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LISBON - Portugal named former Belgium coach Roberto Martínez as their new manager on Monday and the Spaniard said he would sit down with Cristiano Ronaldo to talk about his future in the team.

Martínez, 49, replaces Fernando Santos, who left his job after Portugal suffered a shock defeat by Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals.

"I appreciate the enthusiasm and ambition with which he (Martínez) received the invitation," Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) President Fernando Gomes told a news conference as Martínez stood next to him.

BERLIN - Borussia Dortmund forward Sébastien Haller is back in team training and ready to make his competitive comeback following surgery and treatment for testicular cancer.

The striker was diagnosed during a pre-season training camp in July and had been signed only weeks earlier by Dortmund for an initial fee of $33.24 million.

France Football Federation (FFF) president Noël Le Graët apologized to Zinedine Zidane on Monday after his comments on the former Real Madrid coach drew the ire of players, politicians and even the Spanish club.

Zidane was one of the favorites to take charge of the national team if Didier Deschamps had stepped down but his contract was extended after he led France to the World Cup final, where they lost to Argentina in Qatar last month.

With Leeds United just two points above the Premier League relegation zone nearing the campaign's halfway point, an FA Cup exit to EFL Championship side Cardiff City on Sunday would've certainly left Jesse Marsch's job security on the brink.

It looked pretty hopeless at halftime after Jaden Philogene and Sheyi Ojo scored to give Cardiff a 2-0 advantage while the 6,000 Leeds supporters who'd made their way to Wales booed their players and manager off the pitch.

U.S. Soccer is experiencing a brutal period. Gregg Berhalter’s contract is up but is still being considered as a potential option for the men's head coaching gig. 

While the next coach is being decided there’s been an incredibly childish conflict between Berhalter and the parents of phenom Gio Reyna. The Reyna parents allegedly blackmailed Berhalter over an incident back in 1991 when he kicked his now wife, Rosalind.

When Cristiano Ronaldo signed a two and a half year deal with Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr on Friday, the Portuguese legend put pen to paper on a contract worth $75 million annually, meaning he'll almost certainly still be the world's highest paid footballer when he turns 40 on Feb. 5, 2025. 

PARIS - France striker Kylian Mbappé has shrugged off Argentina keeper Emiliano Martínez's taunts after the World Cup final, saying he did not "waste energy on such futile things" as he awaited the return of Paris Saint Germain teammate Lionel Messi.

Mbappé became the second player to score a World Cup final hat-trick as he dragged his country back into the match with a late second-half double and an extra-time penalty, which was still not enough as Argentina prevailed in a shootout.