Soccer – Winnipeg Free Press

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Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez leads the league in goals. The club has now spent 10 week in first place going into the Derby d’Italia clash against Juventus on Saturday.

An Inter win would underscore Milan’s Oly success

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Feb. 13, 2026

MILAN — After a brief eviction from San Siro (something about Andrea Bocelli, Mariah Carey and five interlocking rings), Inter Milan is back home at its iconic, century-old ground. And not a moment too soon. Juventus is coming to town for the Derby d’Italia (Saturday, 1:45 p.m. CT, FuboTV), and any other stadium just wouldn’t do.

That’s not to disrespect Stadio Brianteo, where Inter “hosted” and defeated Torino last week in the Coppa Italia. It’s a perfectly fine arena for Monza, presently in a promotion battle in Serie B. But the biggest match in Italian football? Not a chance.

This is a showdown made for the grandest stage, and stages don’t come much grander than San Siro. The imposing and beloved, if creaking, venue was decked out and shown to all the world as the setting for the Opening Ceremony of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games. It looked good, all dressed up.

But who’s kidding who? As much fun as it was to see it welcome international athletes and hear it boo JD Vance, it only truly comes alive when either Inter or AC Milan — or both — are gracing its legendary surface.

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Richard Pelham / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Manchester City’s Erling Haaland reacts during Sunday’s match against Tottenham Hotspur. The Sky Blues lost the two goal lead in the second half with the match ending in a two-all draw.

Post-halftime collapses recurring theme for Manchester club

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Post-halftime collapses recurring theme for Manchester club

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

Maybe you’ve heard someone who doesn’t watch basketball opine that only the last few minutes of hoops are worth watching. (For the record, I am not this person. Basketball, especially when my team is playing, makes me more nervous than any other sport.)

Now, let’s take that idiom, adjust it to soccer and apply it to a phenomenon that’s backed up by evidence. Like this: Manchester City matches only begin after halftime.

Take their February 1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur for example.

Leading 2-0 at the break thanks to goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo, and having dominated every statistical category through 45 minutes, City looked an entirely different team in the second half. And not in a good way.

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Friday, Feb. 6, 2026

Jose Breton / The Associated Press files
Real Madrid appears back to its dominating self under new head coach Álvaro Arbeloa (left).

Arbeloa seemingly perfect fit in Real Madrid hierarchy

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Arbeloa seemingly perfect fit in Real Madrid hierarchy

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 23, 2026

Only at Real Madrid can you beat Barcelona in La Liga and be fired nine games later.

Only at Real Madrid can you go from Manager of the Month to cleaning out your office in the space of half a season. Only at Real Madrid can you post the best defensive record in the division, lead it for 10 of 19 weeks and be sacked for underperforming. Only at Real Madrid…

To say the standards are a bit different in the Spanish capital is a massive understatement. Xabi Alonso, who won the title, the Copa del Rey and the Champions League at the club as a player, knew this better than most when he was named its head coach back in June. It didn’t matter.

You see, those famous standards, those almost impossible measures that have made Los Blancos the record Spanish and European champions, apply to much more than the standings and stat sheets.

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Friday, Jan. 23, 2026

MOSA’AB ELSHAMY / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Morocco players celebrate after winning their semifinal match against Nigeria in a shootout Wednesday. The host nation will battle for the African Cup of Nations title Sunday against Senegal.

Morocco delivers tournament triumph

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Morocco delivers tournament triumph

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 16, 2026

The reviews are in, and they are unanimous. The Africa Cup of Nations, set to conclude with Sunday’s final, has proved an overwhelming success.

The stadiums? A+. The organization? Thumbs up. The on-pitch product? Ten out of ten.

By just about every measure, host nation Morocco has delivered a continental football triumph. If there were any doubts regarding its ability to stage World Cup matches in 2030, they’ve been sent to their room, scolded for their audacity and put thoroughly to bed.

Yes, a transportation solution to Agadir, some 500 kilometres south of Casablanca, will have to be found as its stadium exceeded half its capacity just twice over the past month. But that’s just nitpicking.

