https://www.scmp.com/rss/521882/feed The latest news and top stories on Viktor Gyokeres. A 27-year-old Sweden international, he has recently joined Arsenal Football Club as a prolific striker from Sporting Lisbon. During his two seasons at Sporting, he scored an incredible 97 goals in 102 appearances, helping them win back-to-back Primeira Liga titles and becoming the league’s top scorer twice. Known for his physicality pace and clinical finishing, Gyokeres brings a powerful presence and intelligent movement to Arsenal’s attack. He... en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Associated Press,Agence France-Presse Associated Press,Agence France-Presse The two Champions League semi-finals that start this week have a bit of a beauty and the beast contrast. Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich on Tuesday pairs two easy-on-the-eye attacking teams playing arguably the highest-quality technical football in the world today. Atletico Madrid v Arsenal on Wednesday is a clash of traditionally durable styles with tight defences. Titleholder PSG and Bayern each have won the Champions League in the past six seasons. Atletico and Arsenal have never been... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3351606/champions-league-semi-finals-contrast-easy-eye-psg-bayern-robust-atletico-arsenal?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3351606/champions-league-semi-finals-contrast-easy-eye-psg-bayern-robust-atletico-arsenal?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:00:16 +0000 Agencies Agencies Italy failed to qualify for a third consecutive World Cup as a play-off defeat on penalties to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Tuesday meant the Azzurri will not go to this year’s tournament in North America, while Turkey, the Czech Republic and Sweden all secured their places at the finals. In the intercontinental play-offs, the Democratic Republic of Congo qualified for the first time since 1974 and Iraq claimed the final World Cup place. Italy have won the World Cup four times, but they failed to... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3348620/world-cup-italy-fail-qualify-third-straight-time-while-sweden-turkey-secure-places?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3348620/world-cup-italy-fail-qualify-third-straight-time-while-sweden-turkey-secure-places?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 05:18:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Italy will face Bosnia and Herzegovina for a place at the 2026 World Cup after beating Northern Ireland 2-0 on Thursday, as Wales and the Republic of Ireland suffered agonising penalty shoot-out defeats in their qualifying play-off semi-finals. Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean struck second-half goals in Bergamo to keep four-time World Cup winners Italy on track to end a 12-year absence from the tournament. Italy missed the past two editions in Russia and Qatar but Tonali’s powerful drive and an... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3348073/world-cup-play-offs-italy-stay-track-wales-ireland-suffer-penalty-shoot-out-heartbreak?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3348073/world-cup-play-offs-italy-stay-track-wales-ireland-suffer-penalty-shoot-out-heartbreak?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Mar 2026 04:00:16 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Having grown up in “one of the most dangerous places in the world”, Samuel Granada is entirely unfazed about being the most marked man in Hong Kong football. Since joining Premier League North District on loan from Brazilian giants Fluminense back in September, Granada has scored 12 goals in 12 matches, establishing himself as the revelation of this local league season. “I’m a target for other players and fans, and there’s now an expectation among the Hong Kong people, crowds, coaches and staff... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3340718/football-star-hong-kong-embracing-pressure-after-making-it-out-brazilian-favela?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3340718/football-star-hong-kong-embracing-pressure-after-making-it-out-brazilian-favela?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:13 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Brazil and Arsenal legend Gilberto Silva believes Fifa is moving with the times by expanding the World Cup and introducing a quadrennial 32-team club equivalent. A sprawling World Cup finals next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico will feature 48 teams, up from the 32 that contested the past seven editions. Silva, a former defensive midfielder, was ever-present for Brazil when they won the most recent of their five World Cups in 2002. Speaking at an event in Hong Kong organised by CSTS... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3336309/arsenal-legend-silva-defends-world-cup-expansion-fears-brazil-arent-good-enough-win?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3336309/arsenal-legend-silva-defends-world-cup-expansion-fears-brazil-arent-good-enough-win?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Dec 2025 04:11:39 +0000 SCMP Sport SCMP Sport By any metric, Hong Kong’s first football festival has been a roaring success. Thursday’s game was something of a historic occasion, marking the first time Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur had played each other outside the UK. And three weeks before the Premier League gets under way, a North London derby seemed like the ideal way to kick pre-season into high gear. Kick being the operative word when these two sides meet. If that wasn’t enough, Arsenal fans got their first glimpse of Viktor Gyokeres... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3320289/arsenal-v-spurs-kai-tak-welcomes-1-millionth-visitor-ahead-historic-north-london-derby?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3320289/arsenal-v-spurs-kai-tak-welcomes-1-millionth-visitor-ahead-historic-north-london-derby?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Jul 2025 09:00:04 +0000 Paul McNamara Paul McNamara Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on Wednesday that the rapturous reception for his team at the Hong Kong Football Festival had given their new striker Viktor Gyokeres a “very good first impression” of the club. The Swede joined for an estimated US$74.2 million (HK$582 million) from Sporting Lisbon this week, as Arteta continued a spending spree aimed at upgrading on three successive English Premier League runners-up finishes. The 27-year-old Gyokeres, who scored 54 goals last season, trained... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3320184/hong-kong-fans-give-arsenals-us74-million-gyokeres-good-first-impression?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3320184/hong-kong-fans-give-arsenals-us74-million-gyokeres-good-first-impression?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jul 2025 15:15:32 +0000