Zlatko Dalic is optimistic Luka Modric will play for Croatia at Euro 2024.
Modric won the Ballon d'Or after leading Croatia to the World Cup final in Russia four years ago, and the Real Madrid star enjoyed another fine tournament as Dalic's men reached the final four in Qatar.
However, the 37-year-old was unable to inspire his team to a semi-final victory over Argentina on Tuesday, leading to suggestions he may retire from the international game.
Modric refused to give anything away regarding his future after the defeat, and Dalic is hopeful he will stay on for at least another 18 months.
"I hope that he [Modric] will be there [at Euro 2024]," Dalic said. "I am looking forward to it.
"It is not certain that he will there be and he will personally decide how he feels. I personally feel that he will be, but it ultimately is his decision."
Croatia started their World Cup campaign with a 0-0 draw against Morocco in Group F, and they face the African side again in Saturday's bronze-medal match.
Walid Regragui's outfit have been the surprise package of the tournament, with Dalic comparing their stunning run to Croatia's surge to the 2018 final.
"Morocco remind me of us four and a half years ago," he said. "Nobody expected them to be this high, but they got to where they are with their quality and emotions.
"From game to game, they only grew and I think we are in for a much more difficult match than the one from the opening group.
"We have full and great respect for them. They show unity and are not afraid of anyone."
Morocco captured the imagination of football fans around the world during their World Cup campaign, which saw them stun Belgium, Spain and Portugal.
They suffered a 2-0 defeat to France in the semi-final on Wednesday and boss Regragui is struggling to get excited about the third-place play-off.
"It is a little bit difficult," he said. "It is very complicated for both teams. You are so disappointed; you have just lost a semi-final and then two days later you have to go back out there.
"It is like the booby prize. I'm sorry for speaking like this. I understand it should be important, I understand it is better to finish third than fourth, but, for me, my takeaway is just that we didn't get to the final.
"Even if we did get to the final, and I finished second, I would be saying the same thing to you.
"We want to be as positive as possible, especially for our fans. Finishing third would be great for our image."
There is undoubtedly a perception the World Cup's third-place play-off is little more than an exhibition match – compared to the final, anyway.
But for Croatia and Morocco, Saturday's clash at the Khalifa International Stadium holds a great deal of significance regardless of what others might think.
Croatia were denied the chance to reach successive World Cup finals by Argentina, while Morocco put up an admirable fight against defending champions France in their 2-0 defeat.
But the fact Croatia – who clinched bronze at the 1998 World Cup – were in the 2018 final does not diminish the achievement of potentially finishing third here for coach Zlatko Dalic.
"We are sad and disappointed, but we have to gather energy to come back and be ready for the next fight for bronze," he said.
"The match on Saturday is a big final for us, not a small [game]. It's a big deal if we get the bronze.
"We have to refresh the team and put healthy players in the team because a grand final is ahead of us.
"Morocco is the biggest surprise of the World Cup. They've got national backing, unity, compactness. They knocked out Belgium, Spain and Portugal. They deserve all the respect."
Of course, these two tussled in a rather drab goalless group-stage draw, when Croatia were restricted to just five shots, their fewest ever in a World Cup game.
That encounter was something of a foreshadowing: Croatia have not been one of the tournament's great entertainers.
Morocco caused France plenty of problems and will fancy their chances of worrying Croatia on Saturday, particularly given Dalic's side have faced more shots (75) than any other team at the tournament.
The Atlas Lions have certainly benefited from a degree of pragmatism as well, with one more clean sheet enough for them to become only the eighth team in tournament history to keep five in one World Cup.
Of course, Walid Regragui insisted his team want to finish third, but there's also a degree of their job being done as the head coach acknowledged the gravity of their achievement in becoming Africa's first World Cup semi-finalists
"I will give opportunities to those who did not participate, and we will try to clinch the third place," Regragui told reporters.
"We realise that we made a great achievement already. We know that from the media, social media, and on TV, we saw the pictures, and we saw that everyone was proud of us in our country.
"We're disappointed for the Moroccan people, we wanted to keep the dream alive, but we're pleased with what we've achieved.
"We felt that we could have gone even further but these small details help real champions, which we saw [against France], of course.
