Brazil 2014 will be remembered as one of the best FIFA World Cups in history, here we reflect on some of the most memorable moments.

Hosts humiliated by rampant Germany

Few could choose between Brazil and Germany ahead of their mouth-watering semi-final clash. Yet the European side flipped the narrative by producing a performance for the ages in a 7-1 drubbing of the hosts. A shell-shocked Brazil found themselves 5-0 down after just 29 minutes, with their opponents seemingly taking pity on the five-time champions thereafter. Few will forget the night Germany broke Brazilian hearts in their own backyard, even enjoying a standing ovation from
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a bedazzled home crowd when the seventh goal went in.

Costa Rica upset the odds

Earmarked as whipping b…

Xherdan Shaqiri has retired from international football following the end of Euro 2024, having made 125 appearances in 14 years for Switzerland.

Shaqiri played just twice at the tournament in Germany, featuring for 71 minutes for Murat Yakin s side in their group-stage win over Scotland and quarter-final defeat to England.

The former Liverpool forward, who now plays his football in the MLS with Chicago Fire, scored 32 times for his nation, 10 of which came at major tournaments.

His first appearance in an international tournament came at the 2014 World Cup, scoring the 50th hat-trick in the history of the competition against Honduras, becoming the second Swiss player after Josef Hugi in the 1954 World Cup to do so.

Shaqiri would score one of the most i…

Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or on this day in 2018, marking the first time since 2007 the award did not go to either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder broke the stranglehold placed on France Football’s prestigious award by Messi and Ronaldo in the previous decade at a ceremony in Paris.

Argentina forward Messi and former Real team-mate Ronaldo and had each won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions since Brazilian Kaka did so in 2007.

The 2018 Ballon d Or is Luka Modric ()!

— Ballon d Or (@ballondor)

In his acceptance speech, Modric said: “It’s a unique feeling. I am happy, proud and honoured. I have sensational emotions at the moment that are really hard to describe in words.

“First of…

The Arizona Cardinals will look to stay perfect in Week 5 as they host the San Francisco 49ers, who have dropped two straight after opening the season 2-0. The 4-0 Cards could be facing rookie QB Trey Lance, as Jimmy Garoppolo is dealing with a leg injury but has yet to be ruled out.

The Cardinals are 7-3 SU in the last 10 meetings, with each team splitting a pair of road games last season. Arizona is a 5-point home favorite with the total set at 50 on the NFL betting board.

Here are our free picks and predictions for 49ers vs. Cardinals for Sunday, October 10.

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NFL betting never sleeps, even in the lazy summer heat. 

With more developments in the Deshaun Watson scandal shaking up life in the AFC North and Tom Brady losing his best bud to retirement, we look at the NFL odds connected to those breaking stories and where the best value might be hiding in our latest NFL betting notebook. 

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Planning on watching Super Bowl 57? You’re not alone. More than 100 million viewers across the U.S. are expected to check out a portion of the NFL’s annual championship game tonight.

Some will be diehard Kansas City Chiefs fans, who will doubtlessly hold their breath every time Patrick Mahomes scampers out of the pocket on his balky ankle. Others will be lifelong Philadelphia Eagles fans, who will hoot and holler until their green face paint turns crimson red. And many more will tune in exclusively to make snide remarks during the halftime show. There truly is something for everyone!

Learn everything you need to know about the Big Game – including how to watch and stream it – below.

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The Philadelphia Eagles are coming off their first loss of the season in an upset to the New York Jets. Now they must bounce back as Week 7 odds favorites on Sunday Night Football against the explosive Miami Dolphins. 

NFL odds are favoring the Eagles by just under a field goal, and I like their chances for redemption behind the play of Jalen Hurts. 

We take a closer look at the Jalen Hurts odds and give our best free NFL picks for Dolphins vs. Eagles on October 22. Be sure to keep up to date on the Sunday Night Football odds and check out our Dolphins vs. Eagles predictions, along with our SNF player prop picks.

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C.J. Stroud odds are a popular item as the Houston Texans try to open the NFL Wild Card Round on Saturday afternoon by springing a home upset against Joe Flacco and the Cleveland Browns.

While the Texans get a home game, they’re Wild Card odds underdogs against the Browns, who finished the year 11-6, while Houston won the AFC South with a 10-7 record. Stroud will have to match his best form this season to keep Houston’s NFL odds to win the Super Bowl alive, which comes across in my NFL player prop picks for the Texans rookie quarterback.

If you’re looking for more analysis of this matchup, check out Covers’ Browns vs. Texans picks and predictions, as well as our Browns vs. Texans props for this Wild Card battle.

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Week 3 of the NFL season kicked off with a TNF matchup between the Patriots and Jets.

I expected it to be a boring game where both teams trusted things that were safe and reliable. Instead, we had two pass-happy game plans that, well, worked out for the Jets.

That game also serves as an inspiration for my NFL player prop picks this week, as I was planning on taking the trustworthy names and players… but have since made an audible and am going to focus on some big (and little) names across various passing games.

So my NFL picks this week are backing one of the most reliable QBs in the league, two one of the most explosive WRs around, and an emerging positional matchup that might become a weekly auto-bet.

Latest …

In the immediate reaction to the court of arbitration for sport quashing Manchester City’s two-year Champions League ban, there was a view that Uefa’s financial fair play system is finished, after such a thumping defeat for its compliance structures. But given the brief Cas statement that presented an odd conundrum to conclude an extraordinary saga, and Uefa’s response, reports of FFP’s death appear to be an exaggeration.

Cas does appear to have swung a wrecking ball towards the FFP rules and the Uefa structures that govern Europe’s top-flight clubs by agreement, but perhaps not in the way assumed. The three lawyers on the Cas panel did reverse the guilty verdict of Uefa’s club financial control body’s “adjudicatory chamber�…