Looking for Soccer News?

In the Uefa Europa League on Thursday, Ghana duo Daniel Amartey and Joseph Paintsil were on target for Leicester City and Genk, respectively.

While the former found the back of the net to help the Foxes to a 1-1 home draw with Russian side Spartak Moscow, the latter was on the score sheet as the Belgian fold and English side West Ham United played out a 2-2 draw.

In the Group C matchday four fixture at King Power Stadium, Amartey nodded home a header from an Ayoze Perez flick to draw his club level in the 58th minute after Victor Moses opened the scoring for the visitors seven minutes earlier.

Twenty-five minutes to full-time, the hosts had a great opportunity to register a possible winner when they were awarded a penalty, but Jamie Vardy’s effort was saved by goalkeeper Aleksandre Selikhov.

Having missed the chance to pick up three points, Leicester have found themselves third on the table with two more rounds of matches to go, as Italian fold Napoli and Polish side Legia Warsaw hold the first and second positions, respectively.

For Amartey, the goal was his first strike for the club since scoring in a 2-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion in Premier League action in March.

The centre-back, who has been called up to Ghana’s squad for their upcoming 2022 World Cup qualifying games against Ethiopia and South Africa, has featured in three of four group stage games played by his club so far.

Elsewhere in Belgium, Paintsil netted early as Genk held West Ham to win a point in Group H.

In just the fourth minute, the Ghanaian winger beat his marker to take possession of a Junya Ito through-ball before shooting from just inside the box.

Genk held onto their lead until after the half-time break when Algeria attacker Said Benrahma netted to draw level for the away side.

Benrahma was not yet done for the night as he registered his second goal in the 82nd minute, but Tomas Soucek’s own goal three minutes prior to full-time earned Genk the equaliser.

Thursday’s match was Paintsil’s second appearance in the Europa League this season, the goal his first.

His club are third on the table behind leaders West Ham and Croatian fold Dinamo Zagreb.

Gregg Berhalter hailed John Brooks' response to being left off the U.S. men's national team's upcoming squad as "all you can ask for" after the defender backed the manager's decision to exclude him due to a poor run of form.

Brooks has struggled in his most recent USMNT appearances and, as a result, was left off the squad to face Mexico and Jamaica in favour of Miles Robinson, Chris Richards, Mark McKenzie and Walker Zimmerman.

Shortly after the response was announced, Brooks said that he understood why he was left off the team and vowed to come back in better form to prove himself going forward.

What did Brooks say?

"In life and in soccer, nothing is ever handed to you, nor should it be," Brooks told Fox Sports. "The decision to leave me out of this camp isn’t surprising given some of my recent performances for the USMNT that aren’t up to my standards. My job now is to work hard to be the very best I can be.

"I feel great about this week's Champions League performance and my recent play with Wolfsburg, and will keep building on my performance there until I reach my goal of helping the USMNT reach the next World Cup."

Berhalter responds

“That’s all you can ask for as a player’s response," Berhalter said when asked about Brooks' exclusion. "Normally what players do is they start picking off other players and saying,’ Well, this guy is doing this.’ And all John did was take accountability for his own performance.

"We saw him play midweek in the Champions League at Salzburg. He had a good game and he’s working his way back into form. I don’t assume that this is going to be his last time in the national team. I’m sure he’ll be back, and it’s just about regaining your form and performing at a high level when you get the opportunity.”

Brooks' national team struggles

Long seen as the USMNT's top center back, Brooks has developed a reputation for struggling in CONCACAF games.

Brooks underwhelmed during the USMNT's final two qualifiers in September, a 1-1 draw with Canada and a 4-1 win over Honduras, the latter of which saw Brooks taken out at halftime.

He didn't feature in any of the USMNT's three October matches, with Zimmerman, Robinson, Richards and McKenzie all starting.

The 28-year-old defender has earned 45 international caps, scoring three goals, most notably the winner against Ghana in the 2014 World Cup group stage.

Brooks has been ever-present for Wolfsburg over the last few seasons, starting for the club in the Bundesliga and Champions League in 2021-22.

