Austria and Switzerland are ready to host the European football championship on June 7-29, having completed their preparations on schedule, one month before the kick-off.
The host cities have never been ready so early, said the president of the Euro 2008 organising committee, Martin Kallen, who already led the committee that organised the European championship in Portugal in 2004.
The last major construction projects have now been completed in Vienna.
The Ernst Happel stadium, which will host the final, has been entirely modernised and refitted to seat 51,000 people, and builders finished putting up the 460-seat media centre last month.
The city s U2 underground line has meanwhile been extended to the stadium, facilitating access by public transporta…
Alvaro Morata and Noah Okafor scored in the dying stages for Milan as they salvaged a 2-2 draw in their Serie A opener against Torino on Saturday.
The visitors were moments away from a memorable victory at San Siro thanks to a Malick Thiaw own goal and a header from Duvan Zapata, only for Milan to fight back with goals in the 89th and 95th minutes.
The visitors took the lead on the half-hour mark when Raoul Bellanova s header hit the post and Thiaw’s attempted clearance ended in an own goal.
Torino then doubled their advantage in the 68th minute with Zapata heading in Valentino Lazaro s cross from close range.
With the clock about to tick into stoppage time, Morata gave Paulo Fonseca s side hope by deflecting Tijjani Reijnders long-range shot into the …
After two engrossing games on Friday, we have our first Euro 2020 semi-finalists.
Spain ended a nine-year wait for a place in the final four of a major tournament, but they had to do it the hard way once again, with penalties needed to defeat Switzerland after a draw in Saint Petersburg.
Then came arguably the finest match of the tournament to date, Italy prevailing against Belgium to set a new record for consecutive wins in this competition and continue their remarkable form under Roberto Mancini.
Here are some of the key data takeaways from day one of the quarter-finals
Switzerland 1-1 Spain (aet, 1-3 pens): Luis Enrique s men are the Euros shoot-out kings
Switzerland s previous three European Championship knockout games had gone to penalties …
Former Everton striker Yakubu Aiyegbeni is on the verge of sealing a £5m-a-year move to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou R F, .
Slowly but surely, the Chinese Super League is becoming a lucrative alternative for the aging footballer.
Nicolas Anelka, 33, made the move to Shanghai Shenhua in January 2012, while Didier Drogba, 34, agreed to join his former Chelsea mate at Shanghai Shenhua just yesterday.
Anelka, Drogba and now Yakubu have Samuel Eto o, who became the highest paid footballer in the world following his move to Russian Premier League side Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2011, to thank for their bumper deals.
Chelsea keen on Victor Moses
European champions Chelsea had a miniscule bid of £3.5million rejected by Wigan…
The Asian Football Confederation on Monday amended the qualifying draw for the 2011 Asian Cup after India booked their place at the tournament by winning the Challenge Cup.
Two berths are reserved at the showpiece event in Qatar for the winners of the AFC Challenge Cup in 2008 and 2010 a tournament featuring second tier Asian nations.
India ensured their first appearance at the Asian Cup since 1984 by beating Tajikistan 4-1 in the Challenge Cup final last month, meaning qualifying Group C, in which they had been drawn, now comprises only three teams.
The top two teams from each group make the finals:
Group A: Japan, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Yemen
Group B: Australia, Indonesia, Oman, Kuwait
Group C: Uzbekistan, UAE, Malaysia
Grou…
Julian Nagelsmann expressed his satisfaction with Bayern Munich as the Bavarians head into the mid-season Bundesliga break top of the table.
Bayern cruised to a 4-0 victory on Friday over Wolfsburg, with Thomas Muller – who was making his 400th league appearance for the reigning champions – scoring the first and assisting Dayot Upamecano s second.
Leroy Sane soon added a curling third before Robert Lewandowski sealed victory as the Poland striker netted his 43rd top-flight goal of 2021, surpassing Gerd Muller s long-standing calendar-year record for Bundesliga goals, set in 1972 (42).
Bayern boast a nine-point lead over second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who play their game in hand against Hertha Berlin on Saturday, and former RB Leipzig head coach Nagelsmann h…
Lionel Messi sees similarities between this Argentina side and the one that agonisingly missed out on World Cup glory in 2014.
Argentina will head to Qatar this month looking to lift the trophy for the first time since 1986.
Former Barcelona star Messi, who now plays for Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain, has said it is likely to be his final World Cup.
He has yet to win the biggest prize in international football, though he helped La Albiceleste to the Copa America title in 2021, finishing as joint-top scorer with four goals.
Messi won the Golden Ball in 2014 after inspiring Argentina to the final, only to be left watching Germany celebrate following Mario Gotze s extra-time winner.
But, speaking ahead of the 2022 competition, Messi appeared to sug…
Sunday Night Football for Week 7 features a non-conference clash between a couple of two-win teams with the Indianapolis Colts visiting the San Francisco 49ers.
San Francisco is still dealing with injury issues coming off a bye but was on the board as a 4.5-point NFL betting favorite for this primetime game. Indianapolis kind of enjoyed a bye of its own, thrashing lowly Houston 31-3 last Sunday for its third straight ATS win and fourth payday in the past five games.
Check out our NFL free picks and predictions for Colts vs. 49ers on Sunday, October 24.
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The New York Giants and the New York Jets will collide in the annual “Snoopy Bowl” at MetLife Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The Jets — who have won each of their first two exhibition games — are the designated home team and enter this preseason affair as sizable 4.5-point favorites. However, the Giants have also come out on top in each of their first two August tilts.
Who will earn Big Apple bragging rights on Sunday? Find out in our free NFL picks and predictions for Giants vs Jets on Sunday, August 28.
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It’s the end of an era, as the Atlanta Falcons bid adieu to quarterback Matt Ryan after a March trade sent him packing to Indianapolis to begin a new chapter with the Colts.
The 37-year-old spent all 14 years of his pro career with the Falcons after being selected third overall in the 2008 draft. In that time, he set a new bar for passing statistics within the franchise. His 120 wins, 59,735 yards passing, 367 touchdowns, and 222 games are all Falcons records by significant margins, with Steve Bartkowski second in each category.
Ryan’s completion percentage of 65.5 is also the highest of any Atlanta quarterback with at least 164 attempts (a list that spans 24 names). The only thing the 2016 MVP didn’t accomplish during his storied tenure is winning a Sup…