Russia are the lowest-ranked team at the World Cup and yet, come Thursday s opener, they will be expected to provide a nation-lifting performance against Saudi Arabia.
The hosts are somewhat ill-equipped to deliver the fireworks expected of such an occasion, having tumbled to an all-time low of 70th in the world ahead of a tournament that will be debated as much for events on the pitch as those that rumble on in the shadows.
Thankfully for head coach Stanislav Cherchesov, a former national team goalkeeper who was appointed to the top job in August 2016, the order of Group A fixtures has at least been kind.
Saudi Arabia are just three places better off in the FIFA rankings and present an opportunity for Russia to bank a precious three points at the Luzhniki Stadiu…
Former Real Madrid star Roberto Carlos has little doubt Cristiano Ronaldo will win the Ballon d Or and has joked the Portugal international probably already has the trophy at home.
Ronaldo enjoyed a successful year as he won the Champions League with Real Madrid, before helping Portugal to Euro 2016 glory.
The attacker has been struggling somewhat in the opening stages of the 2016-17 campaign due to injury, but Roberto Carlos is convinced he will beat the likes of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann to the prestigious individual award.
I think Cristiano Ronaldo already has the Ballon d Or at home but he just has not told anyone yet, Roberto Carlos said at a news conference.
He has taken time to get back to being himself after the knee injury, but from no…
Bayern Munich were held to a 1-1 draw by Regionalliga West side Duren Merzenich in the second match of their 2024-25 preseason preparations.
The Bundesliga giants, who thumped FC Rottach-Egern 14-1 in Vincent Kompany s first game in charge, were unable to make it two wins from two against their German fourth-tier opponents.
Kompany fielded a starting XI featuring the likes of Leon Goretzka, Kim Min-Jae, Raphael Guerreiro and Eric Dier, but they fell behind to Rafael Garcia s strike five minutes before half-time.
Bayern made eight changes in the 66th minute and, three minutes later, one of them equalised as 18-year-old Nestory Irankunda brought them back on level terms.
Next up for Kompany s side is a trip to the Far East, where they will play Premier Leag…
In what was a heavyweight showdown on Wednesday night, Manchester United picked up an impressive 2-0 victory against Tottenham at Old Trafford.
While Erik ten Hag s men might have known that they faced a tough test on home soil, the former Premier League champions laid down a real marker as goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes wrapped up all three points for the former Ajax boss.
Handing Spurs just their second top-flight defeat since opening the 2022/23 campaign, United also continued on what has been an eye-catching recent run at Old Trafford.
However, despite making the trip to Manchester smelling the chance to spring an upset and widen their buffer in the top-four, Tottenham struggled to find any real clinical edge here.
In an enjoyable battle between…
The cinch Premiership returned after the international break and as usual there was plenty of drama and excitement.
Celtic surprisingly dropped two points at home to Motherwell on Saturday but Rangers failed to capitalise at Aberdeen, depending on a late James Tavernier penalty for a 1-1 draw, leaving the Hoops still eight points clear at the top albeit the Light Blues have a game in hand.
Hearts, St Mirren and Hibernian all won and Livingston remain bottom after another defeat.
Here, the PA news agency looks at five things that caught the eye.
Rangers blow chance to move closer to Celtic
Full-Time in Aberdeen.
Aberdeen 1-1 Rangers
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC)
Skipper James Tavernier scored a last-gasp penalty to give …
Bayer Leverkusen have sacked head coach Peter Bosz and appointed former Stuttgart boss Hannes Wolf as his replacement until the end of this season.
A 4-0 win over Cologne in mid-December saw Leverkusen go top of the Bundesliga, but their form has collapsed since, with just four wins in their subsequent 18 matches in all competitions.
That prolonged slump has taken in a 6-3 aggregate defeat to Young Boys in the Europa League, which followed a humiliating exit from the DFB-Pokal at the hands of fourth-tier Rot-Weiss Essen in early February.
Following the 3-0 weekend defeat to Hertha Berlin, a result that left Leverkusen sixth in the table, Bosz expressed confidence that he would remain in his post.
However, the club s board had other ideas.
In view…
Jose Mourinho is trying to be optimistic about the injury Harry Kane suffered towards the end of Tottenham s 2-2 draw with Everton on Friday but accepts it is too early to know its severity.
Kane was in lethal form for Spurs at Goodison Park, as he has been for much of the season, as he scored both goals for Mourinho s side.
The England captain s first effort saw him reach 20 Premier League goals in a season for the fifth time, a record bettered by only Alan Shearer (seven) and Sergio Aguero (six).
His second – the goal that secured Spurs a point – was his 12th in as many games against Everton in all competitions and it moved him above Robbie Fowler into seventh in the Premier League s all-time top scorers list with 164.
62 Harry Kane has been directl…
Veteran striker David Villa is set for a reunion with former Barcelona and Spain team-mate Andres Iniesta at Vissel Kobe.
After New York City confirmed Villa, 36, would leave the club upon the expiration of his contract, the 2010 World Cup winner made the announcement via social media that he will be moving to the J.League.
Iniesta left Barca for Vissel Kobe in May, and the pair are poised to join forces again after starring together at Camp Nou from 2010 to 2013, as well as for Spain s national team.
In my years as a professional footballer, I have had to make many important decisions. For an athlete, the ones made off the field are the hardest, and I find myself in another one of those moments now, Villa said.
Throughout my career, I have always lis…
Ciro Immobile achieved a goalscoring feat not seen in Serie A for 61 years as Lazio thumped SPAL 5-1 to go second in the table.
A double each for the Italy international and Felipe Caicedo, plus a first goal for 20-year-old Bobby Adekanye, moved Simone Inzaghi s side to within five points of league leaders Juventus with a game in hand.
Immobile has scored 25 of Lazio s 52 league goals this season and leads the race for the European Golden Shoe ahead of Bayern Munich star Robert Lewandowski and RB Leipzig s Timo Werner.
Indeed, no player has ever managed more than 25 goals after the first 21 matches of a Serie A season. The only other player to equal that tally was former Inter, Roma and Milan attacker Antonio Valentin Angelillo back in 1959.
Immobile h…
18:00 Newcastle vs Aston Villa
Marking their return from the enforced break in some style and landing a thumping 3-0 win against European chasers Sheffield United, the mood in Newcastle s camp could be at a season-high. Really starting to find their feet under one-time Sunderland boss Steve Bruce, the Magpies have won their last three matchups across all competitions and also have an FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City on the horizon. Now suddenly looking up the Premier League table and within touching distance of breaking into the top-half, fans around the North East have seen their side land back-to-back top-flight victories for the first time since the start of December. Entering March s break with a 1-0 win at St. Mary s, there is no doubt that Bruce will be hugely …