Cameroon defender Benoit Assou-Ekotto has signed a one-year deal with French Ligue 1 side St Etienne. The 31-year-old has been without a club since leaving English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, where he spent nine years. He did not play at all for Tottenham in the 2014-15 season and spent the previous season on loan with Queens Park Rangers. “Officially at St Etienne so happy – back in football,” he wrote on Twitter. Assou-Ekotto has not played for Cameroon since the 2014 World Cup in Brazil when he was involved in an argument with his team-mate Benjamin Moukandjo and even appeared to headbutt him.

Nigeria’s Sunday Mba has moved to Turkish second-tier side Yeni Malatyaspor from CA Bastia in France. Yeni Malatyaspor won the third division last season to earn promotion. The 26-year-old moved to French side CA Bastia in January 2014 after Nigerian club Warri Wolves rejected an offer for him six months earlier. His career has stalled since scoring the winning goal for Nigeria in the final of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. CA Bastia played in the third tier of French last season and Mba has not been a regular for the Super Eagles since 2013 and missed out on last year’s World Cup in Brazil.

The United States has asked Switzerland to extradite seven FIFA officials arrested on corruption charges in May, the Swiss authorities say. Formal extradition requests were submitted on Wednesday, the Swiss Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) said. The seven top FIFA executives arrested in Zurich are among 14 FIFA officials indicted on charges of “rampant, systemic, and deep-rooted” corruption. The charges follow a major inquiry by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FOJ said Zurich police, acting on its behalf, would give the seven FIFA officials a hearing over the extradition requests. The officials and their lawyers would have 14 days to respond to the request, which could be extended “if sufficient grounds exist”, the FOJ statement said. After that, the FOJ would give its decision “within a few weeks”, but that warned any ruling could be challenged in both the federal criminal court and the federal supreme court.

Wednesday 1 July 2015:

Japan 2 – 1 England

Japan will face USA in the final game.

Wednesday 1 July 2015:

Wikki Tourists 1 – 1 Giwa

El-Kanemi 1 – 0 Dolphins

Enugu Rangers 2 – 1 Kano Pillars

Abia Warriors 3 – 1 Bayelsa

Kwara United 2 – 3 Enyimba

Nasarawa  2 – 0 Taraba

Shooting Stars 1 – 0 Sharks

Heartland 1 – 0 Ifeanyi Uba

Warri Wolves 1 – 0 Lobi Stars

Sunshine Stars 3 – 1 Akwa United

Danny Blind has been appointed as the new Netherlands head coach. The 53-year old succeeds Guus Hiddink, who left his position on Monday after just 10 months in charge. Blind, who was Hiddink’s assistant, won 42 caps during a 20-year playing career with Ajax and Sparta Rotterdam, and also managed Ajax. Hiddink, 68, lost five and won four of his 10 matches during his second spell in charge, with the Dutch third in their Euro 2016 qualifying group. His son, Daley Blind plays for Netherlands and Manchester United.

Stoke City have agreed a fee in the region of £12m with Inter Milan for the transfer of Switzerland international winger Xherdan Shaqiri. The 23-year-old only moved to the San Siro from Bayern Munich in January but could now move to the Potters – breaking their club-record transfer fee – if he agrees personal terms. Shaqiri, who typically operates as an attacking midfielder, struck a hat-trick in last summer’s World Cup as Switzerland defeated Honduras and has 17 goals in 46 full caps for his country.

Petr Cech says leaving Chelsea was the hardest decision of his career. After helping Chelsea win several major trophies during an 11-year stay, Cech moved to Arsenal for £10m. “I’m far from being finished and being happy to sit on the bench,” the 33-year-old said. “Arsenal came and put on the table by far the best deal and are a club that matches my personal ambitions to win more trophies. To stay in the Premier League was another key factor.”

Liverpool have complete the signing of Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton for an undisclosed fee, believed to be £12.5m, on a “long-term” contract, thought to be five years. Clyne, 24, who made 94 Premier League appearances for Southampton, said: “I’m delighted and it’s a dream move for me to come here and play for such a big club like Liverpool with all of its history.”

Premier League newcomers Bournemouth sign former Manchester City and Everton defender Sylvain Distin, 37, on a one-year contract.

Three-time Champions League winner Samuel Eto’o has joined promoted Turkish top-flight side Antalyaspor, who are reported to be close to signing World Cup winner Ronaldinho. The ambitious club also stated they would recruit another “big name” and “set the world on fire”. “I have signed a three-year contract,” said former Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Everton striker Eto’o, 34. The Cameroonian enjoyed much of his success at Barca from 2004 to 2009.

The Copa America is reaching its denouement and Lionel Messi’s Argentina remain on course to win the title for the first time since 1993 after thrashing Paraguay 6-1 to set up a final against tournament hosts Chile. Manchester United’s Marcos Rojo and Angel Di Maria (two) were on target, while Manchester City hitman Sergio Aguero is pictured here heading the fifth.

