Dejan Lovren believes Croatia showed the world – including former team-mate Mohamed Salah – they were not "lucky" at Russia 2018 by returning to the World Cup quarter-finals on Monday.
Croatia reached the final of the previous tournament, losing 4-2 to France, although they had to go through penalty shoot-outs against Denmark and Russia, then extra time against England.
Lovren and his team-mates advanced to the last eight at Qatar 2022 by defeating Japan, again relying on spot-kicks as Dominik Livakovic made three saves in a 3-1 shoot-out success.
Despite the nature of the victory, the centre-back felt his side had proven a point.
"How? Why? Maybe it is written in the stars that Croatia need to go like this," Lovren said. "We need to suffer. Without suffering, there is no reward.
"We showed to the world we are in the best eight of the world, that 2018 didn't happen just luckily.
"Especially my friend Salah said to me, 'penalties, penalties'. I said, 'okay, let me show you'. It's great that we showed to the world that we are really strong."
Lovren's hopes of advancing though another shoot-out were boosted by Sunday's training session, which had seen a similarly inspired Livakovic display.
"In the training session, we practised the penalties and he saved almost all penalties," Lovren added.
"We said to ourselves, 'wow, we are really bad at shooting'. I said to him, 'just be that'. He showed that today.
"Penalties are a lottery, but to be honest I was a little bit more calm today, because yesterday he really showed his quality in the training when he saved almost all penalties. Fantastic."
Livakovic was not Croatia's only hero, with Ivan Perisic earlier equalising with his record 10th major tournament goal, surpassing the great Davor Suker (nine).
"We had this extra experience from 2018, mixed with a younger generation," Lovren said.
"I'm really proud of my team. We kept calm even when we were 1-0 down. It was a really important goal from Perisic."
Croatia would play the winner of the match between Brazil and South Korea, in which the Selecao were racing into a big first-half lead as Perisic added: "It doesn't matter who, we have to be prepared to play our game. If we fight like today, everything is possible."
Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic produced another Croatian penalty shoot-out masterclass, and was delighted to have followed in the footsteps of his predecessors.
Livakovic saved three penalties as Croatia triumphed 3-1 on spot-kicks after a 1-1 draw against Japan at Al Janoub Stadium to progress to a quarter-final against either Brazil or South Korea.
His efforts mirrored that of Danijel Subasic, who also made three saves when Croatia edged past Denmark at the same stage four years ago in Russia.
"It's what we do in Croatia," Livakovic said. "You could see that four years ago. I continue the tradition of my predecessors and I put it down to the analysis we do of the penalty takers."
Croatia were second best in the first half and trailed at the break to Daizen Maeda's close-range strike. Ivan Perisic dragged his side level with a wonderful header 10 minutes into the second half with extra time failing to separate two determined but limited sides.
"It's important to win, but it's always easier to resolve the game in 90 minutes because penalties are risky," added Livakovic, who attempted to play down his heroics.
"This time the penalties worked well for us. I don't think they were difficult ones to save. We did an analysis prior to this match."
Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic praised his modest goalkeeper, although his heroics came as no surprise.
"We have a fantastic goalkeeper, he was unbeatable," said Dalic. "When we started the shoot-out, I was very confident. He was great in training yesterday and I had no doubt he would demonstrate that again today.
"We had made several substitutions and didn't have the likes of [Luka] Modric, [Mateo] Kovacic and Perisic on the field but all our problems were resolved by Livakovic.
"He proved to be like Subasic in Russia, history keeps repeating itself."
Croatia have a fine record at the World Cup, finishing third in 1998 and runners-up in 2018. The squad from Russia has largely broken up and Dalic called on today's players to make their own mark.
"This generation is resilient, they don't give up," he said. "They reflect the spirit of the Croatian people. We have been through so much pain that the Croatian national team is now a source of pride.
"We had a great generation in 2018, but we now have 18 new players and I told them that this is their chance to make history."
Defeat ended a remarkable run for Japan that saw them beat Germany and Spain. A first World Cup quarter-final appearance eluded them, though.
Coach Hajime Moriyasu was full of admiration for his players and denied they had wilted under the pressure.
I don't think so, no," he said. "Their goalkeeper was great and the Japanese players that took the penalties were very courageous.
"We obviously wanted to win, but it does not negate the efforts of the players. I think Japanese football can continue to grow.
"We cannot do everything at once, we cannot become superheroes in one go, we need to improve little by little, but Japan is reaching a level where we can play on the world stage."
