Sports News Roundup: Europe's top sides handed straightforward routes to Qatar; Residents uncertain about Games as costs, COVID-19 cases rise and more

Vettel has big shoes to fill as Perez's replacement, says Brawn Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel now has big shoes to fill next season after Sergio Perez won Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix for Racing Point, Formula One's motorsport managing director Ross Brawn said on Monday.

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Europe's top sides handed straightforward routes to Qatar

England were pitted against old rivals Poland in their World Cup qualifying group on Monday after a draw which left Europe's top sides with apparently straightforward routes to the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia and England all avoided each other thanks to the seeding system and, barring major upsets, should qualify comfortably for the tournament in Qatar.

Woods' Hall of Fame induction on hold until 2022 due to COVID-19

Tiger Woods' induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame will have to wait, after organisers said they were postponing the 2021 ceremony until the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 15-time major winner will be inducted alongside 11-time LPGA winner Susie Maxwell Berning, former PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem and the late Marion Hollins, who broke barriers as one of the few female developers of golf courses in the sport's history.

Residents uncertain about Games as costs, COVID-19 cases rise

Japanese residents are torn between trepidation and tentative support for next year's Olympic Games that are now set to be far more expensive than expected amid a spike in coronavirus cases. In an announcement on Friday, organisers said the postponed Games would cost an additional 294 billion yen ($2.8 billion) with the bill to be shared by the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, the Japanese government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG).

NFL Roundup: Surging Giants stun Seahawks

Wayne Gallman Jr. rushed for a career-high 135 yards, Alfred Morris scored twice and the suddenly resurgent New York Giants, behind backup quarterback Colt McCoy, upset the host Seattle Seahawks 17-12 on Sunday. The Seahawks (8-4), who entered the game first in the NFC West and third in the NFL with 31.0 points per game, didn't get their offense untracked until late in the fourth quarter. Seattle reached the Giants' 46-yard line on its final possession, but three incompletions and a sack ended the threat.

Vettel has big shoes to fill as Perez's replacement, says Brawn

Four-times world champion Sebastian Vettel now has big shoes to fill next season after Sergio Perez won Sunday's Sakhir Grand Prix for Racing Point, Formula One's motorsport managing director Ross Brawn said on Monday. The 33-year-old German is joining from Ferrari, where he has been out of sorts of late, to what will be the Aston Martin team in 2021 in a move that has pushed on-form Mexican Perez out of the door.

Former Texas coach Fred Akers dies at 82

Fred Akers, who coached the Texas Longhorns football team for a decade and twice came within one victory of a national championship, died Monday of complications from dementia, his wife Diane Akers told the Austin American-Statesman. He was 82. As head coach at Texas, Akers amassed an 86-31-2 record in 10 seasons. His 86 wins rank third on the school's all-time victory list behind Darrell Royal (167 wins) and Mack Brown (158).

Wolff on Russell: A star is born and sky's the limit

The sky's the limit for George Russell after the British youngster's stellar performance as Lewis Hamilton's stand-in at the Sakhir Grand Prix, according to Mercedes Formula One team boss Toto Wolff. The 22-year-old seized his opportunity to shine in Sunday's race in Bahrain and cemented his status as a full-time Mercedes driver in waiting, even if hopes of a stunning victory were cruelly dashed.

Reports: Jets fire DC Williams after final-seconds loss

The New York Jets fired defensive coordinator Gregg Williams on Monday, a day after his controversial play call led to a last-second loss, multiple outlets reported. With 13 seconds left and trailing 28-24, the Las Vegas Raiders had the ball at the Jets' 46-yard line with no timeouts. Williams called for an all-out blitz and zero coverage, which meant the cornerbacks were forced into one-on-one coverage with no assistance from the safeties.

Olympics-Breaking's breakthrough brings electric 'folk art' to Paris Games

Breakdancing cleared its final hurdle to feature in the Paris 2024 Games on Monday, bringing the wholly original, electric art form to sport's biggest stage. Considered one of the pillars of hip-hop culture, breaking, as participants prefer to call it, originated in New York in the 1970s and has spread globally, enjoying enormous popularity beyond the United States and particularly across Europe and Asia.

IOC bans Belarus president Lukashenko from Games

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is banned from attending the Olympic Games as head of his country's National Olympic Committee (NOC) as part of provisional sanctions imposed by the International Olympic Committee on Monday. The IOC banned two other officials from the NOC, including Lukashenko's son, Viktor, who is the first vice president of the national Olympic body.