40 days to the World Cup: Ivory Coast returns 12 years after heartbre…

The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament’s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world’s biggest sporting spectacle has become — even beyond the expanded field of this year’s global event.

The final knockout round place came down to the final matchday in Group C at the 2014 World Cup. A draw against Greece would likely help Ivory Coast advance with Japan needing a high-scoring win over group leader Colombia to overcome a goal-difference tiebreaker. djcc.club

The Ivorians were playing in their third straight World Cup, but were unable to advance out of the group in two previous tournaments. They were on the brink, and Wilfried Bony's 74th-minute equalizer looked to be the goal that would put them through.

Sports can give hope and also take it away.

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In the 93rd minute, Ivory Coast’ Giovanni Sio was whistled for a foul on Georgios Samaras inside the penalty to give Greece a last-gasp penalty kick.

Samaras stepped up and cooly beat goalkeeper Boubacar Barry to put Greece through to the Round of 16.

That was the last World Cup match played by Ivory Coast. They failed to qualify in 2018 and 2022, but made it through AFCON qualifying undefeated with eight wins and two draws to earn an automatic spot. This summer, they have been drawn into Group E with Germany, Curaçao and Ecuador.

Tai Tuivasa’s disappointing losing streak continued at UFC Perth on Saturday and it’s tough to imagine he’ll get another chance in the octagon.

This time it was Louie Sutherland, who scored multiple takedowns and racked up copious amounts of control time on the ground as Tuivasa was just stuck on his back with no chance to escape. Tuivasa even managed a late foul, which cost him a point, as the final scores read 30-26 across the board as Sutherland got the unanimous decision win.

“Listen, me and my coaches said it, we done a big 360, we started here, it didn’t go to plan,” Sutherland said after his first UFC win. “But that’s on a week’s notice, who you f*cking booing? I love fighting. I’ve know I’ve got the skills to win in this organization. Get me anybody, I’ll fight them all. Marcin Tybura, Serbia, let’s have at it!”

It didn’t take long for Sutherland to shoot for a takedown but Tuivasa resisted before shrugging him off to reset in the center. But Sutherland was undeterred as he shot again to put Tuivasa on the ground but the veteran Australian heavyweight was able to get up again without much struggle.

Back on the feet, Tuivasa blasted Sutherland with a couple of nasty punches and an elbow but the Brit survived before firing back with a spinning back elbow and a knee right up the middle that landed clean. A wild scramble ensued with Sutherland landing on top with Tuivasa playing defense on the ground.

Sutherland stayed in control until the round ended and the heavyweights restarted on the feet in the second.

But Sutherland quickly closed the distance and effectively tossed Tuivasa to the ground as he fell into side control. While the action was minimal, Sutherland eventually advanced to the mount before looking for an arm triangle choke, although he wasn’t able to lock it up.

Still, Sutherland stayed on top and shut down Tuivasa’s best efforts to get up again.

With five minutes remaining, Sutherland cracked Tuivasa with a stiff calf kick before scoring another takedown in the center of the cage. Tuivasa was just flat on his back with the referee warning Sutherland that he need to do more work to maintain his position.

Sutherland did just enough to hold Tuivasa down but the fighters were eventually stood up with less than a minute remaining. This time, Sutherland effectively just flopped to the ground and Tuivasa threw a knee to the head, which cost him a point as the fight came to an end.

While Sutherland celebrated his win, Tuivasa was understandably disappointed in defeat, especially knowing he was probably fighting for his job at UFC Perth. He now goes hope after a seventh straight defeat and an uncertain future as far as his UFC career goes.

The New York Jets and Russell Wilson could still happen.

However, there could be an interesting consideration for him in between the QB and Gang Green.

Wilson, 37, had a free-agent visit in New York this past week with the idea of potentially backing up Geno Smith:

The Jets, exploring the veteran backup QB market, had Russell Wilson in for a visit late yesterday, per source. Nothing is imminent. #Jets are going through their process.

— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) April 28, 2026

Wilson is weighing options... which evidently is between the Jets and becoming an analyst. According to The Athletic, Wilson has had talks with CBS Sports to join "The NFL Today" crew.

Per The Athletic, Wilson would potentially take another former QBs position:

If the CBS deal is finalized, Wilson will fill the spot vacated by Matt Ryan. Ryan left CBS to become president of football for the Atlanta Falcons. The rest of CBS’ crew is host James Brown and analysts Nate Burleson and Bill Cowher.

If Wilson joined the Jets, it would be his 15th NFL season. The former Super Bowl champion would serve as a more experienced backup option to fourth-round rookie Cade Klubnik.

Jets Wire will continue to provide updates throughout the 2026 offseason.

This article originally appeared on Jets Wire: Report: Russell Wilson could be deciding between Jets or new career

Former Formula 1 driver Alex Zanardi, who survived a devastating accident in 2001 that left him without legs, passed away at the age of 60. The Italian athlete went on to win four gold and two silver medals in handbike cycling at the 2012 London and 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, earning him the nickname “Phoenix.”

There are so many good names of the horses running the 2026 Kentucky Derby on Saturday at Churchill Downs -- be sure to check out our full rankings of the monikers -- but there's one that might be a fan favorite.

Albus, who is trained by Riley Mott and owned by Pin Oak Stud, has a very famous name for those of you who are fans of the Harry Potter series. And if you're here, you might be wondering: Is the colt named after Dumbledore, the incredible all-time great wizard who is the headmaster at Hogwarts?

The answer is: Looks that way! Per an Instagram post from Pink Oaks, he's been named after the legendary Dumbledore.

So if you're a fan of the books or the movies, we know which horse you're rooting for on Saturday.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Is Albus the Kentucky Derby horse named after Harry Potter character?