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A goalless draw at home to Benfica last month left Barca with their destiny in their own hands, but with a much trickier final game away to Group E winners Bayern Munich.

Spanish champions Atletico Madrid have their work cut to secure one of the five unclaimed last-16 tickets after three defeats on the spin, while all four teams remain in the hunt in an unpredictable Group G.

AFP Sport looks at what's at stake going into the final round of Champions League group games:

Ballon d'Or backlash from Bayern?

Barca find themselves on the ropes ahead of Wednesday's trip to Germany, but it could have been far worse were it not for Benfica forward Haris Seferovic's glaring miss in stoppage time at Camp Nou.

Bayern are one of three teams with a perfect record in this season's competition, and Robert Lewandowski's perceived Ballon d'Or snub may give the star striker extra incentive to prove a point.

Xavi suffered his first defeat as Barca coach on Saturday against Real Betis. He rested key players with a view to the game in Munich, where victory would guarantee Barca go through as runners-up in Group E, extending their 20-year run of reaching the knockout phase.

A youthful Xavi was establishing himself as a mainstay of the midfield when Barca exited in the first group stage of the 2000-01 competition.

Failure to secure maximum points would open the door for Benfica to pip them to second place, with the Portuguese needing to beat Dynamo Kiev in Lisbon.

Three-horse race and four-way showdown

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La Liga
Bayern München
R. Lewandowski
Lewandowski to ignore Real Madrid and renew at Bayern
BeSoccer
BeSoccer
55 minutes ago
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Lewandowski is not thinking of moving to the Bernabeu. AFP
Lewandowski is not thinking of moving to the Bernabeu. AFP
In Germany, they deny that Robert Lewandowski is at all interested in leaving for Real Madrid. According to journalist Christian Falk in the podcast 'Bayern Insider', the attacker will shortly receive an offer of a new contract from Bayern and he is determined to say yes to the Bavarian outfit.
Lewandowski's contract with Bayern runs until June 2023. He is one of Julian Nagelsmann and Bayern's key players and the club, of course, want him to stay beyond that date.

Bayern have prepared the offer of a new contract for Lewandowski, journalist Christian Falk told 'Bayern Insider'. His offer of a new contract will come in the spring.

Right now, Bayern are focussed on on the field matters. That is why they will not make a move until a few months have passed. In addition, they think that they have enough time to complete his new deal.

Lewandowski thinks his time at Bayern has not come to an end, far from it. According to the information provided by such source, the Pole is in favour of signing a new conract with the German outfit.

Before becoming famous, Christian Eriksen played for Odense, a Danish club who Ajax's scouts had their eyes to try and detect young talent. That is where he is playing now as he cannot play in the Serie A because he has a defibrillator installed.

'BT' revealed this information. They included comments from Odense's director of football confirming it. "We're very happy that Christian Eriksen is keeping fit at the moment in our facilities. We have remained in contract with Christian since he left Odense and so we're happy he asked us if he could train in Adalen agaim," Michael Hemmingsen said.

Inter Milan have been very understanding of the player's situation and they have let him travel to wherever he needs to be in order to make progress. Eriksen was working with a personal trainer and at 8am, he was putting the cones down on the training ground to be able to do what is asked of him.

He focussed on cardiovascular exercises and he even had touches of the ball. Since the summer, Eriksen has been living in Adalen, the headquarters of some of Odense's facilities. It is a small town well away from the congested areas of Odense, 168km from Copenhagen, but separated by water. It is an ideal atmosphere for him to be calm and recover in his own time.

As soon as Rangnick took over at Man Utd, Erling Haaland's suitors started trembling. They knew what was coming. That Man Utd were going to make it difficult for them in the fight to sign the Norwegian.

When Rangnick was the sporting director at Salzburg, Rangnick spotted Haaland and took him to Salzburg. There he started to shine and now most of Europe are after him.

Now that Rangnick is on the Man Utd bench, the first thing he has asked for is for them to sign Haaland. The board have been working on that and they have been thinking about signing the Dortmund man for some time.

'Bild' says that Man Utd the splash the cash next summer. They could spend up to 100 million pounds on Haaland if Dortmund agree to sell him for that price.

The arrival of Rangnick to Man Utd has got other suitors like Real Madrid, Man City and PSG concerned. There will be a fight until the end for the in form player.

