The journey to become crowned the best club in Europe begins next month when the group stage of the 2022-23 UEFA Champions League campaign kicks off.
On Thursday, European soccer’s governing body conducted the group stage draw in Monaco to pool 32 teams across the continent into eight first-round groups.
Here’s a look at the groups.
GROUP A
Bayern Munich (Germany), Manchester United (England), Copenhagen (Denmark), Galatasaray (Turkey)
Marquee matchup: Manchester United is back in the Champions League after a two-year absence and will be looking forward to going up against its rivals Bayern Munich, whom they’ve clashed with 11 times in this competition. These two teams are the class of Group A, so it’s more than likely that their pair of matches will decide first place.
The big question: Can Canadian Alphonso Davies and Bayern Munich put an end to a disappointing streak of three consecutive quarter-final exits in the Champions League and reassert itself as the dominant force in European club soccer by winning the continental competition for a seventh time?
Sevilla (Spain), Arsenal (England), PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands), Lens (France)
Marquee matchup: Sevilla and Arsenal both play vibrant and entertaining brands of soccer, so the two matches between the Sevillistas and the Gunners should make for must-see TV. Plus, Mikel Arteta will have a point to prove – despite his success as manager of Arsenal, the Spaniard is still somewhat underappreciated in his native Spain.
The big question: Can seven-time UEFA Cup/Europa League winners Sevilla take the next step in its evolution and win the Champions League after dominating UEFA’s secondary tournament for the past 17 years?
GROUP C
Napoli (Italy), Real Madrid (Spain), Braga (Portugal), Union Berlin (Germany)
Marquee matchup: Real Madrid is unbeaten in four games (with three wins) against Napoli in their previous European Cup/Champions League encounters. But the Italians enter this year’s tournament as the favourites to top Group C after winning Serie A last season, and buoyed by the supreme attacking talents of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Victor Osimhen.
The big question: After slowly coming up through the ranks, what kind of impression will Union Berlin make in its debut season in the Champions League after previously competing in the UEFA Conference League and the UEFA Europa League over the past two years?
GROUP D
Benfica (Portugal), Inter Milan (Italy), Salzburg (Austria), Real Sociedad (Spain)
Marquee matchup: Benfica gave Inter Milan a stern challenge in the quarter-finals of last season’s Champions League before succumbing over two legs. The Portuguese outfit won a lot of plaudits for their attacking display in the second match on the series and will be eager to prove they belong among Europe’s elite.
The big question: Will Inter Milan be able to duplicate its magical and surprising run to last year’s Champions League final and win the tournament for the first time since 2010 during its historic treble season?
Feyenoord (Netherlands), Atlético Madrid (Spain), Lazio (Italy), Celtic (Scotland)
Marquee matchup: Feyenoord beat Celtic in the 1970 European Cup final, but Atlético Madrid vs. Lazio is this group’s most intriguing matchup as it will see manager Diego Simeone facing the Italian team with whom he won a Serie A title, a Coppa Italia and a UEFA Super Cup during his distinguished playing career.
The big question: Will Celtic finally put its underperforming ways in Champions League behind it and advance to the knockout round for the first time since 2012-13?
GROUP F
Paris Saint-Germain (France), Borussia Dortmund (Germany), AC Milan (Italy), Newcastle (England)
Marquee matchup: It has to be AC Milan vs. Newcastle given that the English club paid a reported €70-million transfer fee to the Rossoneri this summer as part of a move that made the sublimely talented midfielder the most expensive Italian player in history.
The big question: How will a star-studded PSG side led by Kylian Mbappe fare in the “Group of Death” now that Lionel Messi is in MLS and Neymar has moved to Saudi club Al Hilal?
Manchester City (England), Leipzig (Germany), Red Star Belgrade (Serbia), Young Boys (Switzerland)
Marquee matchup: Manchester City vs. Leipzig should be pretty interesting if for no other reason than the Germans made the Premier League side sweat when it earned a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their round-of-16 battle in last season’s Champions League. City responded by posting a 7-0 win in the return match, but Leipzig turned heads and earned the respect of the eventual tournament winners in that first game.
The big question: After a treble-winning season in 2022-23, can Man City become the first team to repeat as Champions League holders since Real Madrid three-peated from 2016 to 2018?
GROUP H
Barcelona (Spain), Porto (Portugal), Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine), Royal Antwerp (Belgium)
Marquee matchup: La Liga champions Barcelona were handed a favourable draw, but the matches against Porto could prove tricky for the Blaugrana. The Portuguese outfit pushed eventual finalists Inter Milan to the brink of elimination in the round-of-16 in last season’s Champions League, so they won’t be intimidated by Barca’s big reputation.
The big question: Will modest Belgian side Royal Antwerp be completely out of its depth during its first Champions League season while competing in a group with three other experienced European campaigners?
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 20 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.
CALGARY – The Calgary Flames have re-signed defenceman Ilya Solovyov and centre Cole Schwindt, the NHL club announced Wednesday.
Solovyov signed a two-year deal which is a two-way contract in year one and a one-way deal in year two and carries an average annual value of US$775,000 at the NHL level.
Schwindt signed a one-year, two-way contract with an average annual value of $800,000 at the NHL level.
The 24-year-old Solovyov, from Mogilev, Belarus, made his NHL debut last season and had three assists in 10 games for the Flames. He also had five goals and 10 assists in 51 games with the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers and added one goal in six Calder Cup playoff games.