"My players gave everything and they've gone as far as they could. I really wanted to rewrite the history books, but you can't win a World Cup with miracles, you need to do it through hard work."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Croatia – Mateo Kovacic
Dalic is expected to make a few changes: Marcelo Brozovic is an injury doubt; Luka Modric could be given a breather. All three of their regular midfield probably won't come out of the side, meaning Kovacic is surely the likeliest to start.
Kovacic was one of Croatia's better players against Argentina, with his physicality and ball carrying standing out as the Valtreni tried to cope with the feisty Argentinians. He attempted six dribbles, completing four, and engaged in 15 duels, winning 10 – all of those were highs for his team.
Morocco – Azzedine Ounahi
Again, Regragui will alter his team a bit, so it is difficult to know who's going to play, but all the neutrals will be hoping to get another glimpse of Ounahi.
An elegant central midfielder, the 22-year-old has been one of the tournament's breakthrough stars, with his composure in possession really making him stand out. He has completed 77 per cent of his take-on attempts in the World Cup (10/13), which is the highest rate of any player to try at least 10.
PREDICTION
Morocco's win probability of 30.9 per cent for this is a reasonable increase on the 24.8 per cent Stats Perform's AI model gave them ahead of the matchday one meeting.
Nevertheless, Croatia remain the favourites, with the supercomputer putting their win likelihood at 43.1 per cent.
The draw is rated at 26 per cent, but it's worth noting that none of the 19 previous third place play-off matches at the World Cup have gone to penalties, while only one has been settled in extra time (France v Belgium in 1986).
FIFA has announced Morocco will host the next edition of the Club World Cup in February, at which Real Madrid will attempt to lift the trophy for a record-extending fifth time.
Madrid secured their 14th European Cup/Champions League title with a 1-0 win over Liverpool at the Stade de France in May, earning entry to a competition they won in 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
The other teams to have sealed qualification include Copa Libertadores winners Flamengo, CONCACAF Champions League holders Seattle Sounders, Auckland City and Al Ahly.
FIFA confirmed Morocco as hosts on Friday, and Moroccan side Wydad – who won the CAF Champions League under Walid Regragui last season before he left to manage the national team – will take part on home soil.
Morocco, which unsuccessfully bid to host the 2026 World Cup, has seen its Atlas Lions become one of the stories of the 2022 edition after Regragui led them to the semi-finals, where they lost to France, becoming the first African team to reach that stage. Morocco will face Croatia in the third-place play-off on Saturday.
The tournament will take place between February 1 and 11, 2023, with the final being held 10 days before Madrid take on Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
The announcement came on the same say FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed the governing body is proceeding with plans to introduce a revamped 32-team Club World Cup from 2025.
Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll "cannot fathom" playing without wide receiver Tyler Lockett after he suffered a broken index finger.
Lockett sustained the injury on the final offensive drive of the Seahawks' 21-13 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday.
The win clinched the NFC West for 10-4 San Francisco and served as a further dent to Seattle's hopes of securing a Wild Card berth at 7-7.
Seattle's prospects of reaching the postseason now appear to be further diminished by the loss of the former first-team All-Pro and two-time second-team All-Pro Lockett.
The Seahawks are still deciding how to treat the injury, with surgery an option for Lockett, who could return in two weeks, according to Carroll.
"There's a couple different ways that they can do the surgery," Carroll said. "One of the ways gives him a chance to be back.
"Remember [running back] Rashaad Penny... had an injury similar, very similar.
"So they've already floated that thought and they're going to talk about all the options and all that and we're going to love him up and take care of him. Whatever the right thing to do to take care of him, we're going to do.
"I can't fathom playing without Tyler. I got a chance to hang with him, just to try to express what it's like to be working with a guy like this for so long.
"He's such an incredible player. He's not in tremendous pain. He's got a broken hand.
"You feel sorry for him, but he's such a magnificent football player and a member of the team and member of the community and our area and our fans ... that we're gonna miss the heck out of him for whatever he misses."
Since entering the NFL as a third-round pick in 2015, Lockett has racked up 7,031 receiving yards and 53 receiving touchdowns, which are tied for the seventh-most in the league in that span.