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Friday, Jan. 16, 2026

THEMBA HADEBE / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nigeria’s Akor Adams (left) — who just made his national team debut in October — keeps finding the scoresheet at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. The Super Eagles clash with Algeria in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Africa Cup of Nations trophy to be earned, not handed over

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Africa Cup of Nations trophy to be earned, not handed over

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

On Friday morning, in a video message shared by the Nigerian men’s national team’s social media channels, former captain Segun Odegbami exhorted his compatriots to win the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.

“They should play without fear; they should play like champions,” he said.

Of course, they’re not champions — not yet — and to lift the trophy for the first time in 13 years they’ll have to win three times between now and next Sunday’s final, starting with Saturday’s match against 2019 champion Algeria (10 a.m., beIN Sports).

For the most part, Odegbami’s rallying cry was hardly exceptional. He encouraged the players to perform with confidence and to entertain their fans. Then he added a line that could also be heard as unremarkable, but was one that surely irritated Algeria and every other team on the continent, whether at the Cup of Nations or not.

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Friday, Jan. 9, 2026

Themba Hadebe / The Associated Press
Morocco’s Neil Yoni El Aynaoui heads the ball during an Africa Cup of Nations preliminary-round match against Zambia in Rabat, Morocco.

Nothing can be taken for granted in all-Africa soccer showdown

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Preview

Nothing can be taken for granted in all-Africa soccer showdown

Jerrad Peters 6 minute read Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

Not quite two years ago, Ivory Coast was dealt the heaviest home defeat in its history when its Elephants were flattened by Equatorial Guinea’s National Thunder.

That the 4-0 drubbing took place in the country’s largest city, and during the Africa Cup of Nations it was hosting, was embarrassing enough. That it followed a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria meant it was facing the likelihood of group stage elimination.

The players were in tears; the nation was furious. Worst of all, Ivorian icon Didier Drogba wasn’t angry — he was just disappointed.

Two days later, head coach Jean-Louis Gasset was sacked. That evening, Morocco edged Zambia in the final first-round match. The result meant Côte d’Ivoire had slipped into the last 16 as the fourth-best third-place team. Emerse Fae, a Gasset assistant, was quickly hired to replace his old boss.

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Friday, Jan. 2, 2026

Jeremias Gonzalez / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Paris Saint-Germain’s Achraf Hakimi is set to captain Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations that kicks off Sunday. The tournament — initially planned for last June and July — was shunted to the end of the year when FIFA decided to hold its nonsensical Club World Cup during the international window.

Africa Cup of Nations already unprecedented success

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Africa Cup of Nations already unprecedented success

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Dec. 19, 2025

If a reminder was needed that Morocco is very, very excited about the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations — and there really wasn’t — it was provided by a single headline Wednesday morning on the Foot-Africa website: “Achraf Hakimi touches the ball again ahead of AFCON 2025.”

The accompanying article merely elaborated on how Hakimi, the Moroccan captain, had touched the ball, why it was noteworthy that he’d touched the ball, and whether he’d be touching the ball again Sunday when Morocco faces Comoros (1:00 p.m., beIN Sports) in the Cup of Nations it will host between Dec. 21 and Jan. 18.

Africa’s pre-eminent football event, its Euro or Copa equivalent, is always a big deal, which goes without saying. But an AFCON in Morocco? That’s another thing, and another level, entirely.

Massive billboards in the six host cities have been counting down to kickoff for several weeks. The 2025 Africa Sports Expo, which addresses the economics, infrastructure, technology and governance of sports on the continent, started Thursday in Casablanca to coincide with the tournament. Automaker Suzuki has unveiled two special edition, AFCON-themed cars.

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Friday, Dec. 19, 2025

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Lens’ head coach Pierre Sage understands his players and knows how to help them extract the best versions of themselves.

Lens one win away from first place in Ligue 1

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Lens one win away from first place in Ligue 1

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Dec. 12, 2025

Northern France is having a moment. In the context of top-flight French football, it’s not every day, or year, or decade, that they get one. So, we’ll let them have it, and we’ll even raise a festive glass of cidre chaud. After all, Racing Club de Lens, the country’s second-most northern club, is about to enter the winter break atop Ligue 1.

More on Lens in a moment. First, it’s important to explain what we mean when we say “northern France.”

