With a 2-0 victory over Paraguay in Lima on Tuesday night, Peru clinched fifth place in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying and a spot in the inter-confederation playoffs, knocking out sixth-place Colombia and seventh-place Chile in the process. This marks the end of the road for a couple memorable generations of players for Los Cafeteros and La Roja.
Before Portugal’s World Cup qualifying playoff game vs. North Macedonia Cristiano Ronaldo said, “There is no World Cup without Portugal.” Have no fear soccer fans, there will be a World Cup this year courtesy of Portugal defeating North Macedonia 2-0 on Tuesday to secure a spot in the 2022 World Cup.
Manchester City maintained control of the Premier League title race with a hugely impressive 4-1 victory over Manchester United at the Etihad on Sunday.
DORTMUND - Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus played a part in five goals as his side hammered his former club Borussia Mönchengladbach 6-0 in the Bundesliga on Sunday to stay in touch with leaders Bayern Munich.
Reus, who switched from Gladbach to Dortmund just over a decade ago for $19 million, scored two goals and provided three assists. But he opted not to take a penalty his side were awarded in added time, with Emre Can stepping up and converting to complete the drubbing.
Christian Eriksen's inspiring return to the pitch took a massive step forward Monday as the midfielder made his first appearance since suffering an on-field cardiac arrest and recorded an assist in Brentford's friendly victory over fifth-tier club Southend United. To make things even better, Eriksen was celebrating his 30th birthday.
After being fitted with a heart-starting device known as an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), Eriksen terminated his contract with Inter Milan back in December while continuing to work on his fitness with former club Ajax.
ROME - AC Milan climbed to the top of the Serie A table with a 1-0 win over Sampdoria on Sunday, when an early strike from in-form winger Rafael Leão proved decisive at San Siro.
Stefano Pioli’s side jumped ahead of Inter Milan and Napoli, who drew 1-1 in Naples on Saturday, to go top with 55 points.
It completed a superb week for Milan, in which they defeated rivals Inter in the Milan derby and hammered Lazio 4-0 in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals, leaving Inter one point behind with a game in hand and Napoli two points back in third place.
Egypt came from a goal down to defeat Morocco 2-1 in extra time and advance to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations — where host nation Cameroon awaits — with captain Mohamed Salah providing an inspirational goal and assist for the Pharaohs on Sunday.
Morocco's opening goal came early. If you want an example of why Kylian Mbappé thinks Achraf Hakimi is the best right back in the world, here's one.
The emergence of 17-year-old Pablo Páez Gavi for both Barcelona and Spain during the 2021-22 season has been criminally under-appreciated in the English-speaking world. It's a serious offense because just putting the La Masia product through the 90-minute eye test is enough to reveal a footballer of supreme talent, which is exceptionally rare when considering all the nuance and subtlety that comes with the midfield position.
Barcelona played Boca Juniors in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in a friendly dubbed The Maradona Cup, with all proceeds going towards paying Philippe Coutinho's salary. The match also served as a second club debut for 38-year-old right back Dani Alves, who signed as a free agent after last playing for São Paulo with nothing but goodwill in his heart and a somewhat good feeling in his feet.
By defeating Atlético 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu on Sunday night for its seventh straight win in LaLiga, Real Madrid further enhanced its reputation as favorite while perhaps dooming Atléti's title defense before the campaign's halfway point.
The gap between first-place Real and fourth-place Atlético is already 13 points, and this edition of El Derbi highlighted what makes Carlo Ancelotti's side the best in Spain and a growing threat in the Champions League.