Leonardo Bonucci described Italy s Euro 2020 semi-final win against Spain as the toughest game of his career and urged his team-mates to complete the job by lifting the trophy.
The Azzurri beat Spain 4-2 on penalties in a gripping contest at Wembley on Tuesday that finished 1-1 at the end of extra time.
Alvaro Morata was introduced from the bench to cancel out Federico Chiesa s brilliant opener 10 minutes from time, but the striker s miss proved crucial in the shoot-out.
Jorginho was left to roll in the winning spot-kick as Italy booked their third final appearance in the competition since last going all the way in 1968.
That remains the four-time world champions only continental triumph and veteran defender Bonucci is eager to put an end to that 53-year …
Ukraine Euro 2012 tournament director Markiyan Lubkivskyi said he was pleased to prove doubters wrong with a huge influx of foreign visitors.
Several allegations were levelled at the country before and during the tournament including racial vilification and increased prices, all of which Lubkivskyi said had proved to be misconceptions.
Before the tournament there were rumours and scare stories about Ukraine but I always thought it was simple to combat that, Lubkivskyi said.
I always believed we should concentrate on hosting the tournament in the right way and if we were good people and very friendly then we could show the world it wasn t true.
Ukraine has enjoyed nearly one million visitors during the tournament and Lubkivskyi said the healthy figures…
Spread bettors addressing Group E will have noted it offers a wide range of footballing styles with the Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon all battling for qualification. The Dutch are favourites on the Group E Index (25pts to the winner, 10pts to runner-up and 5pts to third-place), currently with a spread of 16.5-18pts.
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Buyers of the Dutch Group E index will have noted that Holland comfortably qualified for South Africa 2010 with a flawless record. They won all eight of their qualification matches, bagging 17 goals in the process and conceding only two.
Spread sellers of their tournament win index at 30 will however be aware of the side s disappointing record at major tournaments and quick to point to the inconsistent results from E…
Roberto Mancini has expressed regret about Italy s failure to secure automatic World Cup qualification and warned the Azzurri must forget about their Euro 2020 success ahead of the playoffs.
Italy, who missed out on the 2018 World Cup, have undergone a transformative period under former Inter and Manchester City manager Mancini. That culminated in them triumphing at Euro 2020 – their first European Championship title since 1968.
The Azzurri embarked on a world-record 37-game unbeaten run, which ended at the hands of Spain in the Nations League semi-finals in October, but their World Cup prospects hang in the balance.
Italy finished runners-up to Switzerland in Group C, as did Portugal to Serbia in Group A. The pair were then drawn on the same play-off path,…
Bayern Munich boss Jupp Heynckes plans to stop Paris Saint-Germain and Neymar in much the same way as they contained Barcelona and Lionel Messi in 2013.
The Bundesliga champions destroyed Barca in the Champions League semi-finals four years ago, winning 4-0 at the Allianz Arena before claiming a 3-0 victory at Camp Nou en route to winning the trophy.
Heynckes returned to Bayern shortly after PSG beat them 3-0 in October, with that defeat spelling the end of Carlo Ancelotti s time in charge.
The 72-year-old is hoping his side produce a far better performance on Tuesday and says defending as a team will be critical to containing PSG s attacking trio of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Edinson Cavani.
It s only possible collectively, he told a news conference. I k…
The AFC South’s two competitive teams will wrap up their season series on Sunday at Lucas Oil Stadium, as the division-leading Tennessee Titans visit the Indianapolis Colts.
Tennessee has effectively shaken off early-season struggles and, with two consecutive impressive wins in its pocket, takes a 5-2 record on the road against a feisty 3-4 Indy team.
Here are our free NFL betting picks and predictions for Titans vs. Colts on October 31.
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Regardless of how the 2022 season trickles down for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, this year is going to make for one compelling episode of “Man in the Arena” based on the offseason alone.
Tom Brady’s retirement had the life span of a New Year’s resolution and Bruce Arians hung up his Kangol and Darth Vader chest piece, turning the team over to promoted defensive coordinator Todd Bowles.
On paper, all the pieces of a championship team are still in Tampa and the Bucs’ NFL odds confirm that outlook, pricing them among the top contenders in terms of Super Bowl, NFC title, and season win total markets.
We poke around the pirate ship to figure out the best ways to wager on Tampa Bay in 2022 (Unders off the starboard bow!). Ahoy…
Even with Hurricane Hilary threatening Southern California on Sunday, the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers are still scheduled to lock horns for their scheduled preseason game.
What does the second week of preseason have in store? Looking at NFL odds, the Saints are expected to blow into town and cruise to victory. I’m generally not a fan of laying points with the road team in preseason action, so allow me to dive deeper into this matchup to determine if the line is warranted.
Read on for my best bet and full NFL preseason picks and predictions for the Saints vs. Chargers on Sunday, August 20.
Saints vs Chargers odds
Saints vs Chargers predictions
The big news surro…
Defensive players don’t always get the most publicity. Sure, you have the elite names like Micah Parsons and T.J. Watt, but plenty of other highly-productive defenders fly under the radar and that’s where the best value sometimes lies when betting on sacks and tackle props in the NFL odds market.
Those are some of the players I’m targeting in Week 10 odds as I’m bullish on a Cowboys star defensive end, a Seahawks edge rusher on a six-game sack streak, and bet on a Jets linebacker who often gets overshadowed by his own brother.
Here are my favorite sack and tackle NFL picks for Week 10.
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Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in!
That’s right ladies and gentlemen, despite just one game remaining in the season, it is still very much teaser time with a spot that I love in the Super Bowl odds!
It wasn’t in our plans to do a teaser article for the big game, but thankfully things align with both the spread and total where we can slap an extra six points on both to add an additional bet to our NFL picks on Super Bowl Sunday.
So, for the final time this season, I look through the NFL odds to present to you my favorite teaser spot of the week — let’s go!
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