The Reds had won just one of their previous nine visits to Goodison, but were in complete control from the first whistle against Benitez's men, who have now taken just two points from the last 24 on offer in the Premier League.

Stunning strikes from Jordan Henderson and Salah inside 20 minutes gave Everton a mountain to climb.

Demarai Gray's strike gave the Toffees hope before the break.

But that was extinguished by another clinical Salah finish just after the hour mark as the Egyptian took his tally for the season to 19 goals in 19 games before Diogo Jota blasted home a fourth 12 minutes from time.

Benitez was an unpopular appointment among many of the Everton support before he had even taken charge of a game given his history as Champions League winning coach for Liverpool during six years at Anfield.

A positive start had quelled some of the disquiet, but Everton are sinking fast towards a relegation battle with the fans in no doubt as to who is responsible.

The travelling Liverpool fans sang Benitez's name in ironic celebration, but he was met with a barrage of boos as he headed down the tunnel at full-time.



December 1, 2021
Liverpool could have been out of sight inside 10 minutes as Joel Matip headed just wide before Salah turned Sadio Mane's dangerous cross over from close range and was then denied by a brilliant save from Jordan Pickford.

The opener arrived on nine minutes when Andy Robertson picked out Henderson in acres of space at the edge of the box and the England midfielder caressed the ball past Pickford.

Pascal Ferre, the editor-in-chief of 'France Football', spoke in an interview for 'Watson' in which he admitted that Messi was a fair winner of the Ballon d'Or despite not being his choice, and praised the Argentine's words about Lewandowski, although he could not say for sure that the Polish striker could receive the award for his fine 2020.

"I didn't put Messi first. I chose Lewandowski, but I think Messi deserves the Ballon d'Or," said Ferre, who saw the Argentine receive the award for the seventh time.

Leo Messi's choice this year was one of the most controversial, with much of the football world tipping Lewandowski as the favourite. "As after every election, we will take time to think about how we can improve the election system in the coming years. But we will not make decisions too quickly. We will investigate all the details of the election," admitted the top official.

What was most surprising about the Argentinian's speech was his call for Lewandowski to be given the Ballon d'Or he deserved in 2020. Although Ferre also thinks like him, he confessed that he had to be cautious: "We can't be sure that Lewandowski would have won the Ballon d'Or. We can't find out because there was no choice. But to be honest, Lewandowski would have had a good chance of winning it last year.

Although Leo Messi's proposal will be studied, the director of 'France Football' does not want to break the method of choosing the winners, which has a long tradition: "We can think about it. We have to respect the history of the Ballon d'Or, which is based on voting".

about becoming England manager, but he has become one of the most successful bosses in the team's history.
It took the man in the waistcoat to turn the tanker. In a year's time, England will be at the Qatar 2022 World Cup with serious aspirations of bringing back the trophy. And while there are a number of key figures who have made that prospect realistic, nobody stands out quite like Gareth Southgate, who on Tuesday celebrated a five-year anniversary as manager.

Greg Dyke was a newly appointed chairman of the English Football Association (FA) when he declared in a famous 2013 speech: "English football is a tanker that needs turning."

He spoke that day of wishing to create an England team that could be successful on the world stage.

"The two targets I have for the England team are – one, to at least reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and two, win the World Cup in 2022," Dyke said. Many duly scoffed.

Nine years on, England have ticked one box, with Southgate's team finishing runners-up to Italy at the delayed Euros; now, a nation expects as his squad bid to match Alf Ramsey's 1966 heroes.

A questionable choice?

It was not Dyke who selected Southgate after Roy Hodgson's four-year reign ended and successor Sam Allardyce lasted just one game, an ill-fated choice.

Indeed, as Dyke left his post at FA HQ in the summer of 2016, he questioned the appeal of the England manager's job, specifically asking "why anybody would want it".

Southgate was unsure initially too, albeit for a different reason, saying the role "wasn't something I think I've got the experience for". But his tune soon changed, with Allardyce's reign ending abruptly after a newspaper investigation within weeks of his appointment and the FA needing a steady hand on the tiller.

Southgate made 426 Premier League appearances in his playing career – more than anyone else with zero appearances off the bench. He was therefore not used to being deployed as a substitute, but on this occasion he accepted the chance to step in as a replacement.

Wirtz's deft chip set up Moussa Diaby's late winner in Thursday's 3-2 victory over Celtic to put Leverkusen in the Europa League's last 16.

