By Tony Odu
• As the tension between neighboring Iran and the United States threatens to thwart his aspirations to lead his country to its first World Cup in forty years, Iraqi coach Graham Arnold is pleading with FIFA to assist Iraq.
• The Confederation of African Football stated on Thursday that the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations would not be held in Morocco on March 17 as scheduled.
Despite five years of Rob Mac-Ryan Reynolds’ dream factory, which has propelled the team to the verge of the Premier League, Mickey Thomas continues to have the honor of scoring the most famous goal in Wrexham’s history.
• Despite putting together one of Arsenal’s best teams ever, Mikel Arteta has previously intimated that he still lacks mastery of rotation. He is still learning this lesson, as evidenced by the devastating fright Mansfield Town gave the Gunners in their FA Cup fifth-round match at One Call Stadium on Saturday.
• Manchester City won’t have any issues without Erling Haaland. In the FA Cup fifth round, Pep Guardiola rearranged his team against Newcastle United, including leaving their prolific Norwegian scorer at home, and they still won 3-1.
• Despite their own terrible mistakes, Celtic managed to make it to the Scottish Cup semi-finals after one shot on goal and no shot on target. They won on penalties because Rangers’ response was a disgrace.
• Port Vale advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals for just the second time in their history after shockingly defeating Premier League team Sunderland 1-0 on Sunday. Additionally, there is a clear disparity between their league and cup performance. They had won seven of the two major cup competitions—the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup—after defeating the Black Cats. Out of 32 league games, they have only won six.
• After defeating Championship team Norwich handily at Elland Road, Leeds advanced to the FA Cup quarterfinals for the first time in more than 20 years. Midway through the first half, Sean Longstaff’s brilliant volley after deftly managing Gabriel Gudmundsson’s gave the Premier League team a well-earned lead. The team never appeared to be on the verge of an upset.
• Southampton uses a stoppage-time penalty to eliminate Fulham. • After overcoming a difficult comeback from Partick Thistle to go to the Scottish Cup semi-finals, Scotland St. Mirren remain on track for a cup double and a rematch with Celtic. The League Cup champions had a commanding advantage at the interval thanks to a contentious penalty from Dan Nlundulu and a goal from Jake Young.
FA Cup Results Sunday, March 8
Leeds United 3 – 0 Norwich City
Port Vale 1 – 0 Sunderland
Fulham 0 – 1 Southampton
FA Cup Fixture Monday, March 9
West Ham vs Brentford 20:30
La Liga Results Sunday, March 8
Villareal 2 – 0 Elche
Getafe 2 – 0 Real Betis
Sevilla 1 – 1 Rayo Vallecano
Valencia 3 – 2 Alaves
La Liga Fixture Monday, March 9
Espanyol vs Real Oviedo
Ligue 1 Results Sunday, March 8
Lens 3 – 0 Metz
LOSC 1 – 1 Lorient
Brest 2 – Le Havre
Nice 0 – 4 Rennes
Lyon 1 – 1 Paris FC
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