Europe

Belgium's number one goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has said he will not go to next year's European Championship in order to fully recover from a knee injury, he told Belgian TV station VRT broadcast on Tuesday.

"I need to recover fully, so it's better to provide clarity now," the Real Madrid player said.

"If I'm lucky, I might be able to play a match come May, but I'll never be ready for the tournament. I can't be in the goal at 80% or 85%, I should step aside for other good players."

Courtois Euro 2024

FIFA announced on Sunday that its revamped Club World Cup, to be held for the first time in 2025, will feature 32 teams and will be played from mid-June to mid-July.

Following are details of how the tournament will work:

- The United States will host the 2025 edition of the expanded event, which will be held every four years thereafter.

- The tournament will have eight groups of four with the top two teams from each group going through to the knockout stages -- the same format as the 2022 World Cup.

Nottingham Forest fell to Tottenham 2-0 on Friday and many fans are pointing the blame at United States goalkeeper Matt Turner after a massive error.

Turner had produced several important stops in the game to deny Spurs, however the only thing people will remember Friday’s game for was the gaffe in the 65th minute.

Matt Turner mistake vs Tottenham

UPDATE:

Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the pitch.

The score was 1-1 when the 29-year-old Wales international fell to the ground with no other player near him. Players and Luton manager Rob Edwards reacted immediately to get medical attention.

"Our medical staff have confirmed that the Hatters captain suffered cardiac arrest on the pitch but was responsive by the time he was taken off on the stretcher," Luton said in a statement.

Fulham and Mexico striker Raúl Jiménez revolutionized the term “headbutt” on Saturday when he received a red card for attacking Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff with his bum.

The Jiménez red card vs Newcastle is unlike any sending off we’ve ever seen. The Mexican striker carelessly flew in the air to block Longstaff’s pass and ended up clattering into him.

If this was WWE then Jiménez would’ve received a standing ovation, instead he got an early trip to the showers and left Fulham down a man in the 22nd minute.

Jiménez red card vs Newcastle

LONDON — Rebecca Welch will become the first female referee to officiate a Premier League match when she takes charge of Fulham's home game against Burnley on Dec. 23.

The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) confirmed the appointment on Thursday and also said Sam Allison would become the first Black official to take charge of a Premier match for 15 years.

Allison will be the referee for Sheffield United v Luton Town on Dec. 26.

Premier League female referee

We apologize for the extra clickbaity headline, but we’re serious when we say few people can explain the disallowed Rennes goal vs. Villarreal from Thursday’s Europa League action.

For complete transparency, the author writing this story wasn’t part of the 5% of people who could correctly explain why this goal wasn’t counted upon first viewing. Not even CBS’ commentators understood the Rennes’ stoppage time equalizer mystery.

Before we give you the answer, watch the clip for yourself.

Rennes disallowed goal vs. Villarreal

DORTMUND - Paris Saint-Germain drew 1-1 at Group F winners Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday to secure second place and a spot in the Champions League knockout stage in their final group match.

Both sides squandered a bagful of golden chances in a surprisingly goalless first half.

The hosts had the early chances but PSG gradually found spaces and threatened with Lee Kang-in in the 16th minute and Kylian Mbappé's effort which was cleared by Niklas Süle at the last moment a little later.

Niklas Süle clearance vs PSG

Christian Pulisic netted his first Champions League goal in 637 days during AC Milan’s 2-1 victory vs. Newcastle on Wednesday. The result wasn’t enough for Milan to advance to the Round of 16 but did qualify the Italian club for the Europa League knockout playoffs.

In order to advance out of their Champions League group Milan needed to defeat Newcastle and required some help from Borussia Dortmund to best Paris Saint-Germain, however that game ended 1-1.