The Uefa European Championships are underway at last and the first two games have been and gone. All in all it wasn’t a bad start to a tournament and the quality on show pointed towards the likelihood of Euro 2008 being an exciting and entertaining competition.

After a particularly dull but mercifully short opening ceremony the host nation Switzerland opened the tournament with a tough test against those perennial ‘outside bets’ the Czech Republic.

The first half wasn’t great as neither side took control of the game but the best chances fell to the Swiss. Chelsea keeper Petr Cech needed to be alert on more than one occasion to foil the Swiss captain Alexander Frei, who was looking lively.

However,…

Pep Guardiola has spent €526.3million to make Manchester City Premier League champions.

It is an outlay that dwarfs €204m during his title-winning run at Bayern Munich and €342m over a glorious and defining four-year reign at Barcelona.

When City broke their transfer record by paying Aymeric Laporte s €65m release clause at Athletic Bilbao in January, Guardiola became a €1billion manager.

All that happened when Manchester United remarkably lost to West Brom eight days on from their party-pooping exploits was the team with more resources than anyone else won the league. What s the big deal? Nothing special.

I am a lucky guy, said Guardiola when pressed on this familiar topic ahead of the 3-2 derby reverse.

When the people say you win b…

A New Year and new hope for football fans around the world. I would like to take this opportunity to wish a very happy New Year to all SoccerNews readers. I want to thank you for reading and commenting on the site, it is really appreciated. We might not often agree, but we all share a love of this great game of ours.

So what do we all hope for in 2009? Here are ten things that I wish for:

I would love Watford to go on a long unbeaten run and find a way into the Championship play-offs and promotion back to the Premier League.
I would love my own team, , to go on an unbeaten run between now and the end of the season and find our way off the bottom and up the Wiltshire League Division Two table.
I would love referees to stop making really poor decisions that affect the out…

If the NFL season were a boxing match, we’d be deep into the championship rounds as teams wear the cuts and bruises of a long battle. 

The Week 16 slate is tough enough to navigate but now NFL handicappers have to worry about COVID gumming up the works and blowing up their best-laid betting plans. On top of that, it’s the holiday week in the NFL, which means focus can sometimes spread thin, especially with teams that travel in and around Christmas. 

We try to make sense of what is already a wild Week 16 with our best NFL spot bets: letdown, look-ahead, and schedule quirks.

…

In a world of advanced analytics, computer models, and soulless gambling bots, sometimes the best edge is the one that can’t be quantified. 

Situational handicapping – AKA spot bets – is a little “old school” in the modern sports betting universe… but much like flip phones and a cable subscription, it gets the job done.

We run down this week’s NFL slate and see how the schedule could impact the outcomes. Keep these NFL spot bets in mind when sizing up the Week 11 odds.

…

The New Orleans Saints will try to extend their two-game winning streak this evening when they tangle with the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football. An afterthought earlier in the season, NOLA has improved its record to 7-7 thanks to a stifling defense that has limited opponents to just 12 points over the past two weeks. The Saints were especially impressive on Sunday against the New York Giants, whom they held to just 193 total yards and a dozen first downs.  

The Rams, meanwhile, have won three of their last four, and are coming off a a hard-fought 28-20 victory over the Washington Commanders highlighted by a jaw-dropping 62-yard TD catch from Cooper Kupp. 

While there are a number of different subscription-based TV channels and stream…

In the world of sports gaming, football spread betting is king, and there’s no market more popular than NFL bets against the spread.

Every Sunday, pro football fans size up the NFL point spreads, which level the playing field between teams and make even the most one-sided matchups interesting.

Find out what the spread means in football, how to read football spreads and some tips and strategies for tackling the NFL bet spreads for each game on the schedule.  

How do football spreads work

Oddsmakers calculate the perceived difference on the scoreboard between two football teams using formulas, power rankings, and factoring in other elements, like home/away, injuries, weather, and public perception to bridge the talent gap…

Portugal squad

Goalkeepers: Rui Patrício (Sporting), Beto (Sevilla), Eduardo (Braga)

Defenders: André Almeida (Benfica), Antunes (Malaga), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), João Pereira (Valencia), Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid), Pepe (Real Madrid), Neto (Zenit) Ricardo Costa (Valencia)

Midfielders: William Carvalho (Sporting), Miguel Veloso (Dynamo Kiev), João Moutinho (Monaco), Josué (FC Porto), Raúl Meireles (Fenerbahçe), Ruben Micael (Braga)

Forwards: Bruma (Galatasaray), Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Hélder Postiga (Valencia), Éder (Braga), Varela (FC Porto), Nani (Manchester United)

Sweden Squad

Goalkeepers: Andreas Isaksson (Kasımpaşa), Kristoffer Nordfeldt (Heerenveen), Johan Wiland (Copenhagen)

Def…

Eight countries remain interested in hosting the 2023 Women s World Cup as they prepare to submit a bid book to FIFA later this year.

FIFA confirmed the eight-strong shortlist for the tournament, which will be the first finals to feature 32 teams.

Japan are the only former champions to register a continued interest, while Brazil who hosted the 2014 men s World Cup are also on the list alongside Australia.

There is further South American representation from Argentina and Colombia. New Zealand and 2010 men s hosts South Africa are set to make a bid, too.

South Korea is the final country in contention, although the Korea Football As
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sociation has expressed its interest in a joint bid with North Korea.

There had been a record 10 interested …

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique gave his team just short of a perfect mark for the year as they completed 2015 with a 4-0 win over Real Betis at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi marked his 500th appearance for the club with a goal and Luis Suarez scored a brace after Heiko Westermann s first-half own goal on Wednesday.

The win saw Barca stay top of La Liga to finish a year which saw them win five trophies.

But Luis Enrique was unwilling to describe it as perfect as he urged his team to improve on their efforts.

It s a very good year and I put nine because everything can be improved, he said.

I, as a player, based my philosophy on giving everything and never had anything to reproach myself, always finished every season well and as a coach I feel the same.<…