French Guiana players celebrate.
Concacaf
French Guiana and Guyana will contest League A in the next Concacaf Nations League edition, as both secured promotion at the end of League B action on Tuesday.
French Guiana vs. Bermuda
French Guiana defeated Bermuda 3-0, at the Pierre-Aliker Stadium in Fort-de-France, Martinique, to secure top spot in Group C.
Marvin Golitin, in goal for French Guiana, intercepted a free kick service in the 17th minute to deter any positive momentum from the visitors.
French Guiana’s Albert Ajaiso struck inside the box in the 29th on a second opportunity from a long-range hit by Zedan Charlec.
Arnold Abelinti had a hit from outside the box in 45+1 but was just wide of the mark.
Loic Baal added the second in the 49th, with a header at the right post. Abelinti was influential in keeping the play alive prior to the cross in from left field.
Joel Sarrucco added a third in the 90+4 after heading in a contested ball inside the box.
St Vincent and the Grenadines vs. Belize
St Vincent and the Grenadines were 3-0 winners over Belize at the Kirani James Athletics Stadium in St. George's, Grenada.
The win saw St Vincent and the Grenadines taking second spot on nine points, one behind French Guiana, while Belize, ended third on eight points.
Diel Spring opened the scoring in the third minute after connecting with a back pass from Oalex Anderson.
NAnderson was denied by the left post in the 24th, as St Vincent and the Grenadines pushed for the second goal.
Cornelius Stewart was also denied by the woodwork on his free kick attempt which came off the crossbar, in the 61st minute.
Stewart was denied by the right post in the 70th and Deshawon Nembhard followed the play with a clearance to deny the ball crossing the line.
Kyle Edwards found the back of the net in the 84th, with a chipped ball from midfield to put Vincy Heat 2-0 up.
Oryan Velox sealed the result in the 85th with a hit inside the box, as the host moved out of the relegation spot and secured their stay in League B.
Guyana vs. Antigua and Barbuda
Guyana registered a fifth-consecutive win to confirm their spot as Group D winners when they defeated Antigua and Barbuda, 6-0, at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Kelsey Benjamin opened the scoring in the seventh minute by connecting with a pass across the box from Liam Gordon.
Benjamin went from goal scorer to provider in the 36th with a pass from right field to find an incoming Omari Glasgow inside the box.
Nathan Moriah-Welsh struck from behind the halfway line in the 45th, as Guyana took a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
Osaze de Rosario added his name to the scoresheet in the 67th by cutting inside and striking a curling shot to the far-right corner of the net.
Leo Lovell added his own in the 90th, with a crossing ball from Gordon, who earned his second assist of the night.
Deon Moore capped off a buildup in the 90+3 to secure the largest margin of victory for Guyana in this campaign, as the Golden Jaguars secured their move to League A.
Puerto Rico vs. Bahamas
Puerto Rico took a 6-1 win over the Bahamas at the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon.
The win pushed them to 12 points, as they finished second behind Guyana, with Antigua and Barbuda and Bahamas on four and one point respectively.
Ricardo Rivera put the home side in the lead in the second minute after he finished from deep inside the box.
Rivera struck again from inside the box in the sixth on a second attempt after initially being denied by Charles Tillett.
And Rivera completed the hat-trick in the 19th, with a header in front of goal after he met a cross from Noeh Hernandez.
Darren Rios added a fourth in the 39th after winning an aerial ball and proceeding to beat the defenders.
Marcel Joseph cut the deficit to 4-1 in the 53rd, off a free kick opportunity that Joel Serrano was unable to keep out of his goal.
Gerald Diaz struck from outside the box in the 74th, with a right-footed strike just at the edge of the penalty arc, before Wilfredo Rivera converted from the penalty spot in the 77th for Puerto Rico’s best margin of victory during the group stage.
Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic
Nicaragua concluded its campaign with a scoreless draw against the Dominican Republic at the National Football Stadium in Managua.
They finished tops in Group B on 16 points, six points ahead of Dominican Republic.
Oscar Acevedo tested goalkeeper Miguel Lloyd in the very first minute with a strike from outside the box.
Nicaragua’s Luis Coronel entered in the 31st due to an injury to Matias Moldskred. Coronel had a chance towards goal, but it was headed away by the defender Brian Lopez.
Riki Alba had the best chance of the first half for the Dominican Republic in the 34th but was unable to get it on frame.
Juan Pineda nearly put the visitors in front in the 51st, but the sides remined deadlocked.
Acevedo had another good look on goal in the 74th, as Nicaragua continued its pursuit of a sixth straight victory.
Dorny Romero was denied the late heroics in the 90+7, as Miguel Rodriguez made the clutch block to maintain the clean sheet.
Kompany targeting Champions League top eight despite stuttering start
Vincent Kompany is eyeing a place in the top eight of the new Champions League format with Bayern Munich despite back-to-back losses in the competition.
Bayern welcome Benfica to the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, hoping to recover from defeats to Aston Villa and Barcelona, the first time they have failed to win consecutive games in the competition since April 2017.
Kompany's started their Champions League campaign with a 9-2 thrashing of Dinamo Zagreb, but have since plummeted down the new league table.
They find themselves 23rd after three matches. However, they have fared better in the Bundesliga, sitting three points clear at the top of the table after nine games.
"What we know is you have to win around six (of eight) games to reach the top eight," Kompany said.
"You have to win three games and that should be enough for the playoffs. My goal is to reach the top eight."