James Maddison backed Kyle Walker to "do a job" on Kylian Mbappe in the World Cup quarter-final but acknowledged England will have to deal with multiple France threats on Saturday.
The in-form Mbappe scored twice in Sunday's 3-1 round-of-16 win over Poland, just hours before England cruised past Senegal 3-0 to reach the last eight in their third straight major tournament.
A pair of excellent right-footed strikes took the France forward to five for the tournament in Qatar, handing him the outright lead in the Golden Boot race as Les Bleus look to regain their world crown.
Former England defender Gary Neville labelled Walker as "the best right-back in the world" to deal with the Paris Saint-Germain star at the Al Bayt Stadium and Maddison echoed the pundit's sentiment.
"He's obviously a fantastic player, one of the best in the world," the Leicester City midfielder told talkSPORT. "I'm sure we'll prepare right to try and stop him.
"Kyle Walker started right-back in the game against Senegal and he's one of the best full-backs in the world. I think if anyone can do a job, it's him.
"But France have a lot of threats. It's not just Kylian Mbappe. They're a brilliant team and that's why they are reigning champions.
"We've got a lot to be wary of but the tactical work that we do, and the staff here, the work that goes in on the background that people don't see, will leave us in good stead and hopefully we can progress."
While the likes of Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham have shone for Gareth Southgate in Qatar, Maddison is yet to appear for England.
The 26-year-old, who has just one cap to his name, missed the first two games due to a knee injury before Southgate opted for other options against Wales and Senegal.
Maddison hopes he will soon get the chance to impress as England aim for back-to-back World Cup semi-finals, though remains delighted to have experienced travelling to a major tournament with his country.
"Involvement isn't always necessarily minutes on the pitch and I think that is probably something I've learnt in the last few weeks of being out here," he added.
"Of course, every player wants to play and I'm no different. I'm desperate to get out there and show what I can do. But it's one of them – my first major tournament at senior level and it's brilliant to be a part of.
"It's such a learning curve and you gain so much experience without even realising, just on a day-to-day basis of how it works, what it takes to be successful – and we have been successful so far.
"I'm feeling good, the injury's gone. I'm feeling 100 per cent. I've been training for a while now, I've been available for the last couple of games.
"It's just about staying patient, staying ready, which I am. Working hard and trying to be an option for the manager if needed."
Days after losing one two-time Cy Young Award winner to free agency, the New York Mets have bolstered their rotation by signing a three-time Cy Young Award winner.
Justin Verlander has agreed to two-year, $86million contract with the Mets. The deal, which was reported on Monday, includes a vesting third-year option.
The signing reunites Verlander with former Detroit Tigers team-mate and fellow three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and helps the Mets fill a spot in the rotation after Jacob deGrom signed a five-year deal with the Texas Rangers on Friday.
Verlander helped the Houston Astros to the 2022 World Series title and the Mets are hoping he can help the franchise to their first championship since 1986.
He will turn 40 years old in February but is still one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball.
Despite missing the entire 2021 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, Verlander was the unanimous winner of his third Cy Young Award in 2022 after leading the majors with a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, while going 18-4 with 185 strikeouts to 29 walks in 28 starts.
A nine-time All-Star, Verlander captured his first Cy Young Award in 2011 – a season in which he also won the AL MVP. He also won the 2019 AL Cy Young Award, as well as the 2006 AL Rookie of the Year Award.
For his career, Verlander is 244-133 with 3,198 strike outs, ranking first in both wins and strikeouts among active pitchers.
Verlander's historically fared well against NL East opponents, which bodes well for the Mets, as he has posted a 2.14 ERA against those teams in his career – his lowest ERA against any division. His career ERA is 3.24.
In four starts against NL East clubs last season, he went 4-0 without giving up a run over 25 innings, while striking out 26.
Switzerland are aware they are not favourites against Portugal in the last 16, but they also know that tag has not meant a great deal at this World Cup.
There has been no shortage of shocks at Qatar 2022, including Portugal losing their previous match 2-1 to South Korea.
Switzerland do not require long memories to recall a victory of their own against Portugal either. This is the third meeting between the sides in 2022, with Haris Seferovic scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory in their last encounter in the Nations League.
Indeed, Switzerland also beat Portugal 2-0 in the sides' only previous clash at a major tournament at Euro 2008.
"We know how to beat them," said Xherdan Shaqiri. "This will be a completely different game.
"There is much more pressure for both sides, and whoever loses will go home. This will make the game much more exciting.