The Seahawks visit the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas Eve before finishing their regular season with games against the New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams.
Dean Elgar is expecting some "feisty encounters" during South Africa's Test series in Australia but says there are "no grudges" over the ball-tampering scandal.
Over four years on from the fiasco in Cape Town in which Cameron Bancroft was caught using sandpaper in an attempt to try and alter the condition of the ball, the two nations start a three-match Test series at the Gabba on Saturday.
Steve Smith and David Warner have long since returned to the Australia team after serving bans for their part in that plot, which saw them stripped of the captain and vice-captain roles respectively.
South Africa won that series on home soil in 2017-18, having also come out on top in their last Test series in Australia back in 2016-17.
With Australia top of the World Test Championship table and the Proteas second, they are fighting it out for a place in the final at The Oval next June and captain Elgar is not dwelling on the past.
He said: "There will be moments, no doubt, where there will be a few feisty encounters but hopefully it doesn't reach the stage that we experienced in 2018.
"What's happened in the past happened. There are no grudges. We know they want to win and we want to win. There will always be a moment where egos and the heat of the moment gets to the guys but think it will be better controlled this time.
"If they've got added issues with regards to [the ball-tampering scandal] then that's their thing, but with regards my team we haven't spoken about it once. It's history for us."
Australia skipper Pat Cummins, who will replace Michael Neser after recovering from a quad injury, echoed Elgar's sentiments.
The paceman said: "We've all moved on. I don't think we're probably as abrasive as we've been in the past. It's working for us.
"How we are off the field is pretty similar to what we play on the field I think - calm, very chill, just enjoying it out there, really competitive. And we've done that really well over the last 12 months."
Starc closing in on milestone
Australia will look to Mitchell Starc to fire with the new ball and the paceman is closing in on a milestone.
The left-arm quick only needs another four wickets to reach the 300 mark in Tests, a feat only six other Australia players have achieved.
Starc struck nine times as Australia emphatically whitewashed West Indies ahead of this series.
Van der Dussen return a boost for Proteas
Rassie van der Dussen makes a welcome return to the international stage for South Africa after recovering from a broken finger.
The batter was ruled out of the T20 World Cup due to the damage done during a Test series loss in England.
Meanwhile, skipper Elgar needs only a further 29 runs to take his Test tally to 5,000.
Benfica boss Roger Schmidt has no fears about losing World Cup stars Enzo Fernandez and Goncalo Ramos.
Head coach Schmidt said the youngsters, both 21, and veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi, are integral to his plans to deliver success in Lisbon.
Fernandez and Otamendi are part of the Argentina squad preparing for Sunday's World Cup final against France, when both could be starters.
That has put them in the spotlight, and midfielder Fernandez has been linked with a host of teams, including Liverpool.
Benfica sold striker Darwin Nunez to the Reds in the last transfer window, and Schmidt is determined to retain the best of the talent that has remained at the club.
"We are very happy for them and they are happy to play at Benfica. We need players like them," Schmidt told a press conference on Friday, according to O Jogo.
"We are not afraid that they will leave. We will not give anyone away; we need them to be champions."
Benfica sit top of the Primeira Liga after accruing 12 wins from their opening 13 games in what is Schmidt's first season in charge.
Looking at his Argentine pair, Schmidt said he was "happy for them" to be playing a World Cup final, while domestic games resume in Portugal.
Benfica have a Taca da Liga round-robin game against Moreirense on Saturday, which could see Portugal striker Ramos involved.
He made his name known to a wide audience by scoring a hat-trick against Switzerland in Portugal's 6-1 victory at the last-16 stage at the World Cup, having come into the team in place of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Looking at the finals in Qatar, Schmidt said: "Otamendi has played at a fantastic level. I think Goncalo and Enzo have been playing very well throughout the season.
"Enzo took advantage of opportunities with Argentina, he didn't begin in the starting line-up. Goncalo Ramos too, with Portugal, scored three goals. It shows that they have a lot of confidence."
German coach Schmidt also acknowledged he will be siding with Argentina in the final, out of duty to his players.
"I have all the respect for France, but there are two of our players in Argentina, of course I'll support them," he said. "To be honest, I'm also a [Lionel] Messi fan, he continues to be the best in the world for me and he's shown it."
