Tony Kelshaw 
USA have all the pedigree but Canada are fancied to be competitive in their women’s Olympics semi-final on current form at this tournament. Both teams had to go all the way to penalties at the last-eight stage and we feel this tie is destined to be another close encounter.
With 23,000 fans allowed into Ibrox, Rangers can begin the new Scottish Premiership campaign by again celebrating last season’s stunning title triumph. Steven Gerrard’s side ended Celtic’s dominance north of the border when topping the table by 25 points.
Celtic can put a heart-breaking Champions League exit behind them to start their Scottish Premiership campaign with a win at Hearts. The Jambos easily earned promotion from the Championship and have done well in the Premier Sports Cup but now step up in class.
South Korea and Mexico have both done well at recent Olympics and again impressed during the group stage of this summer’s tournament. All the signs are that a cracking quarter-final is on the cards in Yokohama and the feeling is this tie could go to extra time at least.
Defending Olympic champions Brazil made smooth progress through the group stage and should prove too hot for Egypt in the quarter-finals. The underdogs have looked organised and efficient so far but lacked a cutting edge up front versus Spain and Argentina in their pool.
Japan were the only team to win all three group-stage games at the Tokyo Olympics and look worthy favourites to see off New Zealand. The Kiwis did look defensively sound in two of their matches, though, so we’re not expecting this to be a blow-out now the pressure is on.
Ivory Coast battled their way through a tough group at the Tokyo Olympics and are fancied to give Spain a stiff test in the quarter-finals. La Rojita look equally determined to make up for a moderate recent record in this event but have had trouble scoring goals so far.
It takes a rare combination of talent and effort to win a major sporting title, but it requires a particularly unusual quantity of both to defeat all challengers year after year. We’ve looked at some of the champions who maintained the highest level of dominance over a period of 10 years.
Qatar have been entertaining guests at the CONCACAF Gold Cup but face a tough test when taking on USA in the semi-finals in Texas. The hosts have reached the final 11 times in 15 renewals of this tournament, including when narrowly beaten by Mexico in the 2019 decider.
Great Britain almost paid the price for resting players versus Canada but should be back at full focus for the women’s quarter-finals. Australia represent spirited opponents but are rated just a level below, judged on what we have seen so far at the Tokyo Olympics.
PSV were totally dominant when thrashing Galatasaray 5-1 in Eindhoven and can confirm that superiority in the second leg in Istanbul. A date with Celtic or Midtjylland looks assured for the Dutch outfit, who appear to be back on an upward curve under Roger Schmidt.
Great Britain’s women have already done us a couple of favours at the Olympics and can wrap up top spot in their group by edging out Canada. Hege Riise’s well-drilled side have been rock-solid in securing two clean-sheet victories and may again be just too strong.
Lionel Messi will look to extend his record of six Ballon d’Or titles when the annual football award returns. The 2020 award ceremony was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic but with football’s return to action, the 2021 edition will see the voting commence.
Milwaukee Bucks are only one win away from their first NBA title in 50 years when they face Phoenix Suns in Game 6 in the early hours of Wednesday. The Bucks were trailing 2-0 to Phoenix after Monty Williams’ side won back-to-back home games but Milwaukee are on a roll after three straight triumphs to leave them on the cusp of their first success since 1971.