Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has been withdrawn from the Euro 2016 final due to a knee injury sustained in the opening minutes at the Stade de France.

Ronaldo received treatment on his left knee after a crunching tackle from France winger Dimitri Payet.

The Real Madrid star returned to the pitch, but looked in obvious discomfort and left the field in tears to get his leg strapped up.

8 Cristiano Ronaldo made just eight touches in the final before being substituted. Depart.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)

After valiantly trying to play on, he was replaced by Ricardo Quaresma with just 24 minutes on the clock and the score 0-0.

The Portugal captain once again broke down as he had to be stretchered off the field.

As Portuguese fans …

England have no more excuses as knockout football awaits at Euro 2024, so says Anthony Gordon, who hopes to feature from the start against Slovakia on Sunday.

Gareth Southgate s side have failed to live up to pre-tournament expectations but still topped Group C on five points.

The Three Lions overcame Serbia 1-0 in their opener before disappointing draws followed with Denmark and Slovenia.

Those latter two performances have brought questions over England and Southgate s capabilities, and Gordon acknowledged his side must put in an improved showing in Gelsenkirchen.

I think as a team we just have to come together, we have to perform when the pressure is high, the England youngster said at Friday s pre-match press conference.

Now we re into the kn…

The FIFA medical team said on Saturday that it was satisfied with arrangements put in place by South Africa ahead of the Confederations Cup in June and the World Cup next year.

My impression is positive. I am confident with what I have seen and heard, the head of the FIFA medical committee, Jiri Dvorak, told journalists at the end of a meeting with the South African FIFA local organising team.

I am personally confident that we can hold the World Cup from the medical side that the teams, the FIFA family, the FIFA delegation and also the spectators will be well taken care of, he stated.

He said that the meeting discussed strategies to combat doping during the competitions.

These will include the education of players and collaboration with local officials…

Today’s summer transfer window for Premier League shuts in just a matter of hours. Here are some of the more interesting deals in the pipeline and already completed:

Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United to Inter, £73million)

The Belgian striker is in Italy having a medical ahead of completing a £73million move to the Nerazzurri. The 26-year-old struggled to hit top form last season and his future in Manchester has been in doubt all summer.

Inter boss head coach Antonio Conte is a big fan of the big striker, who scored just 12 Premier League goals last season.

David Luiz (Chelsea to Arsenal, £8million)

This move was a rather surprising one, with the first time the deal mention coming on Wednesday. However, the Brazilian international is close to completing an …

This is another mouth watering tie, with an Arsenal team seemingly destined for third place, taking on Manchester City, who will know that should Tottenham slip up, they can reclaim fourth place in the league, which of course means champions league qualification.

Arsene Wenger described his sides loss against Wigan last week as the most disappointing of the season, and he will no doubt be looking for a very strong reaction from his players. It might be difficult for his players to motivate themselves given that they are out of sight for third place but it appears that any chance of winning the league went under with their pride at Wigan last week. Arsenal will also struggle with the absence of their heartbeat Fabregas, who misses out for the rest of the season with a broken leg…

Liverpool will begin the new year leading the Premier League by 13 points, with a game in hand on nearest rivals Leicester City, after rounding off a sensational 2019 with a 1-0 victory over Wolves at Anfield in which they benefited from two VAR decisions in quick succession.

Sadio Mane s first-half goal ultimately secured an 18th win from 19 Premier League games for Jurgen Klopp s side, whose only dropped points so far this season came courtesy of a draw at Manchester United in October.

However, Mane s strike was only awarded after a VAR check, referee Anthony Taylor having initially penalised Adam Lallana for handball, and Wolves thought they had drawn level in first-half injury time, only for Pedro Neto s strike to be retrospectively ruled out for offside.

An …

Bayern Munich have more talent at their disposal now than when they last ruled Europe in 2013, according to captain Manuel Neuer.

Neuer, along with David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller, was one of four players remaining from their Wembley triumph over Borussia Dortmund who started Wednesday s 3-0 semi-final triumph against Lyon.

Despite coughing up early chances to their Ligue 1 opponents, there was little doubt over the outcome after Serge Gnabry s fabulous opener – the initial part of a first-half brace from the Germany winger.

Robert Lewandowski, who played for Dortmund in the showpiece seven years ago, typically got in on the act with his 55th goal of the season, meaning only Paris Saint-Germain lie between Bayern and a sixth European title.

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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…

With both the Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens coming off tough last-second losses, not even the NFL odds have a good grasp of who will win the AFC North. That makes the opening game of Week 11 odds that much more important between these two divisional foes.

This is set to be an instant Thursday night classic with the way Joe Burrow has been playing as of late and the running game of the Ravens continuing to get explosive plays out of whoever they line up beside Lamar Jackson.

Find out where our best bets lie as we break down the TNF odds and offer up our free NFL picks and predictions for Bengals vs. Ravens on Thursday, November 16. 

Furthermore, don’t forget to check out our Bengals vs. Ravens predictions for additional coverage! 

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