Further reading

Former Kaizer Chiefs winger Junior Khanye is critical of Amakhosi and Orlando Pirates for Saturday’s Soweto Derby.

Chiefs and Pirates cross swords at FNB Stadium in a Premier Soccer League match which comes on the backdrop of both the traditional giants blowing hot and cold in the current league campaign. 

“This Soweto derby might be a draw. When I look at both teams, I can’t see what they are trying to do,” Khanye told SuperSport TV.

“Pirates do not have a coach. I don’t understand why signing players before identifying a coach. [Mandla] Ncikazi was a head coach at Golden Arrows but they announced him as an assistant. Fadlu [Davids] has been there but has not been doing well previously. 

“Then the Kaizer Chiefs coach is very defensive. He is failing to make a combination in terms of attack, his team does not score. This is going to be a draw but there is a possibility of Pirates winning because of individual brilliance. They have players but they don’t have a coach or a leader, they don’t have a structure. You can tell they are playing without a leader.”

Having slammed Pirates coaches, Khanye has more to say about Chiefs tactician Stuart Baxter.

He feels the coach is blundering in the way he has been fielding Njabulo Ngcobo, an off-season arrival from Swallows FC.

Khanye also blasts Chiefs’ overreliance on Keagan Dolly and Khama Billiat.

“So Kaizer Chiefs, I see them struggling. I love Dolly and Billiat but you can’t rely on these two players in all your games. They need to be complemented and they cannot perform each and every game,” said Khanye.

“Tower [Erick Mathoho] is very disappointing. I see Stuart Baxter having two defenders who cost him 13 points previously before last year and he is still playing them. Last year Chiefs almost got relegated with those two centre-backs. Then you sign Defender of the Season and you make him a central midfielder. What are you trying to achieve?

“I’m talking about Ngcobo. He is the Defender of the Season, he was given an award for defending. Now you make him a defensive midfielder.”

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw has advised his teammate Eric Bailly to keep up the ‘incredible’ performance he produced in their Champions League draw with Atalanta.

Bailly was handed a rare start at the Gewiss Stadium, in the absence of Victor Lindelof and he played a role in helping the visitors avoid defeat as they came back from behind twice to secure a 2-2 draw.

During Tuesday’s encounter, the 27-year-old made four interceptions with seven duels won in total and he made a clearance and two crucial blocks.

For a player who last played for United in September, Shaw was impressed by the Ivory Coast international’s display and he was full of praise for him.

“He was unbelievable,” Shaw told the club’s website.

“He hasn’t had many chances and, of course, it’s tough, it’s not easy for someone to not play for that long and come into a game especially like this, the way they press, at their home place, a very difficult game. But he was incredible.

“A big well done to him for the way he’s been over the last few months, he’s trained well, trained hard and patiently waited for his chance and I think he took it tonight really well.

“I think that’s the level now for him he needs to show day in, day out and, of course, in the next game.”

With Raphael Varane out injured for a month, Bailly is in contention to play his first Premier League game of the season when the Red Devils take on their city rivals in Saturday’s Manchester derby.

Following the draw at Atalanta, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also praised the Ivorian defender for his defensive work.

"Eric did well,” Solskjaer said. “He's not played for us for a little while. Eric wanted to do well, and he made a lot of blocks no one else but him can do."

Victor Moses scored Spartak Moscow's only goal as Daniel Amartey rescued a 1-1 draw for Leicester City in Thursday's Uefa Europa League match.

Moses broke the deadlock at the King Power Stadium in the 51st minute with his first goal of the season.

The former Chelsea and Liverpool midfielder nodded in Mikhail Ignatov's cross to give Spartak Moscow an advantage of beating Brendan Rodgers' men who defeated them by 4-3 in the reverse fixture a fortnight ago.

Unfortunately for the Russian visitors, it did not take long for Leicester City to respond as they grabbed an equaliser through Amartey.

The Ghana star turned Ayoze Perez's assist into the back of the net with his header in the 58th minute.

It was the third goal scored by Amartey for the Foxes since his signing from FC Copenhagen in 2016 and it was also his third Europa League effort, having previously scored two goals in his former club.

