ROME - Derby matches have shaped the coaching careers of Simone Inzaghi and Stefano Pioli in the past, but the stakes are higher than ever when the former apprentice and master face off in a crucial Milan meeting on Sunday.
Four points separate leaders Inter from third-placed AC Milan ahead of their San Siro clash, although the champions have a game in hand against Bologna to come.
In a strictly sporting sense, the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations arrives at exactly the right moment (there are a lot of non-sporting reasons why this is not at all an optimum time). In Europe, the coming month will be dominated by transfer nonsense, the ever-tightening grip of the domestic title favorites and no Champions League football.
Between Jan. 9 and Feb. 6 in Cameroon, AFCON promises to deliver a remedy for each of those ills: the pure passion of the international game, total unpredictability and a showcase of some of the world's most brilliant footballers.
The USMNT will begin its next World Cup qualifying campaign window with a home game against El Salvador in Columbus, Ohio, at 7 p.m. ET. The 28-man roster was announced on Jan. 21; now the starting USMNT lineup needs to be decided.
Head coach Gregg Berhalter routinely employs a 4-3-3 formation with his squads and would be expected to do so again against El Salvador. With the players he has chosen, this is the starting lineup expected for Thursday.
The USWNT wraps up its annual January Camp in Austin, Texas, on Friday after 10 days of work that's served to allow Vlatko Andonovski a closer look at some fresh faces, including 13 players (half the roster) with 10 caps or fewer.
It is, we're learning, a question that can be framed in countless ways — "Will it be an advantage? But will it really be an advantage? How will you prepare? How will you mentally prepare? Will you put hot chicken broth in your water bottle so it doesn't freeze?" — but really only ever has one definitive plan of action: Deal with it.
Ghana and the United States men’s national team have a rich history of meeting at the World Cup. The African nation knocked out the USMNT of the world’s biggest tournament in 2010 and 2006 and the Americans got revenge in 2014. Both teams failed to make the 2018 edition and now the question of will Ghana make the World Cup looms after the latest World Cup qualifying draw.
The official record for highest attendance at a professional women’s soccer game is held by the 1999 World Cup Final at the Rose Bowl between the USWNT and China with 90,185. Unofficially the 1971 World Cup Final between Denmark and Mexico had 110,000 in attendance.
A new candidate for the record is lurking in the shadows to take down the USWNT’s record. On March 30, Barcelona’s women’s team will host Real Madrid in the second leg of the UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinals at Camp Nou.
The Canadian national team became notorious for its home-field advantage in World Cup qualifying after hosting Costa Rica and Mexico in the frigid cold of Edmonton. The Canada vs USA location for January’s qualifying game will once again have freezing temperatures as the Canucks host the Americans in Hamilton, Ontario.
Date: Jan. 30
Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo is hopeful he can recover from a minor muscle injury in time to feature in Saturday's Premier League match against Aston Villa.
The Portugal international missed United's 1-0 FA Cup third round win over Villa on Monday but is keeping his "fingers crossed" that he can return to action at the weekend.