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» Jamie Vardy sees shock transfer vetoed by Arsenal legend despite agreement
Premier League icon Jamie Vardy is a free agent after leaving Leicester City at the end of his contract and had held talks over a surprise transfer to a Serie A side
» Marc Cucurella reveals 'date' with former Chelsea star despite Club World Cup rivalry
Chelsea will face Brazilian side Fluminense in the semi-finals of the Club World Cup after seeing off Palmeiras and that means a reunion for veteran defender Thiago Silva
» Chelsea star names key reason he believes Premier League side can win FIFA Club World Cup
Chelsea face Fluminense in the semi-final of the FIFA Club World Cup in New York on Tuesday, with a place in next weekend's final against Real Madrid or Paris Saint-Germain at stake - not to mention a potential £97m jackpot
» Lauren Hemp relishing England's must-win scenario as Lionesses feel the pressure
England's Euro 2025 defeat against France means the pressure is on ahead of the meeting with the Netherlands in Zurich on Wednesday but, they have dealt with pressure before
» Arsenal chief's reputation on line with Victor Gyokeres vs Benjamin Sesko transfer decision
Arsenal are closing in on a deal for Sporting Lisbon striker Viktor Gyokeres with the Gunners having also been interested in Benjamin Sesko during the summer transfer window
» Martin Zubimendi chooses surprise Arsenal shirt number despite Spain choice being available
Martin Zubimendi's move to Arsenal has finally been confirmed as the Spain international signs a five-year deal with the Gunners as he departs Real Sociedad for pastures new
» England stars identify secret weapon who can rescue Lionesses' Euro hopes
Sarina Wiegman's England tasted defeat in the first match of their European Championships defence but there is optimism in the camp after a late rally against France
» Lionel Messi decision defended by Inter Miami boss amid bizarre criticism
Lionel Messi starred in Inter Miami's win over Montreal as they return to action in Major League soccer but Javier Mascherano saw a choice questioned on Saturday evening
» Wrexham agree £5m club record transfer but it may not be enough to get deal done
Wrexham are looking for quality additions to bolster their squad after winning a third successive promotion and have now agreed a huge deal with a Premier League club
» Liverpool confirm new pre-season start date with tributes planned to Diogo Jota
Liverpool's first-team squad will report back on Tuesday for the start of pre-season following the tragic death of Diogo Jota - but a decision on whether they will fulfil their pre-season friendly against Preston North End is yet to be made
» Martin Zubimendi reveals Arsenal duo convinced him to make move in first words after transfer
Martin Zubimendi has completed his long-anticipated transfer to Arsenal from Real Sociedad and explained the Gunners were on his agenda as soon as he decided to leave the Basque region
» Arsenal close on Viktor Gyokeres transfer after major breakthrough with Sporting Lisbon
Arsenal are finally closing in on the signing of a new striker with Viktor Gyokeres poised to join them from Sporting Lisbon, though the clubs have yet to agree on a transfer fee
» Cole Palmer admits to 'difficult times' at Chelsea and unsung star who helped him through
It has been a difficult year for Cole Palmer at Chelsea and he is the first to admit that 2025 has not quite gone the way he was hoping at Stamford Bridge, but one team-mate has always supported him
» Arsenal sign Martin Zubimendi and pay MORE than release clause after frustrating transfer delay
Arsenal have completed their latest capture of the summer transfer window having snapped up Real Sociedad star Martin Zubimendi despite late competition from Real Madrid
» Diogo Jota will live forever at Liverpool and beyond - but now is time to grieve
Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva sadly passed away on Thursday following a car crash and were buried on Saturday in their hometown of Gondomar in Portugal
» Viktor Gyokeres sees Sporting Lisbon take action after Arsenal transfer target's 'strike' threat
Viktor Gyokeres is a transfer target for Arsenal this summer and his future could soon be resolved after reports the Gunners made a breakthrough with Sporting CP amid the prospect of a strike
» What happened to Jamal Musiala as Bayern Munich boss Vincent Kompany left with 'blood boiling'
Jamal Musiala, this week handed the No.10 shirt at Bayern Munich following Leroy Sane's exit, is facing a long stint on the sidelines after suffering a fractured fibula during the German side's FIFA Club World Cup loss to Paris Saint-Germain
» Former Premier League star's bombshell doping allegation met with furious response
Allan Saint-Maximin made stunning claims against Fenerbahce after spending the season on loan in Turkey from Saudi Pro League club Al Ahli and the Super Lig club reject his allegations
» England Women told to face Euro 2025 reality and rediscover 'untouchable' selves
England's Euro 2025 campaign got off to a painful start with defeat against France but the Lionesses' players have outlined how they can bounce back on Wednesday
» Trent Alexander-Arnold speaks for first time on tragic Diogo Jota with emotional tribute
Real Madrid star Trent Alexander-Arnold paid a special tribute to Diogo Jota, his former Liverpool team-mate who tragically died on Thursday, following the Spanish giants latest win in the FIFA Club World Cup
» Dan Ashworth’s four-man Man Utd transfer shortlist that saw three signed with mixed results
Dan Ashworth was appointed Manchester United's sporting director last summer and had drawn up a list of four key players he wanted to sign for then-manager Erik ten Hag
» Manuel Neuer points finger at tearful Gianluigi Donnarumma for Jamal Musiala horror injury
Bayern Munich star Jamal Musiala suffered a horrible injury in a challenge with Gianluigi Donnarumma which overshadowed Paris Saint-Germain's victory at the Club World Cup
» Chelsea's FIFA Club World Cup prize money to date after reaching semi-final in USA
Chelsea are into the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup where they will face Brazilian side Fluminense and Enzo Maresca's side have effectively paid off the £60m fee for Joao Pedro after their run to the last four
» Transfer news LIVE: Arsenal chase deals for Gyokeres AND Madueke, Man Utd in shock move, Chelsea latest
Manchester United are ready to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin after his Everton exit, while Arsenal are leading the chase for Noni Madueke and there's a Viktor Gyokeres update
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» Switzerland 2-0 Iceland: Women’s Euro 2025 – live reaction

