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Striker Amoura Has Key Role as Algeria Seek AFCON Redemption 

06 December 2025, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Wolfsburg's Mohamed Amoura celebrates a goal that was later ruled out during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin at the Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
06 December 2025, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Wolfsburg's Mohamed Amoura celebrates a goal that was later ruled out during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin at the Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
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Striker Amoura Has Key Role as Algeria Seek AFCON Redemption 

06 December 2025, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Wolfsburg's Mohamed Amoura celebrates a goal that was later ruled out during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin at the Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
06 December 2025, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Wolfsburg's Mohamed Amoura celebrates a goal that was later ruled out during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and 1. FC Union Berlin at the Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)

Striker Mohamed Amoura is set to be a key figure as Algeria seek redemption at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco after disastrous campaigns in the past two editions.

The Desert Foxes won the premier African football competition a second time in 2019, edging Senegal 1-0 in the final in Cairo.

But in two AFCON appearances since they failed to win a match in six attempts and twice made humbling first-round exits, leading to the sacking of coach Djamel Belmadi.

His place was taken by Vladimir Petkovic, who took Switzerland to two Euro Championship tournaments and one World Cup during a seven-year reign.

The 62-year-old born in Bosnia & Herzegovina rang the changes when he took charge of Algeria last year, including giving more opportunities to Amoura.

His faith in the 25-year-old, now with Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg, has been richly rewarded with Amoura becoming the leading scorer in 2026 World Cup African qualifying with 10 goals.

Amoura tormented a variety of rivals as Algeria secured a fifth appearance at the global showpiece, scoring a hat-trick against Mozambique and two each against Botswana, Somalia and Uganda.

Since then he also found the net in an AFCON warm-up victory over Zimbabwe as Algeria prepare for Group E showdowns with Sudan, Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea.

It is a mini-league Algeria are expected to win, and Petkovic acknowledges that the Foxes are considered the strongest of the four contenders.

"The main objective is to get past the first round, (then) go as far as possible in the tournament," he said after announcing his squad.

- 'Huge honor' -

Amoura told the Algerian media he is optimistic Algeria will win Group E and qualify for the round of 16.

"It is a strong group. We respect every team, but fear no team. Algeria have a balanced squad that includes some outstanding players.

"Our goal is to go deep into the tournament and represent our country in the best possible way. We want to make our supporters happy and fight for the title.

"There is no secret to my scoring 10 goals in World Cup qualifiers. My achievements are due to hard work and the confidence given to me by my teammates and coaches.

"It is a huge honor to wear the Algerian jersey. I want to help my team as much as possible, whether it is scoring, creating goals or dropping back to defend."

Amoura hailed Petkovic for creating an atmosphere during training camps that is conducive to success for a country that also won the AFCON in 1990.

"The atmosphere is excellent, it is serious, focused and there is a desire to give our best. It has to be that way because the 2025 AFCON is packed with strong teams."

Amoura left Wolfsburg for Algeria at the weekend after scoring in a 3-1 league win at fellow bottom-half club Borussia Moenchengladbach.

He and Ivorian teenager Yan Diomande are the leading African scorers in the Bundesliga this season with six goals each.

Amoura made his professional debut just five years ago with Entente Setif. He made an immediate impact leading to transfers to Lugano and Union Saint-Gilloise before joining Wolfsburg last year.

He initially left Union on loan, but the German club, releasing the potential of the Algerian, made the move permanent this year.

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Sports

Germany Starlet Karl Ruled Out of World Cup

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Lennart Karl of Germany looks on during a Team Germany Training session at Soldier Field on June 05, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images/AFP
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Lennart Karl of Germany looks on during a Team Germany Training session at Soldier Field on June 05, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images/AFP
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Germany Starlet Karl Ruled Out of World Cup

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Lennart Karl of Germany looks on during a Team Germany Training session at Soldier Field on June 05, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images/AFP
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JUNE 05: Lennart Karl of Germany looks on during a Team Germany Training session at Soldier Field on June 05, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images/AFP

Teenage Germany forward Lennart Karl has been ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining an injury in training, the German Football Federation (DFB) said on Friday.

"Lenny tore a muscle bundle today in the final training season and is ruled out because of this injury. Have a good recovery, we're thinking of you," AFP quoted the DFB as saying on Instagram.

Germany have called up RB Leipzig midfielder Assan Ouedraogo to replace the 18-year-old Bayern Munich player.

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann had said earlier in Chicago ahead of Saturday's friendly against the United States that Karl's injury "didn't look good" and that he had been taken to hospital for a scan.

