Football

Mexico thumped New Zealand 5-1 in the first leg of their qualifying playoff on to take a massive step towards a place in next year's World Cup finals.

Under-pressure Fulham manager Jol will be given a helping hand by a fellow Dutchman as he tries to keep the club in the EPL.

Nemanja Vidic has been released from hospital after suffering concussion in Sunday's 1-0 Premier League win over leaders Arsenal.

Norwich staged a second-half comeback to beat West Ham 3-1 in the EPL and ease the immediate pressure on manager Chris Hughton.

Blatter ruled out a January World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and said on Friday November/December was the only alternative to a summer tournament.

Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas has been criticised for allowing Lloris to play on despite briefly losing consciousness against Everton on Sunday.

Everton and Tottenham Hotspur both missed the chance to move up to second place in the Premier League after they shared a battling 0-0 draw at Goodison Park.

Cazorla and Ramsey fired Arsenal to an impressive 2-0 win over Liverpool that extended their lead to five points in the English Premier League.

Pellegrini has refused to be drawn on whether under-fire goalkeeper Joe Hart will be dropped for the visit of Norwich City on Saturday.

Roma have 30 points, five clear of Juventus and Napoli with more than a quarter of the campaign completed.

Diego Costa chose to play for adopted country Spain instead of Brazil where he was born.

Arsenal have joined their north London rivals Tottenham in the battle to sign Pato, according to media.

Platini wants the World Cup expanded to 40 teams from 2018 to allow more African and Asian countries into the tournament without reducing the number of European nations.

Sampdoria picked up their second victory of the season with a 1-0 win over 10-man Atalanta in Serie A on Saturday.

The result ended Bengaluru FC's unbeaten start to their first ever I-League campaign.

Blatter says Africa should get more spots at the World Cup, giving teams from the continent more chances to win the tournament.