Leicester City had a chance of completing the comeback in the 75th minute with a penalty opportunity but second-half substitute Jamie Vardy who replaced Zambia's Patson Daka, failed to beat goalkeeper Aleksandr Selikhov.

Spartak Moscow held on for a vital point on the road with Moses playing from start to finish for them.

Leicester City, on the hand, had Nigeria's Kelechi Iheanacho in action for the entire duration while his compatriot Wilfred Ndidi made his return from injury as a 58th-minute substitute for Ayoze Perez.

Ademola Lookman was also in action as a second-half substitute for the hosts.

As a result of the draw, Leicester City remain in the third spot in Group C with five points after five games while Spartak sit at the bottom with four points.

In the other Group C outing, Napoli came from behind to defeat their hosts Legia Warsaw 4-1 without red-hot forward Victor Osimhen.

Second-half goals from Piotr Zielinski, Dries Mertens, Hirving Lozano and Algeria's Adam Ounas got the job done for the Serie A club in Poland.

The victory helped Napoli displace Legia Warsaw as group leaders as they now have seven points from four matches. 

Antonio Conte has admitted that Tottenham need to "work on many aspects" after their thrilling win against Vitesse on Thursday night.

Spurs picked up a hard-fought 3-2 victory in Conte's first game in charge against Dutch opposition in the Europe Conference League.

The north London outfit almost let a three-goal slip in a contest that saw three red cards dished out, with the Italian tactician relieved to see his new team avoid an upset after "suffering" throughout the 90 minutes.

What's been said?

Conte is wary of the quick turnaround between Tottenham's European commitments and their next Premier League clash against Everton on Sunday, which marks their final outing before the next international break.

"It was a crazy game," he told BT Sport post-match. "Usually, I don't like this type of game - a crazy game means anything can happen. But at the same time, I think we should win and we won.

"We were winning 3-0 then conceded two goals we can avoid. After a red card we were in trouble. To win while suffering is good for this team, these players.

"They needed to improve their confidence. They needed to work a lot. the problem is we have to find the time to work. We have two days until the next game [they play Everton on Sunday], then it's the international break.

"For sure we have to improve. It's not easy because in two days we prepare for this [Everton] game... now we have only one day. Tomorrow it's impossible to work with the players who played tonight. They used a lot of energy. Tomorrow they have to rest and we'll work with the players who didn't play.

"We need to have a bit of patience because we need to work on many aspects - tactically and physically. I'm not afraid about the work. I know only through the work you can reach important targets."

Conte's baptism of fire

Conte's reign got off to the best possible start as Spurs scored three goals in the opening 30 minutes against Vitesse, with Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura finding the net before an own goal from Jacob Rasmussen.

However, Rasmussen quickly redeemed himself by scoring at the other end and Vitesse pulled another goal back through Matus Bero to set up a tense second half.

Tottenham's task was made all the more difficult when Cristian Romero was sent off on the hour mark, but the hosts ultimately held on for the three points as their opponents saw Danilho Dokehi and goalkeeper Markus Schubert both receive late red cards.

Conte's side moved up to second in Group G as a result, but Son said the new manager will need more time to stamp his own unique mark on the squad.

Asked if he made any immediate changes after arriving at the club on Tuesday, the South Korean forward told BT Sport: "Nothing special. He took only two sessions. It was hard for him and the players.

"We did well, especially in first 30 minutes. I'm looking forward to working with him. Every day, every session, I try to learn."

Further reading

Said Benrahma scored a brace for West Ham United in their 2-2 draw with Paul Onuachu’s Genk in a Uefa Europa League encounter on Thursday.

Ghana's Joseph Paintsil gave the Belgian First Division A club an early lead with his fourth-minute opener that separated both teams in the first-half.

Benrahma equalised for the visitors in the 59th minute and later put them ahead after he converted Aaron Cresswell's assist, with eight minutes left on the clock.

The Algerian gave the Hammers hopes of getting their fourth straight win in Group H, but it was dashed after Tomas Soucek scored an own goal in the 87th minute.

