Aston Villa manager Unai Emery insists it is still too early to say whether his side is in contention for the Premier League title despite being third in the table after their 2-1 victory against Chelsea.
MATCH REPORT: Chelsea 1-2 Aston Villa
Available to UK users only.
Arne Slot says Liverpool are doing enough things right to be winning their matches more comfortably following a nervy 2-1 victory against Premier League bottom club Wolves.
MATCH REPORT: Liverpool 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Available to UK users only.
FIFA announced an affordable admission pricing tier for every nation that’s qualified for the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The supporter entry tier will make tickets available at a fixed price of $60 for every match, including the final, for each nation’s participating members associations.
The new tier comes after supporters’ groups from Europe called out FIFA on the dynamic pricing of tickets, which changes the value based on the popularity of the teams playing in each match.
“In total, 50% of each PMA allocation will fall within the most affordable range, namely supporter value tier (40%) and the supporter entry tier (10%),” FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday. “The remaining allocation is split evenly between the supporter standard tier and the supporter premier tier.”
FIFA will also waive the administrative fees for fans who secure participating member association tickets, but their teams do not advance and they seek refunds.
Tickets sales were rolled out by FIFA in phases, with a third of the tournament’s inventory claimed during the first two phases. The third phase started on Dec. 11 and will go through to Jan. 13. During this period, fans have the opportunity to allocate tickets for a match based on a random selection draw.
Before the new tier was introduced, the cheapest ticket for the World Cup final in MetLife Stadium in New Jersey would cost fans more than $4,000. The high prices raised concerns among European supporters.
“The prices set for the 2026 World Cup are scandalous, a step too far for many supporters who passionately and loyally follow their national sides at home and abroad,” the FSA, an organization of supporters for England and Wales, said in a statement posted on its website on Dec. 12. “Everything we feared about the direction in which FIFA wants to take the game was confirmed — Gianni Infantino only sees supporter loyalty as something to be exploited for profit.”
FIFA previously stated it adopted the variable pricing because it was common practice for major North America sporting events.
“What FIFA is doing is adapting to the domestic market,” a FIFA official said in the conference call. “It’s a reality in the U.S. and Canada that events are being priced as per the demand that is coming in for that event.”
A FIFA official told reporters before the first tickets went on sale that world soccer’s governing body expects to make more than $3 billion from hospitality and tickets sales and is confident the tournament will break the all-time World Cup attendance record set in 1994, the last time the competition was held in the U.S.
That 1994 World Cup featured just 24 teams and 52 matches. The 2026 tournament will be twice as large, with 48 teams and 104 games.
FIFA said it received 20 million requests during the random selection draw sales.
SoFi Stadium will host eight matches, beginning with the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12. The Americans will finish group play in Inglewood on June 25, playing the winner of a March playoff involving Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey and Romania. Two Group G matches — Iran vs. New Zealand on June 15 and Iran-Belgium on June 21 — also will be played in SoFi, sandwiched around a Group B match between Switzerland and the winner of another European playoff, this one featuring Wales, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy and Northern Ireland.
The teams for the three knockout-stage games to be played at SoFi Stadium — round-of-32 games on June 28 and July 2 and a quarterfinal on July 10 — haven’t been determined, but the possibilities include Mexico, South Korea, Canada, Spain, Austria and Algeria.
Staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.
Here are the details on the teams, groups, format, match fixtures, kickoff times and venues for AFCON 2025:
⚽ Group A: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
⚽ Group B: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
⚽ Group C: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
⚽ Group D: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
⚽ Group E: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
⚽ Group F: Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
list of 4 itemsend of list
The top two teams of each group, along with the best four third-placed teams, will advance to the knockout stage, beginning with the round of 16. That is followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and the final. There is also a third-place playoff between the two losing semifinalists.
In the knockout stages, if a match is level at the end of normal playing time, teams will play 30 minutes of extra time and, if required, a penalty shootout.