"Portugal are favourites, but we saw the example of Argentina [against Australia] that everyone expected they had an easy game and they had a lot of difficulties.
"Just as Australia posed problems to Argentina, with a special game on our part, we can pose a lot of problems to Portugal."
Switzerland have never won three matches at a single World Cup, but they took six points in Group G as only goal difference separated them from pre-tournament favourites Brazil.
They have not made the quarter-finals since hosting the tournament in 1954, although Portugal have themselves only been beyond this stage twice.
Indeed, the Selecao's last knockout win at the World Cup (not including penalty shoot-outs) came in a last-16 tie against the Netherlands in 2006.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo is rarely not Portugal's player to watch – "we can't take our eyes off him," said Shaqiri – but that is especially true heading into the knockout rounds.
Until Saturday, Ronaldo had shared with Lionel Messi the record for the most World Cup goals without ever scoring in the knockout stage (eight)... then Messi broke his duck.
Switzerland – Xherdan Shaqiri
If Switzerland are focusing on Ronaldo, Portugal may likewise be keeping a keen eye on Shaqiri.
After scoring against Serbia, he is the first Switzerland player to net at three different World Cups, and is just one shy of Josef Hugi's Swiss record of six finals goals.
PREDICTION
As Shaqiri suggested, Portugal are the favourites, given a 51.5 per cent chance of winning by the supercomputer.
The Selecao have only drawn one World Cup knockout game, going on to beat England on penalties in 2006, but that outcome is rated at 26.8 per cent.
A repeat of Switzerland's Nations League success against Fernando Santos' men is given a 21.7 per cent chance.
A unification bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk would come at the "perfect time" for the sport if terms are agreed soon, says WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman.
The Briton downed Derek Chisora in the pair's trilogy bout on Saturday to maintain both the WBC title and his undefeated record.
Fury squared off with Usyk, who saw off Anthony Joshua for a second time earlier this year to retain his WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts, after his victory.
Previous hopes for a unification bout over the years have often been hindered by the contradictory mandatory challengers various governing bodies have in place, but Sulaiman is keen to see the pair cross paths imminently.
"This is a perfect time to do a unification," he told Sky Sports News on Monday. "At this time we have no mandatory contenders, so this is a perfect moment for the unification.
"Hopefully it will not get to that point [that we have another mandatory challenger] and the four organisations will accept to sanction the ultimate undisputed fight.
"Mandatories are a complicated process. Each organisation has their own rules, their own agendas, but the importance of this fight is far beyond any organisation.
"We're supporting it, and we'll do everything possible to make sure it takes place."
Fury has indicated he could fight fellow Briton Joe Joyce next, and though Sulaiman acknowledges he would not prevent such a bout, his priority remains setting a match up with Usyk.
Joyce has put together a series of impressive performances to move himself to the verge of title contention, and Sulaiman would not stand in the way of an all-British matchup with Fury.
"No [issue with a Joyce fight]. At this time, as I mentioned, we don't have the mandatory contender yet," he added. "As soon as we have one, we can set timelines. Our ultimate goal is to have a unification."
Luke Cowan-Dickie will end his England career after the Rugby World Cup next year by joining Top 14 heavyweights Montpellier.
The hooker, who has won 42 England caps and three for the British and Irish Lions, will end his 12-year spell with Exeter Chiefs to move to France at the end of the season.
Cowan-Dickie follows his Exeter team-mate Sam Simmonds in making the switch from Sandy Park to Montpellier.
"It's gutting to be leaving," said the 29-year-old, who has made 163 appearances for the Chiefs.
"I've been at the Chiefs for 12 years and it's all I've known. That said, this opportunity came up and it was one that I had to think long and hard about. I spoke a lot with my family about it and it wasn't an easy decision to make in the end.
"Obviously, it's a different competition, a different language – which I'll have to learn – but I think it's time for a change.
"Hopefully, I've still got plenty of years left in my career, but this is an opportunity for me to go over there and show what I am all about."
Fellow England international Joe Marchant has also joined the exodus of Premiership players to France, the centre opting to join Stade Francais next season from Harlequins.
France's appeal against the decision to disallow Antoine Griezmann's goal in last week's shock 1-0 World Cup loss to Tunisia has been dismissed by FIFA.
Griezmann thought he had cancelled out Wahbi Khazri's strike when he volleyed home in the eighth minute of stoppage time at Education City Stadium.