Benrahma's brillance at the Cegeka Arena made him the first West Ham United player to score a brace in a major European competition since David Cross’ hat-trick against Real Madrid Castilla in the Cup Winners’ Cup in October 1980.

It also made him surpass his tally in his debut 2020-21 season at West Ham United. The 26-year-old has now contributed six goals and three assists in 15 appearances for the Hammers this term.

Nigeria's Onuachu played from start to finish for Genk, but he could not add to his tally of a goal after four appearances in the Europa League this campaign.

Despite the dropped points, the Hammers remain at the summit of Group H with 10 points after four matches. They lead second-placed Genk by six points, with two games left to play for.

Declan Rice, meanwhile, hailed the impact of his Algerian teammate Said Benrahma and he also praised him for his 'unbelievable' qualities.

“I’ve been with Said [Benrahma] for over a year now and I know what he can do. I’m always on at him to keep doing what he’s doing on the pitch – keep expressing himself and keep having the fun that he has,” Rice told the club’s website.

“Tonight you can see the fun he had, he bailed us out with his two goals and he’s an unbelievable player.”

West Ham will now turn their attention to Sunday's Premier League game against Liverpool at the London Stadium, before they visit Rapid Wien for their next Europa League fixture on November 25.

Leon Balogun scored an own goal as Rangers played out a 1-1 draw with Brondby in Thursday’s Uefa Europa League match.

Two weeks after scoring his first goal in a European competition against the Danish team, the 33-year-old turned the ball into the back of his own net on the stroke of half-time to break the deadlock at the Brondby Stadion.

Balogun’s own goal stretched an unwanted record for Steven Gerrard’s side, making them the only team to have scored the most own goals (5) in the Europa League since the start of the 2019-20 season.

After the resumption of play, the Scottish Premiership giants scored an equaliser through second-half substitute Ianis Hagi in the 77th minute.

Balogun played the entire duration alongside his compatriot Joe Aribo while Calvin Bassey came on as an 81st-minute substitute and Zambia's Fashion Sakala was replaced in the 56th minute.

Rangers remain unmoved in the third spot, level on four points with second-placed Sparta Prague after four games while Brondby sit at the bottom with two points.

In the other Group A fixture, Algeria striker Islam Slimani scored a brace and Cameroon's Karl Toko Ekambi grabbed a lone goal as Lyon hammered Sparta Prague 3-0 to confirm their qualification into the round of 32.

After a goalless first 45 minutes at the Groupama Stadium, Slimani scored two quickfire goals within two minutes to give the hosts a two-goal lead.

He was replaced in the 69th minute and Toko Ekambi came off the bench at that same time to extend his fine goalscoring in the secondary European competition.

The Cameroon star found the back of the net in the 92nd minute which took his tally to six goals after four matches in the tournament this campaign.

Lyon sit comfortably atop of Group A with an unblemished record of 12 points from four games.

Their next Europa League outing is a trip to Brondby on November 25 while Balogun and Aribo's Rangers host Sparta Prague that same day at the Ibrox Stadium.

Burnley star Maxwel Cornet has been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month award for October.

To pick up this prize, the Cote d’Ivoire international must shrug off challenges from Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah as well as England international and Manchester City star Phil Foden.

Others include Chelsea’s Ben Chilwell, Southampton’s Tino Livramento, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, West Ham United’s Declan Rice and Youri Tielemans of Leicester City.

Since his move to Turf Moor, the 25-year-old Elephant has been impressive for Sean Dyche’s men. In the period under review, he scored three goals in as many starts – which included great strikes against Southampton and Brentford.

For Salah, he found the net on five occasions in the English elite division during the month.

Votes from a panel of football experts will decide the winner who will be announced next week.

Portugal international and Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo picked up the award for September after seeing off Joao Cancelo, Antonio Rudiger, Allan Saint-Maximin, Salah and Ismaila Sarr.

Even after his fine start to life in England, manager Dyche demanded an improvement from the former Olympique Lyon star.

“We are still working on the other side of his game because in the Premier League the transition is very quick,” he said about Cornet, as per Lancs Live.

