Aitana Bonmati played a starring role with a brace and two assists as Spain crushed Switzerland 5-1 at Eden Park on Saturday to march into the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup for the first time in their history.

Italian professional football clubs lost 3.6 billion euros ($3.97 bn) between 2019 and 2022 due to Covid and pandemic-related restrictions, according to an annual report.

New signing Noa Lang swept home the ball at the end of a flowing attack to hand PSV Eindhoven a 1-0 win over Eredivisie champions Feyenoord in Friday’s Dutch Super Cup.

Liverpool legend Ian Rush hung up his boots in 2000 after 356 goals to his name, of which 346 came with the Merseyside club -- making him the all-time highest goal-scorer for The Reds, a record that still stands today. It was at Anfield where he won two Champions Leagues, five Premierships, and three FA Cups. In an interview with Shabab Chowdhury of The Daily Star, the legendary striker discussed all things Merseyside yesterday.

As the Bangladesh Premier League outfits do not have any permanent youth development programme yet, three top-tier clubs have kept their eyes on promising players of the BFF Elite Academy for the upcoming season.

The treble winners are closing in on a deal for the Croatia international and are understood to have agreed a fee of 90 million euros ($99 million).

Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso has extended his contract by two years to 2026, the Bundesliga club announced on Friday.

Zambia's football association on Friday expressed "surprise" at claims its women's coach abused a squad member at the current World Cup, after FIFA launched an investigation into what it called an "allegation of misconduct".

Australia is interested in holding the men's World Cup in 2034, football's governing body in the country said Friday, as it looks to build off the momentum of hosting the women's version.

Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja says his team's defeat to Lionel Messi's Inter Miami on Wednesday was a "circus" and said that the Argentine should have been sent off.

Marcus Rashford on Thursday predicted he could hit 40 goals this season, buoyed by hearing Wayne Rooney is backing him to break his Manchester United scoring record.

Africa's run at the Women's World Cup has been nothing short of extraordinary at the end of the group phase on Thursday as debutants Morocco joined Nigeria and South Africa in the last 16.

The Saudi Pro League is "determined to be a success" and will keep splashing the cash to attract some of the biggest names in football, according to one of its top executives.

Abahani were the first Bangladeshi club to progress into the inter-zonal semifinals of AFC Cup in 2019 but struggled in Asia's second-tier club competition ever since.

Debutants Morocco stunned Colombia 1-0 in their final group match in Perth on Thursday to reach the last 16 of the Women's World Cup at the first attempt along with their opponents.

Twice former winners Germany crashed out in the opening phase of the Women's World Cup for the first time after a 1-1 draw with South Korea in their final Group H match on Thursday.

“When a player, and with all due respect, prefers to go to Saudi Arabia, basically there are no sporting reasons," Laporta told CNN. 

The Albiceleste's first match at the tournament, when they came close to upsetting Italy before succumbing 1-0 to a late goal, raised hopes in a country that celebrated a men's World Cup title last December.

Both finishes came from close range from the Argentine who made it three wins out of three at a team which was winless in 11 league games before his arrival.

Buffon holds the record for most Serie A matches contested (657) and is the most capped player in Italy's history with 176 (1997-2018