However, after the celebrations had died down and the whistle had sounded for full-time, referee Michael Conger ruled out Griezmann's goal for an offside infringement.
The Atletico Madrid forward was adjudged to have been offside when firing in from Aurelien Tchouameni's pass, which was helped into his path by a Tunisia defender.
But the French Football Federation (FFF) felt the officials were wrong to disallow the goal as play had briefly restarted when VAR intervened, which is prohibited.
"We are writing a complaint after Antoine Griezmann's goal was, in our opinion, wrongly disallowed," the FFF said last Wednesday.
Should France have been successful with their appeal, the scoreline would have been changed to 1-1, though the final positions in Group D would not have altered.
However, FIFA confirmed in a statement on Monday that they will not look any further into the matter.
"The FIFA Disciplinary Committee has dismissed the protest submitted by the French Football Association in relation to the Tunisia v France match," the statement read.
Khazri's superb strike ended reigning world champions France's nine-game unbeaten run in the competition stretching back to the 2014 quarter-finals.
Les Blues went on to beat Poland 3-1 in Sunday's last-16 tie and will now face England in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Derwin James knows the Los Angeles Chargers have no room for error following their Week 13 defeat to the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Chargers, having claimed a dramatic win over the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, bumped back down to earth with a 27-20 loss at Allegiant Stadium.
It leaves the Chargers 6-6 and a game adrift of the New York Jets in the final Wild Card place in the AFC playoff picture.
They now face a critical home game with the 8-4 Miami Dolphins, and safety James believes they can ill-afford any further slip-ups if they are to make the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
"We gotta keep playing. There's more games to be played. Prime time next week. We gotta come out [with a] sense of urgency," said James.
"Each game from here on out, we can't lose anymore. We gotta win out."
The Chargers' run defense was again a problem area for Los Angeles, allowing Josh Jacobs to rush for 144 yards and a second-quarter touchdown.
Los Angeles' defense is allowing 5.43 yards per rush in 2022, the most in the NFL, and head coach Brandon Staley blamed poor tackling for their struggles.
"I thought we played well early," Staley said of their efforts to stop Jacobs.
"I thought there were some missed tackles in the second half, which led to most of his yards. I thought we were in good run structures but missing tackles. He forces people to miss.
"No one is out there trying to miss. He's a good back and that's going to happen. I really felt like we defended well in the first half outside of a couple of misses. In the second half, it was a little up and down.
"Guys just have to tackle better."
Pele will watch Brazil's World Cup last-16 tie against South Korea from hospital, according to a message posted to his social media accounts.
The three-time World Cup winner was hospitalised last Tuesday, though his daughter subsequently said there was "no surprise or emergency" pertaining to his condition.
Amid unconfirmed reports Pele had been moved to palliative care after failing to respond to chemotherapy treatment, the hospital housing the 82-year-old described his condition as "stable".
Pele moved to ease fears surrounding his health with a post to his Instagram account on Saturday, saying he remained "strong, with a lot of hope".
A message posted from the legendary forward's Twitter account has now revealed he will be watching on when Tite's side face South Korea at Stadium 974 on Monday.
"In 1958, I walked the streets thinking about fulfilling the promise I made to my father," the message began.
"I know that today many have made similar promises and are also going in search of their first World Cup.
"I will be watching the game from the hospital and I will be rooting hard for each one of you. Good luck!"
Pele inspired Brazil to their first World Cup triumph in 1958, becoming the youngest player to score in the tournament's final at the age of just 17 years and 249 days.
The Selecao great also shone as Brazil won two of the next three editions of the World Cup, with his total of six assists at Mexico 1970 remaining a single-tournament record.
Dominik Livakovic became Croatia's latest penalty hero as they again survived a World Cup shoot-out on Monday, beating Japan 3-1 from the spot after a turgid 1-1 draw at Al Janoub Stadium.
Goalkeeper Livakovic saved spot-kicks from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and Maya Yoshida to send Croatia through to the quarter-finals.
Danijel Subasic had likewise kept out three penalties in a last-16 shoot-out during a run to the final in Russia four years ago, with Croatia now having won each of their three World Cup knockout ties that have gone all the way.
The result was a little harsh on Japan, who had led through Daizen Maeda before Ivan Perisic equalised, although neither side impressed ahead of a meeting with either Brazil or South Korea in the next round.
An entertaining start was not an indicator of what was to come. Shogo Taniguchi headed wide at one end and Perisic was denied at the other, but there was not another clear-cut chance until the opener two minutes before half-time.