“We know he can attack and give us something different and we have seen that.

“The openness of the defending side still needs a bit of understanding, the fitness and the sharpness of the Premier League. It will come together but it takes a little bit of time.

“We have to get some energy into his running rather than clapping the fans, he spends a lot of time clapping the fans but don’t worry I will knock that out of him as soon as I can."

“I thought he was losing his way a little bit and we were losing our way a little bit, without looking in too much trouble,” he continued.

“We didn’t have the same feel and the same control, from our play, not from Maxwel. We hadn’t kept the ball as well or dealt with the ball as well so it was more of a tactical thing.

“Vyds with his energy and pace and just seeing the game through. There was a bit of nervousness in the second half, it is one of those things and I spoke to the players about it.

“Controlling the emotion of the game, we are normally pretty good about that but when you haven’t had a win that plays on the mind.

“We are pleased to get that story to stop now and we will get on with the next one that comes around.”

Joe Scally and Jesus Ferreira are set to join the likes of Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie in the U.S. men's national team squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

The U.S. will take on Mexico on November 12 in Cincinnati before visiting Jamaica four days later for their final qualifier of 2021.

Scally, who has starred at Borussia Monchengladbach this season, is in line to make his USMNT debut as the U.S. will be without star fullback Sergino Dest due to a back injury.

The USMNT squad

GOALKEEPERS: Sean Johnson (New York City FC), Zack Steffen (Manchester City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

DEFENDERS: Reggie Cannon (Boavista), Mark McKenzie (Genk), Chris Richards (Hoffenheim), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Sam Vines (Royal Antwerp), DeAndre Yedlin (Galatasaray), Walker Zimmerman (Nashville SC)

MIDFIELDERS: Kellyn Acosta (Colorado Rapids), Tyler Adams (RB Leipzig), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Sebastian Lletget (LA Galaxy), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (Valencia), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)

FORWARDS: Brenden Aaronson (Red Bull Salzburg), Paul Arriola (D.C. United), Jesus Ferreira (FC Dallas), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas), Christian Pulisic (Chelsea), Tim Weah (Lille)

Who is Scally?

Scally joins the U.S. after breaking through with Borussia Monchengladbach, having joined the club in January from NYCFC.

Able to play on the left or the right, Scally has featured in 10 matches this season, scoring his first goal in a win over Wolfsburg in October.

He's been particularly impressive in two gams against Bayern Munich, helping Gladbach to a 1-1 draw early in the season and then a 5-0 win over the defending champions on October 27.

Scally has not yet represented the USMNT, although he was mentioned by Berhalter last month as a player that was on the team's radar.

He may very well be thrust straight into the starting lineup, though, as Dest is set to miss out due to an injury suffered with Barcelona

The big picture

As things stand, the U.S. sits second in the table through the first six games of World Cup qualifying.

The U.S. has amassed 11 points from those six games, behind only this window's first opponent Mexico, who have earned 14.

Canada, meanwhile, currently holds that third and final automatic qualifying spot with 10 points, having remained unbeaten so far, with Panama fourth on eight points.

Jamaica, the second opponent of the window, has earned five points, having already lost 2-0 to the U.S. in October behind two goals from Ricardo Pepi.

Further reading

Kaizer Chiefs coach Stuart Baxter has revealed they will be without left-back Sifiso Hlanti in Saturday’s Soweto Derby confrontation against Orlando Pirates at FNB Stadium.

Hlanti injured his Achillies tendon during training on Thursday and will not participate in the first league clash of the season between the two South African football giants.

“In training, Sifiso Hlanti tore his Achilles tendon today so that’s another one on our list,” Baxter told the media on Thursday.

“So he’s going to be out for probably a good few months. I think everybody has injuries and we both got our injury list, and you can wish that he would be back and we can have a full squad to select from, but that’s not how it is.

“Everybody we have been working with has been doing a great job and really working hard. When the derby comes, that little more of adrenalin kicks in.”

Hlanti is back on the sidelines after having played two games since his return from suspension following his red card against Marumo Gallants in September.