Essentially, we’re looking at the administrative regions along the Channel coast — Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France — as well as Grand Est, as it borders both Belgium and Luxembourg. Eight of Ligue 1’s 18 teams call it home (we’re excluding Nantes, historically of Brittany but officially of Pays de la Loire), and between them they’ve won 12 titles.

That’s 12 titles, for the record, over 112 seasons. Not great.

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Friday, Dec. 12, 2025

Vancouver FC photo
Joseph Green says ‘it feels great’ to have all his hard work pay off.

Winnipeggers reunited on Vancouver FC

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Preview

Winnipeggers reunited on Vancouver FC

Taylor Allen 6 minute read Monday, Dec. 8, 2025

It was the week of the Canadian Premier League’s U Sports Draft and Joseph Green was imagining how cool it would be if he and fellow Winnipegger Nico Nadeau ended up on the same club.

There’s no need to imagine now.

Vancouver FC made it a reality Nov. 28 when they selected Green third overall before choosing Nadeau at the start of Round 2 with the No. 10 pick.

“I kid you not, I think I was more excited when he got drafted than when I got drafted,” said Green, an 18-year-old defender who plays at Mount Royal University.

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Monday, Dec. 8, 2025

Alex Brandon / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. President Donald Trump (centre) placed the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize medal on himself in Napoleonesque fashion Friday that FIFA President Gianni Infantino (right) had awarded him at the 2026 World Cup Group Stage Draw alongside the macabre inaugural trophy.

World Cup draw cartoonish, loathsome and repugnant

Jerrad Peters 4 minute read Preview

World Cup draw cartoonish, loathsome and repugnant

Jerrad Peters 4 minute read Friday, Dec. 5, 2025

Believe it or not, a men’s World Cup will begin in just a few months. For the 42 national teams already qualified for the five-week, three-country, sixteen-city competition, a schedule has even begun to emerge. The full 48-team field will not be known until the last day of March, however, as FIFA has bloated the thing beyond recognition.

Anyway, if you’ve already forgotten that the Group Stage Draw was conducted on Friday, don’t worry. You’re not alone. The event that took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., had little to do with the soccer set to kick off 187 days from now.

Instead, what we saw, what we’ll remember, was a clumsy pageant that put into speeches and songs what we’ve known for some time: that FIFA has completed its metamorphosis from sports organization to the promotional vehicle of a depraved American administration.

The actual draw took place the same day the United States, which will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, announced it would expand its travel ban to more than 30 nations — presumably including, as U.S. President Donald Trump described them in a tantrum earlier this week, “shithole countries” like Haiti and “garbage” like Somalia. Haiti, incidentally, will be a World Cup participant.

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Friday, Dec. 5, 2025

Antonio Calanni / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Gian Piero Gasperini will be watching the Derby del Sole from the press box Sunday. Roma’s new manager will be serving a suspension for lashing out at the referee during last weekend’s win at Cremonese.

Here’s to hoping footy only talking point after Derby del Sole

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Here’s to hoping footy only talking point after Derby del Sole

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 28, 2025

Officially, Neapolitans are banned from buying tickets for il Derby del Sole at Stadio Olimpico. In actuality, at least 15,000 Partenopei will attend the match between their SSC Napoli and archrival AS Roma on Sunday (1:45 p.m., FuboTV).

An even greater number will be present in the Italian capital. They tend not to arrive quietly (trust me), and on Friday afternoon the local authorities convened to discuss security protocols. A 24-hour general strike halted train traffic from Thursday night, so they had a bit longer than usual to lay out their plans.

They’ll have needed it. Inexplicably, the match will kick off at 8:45 p.m. in Rome — an entire day requiring heightened police presence and public safety measures in the city centre. And, because the stadium will only empty sometime around 11:30 p.m., an already tense situation will inevitably extend into Monday.

Oh, and the game will involve two of the top sides in Serie A.

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Friday, Nov. 28, 2025

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
Valour FC’s Raphael Ohin defends against York United’s Julian Altobelli in a game back in August. Ohin is more upset that the up-and-coming players he works with won’t have the opportunity to play professionally in their own backyard.

‘It felt like a piece of me was ripped away’

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Preview

‘It felt like a piece of me was ripped away’

Taylor Allen 5 minute read Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025

Driving past the former home of Valour FC on the weekend was enough to bring Raphael Ohin to tears.

