Japan beat Uzbekistan 1-0 here Saturday to become the first country to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Shinji Okazaki s ninth-minute goal put Japan on 14 points on top of Asian qualifying zone Group A to assure them of a top two finish and direct qualification to South Africa.
This will be Japan s fourth appearance at the World Cup.
Australia can become the second team to qualify if they win or draw against Qatar in Doha later Saturday.
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Athletic Bilbao striker Aritz Aduriz has announced he will retire at the end of the 2019-20 season.
The 38-year-old forward has enjoyed a distinguished 20-year career, becoming a Spain international and Athletic favourite across three spells for the club.
Aduriz s star at Athletic has enjoyed a particularly impressive rise since returning to the club in 2012, but he will be 39 by the time the new season concludes and feels it will be time to focus on other facets of life.
Speaking at a news conference on Friday, Aduriz told reporters: I wanted to communicate that this year is going to be my last year as a professional.
I will leave football when I finish this season. It makes me especially excited to be able to leave it at Athletic.
Aritz Aduri…
Portland Timbers coach Phil Neville is “looking forward to bouncing back” after a defeat to Austin FC, as a win or a draw against FC Dallas will be enough to secure a place in the MLS playoffs.
Portland fell to a 1-0 defeat at home to Austin, who they are vying with for the final play-off spot in the Western Conference.
While The Timbers will have a second chance to secure their spot against the Seattle Sounders should they fail to gain points against Dallas, Neville will hope to enter the final day with it already wrapped up.
Portland currently sit six points ahead of Austin, meaning a draw against Dallas will be enough.
“We’re looking forward to bouncing back,” Neville told the press. “We’ve qualified for the playoffs barring a miracle.
As we reach the climax of the season, this will be one of the most pivotal games we will see. Manchester are absolutely desperate to claim three points to attempt to push Chelsea to the final day of the season, but they come up against an in form Tottenham, searching for their first top four finish in years and having notably scalped the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea in recent weeks.
Alex Ferguson will have been dancing a jig when Tottenham convincingly beat Chelsea but an hour or two after the game his thoughts will have switched to how to beat a team with pace, verve and a tidal wave of confidence. Fortunately for Man United fans, it looks as though their talismanic striker Wayne Rooney is again available for selection, and few would argue that they have looked a shadow of the…
Jurgen Klopp said the only word he could use to summarise Liverpool s memorable 2019 is wow .
The Reds were crowned champions of Europe for a sixth time with a 2-0 win over domestic rivals Tottenham in June s Champions League final.
An enthralling 2018-19 title race saw Liverpool miss out on Premier League glory by just a solitary point to Manchester City but Klopp s men are 10 clear with a game in hand as they aim to go one better this time around.
Liverpool also added Super Cup and Club World Cup glory trophies to their collection under Klopp, who – while saying he is not a man to look back – reflected on a proud 12 months and described his players as mentality monsters .
It is, naturally, a time to briefly reflect on an incredible year for these b…
For the first time since 2013, neither Lionel Messi nor Cristiano Ronaldo will feature in the Champions League final.
Messi s Barcelona capitulated at the hands of Liverpool on Tuesday, losing the semi-final second leg 4-0 to go down 4-3 on aggregate.
That shock result ended an astonishing run of dominance for the star duo when it comes to Europe s top club competition. Since 2013, one of Messi or Ronaldo were involved in five successive finals – with the latter winning three straight titles and four in total.
But Ronaldo, who left holders Real Madrid at the start of the season, saw his Juventus team crash out at the quarter-final stage to Ajax in the 2018-19 tournament.
Final whistle at Anfield. Liverpool qualify for the final.
(4-0, agg 4-3)
A classic NFC South showdown is set for Week 8 of the NFL season when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to the Big Easy to face the rival New Orleans Saints.
The NFL betting odds have NOLA as big as +5.5 for Sunday, tied as the highest amount of points ever given to the Saints at home going back to 1985. New Orleans has won three of its last four – with all three wins on the road – while Tampa Bay has rolled over a soft October schedule.
Here are our NFL free picks and predictions for Buccaneers vs. Saints on October 31.
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First impressions are tricky.
Every September, Week 1 of the NFL season offers every team another go-around at making a first impression and an opportunity to alter how they’re viewed.
That perception can already be in place when you start throwing point spreads into the mix, and those clubs tagged as NFL underdogs in their opener have a steeper grade to climb against the sentiments of the betting public.
And speaking of NFL underdogs, this is far from my first installment of Covers’ weekly column of the same name. Yet, with the growing popularity of NFL betting (and the SEO team doing a bang-up job), this is likely the first time many of you are reading it.
“OK, JLo. First impression time. The pressure’s on. D…
The Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings will kick off their final preseason game of 2023 on Saturday afternoon at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
I analyze the point spread and total and give my best NFL picks and predictions for the Cardinals vs. Vikings below.
Cardinals vs Vikings odds
Cardinals vs Vikings predictions
The Arizona Cardinals have already started going full tank mode after trading away linebacker Isaiah Simmons and offensive tackle Josh Jones this week. The Cardinals also traded for quarterback Josh Dobbs, which makes me think we will not see Kyler Murray this season.
Expect QBs Colt McCoy, David Blough, and Clayton Tune to once again share reps this week, which is not necessar…
C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans face off against Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. Stroud has been lighting up the NFL in his rookie season and will try to get his team above .500 with a victory, but it won’t be easy against the red-hot Bengals, who’ve won four in a row.
NFL odds have the Bengals installed as 7-point home favorites with the Over/Under at 47 for this Week 10 clash. Here are my best free NFL picks for Texans vs. Bengals on November 12.
Texans vs Bengals odds
Texans vs Bengals predictions
C.J. Stroud is coming off an incredible performance where he threw for 470 yards and five touchdowns in a 39-37 victory against the Buccaneers. That said, this is a sell-high spot for …