Northern Ireland will face hosts Canada, Qatar and Switzerland in Group B of the World Cup if they come through March's tricky play-off. Michael O'Neill's side finished third in their qualifying group behind Germany and Slovakia, but still booked a play-off spot thanks to their Nations League finish in 2024. Northern Ireland face a difficult play-off semi-final in Italy, who have not played at the World Cup since 2014, on 26 March in Path A.
The player catching the eye of Chelsea, and other top clubs, is talented young Argentine Valentin Barco, who has successfully rebuilt his career in central midfield after starting out as a left-back. The 21-year-old is improving quickly and he's one of the names high up on Chelsea's list for the future, with the Blues considering making use of their ties to the Ligue 1 side.
Upa is now 27 years old, at the prime age for a center-back. He wants to make a very conscious decision, which he should do. Upa shouldn't and won't stay because of the money, even though he's received a good offer from us, but because of our overall approach and the complete package. He's one of the best defenders in the world. Vincent, Christoph, and I have supported him a lot and want to continue down the path we've started with him
The WSL is back! After the final international break of the calendar year, the WSL returns with a bang as Arsenal play host to Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners will be hoping to close the gap on their title rivals this afternoon with a much-needed win. Meanwhile, Liverpool are seeking their first league victory of the campaign. Renee Slegers will be boosted by the return of both Leah Williamson and captain Kim Little.
Stanford star Jasmine Aiken has a chance to go out on top in her final collegiate game thanks to a perfectly-placed free kick Friday night. The Palo Alto native scored from just outside the penalty area nine minutes in to give No. 1 Stanford a 1-0 win over No. 2 Duke in a women's College Cup semifinal in Kansas City. The Cardinal (21-1-2) will face No. 3 Florida State (15-2-4) in the title game Monday at 4 p.m.
Everton are interested in signing the Brazilian striker Yuri Alberto from Corinthians. The 24-year-old is in impressive form right now, and he has 18 goals to his name this season. He was likely to cost around 40 million. According to TEAMtalk, Everton are leading the race to secure his signature, and they have already made enquiries for the player. West Ham United are interested in the striker as well.
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in signing Marcus Rashford at the end of the season. The player is on loan at Barcelona, and they have an option to sign him permanently in the summer. However, Tottenham are also interested in him, and they are hoping to convince him to return to the Premier League. Can Spurs sign Marcus Rashford? According to a report via Fichajes, they would be willing to guarantee him regular first-team action and a prominent role in the side
Arsenal have the chance to pull eight points clear at the top of the Premier League - for a few hours at least - when they visit Aston Villa. The Gunners, who beat Brentford on Wednesday night, open the weekend action with a trip to Villa Park to face a home side who showed their mettle by hitting back from 2-0 down to win 4-3 at Brighton.
Not satisfied with two years of FIFA complicity in genocide in Palestine, Infantino and his cronies have now invented a new peace prize' in order to curry favour with Donald Trump, Mokhiber told Al Jazeera. He added that the award also aims to obscure Trump's disgraceful record of support to Israel, his deadly strikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea, and gross violations of human rights inside the US.
It's a big match against a big club. We respect Bayern but we're not going to be in awe of them. At the end of the day, it's 11 against 11, like in any other match. We want to show that we're capable of competing against a big team like that and we can't wait to see how we measure up to Bayern. And of course, we're playing at home with our fans behind us,
VfB Stuttgart head coach Sebastian Hoeneß has a long history with Bayern Munich, including his time as the manager of Bayern II. What does that mean? Well, mostly that Hoeneß knows better than to think a Bayern Munich team that has not looked quite right of late is going to be easy to take advantage of.