Ritsu Doan's cross following a short corner reached the centre of the area, where Maya Yoshida's attempt at a shot succeeded instead in teeing up Maeda for a close-range finish.
Croatia had not looked like crafting a goal of their own, but they were level 10 minutes after the restart when Perisic met Dejan Lovren's delivery with a superb header into the bottom-right corner.
Although Ante Budimir soon nodded off target, opportunities remained scarce and Lovro Majer dragged wide with the final kick of extra time to condemn the tie to penalties.
Livakovic kept out Japan's first two attempts, with his save from Mitoma particularly impressive, and Croatia could ease through even with Marko Livaja clipping a dreadful effort against the post.
Neymar was named in Brazil's starting XI for Monday's World Cup last-16 clash with South Korea after recovering from an ankle injury.
Brazil's talisman was hurt in their victory over Serbia on matchday one and sat out the Selecao's subsequent two group games.
There remained significant doubt regarding the timeline of his return, with Brazil coach Tite saying in Sunday's pre-match press conference it was still uncertain if Neymar would feature against the Taeguk Warriors.
But he was included in the starting XI at Stadium 974 as Brazil looked to plot their way into the last eight of the tournament in a fierce attack alongside Raphinha, Vinicius Jr, Raphinha and Richarlison.
Neymar heads into the game just two goals adrift of Pele (77) in the all-time list for most Brazil goals.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward's efforts to usurp his fellow Santos great has taken on even greater significance in the past week following reports of Pele's worsening health.
Claims in Brazilian media last week suggested Pele was now under palliative care in hospital after his body stopped responding to cancer treatment, although a statement from the 82-year-old on Sunday said he was "strong" and had "a lot of hope".
Having shuffled their pack for the surprise defeat against Cameroon, Tite has named a more familiar XI against South Korea with a total of 10 changes from that loss - Eder Militao being the only player to retain his spot.
South Africa winger Sbu Nkosi has been found "safe and sound" after being reported as missing last week.
Nkosi's club the Bulls revealed on Sunday there was "grave worry" for the 2019 World Cup winner after he had been absent without leave for three weeks.
The Pretoria-based club opened a missing person case with the police, but on Monday revealed good news on the 26-year-old.
A Bulls statement said: "The Blue Bulls Company and the Bulls family are happy to confirm that contracted player, Sbu Nkosi, has been found safe and sound.
"After lengthy and extensive efforts from the Vodacom Bulls, in collaboration with SSG – who have gone beyond their commercial responsibility – at 14:02pm on Monday 05 December 2022, Nkosi was located.
"Once it was established that Nkosi was safe, unharmed and in a position to speak, chief executive Edgar Rathbone went into Nkosi's home (with the permission of the player), spending alone time with him, to understand how best the company can provide him with the support he needs and what that support is.
"As the Bulls family, we are thrilled that Nkosi is safe.
"We wish to extend a vote of thanks to all the members of the public who shared information that contributed to our search. We wish to also express a word of thanks to the international community who also joined the call and efforts in searching for Nkosi.
"At this present moment, we cannot give further comments on the matter."
Bruno Labbadia has returned to Stuttgart for a second spell in charge, with the club's former coach signing a two-and-a-half-year deal.
The German, most recently in charge of Hertha Berlin before his dismissal in January last year, previously led the Bundesliga side between 2010 and 2013.
He now returns for a sophomore stint with the club mired in the relegation zone, having claimed just three wins in the top-flight this season, succeeding caretaker Michael Wimmer.
Labbadia, a journeyman player who was a member of Bayern Munich's 1993-94 Bundesliga-winning squad, spoke of his delight at returning to the team on a contract through 2025.
"Everyone knows VfB are not just another club to me," he told the club's website. "I spent a very important period of my coaching career in Stuttgart, and now I’d like to [keep us] in the Bundesliga.
"We'll get to work right away and get everything ready for the start of training on 12 December. We'll quickly get an overview of the team's performance level and work hard with great pleasure to make progress."
During his previous spell, Labbadia managed a best finish of sixth with the club during the 2011-12 season, and led them to the DFB-Pokal final a year later.
He will be joined by Bernhard Trares and Benjamin Sachs as assistants on the coaching staff at the Mercedes-Benz Arena.
In addition to Hertha, Labbadia has also had spells in charge of Bayer Leverkusen, Wolfsburg and two stints with Hamburg.
Stuttgart resume their Bundesliga season against Mainz on January 21.
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