Sports

Best player of the tournament so far? / Image via theworldgame.sbs.com.au

Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann scored twice as France national team set up a Euro 2016 final showpiece against Portugal on Sunday.

France put in a memorable display to deny the 2014 World Champions who go home empty-handed and disappointed over what will be considered a Euro 2016 failure for the German nation.

Following an exciting match in Marseille here are the five things we learned:

Better team won

France were pressed hard in the opening stages of the match as Germany exerted heavy pressure to Euro 2016 hosts, but Didier Deschamps’ men responded in adequate manner by scoring a late first-half goal to put a serious dent in Germany’s ambitions.

Fran…

Liverpool manager Arne Slot is keen on bringing Orkun Kokcu to Anfield, according to . The report in the Portuguese news outlet has noted that Slot worked with Kokcu at Feyenoord, and that the Liverpool boss wants a reunion with the young midfielder at Liverpool.

Slot was appointed the Liverpool manager in the summer of 2024 following the departure of Jurgen Klopp. The Reds have made a strong start to the season under the Dutchman and are among the contenders for the Premier League title. The Merseyside club are at the top of the league table at the moment with 18 points from seven matches, a point ahead of defending champions Manchester City and Arsenal, who are second and third respectively in the standings.

Kokcu has been on the books of Benfica since the summer of 2…

New coach Julen Lopetegui will face Getafe in his first LaLiga fixture in charge of Real Madrid.

Lopetegui, sacked by Spain on the eve of the World Cup after his Madrid move was announced, gets the chance to start his reign at the Santiago Bernabeu on August 19.

An away game against Girona follows, with Madrid – now minus all-time leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo avoid their fellow big guns in the opening weeks of the campaign.

Champions Barcelona host the first Clasico meeting of the season on October 28, with the return fixture in the Spanish capital set for March 3 next year.

The first Madrid derby sees Lopetegui s side host their neighbours at the end of September, while the Wanda Metropolitano will be the venue for the return in February.

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this is one of the most eagerly anticipated games of any season, and this year is no exception, with only one point separating the two teams. Arsene Wenger will be hoping Ferguson s men are both physically and mentally exhausted after their high profile victory over Man City, while Sir Alex Ferguson will also hope Wengers men are lacking in confidence after their shock defeat to Stoke in midweek.

Arsene Wenger will know a lot rests on this game the sort of game where fans and pundits alike tend to write off your season if a loss comes your way. There will be confidence in the Arsenal camp though, with many believing Arsenal to have their most gifted squad for years. There are a few injury problems, with Van Persie some way off a return, and the latest victim being the almost ev…

The 2019-20 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 draw has been completed, and now all teams know which teams will be their opponents heading into the knockout stages of the competition. As it s always the case, some teams were benefited while others will have a tough time trying to reach the quarterfinals.

Among the benefited teams, we can find Valencia, Barcelona and Juventus. Los Che will take on Atalanta arguably the weaker side on the knockout stages while Barcelona will play against a Napoli side that looks like a shell of their former self. Meanwhile, Juventus will play against Olympique Lyon. The reigning Serie A champions somehow managed to avoid facing teams such as Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund or Chelsea.

Chelsea and Madrid were two of the teams that wouldn t f…

FIFA has finally released the three finalists for the Ballon d Or Award: Real Madrid s Cristiano Ronaldo, and FC Barcelona s Xavi and Lionel Messi.

Messi, a two-time winner of the award (2009, 2010), is the favorite to win the award after a magnificent season which saw FC Barcelona win La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

Cristiano Ronaldo previously won the award in 2008 and could very much so deserve another one this year.

In 2010-11, Ronaldo tallied a ridiculous 53 goals in 54 games. Simply stunning.

The former Manchester United talisman has kept it going this season, bagging 21 goals in just 20 appearances for Los Blancos.

But Lionel Messi has been just as impressive. The crafty Argentine striker scored 53 goals and added 24 assist…

If you run down Aaron Rodgers’ Christmas list, you may find some strange asks, but you won’t find the Chicago Bears on there. He already owns them.

The last time the Green Bay Packers clashed with the rival Bears, Rodgers was an efficient 17 for 23 for 195 yards and two passing touchdowns. Rodgers – and his lingering toe injury – gets another shot at ownership when the Cheeseheads hosts Chicago on Sunday Night Football in Week 14.

Coming off a bye and laying a lot of lumber, the Packers put their NFL-best 10-2 ATS mark to the test. Here are our free NFL picks and predictions for Bears at Packers on December 12.

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It’s been a great NFL betting season for those who like fading favorites, as underdogs have won over 57% of the time through seven weeks. But regression figures to happen soon, and Week 8 could be that time.

We’ve identified four betting favorites representing good NFL odds value this weekend, and have broken them up into Week 8’s NFL parlay picks, which we’ll discuss below.

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The Denver Broncos are in the middle of an unlikely renaissance that has put them back into playoff contention in the AFC. At the center of this surge has been quarterback Russell Wilson, who may not be putting up the gaudiest numbers in the league, but has been consistently good nearly all year long.

The Week 15 odds are against the Broncos as they visit the suddenly vulnerable Detroit Lions, who have lost two of their last three. Wilson will need to be on his game to lead Denver to another improbable victory, but there are reasons to be optimistic about his performance tonight.

Read on to see what I think about the Russell Wilson odds this week in my free NFL picks for the Broncos vs. Lions on Saturday, December 16.

Be sure to also check out our Bronc…

The hire of Jim Harbaugh had the sun shining on the Los Angeles Chargers again after a lifeless 5-12 SU and 6-11 ATS finish in 2023.

Then Justin Herbert hurt his foot. Now the future of the franchise — or at least the start to the 2024 campaign — is in question. 

The Bolts hope that their star quarterback can recover from a pesky plantar fascia injury in time for Week 1. But that’s a lingering ailment that is easy to reaggravate and could stick with Herbert all year if not given time to heal.

That hiccup puts Los Angeles behind schedule in terms of transitioning to the new system under Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman. It also puts extra weight on the Chargers defense, which doesn’t have much beyond a handful of…