The only game in St Petersburg in our third full week out here was Sweden s forgettable 1-0 win over Switzerland.
One of the region s temporary residents of course saw off the Scandinavians this weekend, but England s game against Colombia provided a truly memorable moment for the Omnisport contingent as we took in the penalty shoot-out drama alongside some vocal and gracious South Americans.
There was time for an appallingly inaccurate prediction, dodgeball in Repino and American football on Krestovsky Island.
Saturday concluded with the vocal and defiant locals seeing Russia s unexpected run ended by Croatia.
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Giorgio Chiellini is relishing coming up against Harry Kane in the final of Euro 2020, with the veteran Italy centre-back claiming he is a huge fan of the England captain.
Kane endured a lacklustre group stage before coming to life in the knockout stages of the tournament.
The Tottenham striker has four goals to his name, leaving him in with a shout for the Golden Boot when Gareth Southgate s men take on the Azzurri in Sunday s final at Wembley.
If Kane is to follow up scooping the same prize at the 2018 World Cup, he will have to get the better of Chiellini and his long-time ally Leonardo Bonucci at the heart of a formidable backline.
Italy had amassed 11 consecutive clean sheets before their 2-1 last-16 win over Austria and such solidity is a huge facto…
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have occupied the top two spots in the Ballon d Or voting in all but one of the past nine years, and 2017 promises to continue that trend.
The Barcelona superstar just holds the edge on his rival with five wins to Ronaldo s four, and if the trophy truly stands as the ultimate reward for individual brilliance as it claims Messi will extend that advantage at Thursday s ceremony in Paris.
Ronaldo took home the prize last year, at the end of a 12-month period that saw him claim European glory on both domestic and international fronts with Real Madrid and Portugal.
He has enjoyed a similarly stellar 2017, scooping a LaLiga winners medal as well as a third Champions League crown in four seasons.
But the Ballon d Or does n…
As an England fan I am accustomed to being put through the mill at the hands of the Three Lions.
Every World Cup year England are touted as possible world champions and every time they disappoint.
Unfortunately after watching the USA game I feel it will be the same old story this time.
Early
People will accuse me of jumping the gun or being premature in that prediction on one game. However in the 1-1 draw with America some weaknesses were exposed.
We have a propensity to shoot ourselves in the foot in major tournaments and we have already in South Africa.
Blunders
In every World Cup an incident happens that derails England’s chances of winning the tournament. In World Cup 1990 it was missed penalties against Germany. We failed t…
Brentford have announced the signing of Denmark midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard in a reported £12.6million (€15m) transfer.
Damsgaard leaves Serie A, where he had played for Sampdoria since 2020.
The 22-year-old scored only two goals in 46 league games in Italy, providing four assists, but he caught the eye at Euro 2020 last year as Denmark reached the semi-finals.
Damsgaard scored twice, including a spectacular first goal in the 2-1 last-four defeat to England, as well as adding an assist.
A message from our new
— Brentford FC (@BrentfordFC)
Brentford coach Thomas Frank said of Damsgaard, who has signed a five-year contract: Mikkel is, in my opinion, another classic Brentford signing.
He is a young player with big potential t…
The Baltimore Ravens are coming off an emotional victory against the Kansas City Chiefs and head to Ford Field to take on the Detroit Lions in Week 3 of the NFL season.
The Lions are winless to start the year and oddsmakers expect that to continue with NFL betting odds installing Detroit as an 8.5-point home underdog.
Here are our best free Ravens vs. Lions picks and predictions for Sunday, September 26, with kickoff at 1 p.m. ET.
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The touchdown market has become one of the most popular and potentially profitable props in the NFL betting world. Each week, we’re going to throw down three to four units as we try to uncover some of the best weekly NFL TD props and dig into the matchups that surround them.
The NFL Divisional Round is here and we’re littering the board including games on Saturday and Sunday. We’re throwing darts at the Bills’ receivers again, getting a share of the K.C. backfield, getting Brady’s favorite target and going with the No. 2 option in Green Bay.
Without further adieu, our Divisional Round touchdown prop picks.
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The Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals meet for the third time this season and the second time in two weeks when these AFC North rivals clash in the Wild Card Round on Sunday night.
Cincinnati earned the No. 3 seed in the AFC playoff picture and once again faces a familiar foe with some serious questions at quarterback.
As of this writing, starter Lamar Jackson has been ruled out and Baltimore is still waiting on QB Tyler Huntley to even throw a ball in practice. That once again leaves QB3 Anthony Brown as the potential passer in this postseason game.
Obviously, this situation leaves gaps in the NFL prop betting markets for Sunday’s Wild Card contest. But we work with what we got (a whole bunch of Bengals props) and I give my best NFL p…
As the Dallas Cowboys try to shake off the effects of an embarrassing primetime loss to the San Francisco 49ers last weekend, a Week 6 trip to face Justin Herbert and the rested L.A. Chargers looms large on the NFL odds board.
Herbert hauled the Chargers back to .500 before their Week 5 bye, and his steady excellence is in stark contrast to the under-pressure Dak Prescott, even if the MNF odds still have L.A. pegged as short home pups on MNF.
Suddenly a Dallas defense that looked spectacular in the opening weeks seems to have taken a step back — and it’s fair to wonder if some of that lights-out start was a result of facing more limited QBs. I’ll find out more about how the Cowboys hold up against Herbert’s cannon arm as I dive into the…
One of the biggest NFL showdowns of Week 18 takes place between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. It’s a “win and you’re in” scenario for the Packers, but they were in the exact same position in last year’s regular-season finale and were upset by the Lions.
Don’t expect Chicago to just roll over either considering it’s won four of five heading into this matchup. The NFL odds for this historic division rivalry have Green Bay installed as a 3-point home favorite. Here are my free NFL picks for the Bears vs. Packers on January 7.
Bears vs Packers odds
Bears vs Packers predictions
On the surface, it might seem easy to lay the points with a Green Bay Packers team that should be heavily motivated at home.…