It s nearly four years since Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the World Cup as a player and coach, as he guided France to their second success on football s grandest stage.
The target now for Les Bleus is to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to retain their crown, and that journey begins on Friday with the draw for the group stage of Qatar 2022.
Four years is a long time to wait for anything, but the draw for the World Cup is always a milestone event that sees the anticipation taken up a notch.
The eyes of the football world will be on the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, where the eight groups will be drawn and potential routes to December s finale can start being plotted.
But there is a little more to the draw than that…
Christine Sinclair, the all-time record goalscorer in international football, will retire at the end of the National Women’s Soccer League in November.
Sinclair, 41, has 190 goals in 331 appearances for Canada, making her the top scorer across both men s and women s football.
She has played for the NWSL s Portland Thorns since 2013, helping them to win the inaugural title that year. She added further league crowns to her collection in 2017 and 2022.
The Canadian great has had similar success with her national team, winning a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She is also one of three players to score at five World Cups, alongside Brazil s Marta and Portugal s Cristiano Ronaldo.
An icon of the game. A leader on and off the pitch. has announced she w…
Benjamin Sesko has signed for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig, although he will not officially become their player until July 2023.
Sesko has been highly sought-after following the 2021-22 season, in which he scored 11 goals in all competitions – including one in a Champions League qualifier – for Austrian side Salzburg.
He previously spent time on loan at second-tier Liefering, scoring 21 goals in 29 league games, while he netted Salzburg s winner in a pre-season friendly against Liverpool in July.
Seen as the next potential star off the Austrian club s production line after Erling Haaland and Karim Adeyemi, Sesko had reportedly been drawing interest from Premier League clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Yet the 19-year-old S…
Luka Modric says he is not thinking about any international retirement call ahead of Croatia s Nations League clash with Denmark.
The Real Madrid veteran is looking to skipper his country through to next year s finals in their last major pre-Qatar 2022 World Cup run-out.
Four years on from reaching the final at Russia 2018, Modric is among the elder statesman of the world game on the pitch, at 37, with many wondering if this year s tournament will be his international swansong.
But speaking ahead of their Group A1 encounter at Stadion Maksimir, the playmaker has poured cold water over any imminent exit talk and suggested whatever decision he makes will likely wait for the new year.
I m not thinking about that, Modric stated. I haven t made any decisions.…
Diego Simeone has no regrets over selecting Diego Costa for the 2014 Champions League final likening the Spain striker s influence over Atletico Madrid at that time to Lionel Messi s at Barcelona.
Costa helped to fire Atletico to a stunning LaLiga title win in 2013-14, scoring 36 goals in all competitions.
However, a thigh injury dogged him during the final weeks of the campaign and he lasted only nine minutes against rivals Real Madrid in Lisbon.
It would prove to be Costa s final appearance for Atleti before moving to Chelsea, and his team-mates went down to a 4-1 extra-time defeat after Sergio Ramos equalised for Madrid deep into stoppage time.
If I had it all over again, he d play the final from the start again. How could our best player not play? Si…
Spain headed into their World Cup semi-final with Germany here on Wednesday having been warned they would have to overcome a much stronger side than the one they beat in the Euro 2008 final.
German striker Lukas Podolski has spoken of his desire to avenge the defeat by the Spaniards in Vienna two years ago, when Fernando Torres s strike settled a match in which Podolski was head-butted by David Silva in an incident missed by the officials.
Xavi Alonso, the Real Madrid midfielder, insisted that any hangover from that match would have no impact on Wednesday s contest.
Once you go on to the pitch, history is not important, the former Liverpool star said.
The important thing is how we plan to handle this match, our motivation and attention to even the slig…
The touchdown market has become one of the most popular and potentially profitable props in the NFL betting world. Each week, we’re going to throw down three to five units as we try to uncover some of the best weekly NFL TD props and dig into the matchups that surround them.
It’s Turkey time, so dig in and gorge on our Week 12 Thanksgiving Day TD props where we’ve been profitable in eight of the 11 weeks of the season.
Without further ado:
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The undefeated New York Giants welcome the division rival Dallas Cowboys to MetLife Stadium for Monday Night Football in the Week 3 finale.
New York is off to a good start under new head coach Brian Daboll, who is winning over Big Apple football fans with close victories over Carolina and Tennessee. His team catches a break in this primetime home stand, facing a Dallas attack down starting quarterback Dak Prescott.
The Cowboys are leaning on backup QB Cooper Rush and a disruptive defense to keep the team afloat while Prescott heals up. Dallas stunned Cincinnati last week and takes aim at New York QB Daniel Jones, who has been pressured more than any passer through two weeks of play.
We breakdown the spread and total for Monday Night Football and give ou…
Bills vs Commanders Odds, Picks, and Predictions Week 3: Allen's New Passing Approach Pays Dividends
The Buffalo Bills made some great adjustments on offense last Sunday and look to carry that momentum into Week 3 when they face a 2-0 Washington Commanders team that currently sits as a 6.5-point home dog.
With Josh Allen’s quick passing negating the strength of the Commanders’ defense, can the Bills’ defense contain the Washington running game and force Sam Howell to beat them deep with possible rain and heavy winds in play?
Find out as we dissect the NFL odds in my free NFL picks for Bills vs. Commanders on September 24.
Bills vs Commanders odds
Bills vs Commanders predictions
The Washington Commanders barely beat the Broncos last week (trailed 21-3 at one point), the Broncos lost to th…
There’s a lot on the line in tonight’s NFC North matchup.
The Minnesota Vikings — whom the NFL odds have as 3-point home favorites — are fighting for a playoff spot and are currently the sixth seed in the NFC. Meanwhile, the visiting Chicago Bears are in position to have two Top-5 picks, and while they don’t want to lose, it could help them in the long run.
Fortunately for Chicagoans who’d rather enjoy the fruits of victory, quarterback Justin Fields is still trying to play his way into being the guy in the Windy City and is coming off one of the best performances of his career against the Lions.
You can see how I’m betting the Justin Fields odds as we dive into the MNF odds in my free NFL picks below.
For more Monda…