Cristiano Ronaldo made history Thursday as the first male player to score in five World Cups in Portugal's opening game in Qatar against Ghana. The Portugal captain scored in the 65th minute from the penalty spot -- the 118th goal for his country -- to open the scoring at Doha's Stadium 974. Portugal went on to win 3-2 as goals from Joao Felix and Rafael Leao helped them weather two late effo...Full Story »

Charlton will be without Jayden Stockley for their FA Cup second-round clash against Stockport.Stockley starts the first game of a retrospective three-match ban following a charge of violent conduct in Charlton’s 1-0 defeat against Port Vale last weekend.Eoghan O’Connell (knee), Craig MacGillivray (concussion), Terell Thomas (hamstring) and Miles Leaburn (ankle) are all sidelined.Goa...Full Story »

Sheffield Wednesday pair Josh Windass and Dominic Iorfa are both injury doubts for Saturday’s home FA Cup tie against Mansfield.Windass (groin) and Iorfa (thigh) will both be monitored after being withdrawn late on in last week’s home win against Shrewsbury.Mallik Wilks and Liam Palmer both returned to action off the bench last week after recovering from injury and are in contention ...Full Story »

Cristiano Ronaldo made World Cup history two days after severing ties with Manchester United as Portugal opened their campaign in Qatar with a 3-2 win over Ghana.Ronaldo, who is a free agent after his acrimonious Old Trafford break-up, became the first man to score in five World Cup final tournaments when he tucked away Portugal’s first from the penalty spot.Andre Ayew’s equaliser br...Full Story »

Walsall striker Conor Wilkinson has made a welcome return to training ahead of the FA Cup second-round tie against Carlisle but is unlikely to be rushed back into action.Wilkinson has been out since April after needing knee surgery but has been stepping up his recovery and joined in with the first team earlier this week.Midfielder Jack Earing could come into contention for the cup tie having aga...Full Story »

Hartlepool boss Keith Curle is expected to recall striker Josh Umerah for his side’s home FA Cup tie against Harrogate.Umerah missed last week’s league defeat at Barrow through suspension but is available having also recovered from a clash of heads in the recent defeat at Stevenage.Defender David Ferguson is an injury doubt after being withdrawn midway through the first half at Barro...Full Story »

Uruguay and South Korea played out a disappointing goalless draw at the Education City Stadium as none of the big-name players on show were able to raise the game above mediocre.Ghana and Portugal, the other two teams in Group H, appeared to be the real winners after a contest which failed to produce a shot on target.Diego Godin and the best player on the pitch Federico Valverde, from distance l...Full Story »

Newport will be eyeing another FA Cup shock when they host Sky Bet League One Derby on Sunday.The Exiles have beaten Leeds and Leicester and taken Tottenham to a replay in recent years and they will be eyeing a spot in the third round.Boss Graham Coughlan will check on Adam Lewis after he limped out of the midweek Papa John’s Trophy defeat to MK Dons with an ankle injury.Coughlan made four...Full Story »

Slobodan Tedic remains a doubt ahead of Barnsley’s FA Cup second-round tie against Crewe at Oakwell on Saturday.The on-loan Manchester City striker has missed the Tykes’ last two games after sustaining an ankle issue.Matty Wolfe, Jordan Helliwell and Luke Thomas are still sidelined.Boss Michael Duff is expected to bring a number of players back into his starting XI after making eight...Full Story »

Yannick Carrasco is part of the Belgium golden generation who have one last crack at World Cup glory in Qatar - and he's also trying to live up to his former Miss Belgium wife Yannick Carrasco will be cheered on at the World Cup by his wife Noemie Happart (Image: yannickferreiracarrasco/Instagram) Belgium star Yannick Carrasco will be looking to finally achieve glory alongside the rest of thei...Full Story »

Spain claimed their biggest ever World Cup win and took pole position in Group E in a comfortable 7-0 victory over Costa Rica on Wednesday. Dani Olmo opened the scoring with a neat turn and finish on 11 minutes to hand Spain an early lead at the Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar, and Marco Asensio doubled their advantage 10 minutes later with a well-taken finish from a Jordi Alba cross. Costa Rice...Full Story »

Inter Milan and Juventus are battling to sign Chelsea attacker Christian Pulisic in the January transfer window. That is according to the Daily Mail, which broke the news of the potential bidding war on Wednesday. So far this season, Pulisic has started only three Premier League matches. Injuries and fluctuating form have led the 24-year-old to drastically fall down the pecking order at Che...Full Story »

John Herdman believes his Canada side proved they belong at the World Cup after they outshone Belgium only to slip to a narrow defeat.Michy Batshuayi hit the only goal of the game as a lacklustre Belgium, ranked second in the world, began Group F with a barely-deserved 1-0 win.Canada – 39 places lower than Belgium in the rankings – had earlier missed a penalty as Alphonso Davies&rsqu...Full Story »

Canada missed a penalty and were controversially denied two more as Michy Batshuayi’s strike condemned them to a narrow defeat against Belgium on their first World Cup appearance in 36 years.Having finished third in the 2018 finals and boasting talent such as Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans and Thibaut Courtois, Belgium have been tipped to go deep into the tournament once more.But they ha...Full Story »

Japan were trailing 1-0 with just 15 minutes to go before an incredible double whammy sucker-punched the four-time World Cup winners and claimed them a famous 2-1 victory. Japan secured a famous victory over Germany with a late rally Credit: EPA Ritsu Doan fired the Japanese level just moments after coming off the bench Credit: Reuters Takuma Asano then raced clear to fire Japan into the lead...Full Story »

The beaten finalists in Russia are not a patch on the team who knocked England out in the semi-finals four years ago. Hakim Ziyech and Luka Modric battled for possession in the Group F clash Credit: Getty Achraf Hakimi tested the goalkeeper with his long-range piledriver Credit: Getty And now they might struggle to even make it beyond the group stages after being forced into a stalemate by a ...Full Story »

Saudi Arabia put together one of the greatest World Cup shockers of all time when they beat Lionel Messi and co 2-1 in the group stage. Saudi Arabian fans erupted into wild celebrations after the win over Argentina One Saudi Arabian fan went so crazy he ripped a door off its hinges Saudi have sprung the biggest shock fo the World Cup so far Credit: PA Messi opened the scoring after just 10 m...Full Story »

France head coach Didier Deschamps has backed Kylian Mbappe to shine at the World Cup, labelling it “his competition” after the forward excelled in a comeback win over Australia.A number of injures rocked the France squad heading into the finals and they were stunned as Craig Goodwin opened the scoring after nine minutes before rallying to record a 4-1 win.Olivier Giroud scored twice...Full Story »

Tunisia held European Championship semifinalist Denmark to a 0-0 draw at the World Cup. Tunisia's Aissa Laidouni reacts to supporters during the World Cup group D soccer match between Denmark and Tunisia, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan , Qatar, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar) THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Coming three hours after Saudi Arabia beat Argentina in a shocking ups...Full Story »

Even the strictly sober Saudis must have fancied a Bud to toast the most remarkable result in their football history and one which is sending shockwaves through the World Cup. Lionel Messi and Argentina were stunned by Saudi Arabia Credit: Getty Lionel Messi and Argentina were stunned by Saudi Arabia Credit: Getty From a goal down after ten minutes and three hair’s-breadth offside decis...Full Story »