Kylian Mbappe expects his broken nose to make him a target for Belgium at Euro 2024 on Monday.
France meet the Red Devils in Dusseldorf for their last-16 meeting, with Mbappe still not fully recovered from a nose injury sustained against Austria.
The Real Madrid-bound forward subsequently missed the Group D draw with the Netherlands before returning – armed with a new face mask – to score from the penalty spot against Poland.
Mbappe acknowledged his facial injury and subsequent protection makes him likely to face physical challenges in the knockout stages.
I think that if you re playing with a broken nose and you haven t had your nose operated yet, you re a target, Mbappe told a pre-match press conference on Sunday.
I knew what I was signing…
Neymar has announced he intends to step down as Brazil captain after guiding the country to the long-awaited Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016.
Appointed captain of the senior team by Dunga following the 2014 World Cup, Neymar also skippered the largely under-23 side at the Olympic Games on home soil.
The gold medal remained the only international honour evading Brazil, and the 24-year-old clinched it with the winning penalty in a 5-4 shootout victory over Germany.
Neymar s spot-kick sparked scenes of euphoria inside the famous Maracana, but it did not stop the forward revealing he no longer wanted the armband.
I do not take it as a burden, it is you [the media] who put it on me, Neymar said in an interview with SporTV.
Today I have become a champi…
Swiss police said on Saturday they made more than 100 arrests following Friday s Euro matches between Holland and France and Italy and Romania in Berne and Zurich.
Both matches drew tens of thousands of fans to the cities above and beyond those who had tickets and the ATS news agency said more than 100 people were detained in Berne across the evening as the Dutch sent France packing 4-1.
A Berne police spokesman said 158 people also had to be treated for knife wounds, one person suffered a broken jaw as trouble broke out among inebriated fans, some of whom had been taking drugs.
Some 150,000 people, including around 60,000 Dutch fans, poured into the fan zones in central Berne, according to municipal authorities.
Normally, the entire population of th…
Spain are hoping to continue undoing their underachievements of the past as they aim to get past Russia in Thursday s Euro 2008 semi-final.
The term perrenial underachievers has become so synonymous with Spain that it seemed to have become a permanent prefix and the name Spain without out it looks naked.
But the talented Iberians went some way to shedding that unwanted tag in the quarter-finals with their nervy penalty shoot-out victory over Italy.
Not only was it their first ever victory over the Italians in a major tournament but it was also the first time they progressed beyond the last eight of a competition since 1984.
And midfield playmaker Xavi of Barcelona believes that this team is finally ready to put that hoodoo to bed once and for all.
A few months ago, Italian football appeared to be in a desperate position.
The national team had missed out on World Cup qualification for the first time in 60 years and, although Napoli had started the Serie A season well, most expected Juventus to serenely progress to another Scudetto.
Now, in May, the situation looks an awful lot brighter, even if Juve did emerge victorious once again.
Despite Napoli s late slip-ups they are one of world football s most thrilling sides, Italy has the most exciting league among Europe s elite, Roma humiliated Barcelona in the Champions League the list goes on.
Things are even looking up for the Azzurri, with Roberto Mancini set to take charge following his departure from Zenit St Petersburg.
Here, we look at …
Liverpool signed Jordan Henderson from Sunderland on this day in 2011.
The deal for the 20-year-old England midfielder was reported to be worth £16million.
“Obviously it’s hard to leave your local club. I’m a Sunderland lad, I’ve supported them all my life,” Henderson told the Liverpool website.
“But this is a massive opportunity for me. I’m really excited by it.
“Coming to a massive club like Liverpool, there is always going to be competition.
“Hopefully I can keep working hard, keep improving, and get my chance on the pitch.”
Henderson picked up a winners’ medal in his first season at Anfield as Liverpool beat Cardiff in a Wembley penalty shoot-out to win the 2012 League Cup.
He became Liverpool’s vice-ca…
After losing outright In Week 9 as double-digit favorites, the Dallas Cowboys will look to rebound against an underrated Atlanta Falcons team that has won three of its last four and is coming off a walk-off win in New Orleans last week as 7-point dogs.
Dallas was a perfect 7-0 ATS before last week’s clunker and opened as 10-point home favorites in Week 10 against Atlanta’s No. 32 defense. The total opened at 52 and has since passed the key number of 54 to 54.5.
If you’re betting this game on Sunday, November 14, then make sure you read our free NFL betting picks and predictions for the Falcons vs. Cowboys first.
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A gutsy call from new head coach Brian Daboll has the New York Giants on a high entering Week 2’s home game with the Carolina Panthers.
Daboll dialed up the 2-point conversion to give New York an upset win in Tennessee. Carolina couldn’t come out on the right side of its nail-biter with Cleveland, losing 26-24 on a last-second 58-yard field goal.
Those slim outcomes have the Week 2 odds looking different than the lookahead lines set back in the summer. We break down that point spread, as well as the Over/Under total, and give our best NFL picks and predictions for Panthers at Giants on September 18.
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Overreaction and recency bias. Two things that plague NFL bettors.
This gruesome twosome isn’t just confined to our NFL picks and predictions, but it’s a duo we dance with in our non-gambling lives as well.
Take my son for example. He loves superheroes. I love superheroes. So, any new superhero movie hitting the theater (and there’s been a lot of them), we see in the cinema. Regardless of the quality of said superhero flick, that latest movie now becomes his favorite of all time.
“Blue Beetle”, “The Flash”, “Guardians of the Galaxy 3”, “Across the Spider-Verse”, “Shazam! Fury of the Gods”, and whatever cinematic superhero stories came before that have all had their day in the …
Another week of the NFL season is upon us and we’ve got some absolute juicy NFL odds this week headlined by the Bengals and Ravens on Thursday night along with the Super Bowl matchup between the Eagles and Chiefs on Monday night.
This week’s trend report features a mixed bag of standard and weirdo trends to consider as part of your handicaps. Of course, I’ve also got a variety of Under NFL betting trends to look at as low scoring continues to dominate the season.
While Overs edged out Unders 8-6 in Week 10, Unders are still hitting at close to 60% and have been wildly profitable in primetime. Night games have gone Under in 25 of 32 games this season with Monday night Unders on an 11-1 tear!
Does this mean your NFL picks sho…