Bayern Munich's English striker, Harry Kane, hopes to spend an "exceptional night" during the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony scheduled to be held on Monday in his hometown of London, where the captain of the "Three Lions" team is considered the most likely candidate to win the award, according to betting forecasts.
The 33-year-old striker scored 73 goals for his club and country, which is the second best number in history after the achievement of Argentine star Lionel Messi, who scored 82 goals in the 2010-2011 season.
By continuing his habit of causing suffering to his old rival Arsenal, on Wednesday, in the third round of the unified group of the Champions League, the former Tottenham striker once again proved the extent of his complete level as a player since his move to Germany in 2023.
During the match, Kane dropped back to take goal kicks, initiate Bayern's attacks, and also assisted the equalizer scored by Canadian Alphonso Davis in the first half thanks to an accurate long pass.
In the second half, Kane won a penalty kick, which he executed successfully, giving the Bavaria giants the lead, before his teammate Declan Rice scored a late goal (2-2), so the two teams shared the two points.
Expectations indicate that Kane will win the Ballon d'Or for the best player in the world for the first time in his career, but the result remains completely undecided, in light of a competition that is considered one of the most open and close in recent times.
The Bayern striker faces strong competition from the Spanish duo Lamine Yamal and Rodri, who won the World Cup title, along with the French national team's attacking captain, Kylian Mbappe, and the latter's compatriot, Kane's Bavarian teammate, Michael Oliseh.
At a time when Yamal and Mbappe, in particular, resorted to the media to promote how much they deserved the Ballon d'Or, Kane was cautious as usual, despite being the target of many constant media questions.
When asked repeatedly about his chances after his brilliance inside the green rectangle on Wednesday, Kane said: “I try not to think about it, and it is clear that it is difficult.”
He added: “There are rumors circulating here and there; So I try to stay away from it. “I will try to enjoy Monday night as much as possible, as it is a big occasion and an important event.”
Officially, the Ballon d'Or is awarded based on three main criteria: individual performance, outstanding personal traits, team performance, sportsmanship and high morals.
In recent years, winners of the award have either won the Champions League and/or World Cup, or have established themselves thanks to their impressive numbers and statistics, a criterion that Kane clearly meets.
Kane was often criticized for his failure to win group titles during his time with Tottenham, but he took his tally to five titles with Bayern after achieving a league and cup double last year. However, the Bavarian giant's dominance of German football may not be to his advantage.
Bayern, led by Kane, reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, before narrowly losing to Paris Saint-Germain on the latter's way to retain its title.
As for the international level, the English team finished the World Cup on the North American continent in the United States, Canada and Mexico in third place, with the “Three Lions” captain scoring 6 goals and providing an assist.
After scoring a goal against Arsenal, Kane has at least one goal in each of his last ten Champions League matches, bringing him just one goal closer to the record set by Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo (11).
Kane added: “When your name is associated in any way with the name Ronaldo, it means that you are performing exceptionally, especially in this competition.”
For his part, Belgian Vincent Kompany, coach of Bayern Munich, praised Kane’s efforts and dedication to the team, saying: “What happiest Harry in recent years is that he was finally able to win his first team title here.”
He added: “If he can now crown his career, or this season, by winning the Ballon d’Or, it will be a worthy achievement, given the way he plays for the team.”
Arsenal's Rice scored a late goal, giving his team a draw, but he singled out his country's captain for special praise after the match, saying: "Harry is the deserving winner (of the Ballon d'Or). His numbers speak for themselves, and what he achieved this year is exceptional.”
He added: “For a striker to pass that ball in the first goal, and then take the penalty kick in that way... He is an amazing player, truly an amazing player.”
For his part, Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool and England national team midfielder, joined Jude Bellingham in describing Kane as “perhaps the best player in the history of England,” after his wonderful performance against Arsenal.
Kane hopes to follow in the footsteps of Michael Owen, who was the last English player to win the Ballon d'Or in 2001, and German striker Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was the last Bayern Munich player to win the award in 1981.
“Monday night could be exceptional,” Kane added. “We have to wait and see what happens.”
He concluded: “I try not to think about it too much; Because we have important matches ahead of us, including another match on Sunday (against Freiburg). I know it's a huge event, and I'm definitely looking forward to it. “I hope it will be an exceptional night.”
Russian Daniil Medvedev (the defending champion) continued his successful campaign so far in the men's singles competitions of the Almaty Open Tennis Championship, after qualifying for the semi-finals in the 250 points category.
Medvedev extended his winning streak to six consecutive matches in this tournament, held in Kazakhstan, after defeating Frenchman Terrence Attman on Friday, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Last year, by winning this indoor tournament, Medvedev ended a waiting period that lasted 882 days without achieving any title, and he returns this week to Almaty, seeking to win his fourth title in the 2026 season, in which he is presenting a distinguished performance.
