.  

La estrella brasileña brilló con una asistencia en la victoria por 2-1 del PSG y dejó a todos boquiabiertos al dejar en el camino a un rival con un movimiento que incluyó elástico y túnel. ¿Lo malo? Se fue expulsado luego de una terrible simulación.

Neymar receives RED CARD for DIVING — Kylian Mbappé saves PSG with 96th minute game-winning penalty

Brazil and Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar has many haters for one simple reason: he dives a lot. Those haters had their prayers answered on Wednesday during PSG’s 2-1 victory vs. Strasbourg when Neymar was red carded for diving.

OK, so technically it was a second yellow card, but either way the referee sent Neymar off for simulation.

His two yellow card offenses happened in less than two minutes during the second half. The first yellow card in the 61st minute was for him accidentally catching an opponent’s face with his hand. Then 85 seconds later Neymar did this.

PSG coach says no bad blood between Messi-Mbappé, but Emi Martínez is another story

After sending 11 players to the World Cup, Paris Saint-Germain's season resumes Wednesday with the Ligue 1 leaders needing to find motivation for a home match against 19th-place Strasbourg.

PSG manager Christophe Galtier gave his pre-match press conference Tuesday and outlined how many of the club's World Cup stars would be available for selection — including France's Kylian Mbappé, Morocco's Achraf Hakimi and Brazil's Neymar — but Argentina's Lionel Messi had been given extended leave until early January.

Ines Rau? Rose Bertram? Who is Kylian Mbappé's girlfriend?

Random morning weekday, The18 headquarters:

"Who is Kylian Mbappé's new girlfriend? We should write a story. Any volunteers?"

Well, here is your volunteer.

I know those who see the world in 4-3-3, 3-5-2 or 4-2-2 formations and spend the day analyzing the tactical wrinkles of Pep Guardiola in Manchester City or Jürgen Klopp in Liverpool don't give a cent about who is Kylian Mbappé's girlfriend.

But guess what? The world is not only yours. Some people may also want to know more about the glamorous life of soccer stars and this is for them.

World Cup final referee exposes hypocritical French press by pulling out his phone and showing one photo

The World Cup final ended nearly a week ago but the drama around it continued as the match referee showed a photo on his phone during a news conference to respond to claims that Lionel Messi's extra-time goal should not have stood.

Argentina won the final in Lusail, Qatar, 4-2 on penalties after the match ended 3-3 following 120 minutes of action, with Messi scoring twice and Kylian Mbappe bagging a hat trick for France.

Back from break – European top 5 league standings heading into restart

After an international winter break full of jaw-dropping goals, underdog runs, shockers and comebacks that en

Lionel Messi's career by the numbers

The following is a look at Argentina captain Lionel Messi's career by the numbers:

499 million

Global followers on social media platforms Facebook and Instagram (over 10 times the population of Argentina)

$120 million

Karim Benzema fully fit and ready for LaLiga restart — could he have made a difference in the World Cup final?

Karim Benzema is fully fit to get back into the club season.

After leaving France's World Cup squad in November due to an injury, Benzema has had a fairly quick recovery and has been training with normality the past week with Real Madrid. He even played in a friendly.

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