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Soccer

Champions League draw: Who can play who in the knockout phase?
by

Carlo Campo

VALERY HACHE / AFP / Getty

Mark your calendar.

The Champions League group stage came to a close Wednesday, setting the field for the tournament’s round-of-16 draw, which is scheduled for Monday at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

Who’s in the draw?

  • AS Roma
  • Barcelona
  • Bayern Munich
  • Besiktas JK
  • Chelsea
  • FC Basel 1893
  • FC Porto
  • Juventus
  • Liverpool
  • Manchester City
  • Manchester United
  • Paris Saint-Germain
  • Real Madrid
  • Sevilla
  • Shakhtar Donetsk
  • Tottenham Hotspur

The draw will consist of two pots – one of group winners and the other of runner-ups. Clubs from the same group or same association can’t be drawn together, meaning Chelsea, for example, can only draw one of PSG, Barcelona, and Besiktas.

Group winners will begin the round of 16 by playing away in the first leg, which is scheduled for Feb. 13 and 14, and Feb. 20 and 21. The second leg will be played on March 6 and 7, and March 13 and 14.

Group winners

Manchester United

  • Can play: Bayern, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Porto, Real Madrid

Paris Saint-Germain

  • Can play: Basel, Chelsea, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Porto, Real Madrid

Roma

  • Can play: Basel, Bayern, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Porto, Real Madrid

Barcelona

  • Can play: Basel, Bayern, Chelsea, Shakhtar, Porto

Liverpool

  • Can play: Basel, Bayern, Juventus, Shakhtar, Porto, Real Madrid

Manchester City

  • Can play: Basel, Bayern, Juventus, Sevilla, Porto, Real Madrid

Besiktas

  • Can play: Basel, Bayern, Chelsea, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Real Madrid

Tottenham Hotspur

  • Can play: Basel, Bayern, Juventus, Sevilla, Shakhtar, Porto

Group runner-ups

FC Basel 1893

  • Can play: PSG, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas, Tottenham

Bayern Munich

  • Can play: Manchester United, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas, Tottenham

Chelsea

  • Can play: PSG, Barcelona, Besiktas

Juventus

  • Can play: Manchester United, PSG, Manchester City, Besiktas, Tottenham Hotspur

Sevilla

  • Can play: Manchester United, PSG, Roma, Manchester City, Besiktas, Tottenham

Shakhtar Donetsk

  • Can play: Manchester United, PSG, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Besiktas, Tottenham

FC Porto

  • Can play: Manchester United, PSG, Roma, Barcelona, Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham

Real Madrid

  • Can play: Manchester United, PSG, Roma, Liverpool, Manchester City, Besiktas
NFL

Defense fuels sweep of Packers; Vikings one step closer to first-round bye

GREEN BAY, Wis. — With 2:51 remaining in the game, the Skol chant took over Titletown USA. Minnesota Vikings fans who traveled five hours to watch their team silence the crowd in Lambeau Field got an early Christmas present on Saturday night.

Minnesota recorded its first defensive shutout since 1993 when it beat NFC North rival Green Bay 16-0 in prime time.

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Another dominant performance bolstered the Vikings case as the NFL’s best defense from top to bottom. Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Hundley finished with a passer rating of 30.2 after throwing two interceptions and not being able to connect with his receivers in the end zone.

What it means: Well, it’s a rivalry again. Mike Zimmer said this week that the Vikings were still trying to make the series with the Packers a rivalry because of how many times Green Bay had been on the winning end this decade. For the first time since 2009, Minnesota swept Green Bay in the regular season.

What I liked: Harrison Smith made Pro Bowl voters look silly for his snub to this year’s game. The Packers got into the red zone for the first time just after the two-minute warning in the first half. On third down from the 15-yard line, Hundley dropped back and looked to throw a short pass over the middle. Smith, who was up near the line of scrimmage pre-snap, dropped back to cover tight end Lance Kendricks, who ran a skinny post about 10 yards before cutting up the middle of the field. Smith got in front of Kendricks at the last second and intercepted the pass for a 17-yard return. Smith picked off Hundley again late in the fourth quarter. In total, three of Smith’s five interceptions this season have been against Hundley. It’s no secret why he’s ranked as the No. 1 safety by Pro Football Focus for the success he’s having in arguably his best season to date.

The Vikings recorded their first shutout since 1993, beating the Packers 16-0 at Lambeau Field on Saturday. Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports

The Vikings entered Week 16 as the No. 1 defense on third down, allowing teams to convert just 26.3 percent of the time. Minnesota held Green Bay to 4-of-15 on third down, but more impressively stunted the Packers on fourth down as they were 0-for-4.

What I didn’t like: Maybe it had something to do with the cold temperatures, but the passing game wasn’t as sharp as it has been in recent wins. Case Keenum was 14-of-25 for 139 yards and a 4-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs, but three drives stalled and resulted in field goals.

Fantasy fallout: Diggs now has seven touchdown catches, the most by a Vikings receiver since Sidney Rice in 2009. Latavius Murray totaled 69 yards rushing on 21 carries, and Jerick McKinnon picked up 42 yards rushing. Kai Forbath booted field goals from distances of 49, 20 and 27 yards.

Injuries galore: Minnesota’s starting offensive line was intact for the first time since beating the Bears on Oct. 9. It was short lived, however, when left guard Nick Easton went down because of a right ankle injury at the end of the first quarter. Including Easton, three Vikings players were not able to return to the game after sustaining injuries Saturday night. Defensive tackle Shamar Stephen had to be carted off to the locker room when he injured his ankle late in the second quarter. Stephen was injured at some point on a play when Packers wide receiver Jordy Nelson caught a 25-yard pass, which was subsequently overturned when Minnesota challenged the catch. A late substitution caused the Vikings to be penalized for having 12 men on the field as an injured Stephen couldn’t get off the field in time. Long snapper Kevin McDermott injured his shoulder with 27 seconds left in the first half and was ruled out shortly after the start of the third quarter.