Bayern last failed to reach the Champions League knockout stages in 2002-03, finishing bottom of a group that featured Deportivo La Coruna, Lens and Milan.
But despite their stuttering start in the competition so far, Kompany said the new format plays no role in the team's planning.
"I don't want to think too far ahead because we have enough games," Kompany said.
"We have to win against Benfica. I don't want to spend too much time thinking about what could happen in January.
"No one knows how it will work. We only know we want to win tomorrow. We play at home. That is my only goal."
Bayern, however, have every confidence of getting their European campaign back on track, with the German outfit boasting an impressive record against Benfica.
They have played 12 major European matches against Benfica and have never lost (W9 D3).
But Bruno Lage's side will be looking to buck that trend, having beaten Atletico Madrid and Red Star Belgrade so far, but they did lose to Feyenoord last time out.
"We have a lot of confidence going into this game. We will always adapt and take the steps that are right for the team," Kompany said.
"But to say we will change everything is not serious. We just want to win again at home.
Benzema: Mbappe must adapt to Madrid role and forget 'best in world' Vinicius
Kylian Mbappe must learn to play as a central striker at Real Madrid because he cannot displace Vinicius Junior on the left wing.
Those were the words of Los Blancos' second-highest scorer of all time, Karim Benzema.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 14 appearances in all competitions for Madrid since his move from Paris Saint-Germain, but has failed to score in his last five games.
The 26-year-old has been deployed in a more central role since under Carlo Ancelotti, as opposed to the wide role where he enjoyed success with the Parisiens.
"The problem, in my opinion, is that [Mbappe] is not a central striker, even with the national team, every time he plays as a number nine he doesn't feel right, because that's not his position," Benzema said on Spanish television show El Chiringuito.
"On the left, he's got a guy who's at the same level as him, Vinicius, so there is a problem.
"You can't play Vinicius as a number nine or on the right, because when he plays on the left he makes the difference in every game.
"Mbappe isn't a real number nine. People ask a lot of him and he's under a lot of pressure, this isn't Paris Saint-Germain."
The France captain has underperformed his expected goals (xG) figure in LaLiga by 1.75 this term, recording a shot conversion rate of just 18.18% from his 33 total attempts.
He has also missed seven big chances, with only Real Betis duo Abde Ezzalzouli and Vitor Roque (both eight) and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski (11) wasting more in LaLiga.
In Madrid's last game, a 4-0 Clasico defeat, Mbappe recorded just 27 touches. Only Aurelien Tchouameni (24) registered fewer among those who started the encounter.
Benzema also endured a difficult start to life in the Spanish capital, netting just nine goals in his 33 appearances in all competitions in his debut season after his move from Lyon.
He would, however, go on to become one of Madrid's best ever players, scoring 354 times in 648 outings, a total that puts him behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (450) in the club's history.
Benzema won 25 major honours during his time at the club, also scooping the Ballon d'Or in 2022, and had some advice for his compatriot moving forward.
"Don't give up, because I don't think he's going to push Vinicius to move. He's the best player in the world at the moment," Benzema added.
"Mbappe needs to get it into his head that today he's a number nine, and forget about the left flank for a while."
Mbappe will be back in action for Madrid on Tuesday when they face Milan in the Champions League.
Luis Enrique in awe of Simeone energy ahead of reunion
Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique was full of praise for his former rival Diego Simeone as he prepares to go head-to-head with the Atletico Madrid boss in the Champions League.
PSG and Atletico, who reached the semi-finals and the quarter-finals respectively last season, will face off on Wednesday having both won just one of their three league-phase games.
A home victory would boost PSG, currently 19th with four points, while Atletico, languishing in 27th on three, are aiming to recover from back-to-back losses.
PSG have never faced Atletico in the Champions League before but Luis Enrique's Barcelona defeated Simeone's Atletico side nine times in their 14 meetings between 2014 and 2017, drawing twice and losing three times.
Luis Enrique led Barca to a Champions League and LaLiga double in 2014-15 followed by another league title the following year.
"We've played against each other as players and then as managers. I admire Simeone, when a coach can stay for so many years at a top club it means he is great because that is such a difficult thing to do," Luis Enrique told reporters on Tuesday.
Simeone has managed Atletico for 13 years, guiding them to two LaLiga titles and two Europa League crowns, though the Madrid side had considered hiring Luis Enrique prior to Simeone's arrival.
"I had given my word to another club. If I had gone to Atleti, I would not have stayed half as long as Simeone because I don't have the energy as him," added Luis Enrique.
"They are lucky to have found Simeone as a coach. You need a lot of energy, to be able to convince all your players over the long-term."
PSG, having lost Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid in the close season, have just two goals in their three Champions League games, beating Girona 1-0 but drawing 1-1 with PSV and losing 2-0 at Arsenal.
"I have no doubt we can improve in defence and attack, whether it is with the defender duos of Marquinhos and Willian Pacho, or Milan Skriniar and Lucas Beraldo, or in the midfield," Luis Enrique said.
"I understand you want to discuss individual players, but we analyse things from a broader perspective.
"What interests me is to always generate goalscoring opportunities and to arrive in the penalty area because you have managed to be stronger than your opponent.
"That is my objective as a coach: to always generate opportunities."
Close-season signing Matvey Safonov, who kept a clean sheet in their opening win against Girona, might replace number one goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, whose mistakes proved costly at Arsenal and against PSV.
"You will find out tomorrow. After a good cup of cappuccino, I will decide who the goalkeeper is," Luis Enrique said.
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