Cristiano Ronaldo vowed to return to the Portugal setup in 2019 after skipping his nation s matches following the World Cup.

Ronaldo, 33, opted against adding to his 154 caps after Russia 2018, instead preferring to settle at Juventus.

But the superstar forward, who has scored 15 goals in 24 games for Juve, said he would be back in Portugal colours in 2019.

In 2019 I intend to be back at the disposal of the coaching staff, Ronaldo told Record.

Ronaldo said he had come to an agreement to skip Portugal s matches in the second half of 2018 to give him the best chance of making a good start to life at Juventus, the club he joined from Real Madrid.

It was agreed that I would not be in the games of the first half of the season, he said.

I am …

South African organisers of the 2010 World Cup said on Thursday they were upbeat about FIFA president Sepp Blatter s visit next week to showcase the progress made in preparing for the event.

Blatter will on September 14 begin a four-day visit to South Africa, during which he would visit World Cup facilities in the major cities of Johannesburg and Cape Town, World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) chief Danny Jordaan said.

We have made tremendous progress and we hope to showcase this progress to him during his September 14 to 17 visit. We also hope he will be very impressed with the lot of progess we have made, Jordaan told journalists.

South Africa was jolted in July after a Spanish newpaper reported that the football governing body was in talks with autho…

Steven Bergwijn has signed a new contract with PSV until 2023, the Eredivisie club have confirmed.

The Netherlands international had been heavily linked with a switch to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, while Manchester United were also reportedly interested during the Premier League transfer window.

But Bergwijn, 21, will instead continue his career-long association with PSV, where the forward has won three Eredivisie titles.

Explaining his decision, Bergwijn told PSV s official website: This is the right decision.

There were other options, but ultimately everything has to fit. For me, but also for PSV, and the result is that I stay here with great pleasure and with great confidence.

Sooo fans.
How happy are you?

— PSV (@PSV)

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The 2015 Roland Garros starts on Sunday 24th May in Paris and this is shaping up to be one of the most interesting French Opens in recent history, with Novak Djokovic determined to lift the elusive trophy.

Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal has won five successive titles at Roland Garros, but he has struggled for form of late and this is probably the best chance the Serbian tennis player will ever have to knock his rival off the throne.

The world number one has won a total of eight Grand Slam tournaments, but he is yet to win the French Open, having twice lost in the final to Rafael Nadal. However, with the Serbian in tremendous form at the moment, having won the Monte Carlo and Rome Masters on clay, bear in mind that he can be backed at .

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Adam le Fondre came off the bench to score a double to earn Reading a 2-2 draw with Chelsea

Last night’s Premier League action was all about comebacks.

Struggling Reading pulled off the biggest comeback of the night by scoring two goals in the dying minutes to draw 2-2 with Chelsea at the Madejski Stadium.

The Blues took the lead on the stroke of half-time. Juan Mata blasted home after good play from compatriot Fernando Torres. Maximum points looked secure in the 66th minute, Frank Lampard heading home from a Juan Mata set-piece.

Reading sent on super-sub Adam Le Fondre and it was former-Rochdale striker that turned the game around. The striker smashed an effort home from a Hope Akpan pass in the 87th minute. Deep into stoppage-time the striker slotted…

Nasser Al Khater, the chief executive of Qatar 2022, said death is a natural part of life when he was questioned over reports of a migrant worker dying during the World Cup.

The Athletic reported on Wednesday that a Filipino man said to be in his early 40s died while working at the base of Saudi Arabia during the group stage.

According to the report, the incident is being investigated by the Qatari government.

Asked by the BBC for a comment on the reports, Al Khater extraordinarily said death is a natural part of life as he questioned why the interviewer had chosen to ask him about the incident.

He said: We re in the middle of a World Cup and we have a successful World Cup, and this is something you want to talk about right now?

I mean, death is …

Everton appointed Ronald Koeman as manager on this day in 2016.

The former Southampton boss was installed in place of Roberto Martinez who was removed in the final week of the previous season.

The Toffees had finished a disappointing 11th after Martinez lost eight of his last 15 Premier League matches in charge.

Southampton received a reported £5million in compensation to bring the former Barcelona player, then 53, to Goodison Park from Saints, who had finished sixth and qualified for the Europa League.

Chairman Bill Kenwright said of Koeman after the parties had agreed a three-year deal: “We are really pleased to have secured the man who was our number one target from the moment we set out to appoint a new manager.”

Everton had briefly looke…

Normally, when a bird goes into a dog pound (does that even happen?) bad things could be expected for our smaller, feathered friends. That’s not the case in the NFL — where it’s the birds that are bigger and badder — as the 5-0 Arizona Cardinals travel to FirstEnergy Stadium to clash with the 3-2 Cleveland Browns.

The Cards are the league’s lone remaining undefeated team, yet NFL betting lines have them as 3.5-point road pups against the Browns, who are coming off an ugly loss that raises questions about their ability to battle with the league’s top-tier clubs.

Find out why Arizona is the underdog in our best free NFL picks and predictions for Cardinals vs. Browns on Sunday, October 17, with kickoff set for 4:05 p.m. ET.

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The Carolina Panthers are on the road this Friday to take on the New England Patriots in NFL preseason action. 

The two teams held joint practices this week and several skirmishes broke out as three players were kicked off the field on Tuesday. They fought again on Wednesday and two more players were ejected. Expect the physical play to continue on Friday. 

The Panthers won their Week 1 game, holding on to defeat the Washington Commanders 23-21. On the flip side, the Patriots dropped their first preseason game to the New York Giants. 

Can Carolina go 2-0 in the preseason or will New England pick up its first victory? Continue reading our free NFL betting picks for Panthers vs Patriots on August 19.

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The shocking NFL offseason took another twist when the Arizona Cardinals released standout wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins on May 26. The move sounded a Pavlovian bell among NFL GMs looking to bolster their ball catchers before the start of the 2023 season.

While teams salivate over Hopkins, NFL odds are quick to open on Nuk’s next team. Some sportsbooks, like DraftKings, already had this market on the board since February.

We take a look at the NFL clubs at the top of the DeAndre Hopkins “Next Team” odds and single out the franchises that have the available money to make a run at the sure-handed wideoutwho could easily turn around any team’s Super Bowl odds. 

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