Simone Inzaghi insists neither Lazio nor Roma are favourites for Saturdayâs Derby della Capitale but believes Gianluca Rocchi is the âbestâ choice of referee. âThe derby is a unique game for everyone and weâll be facing a great team,â he said at a Press conference. âHunger can be the difference.

In October, the United States failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in more than 30 years. According to players, coaches, commentators, and executives across American soccer, the disaster was the culmination of nearly a decade of mismanagement that broke the team’s spirit and condemned them to failure.

It has been a year of increased political tension between the United States, Mexico and Canada -- but in eight years' time the three countries will unite to host one of the world's biggest sporting spectacles.

As shocking as it was for the U.S. men's national soccer team to not qualify for the 2018 World Cup, it was far from being the most shocking World Cup qualifying failure of them all.

News from around the web.

The second half of Iran and Morocco’s tightly contested group match contained nothing too out of the ordinary by World Cup standards. Each side used all three s…

France won the World Cup, with their stars Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé on the scoresheet, but Croatia will feel very hard done-by, thanks to an own goal, and VAR.

FIFA removes corruption as an official misdemeanour from its latest code of ethics, introducing defamation and halving the time prosecutors have to bring other charges to light. Football officials and players will find the word "corruption" missing from the latest version of the code of ethics governing their conduct. They will also discover how to now avoid being banned for paying and receiving bribes.

Davide Ballardini took decisive action to make Genoa less âpassiveâ against Lazio, but couldnât prevent the 4-1 defeat. The Grifone were ultimately knocked down 4-1 at the Stadio Olimpico by a Ciro Immobile brace, Felipe Caicedo and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic. âThe game was open up until their fourth goal.

Racism has been a stain on the soul of soccer for generations but a series of high-profile incidents in recent years has prompted calls for tougher action from football's governing bodies. CNN World Sport examines why racism continues to be a problem, what is being done to tackle discrimination and whether it can be eradicated from the game forever.

Uruguay centre forward Edinson Cavani has joined Paris Saint-Germain from Napoli. The price? A cool €63 million plus 10 million euros a year in wages.

The U.S men's soccer team didn't have coach Jurgen Klinsmann or midfielder Stu Holden, but it didn't matter in the end. Landon Donovan emerged with a strong performance and Brek Shea scored in the 69th minute.

Football player plays first game after he served time for a crime he did not commit.

Saturday's round up of the top transfer stories from the past 24 hours...

It makes all the difference

To some who are watching Tim Tebow struggle to play quarterback for the New England Patriots —and struggle is a mighty generous way to describe what he's doing—there is but one conclusion...

Wayne Rooney's heartstrings were being pulled in every direction by the love from all parts of Old Trafford - but it is his head that must now make the next crucial move of his career.

Gareth Bale could be on his way to Real Madrid "very, very soon" in what is expected to be the most expensive transfer ever, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said Wednesday

The clubs did not disclose financial details of the deal, but Spanish media, including state TV and Marca, the country's leading sports publication, reported Bale went for a transfer fee of €91 million.

Ouch.

Dozens of Nepalese migrant labourers have died in Qatar in recent weeks and thousands more are enduring appalling labour abuses, a Guardian investigation has found, raising serious questions about Qatar's preparations to host the 2022 World Cup.

Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has appeared before a Spanish judge as part of a tax fraud investigation. The 26-year-old Argentine, four times Fifa World Player of the Year, and his father Jorge Messi are accused of defrauding the authorities of more than 4m euros ($5.4m; £3.4m).

Footballers' contracts are sometimes lucrative, often complex and occasionally bizarre. They can also be at the centre of big disputes between clubs and their players. So what exactly does a modern footballer's contract look like?

There aren’t many people with enough wealth and devotion to soccer to commission an extravagant mansion in the shape of a soccer ball. But Luis de Garrido, a celebrated Spanish architect, bet that if he designed such a property to be built in Barcelona, one famed soccer player was sure to bite: Lionel Messi.

Qatar, the host of the 2022 soccer World Cup, is spending a lot of money to attract players and coaches. SPIEGEL spent time with a handful who have gone to the emirate and say they are aren't getting paid, but have been prevented from leaving the country.

More than six million Americans live abroad, according to recent estimates, so it was not altogether unusual when the Ledermans, a family of four from California, moved here in 2011. After all, one of them got a dream job. For the Ledermans, though, the strange thing was not the move but the reason: The opportunity that brought them to Spain was not for Danny, the father and small-business owner, or Tammy, the mother and real estate agent. It was for Ben, their 11-year-old son.

He is the greatest con-man in the history of football. Using charm and trickery as his weapons, he deceived major clubs into giving him a contract. His name? Carlos Henrique Kaiser – the Brazilian man who “wanted to be a footballer without having to play football.”

Brazil's World Cup preparations suffered a deadly setback on Wednesday when a crane collapsed, killing two building workers at the São Paulo stadium that is due to host the opening match.

Ryan Giggs is great, ain’t he? It’s his 40th birthday today and we thought we’d take a minute to salute his achievement. It’s quite incredible really. I recently turned 30 and I’m finding I have to make quite difficult decisions – like considering carefully if I really want another beer, as getting up out of …

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger insists there should be no concerns over a delay in signing a new contract at the club.

Josh Romney tweeted a photo of himself next to a car wreck and wrote of how he helped rescue four people.

2014 Fifa World Cup: Fixtures for the tournament in Brazil

The opening game of the World Cup is still more than six months away, but there were some obvious winners and losers after the tournament’s draw was held Friday in Costa do Sauípe, Brazil. The United States, which made a dramatic run to the knockout rounds four years ago in South Africa, will have a much more difficult task this time.

We examine the strengths, weaknesses and prospects of every team.

The contenders for this year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the best player of 2013 and for the FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year 2013 award have been announced.