Here are the anthems, just a few moments to go before kick-off.

Here’s how the other game in the group played out earlier today:

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» Graham Hansen’s late winner downs Finland and puts Norway into last eight

Norway became the first team to reach the knockout stages of Women’s Euro 2025 after grinding out a 2-1 victory over a courageous Finland. Caroline Graham Hansen’s late winner in Sion broke Helmarit hearts after Oona Sevenius had cancelled out Eva Nyström’s unfortunate early own goal. Switzerland’s 2-0 win over Iceland in the late game sealed their passage into the quarter-finals.

It was Norway’s experience that eventually told when their decorated vice-captain struck in the 84th minute against the run of play.

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» Arsenal close on Viktor Gyökeres after signing Martín Zubimendi in £50m-plus deal
  • Sporting No 9 agrees terms as talks over fee continue

  • Zubimendi in from Real Sociedad despite Madrid interest

Arsenal are closing in on the signing of Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting after agreeing personal terms with the Sweden striker. Negotiations are continuing over a fee for the 27-year-old, with Arsenal hoping to strike a deal for less than the £68m asking price.

Gyökeres has made no secret of his desire for a new challenge, having scored 54 goals for Sporting last season, and is understood to have made clear he wants to join Arsenal despite interest from elsewhere in the Premier League, including Manchester United.

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» ‘A real shock’: Bayern Munich confirm Musiala out for long period with leg fracture
  • Musiala suffered fibula fracture and ankle dislocation

  • PSG’s Donnarumma criticised for ‘reckless’ collision

Bayern Munich have said Jamal Musiala faces a “lengthy” recovery from a leg fracture after his collision with Paris Saint-Germain’s goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma at the Club World Cup.

