Former FIFA World Cup winner Geoff Hurst has urged fans to flock to Brazil for next year s tournament for more than just football.
Hurst scored a hat-trick to help England clinch the 1966 FIFA World Cup as they overcame West Germany 4-2 in the final.
The lead-up to next year s World Cup finals has been overshadowed by public protests in Brazil against the large-scale spending on football stadiums rather than using the money to overhaul the South American country s health system and improve law and order.
But despite that, Hurst remains adamant the World Cup will benefit Brazil, while he also believes it will be about more than football for the international fans who attend.
I think everybody is excited, not just because of the football and being in Brazil to watc…
Eight countries remain interested in hosting the 2023 Women s World Cup as they prepare to submit a bid book to FIFA later this year.
FIFA confirmed the eight-strong shortlist for the tournament, which will be the first finals to feature 32 teams.
Japan are the only former champions to register a continued interest, while Brazil who hosted the 2014 men s World Cup are also on the list alongside Australia.
There is further South American representation from Argentina and Colombia. New Zealand and 2010 men s hosts South Africa are set to make a bid, too.
South Korea is the final country in contention, although the Korea Football Association has expressed its interest in a joint bid with North Korea.
There had been a record 10 interested parties prio…
Barcelona s Sergi Roberto hailed a remarkable year of personal and team growth after his team s last game of 2015.
Roberto has already made 21 first-team appearances this season, as coach Luis Enrique has found more and more use for the midfielder as a right-back, helping Barcelona to a La Liga, Champions League and Copa Del Rey treble, as well as a Club World Cup title.
Speaking after Barcelona s 4-0 win over Real Betis, confirming the Catalan giants position at the top of La Liga heading into next year, Roberto said he was looking forward to bigger and better things in 2016.
In sporting terms it has been a spectacular year with five titles won. It was also good for me personally because I got more minutes and gained confidence, Roberto said.
[January]…
Harry Maguire has defended his England team-mates after their performance at Euro 2024, labelling the criticism as a bit ridiculous .
England reached back-to-back European Championship finals but suffered the same outcome in Berlin as they did at Wembley three years ago.
The defeat against Spain saw Gareth Southgate become the first head coach in the history of the tournament to end up on the losing side in two finals.
Southgate called time on his eight-year tenure in charge of the Three Lions two days after the tournament ended, winning 59.8% of his 102 games in charge.
Despite this, underwhelming performances in Germany saw cups thrown towards the former England head coach as supporters jeered the players.
Southgate came under fire for his def…
Monday Night Football is a bit of a mess in Week 16, with the New Orleans Saints forced to march out a fourth-string quarterback for their homestand against the Miami Dolphins.
That has bettors a little iffy on the side and the total for this primetime non-conference clash, which means Monday Night Football props are the play tonight. Books rolled out a lengthy list of alternative odds and proposition wagers, allowing NFL bettors to steer into the skid.
Here are our free NFL prop picks for Dolphins at Saints on Monday, December 27.
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Week 13 is fast approaching, and more information is trickling in, which is what drives the player prop market.
Wrapping up my Week 13 prop card are two plays that are already looking like winners. I’m backing a running back who will get all the carries in the highest total game of the week, plus getting a value receiver in a potential shootout.
Check out my NFL prop picks ahead of Sunday.
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This NFL season, more than any other in recent memory, has been defined by the play of backup quarterbacks. The Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers seasons are a litmus test for the importance of having a quality No. 2 behind the clearcut starter, and the NFL odds agree the edge goes to the black and orange.
Zac Taylor’s team heads to Pittsburgh as 2.5-point favorites in a game that is expected to be impacted by weather. With two backup quarterbacks dealing with very different receiver issues taking the field on a rainy day in Pittsburgh, this game will be about the running backs and defense.
Find out where our best NFL picks lie as we dissect our favorite player props for this Week 16 odds matchup.
Be sure to also check out our Benga…
A fresh NFL season gets underway on Thursday Night Football with a rematch of last year’s AFC title game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs.
With eyes on yet another Super Bowl victory, our Chiefs vs. Ravens predictions have their eyes on Kansas City. Read more in our NFL picks below.
For full analysis of this game, see our updated Chiefs vs. Ravens predictions and our Chiefs vs. Ravens prop picks.
Ravens vs Chiefs predictions
Early spread leanChiefs -3 (-102 at FanDuel)
My analysisBreaking down the Week 1 odds can be tricky when you need to evaluate new free agent signings and draft picks while seeing through a training camp full of coach speak. However, these are two of the league’s best tea…
When David Lacey closed the lid of his laptop at the end of the 2002 World Cup final in Yokohama, an era was ending. It was the last match of his 30-year run as the Guardian’s football correspondent, and he concluded his report on Brazil’s 2-0 victory over Germany with a paragraph that could not have been more typical.
“Presumably the Emperor of Japan was suitably impressed,” he wrote. “Brazil’s object had been all sublime and Germany’s defeat was widely regarded as a source of innocent merriment. It was not a bad way for Japan to start the rainy season.”
The half-hidden reference to The Mikado, WS Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comic opera, was characteristic not just in the clue it gave to Lacey�…
On 3 March, Kerala Blasters’ men’s team walked off during an Indian Super League playoff and did not come back. If that was shocking, it was nothing compared with what happened next. Kerala were hit with a hefty fine and, in response, cancelled their women’s team in June to general incredulity and anger. What happened on the pitch was clear for all to see, though there is some disagreement as to why and, just as importantly, when the big decision was made.
It all started near the end of the playoff between Bengaluru and Kerala with a place in the championship semi-finals at stake. Seven minutes into extra time, Sunil Chhetri, the third-highest active international goalscorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, chipped in a free-…