🏆 Path set: intercontinental play-offs for the World Cup revealed
And the path was defined. This Thursday, the draw took place in Zurich for what will be the path of the last playoff that will grant tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada, an...
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This Week in Sports Trivia: November 20, 2025
Kelly Holcomb. Charlie Frye. Derek Anderson. DeShone Kizer. Cody Kessler. Those are just a few of the quarterbacks who have started under center for the Cleveland Browns this century. Now, Shedeur Sanders joins the list. Sanders, the rookie out of Colorado and the son of Deion Sanders, will make his first NFL start Sunday when the Browns take on the Raiders in Las Vegas. If the Raiders weren’t the opponent, this might have a throwing-a-lamb-to-the-lions feel, especially given how Sanders did aga
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Abdul Carter: It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish
When the Giants drafted Abdul Carter with the third overall pick, the hope was that the edge rusher would make an immediate impact on defense for a team showing signs of turning the corner after a pair of disappointing seasons.
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Rick Pitino defends Mark Pope amid heavy criticism on UK head coach
![](/<figure><img alt="�� Path set: intercontinental play-offs for the World Cup revealed" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/onefootball_articles_802/c136fc6627e6026955ba33ca39b3d07c" data-uuid="cd8c68b0-32b2-3793-baec-376a91c3a8d3"><figcaption>🏆 Path set: intercontinental play-offs for the World Cup revealed</figcaption></figure><p>And the path was defined. This Thursday, the draw took place in Zurich for what will be the path of the last playoff that will grant tickets to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. </p><p>There will be two different paths: one involving teams from Europe and another for teams from the rest of the world. Both paths will be defined between March 23 and 31 of next year. </p><h2>INTERCONTINENTAL ROUTE. Bolivia faces a challenging path</h2><p>With the D.R. Congo and Iraq having direct access to the final of these playoffs, the question was which teams could be paired in the preliminary semifinals. It will be <strong>New Caledonia</strong> and <strong>Jamaica</strong> who will determine the team that will face the D.R. Congo in the final of the first route.</p><img height="401" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/onefootball_articles_802/7da4a6414905fb48133aa1cc1f37950e" width="1435" data-uuid="6f6bf111-d7e2-3ca8-943f-1e0b981ceef6"><p>Meanwhile, <strong>Bolivia</strong> and <strong>Suriname</strong> will do the same in search of a place in the final against <strong>Iraq</strong>. The Mexican cities of Guadalajara and Monterrey will host these matches.</p><img height="397" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/onefootball_articles_802/10172b6944ef43e11df82eb800df1336" width="1435" data-uuid="050cf68f-5a0d-3c0b-bc95-e49bcb068577"><p><em>(News in development)</em></p><p><em>This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. <a href="https://onefootball.com/es/noticias/camino-definido-asi-queda-el-repechaje-intercontinental-para-el-mundial-41976914">You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.</a></em></p><hr><p>📸 FABRICE COFFRINI - AFP or licensors</p>)
![](/<figure><img alt="" src="https://media.zenfs.com/en/sb_nation_articles_115/ae9eaa946b02db006259e7005eae2941" data-uuid="82d9d37c-9496-323a-99d0-c5d8af401d31"><figcaption></figcaption></figure><p class="has-text-align-none">Positivity can still be present amongst Big Blue Nation, even with how the last week has gone for the <a href="https://www.aseaofblue.com/" target="_blank">Kentucky Wildcats</a>. </p><p class="has-text-align-none">Yes, the losses to Louisville and Michigan State aren’t good. But the season is only five games in. There are plenty of big games remaining in the regular season.</p><p class="has-text-align-none">Mark Pope has done a lot of good since becoming the head coach of the Wildcats. Look at last season and how he brought the fanbase back together. The fact that he said Tuesday night, “we will not fail,” is something I can get behind. His dedication to this university and program is strong enough to make me think he’s going to get this season in the direction we all want it to.</p><p class="has-text-align-none">Former Wildcats’ head coach Rick Pitino is backing Mark Pope after Tuesday night’s dismantling at the hands of Michigan State in the Champions Classic.</p><p class="has-text-align-none">“Michigan State made threes, which was very unexpected,” <a href="https://www.nj.com/sports/2025/11/rick-pitino-defends-kentucky-after-blowout-loss-in-champions-classic-i-know-mark-pope-will-get-it-going.html">Pitino said in an interview with Adam Zagoria</a>. “But there’s no question in my mind that Kentucky, come March, will be a great basketball team.”</p><p class="has-text-align-none">A lot of those who don’t root for the Wildcats are going to point out and be critical of them because of the reported $22 million they spent on building their roster. But is their roster really worth $22 million?</p><p class="has-text-align-none">For what it’s worth, as the head coach of a program that also spent a lot in the transfer portal, Pitino doesn’t believe it.</p><p class="has-text-align-none">“First of all, everything is exaggerated,” Pitino told Zagoria. “I hear these numbers, and it’s not proven. Unless it’s proven, it’s not factual. So nobody said the payroll’s $22 million, nobody knows that, nobody’s confirmed that, so people can’t make up numbers.”</p><p class="has-text-align-none">“I’m close with Mark, and I don’t believe in these numbers,” he added. “I think everybody exaggerates these numbers. I know they do with us (St. John’s), and they do with every place.”</p><p class="has-text-align-none">It’s still early in the season, but adversity has already hit a Wildcats team that is supposed to be among the elite teams in college basketball this season.</p><p class="has-text-align-none"></p>)