Striker Pavel Pogrebnyak scored twice for Russia as they opened their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Andorra.
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has been ruled out of France's Euro 2012 qualifier against Belarus on Friday night with an ankle injury.
Spain defender Alvaro Arbeloa believes he and his team-mates are comfortable with the pressure of playing as reigning world and European champions and is confident that Vicente del Bosque's side are capable of winning even more silverware.
BUENOS AIRES, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Big soccer rivals Argentina and England could play a friendly on Feb. 9, 2011, the man charged with organising the South American team's international calendar said on Thursday.
MONTEVIDEO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Former Real Madrid and Inter Milan midfielder Santiago Solari is poised to leave Mexico's Atlante for Penarol, the Uruguayan champions said on Wednesday.
Keith Fahey's first senior international goal got the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2012 qualifying campaign off to a winning start in a tight encounter in Armenia.
Arsenal star Andrei Arshavin says he has been frustrated over the past 18 months by his inability to score the kind of sublime goals that saw him become Russian football's biggest star.
CARSON, California, Sept 2 (Reuters) - David Beckham hopes to make his return to action in LA Galaxy's match against Columbus Crew on Sept. 11, the midfielder said on Thursday.
COTONOU, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Frenchman Jean-Marc Nobilo was confirmed by the Benin football federation as their new coach only five days before they begin their African Nations Cup qualifying campaign on Sunday.
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has revealed he made an enquiry about Fulham striker Bobby Zamora before the end of the transfer window.
CHICAGO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Bob Bradley has agreed to stay on as United States coach for another four years to include the 2014 World Cup, U.S. Soccer said on Monday.
Former Fulham and United States forward Brian McBride will retire at the end of the 2010 season.
England coach Fabio Capello is encouraged by Wayne Rooney's return to form ahead of Friday's clash with Bulgaria.
Fabio Capello says Paul Scholes changed his mind about playing for England at the World Cup.
Jamie Carragher believes Javier Mascherano 'let himself down badly' by not playing against Man City.
Jamie Carragher believes England have plenty of quality defenders and says Everton centre-back Phil Jagielka is a "great player".
Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has pleaded with fans attending his testimonial not to direct abuse towards former team-mate Michael Owen, who will be playing in the charity match on Saturday.
A hat-trick from Ricky van Wolfswinkel helped Utrecht turn their Europa League tie with Celtic on its head.
SANTIAGO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Chile World Cup defender Waldo Ponce has joined Racing Santander on loan, the Spanish club's president Francisco Pernia said on Tuesday.
BEIJING, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Iran's demand for a neutral referee for their friendly against China this week is disrespectful but local match officials only have themselves to blame, according to China's soccer chief Wei Di.
BEIJING, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Shenyang Dongjin defender Feng Shaoshun will not lose the sight in his left eye which was cut by glass after opposing fans stoned the team bus, the Chinese Football Association (CFA) said on Wednesday.
Man City are through to the Europa League group stage after a 2-0 home win against FC Timisoara.
BOGOTA, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Colombian former South American champions Once Caldas could punish or sack players who have gone on strike over owed salaries, a club official said on Tuesday.
BOGOTA, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Players of Colombia's Once Caldas ended a strike and returned to training on Wednesday after reaching agreement with the club over stalled salary payments.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Celebrations to mark Brazilian soccer giants Corinthians 100th birthday on Wednesday were grimly overshadowed when a 21-year-old woman was run over by the club's official bus as it left the party.
DHAKA, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Croatian Robert Rubcic has been named as the new coach of the Bangladesh soccer team, with his first assignment to be the Asian Games in November.
Skysports.com understands former Italy coach Roberto Donadoni has applied for the Aston Villa manager's job.
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has told Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac not to consider him for a while as he bids to rediscover his best form.
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien has stood down from international football for the foreseeable future, telling Ghana he wants to return to form at club level, coach Milovan Rajevac said.
Russia, Serbia and Turkey enjoyed comfortable starts to their Euro 2012 qualfying campaigns on Friday night, beating some of international football's weaker sides on their travels.
Dundee United's European adventure came to an end after a 1-1 second-leg draw against AEK Athens.
Manchester City face Italian giants Juventus, while Liverpool tackle Napoli in the Europa League group stage.
Sporting Lisbon battled from two goals down to win their tie against Brondby 3-2 on aggregate.
Besiktas look like they could be one of the teams to beat in this year's Europa League as they cantered through to the group stage.
PSV survived their scare against Russians Sibir to comfortably book a Europa League group stage place.
Motherwell saw their Europa League dreams dashed on Thursday as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat against Odense.
Neil Lennon admits seeing Celtic slip out of the Europa League on Thursday was difficult to stomach.
England coach Fabio Capello insists he has experienced worse situations during his career.
Fabio Capello has claimed Paul Scholes performed a World Cup U-turn on the eve of his squad announcement.
Keith Fahey's first competitive international goal earned Republic of Ireland a 1-0 win in Armenia.
Faroe Islands 0-3 Serbia: Zigic rounds off easy win
Fifa are prepared to give individual associations the power to hand out punishments for diving.
Despite coming under fierce criticism for failing to set the World Cup alight, Wayne Rooney has received a commendation from FIFA for his performances in South Africa, and was named as one of England's three best players at the tournament.
CHICAGO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Former United States World Cup striker Brian McBride will retire at the end of the current Major League Soccer season, his club Chicago Fire said Friday.
West Brom are in a much better position to avoid relegation than they were two years ago, according to striker Marc-Antoine Fortune.
New France coach Laurent Blanc has given his squad the words of the national anthem - to make sure they can sing along to La Marseillaise as they line up to face Belarus in Paris on Friday.
Goals in each half from Andranik and Mohammad Gholami helped Iran beat China 2-0 in a friendly at Zhengzhou Hanghai Stadium.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is looking forward to the challenge his side face in the Europa League.
Steven Gerrard has hailed team-mate Jamie Carragher as a 'Liverpool great' ahead of his testomonial
Captain Steve Gerrard has leapt to the defence of coach Fabio Capello ahead of England's opening Euro 2012 qualifiers.
Aston Villa's misery continued as they were dumped out of the Europa League after defeat to Rapid Vienna.
Sunderland stopper Craig Gordon is desperate to play again but not about to risk further damage to his broken arm by rushing his recuperation.
Blackpool are sweating over the fitness of defender Alex Baptiste after he picked up an injury on their training trip to Latvia.
LISBON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - FIFA ended a four-day visit to inspect Spain and Portugal's 2018 or 2022 World Cup bid by praising the countries' capacity to co-ordinate effectively in hosting a joint event.
Juventus have omitted Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from their 25-man squad for the Europa League.
Juventus have been warned they face tough sanctions if their fans target Mario Balotelli with racist abuse.
Turkey made a confident start in Group A when defeating Kazakhstan 3-0 in Almaty, with Hamit Altintop scoring a stunning volley from a corner.
Frank Lampard has rubbished any suggestions that Chelsea's squad are over the hill.
Kevin MacDonald admitted that the Aston Villa's exit to Rapid Vienna may now not get him a permanent job.
Schalke manager Felix Magath believes it will only be a matter of time before Raul demonstrates his renowned goalscoring prowess in the Bundesliga.
Roma's new €10 million signing Marco Borriello rejected an approach from Manchester City and also had an option to join Real Madrid, according to the player's agent.
Man City boss Roberto Mancini is relishing a tilt at Europa League glory after reaching the group stage.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez is confident he can do what Carlo Ancelotti failed to and get the best out of Franco Di Santo at the DW Stadium.
MatchDay LIVE - September 3
MEXICO CITY, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Mexico, whose younger players impressed at the World Cup, are looking to cut the number of foreigners in the domestic league to increase international opportunities for the country's juniors.