Wirtz's ascendancy has been nothing short of meteoric since Leverkusen signed him from the Cologne Under-17 team in January 2020.

His seven goals and nine assists in 16 games for Leverkusen this season speaks volumes.

"I have learnt so much - the (senior) game is so different to youth football," the teenage attacking midfielder told AFP.

"Against big clubs like Celtic, you have to prove yourself on a different level.

"When you manage to make a comeback like that," he added as Leverkusen scored two late goals against the Scottish giants, "it gives you some momentum which we want to carry into the Leipzig game on Sunday."

Leverkusen, who are fourth in the Bundesliga and on course for the Champions League next season, have a history of losing talent to bigger clubs.

Michael Ballack was 25 when he left on a free transfer for Bayern Munich in 2002, then went onto captain Germany and star for Chelsea.

Kai Havertz, still only 22, joined the Blues for 80 million euros ($90 million) in September 2020, then scored the winning goal for Chelsea in last season's Champions League final.

Having seen Havertz's shine in the Premier League, Wirtz knows he is already on the path to similar success.

"Every small boy dreams of playing for a really big club, I don't know what will happen in the next few years, I only know that my head is fully focused on Leverkusen," he said.

With the Ballon d'Or ceremony coming up on Monday, Stats Perform assesses how the favourites stack up against each other.
Robert Lewandowski can consider himself hard done by. The Bayern Munich striker would almost certainly have won his maiden Ballon d'Or in 2020, only for France Football to decide not to hand out the award due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, world football's most prestigious individual accolade is back up for grabs this year, with the ceremony set to take place on Monday.

Lewandowski, who scooped The Best FIFA Men's Player award for 2020 and has had another sensational year for Bayern, is among the favourites on a 30-man shortlist.

Will it finally be his time, or will old voting habits die hard to put Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi in pole position? Using Opta data, Stats Perform assesses the credentials of the Ballon d'Or favourites.

"One year without Diego. Friends forever," Pele wrote on Instagram, posting a picture of the two of them embracing with big grins.

Pele and Maradona, who never faced each other on the pitch, often vie for the title of best footballer in history.

But Pele, 81, has put their sometimes-testy rivalry behind him since Maradona's death, focusing instead on the warm friendship they also shared.

"The world has lost a legend," he wrote the day Maradona died of a heart attack.

"One day, I hope, we will play soccer together in the sky."

Pele and Maradona were jointly named best player of the 20th century by FIFA in 2000 --the Brazilian chosen by a jury of experts, the Argentine in a popular vote by fans.

An agreement has been reached between Man Utd and Ralf Rangnick has been reached for him to becoming the caretaker boss at Man Utd for Michael Carrick. 'The Athletic' says that there is full agreement between the club and the coach for him to take over at Old Trafford until the end of the season. Once the campaign finishes, he will then have a consultancy role afterwards.

This matches what 'The Times' had reported when they said that Rangnick had said he wanted to stay at the club once his time as a temporary manager was up. It is a type of work which he has specialised in during his time at Lokomotiv Moscow, a club he is still at.

In fact, the Russians have to give him permission to travel to England to start this new adventure. The Unied board, according to previously cited source, are fully confident that there will be no problems in this regard. They hope to announce their new boss soon.

It will not be the first time that Ralf Rangnick takes over a top club. He coached RB Leipzig before becoming the club's sporting director and head of development at Lokomotiv Moscow. He is involved not just with the club's signings, but with other aspects of the club.

The sentence was tougher than that sought by prosecutors against the 33-year-old star over the 2015 extortion attempt, which led Benzema to be cast out of the France team for five-and-a-half years.

Benzema was not in court in the Paris suburb of Versailles for the verdict, which comes hours before Real Madrid take on Sheriff Tiraspol in a Champions League game in Moldova.

He was not accused of being behind the extortion attempt but rather of conspiring with the suspected blackmailers by putting pressure on Valbuena to pay them off.

The court ruled that he had "implicated himself personally, through subterfuge and lies, to convince his team-mate to submit to the blackmail."

It added that he had shown "no kindness towards Valbuena", as he had claimed, "just the opposite" and had even appeared to take pleasure in his fellow player's demise.

His defence team immediately announced plans for an appeal.

Speaking to reporters at the courthouse, one of his lawyers, Sylvain Cormier, said he was "stunned" by the sentence which he called "very severe, unfair and unfounded".