Schwindt, from Kitchener, Ont., made his Flames debut last season and appeared in four games with the club.
The 23-year-old also had 14 goals and 22 assists in 66 regular-season games with the Wranglers and added a team-leading four goals, including one game-winning goal, in the playoffs.
Schwindt was selected by Florida in the third round, 81st overall, at the 2019 NHL draft. He came to Calgary in July 2022 along with forward Jonathan Huberdeau and defenceman MacKenzie Weegar in the trade that sent star forward Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
KING CITY, Ont. – Oman scored 10 runs in the final over to edge Nepal by one wicket with just one ball remaining in ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 play Wednesday.
Kaleemullah, the No. 11 batsman who goes by one name, hit a four with the penultimate ball as Oman finished at 223 for nine. Nepal had scored 220 for nine in its 50 overs.
Kaleemullah and No. 9 batsman Shakeel Ahmed each scored five in the final over off Sompal Kami. They finished with six and 17 runs, respectively.
Opener Latinder Singh led Oman with 41 runs.
Nepal’s Gulsan Jha was named man of the match after scoring 53 runs and recording a career-best five-wicket haul. The 18-year-old slammed five sixes and three-fours in his 35-ball knock, scoring 23 runs in the 46th over alone when he hit six, six, four, two, four and one off Aqib Ilyas.
Captain Rohit Paudel led Nepal with 60 runs.
The 19th-ranked Canadians, who opened the triangular series Monday with a 103-run win over No. 17 Nepal, face No. 16 Oman on Friday, Nepal on Sunday and Oman again on Sept. 26. All the games are at the Maple Leaf Cricket Ground.
The eight World League 2 teams each play 36 one-day internationals spread across nine triangular series through December 2026. The top four sides will go through to a World Cup qualifier that will decide the last four berths in the expanded 14-team Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Canada (5-4) stands second in the World League 2 table. The 14th-ranked Dutch top the table at 6-2.
Oman (2-2 with one no-result) stands sixth, ahead of Nepal (1-5).
Canada won all four matches in its opening tri-series in February-March, sweeping No. 11 Scotland and the 20th-ranked host Emirates. But the Canadians lost four in a row to the 18th-ranked U.S. and host Netherlands in August.
Canada which debuted in the T20 World Cup this summer in the U.S. and West Indies, is looking to get back to the showcase 50-over Cricket World Cup for the first time since 2011 after failing to qualify for the last three editions. The Canadian men also played in the 1979, 2003 and 2007 tournaments, exiting after the group stage in all four tournament appearances.
The Canadian men regained their one-day international status for the first time in almost a decade by finishing in the top four of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier Playoff in April 2023 in Bermuda.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024
PENTICTON, B.C. – Rick Tocchet has already warned his Vancouver Canucks players — the looming NHL season won’t be easy.
The team made strides last year, the head coach said Wednesday ahead of training camp. The bar has been raised for this year’s campaign.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet said in Penticton, B.C., where the team will open its camp on Thursday.
“So that’s the next level. It starts day one (on Thursday). My thing is don’t waste a rep out there.”
The Canucks finished atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 record last season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round series. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, said everything would have to go right for the team to make a playoff push. That doesn’t change this season, he said, despite last year’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he said.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
Some key players will be missing as Vancouver’s training camp begins, however.
Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin announced Wednesday that star goalie Thatcher Demko will not be on the ice when the team begins it’s pre-season preparation.
Allvin did not disclose the reason for Demko’s absence, but said the 28-year-old American has been making progress.
“He’s been in working extremely hard and he seems to be in a great mindset,” the GM said.
Demko missed several weeks of the regular season and much of Vancouver’s playoff run last spring with a knee injury.
The six-foot-four, 192-pound goalie has a career 213-116-81 regular-season record with a .912 save percentage, a 2.79 goals-against average and eight shutouts across seven seasons with the Canucks.
Allvin also announced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard will also miss the start of training camp after each had “minor lower-body surgery.”
Vancouver previously announced winger Dakota Joshua won’t be present for the start of camp as he recovers from surgery for testicular cancer.
Tocchet said he’ll have no problem filling the holes, and plans to switch his lines up a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he said. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
The coach added that he expects standout centre Elias Pettersson to begin on a line with Canucks newcomer Jake DeBrusk.
Vancouver inked DeBrusk, a former Boston Bruins forward, to a seven-year, US$38.5 million deal when the NHL’s free agent market opened on July 1.
The glare on Pettersson is expected to be bright once again as he enters the first year of a new eight-year, $92.8 million contract. The 25-year-old Swede struggled at times last season and put 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) in 82 games.
Rutherford said he was impressed with how Pettersson looked when he returned to Vancouver ahead of camp.
“He seems to be a guy that’s more relaxed and more comfortable. And for obvious reasons,” said the president of hockey ops. “This is a guy that I believe has worked really hard this summer. He’s done everything he can to play as a top-line player. … The expectation for him is to be one of the top players on our team.”
A number of Canucks hit milestones last season, including Quinn Hughes, who led all NHL defencemen in scoring with 92 points and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.
Several players could once again have career-best years for Vancouver, Tocchet said, but they’ll need to be consistent and not allow frustration to creep in when things go wrong.
“You’ve just got to drive yourself every day when you have a great year,” the coach said. “You’ve got to keep creating that environment where they can achieve those goals, whatever they are. And the main goal is winning. That’s really what it comes down to.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 18, 2024.