The Ivory Coast Football Federation (FIF) has named a five-man shortlist for Herve Renard’s successor as manager of the African champions. Of the contenders, Patrice Neveu, Paulo Duarte, Michel Dussuyer and Henri Kasperczak have all worked in Africa. Frederic Antonetti is the only member of the shortlist who has neither coached a national team nor in Africa. A total of 59 candidates were considered to replace Renard, and the list will now be reduced to three.

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Tuesday 30 June 2015:

USA 2 – 0 Germany

USA have qualified for the final match.

Bulgaria’s most successful club CSKA Sofia will relaunch from the third division following their financial crisis, the domestic football union (BFU) said. The decision marks a spectacular fall from grace for CSKA, who have won 31 league titles and reached three European semi-finals in happier times between 1967 and 1989. Last month, cash-strapped CSKA and three other teams were denied licences to compete in next season’s Bulgarian professional championship and European competitions. There were speculations Bulgarian soccer could be restructured and the domestic second division will accommodate CSKA but local authorities said the licensing procedure is complete and changes in professional divisions cannot be made. “CSKA can only play in the amateur championship,” the BFU said in a statement. CSKA accepted their fate and their new bosses said the club will waste no time to return to the Balkan country’s top divisions. “We don’t even think for a moment that we’ll not return to professional football,” former Bulgaria coach Plamen Markov, who was appointed as CSKA’s sporting director, told a news conference on Tuesday. “It’ll be the end for CSKA if we don’t win a promotion.”

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Sulley Muntari has had his contract with AC Milan terminated by mutual consent, the Serie A club announced on today. The Ghana midfielder made just 12 Serie A starts for the Rossoneri this season with his last appearance on March 7 and had another year left on his contract. A statement from AC Milan read: “AC Milan and Sulley Muntari have reached a mutual agreement to terminate the contract that tied the player to the club. “AC Milan would like to thank Muntari for his dedication and professionalism during his years at the club and wish him all the best for the future.” Muntari joined AC Milan in the summer of 2012 from city rivals Inter and is expected to return to the Premier League this summer. Everton are among the clubs keen to sign Muntari, who can now join as a free agent. The 30-year-old played for Portsmouth in 2007-08 and spent six months on loan at Sunderland in 2011.

Former Arsenal forward Gervinho was clearly desperate not to join Abu Dhabi side Al Jazira – or else he just really wanted his own private beach and helicopter. The 28-year-old managed to scupper a move to the Middle East outfit by reportedly making some outrageous demands. According to Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, Gervinho’s “obscene demands” were so high that the deal collapsed under the weight of his requests. The paper reported that Roma and Al Jazira reached an agreement over a €13million transfer  – only for the player’s wish list to bring it to a screeching halt. The Ivorian, who has impressed for Roma over the last two seasons in Serie A, has been repeatedly linked with a move away from Italy over the summer. But it seems that unless a club is willing to part with a private beach and a chopper, he is going to stay exactly where he is. The exact details? Apparently Gervinho asked for a helicopter to be at his disposal at all times, along with accommodation for his entire family. Oh, and a beach to call his own and a number of plane tickets to travel back and forth to the Ivory Coast. Gervinho still has three more years on his contract at Roma, but it’s going to be very interesting to study the small print when he signs his next deal, wherever it is.

The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff will host the 2017 Champions League final, UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said on Tuesday. The Friends Arena in Stockholm will be the venue for the 2017 Europa League final. It will be the first final of UEFA’s flagship competition to be held in Wales, but the 12th time it will be staged in the British Isles, with seven previous finals at Wembley, three in Glasgow and one in Manchester. The Millennium Stadium, which is owned by the Welsh Rugby Union, opened in 1999 and staged the English FA Cup finals from 2001 until 2006 while Wembley was being rebuilt. It has a capacity of 74,500 and staged soccer matches during the Olympic Games in 2012. It will be the second major UEFA showpiece staged in the Welsh capital after the Cardiff City Stadium provided the venue for the European Supercup match between Real Madrid and Sevilla at the start of last season. The Friends Arena in Stockholm opened in 2012 and the Europa League final will be the first UEFA club competition final to be staged in Sweden, which hosted the 1992 European Championship. UEFA also announced that the 2017 Supercup match, the European club season curtain-raiser between the winners of the Champions League and Europa League will be staged in Skopje in Macedonia. The venue for the 2016 Champions League final is the San Siro in Milan and the Europa League final will be at St Jakob Park in Basel.

Manchester United have made a £28.6m bid for Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos. The Red Devils believe the 29-year-old wants to leave Real after they failed to offer him an extension to his contract, which expires in 2017. The Spain international has made 445 appearances for the Bernabeu club. United manager Louis van Gaal wants defensive reinforcements to help his team improve on last season’s fourth-place Premier League finish. Ramos joined Real from Sevilla in 2005 and scored their injury-time equaliser in their Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid in 2014. He has 128 Spain caps and was in the starting line-up as they won Euro 2008, Euro 2012 and the 2010 World Cup.