Football

England secured a predictably comfortable win over Andorra at Wembley as the smooth path to next year's World Cup in Qatar continued with a fifth successive victory in their qualifying group. Manager Gareth Southgate made 11 changes from the side that won 4-0 in Hungary in readiness for arguably the toughest test in European Group I, in Poland on Wednesday. Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford was given a debut but was unable to find the net in the usual one-sided contest against Andorra,

Memphis Depay scored twice as the Netherlands secured an important World Cup qualifying victory over Montenegro. The Barcelona forward scored from the penalty spot after he had been hauled down in the box by Dusan Lagator. He struck his second after the break, lashing in from an angle before Giorginio Wijnaldum struck the third. Cody Gakpo then curled in the best goal of the night as the Dutch moved second in Group G, a point behind leaders Turkey, who they host on Tuesday.

TIMES OF INDIA LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo will wear Manchester United's iconic number seven again after Edinson Cavani agreed to surrender the shirt. Ronaldo followed in a long list of United legends to have worn number seven during his first spell with United from 2003 to 2009. The 36-year-old rejoined United from Juventus last week, but Cavani had the number seven at the start of this season, raising the possibility of Ronaldo having to don a different shirt. But Cavani has agreed to swap

ZEENEWS Lionel Messi started his first match since the final of the Copa America on July 10 and his flicks and jinks frequently ended with him being fouled as Venezuela struggled to contain him. Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 21 games on Thursday (September 2) with a comfortable 3-1 win over Venezuela in their World Cup qualifier in Caracas. Venezuela had beaten Argentina only once in 14 previous World Cup qualifiers and their hopes of doing it again on Thursday were snuffed

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the world record for goals scored in men's international football as he hit his 110th and 111th goals for Portugal in their dramatic 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over the Republic of Ireland. The 36-year-old scored two late headers - to break and extend the record - after he had a penalty saved by Gavin Bazunu. Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals for Iran between 1993 and 2006, held the record which Ronaldo equalled with a double against France at

Scotland's World Cup hopes were dealt a serious blow as they were outclassed by a vibrant Denmark in Copenhagen to slip seven points behind the group leaders. Daniel Wass jumped above Kieran Tierney to head in an early opener, and Scotland's composure deserted them as they let in another 93 seconds later to go 2-0 down after just 15 minutes. Joakim Maehle played a flick before running off Billy Gilmour to receive Mikkel Damsgaard's pass and finish through the legs of Craig Gordon

Inter Milan's Edin Dzeko gave the Bosnians the lead with an excellent drilled effort from outside the box. Griezmann, who had re-joined Atletico Madrid from Barcelona less than 24 hours earlier, scored with a fortunate ricocheted effort - with VAR needed to see if the ball had crossed the line. Jules Kounde was sent off for hosts France early in the second half. The Sevilla defender, who Chelsea unsuccessfully tried to sign during the transfer window that closed on Tuesday, was initially given

Qatar has returned to the European qualifiers for 2022, where it will compete in Group A against Serbia, Portugal, and Luxembourg. Qatar’s national team is set to play against Serbia in the FIFA World Cup European Qualifying match at the Nagyerdei Stadion in the Hungarian city of Debrecen on Wednesday evening. The reigning Asian champions Qatar, a guest team in the qualifiers, are placed in Group A along with Portugal, Republic of Ireland, Luxembourg, Serbia, and Azerbaijan. “The match is of great importance especially as

Cristiano Ronaldo says he is "back where I belong" at Manchester United and has dedicated his return to the club to former boss Sir Alex Ferguson. United have paid an initial 15m euros (£12.85m) to sign the 36-year-old from Juventus, a decade after he left the club to join Real Madrid. He has signed a two-year contract, with the option to extend for another year. "Everyone who knows me, knows about my never-ending love for Manchester United," he wrote on Instagram. "The years I

Real Madrid have signed highly-rated France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes on a six-year deal. The 18-year-old had entered the final 12 months of his contract with the Ligue 1 club, who were not prepared to lose him on a free transfer next year. He completed his medical at France's Clairefontaine training centre on Monday. In April 2019, Camavinga became the youngest Rennes debutant aged 16 years and four months. He quickly established himself as a regular in their first team, making 60

