World Cup-winning former France defender Benjamin Mendy joins Swiss club Zurich
ZURICH (AP) — World Cup-winning defender Benjamin Mendy signed for Swiss club Zurich on Tuesday after not playing this season for French second-tier club Lorient.
Zurich said the former Manchester City and Monaco player signed a contract until the end of next season.
Now aged 30, Mendy played 10 times for France including one group-stage game at the 2018 World Cup for the eventual title winner. His name was sung prominently in the France team's unofficial tournament anthem that has almost 600 million views on YouTube.
Mendy joined Lorient in 2023 after six years at Man City, where he won three Premier League winner's medals before his contract expired.
He did not play for Man City after August 2021 while facing sexual assault charges of which he was later acquitted.
Zurich is eighth in the 12-team Swiss league though trails just seven points behind the leader Basel.
___
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Saudi Arabia's World Cup hopes hinge on a near-impossible task against Australia
A Saudi squad that has scored six goals through nine qualifying games needs to beat Australia by a five-goal margin to earn a direct spot at the 2026 World Cup. Head coach Herve Renard knows it's an extremely unlikely outcome for his Saudi team, but he's urging his players to go all in Tuesday in the last game of the third round of Asian qualifying for next year's global tournament. 'The door is closed but we have to try to qualify even if it is through the window,' Renard said after his team's 2-0 win over Bahrain last week kept Saudi. 'Everything must go very well for us if we are to qualify; we have to score goals.' Anything less than a five-goal deficit means Australia — in second spot in Group C — qualifies for a seventh World Cup. The last time the Socceroos lost by such a margin was in successive 6-0 defeats against Brazil and France in 2013. The Australians have scored 14 goals and conceded six through nine qualifiers. After successive World Cup qualifications through the playoffs, Australia is close to securing a direct route but coach Tony Popovic is taking nothing for granted. 'We need to do a job in Saudi,' Popovic said. 'We're in a great position, but we need to finish it off.' Popovic has only been in the job since September, stepping in after Graham Arnold resigned after collecting just one point in the group's first two qualification games. 'It's been a really intense period since I've come in but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do,' he said. 'And we're very close now to achieving our goal.' Asia has been allocated eight places at the 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The top two teams in each of the three groups in this round advance directly. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group go into another round vying for two more places. Japan was the first to qualify and will top Group C regardless of the outcome between Australia and third-place Saudi Arabia. Iran and Uzbekistan have qualified from Group A, and South Korea and Jordan have qualified from Group B. If Saudi Arabia fails to win by five, it will join United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq in the next stage of qualifying in October. Oman, meanwhile, is fourth in Group B, a point ahead of the Palestinian team in fifth place, with the two teams meeting in Amman on Tuesday. 'We still have everything to play for and we know what we have to do and that is to take all three points and continue our journey,' Palestinian coach Ihab Abujazar said. For China , Kuwait, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain, the run to 2026 is already over. ___ AP soccer:
Fox Sports
2 hours ago
- Fox Sports
Saudi Arabia's World Cup hopes hinge on a near-impossible task against Australia
Associated Press A Saudi squad that has scored six goals through nine qualifying games needs to beat Australia by a five-goal margin to earn a direct spot at the 2026 World Cup. Head coach Herve Renard knows it's an extremely unlikely outcome for his Saudi team, but he's urging his players to go all in Tuesday in the last game of the third round of Asian qualifying for next year's global tournament. 'The door is closed but we have to try to qualify even if it is through the window,' Renard said after his team's 2-0 win over Bahrain last week kept Saudi. 'Everything must go very well for us if we are to qualify; we have to score goals.' Anything less than a five-goal deficit means Australia — in second spot in Group C — qualifies for a seventh World Cup. The last time the Socceroos lost by such a margin was in successive 6-0 defeats against Brazil and France in 2013. The Australians have scored 14 goals and conceded six through nine qualifiers. After successive World Cup qualifications through the playoffs, Australia is close to securing a direct route but coach Tony Popovic is taking nothing for granted. 'We need to do a job in Saudi,' Popovic said. 'We're in a great position, but we need to finish it off.' Popovic has only been in the job since September, stepping in after Graham Arnold resigned after collecting just one point in the group's first two qualification games. 'It's been a really intense period since I've come in but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do,' he said. 'And we're very close now to achieving our goal.' Asia has been allocated eight places at the 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The top two teams in each of the three groups in this round advance directly. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group go into another round vying for two more places. Japan was the first to qualify and will top Group C regardless of the outcome between Australia and third-place Saudi Arabia. Iran and Uzbekistan have qualified from Group A, and South Korea and Jordan have qualified from Group B. If Saudi Arabia fails to win by five, it will join United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq in the next stage of qualifying in October. Oman, meanwhile, is fourth in Group B, a point ahead of the Palestinian team in fifth place, with the two teams meeting in Amman on Tuesday. 'We still have everything to play for and we know what we have to do and that is to take all three points and continue our journey,' Palestinian coach Ihab Abujazar said. For China, Kuwait, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain, the run to 2026 is already over. ___ AP soccer:
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
What are the pros and cons of the Boston Celtics trading Kristaps Porzingis?
What are the pros and cons of the Boston Celtics trading Kristaps Porzingis? On June 3, MassLive's Brian Robb released an article detailing multiple potential trade packages for Kristaps Porzingis. The Boston Celtics' big man is seen as one of the most logical trade candidates for the franchise this summer, as they look to avoid a $500 million payroll next season. As can be expected, Celtics fans were split on whether any of the packages represented fair value for a big man that helped the franchise win a championship in 2024. Nevertheless, the fact remains that as an expiring contract, Porzingis is indeed one of the most tradable players on Boston's current roster. During a June 4 episode of CLNS Media's "The Garden Report," Robb joined host Bobby Manning to discuss his trade proposals and whether Porzingis could be on the move this summer. The Celtics insider also debated whether the Celtics should embrace trading the big man or whether they should try to retain his services. You can watch the full discussion by clicking on the embedded video above. Watch the "Taylor Talks Celtics" podcast on: YouTube: Website:
