Sports

Champions League Round Of 16 Draw: Date, Time, Qualified Teams, Fixtures

Published

8 months ago

February 21, 2025

Editor

The inaugural Champions League knockout play-offs have concluded, setting the stage for the much-anticipated round of 16 draw.

When is the Champions League Round of 16 Draw?
The draw will take place on Friday, February 21, at 11 AM (UK time); 12PM (Nigeria time).

Teams Qualified for the Round of 16
The top eight teams from the league phase automatically secured their spots in the round of 16. These teams are:

Liverpool
Barcelona
Arsenal
Inter Milan
Atletico Madrid
Bayer Leverkusen
Lille
Aston Villa
They will be joined by the eight winners from the knockout play-offs:

Bayern Munich
Benfica
Club Brugge
Feyenoord
Borussia Dortmund
Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)
Real Madrid
PSV Eindhoven
How Does the Last-16 Draw Work?
The draw follows a structured bracket system, with potential opponents for the last 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals pre-determined based on teams’ final league positions.

The top eight clubs are grouped into four seeded pairs according to their league phase rankings:

1st vs 2nd
3rd vs 4th
5th vs 6th
7th vs 8th
Each seeded pair is drawn against one of the knockout play-off winners. Four bowls will be used in the draw:

One for seeded teams
One for knockout play-off winners
Two for bracket allocation
Teams will be placed into the bracket systematically, ensuring a balanced knockout phase.

Who Could British Teams Face in the Last 16?
Liverpool (1st seed) vs PSG (15th) or Benfica (16th)
Arsenal (3rd seed) vs PSV (14th) or Feyenoord (19th)
Aston Villa (8th seed) vs Borussia Dortmund (10th) or Club Brugge (24th)
Champions League Knockout Play-Off Results

First Legs (February 11-12):

Brest 0-3 PSG
Juventus 2-1 PSV Eindhoven
Man City 2-3 Real Madrid
Sporting Lisbon 0-3 Borussia Dortmund
Club Brugge 2-1 Atalanta
Celtic 1-2 Bayern Munich
Feyenoord 1-0 AC Milan
Monaco 0-1 Benfica
Second Legs (February 18-19)

AC Milan 1-1 Feyenoord (agg 1-2)
Atalanta 1-3 Club Brugge (agg 2-5)
Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (agg 3-2)
Benfica 3-3 Monaco (agg 4-3)
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Sporting Lisbon (agg 3-0)
PSG 7-0 Brest (agg 10-0)
PSV Eindhoven 3-1 Juventus (agg 4-3)
Real Madrid 3-1 Man City (agg 6-3)
Champions League Knockout Stage Schedule
Round of 16: March 4/5 & March 11/12
Quarter-finals: April 8/9 & April 15/16
Semi-finals: April 29/30 & May 6/7
Final: May 31 (Allianz Arena, Munich)
With the draw set to determine the next phase of the competition, excitement is building as teams prepare for the road to the Champions League final.

Sports

Ballon d’Or: Why Neymar Didn’t Win Award – Gerard

Published

9 hours ago

October 16, 2025

Editor

Barcelona legend, Gerard Piqué has said that Brazil legend, Neymar could have won the Ballon d’Or had he remained at the Catalan side a little longer.

Neymar left Barça for PSG in 2017, becoming the costliest player in the world.

Pique said that the move stopped the Brazilian from winning the Ballon d’Or.

He said that the superstar footballer actually deserved to win the France Football award in his career.

Speaking on the PodPah podcast, Pique, who was Neymar’s teammate for many years at Barcelona, said he tried to convince the Brazilian not to make the move but the former PSG star did not listen to him.

“I’m convinced he deserved a Ballon d’Or. I think going to PSG hurt him. We tried to convince him not to go, we did everything possible.

“Everyone thought he was going to stay, even me, but it seemed that it was already decided. In the end, he had an incredible career,” he said.

The Brazilian was at Camp Nou until 2017 when he decided to move to PSG who were willing to activate his €222 million release clause.

He left for Al-Hilal in 2023 and returned to Brazil with Santos in 2025.

Sports

Lionel Messi Names 10 Best Young Players Currently

Published

9 hours ago

October 16, 2025

Editor

Argentina and Barcelona legend, Lionel Messi, has named the 10 players he sees as future stars.

The legendary attacker has players from Chelsea and Liverpool in his list.

As part of an Adidas campaign, the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner was asked to name the players he deems the next big stars in the game.

The Inter Miami goal king partnering with Adidas Football for the ‘Messi+10: Season 2’ campaign named his 10 best rising stars.

He named Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha, Chelsea’s Andrey Santos, Kendry Paez, also of Chelsea and Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder, Brajan Gruda.

Others are Nico Paz (Como), Rodrigo Mora (Porto), Mika Godts (Ajax Amsterdam), and Kader Meite (Stade Rennes).

He named two female players, Barcelona’s Clara Serrajordi and Olympique Lyon’s Lily Yohannes.

Messi made a similar selection in 2024 to include Lamine Yamal, Antonio Nusa and Kenan Yildiz.

Sports

2026 World Cup: Why ‘England Can’t Win Trophy’ – Paul Scholes

Published

9 hours ago

October 16, 2025

Editor

Former England international, Paul Scholes, has said that the country stands no chance of winning the 2026 World Cup to be hosted in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

England became the first European country to qualify for the World Cup on Tuesday after beating Latvia 5 goals to nothing.

Scholes said Thomas Tuchel’s team has ‘no chance’ of winning the tournament unless the German gaffer brings his ‘three best players’ back into the squad.

Tuchel will now be hoping to lead England to their first major trophy in men’s football since 1966.

The former Chelsea manager was appointed as Sir Gareth Southgate’s successor last year.

England made it to two European Championship finals and two World Cup semi-finals under Southgate but failed to lift those trophies.

But former Manchester United midfielder, Scholes believes that England has ‘no chance’ unless Tuchel brings his ‘three best players’ back into the fold.

Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were left out of the team for their last matches.

“I was a little bit surprised. Those three players, they have to be in his squad and they will be in his squad for the World Cup,” Scholes said on The Overlap.

“If you look at the squad now, you would say they have virtually no chance of winning the World Cup. Even with those three players it’s still a big ask but it gives you more of a chance of winning the cup.

“Jude Bellingham has missed a little bit of football but he’s fit now so I would have brought him back in.

“Thomas Tuchel hasn’t got many games left now until the World Cup actually starts, it’s only the November break and then the March one and then we’re there so we need to get these players playing.”

While announcing his squad for the last international break, Tuchel insisted he had ‘no problem’ with the omitted players, especially Bellingham.