FIFA have revealed that a host of new stadiums being built for the 2014 World Cup will not be ready in time to be tested at a tournament next year.
On Thursday, Rio de Janeiro, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Brasilia, Salvador and Fortaleza were named as the host cities for the 2013 Confederations Cup, but a number of venues currently under construction are running behind schedule.
FIFA communications director Walter Gregorio revealed that it was hoped the new stadia could be used next year, as a warm-up for the 2014 World Cup, but this will now not happen as a result of concerning delays.
We always said that the stadiums should be delivered by the end of the year, and only two of them will meet the deadline, he revealed at a press event in Sao Paulo.
Belo Ho…
Mikel Merino s last-gasp header sent Spain into the semi-finals of Euro 2024 as La Roja beat hosts Germany 2-1 after extra time.
Florian Wirtz s 89th-minute strike had cancelled out Dani Olmo s calm finish in a frantic encounter in Stuttgart on Friday.
Yet having had the best chances of extra time, Germany became the first Euros hosts to lose a quarter-final when Merino brilliantly headed home Spain s latest ever goal in the competition in the 119th minute.
Niclas Fullkrug s header was just inches away from rescuing Germany and setting up penalties, but Luis de la Fuente s team, who had Dani Carvajal sent off late on, held on to tee up a clash with either Portugal or France.
118:52 In the 119th minute, Mikel Merino has scored the third-latest winning goal…
Germany coach Joachim Low believes Thomas Muller s poor Euro 2016 was unexplainable, but normal for a forward.
Muller endured a poor European Championship, failing to score in 570 minutes as Germany were beaten in the semi-finals by hosts France.
But the Bayern Munich star has started the World Cup qualifiers in fine form, netting four times – including twice in a 3-0 win over the Czech Republic on Saturday.
Low struggles to explain Muller s problems at Euro 2016, but said every forward had their patches.
I don t think we have to look for a specific reason, he said.
A striker has phases, where he doesn t score goals and is a bit unlucky. And that was the case for Thomas Muller at the Euros.
But he is a player, who can always score goa…
Mario Gotze s 113th-minute volley fired Germany to World Cup glory with a 1-0 win over Argentina at the Maracana.
The tournament s outstanding team failed to repeat the fluency and brilliance of their 7-1 semi-final romp against Brazil but Joachim Low s team found one more sumptuous moment during the second half of extra time.
Bayern Munich playmaker Gotze, on as an 88th-minute replacement for World Cup record goalscorer Miroslav Klose, chested down Andre Schurrle s floated left-wing cross at the near post to superbly steer home from six yards.
It was the first time Argentina had found themselves behind in the competition and it came as a bitter pill to swallow after Alejandro Sabella s men had created the better chances in normal time.
Gonzalo Higuain pa…
Rodri believes that a member of Spain s Euro 2024 winning squad deserve to win this year s Ballon d Or following their triumph over England on Sunday.
Rodri, who won his fourth different Player of the Tournament award, was forced off during the final in Berlin at half-time after picking up an injury.
Mikel Oyarzabal proved to be Spain s hero, scoring late to secure La Roja s fourth European Championship crown having seen Cole Palmer cancel out Nico Williams opener.
The Manchester City midfielder also helped Pep Guardiola s side achieve a record fourth consecutive Premier League title ahead of the tournament in Germany.
His performances on the pitch have him among the favourites to win the prestigious award alongside Real Madrid duo Vinicius Junior and …
On this day in 2018, Stoke sacked manager Mark Hughes following a 2-1 defeat to League Two Coventry in the FA Cup third round.
The Potters were dumped out of the competition when Jack Grimmer struck in the second half to find the winner and pull off a shock victory for the Sky Blues.
Stoke were in the Premier League relegation zone having won only one game in their last eight in all competitions.
Hughes was sacked just hours after the Coventry defeat and had suggested post-match that the defeat could be a blessing in disguise.
He said: “The fact we’ve gone out, even if it’s a little bit raw at the moment, might help us.
“At the moment we don’t want to discuss Premier League games, but maybe when we wake up on Monday the reality clearly h…
Though Thursday Night Football often leaves us with less than thrilling matchups, two of the last three have been pretty thrilling. Now, Week 5 is offering up the best TNF game so far this season, as the Los Angeles Rams travel north to take on the Seattle Seahawks in an NFC West showdown.
Matthew Stafford’s arrival in L.A. has paid off big time for the Rams, who have looked like one of the best offenses in the NFL through the first month. Getting a win in Seattle against Russell Wilson, however, is always a difficult task.
Can slight NFL betting favorites L.A. cover? Find out with our free NFL picks and predictions for Rams vs. Seahawks on October 7.
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The Atlanta Falcons’ infamous Super Bowl collapse happened way back in 2017 but it took until 2022 for that crushing loss to finally rot the franchise from the inside out.
The Falcons are in Year 2 of their rebuild under head coach Arthur Smith, with a revamped roster that fails to feature Matt Ryan at quarterback for the first time since before the MCU got underway.
Atlanta was just good enough to win seven games over piss-poor opponents in 2021 but owned a -8.6 average margin per game (28th), tricking down into a 6-10-1 ATS mark. That sinks the team to a collective 34-48-1 against the spread (41.5%) since blowing that 28-3 lead in Super Bowl LI.
With the final remnants of that cursed team purged, can the healing begin in the ATL? We get ou…
The Kansas City Chiefs are well-known for appearing in the first Super Bowl, but the franchise has appeared in four Super Bowls in total.
Super Bowl LVII will mark their fifth appearance, and third with Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes running the show.
Super Bowl odds may have them listed as slight underdogs, but here’s a quick recap of the Chiefs’ previous appearances in the Super Bowl. We also broke down the Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl history.
Need more insight? Check out our Super Bowl MVP odds and Super Bowl predictions.
Super Bowl 57 odds
Here are the live Super Bowl betting odds from regulated sportsbooks in your area:
The Kansas City Chiefs were established as 1-point favorites jus…
The NFL odds have plenty of tricks and treats on the Week 8 odds board, but how you bet these lines could make the difference between getting a full-size candy bar for Halloween or just those nasty caramel kisses. Ugh.
Getting the best number for your opinion is step No. 1 is smart sports betting, which is why I scan the opening NFL odds every Sunday night and highlight spreads and totals to bet right now — before they move — and others to bet later, after the adjustments.
Here are my “Bet Now, Bet Later” lines for NFL Week 8.
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