Rodrigo Hernández is fine, thanks. Sometimes the most basic question is the most important, and this feels like another of those times. It’s a short while since the army rolled into Spain’s Las Rozas training base and, hours before the European Championship got under way, administered the national team with a coronavirus vaccine he calls “indispensable”. It’s sunny, he’s smiling, and so far the Manchester City midfielder feels good. So do his teammates. Which, after the week they have had, is something.
It’s also a bit late. “Yeah, but we keep out of that really and at last it’s happened,” Rodri says, sitting in the shade, 25km north-west of Madrid and barely 10 minutes from where he grew up, preparing for his first inte…
UEFA has announced details of a new European club competition to be launched in 2021.
The creation of the tournament, which has the working title of UEL2, was approved following a meeting in Dublin, with the governing body saying its inception will ensure at least 34 countries will be represented in the group stages of UEFA club competitions.
Running alongside the Champions League and Europa League, the competition will feature 32 teams in the group stage, with games to be played on Thursdays.
Before the last 16 an additional knockout round will be played between the second-place finishers in the group stage and the sides who finish third in their respective Europa League groups.
The winner of the competition will qualify for the subsequent season s Eur…
Spain have qualified for the Euro 2012 quarter-finals after an uninspiring 1-0 win against Croatia at the PGE Arena Gdansk on Monday.
Neither side seemed in any hurry to snatch the initiative throughout, with La Roja s famed tiki-taka football failing to break down a determined defensive barrier set up by Slaven Bilic s men.
The match seemed destined to end in a stalemate, but with two minutes remaining, substitute Jesus Navas walked the ball into the net to confirm Croatia s exit from the tournament.
The defending champions now progress to the last eight as the winners of Group C alongside runners-up Italy, where they will face one of France, England or Ukraine.
Vicente del Bosque named an unchanged line-up from the 4-0 win over Ireland, with two-goal…
England Women have rocketed to fourth place in the FIFA rankings after winning Euro 2022 – but they still trail Sweden and Germany, two of the teams they beat on the way to glory.
The list continues to be headed by World Cup winners the United States, who are due to face England in an October friendly at Wembley.
Germany climb above Sweden to take over second place after reaching the European final, but the Swedes hold a narrow lead over England.
That is despite England thrashing Sweden 4-0 in the semi-finals of the Women s Euros, before going on to beat Germany 2-1 after extra time in the final.
England were eighth in the rankings prior to winning the European title for the first time but have vaulted above France, the Netherlands, Canada and Spain.<…
As Jack Grealish begins training at the Etihad Campus and Harry Kane continues not training in Florida, it is worth remembering Pep Guardiola left a warning in plain sight that Manchester City would be prime movers and shakers in this year s transfer market.
Speaking to Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport ahead of May s Champions League final defeat to Chelsea, Guardiola pondered the ingredients needed for sustained success, having already lifted three of the past four Premier League titles on offer.
Did you have the same squad when you won your sixth Premier League as you did your first one? he asked former Manchester United defender Ferdinand.
You have to shake, you have to move. With the same guys, it is almost impossible. We change. After defeats or a win, we change.…
Going into the World Cup on their home soil in 2014, Brazil were widely considered the main favorite for the planet s biggest trophy. But having edged past Chile on penalties in the round of 14 and narrowly beaten Colombia in the quarterfinals, they were completely destroyed by eventual winners Germany one step before the final.
Goals from Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose, Toni Kroos (2), Sami Khedira and Andre Schurrle (2), left some huge scars across the Brazil team that will likely never heal fully.
Here are a few words on the matter from Thiago Silva, Neymar and Fernandinho.
The worst night in Brazilian football history.
A World Cup hammering in their own back yard
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Nicolas Anelka joined Chelsea from Bolton on this day in 2008.
The France striker, then aged 28, completed a move to Avram Grant’s side for a fee of £15million.
The Blues had been looking for extra firepower to help them overcome the loss of Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou to Africa Cup of Nations duty.
“Chelsea are a big club. I have proved that I can score goals at the top level and I can do the same for Chelsea,” said the much-travelled Anelka, who counted Arsenal, Real Madrid, Paris St Germain, Liverpool and Manchester City among his former clubs.
“I want to tell the Chelsea fans that I see this as a great opportunity and an honour to play for Chelsea and I will not disappoint them.
“Chelsea is the team I really wanted to join and I…
Sunday night, the Cleveland Browns visit their AFC North rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, as both clubs look to win back-to-back games for the first time since mid-October. Baltimore comes in as 3.5-point favorites with a total of 47 and will have Lamar Jackson under center, while the Browns should get tackle Jack Conklin and RB Kareem Hunt back.
Can the Browns lean on their power running game against the Ravens’ No. 5 rush defense? Can Lamar and the offense find some success after totaling just 26 points over their last two games? Find out in our Sunday night free props and predictions for Browns at Ravens.
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A rematch of the NFC Championship Game will play out at Levi’s Stadium on Monday night as the Los Angeles Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers.
Los Angeles has ruled the roost in the NFC West through three weeks at 2-1, though the 49ers trail by just a game at 1-2. If San Francisco forces a tie with L.A. in the divisional standings, it will likely be due to a big effort from wide receiver Deebo Samuel.
Here are our three favorite Deebo Samuel prop picks for Monday, October 3.
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The Jordan Love era in Green Bay hasn’t been all roses, but the Packers quarterback heads into a Thursday Night Football matchup vs. the Detroit Lions fresh off a comeback win over the New Orleans Saints.
With injuries on his offensive line, young pass catchers, and both his top wide receiver and Pro Bowl running back missing time, Love has been solid given the circumstances. Tonight, the cavalry returns in the form of Christian Watson and Aaron Jones.
Given how the Lions run defense has looked to start the season, Packers head coach Matt LaFleur could lean on his young franchise quarterback to pull off the win at Lambeau Field where the NFL odds have the Lions as 1.5-point road favorites in Week 4. Let’s break down the current TNF odds and how they spec…