Football

Belgium manager Roberto Martinez believes a fresh Kevin De Bruyne will be even better for club and country this season after the Manchester City midfielder tore Scotland apart in a 4-0 win for Martinez’s men on Monday. De Bruyne set up Romelu Lukaku, Thomas Vermaelen and Toby Alderweireld to score inside the first 32 minutes before capping a brilliant individual ...

Kalidou Koulibaly handed Juventus a dramatic win on Saturday with a last-gasp own goal that consigned Napoli to a painful 3-4 Serie A defeat after his side had battled back from three goals down to level the scores. The Senegal international shanked in Paulo Dybala’s free-kick under no pressure in the second minute of stoppage time to hand Juventus the ...

Karachi: In the last leg of Leisure Leagues mini-sided football trials ahead of the Socca World Cup, Englishman Kevin Reeves will lead the trials in Karachi on August 28 and 29 here at DHA Football Stadium. Kevin Reeves has already conducted trials in Islamabad, Lahore and Quetta and has shortlisted several players. Pakistan’s renowned footballers Saddam Hussain, Gohar Zaman and ...

Karachi: After holding trials in Islamabad and Lahore, Leisure Leagues held two-day trials in Quetta as the small-sided football organizers shortlists talented footballers to eventually establish a strong outfit ahead of the upcoming Socca World Cup. Leisure Leagues has also brought Englishman Kevin Reeves, who has been selecting players and would later coach and prepare the team for the Socca ...

KARACHI: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is set to organise the National Women Football Championship’s twelfth edition, with qualifying round to run September 16-22. The PFF has advised its affiliated women football teams to enter their teams into the tournament latest by August 31. The championship’s qualifying round would be played at four centres — Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, and Peshawar ...

LISBON: Cristiano Ronaldo admitted on Wednesday his long-time rivalry with Lionel Messi has made him “a better player” and that he enjoys a “healthy” rivalry with the Argentine great. However, Portuguese star Ronaldo, whose influence at Real Madrid mirrored that of Messi at Barcelona before he left for Juventus, admitted that the pair have never socialised together. “I really admire ...

PARIS: Neymar remains no closer to getting his desired move away from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) amid reports Thursday the French club have rejected an offer from Real Madrid of 100 million euros ($111 million) plus players. French sports daily L’Equipe said Real had offered cash plus Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and goalkeeper Keylor Navas, but PSG turned it down because ...

Karachi: British Coach Kevin Reeves held two days of coaching and trials on August 20 and 21 at Islamabad’s Jinnah Sports Complex and also shortlisted players as Leisure Leagues, the small-sided football organizers, begins hunt for talented footballers ahead of Socca World Cup. According to details, more than 300 players from Islamabad and 14 other cities of KPK attended the ...

MADRID: Barcelona made a nightmare start to the defence of their La Liga title on Friday by losing Luis Suarez to injury and then losing 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao, after a sensational late volley from substitute Aritz Aduriz. Suarez hobbled off in the 37th minute with what looked like a calf injury before Aduriz came on in the 88th, the ...

Manchester City were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw against Tottenham after the Premier League champions were denied a dramatic winner by VAR, while Liverpool extended their perfect start to the title race with a 2-1 win at Southampton on Saturday. Pep Guardiola’s side failed to win for the first time in 16 Premier League matches dating back to ...