The Sydney Thunder made astonishing cricket history when they were all out for 15 in the Big Bash League, the lowest total ever recorded in men's professional T20 cricket.
Friday's humbling at the Sydney Showground Stadium came at the hands of the Adelaide Strikers, who had briefly been concerned their 139-9 would come under threat.
Instead, it turned into a rout as the Thunder made a shocking start and failed to recover, with Brendan Doggett their top scorer with four runs, hitting the only boundary of the innings.
Doggett was the last man out as the home team were dismissed in 5.5 overs, with paceman Henry Thornton completing bowling figures of 5-3 in 2.5 overs. Fellow quick Wes Agar weighed in with 4-6 from two overs.
Thornton suggested he might as well retire on the back of his five-wicket feat in the 124-run victory, because he would never top the experience.
Speaking on beIN SPORTS, Thornton said: "I honestly cannot believe what just happened. Everyone here probably doesn't know what's going on either.
"It was amazing. We thought they bowled really well, considering what the wicket was doing, and we thought if we hung in there long enough we'd create chances.
"That's unbelievable. We thought if we bowled at the top of the stumps... we'd be in the game.
"We're really happy. I'm really happy for Wes, he bowled really well tonight, super disciplined, and yeah, great performance.
"Honestly, I'm shocked, I can't believe it."
Thunder openers Alex Hales and Matthew Gilkes both fell for ducks, and Thornton had been expecting middle-order batter Daniel Sams to be a threat with the bat, but he made only one run.
"They're an amazing team. Halesy is a great player and Samsy down the lower order as well," Thornton said. "We thought if we got to 150-plus we'd be in the game, and it was enough I guess.
"I feel like I need to retire now, I don't think I'm getting better than that. That was an amazing game of cricket, so I'm really happy, and the mood around the crew's great, so I couldn't be happier."
Team-mate Chris Lynn top-scored with 36 in Adelaide's innings, and Lynn was wearing the on-field TV microphone as the Sydney wickets tumbled.
"I suppose you just soak it all up," Lynn said at the end of the match.
"Fifteen! I don't know what to say. Everyone's looking, laughing and giggling away. We play them in a couple of days' time down in Adelaide. It's a momentum booster, but hopefully there'll be a few scars there and we can go back-to-back.
"I'm a bit sort of 'what's going on?'."
Sydney's score was 42 worse than the previous lowest in BBL history, the 57 record by the Melbourne Renegades against the Melbourne Stars in 2015.
Cristiano Ronaldo may decide to end his playing career after seeing his dream of winning the World Cup dashed, says his former Manchester United team-mate Patrice Evra.
Ronaldo was used only as a substitute for the final two games of Portugal's campaign in Qatar, which ended with a surprise 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the last eight.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner became the first player to score in five different editions of the World Cup last month, but all eight of his goals at the tournament have come in the group stage.
Ronaldo has been strongly linked with Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr since his United contract was terminated last month, but Evra believes he may hang up his boots.
"When I talked to him, we didn't talk especially about what he's going to do next. I don't know. I don't know if Ronaldo will retire," Evra told Sky Sports News on Friday.
"Sometimes at the end of your career you think, 'okay, I think it's time to stop', especially when you're not in the starting eleven with your national team.
"Ronaldo wanted to play and be fit to win the World Cup with his country, this was his dream. Now he doesn't have that dream, I don't talk for Cristiano, but I won't be surprised if he retires.
"Now, everything Ronaldo does, he's a bad person and a bad player or whatever, so I wouldn't be surprised if he decides to retire."
Ronaldo's great rival Lionel Messi has the chance to cap his career by lifting the World Cup for the first time on Sunday, having helped Argentina to the final with a series of talismanic displays.
Some have suggested Messi must win the World Cup to be considered the greatest player to have played the sport, but Evra feels the Argentina captain has already secured that status – alongside Ronaldo.
"He needs to win this World Cup? No. Him and Ronaldo are already the greatest," Evra added.
"Why does Messi need to win this World Cup? I think this is for the Argentina players to put him on the same level as Diego Maradona.
"Even when they say Messi does not have a good record with Argentina, he already played six finals with them. The debate is not whether Messi can be the greatest, he's already the greatest.