Bayern said on Sunday that Musiala had flown back from Florida to Munich that morning for surgery on the injury the attacking midfielder picked up in Saturday’s loss to PSG in the quarter-finals.

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» ‘We thrive under pressure’: Hemp defiant despite England’s losing start
  • Lionesses facing must-win game against Netherlands

  • Hemp: ‘We’re going to make sure we’re back at our best’

Lauren Hemp said the Lionesses “thrive under pressure” after a 2-1 defeat by France plunged them into in effect a must-win game against the Netherlands on Wednesday.

England’s midfield collapse was concerning in their Euro 2025 opener, the team sloppy in possession and punished on the wings, but Hemp struck a defiant tone.

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» Fifa cuts ticket price to $13.40 for Club World Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Fluminense
  • Semi ticket cut from $474 to just $13 in New Jersey

  • Sparse crowds plague tournament outside Real games

  • PSG v Madrid semi-final still priced from nearly $200

Fifa cut standard ticket prices for the semi-final between Chelsea and Fluminense at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Tuesday to $13.40 from $473.90 earlier in the past week.

Fifa has used dynamic pricing for the 63-game tournament.

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» ‘He lit up a room’: Trent Alexander-Arnold pays tribute to Diogo Jota
  • Right-back pleased football world united to show love

  • Former Liverpool teammate an ‘amazing man and player’

Trent Alexander-Arnold has described his former Liverpool teammate Diogo Jota as “someone who lit up a room”. The Liverpool forward died along with his brother, André Silva, in a car accident in Spain on Thursday.

Alexander-Arnold is at the Club World Cup in the United States with Real Madrid having left Anfield at the end of their title-winning 2024-25 season. He spoke to Dazn after Madrid’s quarter-final victory over Borussia Dortmund in New Jersey.

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» Crystal Palace in dark over European place and stuck in Textor’s tangled web | Ed Aarons

The American could next move for Sheffield Wednesday or Watford while Palace wait to see if dealings fall favourably

A champion skateboarder in his youth, John Textor has never been averse to risk. The American businessman even warrants a mention in Craig Snyder’s book A Secret History of the Ollie as “one of the few who beat eight-time world champion Rodney Mullen in freestyle competitions during the turn of the 70s”, but a serious head injury put an end to his competitive career.

Textor surprisingly turned his attention to football club ownership in 2021 when he bought a stake in Crystal Palace after making his fortune in digital technology and the next week could prove decisive for his latest venture.

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» How a Colombian podcast shed light on Bobby Moore and the ‘bracelet of Bogotá’

The allegations England’s captain had casually stolen the jewellery on the eve of the 1970 World Cup sparked a diplomatic frenzy

It remains one of the most notorious and unresolved episodes in World Cup history. Now diplomatic cables have emerged in Colombia shedding fresh light on the diplomatic frenzy caused by the arrest of Bobby Moore, then captain of the reigning champions, England, days before the start of the 1970 tournament in Mexico.

The previously unseen documents show how Moore’s trip to the Fuego Verde jewellery shop in Bogotá, the Colombian capital, sparked a desperate campaign from the British Foreign Office to free the West Ham centre-back. The enormous pressure exerted on Colombia by the Foreign Office may have swayed the judge’s decision in the case, a new podcast series El Capitán y el Brazalete de Esmeraldas (The Captain and the Emerald Bracelet) concluded.

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» Transfer news has lost its sense of wonder and surprise in era of ‘my sources tell me …’ | Max Rushden

Spurs signing Klinsmann or selling Waddle were bolts from the blue. Now, transfer influencers track private jets and almost nothing is unknown

Which transfer fee blew your mind? It was probably Spurs signing Gazza for £2m in the summer of 1988. TWO MILLION. No one is worth that kind of money. The following year, I distinctly remember running into the living room – Spurs had just signed Gary Lineker. I was preparing for the season ahead, invisible football at my feet, commentating to myself: “Gascoigne, to Waddle, in for LINEKERRRR.” The next moment I switched on the TV and someone (let’s say Ray Stubbs) was telling me that Spurs had sold Waddle to Marseille. I was bereft. There was no warning. For me, or for Lineker it turns out.

