For Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, it was perhaps the most humiliating Champions League debut of all time.
Two miskicks. Three goals conceded. And substituted inside 17 minutes.
No wonder the 22-year-old Czech player looked inconsolable as he walked down the tunnel at Metropolitano Stadium, with two teammates catching him up to offer their sympathies.
Handed his first start since October and only his third appearance all season, Kinsky endured a nightmarish start to the round-of-16 match at Atletico Madrid on Tuesday when he miskicked while slipping making a clearance in the sixth minute, leading to Marcos Llorente opening the scoring.
Then, moments after Antoine Griezmann made it 2-0 for Atletico, Kinsky attempted a first-time pass out of his area with his left foot but miskicked again. The ball rolled into the path of Julian Alvarez, who had the simple task of slotting the ball into an empty net. Tottenham was 3-0 down after 15 minutes.
Kinsky lay face down, with his hands covering his face. He got up but stayed knelt down, one arm across his knee.
It wasn’t long before he was pulled by Igor Tudor, the under-pressure Tottenham interim manager whose bold call to leave out first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had spectacularly backfired.
Kinsky shook his head as he walked off the field — to some applause by sympathetic Atletico fans — to be replaced by Vicario and headed directly to the tunnel. One teammate was seen with his arm around the shoulder of Kinsky as they walked to the locker room.
Kinsky was signed by Tottenham from Slavia Prague in January last year amid an injury crisis in the goalkeeper department.
He was hailed as a goalkeeper for the future, and regarded as especially good with his feet.
Kinsky made 10 appearances for Tottenham last season, giving up his starting spot when Vicario recovered in February from a broken ankle.
His only two previous appearances this season have come in the English League Cup, making it a huge decision by Tudor to call up Kinsky for Tottenham's biggest game of the campaign so far.
Kinsky clearly wasn't ready for such a big occasion and Tudor will have questions to answer.
Vicario had put in some shaky recent performances, having conceded two or more goals in each of Tottenham's last nine Premier League games — none of which the team had won. In fact, Tottenham is on a club-record winless run of 11 matches in the Premier League, losing its last five as it battles relegation.
The Italian's kicking and distribution has been particularly scrutinized, most recently in the 3-1 home loss to Crystal Palace last week.
Tudor chose to take Vicario out of the firing line — but that didn't last long.
It marked the latest humiliation for Tottenham, which is just one point above the relegation zone in the Premier League with nine games left.
Spurs came into the match at Atletico with just two wins in 14 matches in all competitions in 2026 – and both of those were in the Champions League.
Tottenham has been an ever-present in the Premier League since the competition was founded in 1992, and last played in the second tier in the 1977-78 season.
The Champions League has proved to be a welcome distraction for Tottenham from its domestic woes — until Tuesday, anyway. The team finished fourth in the league stage, behind only Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, after winning five of its eight games.
Tudor replaced the fired Thomas Frank last month, but has lost all three of his games in charge ahead of playing Atletico.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Tottenham's head coach Igor Tudor looks out from the bench prior to the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky leaves the field after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
Tottenham's goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, left, shakes hands with Tottenham's goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after substitution during the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Tottenham in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Breton)
The Atlanta Falcons have declared Kirk Cousins will be a salary cap cut. Kyler Murray has been informed of his impending release by the Arizona Cardinals.
Beyond them, well, the landscape of available quarterbacks looks quite barren for NFL teams seeking the next Sam Darnold success story in free agency. Trade candidates among proven starters appear to be even more scarce. For the handful of clubs at a crossroad or committed to starting over this offseason, the timing is hardly ideal.
The rookie class thins quickly after Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, the consensus projection to be taken first overall in the April draft by the Las Vegas Raiders, so going the Drake Maye route to a Super Bowl probably won't happen anytime soon.
Reliable quarterbacks have been of utmost importance for decades in the NFL, but long-term satisfaction with the position across the league is becoming increasingly elusive.
Just because a team has paid top dollar for a franchise quarterback doesn’t mean that decision won’t be reconsidered the following year for cost, injuries, performance or all of the above.
After eating more than $99 million in dead money on their salary cap by deciding to cut Tua Tagovailoa, the Miami Dolphins snatched up the most sought-after free agent. They gave former Tennessee Titans and Green Bay Packers backup Malik Willis a reported $45 million guaranteed over three years in a deal that will quickly allow the 26-year-old with just 155 career attempts to cash in even bigger if he can establish himself as a productive and reliable starter.
Geno Smith would have been a viable option for a team such as the Minnesota Vikings, the originators of the Darnold plan in 2024 before they let him leave last year for the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, but he's on his way back to the New York Jets in a trade with the Raiders.
Tagovailoa? He's already decided to join the Falcons. Jimmy Garoppolo? He's available, but he hasn't started a meaningful game in three years. Zach Wilson, the second overall pick in the 2021 draft is too, but he has 12 career wins.
Here's a closer look at the most viable options that remain:
The Falcons announced last month they will cut him and fully pivot toward 2024 first-round draft pick Michael Penix Jr., whose knee injury last year gave Cousins the job back. His familiarity with the Vikings and coach Kevin O'Connell's system could make sense for a reunion. Cousins, who turns 38 before the season, would be a realistic bridge starter to give 2024 first-round draft pick J.J. McCarthy more time to develop, but Cousins has never signed a bargain contract.
Limited to five games by a foot injury last season as the Cardinals slumped to 3-14, Murray will cost them more than $54 million in dead money. He'll also make more than $36 million in real money from the Cardinals, no matter where he winds up, because his 2026 salary is fully guaranteed. Offset language in his contract allows his new team to sign him for the veteran minimum. Murray, the first overall pick in the 2019 draft, has not won more than nine games in a single season — or any in the playoffs.
After signing a prove-it contract last season with the Indianapolis Colts, Jones was on his way to mirroring the success Darnold — the biggest prize on the market last year — had with the Seattle Seahawks until Jones tore his Achilles tendon in December. Jones is still rehabilitating from the injury, lessening the league-wide interest, but the Colts placing the transition tag on him allows him to continue to negotiate a bigger deal with another club.
Aaron Rodgers at age 42 appears unlikely to switch teams again, as a reunion with coach Mike McCarthy in Pittsburgh presents an attractive way to put off retirement and stay with the Steelers. Perhaps he'll get another call from the Vikings if their other options dry up. Minnesota might also find it worth trying to pry backup Mac Jones, the former New England Patriots starter before Maye, away from the San Francisco 49ers in a trade.
Though Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens have hit some bumps in the road together, the two-time NFL MVP is on track for a new deal. He wouldn’t have had a voice in the coaching search if the Ravens were considering a trade.
“I have spoken to Lamar about a lot of different things over the last month,” general manager Eric DeCosta said at the combine in Indianapolis last month. “He’s been very engaged.”
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL
FILE - Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins (18) walks off the field after an NFL football game against the New Orleans Saints, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Danny Karnik, File)
FILE - Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) throws a pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Oct. 5, 2025, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