December 21
Group A: Morocco vs Comoros (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm/19:00 GMT)
December 22
Group A: Mali vs Zambia (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group B: Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group B: South Africa vs Angola (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 23
Group C: Nigeria vs Tanzania (Fez Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group C: Tunisia vs Uganda (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group D: Senegal vs Botswana (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group D: DR Congo vs Benin (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 24
Group E: Algeria vs Sudan (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group E: Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group F: Ivory Coast vs Mozambique (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group F: Cameroon vs Gabon(Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest day on Christmas
December 26
Group A: Morocco vs Mali (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group A: Zambia vs Comoros (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group B: Egypt vs South Africa (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group B: Angola vs Zimbabwe (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 27
Group C: Nigeria vs Tunisia (Fez Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group C: Uganda vs Tanzania (Al Barid Stadium, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group D: Senegal vs DR Congo (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group D: Benin vs Botswana (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 28
Group E: Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 1pm/12:00 GMT)
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Stade Mohammed V, 3:30pm/14:30 GMT)
Group F: Ivory Coast vs Cameroon (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group F: Gabon vs Mozambique (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 29
Group A: Comoros vs Mali (Stade Mohammed V, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)
Group A: Zambia vs Morocco (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6:30pm/17:30 GMT)
Group B: Angola vs Egypt (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group B: Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 30
Group C: Tanzania vs Tunisia (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group C: Uganda vs Nigeria (Fez Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group D: Benin vs Senegal (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group D: Botswana vs DR Congo (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
December 31
Group E: Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group E: Sudan vs Burkina Faso (Stade Mohammed V, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Group F: Gabon vs Ivory Coast (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Group F: Mozambique vs Cameroon (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 1 and 2
January 3
Winner Group D vs 3rd Group B/E/F (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Runner-up Group A vs Runner-up Group C (Stade Mohammed V, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
January 4
Winner Group A vs 3rd Group C/D/E (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Runner-up Group B vs Runner-up Group F (Al Barid Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
January 5
Winner Group B vs 3rd Group A/C/D (Adrar Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Winner Group C vs 3rd Group A/B/F (Fez Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
January 6
Winner Group E vs Runner-up Group D (Moulay Hassan Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Winner Group F vs Runner-up Group E (Marrakesh Stadium, 8:30pm local/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 7 and 8
January 9
Quarterfinal 1 (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Quarterfinal 2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
January 10
Quarterfinal 3 (Marrakesh Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Quarterfinal 4 (Adrar Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 11, 12 and 13
January 14
Winner QF1 vs Winner QF4 (Ibn Batouta Stadium, 6pm/17:00 GMT)
Winner QF3 vs Winner QF2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8:30pm/19:30 GMT)
Rest days on January 15 and 16
January 17
Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2 (Stade Mohammed V, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)
January 18
Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, 8pm local/19:00 GMT)
Kumar’s scoring was inferior to Veenstra’s, but his finishing proved crucial, boasting a 75% checkout success and hitting all his last seven doubles.
“I don’t know what to say right now. I’m overwhelmed, I’m happy,” said Kumar, who is nicknamed ‘The Royal Bengal’.
“If you dream it, anything is possible. I’ve dreamed of this ever since I saw Dennis Priestley win the World Championship (in 1994).”
Asked about what his victory could do for darts in India, he said: “I’ve opened the floodgates to a billion of them.
“I’m sorry, 10 years down the line if you have eight people in the World Championship walking on to Bollywood music, don’t blame me.”
Veenstra hit five 100-plus finishes, with his highest coming at 144. Kumar was not as flamboyant with his scoring, but proved to be incredibly consistent as the crowd roared him on.
Three-time BDO world champion Glen Durrant said on Sky Sports: “It was one of the greatest games I have ever commentated on.
“It’s not just the quality of the match, it’s the impact for Nitin Kumar and what it does for Indian darts.”
Two seeds exited the competition on Sunday – world number 23 Dimitri van den Bergh and 27th-ranked Ritchie Edhouse.
Belgium’s Van den Bergh was out of sorts from the first dart and was comfortably beaten 3-0 by Scottish debutant Darren Beveridge.
In the afternoon session, Edhouse was knocked out by Jonny Tata, who was also making his first appearance.
Former European champion Edhouse was stunned 3-0 by the New Zealander, to taste defeat at this stage for the fourth time in a row.
But the same fate did not follow fellow seed Joe Cullen after he eased past Bradley Brooks with a 3-0 win.
The world number 32 was in fine form to produce his second-highest average on the world stage with 99.33.
Another debutant, Englishman Dom Taylor, progressed to the second round with a 3-0 win over Sweden’s Oskar Lukasiak.
Meanwhile, the evening session saw the Netherlands’ Lukas Wenig beat Wesley Plaiser 3-1 while England’s James Hurrell beat Stowe Buntz by the same scoreline.
Highlights from four Premier League matches, including Arsenal v Wolves.
Source link