I heard the striker talking about the transfer recently on the excellent What Did You Do Yesterday? podcast hosted by David O’Doherty and generic broadcaster Max Rushden (perhaps the second-best podcast he hosts).

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» Estêvão shows Chelsea he can form dangerous partnership with Palmer

Playmaker scored against his new club and should form an entertaining combination with the England international

The good news for Chelsea is that Cole Palmer and Estêvão Willian will be on the same team when they next share a pitch. Even better, it seems two of the most gifted young forwards around already have a connection. They were on opposite sides in Philadelphia on Friday night but friends when it was over, sharing a warm embrace after Chelsea’s victory over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup, swapping shirts and perhaps thinking about how much fun they are going to have at the expense of opposition defences when they line up together next season.

It was a heartwarming sight. Palmer offered a reminder that he remains the main man at Chelsea, performing with craft and intelligence during a first half in which he opened the scoring in smooth fashion, but Estêvão vied for centre stage on his final appearance for Palmeiras. It was an extraordinary performance given the context. Anticipation has been building ever since Chelsea agreed a £52m fee with Palmeiras for Estêvão in May 2024. The 18-year-old has remained on an upward trajectory after staying with Palmeiras for one more season, but any hopes of keeping the hype machine from going into overdrive with a player regarded as the best Brazilian youth product of his generation had disappeared long before he found himself trying to knock his future employers out of the Club World Cup.

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» Your Guardian sport weekend: Euro 2025, Wimbledon, Tour de France and much more

Here’s how to follow our coverage on the busiest sporting weekend of the year – the finest writing and live reports

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» Lionesses will be going home if they do not shape up but history offers hope | Tom Garry

Much better display is needed against the Netherlands from a team with a habit of bouncing back under Wiegman

The England fans in Zurich have a new favourite song, replacing the word “Tequila!” with “Sarina!” It is a fun twist on a 1950s number from the Champs, written by the American saxophonist Chuck Rio. If the band’s name is fitting, for a few more days at least, for England’s status as defending champions, by full time at the Stadion Letzigrund against France the artist’s name was more in keeping with the mood among supporters, because Sarina Wiegman’s side are in genuine danger of being chucked out of Euro 2025.

England will point to Alessia Russo’s goal at 0-0 being ruled out for an offside that did not seem conclusive even from zoomed-in video assistant referee images, yet the simple truth is this: if England do not improve markedly when they face the Netherlands on Wednesday, they will probably be out before they face Wales in their final group match. Defeat would spell the end unless France lose to Wales later in the day.

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» Miedema hits 100th Netherlands goal to upset Wales’ grand debut at Euro 2025

Sometimes it really is better to travel than to arrive. After a thoroughly enjoyable journey to their first major tournament, Wales collided with the 2017 European champions and were left dizzy and disorientated. During the course of an instructive 90 minutes in the shadow of Lucerne’s Mount Pilatus, Vivianne Miedema scored her 100th international goal. Perhaps even more significantly Andries Jonker’s side did enough to suggest it would be thoroughly unwise to assume England and France are destined to fill Group D’s top two places.

After conceding three soft goals and regularly being saved by either the woodwork or their quietly impressive goalkeeper, Olivia Clark, Wales will almost certainly be watching the knockout phase on television. No matter; Rhian Wilkinson’s players should eventually come to look back on this chastening evening in central Switzerland with real pride at their part in a landmark piece of national football history.

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» Women’s Euro 2025: top goalscorers, game by game

There is no shortage of contenders but who will finish as the tournament’s top scorer in Switzerland?