"But guys, let's not forget, Messi is the greatest and Ronaldo is the greatest, too. People have different opinions, and Ronaldo is there.
"It doesn't matter if he doesn't play the final, he's still the greatest. We have to respect every different opinion."
Spain's third-highest appearance maker Sergio Busquets has announced his retirement from international football.
The 34-year-old captained Spain in each of their four games at the World Cup in Qatar, missing a penalty in the shootout as Luis Enrique's side were knocked out by Morocco at the last-16 stage.
Busquets made his debut for La Roja against Turkey in April 2009 and went on to make 143 appearances, behind only Iker Casillas and Sergio Ramos in the country's history.
The Barcelona midfielder, who scored two international goals, was an integral part of the Spain squads that won the World Cup in 2010 and the European Championship two years later.
"I would like to thank all the people who have accompanied me on this long journey," he wrote on Instagram.
"From Vicente del Bosque who gave me the opportunity to start, to Luis Enrique for making me enjoy it until the last second.
"I also thank Julen Lopetegui, Fernando Hierro and Robert Moreno for their trust, as well as all their staff.
"And, of course, to each and every one of my team-mates, with whom I have struggled to try to take the team where it deserved, with more or less success but always giving everything and with the greatest of pride.
"It has been an honour to represent my country and take it to the top.
"To be a World and European champion, to be captain and to play so many games, with greater or lesser success but always giving everything and contributing my grain of sand so that everything went the right way."
FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed the governing body is proceeding with plans for a 32-team Club World Cup, while the format of the next World Cup is to be revisited.
Infantino was addressing the media in Doha on Friday for the first time since his extraordinary press conference at the start of Qatar 2022.
He opted against a 45-minute opening monologue on this occasion, instead taking the opportunity to provide an update following a FIFA Council meeting earlier in the day.
During that meeting, plans were approved to push on with a previously proposed expansion to the Club World Cup.
The competition currently pits the winners of the main continental club competitions against each other every year, but the new version will feature 32 teams from across the globe and take place once every four years.
"It will be a Club World Cup of 32 teams, every four years, and the first edition will be summer of 2025," he said. "They will be the best teams in the world invited to participate."
Infantino also revealed FIFA is re-thinking its format for the next World Cup, which will be the first with 48 competing teams.
Initially FIFA planned for the tournament to consist of 16 groups of three teams; however, enlightened by the drama at the end of the first stage of Qatar 2022, Infantino suggested groups of four are likely to remain.
"I have to say, after this World Cup and the success of groups of four and looking at other competitions such as the Euros, here [four-team groups] have been incredible," he added
"I think we have to revisit or at least re-discuss the format. This is something that will certainly be on the agenda."
Speaking two days before Qatar 2022's final, Infantino summarised the tournament as a success in every way, in his opinion, praising the behaviour of supporters.
"The World Cup has been an incredible success on all fronts," said Infantino.
"The main one being the fans, the behaviour, the joyful atmosphere, the bringing of people together. The fans meeting the Arab world, it has been very important for the future of all of us.
"When it comes to the matches, we have seen some incredibly competitive games, some surprises, some great goals.
"At the end of the day, there was on average 10 minutes played as additional time every match. This was a very fair World Cup on the pitch, no simulations, not so many yellow and red cards.
"But this shows the compliment goes to the players and coaches, who maintained their calm, and of course the referees."
Boris Becker is set to tell his story to German television on Tuesday after the tennis legend was released from prison.
The 55-year-old was sentenced to two and a half years in jail at the end of April for breaking insolvency laws.
It was news that 21-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic, who was previously coached by Becker, said left him "heartbroken" for his close friend.
Becker, who won six singles grand slams, served just eight months of his jail sentence. It was confirmed on Thursday by his lawyer, Christian-Oliver Moser, he has returned to his native Germany, where he is not subject to any restrictions.
Now Becker is poised to speak about his experiences, shining a light on a shocking fall from grace.
The former world number one was found guilty of hiding £2.5million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts when he was declared bankrupt in 2017.
