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Man City Drops More Points after Draw with Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
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Man City Drops More Points after Draw with Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)
Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix, left, celebrates scoring with teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Selhurst Park in London, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchester City's Premier League title defense took another blow after a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Four-time defending champion City ended a seven-game winless run on Wednesday by beating Nottingham Forest, but dropped more points with the draw at Selhurst Park, The Associated Press reported.
It could have been worse for City after Palace led twice.
Pep Guardiola's team is fourth in the standings and eight points behind leader Liverpool, which has a game in hand after its derby with Everton was postponed due to a storm.
Aston Villa was fifth after winning against last-placed Southampton 1-0, and Brentford beat Newcastle 4-2.
A win would have lifted City to second and cut the gap to Liverpool to six points, but it was behind after four minutes when Daniel Munoz scored for Palace.
Erling Haaland leveled by halftime with a header, but Maxence Lacroix restored Palace's lead in the 56th.
Rico Lewis equalized again for City in the 68th and was sent off in the 84th for a second yellow card.
“I like everything about my team, when we’re in the situation we’re in,” Guardiola said. “We have a lot of problems within the squad. We fought incredible, we gave everything, we take the point."
Villa wins After an eight-game winless run, Villa has back-to-back victories and is just two points behind City.
Jhon Duran's goal in the 24th held up for all three points against Southampton at Villa Park and followed Wednesday's win against Brentford.
Duran has been a super sub for Villa but scored on his first league start this season. He has nine goals in all competitions, five of them as a substitute.
Southampton was bottom of the standings and eight points adrift of safety.
Newcastle routed Newcastle has gone four games without a win after being routed by Brentford.
In a thrilling first half at Gtech Community Stadium, Bryan Mbeumo opened the scoring for the home team before Alexander Isak equalized for Newcastle.
Yoane Wissa made it 2-1 to Brentford, but Harvey Barnes leveled again.
Nathan Collins put Brentford ahead again 11 minutes into the second half, and Kevin Schade ensured Newcastle was beaten by making it 4-2 in the 90th.

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Sports

Contenders Plot Path to 2026 World Cup Glory

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: US President Donald Trump looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: US President Donald Trump looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
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Contenders Plot Path to 2026 World Cup Glory

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: US President Donald Trump looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 05: US President Donald Trump looks on during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Official Draw at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on December 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. Patrick Smith/Getty Images/AFP

The path to glory at the 2026 World Cup has now been laid out after the contenders discovered their tournament fate at Friday's draw ceremony in Washington which was dominated by Donald Trump.

The US President received FIFA's new peace prize on stage at the Kennedy Center prior to the draw for the first 48-team World Cup, which offered kind starts to the tournament for holders Argentina and much-fancied Spain in particular, AFP reported.

While the make-up of the groups was revealed along with the potential path through the knockout rounds for all the potential winners, the precise schedule for the competition will only be confirmed later Saturday.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino will unveil the venues and kick-off times for all games from 1700 GMT, after which the teams will be able to focus on fine-tuning their preparations with barely six months left until the World Cup kicks off on June 11.

Lionel Messi's Argentina begin their defense of the trophy they won in Qatar in 2022 by facing Algeria, and will also play Austria and debutants Jordan in Group J.

Reigning European champions Spain will kick off their campaign against first-time qualifiers Cape Verde before also taking on Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in Group H.

"We want to do something big at this World Cup and that means making sure we do well in the group stage, then carrying on from there," said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.

Thomas Tuchel's England, seeking to win a first World Cup since 1966, will be expected to top Group L ahead of 2018 finalists Croatia, Ghana and Panama.

Two-time winners France face awkward tests against Senegal and Erling Haaland's Norway in Group I, which will be completed by a play-off winner from either Iraq, Bolivia or Suriname.

For the first time, the draw was done in such a way as to ensure the four highest-ranked nations were kept apart -- Spain, Argentina, France and England cannot meet before the semi-finals, if all top their groups.

However, the path to that stage -- with an extra knockout round now following the group phase -- looks perilous.

If the top seeds all win their groups, England could find themselves playing co-hosts Mexico in Mexico City in the last 16 and then Brazil in the quarter-finals, before a semi against Argentina.

Other possible match-ups include France and Germany being on a last-16 collision course and a potential meeting between Messi's Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the quarter-finals.

"You cannot get carried away with building your way with who you are going to meet if you win the group, if you are second or whatever," insisted Tuchel. "You just focus on the group, this is what you do."

The tournament will be held across the USA, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19, with 16 more teams added to the global showpiece, up from the 32 nations involved in 2022.

While the US will host most matches, including the final at the MetLife Stadium outside New York, three of the 16 venues will be in Mexico and two in Canada.
The opening game sees Mexico play South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

The host nations have experienced turbulent relations since Trump came to power but he brushed that aside on Friday.