The 30-year-old defensive midfielder — the only player to suit up in all seven of the club’s seasons, a captain since 2024, and a fan favourite for his energy and effort on the pitch — suddenly has no reason to pull into that parking lot anymore.

The Winnipeg Football Club announced Friday that Valour is folding.

“When I saw the stadium, it broke my heart,” said an emotional Ohin in a phone interview with the Free Press on Tuesday.

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Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025

Dave Thompson / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES
Manchester City striker Erling Haaland (centre) needs one more goal to take Alan Shearer’s title of fastest player to 100 goals in Premier League history.

An early Christmas wish list for footy fans

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

An early Christmas wish list for footy fans

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

It is a month before Christmas, and from shopping malls to holiday markets to winter wonderlands, untold Santa Clauses in umpteen countries have been hearing the whispered wishes of football clubs, players and fans.

Due to Santa-wisher privilege, we can never know for sure just what the Jolly Old St. Nicks have been hearing. But that won’t stop us from guessing. After all, who isn’t curious what the other kid has wrapped under the tree?

Barcelona: a wish for Harry Kane

We don’t even have to listen closely to learn what Barcelona wants for Christmas, as they don’t have an indoor voice. “HARRY KANE, PLEASE!” And they’ll likely get him, although they’ll have to be patient. The 32-year-old will see out the season at Bayern Munich, where he has twice as many Bundesliga goals this season as the next highest scorer. But he also has a release clause of 65 million euros that Barca will be happy to pay in the spring, especially as Robert Lewandowski’s contract expires in June. Santa might even be on commission for this one.

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Friday, Nov. 21, 2025

Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS
Canada’s Richie Laryea (right) has been a physical presence who plays on the edge every time he sports the Maple Leaf.

Canadian men’s team consistently full of surprises

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Canadian men’s team consistently full of surprises

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Every game tells us something. It’s the case whether a team has run up the score in a trouncing or come up just short after 90 minutes.

And yes, while it can be tricky, we can even find insights in those contests disrupted by an early red card and contorted by extended numerical advantage, or disadvantage.

No match is a throw-away. Not even Thursday’s scoreless draw between Canada and Ecuador in which Ali Ahmed was ejected — rightfully — in the sixth minute.

Let’s start there.

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Friday, Nov. 14, 2025

Fan outcry needed to curb leagues banking blood money

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Preview

Fan outcry needed to curb leagues banking blood money

Jerrad Peters 5 minute read Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

What do the FA Cup, the NBA, the Tour de France and Sudan’s civil war have in common? They’re all being funded by the United Arab Emirates.

Unsurprisingly, the UAE acknowledges only three of these sponsorships. But its financing of the fourth is a widely-held matter of fact and, increasingly, a major problem for the sporting properties receiving its cash.

Last week, the humanitarian agency Refugees International renewed its call for the NBA to sever its relationship with Emirates — the airline owned by the UAE’s sovereign wealth fund. Emirates is the title sponsor of the annual NBA Cup.

It also holds the naming rights for a Tour cycling team and English football’s FA Cup, and its wordmark can be seen on the shirts of prominent clubs like Arsenal, AC Milan and Real Madrid.

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Friday, Nov. 7, 2025

Aston Villa's Ian Maatsen, right, scores his side's opening goal during the Europa League soccer match between Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Birmingham, England, Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Darren Staples)

Aston Villa beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in Europa League amid protests and arrests

Karel Janicek, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Aston Villa beats Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in Europa League amid protests and arrests

Karel Janicek, The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025

Aston Villa beat Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 Thursday in a Europa League game played amid heightened security measures, with more than 700 police officers deployed to deal with possible protests.

Morgan Rogers put through Ian Maatsen in first-half stoppage time for the defender to score from a tight angle and Villa doubled the lead on the hour with Donyell Malen hitting the bottom corner from the penalty spot. It was Villa's third win from games in the competition.

The game at Villa Park had become the center of a political debate after Maccabi fans were banned from attending as West Midlands Police deemed the match to be high risk and cited violence and hate crimes that took place when Maccabi Tel Aviv played at Ajax in Amsterdam last season.

The ban attracted widespread criticism including from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who said it was the wrong decision.

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Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025

February 22, 2026

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