Soccer (FIFA)
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1 hour agoAFCON offers hope after World Cup heartbreak DW 12/17/2025
The 2025 AFCON offers non-qualifying African nations a chance to rebuild, seek redemption, and prepare for the 2030 World Cup.
Vincent Kompany has gone from strength to strength in 2025. Starting off the year under a certain amount of pressure at Bayern Munich due to an early DFB Pokal exit and struggles in the UEFA Champions League league phase, he has overseen Bayern reclaiming the Bundesliga title, win the DFL Supercup and build up a phenomenal record throughout the 2025-26 season, at the time of writing.
Former Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry will be honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year. The 48-year-old, widely considered to be one of the Premier League's greatest players, retired in 2014. He will be presented with the award at the 2025 BBC Sports Personality of the Year show on Thursday, live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 19:00 GMT. "Football has given me everything and I gave it my all," said Henry. "To be recognised as part of its history with this Lifetime Achievement award and to have made my mark for the fans and my team-mates is something I'll never take for granted."
It's easy to see why. He's 6-foot-1 with a lean build, but strides forward with power and has a remarkable ability to quicken his step just enough to nip in and intercept a pass. He ranks in the 85th percentile in Ligue 1 for dribblers tackled, plus the 78th and 92nd percentiles for progressive passes and successful take-ons, respectively. This is a player who can halt opponents' attacks, then start his own in seconds.
Quickfire Quiz (Image credit: Getty Images) Unlucky for some? You've got just 90 seconds to answer 10 tricky football questions. Let's tackle the 13th FourFourTwo Quickfire Quiz. PLAY MORE (Image credit: Future) QUICKFIRE QUIZ Play more Quickfire Quizzes If that was too easy, let's see what you really have in your quiz locker. We've gathered some of our toughest brainteasers that we know you'll enjoy too, all available courtesy of Kwizly.
The acquisition of Sportpark Unterhaching is another milestone in the overall development of our FC Bayern Women. The new sporting home of our women's team will meet UEFA requirements and also satisfy spectator demand in the future. In the medium term, Sportpark Unterhaching is to become the new home for the whole of FC Bayern women's football. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Unterhaching's mayor, Wolfgang Panzer, for our very positive and constructive discussions.
Not that England, 2-0 down and clinging on in this series, could be too downbeat. Ben Stokes had lost what appeared an ominous toss and, though far from perfect, his bowlers kept plugging away in 35c heat. At stumps Australia were 326 for eight from 83 overs runs on the board but surely short of ambitions when Pat Cummins got the choice first thing.
The Congolese rules say you cannot have dual nationality. There are so many of them that have European passports, some of them French passports, some of them Dutch passports. The rules are very clear. We cannot say anything now but we have submitted our protest to FIFA. There are players that got theirs in just three months. So there is to us, what is considered as a breach of the regulation. That is why took that decision.
It was a great moment, I appreciate, always thankful. In some moments when you don't win games, they have been not happy, but it's normal. But overall, the fans have always been there. These are the kind of games that I fall in love even more with the players because you cannot imagine how easy it is to slip, to slide, because they are tricky games.
Bayern Munich Frauen midfielder Sarah Zadrazil has extended her contract to 2027. The Austrian international put pen to paper on Tuesday and will be staying in the Bavarian capital for the foreseeable future. Ever since her signing from Turbine Potsdam in 2020, Zadrazil has been a key element of Bayern's success in the 2020s. This contract extension means a great deal to me and offers tremendous support.
Bernd Leno (Fulham): Excellent for Fulham in their 3-2 win at Burnley. I know the result looks like a close game and Fulham will say they deserved to win, but Bernd Leno made five or six good saves at the start of the game that kept them in it. Burnley will feel hard done by. Malo Gusto (Chelsea): I'm not the biggest lover of this fella if I'm being honest. I can't work out why I don't rate him but I just don't.