That saw him missing the trip to AmaZulu and the 4-0 home win over Chippa United.  

In his absence, Baxter has options to pick Reeve Frosler, Sibusiso Mabiliso or Siphosakhe Ntiya-Ntiya.

Frosler stood in for Hlanti when the veteran defender was out suspended in October while Mabiliso has made three league appearances this season and Ntiya-Ntiya is yet to feature in any match this term.

Experienced left-back Hlanti joins a growing list of injured Chiefs players.

He becomes the latest fitness concern after attacking midfielder Leboogang Manyama who was also recently injured in training.

Striker Samir Nurkovic underwent surgery on his knee at the end of September and is now recovering in his home country Serbia where he is also attending to a personal issue.

Another forward Leonardo Castro is also busy trying to regain fitness after surgery, just like Nurkovic.

Defender Siyabonga Ngezana is not expected to be back this year but Dumisani Zuma is edging closer to fitness as he has been participating in full training for the past few weeks.

Ousmane Dembele thought that he had shaken off his injury troubles at Barcelona, but the France international forward is back on the sidelines with another hamstring problem.

The 24-year-old winger only made his latest return to action for the Blaugrana in their 1-0 Champions League win over Dynamo Kyiv.

He was handed 25 minutes off the bench in that contest and will see his search for full match fitness brought to an abrupt halt there as he prepares to head back to the treatment room.

What has been said?

Delivering a fitness update on the club’s official website, Barca have said: “The first team player Sergino Dest has lower back pain. He is unavailable for selection and his recovery will dictate his return.

“The first team player Ousmane Dembele has a strain in the semimembranosus muscle of his left hamstring. He is unavailable for selection and his recovery will dictate his return.”

How long will Dembele be out for?

For now, Barcelona are merely ruling Dembele out of a La Liga meeting with Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Given that he is going to be forced to miss that fixture, it is highly unlikely that the World Cup winner will be called upon by France during the November international break.

That shutdown in domestic duties could work in Dembele’s favour, as he sets out on another road to recovery, but hamstring issues have been holding him back for a while now.

An untimely injury picked up at Euro 2020 forced the Barca winger to miss the remainder of that competition with his country and 14 games at club level.

Just one outing has been taken in since then, and it remains to be seen how many more will be sat out.

Barca will return to action after the international break in a derby date with Espanyol on November 20, before then facing Benfica in the Champions League and Villarreal in the Spanish top-flight.

Further reading

Coach Gernot Rohr has revealed why Bordeaux star Samuel Kalu was not called up for Nigeria’s World Cup qualifiers against Liberia and Cape Verde.

The winger has been a key figure in the Super Eagles squad since the German tactician took charge of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations champions.

Astonishingly, the 24-year-old was not listed among the players to take on the Lone Star and Blue Sharks en route 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

According to Rohr, the jet-heeled forward asked for permission to sit out the World Cup qualifiers in a bid to concentrate on his club career following a topsy-turvy 2021-22 campaign.

“I spoke with him and he asked not to be selected,” the former Gabon and Burkina Faso handler told France Bleu Gironde.

“He made a very good argument about wanting to concentrate on the club - he told me that the time had come for him to give his all, to fight to regain his place in the Girondin's squad. I found his speech to be very positive.

“We have a lot of wingers in our squad, that is true. The competition is fierce, but I think what matters now is for him to have a starting place at Girondins. He has the means, but he has to be in top physical condition.”

In the 2021-22 campaign, Kalu has featured in just nine Ligue 1 matches – with three of them in the starting XI. His only goal of the season campaign came in the 3-3 draw against Montpellier on September 22.

Since collapsing during a league game against Olympique Marseille in August, the former Gent and AS Trencin man has been battling with one injury or the other.

Now that he's edging towards being fully fit, he will be hoping to feature for Vladimir Petkovic’s men when they square up against Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux.

Nigeria will travel to Morocco for their penultimate Group C fixture against Liberia on November 13 before hosting Cape Verde in Lagos, three days later.

The three-time African champions lead Group C having accrued nine points from four matches while the Blue Sharks trail in the second spot with seven points.