Brazil goalkeeper Barbara leapt to the defence of Sweden following Hope Solo s cowards comments, despite the host nation s defeat in the semi-finals.
United States shot-stopper Solo labelled Sweden s approach as cowardly after they knocked the defending Olympic champions out of the women s football tournament on penalties in Rio last week.
Sweden then managed to eliminate Brazil in the semi-finals of the competition on Tuesday, sending the hosts out after another tense shoot-out.
While Brazil had the better of the opportunities throughout, they were unable to break down a resolute Sweden defence, and Barbara had no issues with the way the Scandinavians set out to play.
She said: Sweden stayed back and played defence with all 11 players in the …
Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo is the hottest player at this year s European football championship and not just because of his dribbling skills, according to a Europe-wide women s survey.
The Manchester United striker was voted most beautiful player of the tournament, in a poll of 12,000 women carried out by electronics company LG.
French forward Thierry Henry came in second, ahead of injured Italian skipper Fabio Cannavaro and Freddie Ljungberg of Sweden who drew for third place.
Talent and his Latin good looks won Ronaldo the title, according to the survey.
His biggest fans were apparently Italian, German and Swedish women.
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Bayern Munich are Bundesliga champions yet again, as a 4-1 win over Augsburg on Saturday allowed them to round off a sixth record successive title win.
It highlights a brilliant turnaround inspired by Jupp Heynckes, who was appointed for his fourth spell in charge back in October following the dismissal of Carlo Ancelotti.
The Italian had reportedly lost the support of key members in the dressing room by the end of his tenure, but Heynckes returned and galvanised the club, steering them back in the right direction and capitalising on Borussia Dortmund s capitulation under Peter Bosz.
Bayern had been in complete control at the top even before the turn of the year and have gone on to win the title at a canter.
Below, we look at the best Opta stats from t…
Luiz Felipe Scolari insisted the English Premier League title race was still open as his Chelsea side went into 2009 three points behind leaders Liverpool.
The Blues topped the table at the end of November but have faltered since, with Liverpool taking full advantage.
Only once in the last four seasons has a team that led the Premier League at Christmas failed to win the title, but Scolari is adamant the battle is far from over.
The championship is not finished, he said. It will be finished in the last two or three games. It is normal in England. The Premier League is difficult.
We are in a good position. We need to win our games.
Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon has said the Blues will not be buying any new players during the January t…
NFL betting fans will have to wait for this matchup between the Las Vegas Raiders and Cleveland Browns, after the game was postponed until Monday due to health & safety protocols decimating the Browns roster.
Things got moderately better for the Browns, who gained a couple of bodies back that would not have played Saturday, but their top two quarterbacks — plus a host of other key players — are still sidelined.
The Raiders have lost five of six games and are coming off an utter humiliation against Kansas City. They opened as 6.5-point NFL betting road dogs but have seen the line flip them to favorites, as they are facing a somewhat-unrecognizable Cleveland roster — on both sides of the ball.
Here are our best free NFL pi…
The Green Bay Packers will look to build off of their stunning Week 10 victory over the Cowboys and their combination of deep targets and heavy run game will be put to the test vs. the Tennessee Titans’ elite defense. With a projected slow pace of play, heavy-volume passing numbers from either side shouldn’t be expected.
Here are my free NFL prop picks — to go along with our free NFL picks and predictions — for Titans vs. Packers for Thursday Night Football.
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With C.J. Stroud in concussion protocol and key receivers sidelined, the Houston Texans face an uphill battle as they visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, and it’s enough to make the Titans favorites in the latest NFL odds.
Houston, one of the league’s best stories this year, saw its postseason hopes dented by a 30-6 loss to the New York Jets last weekend. Meanwhile, the Titans showed signs of life on Monday night with a stunning comeback win over the Miami Dolphins.
Read on for a deep dive into this Week 15 odds showdown with our NFL picks for Texans vs. Titans on December 17.
Texans vs Titans odds
Texans vs Titans predictions
Derrick Henry has set the bar so high with his p…
When it comes to the Kansas City Chiefs, perhaps the biggest thing standing in the way of a third straight Super Bowl title is themselves.
The offseason has been a dog and pony show for the defending champs, featuring multiple legal issues with various players (headlined by Rashee Rice), Harrison Butker’s controversial commencement speech, and most recently a season-threatening shoulder injury to key addition Hollywood Brown.
None of this has stopped sportsbooks from installing Kansas City as the favorite to win Super Bowl LIX, nor has it put a dent in its win total (11.5 Over -118) or look-ahead lines, which peg the Chiefs as average 5-point favorites in 15 of their 17 games.
That’s the thing about betting on the Super Bowl champ. You&rsquo…
A magistrate judge in Nevada has sided with Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyers against a woman who sued the footballer after saying he raped her in Las Vegas in 2009.
In a scathing recommendation to the judge hearing the case, magistrate judge Daniel Albregts on Wednesday blamed Kathryn Mayorga’s attorney, Leslie Mark Stovall, for basing the case on leaked and stolen documents that Albregts said were privileged communications between Ronaldo and his lawyers.
“Dismissing Mayorga’s case for the inappropriate conduct of her attorney is a harsh result,” Albregts wrote in his recommendation to Judge Jennifer Dorsey. “But it is, unfortunately, the only appropriate sanction to ensure the integrity of the judicial proc…
Liverpool are in talks to hire Jörg Schmadtke as the club’s sporting director. If the German, who has worked for Wolfsburg, takes up a role at Liverpool, he will become a key member of the transfer committee for what will be an important summer of recruitment.
Liverpool have been looking for a permanent replacement for the incumbent, Julian Ward, who will leave at the end of the season. Ward only replaced his predecessor Michael Edwards last summer but announced in November that he would depart at the conclusion of the current campaign.
Mohamed Salah strikes to secure Liverpool’s victory against BrentfordRead more
Schmadtke left Wolfsburg in February after more than four years as the club’s sporting director. …