Man United and Tottenham Reach Europa League Round of 16

Soccer Football - Europa League - FCSB v Manchester United - National Arena, Bucharest, Romania - January 30, 2025 Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo celebrates scoring their second goal Inquam Photos via REUTERS/Stefan Constantin
Soccer Football - Europa League - FCSB v Manchester United - National Arena, Bucharest, Romania - January 30, 2025 Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo celebrates scoring their second goal Inquam Photos via REUTERS/Stefan Constantin
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Man United and Tottenham Reach Europa League Round of 16

Soccer Football - Europa League - FCSB v Manchester United - National Arena, Bucharest, Romania - January 30, 2025 Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo celebrates scoring their second goal Inquam Photos via REUTERS/Stefan Constantin
Soccer Football - Europa League - FCSB v Manchester United - National Arena, Bucharest, Romania - January 30, 2025 Manchester United's Kobbie Mainoo celebrates scoring their second goal Inquam Photos via REUTERS/Stefan Constantin

Manchester United and Tottenham put their inconsistent domestic campaigns aside and advanced to the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday.
Diogo Dalot tapped in a precise cross by Kobbie Mainoo on the hour mark and Mainoo netted eight minutes later for a 2-0 victory over Romanian champion FCSB in Bucharest, The Associated Press reported.
Tottenham got goals from academy graduates to beat Swedish club Elfsborg 3-0 in London. Spurs waited until the 70th minute for substitute Dane Scarlett to break the deadlock before adding two more through substitute Damola Ajayi and 17-year-old Mikey Moore.
Of the 36 teams in the revamped competition, the top eight go directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the two-legged knockout playoffs on Feb. 13 and Feb. 20 with the winners making the last 16.
The draw is scheduled for Friday.
United, which is 12th in the Premier League, competed the league phase of the second-tier European competition in third place and undefeated with five wins and three draws, trailing the top by one point.
“Kobbie (Mainoo) played very well in that position, with more freedom and not so much responsibility running back all the time,” United manager Ruben Amorim told TNT Sports. “The lads did a good job, another clean sheet.”
Amorim's squad has shown signs of improvement since he said the team was “the worst, maybe, in the history of Manchester United.”
Thursday's victory was the third straight in one week after beating Rangers in the Europa League a week ago and Fulham in the Premier League three days later.
Tottenham is languishing in 15th place in the Premier League. Its seven-match winless run in the league is its worst since 2008. But it won five, drew two and lost one for the fourth place in the Europa League.
Lazio, the only team that qualified to the round of 16 with a game to spare, was handed its first defeat, 1-0, away at Braga. Still, the Portuguese team was eliminated.
Lazio still topped the standings with 19th points, the same as the second Athletic Bilbao.
Bilbao secured the second place after a 3-1 home win over 10-man Viktoria Plzen, which has a playoff spot.
Frankfurt completed the league phase in fifth despite a 2-0 loss at Roma. Angeliño and Eldor Shomurodov lifted Roma with the goals at Stadio Olimpico.
Lyon was sixth despite being held 1-1 at home by Ludogorets.
Olympiacos in seventh after routing Qarabag 3-0.
Rangers squeezed in to complete the top eight by beating Union Saint-Gilloise 2-1.
José Mourinho’s Fenerbahce avoided an embarrassing early exit with a 2-2 away draw at Denmark’s Midtjylland. The result sent both into the playoffs. The hosts were 20th while Midtjylland took 24th, giving Mourinho a chance to add to his European trophies.
Ajax ended a three-game losing streak by handing Galatasaray its first defeat, 2-1 with both teams making the playoffs.
Hoffenheim's 4-3 away win at Anderlecht was not enough for the Bundesliga team to advance. The Belgian club finished 10th.
Real Sociedad, FCSB, Porto, AZ Alkmaar, Twente and PAOK are among other teams that advanced.



Japanese Forward ‘King Kazu’ Turns 58 and Prepares for His 40th Season in Professional Football 

Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 
Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 
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Japanese Forward ‘King Kazu’ Turns 58 and Prepares for His 40th Season in Professional Football 

Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 
Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura speaks to reporters in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, on Jan. 11, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) 

Japanese forward Kazuyoshi Miura turned 58 on Wednesday.

Happy Birthday to the player known as "King Kazu."

But there's more to celebrate.

He's also set to start his 40th season in professional soccer, the oldest player in the Japanese Football League.

Miura plays for Japanese fourth-division team Suzuka, on loan from second-division club Yokohama.

Suzuka was set to begin training this week with the season to open next month.

"Retiring isn't an option. I want to play as many minutes as I can in games," Miura said late last year at a news conference, quoted by Japanese news agency Kyodo.

Miura has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Santos in Brazil, a club made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.

In 2017 at age 50, he became the oldest player to score in a professional match. That topped the record held by highly decorated England international Stanley Matthews.

Miura was one of the first big names in Japanese football. He scored 55 goals in 89 appearance and was a star with Japan's national team in the 1990s.