The loss of Karl is a blow to Germany. He was one of the revelations of the Bundesliga season after making his top-flight debut this season, quickly establishing himself as part of Vincent Kompany's league-winning side.

He started his first match for Germany in Sunday's 4-0 win over Finland, setting up a goal.

Nagelsmann also confirmed that veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer would not be fit in time to face the US, but hoped he would return for Germany's first World Cup match against Curacao on June 14.

Neuer, 40, a World Cup winner in 2014, was surprisingly recalled for the tournament in May almost two years after announcing his international retirement.

"At his age, he doesn't need a warm-up phase," Nagelsmann said. "He knows how to handle high-pressure situations.

"He's on his way to peak fitness. However, we don't want to take any risks tomorrow."

Sports

Co-hosts Canada Held by Ireland Ahead of World Cup

Canada's head coach Jesse Marsch runs his drills during the selection camp for Canada’s national soccer team, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C., ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's head coach Jesse Marsch runs his drills during the selection camp for Canada’s national soccer team, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C., ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
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Co-hosts Canada Held by Ireland Ahead of World Cup

Canada's head coach Jesse Marsch runs his drills during the selection camp for Canada’s national soccer team, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C., ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's head coach Jesse Marsch runs his drills during the selection camp for Canada’s national soccer team, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Charlotte, N.C., ahead of the FIFA World Cup soccer tournament. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

World Cup co-hosts Canada were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Ireland on Friday despite dominating their final warm-up friendly before the tournament kicks off next week.

Canada have never won a World Cup game but have shot up the FIFA rankings in recent years and, with home advantage and stars like Alphonso Davies, will be looking to make a real impact this year.

But despite controlling the game in Montreal, and the gift of a first-half Ireland own goal, the Canadians could not secure the win, AFP reported.

They conceded an equalizer on the hour mark to Chiedozie Ogbene, who pounced on the rebound from Troy Parrott's well-saved penalty.

Playing against an Irish team that will not feature at the World Cup, it was a disappointing result for Canada, especially after a promising 2-0 win over Uzbekistan earlier this week.

"Obviously, we wish we could have gotten more goals and gotten the win, but I think the energy from the start, the way to go after the game, the ideas in the game, (were) really good," said Canada coach Jesse Marsch.

"We let one counter really get away from us in the second half but, look, overall it is a good performance.

"Goals make a difference, and so do mistakes, so we've just got to clean some things up."

Canada had utterly dominated the first half, creating a flurry of chances before Stephen Eustaquio's corner deflected off two Ireland players -- Parrott and then Jake O'Brien -- and into the net.

Liam Millar had a shot well-blocked by O'Brien, Ismael Kone's effort was deflected wide, and Juventus striker Jonathan David had a penalty claim ignored.

But Ireland's goal against the run of play, along with a string of substitutions, took the wind out of Canada's sails.

Ireland's Tottenham Hotspur teenager Mason Melia was barely denied an unlikely winner off the bench late on.

Canada has been drawn in Group B alongside Bosnia-Herzegovina, Qatar and Switzerland.

Though the Swiss are favored to top the group, it has been seen as a kind draw for Canada, who automatically qualified as co-hosts.

Canada's campaign begins against Bosnia in Toronto on June 12, before shifting to Vancouver for clashes with Qatar and Switzerland.

In two previous appearances at the World Cup -- the 1986 finals in Mexico and the 2022 tournament in Qatar -- Canada have a perfect record of six defeats in six matches.

But the Canadians surprised many by reaching the semi-finals of the Copa America in 2024, where they only narrowly lost on penalties to Uruguay in the third-place playoff.

Marsch has described his roster as "our best group of 26 players that this country has ever assembled at any one time."

But Bayern Munich defender and Canada talisman Davies has a hamstring injury and did not feature on Friday.

He faces a race to get back to fitness, and is not expected to start the opener against Bosnia.

Sports

Florentino Pérez Faces First Election for Real Madrid Leadership in 20 Years

Real Madrid's President Florentino Pérez presents his campaign for the club's elections, under the slogan "A lot of history yet to be made", in Madrid, Spain, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
Real Madrid's President Florentino Pérez presents his campaign for the club's elections, under the slogan "A lot of history yet to be made", in Madrid, Spain, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
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Florentino Pérez Faces First Election for Real Madrid Leadership in 20 Years

Real Madrid's President Florentino Pérez presents his campaign for the club's elections, under the slogan "A lot of history yet to be made", in Madrid, Spain, 27 May 2026. (EPA)
Real Madrid's President Florentino Pérez presents his campaign for the club's elections, under the slogan "A lot of history yet to be made", in Madrid, Spain, 27 May 2026. (EPA)

For the first time in 20 years, Florentino Pérez's Real Madrid reign will be challenged at the ballot box.