What’s next: The Vikings took care of business on their end. Now they’ll wait for the outcome of the Panthers-Buccaneers game on Christmas Eve to see whether they’ve clinched a first-round bye. Minnesota needed to beat Green Bay and have Carolina lose or tie against Tampa Bay to secure another portion of their postseason fate in Week 16. The Panthers are 6-1 since Oct. 29 and are a 73.6 percent favorite to win Sunday, according to ESPN’s FPI. In its past seven games, Carolina is averaging 174.1 yards rushing per game as opposed to 97.3 yards on the ground in the first seven games.

Soccer

Prosecutor: Ex-FIFA officials found guilty after 'downpour' of evidence

There was torrential rain as the gavel came down on two ex-FIFA officials.

As detailed by the Guardian’s Oliver Laughland, the first ex-football officials to stand trial following a widespread corruption investigation of the sport’s governing body were convicted by a jury in New York on Friday. Juan Angel Napout, former president of CONMEBOL and the Asociacion Paraguaya de Futbol, and Jose Maria Marin, former president of the Confederacao Brasileira de Futebol, were found guilty on most of the charges. The verdict on Manuel Burga, former president of the Federacion Peruana de Futbol, is yet to be reached. He’s charged with a single count of racketeering.

Napout was convicted on three of five counts, and Marin was convicted on six of seven counts. Each count carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Sam Nitze, an assistant prosecutor, suggested that the evidence against them was overwhelming, and, while summing up, urged the jury to find the three men guilty on charges related to the receipt of bribes.

“In this case it’s a downpour,” Nitze said. He also dismissed the defence in his closing by declaring: “A couple of people come in and say I’m soaked and the defence says, where’s your photograph?”

Napout and Burga were among 16 additional FIFA officials who were indicted for racketeering conspiracy and corruption in December 2015. They were charged with racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracies in connection with their participation in a 24-year scheme to enrich themselves by corrupting international football. Marin, meanwhile, was among the nine FIFA officials who were indicted in May 2015, when the corruption scandal engulfing football’s governing body started. All three defendants pleaded not guilty.

As written by Laughland, individuals and entities who had already pleaded guilty testified against their former colleagues, and the trial included testimony from 28 witnesses who told the jury about meetings, recordings, ledgers, and bank records implicating Napout, Marin, and Burga.

Prosecutors stated that, between 2010 and 2016, Napout was owed $10.5 million, Marin was owed $6.55 million, and Burga was owed $4.4 million.

Regarding the racketeering conspiracy, most of the schemes alleged in the indictment relate to bribes and kickbacks by football officials from sports marketing executives in connection to various matches and tournaments, including the Copa America Centenario, the Copa America, the Copa Libertadores, and the Copa do Brasil.

NFL

Wyoming QB Allen says he'll enter NFL draft

Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen announced on Friday his intention to forgo his final season of eligibility and enter the 2018 NFL draft.

Allen, a junior considered one of this year’s top quarterback prospects, made the announcement shortly after the Cowboys’ 37-14 win over Central Michigan in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise.

With Denver Broncos president of football operations John Elway in attendance, Allen finished 11-of-19 for 154 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.

Allen is rated the No. 3 draft-eligible quarterback by ESPN draft insiders Mel Kiper and Todd McShay; Kiper ranks him the No. 11 overall prospect, and McShay ranks him No. 15. McShay has Allen going to the Broncos at No. 5 in his latest mock draft.

UCLA’s Josh Rosen and USC’s Sam Darnold are currently ranked ahead of Allen by ESPN’s Kiper and McShay.

Allen’s decision to play Friday went against the current trend of top prospects skipping bowl games to begin preparing for the draft. He said he felt like he “owed” it to head coach Craig Bohl and quarterbacks coach Brent Vigen to play.

“Coming all the way from one scholarship offer, you know, Coach Bohl and Coach Vigen, they believed in me when I came out of junior college,” Allen said. “I felt like I owed them at least one more game here. Football’s a part of me. If I’m not playing, then I’m not me. So I’ve gotta be on the field at all the times, because I love this team, I love this game and I love the Cowboys.”

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Bohl was also quick to praise Allen for playing in the bowl game.

“In today’s world where players are making all kinds of decisions about bowl games, Josh chose to play, and I applaud him for that,” Bohl said. “If there’s any NFL team looking for a player out there, you’re never going to find a bigger competitor and a better leader than him.”

After throwing for 3,203 yards with 28 touchdowns and 15 interceptions as a sophomore, Allen endured a very up-and-down junior campaign. He finished the year with just 1,812 yards and threw 16 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. A year removed from averaging 228.8 yards per game and 8.6 yards per attempt, Allen dipped to just 164.7 yards per game and 6.7 yards per attempt. He was also held under 100 yards passing in three games this season.

Allen’s production also dipped because he missed the final two games of the regular season after suffering a shoulder injury at Air Force on Nov. 11.

However, Allen returned to the field Friday to display one of his most impressive performances of the season. He got off to a hot start, passing for 104 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. Allen entered the day with just one total first-quarter touchdown on the season.

With Wyoming’s defense keeping Central Michigan out of arm’s reach in the second half, Allen wasn’t asked to throw the ball much in the final two quarters. Friday marked the ninth time Allen has thrown for at least three touchdowns in a game during his Wyoming career.

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