South Africa claimed third place in the Africa Cup of Nations, beating DR Congo 6-5 in a tense penalty shoot-out after surviving a second-half onslaught during the 90 minutes.
Bafana Bafana appeared second favourites in the shoot-out after Teboho Mokoena hit the post with the first spot-kick to hand DR Congo an immediate advantage and the stage was set for captain Chancel Mbemba to hit the winner, only to see his effort saved by Ronwen Williams.
And Williams – who saved four penalties in the quarter-final shoot-out win over Cape Verde – was the hero again after he kept out Mischack Elia’s penalty to seal the win.
FULL-TIME!
After an intense penalty shootout, South Africa are the winners! |
— CAF (@CAF_Online)
It came after a 9…
Saudi Arabia have announced the resignation of head coach Herve Renard, who is set to be confirmed as the head coach of France s women s team.
Renard, who had a contract as Saudi Arabia coach until 2027, will take charge of the French side ahead of the Women s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand later this year.
The 54-year-old, who has won the Africa Cup of Nations twice as a coach, will replace Corinne Diacre as Les Bleues coach.
Diacre left her role amid a player exodus over her management style and treatment of the squad.
In a statement on social media, the Saudi national team said: The Saudi Arabian Football Federation Board of Directors has agreed on the contract termination of the Head Coach of the Saudi National Team Mr Herve Renard upon his re…
It might have taken a long time to be completed, but Manchester United s signing of Bruno Fernandes is beginning to look like one of this season s best pieces of business.
While the player himself insists he is not responsible for an upturn in form that has seen the Red Devils go 11 games unbeaten in all competitions, few can deny the impact he has made since joining in January for an initial fee of £46.5million (€55m).
In fact, his form saw him rewarded with the Premier League Player of the Month award for February, making him the first United player since Anthony Martial to win the prize for the month of his debut.
The 25-year-old is also the first Portuguese player to win the award since Chelsea midfielder Deco in August 2008.
As Opta data shows, F…
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Cadiz welcome Granada in a match of desperation for both sides. The Frida rivals are sitting in relegation positions and desperate need of points. The match will be played on Friday night at the Nuevo Mirandilla Stadium.
Cadiz
Cadiz need a win to keep their survival hopes alive. The hosts are 18th in the table, five points adrift of safety. The disastrous start to the season has probably done irreparable damage and Cadiz have their work cut out for them if they plan to remain in the top flight.
The installation of Mauricio Pellegrino as head coach at the end of January brought the desired effect and the positive change was timed perfectly. Under his command, Cadiz started to pick up points, thus …
Paris Saint-Germain are set to complete the signing of AC Milan goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, according to multiple sources.
Donnarumma joined Milan s youth setup in 2013 and earned first-team promotion just two years later, at the age of 16. He stood between the posts for the seven-time European champions 251 times in all competition, and has so far made 26 appearances as an Italy international.
The 22-year-old, represented by Mino Raiola, is out of contract with the Rossoneri this summer and has obviously decided to to remain at San Siro. Juventus were interested in bringing him to Turin as competition for Wojciech Szczesny, while Barcelona also had plans for him to challenge Marc-Andre ter Stegen. In the end, both clubs have given the race up and it appears he wil…
Manchester United defender Luke Shaw is fighting against the odds to be passed fit for the crucial FA Cup final against rivals Manchester City.
Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag revealed the left-back’s injury has proven more complicated than first thought and added his chances of making the game are low, but has not definitively ruled out the England international.
He is more optimistic about Harry Maguire, though even the centre-back was only rated as having a “fair chance” of being passed fit to face Pep Guardiola’s men at Wembley on May 25.
Before that, United will finish their Premier League campaign with a match away to Brighton on Sunday.
Despite a desperately disappointing campaign, there are still two potential routes for United to make it int…
Italy rounded off their Euro 2024 preparations with a 1-0 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in Empoli, with Davide Frattesi s wonderful volley proving the difference.
Frattesi met Federico Chiesa s left-wing cross with a brilliant side-footed finish while off the ground 38 minutes in, giving Kenan Piric no chance as the ball sailed into the top-left corner.
Luciano Spalletti s team had earlier been indebted to Gianluigi Donnarumma as he denied Haris Hajradinovic, and the Paris Saint-Germain shot-stopper made another excellent one-on-one save to keep Anel Ahmedhodzic out in the closing stages.
Spalletti will have been relieved to see a strong Italy team avoid injuries after losing defenders Francesco Acerbi and Giorgio Scalvini in recent weeks, ahead of their Euro 2…
Roberto Martinez says he will rotate his Portugal side for their final Group F game against Georgia, with qualification to the Euro 2024 knockout stages already secured.
The 2016 champions booked their place in the last 16 with a game to spare following their 3-0 win over Turkiye on Saturday.
Strikes from Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes sandwiched Samet Akaydin s calamitous own goal to move Portugal onto an unassailable six points after their first two matches, while sealing top spot in Group F.
Martinez s side have now won more group-stage games than they did in the 2016 and 2020 editions combined (one win, four draws, one defeat).
And the Spaniard is thrilled with the strides made by his side, who came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 in their opener…
Lionel Messi is to leave Barcelona due to economic and structural obstacles , the club said in a shock announcement on Thursday.
Messi had been expected to agree a new deal with Barca after he became a free agent at the end of last season.
But the club s dire financial situation meant they could not bring their greatest ever player back under LaLiga s salary restrictions.
Messi s next move is far from clear, but the sensational development brings to an end a glittering Camp Nou career.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at some of the forward s incredible feats with the Blaugrana.
Messi played 778 games for Barcelona in all competitions, scoring 672 goals and providing 265 assists across those games. That amounts to 937 goal involvements durin…
Phil Foden again showed his aptitude for high-pressure moments after firing Manchester City into the Champions League semi-finals.
In the first leg of their last-eight clash with Borussia Dortmund last week, Foden scored a 90th-minute winner to leave City 2-1 to the good.
Despite falling behind at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday to an early effort from another England youngster, Jude Bellingham, City levelled through Riyad Mahrez s penalty before Foden fired home from a cleverly worked short corner to repeat the first-leg scoreline and seal a showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.
You have the feeling that he is a guy who never hides. He always creates something. He is dynamic offensively, defensively with quality in the smaller spaces, Guardiola told a post-match ne…