Carlo Ancelotti finally Brazil bound, agreeing to manage through 2026 World Cup; Championship playoffs roll on
Hey there! Between managerial hires and the battle to book a spot in the Premier League, the start of this week is almost just as busy as the weekend that came and went. I'm Pardeep Cattry with the latest.
📺 Footy fixAll times U.S./Eastern
Monday, May 12🇮🇹 Serie A: Atalanta vs. Roma, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+🏴 Championship: Sheffield United vs. Bristol City, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network, Paramount+
Tuesday, May 13🏴 Championship: Sunderland vs. Coventry City, 3 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Network, Paramount+
⚽ The Forward Line🇧🇷 Carlo Ancelotti swaps Real Madrid for BrazilThe second Carlo Ancelotti era at Real Madrid is officially coming to an end.
Ancelotti will leave the club following their final game in La Liga this season on May 25, when they host Real Sociedad, to take the Brazil job he has long been linked to. He officially starts with Brazil on May 26 and will be in charge for their World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay on June 7 and June 10, respectively, when the national team's final preparations for the 2026 World Cup will begin.
He becomes the latest high-profile manager to leave the club game for a job in charge of a national team in time for the 2026 World Cup, a list that includes the U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino, England's Thomas Tuchel and Germany's Julian Nagelsmann. Ancelotti's hire definitely adds another layer of allure to next year's tournament, but is also a stark reminder of the task ahead for Brazil. The five-time World Cup winners have been somewhat directionless since their quarterfinal exit to Croatia at the 2022 World Cup, so much so that they won just two of their opening six games during the 2026 qualifying campaign and were eliminated in the quarterfinals of last year's Copa America. The new head coach will be tasked with correcting course and finally getting the best of a talented attacking group that is headlined by Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, who have not excelled for the national team the way they have for Ancelotti's Real Madrid.
As for Real Madrid, Ancelotti leaves a club that he has become synonymous with during two incredibly impressive spells, so much so that he said that "the honeymoon [period] with Madrid will be until the last day of my life," in a press conference on Saturday, the end clearly in sight. He won three of his five UEFA Champions League titles with Real Madrid, becoming the most successful manager in the competition's history, and also collected two La Liga trophies along the way. Ancelotti is expected to be succeeded by Xabi Alonso, the former Real Madrid player who has been a manager on the rise since winning the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen last season, someone Ancelotti described as "one of the best coaches in the world" on Saturday.
While Ancelotti embraces a new challenge with Brazil, he leaves a sizable task behind him in Madrid. Los Blancos are poised to end the season without a domestic or continental title for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign, failing to make the most of their new-look Galacticos era headlined by Kylian Mbappe. Though the France international has been a helpful addition, this season offered reminder after reminder that the squad was unbalanced and that improvements in several areas of the pitch are needed. Ancelotti returned to Madrid in 2021 to steady the ship, but a true period of transition awaits now that the Italian manager has confirmed his exit.
📺 Streaming nowThe race to claim the final spot in next season's edition of the Premier League continues this week, where the field of teams is trimmed from four to two in the second legs of the Championship's promotion playoff semifinals.
One team essentially has their spot in the playoff final booked – Sheffield United. The Blades host Bristol City on Monday after winning the first leg 3-0 thanks to goals from Harrison Burrows, Andre Brooks and Callum O'Hare, reflecting the wide gap in the table between the sides after Bristol finished 24 points behind them. United are targeting a return to the Premier League after finishing last place in last season's competition, sticking by manager Chris Wilder through it all with the hopes of bouncing back up to England's top flight.
Things will likely be a bit more competitive on Tuesday in Sunderland, who host Coventry City while boasting a 2-1 advantage after the first leg. Wilson Isidor and Eliezer Mayenda scored to give Sunderland a slim lead as the team targets their first Premier League season since the 2016-17 season, when they finished last. The Black Cats have been on a dramatic journey since, immediately getting relegated to League One after another last place finish and spending four seasons in England's third division before returning to the Championship for the 2022-23 campaign. As for the Frank Lampard-led Coventry, they hope to play the Premier League for the first time since the 2000-01 season, bouncing around England's lower divisions for more than two decades since that relegation.
Each team targets a spot in the promotion playoff final on May 24 at London's Wembley Stadium, otherwise known as the sport's richest game. A spot in the Premier League, after all, comes with a prize pot of hundreds of millions – Sheffield United pocketed around $145 million for participating in the top flight despite finishing last place, much more than the roughly $65 million they earned in the Championship this season as a "first year" relegated team.
🔗 Top Stories🔵🔴 Barcelona win El Clasico: Barcelona won yet another Clasico, this time beating Real Madrid 4-3 on Sunday. It nearly cements Barcelona as La Liga's champions, a feat few predicted for them at the start of the season.
🇧🇷 Ancelotti to Brazil: More on Brazil's choice to hire Carlo Ancelotti, which "screams of desperation" from the national team with just one year to go until the World Cup.
🪽 Savy King update: Angel City defender Savy King is responsive after collapsing during her team's 2-0 win over the Utah Royals on Friday. The game resumed after a 10 minute stoppage in the second half while medical staff attended to her, a decision that many around the NWSL have criticized league officials for.
🏆 48 team WWC: FIFA will expand the Women's World Cup to 48 teams in time for the 2031 edition, which the U.S. will co-host, which will match the field size of the men's competition.
🔮 Real Madrid's future: With Xabi Alonso's hire imminent, here's a look at the work Real Madrid will need to do in the transfer window and which players could benefit from the new manager's arrival.
🔴 Wirtz to Bayern?: Xabi Alonso might not be the only big name leaving Bayer Leverkusen this summer – star midfielder Florian Wirtz is reportedly close to joining their domestic rivals, Bayern Munich.
📉 First to worst: The LA Galaxy are officially off to the worst start by a reigning MLS Cup champion with zero wins in their first 12 games, achieving that feat in spectacular form with a 7-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
💰 The Back Line💵 Best bets- Serie A: Atalanta vs. Roma, Monday, 2:45 p.m.💰 THE PICK: Atalanta and Roma to tie 1-1 (+550) – The top four race in Serie A is just as heated as the title race this season, with just six points separating third and seventh place in the third-to-last weekend of the season. It makes every game a must-win even for third place Atalanta, who are tasked with holding sixth place Roma at bay on Monday. The odds definitely favor Atalanta but Roma have plenty of incentive, plus this has been the weekend where Serie A teams have essentially dropped points for fun. Expect these two to share the spoils and continue to make the race for European spots a guessing game for as long as they can.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don't miss out on CBSSports.com's betting home page.
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