A second lawyer, Antoine Vey, said that Benzema, who did not attend his trial, would "come and explain himself" when the case went to an appeal.

The prosecution had called for Benzema to be given a 10-month suspended sentence.

Barcelona were held to a goalless draw by Benfica at the Camp Nou in Xavi's second game as head coach, but remain above the Portuguese side in Group E. However, the Catalan club will have to beat Bayern Munich in Germany in their final group game to be sure of making the next round. Benfica host already-eliminated Dynamo Kiev in their last match, trailing Barca by two points. If the Portuguese outfit beat Dynamo Kiev on the last day, Barca will have to win in Germany against Bayern Munich.

Barcelona endured a nervy first half which saw Gavi waste the first clear opportunity, blazing over from close range when Memphis Depay was waiting in the middle for a tap-in. After a dominant opening 30 minutes by Xavi's side, Benfica picked up and very nearly took the lead. In the 34th minute, Yaremchuk got his head to a corner and Ter Stegen made a fine stop. Just seconds later, Nicolas Otamendi hit a tremendous shot into the back of the net, but the linesman had spotted that the corner had gone out of play.

Just before the interval, Barca very nearly scored through Yusuf Demir, but the Austrian's curling shot came back off the crossbar. It was goalless at the break, but the Catalans were the better side and were just lacking the goal.,

Xavi's men picked up again after the interval, though, with Frenkie de Jong's header forcing Benfica 'keeper Odysseas Vlachodimos into a flying save. Seven minutes from time, Ronald Araujo had the ball in the net after finishing a sensational cross by Jordi Alba, but the linesman spotted that the Uruguayan had just strayed offside.

With the Ballon d'Or just around the corner, another eagerly awaited award is FIFA's renowned 'The Best'. The top football body has announced the list of the eleven nominated players.

The award will be handed out at the ceremony that will take place on 17th January 2022 and will be the result of a vote on the FIFA website that has already begun and in which it will be possible to participate until 10th December.

The Bavarian giants are already guaranteed a last 16 place as Group E winners ahead of Tuesday's match at bottom side Dynamo Kiev.

However, Kimmich, who declined to be vaccinated due to "personal concerns", was quarantined Friday for the second time this month after contact with someone who tested positive.

On Sunday, Bayern confirmed their other unvaccinated players Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Michael Cuisance are also in quarantine because of a new coronavirus exposure.

Having five players sidelined through their own choices is an unwelcome distraction before heading to Ukraine.

"It's annoying," said head coach Julian Nagelsmann before the weekend, irritated that few questions are being fielded about football as "we seem to only be talking about the pandemic."

- 'It's no excuse' -

Bayern particularly missed Kimmich's midfield presence in Friday's shock 2-1 defeat at Augsburg as stand-in Marcel Sabitzer struggled, yielding possession which led to one of the hosts' goals.

Now Nagelsmann needs to find suitable replacements for first-choice stars Kimmich and Gnabry in Kiev.

Defeat in Augsburg meant Bayern finished the weekend with their lead in the Bundesliga slashed to a point, but Nagelsmann refused to blame Kimmich's enforced absence. "It's no excuse," he said.

Yet Kimmich keeps making daily headlines in Germany for all the wrong reasons.

Payet required treatment after being struck on the side of the head as he prepared to take a corner in the fifth minute, prompting both teams to return to the changing rooms.

Marseille president Pablo Longoria called it a "dark night for football".

"Dimitri is affected psychologically, it's not normal," he told Amazon Prime.

"We always condemn any kind of violence, it affects everyone. Nobody who likes football can be happy tonight. The impact was a bit violent, he was very affected, with ice on his head in the dressing room."

It was the latest in a series of incidents that have blighted French football this season and confusion reigned after an initial decision was made to resume the game following a 90-minute delay.

"Contrary to what was announced, the referee has decided not to restart the game given the security of the players was not guaranteed," the stadium announcer said.

Lyon players initially came back out to warm up following an announcement that play would restart, but soon headed back down the tunnel with no sign of their opponents.

"My decision from a sporting perspective was always to not restart the match. Public order disturbances were mentioned," said referee Ruddy Buquet.

"The time taken over the decision is incomprehensible," said Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.

French league officials said they "regretted" the decision to try and restart the match. The LFP's disciplinary committee will hold an emergency meeting on Monday.