The race to be stop scorer at the Women’s Euros 2025 in Switzerland is a fascinating one. Spain, the world champions, have several players who can top the list: Esther González, Clàudia Pina and Salma Paralluelo. The beaten finalists in Australia and New Zealand – England – count Alessia Russo as their main threat but also have Beth Mead, Chloe Kelly, Lauren James and Lauren Hemp who can chip in with goals.

Germany and France also have high hopes of going all the way this summer and have, among their ranks, Lea Schüller, Jule Brand, Klara Bühl, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Sandy Baltimore and Kadidiatou Diani.

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» Women’s Euro 2025: your guide to all 368 players

Get to know every single squad member at the tournament. Click on the player pictures for a full profile and ratings

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» Men’s transfer window summer 2025: all deals from Europe’s top five leagues

All the latest Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A deals and a club-by-club guide

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» Women’s transfer window summer 2025: all deals from world’s top six leagues

Every deal in the NWSL, WSL, Liga F, Frauen-Bundesliga, Première Ligue and Serie A Femminile as well as a club-by-club guide

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» Real Madrid survive late Dortmund scare to set up Club World Cup semi-final with PSG
  • Quarter-final: Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia Dortmund

  • G García 10, F García 20, Mbappé 90+4; Beier 90+2, Guirassy 90+8

Real Madrid have set up a date with Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semi-final, despite a chaotic last 10 minutes, giving Kylian Mbappé a chance to face his former side on a big stage after he scored a fantastic acrobatic goal in a 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Xabi Alonso’s Madrid looked entirely in control for the vast majority of the match, until a remarkable stoppage time made things nervy and Thibaut Courtois’s last-gasp save preserved the victory. That incredible conclusion to an otherwise pedestrian match also included a late red card given to Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen, the impressive new arrival in central defence, who will miss the semi-final as a result of bringing down Serhou Guirassy right after Mbappé’s stupendous volley for Real Madrid’s third.

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» Liverpool players join mourners in Portugal for Diogo Jota’s funeral
  • Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson carry floral tributes

  • Portugal forward Jota and his brother died in car crash

Liverpool players and staff joined the family and friends of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva for their funeral in the siblings’ hometown of Gondomar. People lined the streets as mourners arrived from across the globe.

Jota’s widow, Rute Cardoso, who married the footballer 11 days before his death, and the brothers’ parents, Joaquim and Isabel, were comforted by family throughout.

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» Thomas Partey: the former Arsenal midfielder facing five rape charges

Ghanaian left club this week after playing a central role in Premier League title challenges under Mikel Arteta

For the first time since Thomas Partey left his home town of Krobo Odumase in eastern Ghana at the age of 11, he woke on Tuesday without a club. Three days later the midfielder, who had departed Arsenal after his contract expired, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

What happens next with Partey’s career will be determined by the outcome of legal proceedings scheduled to start with his appearance at Westminster magistrates court on 5 August. The allegations relate to three women who reported incidents between 2021 and 2022. Partey denies all the charges and “welcomes the opportunity to finally clear his name”, his lawyer said.

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» Transfer news: Jamie Gittens completes £48.5m Chelsea move, Forest land Jesus
  • Arsenal could now target Madueke after Gittens switch

  • Forest sign Igor Jesus and Brighton seal De Cuyper deal

Chelsea have completed the signing of Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund, raising the possibility of Arsenal ramping up their pursuit of Noni Madueke.

Gittens, a 20-year-old winger, has become the fourth attacker to move to Stamford Bridge this summer after leaving Dortmund for £48.5m plus £3.5m in add-ons. Enzo Maresca is not short of options in the final third and the extra competition for places may cause Madueke to consider his future.

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» Jonathan Barnett was an early kingpin in the world of the super-agents

Londoner who has worked with some of the biggest names in football has been accused of trafficking, torture and rape

In the rarefied world of the so-called super-agent, and certainly the super-rich agent, Jonathan Barnett was an early kingpin.

