• Michael Lynch

Australia's World Cup dream hangs by a thread after the Socceroos went down 2-0 in Tokyo to a Japanese side that booked their place in Russia thanks to their victory in front of a packed and passionate home crowd.

• ANALYSIS
• Matt Bungard

After Australia's loss to Japan on Thursday night, the path to Russia in 2018 just became all that much murkier.

• Live
• Matt Bungard

Awful, awful result for Australia. Japan are off to Russia, and the Socceroos now need to regroup and set their sites on Melbourne next week where they'll play Thailand.

• Vince Rugari

Tim Cahill's Socceroos renaissance looks set to continue with a starting role in Saitama if striker Tomi Juric is ruled out of the World Cup qualifier against Japan.

• Michael Lynch

City have already begun the international search to find an injury replacement for star striker Bruno Fornaroli, the club's top goalscorer for the past two seasons.

• Eamonn Tiernan

Newcastle Jets' veteran Nikolai Topor-Stanley says his hometown Canberra deserves more A-League action.

• Michael Lynch

Melbourne City's star striker Bruno Fornaroli is set to miss the start of the A-League season and there are fears he may be sidelined for two months after injuring an ankle in the club's 3-2 FFA Cup final win over Hakoah Sydney.

• Vince Rugari

Tom Rogic and Aaron Mooy are capable of bringing their best club form to the Socceroos at the same time, but coach Ange Postecoglou has warned it's easier said than done.

• Michael Lynch

Sam Kerr, a nominee for the Best FIFA Women's Player of the Year award, is one of the headline acts in a strong Matildas squad named by coach Alen Stajic for the upcoming two-match series against Brazil.

• Michael Lynch

Giant-killers Heidelberg United are looking to build on that reputation when they host Adelaide United in the FFA Cup quarter-final in mid-September.

• Michael Lynch

The United Arab Emirates have inflicted a hammer blow to Saudi Arabia's World Cup hopes in a Group B result that would see Australia qualify with victory over Japan on Wednesday in Tokyo.

• Michael Lynch

Melbourne City took a big step in the defence of their FFA Cup title with a 3-2 victory over Hakoah Sydney, while Western Sydney eased into the last eight with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Bentleigh Greens as the final set of round of 16 games took place on Tuesday night.

• Eamonn Tiernan

Newcastle Jets boss Lawrie McKinna says his club could fill A-League void in Canberra.

• Michael Lynch

The Matildas are proving to be one of the hottest tickets in women's sport – and it is hardly surprising given their exploits in the past six weeks, when they won the Tournament of Nations in such spectacular style.

• Vince Rugari

​Matthew Spiranovic has no plans to leave his Chinese second division club, even if it affects his Socceroos selection chances under coach Ange Postecoglou.

• Vince Rugari

The Socceroos are taking "appropriate precautions" after North Korea fired a ballistic missile over Japan's north on Tuesday morning.

• Vince Rugari

Socceroo Milos Degenek says local discontent with the Japanese national team is so intense some of his club teammates have told him they want Australia to win Thursday's crunch World Cup qualifier.

• Caden Helmers

Canberra United have signed Matildas young gun Ellie Carpenter.

Liverpool have ripped apart woeful Arsenal in a 4-0 Premier League thumping at Anfield.

Aaron Mooy's Huddersfield have continued their spectacular start to life in the Premier League and will fancy their chances of adding to their seven points in a fortnight.

• Michael Lynch

It's not quite in the class of the sudden death eliminators against Uruguay in 2001 and 2005 and Iran that fateful night at the MCG almost 20 years ago.

• Michael Lynch

The strong performances in the early weeks of the European season by a couple of goal-scoring Socceroos, Aaron Mooy and Mathew Leckie, won't do the reputation of the A-League any harm at all.

• Matt Bungard

Tom Rogic's Celtic FC will face the might of Bayern Munich and the financial clout of Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Neil Robinson

​Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has returned to Manchester United on a year-year contract "to finish what I started," the 35-year-old announced in a club statement on Thursday.

Liverpool have overpowered Hoffenheim 4-2 at Anfield to ease into the Champions League group stages with a 6-3 aggregate playoff victory.

• Emma Kemp

Victorian State League teams continue their fairytale run, as Heidelberg took the spoils in Sydney and South Melbourne lit up Lakeside to go through to the FFA quarter-finals, while Melbourne Victory stumbled to a 3-0 defeat at the hands of A-League rivals Adelaide.

• Simon Evans

Wayne Rooney has announced his retirement from the England national team, ending a 14-year stint in which he became the country's top goalscorer with 53 goals.

• Emma Kemp

FIFA has issued a subtle reminder to the FFA that it is not a stakeholder in football's political reform process.

• Chris Dutton

Canberra striker Michelle Heyman hopes an injection will help her become a better play for the W-League season.