Good news for Sergio Ramos, who could make his debut this Saturday in a PSG shirt. This Thursday, he once again trained with the rest of the group after overcoming muscle problems in the soleus muscle.

Club sources indicated that the former Real Madrid player returned to team training at the beginning of last week and he seems to now be going at the same rate as his teammate. Everything suggests that coach Mauricio Pochettino will include Ramos in the list for Saturday's match with Nantes at 17:00 CET at the Parc des Princes.

That would be news because Ramos' injury problems have prevented him from being in a matchday squad since joining the Parisians on a free in the summer. The 35 year-old central defender has had knee and thigh problems and that has prevented him from group training and playing.

Now, he sees more solid in the physical department at a time when Pochettino needs defenders as Presnel Kimpembe is also an injury doubt.

The Argentine is usually cautious with players who are returning from an injury so it is likely that, if performs well in group training, Ramos will start on the bench. He could then come on later on so that fans can see him for the first time.

On the other hand, those who did miss training were Messi and Neymar. The first has returned from international duty with Argentina and the coaching staff will be cautious with him. The Brazilian is expected to rest against Nantes so that he is available for the Champions League game with Man City in midweek.

A return which of course leaves often the door to other possible returning players (whether it be on the pitch or in the office) in the short to medium term with two clear names on the table: Leo Messi and Andres Iniesta. Laporta spoke about them and he surprised everyone by saying they could make a return.

"I'm not ruling out Iniesta or Messi returning. It's something which has happened now with Dani Alves and I want to thank him for the (financial) effort he has made. Age is a number, of course. He saw the situation and he wants to come and help fight to be a starter," the president said. He spoke about players like Messi, Iniesta or Alves.

"Today it's Dani Alves, tomorow it could be time for other names which have made this club great. Messi and Iniesta are two spectacular players. That said, I cannot predict the future. They are still playing in other teams," he said.

Lastly, Joan Laporta stressed the greatness of these footballers although he ended by making it clear that Messi and Andres Iniesta have contracts at PSG and Vissel Kobe respectively.

"They have made Barca great, we always have them in mind, but they are players who have a contract with other clubs and they have to be respected, but you never know in life," the Catalan said.

Didier Deschamps hailed the complementary partnership between Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe after France ended their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win over Finland.

Benzema's deflected 66th-minute effort and a sublime individual goal from Mbappe, who had teed up the Real Madrid star for the opener, 10 minutes later ensured victory for Les Bleus in Helsinki.

The result denied Finland a place in the play-offs as Ukraine finished second in Group D. France, meanwhile, end qualifying unbeaten and are undefeated in their past 27 competitive matches, though that run includes the stunning Euro 2020 shoot-out loss to Switzerland, a streak that stretches back to June 2019.

"We must not forget Antoine Griezmann," Deschamps said afterward when asked about Benzema and Mbappe.

"It looks easy because the two players are technically complementary.

"They will have a lot of club matches between now and our next meetings. But the combination of all these talents allows the France team to be even more efficient."

The reigning Copa America champions came into the match against their arch rivals knowing that a win might not be enough to secure their ticket, but a draw could be.

And Chile's 2-0 defeat at home to Ecuador, coupled with Uruguay's 3-0 loss to Bolivia, sent Argentina through.

It caps a fine year for Argentina and Lionel Messi, who won their 15th Copa America in July with a 1-0 final victory over Brazil at Rio de Janeiro's iconic Maracana stadium.

"If we analyze this year, it was beautiful. What we've been through with the fans ... everything was complete," said Rodrigo De Paul.

Argentina welcomed back six-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi to their starting line-up while star forward Neymar missed out for Brazil.

But Messi was unable to inspire his team in a match of few chances, against opponents who booked their ticket to Qatar on Thursday with a 1-0 win over Colombia.

Brazil remain top of the qualifying group, six points clear of Argentina, who took their unbeaten run to 27 matches.

"We played very well in every match this year. We're already qualified for the World Cup," said Brazil's Fred.

"Today we failed in the final third but the most important thing is coming away without a goal against."

Brazil wasted a two-on-two break when Fred's pass forced Vinicius Junior wide, and his first touch ran out of play.

It summed up a match that never caught fire and in which almost nothing came off from either side.

Lionel Scaloni has confirmed Lionel Messi will definitely play a part in Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Brazil.