He will appear on the Sat.1 channel in a prime-time slot, with editor-in-chief Juliane Essling telling dwdl.de: "Boris Becker is perhaps the greatest hero of German sport. We all know the unbelievable highs and downfalls in his life. Boris Becker is familiar to us.
"Sat.1 will not talk about him – but with him. I am pleased that Boris Becker has given us his trust for the first and only interview worldwide after what may have been the most difficult time in his life."
Becker lived in London before being sent to prison but could be prevented from returning to live in the UK.
He does not have UK citizenship and the Home Office has confirmed any foreign national who is convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence is considered for deportation at the earliest opportunity.
He covered tennis in a broadcasting career before he was sentenced, being a regular presence on the BBC during Wimbledon, the tournament he won three times, including s spectacular triumph as the age of 17 in 1985.
The business end of the NFL season is here as the playoff picture starts to emerge.
You can tell things are getting interesting as this weekend sees three Saturday games, meaning football fans can stretch out their weekend viewing even further.
Saturday sees the Minnesota Vikings host the Indianapolis Colts, the Baltimore Ravens visit the Cleveland Browns and the Buffalo Bills taking on the Miami Dolphins.
Sunday's action includes a clash in the NFC South where no team seems to want to finish first, but the winner of the Atlanta Falcons and the New Orleans Saints will leave themselves with an inexplicable chance to do so.
Stats Perform has taken a look at the numbers behind a selection of Week 15's games.
Indianapolis Colts (4-8-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (10-3)
While the Vikings have been having a far better season than the Colts, they are just 7-18-1 all-time in the series between the two (including playoffs). It is the Vikings' worst record against any single opponent.
Indianapolis entered their bye week with a 54-19 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, in which they were outscored by 33 points in the fourth quarter (33-0), the largest point differential in a single fourth quarter in NFL history.
Matt Ryan needs 125 passing yards to reach 3,000 for the 13th consecutive season, which would make him the eighth QB in NFL history to accomplish the feat, joining Philip Rivers as the only two to do so without a Super Bowl victory.
Justin Jefferson set a franchise record with 223 receiving yards on 11 catches against the Detroit Lions. Jefferson is up to 4,516 career receiving yards, the most of anyone in NFL history in a player's first three seasons (next most being Randy Moss with 4,163).
Miami Dolphins (8-5) @ Buffalo Bills (10-3)
The Bills have a five-game winning streak at home against the Dolphins, tied for their longest of all-time. This is just one game shy of matching Buffalo's longest home win streak against a divisional opponent (twice against the Colts and once against the New England Patriots).
The Dolphins lost 23-17 to the Chargers last week, posting a season-low 127 passing yards. Miami's 10 completions in the game were their fewest since Week 13 of 2015 (nine).
Tyreek Hill had a 57-yard fumble return touchdown and 60-yard receiving touchdown last week, and leads the NFL with four plays of 50 or more yards this season. Hill had four total plays of 50 or more yards in his last three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs.
Sean McDermott is 9-2 (.818) in his career as a head coach against the Dolphins, the best record by any head coach with at least eight games against Miami all-time. Only two coaches have 10 or more career wins against Miami (Bill Belichick, 26, and Marv Levy, 15).
Atlanta Falcons (5-8) @ New Orleans Saints (4-9)
The Falcons' three-point loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in their last game was Atlanta's 10th game this season decided by six points or fewer, tied for the most in franchise history (also in 1995, 2015 and 2017).
Cordarrelle Patterson is one of three players in NFL history to average 5.0+ yards per rush and 9.0+ yards per reception over his career (minimum 400 rushes and 200 receptions), along with Jim Brown and Bobby Mitchell.
The Saints have held their opponent to fewer than 300 net passing yards in 22 consecutive games, tied with the Bengals for the second-longest active streak in the NFL (after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with 27).
Chris Olave has had at least 40 receiving yards in all 12 games of his career thus far, the second-longest streak by any NFL player to begin his career in the Super Bowl era behind fellow Saints player Michael Thomas (19).
Elsewhere...
Panthers QB Sam Darnold has won both of his starts this season and has not thrown a pick in either. He has now won seven straight starts dating back to 2020 in games where he has not thrown an interception, tied for the third-longest active streak among QBs (Jimmy Garoppolo 16, Jalen Hurts 13, Joe Burrow 7), and will look to extend it against the Steelers.