"We've worked closely with those two countries, and the coordination and friendship and relationship has been outstanding," Trump said after receiving his peace prize from Infantino.

Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil and surprise 2022 semi-finalists Morocco will meet in Group C, which also features Scotland and Haiti -- Scotland and Brazil will meet for the fifth time at a World Cup.

Germany's opponents in Group E will be Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Caribbean minnows Curacao, while Portugal face Uzbekistan, Colombia and a play-off winner.

The United States got a manageable draw, with Paraguay, Australia and a European play-off winner in Group D.

"Our first game is the final of the World Cup. And the second needs to be the final of the World Cup. That is the mentality, the mindset that we want to build," said USA coach Mauricio Pochettino.

The top two teams in each group advance to the last 32, joined by the eight best third-placed teams.

"It will be the greatest World Cup ever," Infantino claimed. "This is like 104 Super Bowls in one month -- this is the magnitude of what we are organizing."

Sports

Brazil's Ancelotti Raises Doubts About Whether Neymar Will Reach 2026 World Cup

Head coach of the Brazilian national soccer team Carlo Ancelotti arrives for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, USA, 05 December 2025. EPA/WILL OLIVER
Head coach of the Brazilian national soccer team Carlo Ancelotti arrives for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, USA, 05 December 2025. EPA/WILL OLIVER
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Brazil's Ancelotti Raises Doubts About Whether Neymar Will Reach 2026 World Cup

Head coach of the Brazilian national soccer team Carlo Ancelotti arrives for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, USA, 05 December 2025. EPA/WILL OLIVER
Head coach of the Brazilian national soccer team Carlo Ancelotti arrives for the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, USA, 05 December 2025. EPA/WILL OLIVER

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti raised doubts about whether Neymar will be in his squad for the 2026 World Cup. The Italian has yet to pick the former captain since he took over in May.

“If Neymar deserves to be (in the squad), if he is, well, better than others, he will play in the World Cup and that's it. (But) I don't have debts to anyone,” Ancelotti said at a press conference in Washington on Friday following the draw.

Brazil is in Group C with Morocco, Haiti and Scotland.

“If we speak about Neymar, we have to speak about other players,” Ancelotti added. “We have to think about Brazil with or without Neymar, with or without other players. Our final list we will make after the FIFA fixtures in March.”

The 33-year-old Neymar has never fully recovered from a torn ACL in October 2023 during a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay. But he's been key for Santos in its fight to avoid relegation in the Brazilian championship.

On Wednesday, he scored a hat trick for Santos despite a muscular injury. He is expected to play again on Sunday against Cruzeiro.

According to The Associated Press, Ancelotti said Brazil does not have a “referential player” at the moment, a tag for the most valuable player that Neymar has mainly worn since the 2014 home World Cup.

“We have one of the world's best goalkeepers, some of the best defenders, top midfielders and some players up front. I don't want players who want to be the best in the world, I want players who want to win the World Cup,” Ancelotti said.

Asked about his team's group, Ancelotti said Brazil can top it.

“We can win all three matches, our idea is very clear. We need to be competitive during the entire World Cup. Our goal is to play in the final and for that to happen you need to face very strong teams anyway.”

Brazil won the last of its five World Cup trophies in 2002.
 

Sports

Bayern's Diaz Gets Champions League Ban Reduced to Two Games

Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Round of 16 - 1. FC Union Berlin v Bayern Munich - Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, Berlin, Germany - December 3, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after the match with Manuel Neuer, Luis Diaz and Joshua Kimmich REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Round of 16 - 1. FC Union Berlin v Bayern Munich - Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, Berlin, Germany - December 3, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after the match with Manuel Neuer, Luis Diaz and Joshua Kimmich REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
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Bayern's Diaz Gets Champions League Ban Reduced to Two Games

Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Round of 16 - 1. FC Union Berlin v Bayern Munich - Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, Berlin, Germany - December 3, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after the match with Manuel Neuer, Luis Diaz and Joshua Kimmich REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Soccer Football - DFB Cup - Round of 16 - 1. FC Union Berlin v Bayern Munich - Stadion An der Alten Forsterei, Berlin, Germany - December 3, 2025 Bayern Munich's Harry Kane celebrates after the match with Manuel Neuer, Luis Diaz and Joshua Kimmich REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

Bayern Munich forward Luis Diaz's three-game Champions League ban for a violent tackle on PSG's Achraf Hakimi was reduced to two, the European soccer body UEFA said on Friday.

The Colombian winger was handed a three-game ban for "serious rough play" after he was sent off in a 2-1 Champions League victory over holders Paris St Germain in November.

According to Reuters, UEFA said his appeal on the charges was upheld, without delving into the reasons behind the decision, making the 28-year-old available for Bayern's game against Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise in January.

Bayern sit third in the Champions League table with 12 points across five games, having lost only to Arsenal in the tournament so far. They will next host Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.