Kylian Mbappe finally got going at Euro 2024, though France could not beat Poland.

Austria topped Group D, having defeated the Netherlands.

There was less action in the later matches in Group C, however.

Here, we round up the best statistics from the penultimate group-stage day of Euro 2024.

France 1-1 Poland: Masked Mbappe off the mark

It has been a long time coming, but Mbappe, with what was his 23rd shot, finally scored his first European Championship goal for France, converting a 56th-minute penalty against Poland in Dortmund.

Mbappe brought up his 13th goal for France at major international tournaments (with the previous 12 having come at the World Cup), with only Michel Platini netting more for Les Bleus in the two competitions combi…

Phil Neville knows the Portland Timbers meeting with the Seattle Sounders on Saturday will be pivotal to the outcome of their season as the Cascadia Cup rivals battle for a playoff place.

Portland enter Saturday s game seventh in the Western Conference standings, two places and three points behind the in-form Sounders.

The Timbers were beaten 2-1 on home soil by their rivals when they last faced off in May, but they have not lost a regular-season home game since, winning seven and drawing two of their last nine.

Neville knows the importance of carrying that form into this weekend, saying: We re looking forward to another big game.

When we looked at the fixtures at the start of the season, to play Seattle home and away in the last eight games, we knew the…

Jose Mourinho has spoken highly of Luke Shaw s performances at Euro 2020 following his standout display in England s win over Ukraine.

The Manchester United left-back was voted as the Three Lions man of the match in a fan poll after providing two assists in the 4-0 quarter-final victory in Rome.

Shaw appears to have cemented his place as Gareth Southgate s first-choice left-back at these finals, a fitting reward for an impressive season under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at United.

The former Southampton man has enjoyed arguably the strongest 18 months of his career, a far cry from a difficult spell when Mourinho was in charge at Old Trafford, when the Portuguese would often single out Shaw for criticism.

Mourinho took aim at Shaw again after England s group-stag…

Portugal defender Ricardo Costa says his team are starting to dream of winning Euro 2012.

Paulo Bento s men are through to the semi-finals after a 1-0 victory over Czech Republic in the last eight, and will take on the winner of Saturday s clash between France and Spain.

The Valencia centre-back feels his side are starting to click into gear, and that it does not matter who they face in the next round.

Winning is all we dream about it. Nothing is easy and to be champions we will have to suffer. It will not be easy but we know we have quality and can get there, he told A Bola.

The only way of looking at this semi-final is to prepare for it well and to analyse the opposing team, as we know it will be a difficult game. We have to do our homework well.

…

Scotland, Ireland, Wales and Northern Ireland will meet at a friendly tourmanent in 2011. The tournament should be held every year from then on.

As the four countries failed to qualify for last year s European Championships, the idea arose or organising a friendly tournament. England immediately rejected the possibility, but the remaining four nations have now decided to make the plan come true.

A similar tournament existed in the past. The Home Championship involved Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England but was cancelled in 1984 due to the increasing number of international matches on the calendar.

The first edition of this new tournament, dubbed the Celtic Cup , is expected to take place in Ireland s capital city Dublin.

…

Barcelona recorded losses of €481million for the 2020-21 financial year, the club announced on Wednesday.

After a tumultuous year, which ended with Lionel Messi leaving the club as the Catalans could not afford his contract, Barca s revenue was €631m. This fell well below the €828m set in the budget.

With expenditure of a record €1.136billion, up from €955m, Barca posted an operating loss of €505m, a net loss of €555m and a post-tax loss of €481m.

The Blaugrana cited falling revenues and the inability to contain spending during the coronavirus pandemic.

However, Barca acknowledged they had calculated their loss even without the pandemic at €390m.

Their net debt subsequently stood at €680m, according to LFP criteria, …

Manchester United smashed the British transfer record when they completed the signing of Argentina’s Angel Di Maria on this day in 2014.

The Red Devils, in a rebuilding phase following the departure of their hugely successful manager Sir Alex Ferguson the year before, paid £59.7million for the then 26-year-old.

Di Maria, brought in by the club’s new Dutch boss Louis van Gaal, arrived at United fresh from helping his old club Real Madrid seal their 10th European title the season before.

Di Maria said at the time of his signing: “I am absolutely delighted to be joining Manchester United. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in Spain and there were a lot of clubs interested in me, but United is the only club that I would have left Real Madrid for.

“Lou…

The touchdown market has become one of the most popular and potentially profitable props in the NFL betting world. Each week, we’re going to throw down four to five units as we try to uncover some of the best weekly NFL TD props and dig into the matchups that surround them.

We’re coming off our sixth profitable TD week with a +2.95 unit Week 7. That pushes our season record to +11.27 units and our Week 8 TD picks are a great mix of higher probability TDs and some high-return ones. Onto the (hopeful) plane-breakers.

…

If Zach Wilson’s game can be as mature as his taste in women, the New York Jets have a bright future. 

The learning curve gets mighty steep for the second-year quarterback and the rest of Gang Green, who are rich in promise coming off 4-13 SU record (6-11 ATS) in an injury-plagued 2021. Head coach Robert Saleh is depending on his young guys to grow up fast, entering Year 2 under his 4-3 defense and Mike LaFleur’s offensive playbook. 

The Jets’ NFL odds aren’t asking much, with one of the lowest win totals on the board and the lookahead lines not painting a pretty picture. Can potential and plenty of points add up against the spread?

Hide your mothers. Here’s the New York Jets 2022 NFL betting preview.

Titans vs Vikings Preseason Picks and Predictions: Hot Start for Minnesota Leads to Early Triumph

November 2, 2024 0

The Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings will kick off their second preseason game of 2023 on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The Titans tried to get some more clarity on their backup quarterback situation last week and didn’t exactly succeed in doing so. Meanwhile, the Vikings got off to a hot start last week before getting dominated in the second half by Seattle.

I break it all down and give my best NFL picks and predictions for the Titans vs. Vikings below. 

Titans vs Vikings odds

Titans vs Vikings predictions

Last week, the Tennessee Titans were looking to get equal playing time for both Malik Willis and Will Levis. The two quarterbacks rotated every third series, but neithe…