The 75-year-old Londoner’s love of football and money, his tough negotiating style and his appetite for hard work made him a forerunner to the likes of Jorge Mendes, Pini Zahavi and the late Mino Raiola, who made tens of millions of pounds from transfer deals as the sport was transformed from a rich man’s plaything to the preserve of oil-rich nation states and private equity firms over the past two decades.

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» Senseless death of Diogo Jota will not stop us celebrating what he brought life | Barney Ronay

His loved ones’ lives are changed for ever and at one level this is not a sports story. But Jota’s footballing talent, heart and will should be cherished, amid the grief

Bad moon, bad times and a river that will be overflowing for some time yet. It is impossible not to feel a deep sense of pain, sadness and shared heartbreak at news of the sudden death of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a car crash in Spain. Jota was 28, father to three young children and a husband to his long-term partner, whom he married 11 days before his death.

Things that happen in sport are often described, with due dramatic licence, as tragedies. This is not a sports story. But it is the most terrible human tragedy. Those who have suffered similarly can empathise. But it is above all a private horror, an event that will alter the lives of family and friends for ever.

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» ‘It’s offensive’: voices from Iran as fans face 2026 World Cup travel ban

After Donald Trump banned Iranians from entering the US, one of the co-hosts, there are different views on what should be done

“It’s offensive for any football fan to be prevented from participating in the World Cup, not just Iranians,” Ali Rezaei of Tehran’s Borna news agency says. In March, the national team became the second to qualify for the 2026 World Cup that will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. In June, Donald Trump authorised the dropping of bombs on Iran and hit the country with a travel ban. As things stand, while the national team will be able to enter the US next summer, fans – and perhaps media – will not.

Residents of Tehran and other cities may have had enough to deal with of late, but still, being barred from entry stings, even if Iranians have long found it difficult to get into the US. “If the US government has issues with the Iranian regime for any reason, it should not result in discrimination against Iranian citizens,” Behnam Jafarzadeh, a writer for the leading sports site Varzesh3, says. “If someone hasn’t committed any illegal activity, why should they be punished? It’s not just about the World Cup – the policy needs to change in general.”

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» Pressure and pain of football’s trialist: the ultimate test to win golden ticket

It’s the time of year when out-of-contract players go from club to club to prove themselves worthy of a new deal

Players are returning for pre-season up and down England and Wales. There will be little time for catching up about holidays and families before each has their fitness tested and boots are laced to see whether they remember how to kick a ball. Among the regular faces and new signings, there will be some interlopers in the form of the mystical trialist.

“It is life or death,” says Gboly Ariyibi, who has had trials at six clubs. Football League and National League teams are offered out-of-contract players from all angles, regularly needing to pick through up to 20 to decide whether any deserve the chance to prove themselves for what remains of the budget. From agents suggesting clients to players putting forward a friend in need of work, managers and heads of recruitment are inundated with names and clips sent on WhatsApp by those hoping for a golden ticket.

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» Paul Pogba aiming to be ‘even better than before’ for Monaco – and France

The midfielder says he can be a ‘big player’ after years away from football due to injury, a doping ban and legal cases

By Get French Football News

Dozens of journalists from France, England and Italy are inside the auditorium of Monaco’s performance centre. The densely packed room is filled with multilingual chatter about Eric Dier and Ansu Fati, who have just been presented to the media. There is one player yet to appear: the headliner, the man who has brought reporters from far and wide to this room. Then a door opens. Paul Pogba enters.

After making his way on to the podium and settling into his chair, he speaks. “As you saw, there were a lot of emotions,” says Pogba of the viral video in which the tears flowed as he signed his Monaco contract, bringing an end to two years in the footballing wilderness. “It is very rare to see me cry like that, so I hope you enjoyed it,” the 32-year-old says with a smile. “There were so many images that came into my mind. We know the doping story, my injury. Everything came back to me during the signing and I couldn’t hold back.”

