England defeated Euro 2012 co-host Ukraine 1-0 last night to set-up a quarter-final meeting with Italy on Sunday evening.

Wayne Rooney s goal was enough to secure victory for the Three Lions.

It may not have been England’s best performance at a major competition but victory was enough to win them group D.

Solid

It was typical display by a Roy Hodgson team. The team produced a solid display and managed to come into the game a bit more in the second half.

England looked organised and hard to break down and that’s the sort of teams Roy Hodgson produces.

Lucky

I have to say to say that England was slightly lucky in victory but they earned their luck through hard work. The Ukrainians will be feel that they should have been awarded …

It s getting close. We may have had to wait an extra five months than usual, but the 2022 World Cup is now just 100 days away.

A likely last hurrah on the World Cup stage awaits superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, while new names will break through and rising talent will be put to the test.

Eight nations have been champions of the tournament that was first staged in 1930, and it will be France looking to defend the title this time.

Many of us pride ourselves on remembering World Cup trivia from past tournaments, but just how good is your knowledge?

These Opta-assisted 20 questions should sort the group-stage flops from the champions of World Cup quizzing. The answers are below, but don t cheat!

The first

1. Name the English …

The new Premier League season has not even begun yet and we re already enjoying some enthralling narratives.

Beyond the mundane matter of who might win the league, who will beat the drop and how thick the VAR lines will be, there are some tantalising stories we ll be following closely in the coming weeks.

Below, Stats Perform takes a look at some of the big talking points

Blue Benitez

Predicting football is often a fool s game – especially in an era when Lionel Messi no longer plays for Barcelona – but Rafael Benitez at Everton? Who saw that coming?

The Spaniard is back in the Premier League, two years after walking away from Newcastle United, having been tempted by the same project that won over Carlo Ancelotti before the lure o…

Burkina Faso begin their quest for Africa Cup of Nations glory against Gabon in Group A on Saturday.

Burkina Faso s quest to put their 2013 Africa Cup of Nations disappointment behind them begins when they face Gabon on Saturday.

The West African nation made it all the way to the final two years ago, but were subsequently beaten 1-0 by Nigeria in Johannesburg.

Gabon are their opening opponents in Group A this weekend as the 2015 tournament gets under way, with head coach Paul Put keen to get a good start in Bata as Burkina look to progress from the group stages for only the third time in their history.

Belgian Put has been in charge of Burkina since 2012 and much is expected of his side after the success in South Africa, especially with Jonathan Pitroipa…

It’s the dress rehearsal for the 2021 NFL season as the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills will meet in the third and final installment of the preseason on Saturday.

Both clubs are taking very different approaches to this abbreviated tune-up as the Bills will start Josh Allen and play the majority of their starters, while the Packers will sit Aaron Rodgers and most of the team’s No. 1’s.

Due to these very different game plans, the Bills come into Saturday’s home match as an unheard-of 9.5-point preseason favorite after opening at -4 and blowing past the 7 and the 9. The total has been less volatile but did jump two points to 36.5 after the Bills announced that Allen would start.

Here are our NFL free preseason picks and predicti…

Monday Night Football brings the Week 12 NFL Thanksgiving slate to a close when the Washington Football Team welcomes the Seattle Seahawks to the nation’s capital.

The game looks like it will be a tight one, with the spread bouncing back and forth all week. If you’re not sure which side you like, luckily primetime games are packed with NFL betting props. 

We run down the menu of alternative odds and Monday Night Football props and give our favorite free picks for Seattle at Washington on November 29.

…