World Cup

PORTO, Portugal - Cristiano Ronaldo is excited about the return of experienced defender Pepe to the Portugal squad after he missed Thursday's 3-1 win over Turkey due to COVID-19.

"The king is back! Pepe is back in the house! Look out!" a smiling Ronaldo shouted before Portugal's training session on a warm and sunny Sunday morning in Porto as the 39-year-old defender emerged from the dressing room.

United States head coach Gregg Berhalter is urging his players to stay "in the moment" ahead of Sunday's World Cup qualifier at home to Panama with a shot at reaching the finals on the line.

The U.S. battled to a 0-0 draw away to Mexico on Thursday and sit three points behind leaders Canada in the CONCACAF group standings. They are tied with Mexico on 22 points but are above them in second place on goal difference.

BAMAKO — Mali defender Moussa Sissako scored a first-half own goal and was sent off four minutes later to dent his country’s World Cup qualifying hopes as they lost 1-0 at home to Tunisia in Friday’s first leg of their playoff tie.

The 21-year-old Sissako, making his fourth appearance for Mali, put the ball in his own net with a back pass in the 36th minute which caught goal keeper Ibrahim Mounkoro off his line.

The United States earned a massive point at the Azteca on Thursday night to make its path to the 2022 World Cup that much clearer, but there's a lingering feeling that the team could've returned home with all three had it been more clinical in the final third.

Italy broke English hearts last July as they won the European Championship final but after failing to qualify for the World Cup for the second straight tournament they have left fans thinking their Wembley triumph was a flash in the pan.

For a country who have won the World Cup four times, Italy's recent record is a national embarrassment.

Since lifting their fourth World Cup trophy in 2006, they have not played a knockout game in the showpiece event, having only won one group stage match at the finals in that time. Their recent World Cup record is even more distressing.

North Macedonia pulled off one the biggest upsets in sporting history on Thursday when the minnows took on European champions Italy in a World Cup playoff and somehow pulled off a 1-0 victory in Palermo.

This game could've been played 100 times and Italy wins 99 times.

But I watched this game from start to finish and I must say the North Macedonia win was absolutely deserved. I don’t know if I've ever seen a more valiant display of defending in my life. Italy recorded 32 shots but only five ended up on target. 

Gareth Bale's 2021-22 Real Madrid season was summed up by last Sunday's Clásico, when rumors of a surprise start in replace of the injured Karim Benzema led to nothing more than the Welshman missing out on the matchday squad entirely.

Bale's played a total of just 270 minutes in five appearances across all competitions, including only 77 minutes this calendar year, and his only goal of the campaign came way back in August.

But as we all know, Bale's an entirely different animal when representing his national team: Wales. Golf. Madrid. In that order.