The world’s most valuable and most successful football club will hold elections on Sunday.

Pérez, the 79-year-old executive who for the past two-and-a-half-decades has made Madrid the global powerhouse to beat, will face an upstart rival half his age who is making big promises to convince the club's 98,000 members to consider a change.

Enrique Riquelme, 37, was still a boy when Pérez first took over. He remained unknown to most Madrid fans until he stepped forward as a rival candidate after the incumbent called early elections last month in a press conference dominated by Pérez's claims the Spanish media is trying to "kill" his presidency.

"Why do they want to kill me?" an agitated Pérez told reporters on May 12. "Why? Because there are some kids out there saying they want to run? Well, let them. I would love them to."

Riquelme, a renewable energy executive, has surprisingly been able to mount a credible threat. That's thanks to the backing of former Madrid players like Raúl González and promising huge, and arguably far-fetched, signings like that of Manchester City star Erling Haaland.

Riquelme has the names, but does he have the clout? Riquelme got a big boost when Madrid great Raúl, its record holder for games played, former goalkeeper Iker Casillas and ex-defender Fernando Hierro joined his campaign.

Raúl would be Riquelme’s sports director, a role that doesn’t exist now, while Hierro would oversee its youth academy. Casillas’s exact role was not defined.

Riquelme also said he wanted to sign Spain midfielder Rodri, who has one year left on his contract with City.

But Riquelme’s big lure dangled to voters this week, his claim that "Haaland wants to come to Madrid," prompted City to dismiss any chance of negotiating for the sale of its top-scoring striker who is under contract until 2034.

That didn’t stop Riquelme going on Spain’s state broadcaster TVE and doubling down on his pledge.

"If I am made president of Real Madrid on Sunday, Haaland will play for Real Madrid," he said on Thursday.

Then it was the turn of Haaland's entourage to shoot it down.

"All very entertaining but not true. We wish all the best for both candidates in the Madrid elections," Haaland’s agent, Rafaela Pimenta, told the AP in a short statement on Friday.

"It must be a bluff," was Pérez's opinion.

Pérez has earned status as top dog

Not to be outdone, Pérez said Thursday that next week — after the election — he would announce the "most expensive transfer in the history of Real Madrid," worth, he said, at least 150 million euros ($173 million).

He knows a thing or two about promising apparently impossible signings — and then making them come true. He won his first elections in 2000 when he swore he would sign then-Barcelona forward Luis Figo. And that he did.

Now, Pérez has promised to bring back José Mourinho, Madrid’s coach from 2010-13, and sign Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konaté, a free agent, and Inter Milan’s Denzel Dumfries, if he is given another four years.

While those names are unlikely to thrill all of Madrid’s members, Mourinho’s abrasive style left the fanbase divided, Pérez’s pledges do have the value of being completely credible.

Besides Figo, he has consistently delivered on his transfer targets, from Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham, to Cristiano Ronaldo and, most recently, after years of trying, Kylian Mbappé.

And, regardless of his plans, Pérez's wildly successful record is his best pitch.

In his two stints, from 2000-2006 and from 2009 until now, Madrid has won seven of its record 15 European Cups, along with a slew of other titles, including seven La Liga crowns and three Copa del Reys.

That all has been fueled by healthy finances as it was transformed into a global brand under Pérez, who also runs a major international construction company: Madrid has topped the Forbes Money League of the world’s most valuable football clubs for five consecutive seasons.

But Pérez also has weak spots

Pérez's Super League project meant to transform European soccer and replace UEFA’s Champions League with a club-run competition flopped in the face of backlash from some fans, many smaller clubs, and UEFA.

And so far his bet on Mbappé has not panned out. In the star’s two seasons at Madrid it has won no major titles, while Pérez has parted ways with three coaches in Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa.

Riquelme is also taking aim at the idea

Pérez floated last year to sell 10% of the club to private investors, a move that would break with 124 years of the member ownership model.

Pérez ran unchallenged when elections were to be held in 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025. His latest term was set to expire in 2029.

Riquelme has reiterated previous complaints that changes Pérez's board made to the club statutes in 2012 made it more difficult for members to present a candidacy for the presidency.

Since then, a presidential candidate has had to be a club member for 20 years and have collateral equivalent to 15% of the club budget.

"The most important thing is that after 20 years, due to a complete lack of democracy and impediments year after year so that other members of Real Madrid can run, now the moment to vote has arrived," Riquelme said.

Pérez stepped down in 2006 following a bad season but returned to power in 2009.