APRNEWS - FIFA president Infantino praised the group and historic knock-out phase: "Put very simply and very clearly, this has been the best group stage of a World Cup, ever. So it's very promising for the remainder of the World Cup. But the matches have been of great, great quality in beautiful stadiums - we knew that already - however, as well, the public who was there was incredible", he said joyrfully.

"Over 51,000 on average. Record-breaking figures on TV - we already had over two billion viewers, which is really incredible. The level is very, very equal." 

APRNEWS -  Cette victoire importante a permis au Sénégal d'obtenir six points, suffisamment pour occuper la deuxième place du groupe A où les Pays-Bas menaient avec sept, après avoir facilement dépassé le Qatar lors d'une victoire 2-0, - un match joué simultanément avec celui du Sénégal contre l'Éq

APRNEWS - The squad and the coach of Africa’s reigning champions had to come to terms with the absence of star winger Sadio Mané and find a new strategy to realize their ambitions and advance in the competition.

"It's not easy to win the World Cup. We know that all of the games are going to be difficult. We're going to have to take them one by one," Aliou Cissé told journalists.

Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri served up yet another masterclass this weekend as he further demonstrated why he is Africa's top striker of 2021 so far.

Here's how he and Africa's other top stars fared across Africa this past weekend.

En-Nesyri overtakes Messi on La Liga charts

APRNEWS - Former Ivory Coast and Belgium manager Marc Wilmots has arrived in Tehran and is set to sign a three-year deal as national coach, state news agency IRNA reported.

The official agency said Iran football federation president Kami Rita Sherpa had confirmed the deal and the former Belgian striker would sign a contract later Wednesday.

APRNEWS - Tottenham staged an incredible fightback to reach their first Champions League final with an astonishing 3-2 win over Ajax in the semi-final second leg on Wednesday.

Here, AFP Sport looks at three things we learned from the Johan Cruyff Arena clash:

APRNEWS - Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita will miss the rest of the season with an adductor injury that is set to sideline the Guinea international for two months, manager Jurgen Klopp said Friday.

Keita limped off midway through the first half of Liverpool’s 3-0 loss to Barcelona at the Camp Nou during Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final first leg.

APRNEWS - John Stones says the experience in the Manchester City dressing room will be vital as they aim to finish ahead of Liverpool in the thrilling race for the Premier League title.

City will retain the Premier League crown if they win their final two games against Leicester at home and Brighton away, but with Liverpool just a point behind there is no room for error.

APRNEWS - David de Gea’s forlorn expression in the final seconds of Manchester United’s damaging draw against Chelsea laid bare the error-prone goalkeeper’s despair after his latest costly blunder.

De Gea has been in dismal form and the Spaniard’s troubled season took another turn for the worse at Old Trafford on Sunday.

APRNEWS - Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has said his players are not feeling the pressure as they close in on a fourth Liga title in five years.

Barca will lift the trophy if they beat Alaves on Tuesday night and Levante on Saturday, although they could wrap up the title on Wednesday if Atletico Madrid lose at home to Valencia.