Iraqi champions Arbil and Kuwaiti side Al Kuwait will meet in the AFC Cup final after both recorded convincing victories on Tuesday.
Arbil became the first Iraqi club in 12 years to reach the decider of an Asian continental club competition with a resounding 8-2 aggregate win over Chonburi.
Nizar Mahrous men, who beat the Thai team 4-1 at home in the first leg, repeated the score at Chonburi Municipality Stadium.
Amjed Rahdi netted a brace, while Saad Abdulameer and Mustafa Kareem added one each for Arbil. Suttinun Phukhom netted the only goal for the home side.
Of course we re very happy with our performance tonight. This is a great result that we wanted, Mahrous said.
We still have a lot of respect for Chonburi as they had a lot of motivation…
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo insists that he does not consider Lionel Messi a rival.
He has also questioned how effective FIFA and UEFA s campaign against racism is.
The duo are up for the Ballon d Or award on Monday night alongside Andres Iniesta, though FIFA have been in the news this week after president Sepp Blatter criticised AC Milan s decision to walk off after racial abuse against Pro Patria.
Ronaldo, speaking at the pre-award press conference in Zurich, insisted that racism must be stamped out in football but believes the decision to leave the field of play is an entirely subjective one.
In my honest opinion, I think this (racism) cannot happen at this moment in football, he told reporters.
All the time, FIFA and UEFA speak about…
Paul Breitner says Pep Guardiola s distinctive style of play is not working yet at Manchester City and did not prove decisive during his time at Bayern Munich.
The Bavarian giants dominated domestically during Guardiola s time in charge, winning the Bundesliga in each of his three seasons at the helm.
But, having guided Barcelona to two Champions League titles with the famed tiki-taka philosophy, he was unable to replicate that European success at the Allianz Arena, exiting the competition at the semi-final stage in 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
That failure has seen him judged somewhat harshly compared to his predecessor Jupp Heynckes, who steered Bayern to continental glory prior to his departure at the end of the 2012-13 campaign.
Pep has got a ver…
Jorge Valdano finds it hard to believe Real Madrid president Florentino Perez would consider re-hiring Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho is available following his sacking by Chelsea last week and reports in Spain suggest the Portuguese is on Perez s shortlist should he decide to dispense with current boss Rafael Benitez.
If the move did go through it would complete a remarkable return to the Santiago Bernabeu for Mourinho, who left the club under a cloud in the 2013 close-season by mutual agreement after winning just one La Liga and one Copa del Rey crown in three seasons.
Valdano, who was sacked as Madrid sporting director in 2011 after losing a power struggle with Mourinho, cannot understand why Perez would fire Benitez and turn once again to the former Porto boss.
Prediction: Algeria win
Best Odds:
Bookmaker:
The Africa Cup of Nations is into the knockout stages now, with the Round of 16 being set to get underway imminently. The tournament has had a few bright moments here and there, but for the most part, fans are still waiting for it to explode into life. One game in which they re hoping to see that happen is Algeria vs Guinea, which is an encounter between two sides that have had very different tournaments up to this point. It s not quite David vs Goliath, but there s certainly a clear favourite here.
Algeria
Algeria have done a good job of flying the flag for Africa at the World Cup in recent times, and now, it s time for them to really put their foot down and showcase what they can do within their own home…
Neymar did little to ease tensions with Paris Saint-Germain as he declared Barcelona s classic 2016-17 Champions League comeback against the Parisians as one of his fondest memories in football.
The Brazilian star appears to be at loggerheads with his employers at PSG, as it is claimed he is trying to engineer a return to Barca.
Furthermore, PSG sporting director Leonardo confirmed Neymar can leave if potential suitors meet their asking price.
Neymar joined PSG from Barca for a world-record fee of €222million in August 2017, but just five months earlier he played a major role in dumping the French side out of the Champions League in the last 16.
PSG won the first leg 4-0, but Barca stunned them at the Camp Nou as they ran out 6-1 winners, scoring thre…
Matthijs de Ligt has no issues with being left out of Louis van Gaal s starting line-up for the Netherlands past three games as he expected to play nothing at this World Cup.
De Ligt came on as a 93rd-minute substitute in the Netherlands 3-1 win over the United States in Saturday s last-16 encounter.
That marked the 23-year-old s first appearance for the Oranje since starting in their World Cup opener, the 2-0 win over Senegal, having been demoted to the bench by Van Gaal for the ensuing three games.
It s not so frustrating, honestly, De Ligt told The Athletic. Every player wants to play but we are a group of 26 players.
Honestly, I have played more than I expected to play at this World Cup. I expected to play nothing. I m quite okay. We won together an…
Market: Valencia win
Odds: 7/10 @
Looking to sign off their 2021 run with a flurry on home soil, a high-flying Valencia will welcome Espanyol to the Mestalla on Friday afternoon.
Starting with the hosts. while Valencia might have been dealing with a string of issues over the past couple of years, the Bats are in the midst of what has become a hugely impressive run of form. Last seen on December 20th when claiming what was an action-packed 4-3 victory against Levante on the road, José Bordalás squad have received plenty of praise from across Spain this season. With their sights firmly set on trying to bring European football back to the Mestalla, Valencia have now won each of their last five matchups across all formats. Smelling a golden chance to lay down anot…
Ange Postecoglou claimed the foundations at Tottenham are really fragile after a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City put paid to their Champions League qualification hopes.
Erling Haaland struck twice in the second half as City leapfrogged Spurs bitter rivals Arsenal to return to the Premier League summit heading into the final day.
Postecoglou had been left flabbergasted in the build-up by Tottenham fans claiming they would be happy to lose to Pep Guardiola s side in order to dent the Gunners title bid.
And while there was a generally flat atmosphere inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, home supporters were filmed celebrating City s opening goal while others chanted are you watching Arsenal?
The head coach, who was also captured arguing with a Spurs fan, was…
Arsenal will hope to confirm their participation in the UEFA Champions League for the 16th-straight season against Fenerbahce on Tuesday.
The Premier League side hold a 3-0 advantage ahead of the qualifying play-off second leg at the Emirates Stadium following a comfortable victory in Turkey on Wednesday that came courtesy of goals from Kieran Gibbs, Aaron Ramsey and Olivier Giroud.
Arsenal went into that game amid suggestions of a crisis, with fans expressing frustration over a lack of transfer activity after an opening-day league defeat at home to Aston Villa.
However, they have since followed up their easy win at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium with a 3-1 away victory over Fulham on Saturday, and are now brimming with confidence ahead of a second encounter with the Turk…