The rival nations meet for the first time since this year's Copa America final, which Argentina won 1-0, when they face off in San Juan on Tuesday.

Both teams have identical records since that final, each winning five of their six qualifiers. A clash between the pair in Sao Paulo in September was suspended due to coronavirus restrictions relating to Argentina's England-based players.

Already-qualified Brazil sit top of the CONMEBOL standings on 34 points, six clear of Scaloni's team, who defeated Uruguay on Friday.

Given the 12-point gap between Argentina and fifth-placed Colombia, who occupy the play-off spot, a win would all but guarantee their place in Qatar next year. Dropped points for two of Chile, versus Ecuador, Colombia, against Paraguay, and Uruguay, in Bolivia, would make the picture clearer still.

Messi, whose selection in Argentina's squad "did not make sense" – according to Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo – due to the 34-year-old's recent injury issues, came on as a 76th-minute substitute in the win over Uruguay.

Scaloni explained he had used Messi sparingly in order to keep him in top condition for Tuesday's clash with Brazil, and the coach confirmed in his pre-match news conference the former Barcelona superstar would certainly play, albeit he did not reveal if he would start.

Needing a draw from their last Group I qualifier to reach next year's tournament in Qatar, England went goal crazy on Monday as they scored 10 in a single game for the first time since a 1964 friendly against the United States.

Harry Maguire put Gareth Southgate's side in front early on before Filippo Fabbri's own goal doubled England's lead.

England captain Kane took centre-stage after that, scoring four before the break to rewrite the record books.

Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe notched his first senior international goal in his maiden start.

Tyrone Mings headed his first England goal after San Marino's Dante Rossi was sent off, before Tammy Abraham and Bukayo Saka completed their country's record-breaking win.

Kane has scored 16 goals in 2021 for England, setting a calendar year record for the Three Lions as he surpassed the 12-goal tallies of George Hilsdon in 1908 and Dixie Dean in 1927.

The 28-year-old moved level with Gary Lineker on 48 England goals, with only Bobby Charlton (49) and Wayne Rooney (53) above him.

Kane is the first England player to score four times in a single game since Ian Wright against San Marino in 1993.

After bagging a hat-trick in Friday's 5-0 win over Albania, Kane is the first England player to score three or more in successive games since Tommy Taylor in 1957.

Southgate's men ended a memorable 2021 on a fitting high note after they reached the Euro 2020 final in July - missing out on a first trophy since 1966 in a painful penalty shoot-out against Italy.

Christian Pulisic came off the bench to fuel the United States' 2-0 win over rivals Mexico in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on Friday.

Pulisic, who is still regaining full fitness after an ankle injury, entered the blockbuster showdown in the 69th minute and the Chelsea star broke the deadlock five minutes later in Cincinnati.

After being dropped in September for breaching USA's COVID-19 protocol, Weston McKennie scored the decisive second with five minutes remaining before team-mate Miles Robinson was sent off in the final minute of regulation.

Messi was only called upon by coach Lionel Scaloni to play the final quarter of an hour as he made his comeback from knee and hamstring issues that saw him miss Paris Saint-Germain's last two matches.

Di Maria's sublime early finish at the Campeon del Siglo stadium in Montevideo was the difference between the sides in a match dominated by Uruguay.

The result means Argentina -- who are unbeaten in 26 matches -- will qualify for the World Cup finals if they beat Brazil on Tuesday and any one of Colombia, Chile or Uruguay fail to win.

"This team has great courage and when you don't play well, you still have to win," said Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Winning today was a huge step. We deserve it because we work very hard."

The defeat left Uruguay in a World Cup play-off spot, behind Colombia and Chile in the final two automatic qualification position on goal difference.

Nahitan Nandez should have given Uruguay a fifth minute lead after Argentina failed to deal with a long throw into the box.

A ricochet saw the ball land at Nandez's feet seven yards from goal and while Martinez did well to come out quickly and spread himself, Nandez's finish was poor and straight at the Aston Villa stopper.

Uruguay were made to pay two minutes later as Paulo Dybala robbed a dawdling Joaquin Piquerez just outside the box and passed inside for Di Maria to stroke a glorious shot into the top corner.

It was Argentina's only shot at goal in the first half.

Brazil qualified for the 2022 World Cup after Lucas Paqueta's second-half strike secured a 1-0 victory over Colombia.

