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TOTTENHAM EUROPA LEAGUE CAMPAIGN BEGINS IN BULGARIA
Tottenham Hotspur will face a trip to Bulgaria in the Europa League second qualifying round in September after being paired with Lokomotiv Plovdiv in Monday’s draw.
The tie will be played on Thursday, 17 September, five days after Jose Mourinho’s side kick off their Premier League campaign at home to Everton. They are due to play away at Southampton on Sunday, 20 September.
Lokomotiv qualified for the Europa League by winning the Bulgarian Cup for the second year running. Spurs qualified by coming sixth in the Premier League.
Meanwhile, League of Ireland side Shamrock Rovers have been handed a glamour tie at home to seven-time former European champions AC Milan in Dublin.
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers have been drawn away at Lincoln Red Imps of Gibraltar, the minnows who beat Celtic 1-0 at home in a Champions League qualifier in 2016 before losing the return in Glasgow.
After being knocked out of this season’s Champions League at home by Ferencvaros in the second qualifying round last week, Celtic will enter the Europa League in the third qualifying round, the draw for which takes place today.
Complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic mean that all qualifying ties are being played as one-off matches at the home of the first team drawn from the hat, rather than over two legs.
All European ties are going ahead behind closed doors.
The delayed 2019-20 Europa League was only completed on 21 August, with Sevilla beating Inter Milan in the final behind closed doors in Cologne to win the trophy for the sixth time in 15 years.
In a separate draw, KF Tirana of Albania and Ludogorets of Bulgaria were given byes into the play-off round
Ties to be played on September 17 with winners advancing to third qualifying round
Ties will be played as one-off straight knockout matches, rather than over two legs, because of the complications caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The first-named clubs are at home.
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND DRAW:
- Hammarby (SWE) v Lech Poznan (POL)
- Maccabi Haifa (ISR) or FK Zeljeznicar (BIH) v Kairat Almaty (KAZ)
- B36 Torshavn (FRO) v The New Saints (WAL)
- TSC Backa Topola (SRB) v FCSB (ROU)
- Progres Niederkorn (LUX) v Willem II (NED)
- Sfintul Gheorghe Suruceni (MDA) v Partizan Belgrade (SRB)
- Lokomotiv Plovdiv (BUL) v Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
- Budapest Honved (HUN) v Malmo (SWE)
- Lincoln Red Imps (GIB) v Rangers (SCO)
- KF Renova (MKD) v Hajduk Split (CRO)
- Dunajska Streda (SVK) v Jablonec (CZE)
- Shamrock Rovers (IRL) v AC Milan (ITA)
- Kaysar Kyzylorda (KAZ) v APOEL (CYP)
- Lokomotiv Tbilisi (GEO) v Dynamo Moscow (RUS)
- Coleraine (NIR) v Motherwell (SCO)
- KF Teuta (ALB) v Granada (ESP)
- Viking Stavanger (NOR) v Aberdeen (SCO)
- CSKA Sofia (BUL) v BATE Borisov (BLR)
- KF Laci (ALB) v Hapoel Beer-Sheva (ISR)
- FK Ventspils (LAT) v Rosenborg (NOR)
- Servette (SUI) v Reims (FRA)
- Olimpija Ljubljana (SLO) v HSK Zrinjski (BIH)
- Piast Gliwice (POL) v Prolactal Hartberg (AUT)
- Hibernians (MLT) v Fehervar (HUN)
- Nomme Kalju (EST) or NS Mura (SLO) v AGF Aarhus (DEN)
- Neftci PFK (AZE) v Galatasaray (TUR)
- IFK Gothenburg (SWE) v FC Copenhagen (DEN)
- OFI Crete (GRE) v Apollon Limassol (CYP)
- Bala Town (WAL) v Standard Liege (BEL)
- FC Botosani (ROU) v KF Shkendija (MKD)
- Aris Thessaloniki (GRE) v Kolos Kovalivka (UKR)
- FK Riteriai (LTU) v Slovan Liberec (CZE)
- Borac Banja Luka (BIH) v Rio Ave (POR)
- FK Kukesi (ALB) v VfL Wolfsburg (GER)
- NK Osijek (CRO) v FC Basel (SUI)
- Bodo/Glimt (NOR) v Zalgiris Vilnius (LTU)
- Inter Club d’Escaldes (AND) v Dundalk (IRL)
- KuPS Kuopio (FIN) v Slovan Bratislava (SVK)
- Linfield (NIR) v Floriana (MLT)
- Riga FC (LAT) v SS Tre Fiori (SMR)
- Djurgardens (SWE) v Europa FC (GIB)
- Flora Tallinn (EST) v KR Reykjavik (ISL)
- FK Sileks (MKD) v KF Drita (KOS)
- FC Astana (KAZ) v FK Buducnost Podgorica (MNE)
- Ararat-Armenia (ARM) v CS Fola Esch (LUX)
- Connah’s Quay Nomads (WAL) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO)
By Kunle Solaja, MetLife Stadium, New Jersey
Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez etched his name into FIFA World Cup history on Sunday after becoming only the sixth player ever to be sent off in a World Cup final.
