As we head towards the final few 2022 World Cup qualifiers, 13 of the 32 participants are still yet to be confirmed.
Japan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Canada have sealed their places in Qatar in the last week, but nerves are still jangling for those uncertain of theirs.
The play-offs in the UEFA and CAF regions come to a head, while there remain some final issues to be ironed out in the group stages in the AFC, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL sections.
The inter-confederation play-offs also take shape, with the winner of the OFC section to be confirmed.
Here, Stats Perform runs through how the last few embers of qualifying is looking in each region…
AFC (Asia)
Nations already qualified: Qatar (hosts), Iran, South Korea,…
CF Montreal full-back Tom Pearce believes his new side have all the capabilities of reaching the playoffs, preaching confidence within the group as key to their recent success.
After back-to-back defeats to New England Revolution and FC Cincinnati, conceding nine goals in those games, this weekend’s hosts have gone three unbeaten in the MLS.
Montreal currently sit 10th in the Eastern Conference, two points behind the Philadelphia Union in the final playoff place heading into the last four games of the regular season.
And Pearce, who joined the club from Wigan Athletic in July, has every confidence his team-mates can pull together to keep their campaign going.
“We’re in a good place after picking up seven points out of nine in one week. It’s a conf…
The next edition of the Africa Cup of Nations will take place in January and February 2024, rather than between June and July 2023, according to CAF president Patrice Motsepe.
Africa s premier international tournament was due to be held in Ivory Coast during the European off-season next year, but the threat of heavy flooding in the country at that time of year means it will again take place midway through the club campaign.
Speaking in the Moroccan capital Rabat, where a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee was taking place, Motsepe said: We cannot take the risk.
January is not the ideal time because of the European clubs, but it is the only choice we have.
In 2017 CAF announced its intention to play the tournament at the end of the European clu…
England have joined a host of other nations in pledging to their allegiance to the OneLove campaign against discrimination ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
The Three Lions will join the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Switzerland and Wales in supporting an initiative designed to promote inclusion before and during this year s tournament.
Starting with their UEFA Nations League trip to Italy on September 23, captain Harry Kane will wear a distinctive heart-adorned armband to show the team s stand against discriminatory practice.
Kane will be among the skippers who will also have the OneLove armband on in Qatar, where same-sex relationships and promotion of same-sex relationships are criminalised.
I am honoured to join my fellow nat…
Western Sydney Wanderers made an abysmal start to their AFC Champions League campaign as they were thrashed 4-0 at home by Urawa Red Diamonds.
Tony Popovic guided his side to the title in 2014, but, after failing to qualify for last season s competition, Wanderers return to the Champions League did not go to plan on Tuesday.
Urawa were the better team throughout and, despite failing to score in the first half, ran riot after the break, netting four times in half an hour.
Shinzo Koroki grabbed the first goal and then had a hand in Tadanari Lee s second two minutes later, before Tomoaki Makino and Rafael Silva added to the scoreline.
HULK SMASH SECURES WIN
Urawa are joined at the top of Group F by Shanghai SIPG, for whom Hulk inspired a …
Lukas Podolski has billed the World Cup semi-final against Spain as a perfect opportunity for Germany to avenge their Euro 2008 final defeat by the Spaniards.
Fernando Torres s strike gave Spain a 1-0 win in the final in Vienna two years ago and Podolski, one of the German veterans of that defeat, would love nothing more than the opportunity to turn the tables on La Roja.
I leave it up to you in the media to decide who the favourites are for tomorrow, the Cologne forward told reporters ahead of the two countries reunion here on Wednesday. It would have made a great final our revenge for 2008.
Podolski, who was head-butted by Spain striker David Silva during the 2008 final in an incident missed by the match officials, added: Of course, whenever you get to final…
Isn’t it funny how some songs speak to you, no matter what’s going on in your life? The same tune could echo truth if you’re in a rocky relationship, stressed about your place in life, or — in my case — on a bit of an NFL betting slump.
That song is Elton John’s 1983 banger “I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues”, which came on the radio as I drove to the grocery store lamenting a 1-5 ATS skid with my weekly NFL Underdogs point spread picks.
Things were going pretty well, taking an 18-9 ATS mark into Week 10 when… BAM! – sports betting’s version of a doldrums Sir Elton eloquently sang about so many giant pairs of sunglasses ago. But like most songs that speak to us, there is con…
An NFC East rivalry takes center stage in Week 3 as the Dallas Cowboys collide with the New York Giants on Monday Night Football.
The Giants are tepid home favorites in a game with one of the lowest listed totals of the season. While the points are not expected to pile up in this one, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any good NFL player props to take advantage of.
We’ll shine a light on Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and discuss his chances of clearing his rushing total and receiving total, as well as the likelihood that he’ll tally a touchdown.
Here are our three favorite Ezekiel Elliott props for Monday, September 26.
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The Jacksonville Jaguars’ offense hasn’t looked great through two weeks but a date with the injured Houston Texans should prove to be a slump buster for Trevor Lawrence and the home side, who sit as 9-point NFL odds favorites which could lengthen if Houston can’t get healthy ahead of the Sunday matchup.
With a positive game script on deck and plenty of touches coming his way, is getting Travis Etienne for a touchdown at -110 the best bet for this game considering he handled every running-back carry in Week 2?
Here are my Week 3 free NFL picks for the Texans vs. Jaguars on Sunday, September 24.
Texans vs Jaguars odds
Texans vs Jaguars predictions
Despite getting …
It’s an NFC North clash between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings and tonight’s NFL odds have done very little to seperate them.
The Bears enter as losers of three of their last four games, while the Vikings saw their five-game winning streak come to an end last week in Denver.
Can Justin Fields and the Bears pull off the upset? Or will Josh Dobbs and the Vikings be too much to handle at home?
While there are a number of different subscription-based TV channels and streaming services available to watch this game… did you know that you can also live stream Bears/Vikings directly from legal sports betting sites?
Caesars, BetRivers, and Fanatics Sportsbook are three of our most trusted NFL betting sites — and the only platf…