La Liga champions Atletico Madrid have re-signed forward Antoine Griezmann from Barcelona on a one-year loan deal. Atletico will pay the player's wages and there is a compulsory clause to make the transfer permanent. The France international scored 133 goals in 257 games for Atletico, leaving in 2019 after Barcelona paid his £107m buyout clause. But the 30-year-old scored just 35 goals in 102 games and managed to win only won the Copa del Rey with Barca. He is the 11th player to

Paris St-Germain have signed Portugal full-back Nuno Mendes on a season-long loan deal from Sporting Lisbon late on transfer deadline day. The Ligue 1 side have the option to make the deal for Mendes permanent for a reported £34m. Mendes, 19, made 47 appearances for Sporting, winning the Portuguese title and League Cup last season. PSG attacking midfielder Pablo Sarabia has joined the Portuguese side on a season-long loan. It caps a successful window for PSG after signing Lionel Messi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Sergio

Premier League clubs have already spent close to £1bn in a sensational transfer window which was turned up a notch when Manchester United agreed a shock deal to re-sign Cristiano Ronaldo before deadline day. The Portugal forward looked set to join rivals Manchester City, but a dramatic turn of events last Friday saw Ronaldo persuaded to return to Old Trafford, 12 years after leaving for Real Madrid. He now just has to put pen to paper to complete his return. He has until

Leeds United are closing in on a club record £30m deal to sign Manchester United winger Daniel James. Leeds coach Marcelo Bielsa has been keeping a close eye on James ever since the Welshman's move to Elland Road from Swansea collapsed in January 2019. James subsequently joined United that summer and has scored nine goals in 74 appearances for the Red Devils. Leeds were thinking about making a move during the last summer window but brought in Brazilian Raphinha instead. However, with James

REUTERS ISTANBUL, Aug 26 - Lionel Messi's new club Paris St Germain will play Manchester City, managed by the Argentine's former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, after being drawn together in Champion's League Group A on Thursday. Messi joined Qatari-owned PSG, who will also face Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and Belgium's Brugge, from Barcelona this month after the Spanish side were unable to afford a new contract for the forward. The draw pits two of European soccer's wealthiest teams against each other once again

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's hat-trick helped Arsenal to a welcome first win of the season as they beat a young West Bromwich Albion side to reach the Carabao Cup third round. Aubameyang marked his first start of the season with two first-half tap-ins and a curling finish after the break. He also acrobatically set up Nicolas Pepe for the third, with Bukayo Saka slotting in the Gunners' fourth. Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to fire in his side's sixth. The win could have been

England captain Harry Kane says he will be "staying at Tottenham this summer" and is "100% focused on helping the team achieve success". Manchester City were keen to sign Kane, who believed he had a gentleman's agreement with chairman Daniel Levy to leave Spurs this summer. But Levy has refused to enter into negotiations for the striker, 28. Kane played his first game of the season on Sunday, coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 win over Wolves. "It was incredible to see

Real Madrid have made a 160m euros (£137m) bid to sign Paris St-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe. The French World Cup winner, 22, joined PSG in 2017 in a transfer worth £165.7m and his contract expires in June 2022. PSG sporting director Leonardo said the club would "not hold Mbappe back" but considered Real Madrid's bid to be "not sufficient". "We consider the offer as being very far from what Kylian is worth today," he told French radio station RMC Sport. Mbappe has scored

The Premier League says its clubs have "reluctantly but unanimously" decided not to release players for matches in red-list countries during September's international break. Under current UK government rules, players would be forced to miss several games because of the 10-day isolation period required on return to the UK. The Premier League said "extensive talks" had taken place with the Football Association and government "to find a solution" but that "no exemption had been granted". It added that it "strongly supported" the move made

Fifa will receive $201m (£146m) in forfeited funds seized during a corruption probe, the US Department of Justice has announced. More than 50 defendants have been criminally charged since the Department of Justice unveiled its corruption probe in 2015. Twenty-seven people and four corporate entities have pleaded guilty, with two people convicted at trial. The repayment will begin with an initial $32.3m (£23.5m). The money, which was seized from the bank accounts of former officials who were prosecuted for corruption, will be used