Medvedev, ranked first in the tournament, gave a balanced performance against Atman, as he succeeded in keeping his opponent under pressure thanks to his deep balls, and he also relied on his forehand shots, which enabled him to score 13 decisive shots.
Medvedev said in statements reported on the official website of the Professional Tennis Players Association: “It is not easy to play against Terrence, as he has a strong serve and powerful shots. “I had to stay focused on the match, and I succeeded in taking some decisive shots.”
This year, Medvedev achieved 36 victories on hard courts, which is the highest number among all players in the association’s competitions, noting that the three titles he won in 2026 all came on this type of court (in Brisbane, Dubai and Hangzhou).
This latest victory also strengthened Medvedev's chances of qualifying for the season-ending tournament, which will be held next November in the Italian city of Turin.
Medvedev, who previously won the Final Championship title, is ranked sixth in the qualification race for Turin, 640 points ahead of Australian Alex de Minaur, who is in tenth place, and who is the first player currently outside the list of qualifiers, noting that he is not participating in any competitions this week.
In the next round, Medvedev will face the winner of the confrontation between Kazakh third seed Alexander Bublik and Russian fifth seed Karen Khachanov, which will be held later on Friday evening.
Earlier, Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas qualified for the semi-finals for the second time this season, which is his first time on hard courts since February 2025.
Tsitsipas, seeded seventh in the tournament, did not have the slightest difficulty overcoming the obstacle of Australian James Duckworth, after he defeated him 6-3, 6-4 in a match that lasted only 73 minutes.
Tsitsipas, who won the two matches he played against Dakoroth in the record of their direct confrontations, will play against the Georgian player Nikoloz Basilashvili, who qualified through the preliminary rounds, after defeating the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino by a score of 6-3, 6-1, in a match in which Basilashvili lost only four games.
Robin Amorim, coach of the Italian team Milan, confirmed that “there was no match” for his team against its English host, Bournemouth, pointing out that his team’s numerical deficiency after one of its players was sent off in the 28th minute made it impossible for the team to avoid a heavy loss.
The Portuguese coach commented, saying after the match, which was held at the Vitality Stadium: “We cannot make such mistakes.”
Milan suffered a harsh defeat against its host, Bournemouth, with a score of 0-3, on Thursday evening, in the third round of the league stage of the European Football League (Europa League).
Amorim has a bad record against Bournemouth since he was coaching Manchester United, including a 0-3 loss to the team nicknamed “The Cherry Pies,” and this negative series continued on Thursday.
Milan paid the price for two naive mistakes early on. The first was a handball from Kuni de Winter that led to a penalty kick scored by Justin Kluivert, and the second was Mike Maignan, the Italian team’s goalkeeper, pushing Tyler Adams, which led to a double penalty, as the French goalkeeper received a red card and another penalty kick was awarded to the English team, which was successfully executed by Marcus Tavernier.
Before the end of the match, Amin Adly added a third goal for Bournemouth from a free kick, which could be crucial given the importance of goal difference in the current system of the European League.
Amorim told Sky Sports in its Italian version, saying: “The penalty kick awarded from a corner kick and the red card changed everything, so there was no match.” “This was not really a meeting.”
The Portuguese coach added: “We did not have enough time to recover after the first penalty kick. We tried to put pressure in the end, but the third goal made the situation more difficult.”
When asked about the rotation policy in his squad, as the substitutes succeeded in defeating Austrian Red Bull Salzburg 4-1, while a team from the English Premier League such as Bournemouth proved to be a completely different type of opponent, Amorim answered in a tone of annoyance: “It is not about the rhythm of the game or facing Salzburg, there was simply no match. We are facing a different team, and we cannot allow a penalty kick to be awarded in a situation like this, and we cannot be sent off in such circumstances.”
“We cannot make such mistakes,” Amorim stressed. We need to keep 11 players on the field. “We have more experienced players, but now we have to recover and prepare for the next match.”
He continued: “When you play with a numerical disadvantage, you are forced to exert double physical effort and try to apply pressure at the right time, so it was a negative evening in all respects for us.”
Asked if he spoke with Maignan after the expulsion, Amorim replied: “No, I did not have enough time. Now I have to head to Milan to prepare for the next match against Udinese. "We will talk about this matter when we return."
Amorim concluded his statements by saying: “We are going through a different stage. Fabio Capello talks about the club's history, and I understand that, but we have to be realistic. I admired the fighting spirit we showed, we tried to offer something and support each other. We must learn from such moments and realize that this is the nature of football.”
It is noteworthy that Milan's balance froze at three points in twenty-fourth place in the continental competition, after achieving one win, compared to two losses.
