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Bodø/Glimt gets Sporting in Champions League round of 16. Real Madrid and Man City paired yet again

NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Bodø/Glimt’s stunning run as the most unlikely Champions League challenger in recent years now brings Sporting Lisbon to its Arctic Circle home in the round of 16 next month.

Bodø/Glimt evaded a possible quick rematch with Manchester City when the 2023 title winner was paired with Real Madrid yet again in Friday’s draw.

It will be the fifth straight year that record 15-time European champion Madrid and Man City clash in the knockout phase, and they also met in December in the league phase. The winner could face Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

Man City’s 3-1 loss in the Norwegian fishing town last month sent Bodø/Glimt on a four-win surge in the Champions League — all during the Norwegian offseason — capped by eliminating Inter Milan from the knockout playoffs round in San Siro this week.

“We have been able to learn,” Bodø/Glimt chief executive Frode Thomassen said of a team that failed to win any of its six Champions League games from September to December.

Thomassen laughed at the suggestion his in-form club could now start favored to advance. “I think we will be the underdog if we are playing any of those teams,” he said.

Bodø/Glimt is the first Norwegian team to go so far in the elite competition since 1996-97. Then, Rosenborg advanced from the 16-team group stage direct to the quarterfinals.

First-leg games are on March 10 or 11 with the return games one week later.

Club World Cup rematch

Title holder Paris Saint-Germain was paired with Chelsea, in a rematch of the Club World Cup final in July that the London club won 3-0 at MetLife Stadium near New York.

Chelsea was then coached by Enzo Maresca, who was fired on Jan. 1 and replaced by Liam Rosenior.

As coach of Strasbourg, Rosenior faced PSG at Parc des Princes this season for a 3-3 draw in October in the French league.

The winner will earn a quarterfinal against Galatasaray or Liverpool, which PSG eliminated in the round of 16 last year as a powerful statement win en route to a first Champions League title.

Galatasaray beat Liverpool 1-0 in the league phase in September, helping send the English champion into a two-month tailspin of poor form and shocking losses.

“It is always nice to go there knowing what to expect this time,” Liverpool great Ian Rush told The Associated Press after the draw.

Rush noted the Turkish champion scored five times at home to Juventus last week. “We cannot let that happen at Liverpool,” he said.

Spain vs. England

Madrid-Man City is one of three Spain vs. England matchups in the round of 16 and will arrive three months after coach Pep Guardiola’s team won 2-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. An Erling Haaland penalty was decisive just before half time.

“We had a really good game already,” Man City sporting director Hugo Viana said, adding: “There is no favorite in this kind of competition, in these kind of games.”

Madrid eliminated Man City three times in the past four seasons, with the English club advancing from their semifinal in 2023.

One section of the draw is entirely Spain vs England. Barcelona plays Newcastle and Atletico Madrid faces Tottenham with the winners next month meeting in the quarterfinals.

Tough half of bracket

Bayern Munich was paired with Atalanta, the last remaining Italian team, and Arsenal will face Bayer Leverkusen.

The winner between Arsenal and Leverkusen will play Bodø/Glimt or Sporting in the quarterfinals.

The draw Friday set the seeded bracket through to the final on May 30 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

Real Madrid and Barcelona cannot meet until the final, and nor can Premier League title rivals Arsenal and Man City.

One half of the bracket includes PSG, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Man City and Bayern Munich. Only one of those teams can be in Budapest.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ryan Fox wins first career major at 2026 Open Championship

CNN
(CNN) — Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug after draining a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the 2026 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale on Sunday.The 39-year-old Fox beat out American Cameron Young to win his first career major title, becoming only the third New Zealander to win a men’s major golf championship.Fox came into the final hole tied with Young, after the 29-year-old finished the round at 6-under 64 a few hours before.The Kiwi powered his drive into the middle of the fairway and then set up the biggest putt of his golf career so far with an approach shot that landed about 12 feet from the pin.As the putt fell into the hole, the crowd in Southport, England, gave Fox a rousing ovation as he raised both arms in the air to celebrate the achievement.The putt capped off four birdies in the last six holes for Fox.Fox was at a loss for words while speaking to the NBC Sports broadcast after the win.“I don’t really know what to think at the moment. I’ve got a lot of people to thank. First of all, my family. My wife and kids are in Florida at the moment. I spoke to my kids last night and they said, bring back a trophy. I think that’s a pretty cool one to bring back for them,” Fox said. “My family back in New Zealand and all my supporters back there. I know it’s been a long night for them, but I’m glad it was worthwhile.”Fox finished with a 2-under 68 after trailing Sam Burns, who held a two-stroke lead coming into Sunday’s final round.Fox also becomes the third-oldest major winner in the last 10 years, trailing only Phil Mickelson at the 2021 PGA Championship and Tiger Woods at the 2019 Masters.“Just an unbelievable week. The golf course was fantastic. The English weather was fantastic. You guys out there were fantastic. The support was amazing. This is pretty cool. I’m sorry if I’ve forgotten anyone, but thank you very much,” Fox added.It is another disappointment for Young, who is still looking for his first career major title despite winning The Players earlier this year. Young finished one shot back of the win at the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews and held the lead heading into the final round at the Masters back in April.It is also another let down for Burns, another golfer looking for his maiden major win.The Louisiana State University alum came into the round ahead by two strokes but quickly lost it and went birdie-free for the final 12 holes.“(Fox) is a well-earned champion and hats off to him,” Burns said. “He did what he needed to do down the stretch and ultimately just came up a couple short today.”Defending champion Scottie Scheffler stayed within striking range throughout the round, but wound up with a 3-under 67 on Sunday to finish tied for fourth with Tommy Fleetwood.After a drama-filled tournament, Bryson DeChambeau finished tied for 14th while Rory McIlroy, who has been critical of the LIV Golfer all tournament long, ended tied for 40th.Fox’s journey to first major winFox’s road to his first career major title wasn’t the easiest. It came with many bumps and U-turns.While speaking to CNN’s Don Riddell ahead of the Desert Classic in Dubai in early 2025, Fox opened up about his mental health issues, including being an older rookie after spending years on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of Australia.“I think being a rookie at 37 years old on the PGA Tour was, I probably wasn’t quite prepared for what that was again,” Fox told CNN.“I knew all the golf courses, knew how to travel work, knew where to stay, and everything was new on the PGA Tour, and that was probably a shock to the system more than anything.”Fox comes from a lineage of athletes within his family tree, including his father, Grant Fox, who was a main kicker for the New Zealand national rugby team and his grandfather, Merv Wallace, a former New Zealand cricketer who later coached the national team.Fox spoke out on the “pressure” a golfer faces, mentioning the 2024 death of former PGA Tour golfer Grayson Murray, whose parents later confirmed it was death by suicide.“It can be a stressful life. It’s all performance-based. There’s a lot of pressure on – Looking after your mental health is really, really important, and having people to talk to and all of that is part of that,” Fox said.“It’s a shame it got to that point with Grayson that, you know, we’ve had to have those, those pretty tough conversations now, but it will help – hopefully it helps someone else in a similar situation going forward because we certainly don’t want to see it again.”CNN’s Kyle Tatelbaum and Don Riddell contributed to this reporting This write has been updated with additional reporting The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
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