Tite's Brazil knew a win on Thursday would book their spot at Qatar 2022 and the Selecao claimed the result they needed in hard-fought fashion on home soil.

Paqueta and Neymar combined for the decisive goal in the 72nd minute as CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying leaders Brazil stayed unbeaten through 12 rounds.

Brazil entered the contest having never lost a game against Colombia in all their previous 13 meetings in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying (W6 D7). However, the Selecao had only won one of their last six games in this fixture.

It was a cagey start in Sao Paulo, where Brazil star Neymar was fortunate to escape punishment after getting into the face of referee Roberto Tobar.

The first half came to life during the closing stages as both teams had chances to open the scoring – Brazil finally got in behind Colombia and Danilo's cross deflected onto the post nine minutes before half-time.

Colombia star Luis Diaz then almost curled a stunning long-range effort into the back of the net three minutes later but it flashed just wide of the post, while Brazil's Marquinhos saw his header narrowly miss the far corner of the net on the stroke of half-time.

Like the opening 45 minutes, there was not much separating the two teams until Paqueta popped up to put Brazil ahead.

Diallo was returning with fellow midfielder Kheira Hamraoui from a Paris dinner organised by PSG last Thursday when armed men held up their car and dragged out Hamraoui, who was then hit on the legs with an iron bar, L'Equipe newspaper reported.

Hamraoui, who required stitches in hospital afterwards, was notably absent from the PSG team on Tuesday evening for a Champions League game against Real Madrid at home, with Diallo playing in her place in central midfield.

PSG said it was working with police "to shed light on the facts. The club will be following the investigation and will look at the conclusions that need to be drawn."

It said that since the attack the club "had taken all the necessary measures to ensure the health, well-being and security of its players."

Diallo, 26, was briefly held by the balaclava-wearing attackers during the assault near Hamraoui's home, but was not injured, a source at the club told AFP.

The Grenoble-born player could not be reached for comment and neither police nor prosecutors gave any reason for her detention.

Diallo was detained by police specialised in organised crime at her home in Marly-le-Roi, a suburb west of Paris.Â

Late afternoon on Wednesday, her detention was extended by 24 hours, Versailles prosecutor Maryvonne Caillibotte told AFP.Â

Diallo could now remain in a Versailles police station until Friday morning.

Europe's qualifying section for the 2022 World Cup reaches its dramatic climax over the next week, with eight more nations set to secure their places in Qatar.

There will be 50 matches played during this international window, during which the outcome of all 10 groups will be decided, with Denmark and Germany the only European nations to have already booked their tickets.

Indeed, the other eight group winners will seal automatic qualification for Qatar 2022, while another 10 nations will advance to March's play-offs as the runners-up.

The 10 second-placed teams will be joined by the two best group winners from the 2020-21 Nations League who have neither already qualified nor sealed a play-off spot via the group stage.
With plenty of excitement and drama guaranteed, Stats Perform takes a closer look at the most eye-catching fixtures, permutations and milestones.

800 up for Ronaldo?

Another day and another milestone approaches for Cristiano Ronaldo, who is just two goals away from taking his career tally to 800.

The Portugal skipper could hit the landmark when his country face the Republic of Ireland on Thursday – failing that, they host Serbia three days later.

Should Portugal take maximum points at the Aviva Stadium, Fernando Santos’ men would then guarantee top spot in Group A by avoiding defeat against Serbia on Sunday.

Conte took his place in the dug out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after his work permit arrived in time two days after his appointment.

Spurs had not mustered a single shot on target in the weekend defeat to Manchester United, which spelled the end for Nuno Espirito Santo after just four months in charge.

Against Vitesse they'd conjured up two within the first 90 seconds, encouraging the fans, some draped in Italian flags to make Conte feel at home.

The Italian former Inter Milan, Chelsea and Juventus boss only had to wait 14 minutes for his new side's first goal, with Son Heung-min driving in a low angled shot from the right.

Shortly after Lucas Moura, taking receipt of an inch-perfect cross from Harry Kane, clinically converted the chance, sliding the ball past the onrushing keeper Markus Schubert.

The reenergized hosts were 3-0 up before the half hour, the goal awarded to Vitesse defender Jacob Rasmussen who in trying to keep out Kane's close range shot dragged the ball over the line.

Rasmussen made quick amends, heading past Hugo Lloris four minutes later.