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» The game the cold war scrapped finally set for kick-off 65 years later

Originally scheduled for the 1960-61 European Cup, political tension meant Northern Irish side Glenavon FC could not host German outfit Erzgebirge Aue – until now

It has taken 65 years, the end of the cold war and some deft social media networking for Glenavon Football Club to finally complete their tie against the former wunderkinds of East Germany, Erzgebirge Aue.

The two teams will meet at the Northern Ireland club’s Mourneview Park stadium in Lurgan, County Armagh, on Saturday to play the second leg of a tie originally scheduled for 1960 and 1961.

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» Diogo Jota 1996-2025: a footballing life in pictures

The Liverpool and Portugal striker has died aged 28 in a car crash in Spain. We take a look at his illustrious career on the pitch

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» Jorge Vilda, pay disputes and incredible talent on show – Wafcon 2024 about to start a year late

Africa’s major women’s tournament starts in Morocco with Spain’s World Cup-winning coach under pressure to deliver

The historic task of one host staging Africa’s two major competitions this year, the women’s and men’s Africa Cup of Nations – Wafcon and Afcon – within six months of each other could really have been given to only one country: Morocco. It has arguably the best football facilities on the continent and has made itself the tournament-hosting sweet spot for the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

Three years ago a very successful Wafcon was staged there and the North African country then agreed to organise the next two tournaments, as no other nation on the continent offered to shoulder the responsibility. The 2025 edition kicks off on Saturday evening, with the hosts playing Zambia in the opening game.

This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.

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» Mauricio Pochettino is bringing fight and focus back to the USMNT | Leander Schaerlaeckens

After years of drift and false starts, the US men’s team is carving out identity and intensity under their new coach – just in time for a home World Cup

There is something cosmically funny about all of this. Late last summer, the United States men’s national team went out and hired the most qualified manager it could find. The one with the most impressive coaching resume by far of anyone US Soccer had ever employed on the men’s side. The most expensive, certainly. By a multiple. The man brought in to arrest the tailspin the USMNT had slowly slipped into after the 2022 World Cup. To finally unlock that elusive next level. To help a golden generation, or at least a shiny one, come good at last. To salvage something, anything, from a World Cup played mostly on home soil a year from now. Not to squander it all.

And what should Mauricio Pochettino add to the US national team’s brew of aptitudes and attitudes but pluck and grit? The very same underdog mentality, the ferocity and fitness, that had once taken the US from global laughingstocks to merely unembarrassing and then to internationally competitiveness.

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» Diego Luna double fires US past Guatemala and into Gold Cup final
  • Luna scores twice in first 15 minutes in St Louis

  • US hold off late push to beat Guatemala 2-1

  • Final v Mexico set for Sunday night in Houston

Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes and the US men’s national team held on for a 2-1 victory over Guatemala in St Louis on Wednesday to advance to the final of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Luna tallied in the fourth and 15th minutes before Olger Escobar made it 2-1 in the 80th minute.

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» Claire Hutton scores first international goal as USA women sweep aside Canada
  • Hutton heads home in 3-0 US win over Canada

  • Coffey, Ryan also score in fifth straight shutout

  • Lavelle shines with two assists in friendly win

Just playing for the US national team was a big opportunity for Claire Hutton.

Then Canada left her a bit too much space at the edge of the six-yard box – and Rose Lavelle found her with a perfect corner kick. The 19-year-old midfielder was ready.

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» Cristiano Ronaldo’s £492m Saudi deal: two cynical regimes form a strategic alliance | Jonathan Liew

In the social media age, football is a fraction of the Portuguese Übermensch’s appeal and he is untroubled by his paymasters’ morals

The winners of next season’s AFC Champions League Two, Asia’s second-tier club competition, will receive about £1.8m. The winners of the Saudi King’s Cup will receive just over £1m. Prize money for the Saudi Pro League is not disclosed, but by the most recent available figures (for 2022-23) is in roughly the same area. Weekly attendances at the King Saud University Stadium, where top-tier ticket prices start at about £12, range between 10,000 and 25,000, although of course you also have to factor in pie and programme sales above that.

