2018 World Cup Group H: Team News, Prediction & Betting Odds

With the 2018 World Cup in Russia kicking off in less than a month, SoccerNews.com is commencing its own series of group predictions where you will be able to find previews of all the teams taking part in this summer’s showpiece tournament, latest team news and best betting odds and suggestions.

We have analysed every single group of the competition, and we will end our series with Group H. Several experts and pundits view this group as one of the most balanced ones in the tournament. It is one where every single team has a decent chance of reaching the Round of 16.

One would think that Colombia have a slight edge based on talent alone, but we shouldn t take the other teams for granted. Japan, Poland and Senegal all have interesting pieces, and all signs indicate this…

Messi, Vinicius and the other Copa America 2024 Golden Boot contenders

A festival of football is about to kick off in the United States, as the Copa America sparks into action.

Argentina, the reigning champions, get the ball rolling when they face Canada in the opening Group A match, and Lionel Messi will be the main man as ever for La Albiceleste.

Messi was the joint-leading scorer at the 2021 Copa America, netting four goals to lead the standings alongside Colombia’s Luis Diaz.

The Barcelona great is expected to be right up there again when it comes to the 2024 Copa America Golden Boot race, and here, we dive into the main candidates for that award.

Lionel Messi

Not only did Messi finish as joint-top scorer at the 2021 Copa, he was also the leading assister and then, 18 months later, he went on to lead Argentina …

FIFA back goal-line technology for 2014 World Cup

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has given the strongest indication yet that goal-line technology will be introduce for the 2014 World Cup.

Football s governing body had been resistant to introducing technology in the past, but has had a recent change of heart given a number of high-profile incidents, including one involving England and Germany at the 2010 World Cup.

Testing has been carried out in recent month to ensure the technology is completely accurate, and Valcke said it could be trialled at the Club World Cup or Confederations Cup to ensure it was ready for use in Brazil in 2014.

If we can afford the price of a goal-line technology system then I don t see what the question is, Valcke said.

We think that the technology is something which is …

Saul: We hope 2017 is better for Atletico

Atletico Madrid midfielder Saul saluted a good year for the club but hopes 2017 is better after the capital team progressed to the Copa del Rey last 16.

Saul and Co. made light work of minnows Guijuelo 4-1 in the second leg on Tuesday as they won the lopsided round-of-32 tie 10-1 on aggregate.

The comprehensive victory capped off a fine year for Atletico heading into the mid-season break, after the Spaniards reached the final of the Champions League, while they finished just three points behind LaLiga winners Barcelona in 2015-16.

Reflecting on 2016, Saul said: We could have won some titles that we fought for, but it s been a very good year for us.

We hope that 2017 is better.  

Atletico are sixth in the LaLiga standings, six points adrift of se…

Chelsea sacking would not be the end of the world – Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino says it would not be the end of the world if he were to leave Chelsea at the end of the season.

The Blues have lost just one of their last 12 matches in the Premier League, and they thrashed West Ham 5-0 in their last game to make it four home wins on the bounce.

Chelsea now sit in seventh place with a place in Europe next season within their reach, but rumours continue to spread that Pochettino’s future at the club is not safe.

Pochettino stressed that he wants to be involved in the conversations about the club’s plans at the end of the season, which is when a decision will be made.

He said: If we are happy, perfect. But it is not only if the owners are happy or the sporting directors happy You need to ask us also, because maybe […

Meet Teemu Pukki, Europe’s Hottest Goalscorer During The 2019-20 Season So Far

When talking about prolific goalscorers in Europe, most experts and fans tend to name the usual suspects. Names such as Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar or Kylian Mbappe, just to name a few, tend to get recognition. However, one player that doesn’t get nearly enough praise as he deserves has been tearing it up in the 2019-20 Premier League season while featuring for Norwich City.

Yes, you have guessed it. We are talking about Teemu Pukki. The Finland international has been one of the best goalscoring threats in Europe’s top leagues in the beginning of the season.

Pukki, however, had to take the long road before making it to the top of European’s football. He had previously played for Sevilla (17 appearances / three goals), Schalke 04 (47/8) a…

5 key observations from the first half of the 2016/2017 Serie A season

Already in another class, Juventus are even more formidable with Higuain s arrival. (Photo: Eurosport)

18 rounds down, 20 to go. Juventus, Roma, Napoli, Lazio, and AC Milan occupy the top five spot in the table. Meanwhile, Fiorentina and Inter continue to have their ups and downs whilst Crotone s debut season has been an exercise in frustration. The Serie A season has currently gone on hiatus for the Christmas break, but there are still plenty of talking points regarding the first half of the present campaign.

So what have we learned from part one of the current Serie A term? Let s have a look.

Both AC Milan and Inter still have a long way to go, but Milan appear to be on the right path

2011 was the last time a team other than Juventus won the Scudetto. It goe…

Slovan Bratislava 0-4 Manchester City: Guardiola´s men up and running in Champions League

Manchester City got their Champions League campaign up and running with a 4-0 rout of Slovan Bratislava on Tuesday, with Ilkay Gundogan, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland and James McAtee scoring.

The Premier League champions set up camp in Slovan s half and laid siege to their goal for the duration of the contest at the Stadion Tehelne Pole.

They only needed eight minutes to make the breakthrough as Gundogan scored his first goal since returning to the club after a single season at Barcelona, with his shot deflecting in off Kyriakos Savvidis.

Foden then doubled City s lead with his first goal of the season in the 15th minute, latching onto a pass from Jeremy Doku and curling a strike into the bottom corner.

7 Phil Foden is one of only four players to have scor…

Hats off Hendo, Viva Vardy and Woeful Watford – Premier League review 2019/20

And breathe.

The longest season in English top-flight history came to its conclusion on Sunday, with both Manchester United and Chelsea confirming their places in next season’s Champions League, while Bournemouth and Watford joined Norwich in ending their stays at England’s top table. 

It was a season that nobody was even certain would finish a matter of months ago, an unprecedented campaign that will be remembered for right and wrong reasons. A season that saw a one-horse race to the title, two Englishmen leading the charge for the Golden Boot and three managers sacked at just one club. 

As some sides begin their break before the new season starts in September, others look to finish their campaigns in style, be it in the FA Cup Final on Saturday or in Eu…

Cardinals vs Rams Week 4 Picks and Predictions: Who Will Stake Their Claim as the Best in the West?

The Los Angeles Rams just staked their spot atop the NFC food chain, taking a big bite out of the defending Super Bowl champs to move to 3-0 last Sunday. Los Angeles stays home for a key NFC West war with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.

Bookies opened L.A. as big as 6-point NFL betting chalk at home but early money on Arizona chipped that spread down to -5.5 then forced a heavy move to -4.5 Tuesday afternoon. The Cardinals are also undefeated, behind an offense scoring a league-high 34.3 points per game.

Here are our NFL free picks and predictions for Cardinals at Rams on October 3.