November 4, 2021
On 39 minutes a defensive error by Moura resulted in Matus Bero slotting past Lloris to give Conte plenty to talk about at his first half-time prep talk in the Spurs dressing room.

Ronaldo continued to dig United out of holes in the Champions League in midweek with a double in a 2-2 draw at Atalanta as he struck late to salvage points for the third time in four European games.

The 36-year-old now has nine goals in 12 games since returning to the club that first made him a household name.

Had things gone differently in the final days of August, Ronaldo could have been lining up in City blue for Saturday's game.

Indeed it was City's interest in the five-time Ballon d'Or winner that appeared to spark United's move to sign Ronaldo from Juventus despite already boasting an over-subscribed array of talent for attacking positions.

Despite Ronaldo's strike rate, the initially proposed deal to go to City might have been more beneficial for all parties.

Pep Guardiola's men have shone at times this season, but have also missed a clinical finisher as they failed to score at home to Southampton and Crystal Palace to fall five points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea.

United are three points further back after a run of one win in five league games.

The Red Devils have won in just five of Ronaldo's 12 appearances, while the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood have been marginalised.

A 3-0 win at Tottenham last weekend bought Ole Gunnar Solskjaer some time as United boss.

But the defensive frailties that Liverpool exposed in a 5-0 humiliation of Solskjaer's men less than two weeks ago were on show once more in Italy on Tuesday, especially after Raphael Varane limped off with a hamstring injury.

PSG had been cruising to an away win and were 2-1 up with 90 minutes gone as Georginio Wijnaldum netted twice to cancel out Christopher Nkunku's early goal for the hosts.

In the dying seconds, Leipzig were awarded a penalty when PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe leaped onto Nkunku as a cross came in and substitute Szoboszlai made no mistake with the spot kick. With Messi out injured, the draw cost PSG first place in Group A and left them a point behind new leaders Manchester City, who thrashed Club Brugge 4-1.

PSG meet City in Manchester in three weeks' time. Leipzig's faint hopes of reaching the last 16 were ended as they remain bottom of their group despite earning their first point in Europe after three previous defeats.

The German club put up a fight in the 3-2 defeat at PSG a fortnight ago and made a lightning start on Wednesday. With barely 20 seconds gone, PSG captain Marquinhos had to clear off the line as Andre Silva got in behind the defence and forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into a save. The hosts kept up the pressure and deservedly took the lead when Silva's cross was met with a superb diving header by Nkunku to claim his fifth Champions League goal in four games.

The 23-year-old was born in the Paris suburbs and joined Leipzig from PSG in 2019. Leipzig attacked again and when Silva was brought down in the area by Danilo Pereira, the referee pointed to the penalty spot. However the weak attempt by Silva, who has struggled for form in Leipzig since his summer transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt, was easily saved by Donnarumma with barely 11 minutes played.

Goals inside the first 21 minutes from Diogo Jota and Sadio Mane gave the Spanish champions a mountain to climb even before Felipe was sent off before half-time for a cynical hack on Mane. Maximum points from four games is enough to win Liverpool Group B and guarantee home advantage in the second leg of their last-16 tie come the new year. Atletico on the other hand have a battle to reach the knockout stages as they sit third, one point behind Porto with two games to play.

When the sides last met at Anfield 20 months ago, Atletico's dramatic extra-time victory to reach the Champions League quarter-finals was overshadowed by the looming threat of coronavirus. That proved to be the final top-level match in England for three months and the last in front of a full crowd for over a year.

The Liverpool support had not forgotten the bad blood that brewed between the teams from that tie and the Reds' 3-2 win in the Spanish capital two weeks ago. Luis Suarez was roundly booed on his return to Anfield, while Atletico coach Diego Simeone was mocked as his side capitulated before half-time.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has not hidden his distaste for the cautious style Simeone's Atletico have become synonomous for. However, the Argentine was aghast on the touchline at some of the visitors' defending during the first 45 minutes. Just like their meeting in Madrid, Liverpool were 2-0 up inside the first quarter.

Jota easily escaped the attention of Felipe to have a free header from Trent Alexander-Arnold's cross to open the floodgates. Alexander-Arnold was also the creator for the second goal as this time his shot was turned beyond Jan Oblak by Mane. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain then fired a shot inches wide as Liverpool threatened to run riot and Atletico lost their heads.