MEXICO CITY, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Argentine-born striker Guillermo Franco, without a club since leaving West Ham United in May, has quit international soccer.
TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Japan midfielder Makoto Hasebe will miss Saturday's friendly against Paraguay because of a calf strain.
AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri has thanked club owner Silvio Berlusconi for bankrolling a spending spree just before the transfer window closed, after the Rossoneri snapped up Robinho and Zlatan ibrahimovic to bolster their attacking otions.
Mirko Vucinic enhanced his growing reputation by firing Wales to defeat in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier in Montenegro.
TOKYO, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Japan's new coach Alberto Zaccheroni swept into Tokyo on Tuesday, asking to be called "Zac" and promising a lasting legacy from his reign.
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Brazil prodigy Neymar volleyed a fine goal from the edge of the box after 52 seconds to inspire Santos to a 2-1 win over Avai that put them third in the Brazilian championship on Thursday.
Giovanni Trapattoni was not surprised that Republic of Ireland struggled before winning 1-0 in Armenia.
BOGOTA, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Colombian police are searching for a Mexican fugitive wanted for the shooting in January of Paraguay soccer player Salvador Cabanas, a senior officer said on Thursday.
Tony Pulis has told his Stoke players their work ethic will be key as they bid to bounce back from a bad start to the Premier League season.
Tony Pulis has called on his players to get back to basics as they look to get over their poor start to the season.
Liverpool booked their place in the group stages of the Europa League after beating Trabzonspor.
John Arne Riise has revealed that he intends to head to the MLS once he severs ties with Roma.
Blackburn striker Jason Roberts has promised to do "everything I can for the team" after failing to secure a move during the transfer window.
John Arne Riise has revealed his desire to end his career in MLS, once he has left Roma.
Paul Scholes has revealed he was considering retirement at Christmas last season after a poor run of form for Manchester United.
Paul Scholes has admitted that at Christmas last year he thought he would have retired by now.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has revealed that he felt certain he would retire at the end of last season, after struggling for form during a poor first half of the 2009-10 campaign.
Follow all of Friday's action, including live text commentaries on the Euro 2012 qualifiers, with skysports.com's Score Centre.
New Tottenham signing Rafael van der Vaart has revealed that only Atletico Madrid made an offer for him - with Bayern Munich failing to table a "concrete" bid.
Bulgaria coach Stanimir Stoilov believes England will always struggle to shine in major tournaments because of the gruelling nature of the English domestic season.
Daniel Sturridge's goal earned Stuart Pearce's England U21 side a 1-0 win over Portugal in Barcelos.
KHARTOUM, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Sudan has avoided being banned from international soccer after the country's Football Association re-ran its elections without government interference, FIFA said on Tuesday.
Liverpool expect star striker Fernando Torres to be back to his peak fitness next month.
Liverpool take on Trabzonspor in their second leg Europa League tie without seven first-team players.
Mustapha Riga looks set to be the next player to quit Bolton, but the club have so far failed to agree a severance package with the forward.
MIAMI, Aug 31 (Reuters) - United States Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati refused on Tuesday to confirm whether he had talked to any other coaches before signing up incumbent Bob Bradley to four more years in the role.
Uefa has decided to ban vuvuzelas from all European competition following their use at the World Cup.
Jamie Carragher hopes to finish his career with Liverpool - and is inspired by Man United's old guard.
Rapid Vienna have confirmed the signing of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink on a free transfer.
Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier has emerged as a leading candidate to replace Martin O'Neill as Aston Villa manager after being interviewed by the club's owner Randy Lerner.
Wales' opening Euro 2012 qualifier saw them leave Montenegro empty-handed as they suffered a 1-0 defeat.
TOKYO, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Japan have wasted little time putting new coach Alberto Zaccheroni to work by making him an ambassador for the country's 2022 World Cup bid.
TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Former AC Milan and Juventus manager Alberto Zaccheroni has been named as the new coach of Japan, the country's governing body announced on Monday.
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