Brazil s below-par performance in Russia contributed to Neymar being left off the shortlist for FIFA s Best awards a year ago he was third behind Messi and winner Ronaldo.
Not only did Neymar fail to sparkle on the big stage, having missed Brazil s semi-final humiliation at the hands of Germany on home soil four years ago due to injury, he was roundly criticised for what was widely perceived to be play-acting and over-emotional behaviour throughout the World Cup.
Striking a conciliatory tone in an advertisement for sponsor Gillette, however, Neymar appeared to indicate he is ready to turn over a new leaf.
Boot-stud on the shins. Kick in the spine. Stomp on the foot. said Neymar. You may think I overreact, and sometimes I do. But the truth is I suffer on the pitc…
The Premier League season is over, Euro 2024 is approaching, and now it is time for the FA Cup final to round off the English domestic season.
Manchester City and Manchester United, as they did last season, will face off at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
City won 3-1 in June 2023, with Ilkay Gundogan s stunning volley after just 12 seconds setting the tone for a dominant performance from Pep Guardiola s side, who were en route to winning a treble.
There s no treble on the cards for City this season, though after clinching an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League title, another double is in their reach.
We play FA Cup [and] we can do back-to-back doubles, we have [a] chance to do this, Guardiola said on Friday. The FA Cup for itself is FA Cup, Wemble…
Real Madrid return to La Liga action on Wednesday with the short Christmas break having done little to quiet the intense speculation surrounding Rafael Benitez s future.
Benitez oversaw a stunning 10-2 rout of Rayo Vallecano last time out but that devastating display was not greeted with fanfare by the Santiago Bernabeu crowd.
Instead Benitez was whistled before the game and the players received similar jeers from the supporters at half-time despite leading 4-2.
The Administrative Tribunal for Sport s (TAD) decision to uphold Madrid s expulsion from the Copa del Rey for fielding the ineligible Denis Cheryshev is unlikely to help the pre-game atmosphere in the capital against Sociedad.
However, for all their struggles, on and off the field, Madrid trai…
Hansi Flick will continue as Bayern Munich head coach for the remainder of the season and could get the job on a long-term basis, the Bundesliga champions announced on Sunday.
Placed in charge following Niko Kovac s exit in November, Flick has overseen eight wins from 10 games in all competitions and is now seen as a viable option for the job permanently.
He will have the rest of the club s Bundesliga and Champions League campaigns to audition for the position after impressing chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic.
Bayern, who parted ways with Kovac after a poor start to their title defence, are four points adrift of leaders RB Leipzig heading into the mid-season break following Saturday s 2-0 win over Wolfsburg.
Rummen…
Reigning European and world champions Spain have finished the calendar year on top of the FIFA world rankings.
Second-placed Netherlands and Germany in third were unable to close the gap to Vicente del Bosque s men in the last month of 2011.
There was very little movement in the top 50 following the lack of international games in recent weeks, and Bosnia and Herzegovina are the only new faces inside the top 20 as they climb three places to 20th position.
This year s Copa America champions Uruguay will head into 2012 in fourth spot ahead of England, Brazil, Portugal, Croatia, Italy and Argentina, who round up the top 10.
The top-ranked teams from each of the confederations are Spain (first), Uruguay (fourth), Cote d Ivoire (16th), Japan (19th), Mexico (21…
We’re in the end game people. Christmas is less than a week away and if you haven’t started your shopping yet, get ready for some L’s on December 25.
The same can be said about betting NFL odds for a festive Week 16. If you want Xmas bliss at the book this holiday weekend, you’d better start shopping the opening spreads and totals now. That said, you can sometimes get a great last-minute deal after the crowds have cleared.
I look at the NFL Week 16 odds and tell you which sides and totals to bet now and which ones you may want to wait until later to wager.
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Monday Night Football in Week 14 of the NFL season features an NFC West clash between the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals.
Both of these teams are in the Top 10 of our Covers.com Power Rankings and with the Cardinals enjoying home-field advantage in this contest, NFL betting lines opened with them as 3-point favorites before trimming to -2.5.
Here are our best free Rams vs. Cardinals NFL picks and predictions for MNF on December 13, with kickoff at 8:15 p.m. ET.
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The battle of Ohio has many moving pieces Monday night, but the Ja’Marr Chase-less Bengals enter as a 3-point road favorite vs. the Cleveland Browns, who have dropped four straight.
Without Chase, the Bengals and Joe Burrow will move that target share somewhere else but don’t be surprised if Zac Taylor leans on the run vs. a bad Cleveland run defense.
Find out my best NFL prop picks for Monday Night Football’s battle between the Bengals and the Browns.
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The Houston Texans playoff hopes are riding on winning this road divisional matchup behind their rookie quarterback, C.J. Stroud. Their season finale will be a Saturday night matchup on the road in Indianapolis, IN against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Texans are slight favorites in the Week 18 NFL odds and will be looking to win the battle of AFC South rivals with a playoff spot on the line for the winner.
We take a closer look at the C.J. Stroud odds and give our best free NFL picks for Texans vs. Colts on January 6.
Be sure to keep up to date on the NFL odds and check out our Texans vs. Colts predictions, along with our Texans vs. Colts props.
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The Green Bay Packers are winners of three straight and four of their last five after a massive prime-time upset over the Kansas City Chiefs. Jordan Love and company will look to keep the momentum going tonight, traveling to face off against the New York Giants in one of two games on the NFL odds slate.
Can Love keep up the eye-popping play that is surging the Packers into the playoff picture? Or will fan-favorite Tommy Devito and the Giants defy MNF odds and pick up the upset?
Continue reading for my free NFL picks regarding the NFL player props market for the Packers vs Giants on December 11th.
As the Week 14 odds come to a close, be sure to also check out our Packers vs. Giants picks alongside our favorite Jordan Love props.
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