The 23-year-old has done quite well since joining the French outfit, and he is certainly one of the best midfielders in the league this season. He is a talented young player with a bright future, and he could develop into a key player for all three clubs. Manchester United need someone who can break up the opposition attack and protect the back line. The 23-year-old could be ideal for them.
Image source, Getty Images San Diego have bought Lewis Morgan from Major Soccer League rivals New York Red Bulls, with the Scotland winger saying "it is tough to say bye" to the club where he has spent four seasons. The 29-year-old, who has seven international caps, joined New York from Inter Miami in 2021 but moves on to the side that won this year's Western Conference for a fee that could reach up to 820,000.
He is a really good manager I still really like him. I don't know how it all went down behind the scenes, winning the Europa League then getting sacked. I didn't expect Ange to be sacked. There were a lot of rumours, and everyone was on Ange, like the media there was not a day I was scrolling on my phone and saw nothing about our gaffer. There was always something about him added the 24-year-old.
164 days after his serious injury in the Club World Cup match against Paris Saint-Germain, the 22-year-old returned to the pitch on Tuesday morning and was able to participate in parts of FC Bayern's team training.
Since the club entered MLS in 2018, no team has won more games, scored more goals, earned more points or won more trophies than LAFC. Yet as Dos Santos, a top assistant for five of those eight seasons, was hugging and mugging with some of the people who are soon to become his fiercest critics, another supporter approached general manager John Thorrington with a question.
I would like to thank the Mexican people for their kindness and generosity and making me and my family feel so welcome in Mexico City. I also want to give a big thanks to the manager, the coaching staff and particularly the medical staff for helping me through what was a difficult time with injuries,
I've done this a few times in training," Hornkamp told ESPN NL afterwards. "Because I delay my hop so late, the keeper probably thinks I'm going to shoot, so he dives very early, which means you don't even have to shoot hard, and just calmly pass it into the other corner.
Barcelona avoided an upset in the Copa del Rey on Tuesday, running out 2-0 winners over CD Guadalajara of the Spanish third-tier to progress to the last 16. Andreas Christensen and Marcus Rashford found the net in the last quarter of an hour as the competition holders saw off their lower league opponents. The Catalan club, the most successful side in the history of the cup, are still on course for a 33rd triumph, having beaten Real Madrid in last season's final.
Napoli are preparing to open fresh talks with the representatives of Kobbie Mainoo as they step up their pursuit of the Manchester United midfielder, according to transfer expert Nicolo Schira. The 20-year-old England international has found regular first-team minutes hard to come by this season under manager Ruben Amorim, prompting speculation about a potential move away from Old Trafford during the January transfer window.
(Image credit: Future) Christmas is around the corner are you set? No? Good job we've got you covered: here at FourFourTwo, the team behind the Mixer have been trawling through the depths of the internet to bring you some super stocking fillers for the football fan in your life. Here's our guide on what to get your nearest and dearest this yuletide.
With Atletico, obviously I'd like to win those titles. Why? Because the feeling of lifting a trophy is very beautiful, and I also want to leave a mark at the club. The truth is I feel very good [at Atletico]. They made everything very easy for me. Also, having many Argentine team-mates helps a lot in day-to-day life.
According to @bolddk (as captured by @iMiaSanMia), Bayern Munich has been watching Franculino Djú regularly and has sent club representatives once again to watch the striker live in action for FC Midtjylland against Nordsjælland in the Danish Cup this evening, which is funny because Franculino suffered an injury vs. Viborg FF last Sunday and was ruled out for the rest of 2025,
On the surface, Omar Bogle's career is that of your typical EFL striker. The Crewe Alexandra forward has played in every division from the Championship down to the National League North, scoring well over 150 goals across all competitions. Bogle's CV includes the highs of promotion to League Two and the Premier League, with Grimsby Town and Cardiff City respectively, as well as 2018/19 EFL Trophy glory with Portsmouth, but those on-pitch achievements have been put into perspective in the past 18 months.
Having signed for Newcastle this summer as a direct replacement for Alexander Isak, Nick Woltemade has enjoyed a bright start to his first season in the Premier League.