Lionel Messi has scored the 100th goal of the World Cup.
With Argentina needing to beat Nigeria on Tuesday in St Petersburg to have a chance of qualifying for the last 16 at Russia 2018, the forward gave his side a 14th-minute lead.
Ever Banega s lofted throughball was ideally placed for Messi to impressively control and hammer home a right-footed drive to put Jorge Sampaoli s men in front.
Messi had failed to score in Argentina s two previous Group D games, missing a penalty in a 1-1 draw against Iceland and proving toothless as his side were thumped 3-0 by Croatia.
100 Lionel Messi has scored the 100th goal at the 2018 World Cup. Permanent.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
The Barcelona superstar has now scored six World Cup goals, three of w…
Ahead of Friday s FIFA World Cup draw, here are details of all 32 teams set to participate in Brazil next year.
ALGERIA
Key player: Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia)
How they qualified: Play-off victory against Burkina Faso
Coach: Vahid Halilhodzic
Best showing at World Cup finals: Group stage (1982, 1986, 2010)
ARGENTINA
Key player: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
How they qualified: Topped South American group
Coach: Alejandro Sabella
Best showing at World Cup finals: Winners (1978, 1986)
AUSTRALIA
Key player: Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls)
How they qualified: Runners-up in Asian Group B
Coach: Ange Postecoglou
Best showing at World Cup finals: Round of 16 (2006)
BELGIUM
Key player: Vincent Kompa…
It is official. David de Gea is going nowhere!
The Spain goalkeeper penned a new contract with Manchester United until 2023 on Monday, with the option to extend the deal by a further year.
De Gea s future at Old Trafford has often been the feature of debate, with Real Madrid most famously coming close to securing his signature in 2015, while Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain have also been reported suitors.
But the 28-year-old, who has become recognised as one of the world s best goalkeepers during his time at United, will be with the Red Devils for the foreseeable future.
Below, we have analysed Opta data to take a look at De Gea s best Premier League stats with United.
102 Since his debut in the competition in August 2011, David de Gea has kept …
Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph will miss the remainder of 2014, according to manager Paul Lambert.
Delph, 24, suffered a dislocated shoulder during training in October, and Lambert said the England midfielder will endure several months of rehab before making it back into the first team.
The former Leeds United man is set to see his role fielded in the middle of the park by former West Ham and Chelsea playmaker Joe Cole.
Delph has had his operation, it went well and everything is on course, said Lambert.
It s just a matter of getting him to do his rehab and getting him fit.
I don t think you can put a timescale on it but he will be out for a few months. It s not a complicated injury, it s straightforward.
Everything went fine and …
Carlo Ancelotti has said Real Madrid are considering allowing players to take short breaks during the season with concerns about the congested fixture schedule.
Ancelotti, who led Los Blancos to a record sixth Super Cup triumph against Atalanta on Wednesday, now turns his attention to the new LaLiga season.
Madrid travel to the Visit Mallorca Estadi to face Mallorca on Sunday in their opening league encounter as they begin their title defence with Kylian Mbappe in their ranks.
However, Ancelotti revealed that the club are considering extended breaks away from action during the season due to the pressures of domestic and club football.
The players need rest, they need holidays and we are thinking about giving individual holidays to the players during t…
The Buffalo Bills are in the driver’s seat for the AFC East after a convincing 33-21 win over New England last week. Now, Josh Allen and the Bills will look to run the table starting with the Atlanta Falcons, who enter Week 17 as 14.5-point underdogs in a game that will see mid-30 temperature, wind, and possibly snow.
Can the Bills ride the momentum from last week’s win and continue to dominate bad teams? Can Atlanta improve on its 1-5 ATS record against teams with winning records?
Find out in our free NFL picks and predictions for Falcons vs. Bills.
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After rough sledding for most of October and November, December has been good to our weekly NFL Underdogs picks and predictions.
We shook the stink of a nasty skid with a 2-1 against-the-spread finish in Week 12 and went a perfect 3-0 ATS in Week 13, thanks to some early-week underdogs who ended up closing as favorites when the whistle blew. But dog or fave, those three picks laid waste to any and all spreads. Closing line value be damned.
Due to my holiday schedule (I got some vacation days to burn up), the Week 14 edition of NFL Underdogs is hitting the presses a day early as we try to stay hot in the chilly December temperatures.
Here are my best NFL picks and predictions getting the points in Week 14.
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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts has been under fire recently with the team suffering three straight defeats. They’ll have a chance to get back on track this afternoon as they host the New York Giants during the Week 16 odds slate.
The Giants came back down to Earth last week with a 24-6 loss in New Orleans after three straight victories, now sitting 5-9, while the Eagles sit at 10-4 as huge favorites at home according to NFL odds.
The time is now for the Philly QB to deliver some presents on Christmas Day, so I’ll be looking at Jalen Hurts’ odds to see if I believe he’ll deliver them, or the sleigh will get lost.
Read on for my NFL picks surrounding the Eagles’ signal caller in this holiday special. Be sure to also check out our Giants…
The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles hit Corinthians Arena for the first-ever NFL game in Brazil, and with one of the highest totals of the week, we should expect offensive fireworks for Friday Night Football.
Here is a trio of NFL player props to kick-start the weekend and complement this clash between the pair of NFC contenders.
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