NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) — Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has been rewarded with a contract extension for leading the club to its first European qualification for almost 30 years.
The 51-year-old Nuno signed a three-year deal to stay at the City Ground until at least 2028, the Premier League club said on its website Saturday.
“Nuno masterminded an incredible 2024-25 season for Forest, guiding the club to its highest league finish in 30 years and thus qualifying for UEFA European competition for the first time since 1995-96,” the club said.
Nuno’s team enjoyed away wins over Liverpool and Manchester United, and strung together the club’s longest top-flight winning streak since 1967.
Forest was on course for Champions League qualification after beating Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 away in April, but only one more win in the last five games meant it had to settle for seventh place. Only the top five qualified for Europe’s premier competition.
Forest had to settle for the third-tier Conference League competition — and will learn its playoff-round opponent when the Aug. 4 draw is made.
Club owner Evangelos Marinakis remonstrated with Nuno on the field after a 2-2 draw with Midlands rival Leicester dented its Champions League hopes. The club later said that Marinakis' concern was about the handling of injured player Taiwo Awoniyi.
On Saturday, Marinakis only had words of praise.
“Nuno has made a great impact and performed very well during his time with us so far,” the Greek businessman said. “He has demonstrated that he maximizes player performance and is an expert at developing players, whilst also embedding our young talent into the first team set-up.”
Nuno, who previously managed Wolves and Tottenham, took over at Forest from the fired Steve Cooper in December 2023 and helped the team avoid relegation on the final day of the season.
“I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football club,” the manager from the island country of São Tomé and Príncipe said of his contract extension. “Since we arrived at Forest, we have worked extremely hard to create a special bond between the players, the fans and everyone at the club, which helped us achieve great things last season.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Nottingham Forest's head coach Nuno Espirito Santo reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham and Nottingham Forest at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Monday, April 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland, File)
Dallas (7-8-1) at N.Y. Giants (3-13)
Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox
BetMGM NFL Odds: Cowboys by 3 1/2
Against the spread: Cowboys 7-9; Giants 7-8-1
Series record: Dallas leads 78-47-2.
Last week: Cowboys beat Commanders 30-23; Giants beat Raiders 34-10.
Last meeting: Dallas beat Washington 40-37 in OT on Sept. 14.
Cowboys offense: overall (1), rush (9), pass (1), scoring (4)
Cowboys defense: overall (30), rush (t20), pass (32), scoring (32)
Giants offense: overall (15), rush (6), pass (21), scoring (21)
Giants defense: overall (29), rush (30), pass (20), scoring (26)
Turnover differential: Cowboys minus-8; Giants minus-3
QB Dak Prescott has a 14-game winning streak against the Giants since two of his losses in a 13-3 rookie season in 2016 came against them. It’s the second-longest winning streak against a single opponent in NFL history behind Bob Griese, who beat Buffalo 17 consecutive times from 1968-79. Prescott will get credit for a Dallas victory because he is expected to start. The question is how long he will play in a finale with no playoff implications. Either way, this will go down as one of Prescott’s best seasons. He enters the final week first in the NFL with 4,482 yards passing.
WR Wan'Dale Robinson gets to put the finishing touches on his case for a new contract, either with the team that drafted him or elsewhere. Robinson last week became the first player 5-foot-8 or shorter to eclipse 1,000 yards receiving since 5-7 Richard Johnson in 1989 and just the third since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger. And he's playing against a Dallas secondary without Trevon Diggs, who was released on Tuesday.
Cowboys' offensive line vs. Giants' pass rush. New York's Brian Burns trails only Cleveland record-chasing Myles Garrett in sacks with a career-high 16 1/2, while rookie Abdul Carter has heated up with 3 1/2 over the past four games. Dallas would like to keep Prescott upright, no matter how long he plays.
Cowboys: RBs Javonte Williams (stinger) and Malik Davis (calf/eye) have been ruled out. The backs with a chance to be active have 54 career carries among them: FB Hunter Luepke (32) and rookies Jaydon Blue (22) and Phil Mafah (0). Mafah has been out all season with a shoulder injury, and is listed as questionable ... LB DeMarvion Overshown and rookie CB Shavon Revel have been dealing with concussions and won't play.
Giants: Two starters in the secondary are out: CB Cor'Dale Flott (knee) and S Jevon Holland (knee/concussion).
The Cowboys have won nine in a row against the Giants and 16 of the past 17. It's the longest active series in the league. Dallas' last winning streak this long was against Carolina from 1998-2012. ... Each team has been eliminated from playoff contention. ... The Cowboys are trying to avoid consecutive losing seasons for the first time since going 5-11 under coach Dave Campo from 2000-02. ... New York can still secure the top draft pick with a loss and Las Vegas victory against Kansas City or could drop as low as No. 7. ... This is expected to be interim coach Mike Kafka's final game with the Giants.
Cowboys WR George Pickens needs 80 yards receiving to reach 1,500 in his Dallas debut after the offseason trade from Pittsburgh. His only 1,000-yard season in three years with the Steelers came in 2023, when he had 1,140. … Ferguson needs one touchdown catch to tie the franchise tight end record of nine, held by Jason Witten and Billy Joe Dupree. … In their Week 2 game, K Brandon Aubrey had a tying 64-yard field goal on the final play of regulation and a winning 46-yarder as time expired in overtime in the 40-37 Dallas victory. ... Giants rookie QB Jaxson Dart has accounted for 22 TDs (13 passing and nine rushing) with just five interceptions, in his first 11 professional starts. ... Robinson led the team with 113 yards receiving at Las Vegas. He had 142 in Week 2 at Dallas, which was before top receiver Malik Nabers was knocked out for the season with a torn ACL in his right knee. ... LB Bobby Okereke intercepted Geno Smith and had seven tackles last week. ... CB Deonte Banks returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD against the Raiders.
Daily fantasy players might be able to cash in if Giants RB Tyrone Tracy has another big game rushing and receiving.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) is sacked by Kayvon Thibodeaux (5) during a NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)
FILE - Dallas Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens (3) carries the ball after reception during a NFL football game against the New York Giants on Sept. 14, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Matt Patterson, File)
