SportsNews
Arsenal left praying for help while Man City shine as end game nears’
We are nearing the end game now.
As Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola rather succinctly put it: “One week left, three games left. Nine points and we will be champions. Seven, six or three points, Arsenal will win the Premier League.”
Guardiola is not placing much faith in Manchester United then, given he expects Arsenal to win every game and the Gunners visit Old Trafford on 12 May.
But, then, he doesn’t have to.
If City win their final three games they will go into the history books as the first team to win the English title in four successive seasons.
Four Erling Haaland goals against Wolves ensured City navigated their latest obstacle with ease. Now it is on to Craven Cottage and Fulham, a team they have beaten 15 times in a row.
They finish with West Ham at home. City have not dropped a point at Etihad Stadium against the Hammers since Guardiola arrived in 2016.
In between comes a trip to Tottenham. City have not scored a Premier League goal or taken a point at Spurs’ new stadium. They did win there in the FA Cup this season, though, and Ange Postecoglou’s team are in terrible form.
And, as Wolves boss Gary O’Neil pointed out, this is the hardest time to play City.
“Manchester City, in May, when they are chasing down a fourth consecutive Premier League title, are fairly tough,” he said.
“They have an incredible focus at this point. History tells you, at this point in the run-in, they are difficult to stop.”
The one negative for City is that Arsenal’s goal difference is better by six, which means they have to win to reach the top. A draw will not do.
“Goal difference is not possible,” Guardiola said. “We cannot draw. We have to take nine points.”
In a separate interview with BBC Match of the Day, he added: “Hopefully, we can come back here in a few days and have the chance against West Ham to come here and win the title.”
For City to get to the West Ham game and not have a chance of the title, it would require Arsenal to beat Manchester United and for City to get no more than a point from the Fulham and Tottenham trips.
That feels unlikely for a team that has put an astonishing run together of 16 wins and four draws since they were beaten at Aston Villa on 6 December.
Not that it should come as a surprise.
Last season, City went on a 16-match unbeaten run, winning 14 times, to take the title before they lost at Brentford on the final day. The year before that, they won 23 times in a run of one defeat in 28. The season before that, they won 17 times in a 19-match unbeaten sequence.
“When you are coming towards the end of the season, you do think differently,” former City defender Micah Richards told Sky Sports. “These games are the most important and that’s where City seem to thrive.”
As Richards’ fellow pundit Jamie Redknapp said, Arsenal’s task is straightforward.
They must win at Old Trafford and then again against Everton on the final day. Anything else is completely out of their hands.
Given the run Mikel Arteta’s side have been on, and the two seasons they have had, few would begrudge the Gunners a first title since 2004.
But, as Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool have found out, running City close and overhauling them are two different matters.
“They are an unbelievable team,” said Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice. “What I have learned in this title race is that you have to be nearly perfect. They have done that for three years in a row.
“I have massive respect for what they have done. But we have two games to go and we’re praying for something to go our way.”
FIFA announced the final line-up for the inter-confederation play-off event on Wednesday, with DR Congo representing Africa, crushing Nigeria’s chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In an accreditation notice circulated to journalists ahead of the competition, FIFA detailed the tournament format and listed the six participating nations. DR Congo’s inclusion leaves no room for Nigeria, whose football federation had challenged their defeat in the CAF play-offs in November 2025.
The Nigeria Football Federation submitted an official protest, claiming that the DR Congo national football team used ineligible players in the crucial match, which finished 1-1 before Nigeria were defeated in the penalty shootout. The appeal had aimed to have the outcome overturned and secure Nigeria a spot in the inter-continental play-offs.
However, FIFA’s latest communication does not refer to any changes to the qualified teams, signaling that the original result will stand and confirming Nigeria’s elimination.
Confming the development in a statement, FIFA said, “The FIFA World Cup 2026 Play-Off Tournament will see six teams fight it out for the final two places at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, to be staged in Canada, Mexico and the United States across 16 Host Cities.”
“All of the six teams have now been decided, with Bolivia, Congo DR, Iraq, Jamaica, New Caledonia, and Suriname confirmed as qualifiers.”
The play-off tournament gets underway on March 26.
SportsNews
Footballer Derrikson Quiros announces break-up with girlfriend three days after pitch proposal.
Costa Rica footballer Derrikson Quiros has broken up with his fiancée just three days after he proposed to her on the pitch as football lovers watched.
The Xelaju player, who recently played in a National League Clausura match, chose to propose to his girlfriend, Wendy, after the match ended.
He went down on one knee to propose, and she accepted, after which they shared a kiss.
However, only three days after their public engagement, Quiros announced that he had split with his girlfriend.
“Yes, it is true that my relationship has ended,” he wrote on his Instagram Stories. “It was a difficult personal situation, like any breakup, but I prefer to handle it with respect and maturity.”
The Costa Rican footballer didn’t specify what caused this shocking turn of events.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DVJcG9XDAu7/?igsh=YTR6NHlneWt2NmFu
American rapper, NBA Youngboy, has once again expanded his already large family.
The 26-year-old chart-topping artist and his wife Jazlyn Mychelle, on Sunday, Febuary 22, welcomed their third child together, marking his 13th child overall.
The excited father confirmed the news himself in an emotional and candid Instagram post, featuring footage from the delivery room.
In the clip, YoungBoy joyfully announced the arrival of the couple’s newest baby girl, playfully referring to his wife as his “gangsta” after giving birth to their child.
The newborn joins a household that already includes YoungBoy and Jazlyn’s son and daughter from their marriage, as well as 10 other children the rapper has from previous relationships.
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