Fernandez was shown a straight red card in the third minute of added time during Argentina’s final against Spain after a reckless challenge on Spanish defender Pau Cubarsí. The dismissal came after the Argentine had earlier been booked for simulation, capping a frustrating evening for the midfielder.
His red card also means Argentina have now produced two players who have been sent off in World Cup finals, more than any other nation.
Sports Village Square recalls that the first-ever red card in a FIFA World Cup final was issued to Argentina’s Pedro Monzón during the 1990 final against West Germany at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Monzón was dismissed as Argentina went on to lose 1-0. In the same match, teammate Gustavo Dezotti was also sent off, making it the only World Cup final to feature two expulsions from the same team.
Fernandez now joins an exclusive and unwanted list of players dismissed in football’s biggest match.
The players sent off in FIFA World Cup finals are:
- Pedro Monzón (Argentina) vs West Germany, 1990
- Gustavo Dezotti (Argentina) vs West Germany, 1990
- Marcel Desailly (France) vs Brazil, 1998
- Zinedine Zidane (France) vs Italy, 2006
- John Heitinga (Netherlands) vs Spain, 2010
- Enzo Fernandez (Argentina) vs Spain, 2026
History has rarely been kind to teams reduced to 10 men in the World Cup final. Except France in 1998, when Marcel Desailly was dismissed late in a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Brazil, every team that has had a player sent off in the final has ended up on the losing side.
Fernandez’s dismissal therefore added another chapter to one of the tournament’s most exclusive and unfortunate records, reinforcing the trend that a red card in the World Cup final has almost always been accompanied by defeat.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK
Africa emerged as the most successful confederation in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with an unprecedented 90 percent of its representatives advancing to the Round of 32.
Nine of the 10 African teams that started the tournament secured places in the knockout phase, giving the Confederation of African Football (CAF) the highest qualification rate among all six continental confederations.
The African nations progressing to the Round of 32 are South Africa, Morocco, Côte d’Ivoire, Cape Verde, Senegal, Egypt, Ghana, DR Congo and Algeria.
Only one African team failed to survive the group stage, underscoring the continent’s growing competitiveness on football’s biggest stage.
CAF’s 90 per cent success rate placed it ahead of South America’s CONMEBOL, which saw 83.33 per cent of its teams advance, and Europe’s UEFA, whose members recorded an 81.25 per cent qualification rate.
The figures represent a significant shift in the global football landscape, where European and South American nations have traditionally dominated World Cup competitions.
The expanded 48-team format appears to have provided African countries with greater opportunities to showcase their progress, and they responded with a series of impressive performances throughout the group stage.
Cape Verde emerged as one of the tournament’s surprise packages by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time, while South Africa, DR Congo and Algeria also celebrated historic advances.
Senegal made history by becoming the first African nation to score five goals in a World Cup match, while Morocco continued the momentum generated by their remarkable semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
In contrast, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) endured a difficult campaign, with only 22.22 per cent of its teams progressing. The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) recorded a 50 per cent qualification rate despite having the advantage of three host nations.
Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) failed to place any team in the Round of 32.
World Cup Round of 32 Qualification Rates by Confederation
- CAF (Africa): 90%
- CONMEBOL (South America): 83.33%
- UEFA (Europe): 81.25%
- CONCACAF (North and Central America/Caribbean): 50%
- AFC (Asia): 22.22%
- OFC (Oceania): 0%
The statistics show Africa’s growing influence in world football and raise hopes that the continent could produce its strongest collective performance ever in the knockout stages of a FIFA World Cup.
With nine teams still in contention, Africa enters the Round of 32 with more representatives than any other confederation and a genuine opportunity to challenge for the latter stages of the tournament.
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BY KUNLE SOLAJA, NEW YORK.
Ecuador will look to continue their strong record against Concacaf opposition when they face Curaçao in a Group E encounter at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The South Americans enter the match having won their last two World Cup meetings with teams from the Concacaf region and will be eager to maintain that trend as they chase a place in the knockout rounds.
For Curaçao, however, the fixture represents an opportunity to create history.
The Caribbean nation is one of the tournament’s debutants and is still searching for its first World Cup victory. After suffering a heavy defeat to Germany in their opening match, Curaçao will be desperate to demonstrate the resilience and determination that earned them a place at the expanded 48-team tournament.
A victory would make them the first of the World Cup 2026 newcomers to register a win and would provide a significant boost to their qualification hopes.
Ecuador are expected to rely on their experience at this level, but they know underestimating Curaçao could prove costly. The underdogs have already shown flashes of attacking quality despite their difficult introduction against Germany.
As the group stage begins to take shape, both teams understand the importance of securing points. Ecuador are chasing progression, while Curaçao are chasing history.
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