Soccer

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has left out Fernando Torres from his squad for two World Cup qualifiers, including the critical match against France. Del Bosque says "Torres had been a regular until recently, his inconsistency worries us." Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea takes the place of injured captain Iker...

The Premier League's struggling teams were scrambling around on the final day of the January transfer window for players to help save them from relegation. Last-place Queens Park Rangers was the most active, signing defender Christopher Samba from Russian club Anzhi Makhachkala for a reported club-record fee of 12 million...

Costa Rica plans to file an official protest with FIFA about Friday's 1-0 loss to the United States in a Rocky Mountain snowstorm, according to a Reuters report. A Costa Rica soccer federation official told domestic media that the protest would be made Saturday, Reuters reported. Costa Rica has 24...

Rafael's exquisite strike helped Manchester United stay on course for the Premier League title Saturday with a 2-0 win as embattled QPR's survival hopes took another blow. The Brazilian right back's first-half effort set Sir Alex Ferguson's side on course for a victory, which was wrapped up 10 minutes from...

Galatasaray reached the quarterfinals of the Champions League after edging out valiant Schalke 3-2 at the Veltins-Arena. Despite taking an early lead through Roman Neustadter, the German side was ultimately undone by strikes from Hamit Altintop and Burak Yilmaz just before the break. Although Michel Bastos levelled just after the hour,...

Atletico Madrid held nine-man Sevilla to a draw in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal to edge through to the final and a showdown with city rivals Real. Sevilla, who trailed 2-1 from the opening match, looked to be heading out of the competition when Diego Costa...

Lionel Messi started the comeback with two first-half goals, and Barcelona overwhelmed AC Milan 4-0 Tuesday night to reach its sixth straight Champions League quarterfinal and become the first team ever to advance after losing the first leg 2-0 on the road. Messi scored in the fifth and 40th...

Nice won for the third time in the past four league games as it beat struggling Reims 2-0 on Friday to consolidate fourth place in the French league and move provisionally one point behind Marseille. Midfielder Valentin Eysseric put Nice ahead in the 11th minute from the penalty spot and...

Arsenal maestro Santi Cazorla rescued Arsene Wenger from another disappointing result with a late winner to beat a valiant Aston Villa 2-1 on Saturday. Cazorla opened the scoring in the sixth minute, but Villa came back strongly and equalized through Andreas Weimann after the break. Arsenal threw everything at Villa keeper...

Mario Gomez scored two goals and set up another as Bayern Munich continued its march toward the Bundesliga title with a dominant 6-1 victory over 10-man Werder Bremen on Saturday. Arjen Robben opened the scoring in the 25th minute and Javi Martinez made it 2-0 moments later. Sebastian Prodl was red-carded...

Two goals from Zlatan Ibrahimovic saw Paris St Germain through to the quarterfinals of the Coupe de France on Wednesday night at the expense of bitter rivals Marseille. It was the second meeting between the two teams in a matter of days, with PSG winning 2-0 in the league fixture...

Brazilian giants Corinthians claimed a 2-0 win over Colombian side Millonarios in front of only four fans in their Pacaembu stadium. The South American football federation has banned the Brazilian club's supporters because of the death of a visiting 14-year-old Bolivian fan, who was killed by a flare when San...