The Dallas Cowboys will have to find a way to stop Jacksonville Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence. Since November 1, Lawrence has the highest completion percentage in the NFL among players with at least 100 attempts (71.8). On the season, the Jaguars are 5-2 when he completes at least 70.0 per cent of his passes compared to 0-6 when he does not.
The Las Vegas Raiders will look to bounce back against the New England Patriots after blowing a 13-point lead with fewer than four minutes remaining in their 17-16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams last week. Over the last 40 seasons, the only other time the team had lost a game it led by 13+ points with four minutes or less remaining was in Week 3 of the 1993 season to the Cleveland Browns.
Tom Brady was 34-for-55 for 253 yards last week, the 11th time in his career he has attempted at least 55 passes. His teams are now 3-8 in such games, with wins in 2002 against Chicago, 2015 against Buffalo, and Week 9 of this season against the Rams. The Buccaneers (6-7) will hope he can guide them to a much-needed W against the Bengals.
Rafael Nadal on Friday revealed long-time coach Francis Roig is no longer on his team.
Former player Roig has been working with the legendary Spaniard since 2005, helping him win a record 22 grand slam titles.
Roig's long spell on the Nadal team has now come to an end, with the world number two announcing that his compatriot has taken on a "new project."
He wrote on social media: "I wanted to inform you that Francis Roig is leaving the team. Francis has been an important person in my career and I am very grateful to him for all these years of work and friendship.
"When we started working together I was a child and together with my uncle Toni, we started on the circuit.
"Francis is a great coach who knows tennis very well and has helped me a lot to get better and better. I only have words of gratitude and I wish him all the luck in the world in his new project."
Toni Nadal left his nephew's coaching team at the end of the 2017 season and is now working with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Carlos Moya was appointed as Nadal's coach following Toni Nadal's departure.
The discussion over Lionel Messi's defensive work is "almost silly", according to his former coach at Paris Saint-Germain Mauricio Pochettino.
Messi's Argentina will appear in their sixth World Cup final on Sunday against France, aiming to get their hands on the trophy for the first time since 1986.
Messi will claim the World Cup appearance record outright by playing his 26th and likely final game at the tournament, while he could become the first player to record 20 goal contributions in the competition (currently 11 goals, eight assists).
The Argentina captain started the tournament slowly, with some observers criticising his work rate, but he has shone in the knockout stage.
Former Albiceleste international Pochettino, who coached Messi at PSG until his dismissal earlier this year, scoffed at those concerns and compared Messi to two icons of the game not renowned for their defensive work.
"Honestly, I think the debate about Messi's defensive work is so stale, almost silly," he wrote in The Athletic.
"You cannot pretend that [Diego] Maradona or Pele — along with Messi, the most important players in football — were focused on trying to win the ball back. He can't participate in that. He just needs the others to run for him.
"He doesn't need to press. When you have Messi, you need the other players to understand that they have to get the ball and give it to him so he can conserve his energy and then be decisive, as shown."
Argentina's run to the final has not been all about Messi, though, with Lionel Scaloni's side proving resolute in defence.
They have restricted their opponents to just 5.7 shots per game – fewer than any other side. Indeed, they have not faced above 0.6 expected goals against in any of their six games so far.
Pochettino believes that defensive solidity and work ethic has been crucial in allowing Messi to flourish.
"Of course, Argentina need Messi, but Messi needs the other 10 players to fight for him at all times," he added. "That's one of the keys to this team: they all believe that playing for Messi, they can win the World Cup.
"You can see that the players give 120 per cent to achieve this. Different players: [Rodrigo] De Paul, [Alexis] Mac Allister, [Enzo] Fernandez, [Julian] Alvarez, they give everything they have and more, and they do it for Messi.
"They give everything because it's their dream, they are so close, and when they have Messi, they know that everything is possible.
"That's the most important thing about this Argentina team, and the reason why they are in the final. It's because the players fully understand their role. When you have Messi in your team, you have to run for him.
"And when you have the ball, you have to give it to him as soon as possible so that he can create something. So, the players know what they have to do at all times: to give Messi everything he needs to be decisive."
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