And so you really have to applaud Al-Nassr’s ambition in handing an estimated £492m to Cristiano Ronaldo over the next two years. Even if they sweep the board at domestic level, if they fight their way past Istiklol of Tajikistan’s 1xBet Higher League and Al-Wehdat of the Jordanian Pro League, if they extract maximum value from merch and sponsorships, you still struggle to see how they can cover a basic salary that comes to £488,000 a day, even before the bonuses and blandishments that will push the total package well beyond that.

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» Nasser al-Khelaifi plays game of risk with plans to move PSG from the Parc

With Paris FC promoted, European champions could lose their monopoly in city if out-of-town move goes through

Ici, c’est Paris” has been the rallying chant of Paris Saint-Germain supporters since the beginning of the 21st century. It has also become an advertising slogan for the club, who appropriated it to the fury of the ultras, who had trademarked it and have launched a lawsuit in response. But fans and marketing consultants, unless they do not fear ridicule, will not be able to use it once PSG carry out their plan to vacate the Parc des Princes, their home since they were promoted to Ligue 1 in 1974.

“It’s over now,” PSG’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, told reporters in March. “We want to move.” This was confirmed in a statement on 10 June, the day the newly crowned European champions flew to California and the Fifa Club World Cup. “I like the Parc a lot,” Khelaifi, known in France as Nak, said of the 48,583-capacity arena. “Everyone loves it. But [if we stay], we’re dead. In Europe, all the big clubs have 80,000- or 90,000-seat stadiums. If we want to be at that level for our supporters, the stadium must be expanded.” And because an expansion of the stadium is out of the question, it is likely that “Paris” (as the club love PSG to be called in the media) will no longer play in Paris by the time the decade is over, but in one of two towns of the grande banlieue, Massy or Poissy. We will know which come November 2026.

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» Saipan film to reopen old wounds between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy ultras

Drama-biopic starring Steve Coogan will reignite a row that split Irish football fans but there are good signs for its artistic merit

Watching the teaser trailer for Saipan before its cinematic release later this summer called to mind that episode of Friends in which it is revealed Joey leaves his copy of The Shining in a freezer whenever it becomes too scary for him to continue reading. While 23 years may have passed since Roy Keane’s fabled eruption on the eponymous volcanic speck in the western Pacific, it is hard to get past the feeling that the makers of this drama-biopic might have been better off leaving the most seismic row in Irish football history and its accompanying media frenzy hidden among the frozen peas, ice-cream and portions of batch-cooked lasagne. Instead it is about to be sent out into a public domain where it will almost certainly reopen old and, in many cases, still festering wounds.

Everyone of a certain age with a passing interest in football has their own version of what happened in Saipan that they believe to be true, although the details often differ depending on who happens to be doing the telling at any given time. Over the years I have chatted to several former Republic of Ireland footballers who were present at the infamous team meeting where Mick McCarthy held aloft a copy of that interview given by Keane to the Irish Times and asked his captain to explain comments that were scathing in their criticism of the national association’s laissez-faire attitude when it came to preparing for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea in the immediate run-up to the competition.

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» Fifa’s embrace of cult of celebrity reveals a fundamental tension at the heart of the game | Jonathan Wilson

The individual walk-ons at Club World Cup underline Fifa’s failure to understand that football is a team sport – just ask PSG

It is in the details that the truest picture emerges. Quite aside from the endless politicking, the forever-war with Uefa, the consorting with autocrats and the intriguing broadcast rights and partnership deals, there has been, not a new, but growing sense during the Club World Cup that Fifa doesn’t really get football. There is something cargo-cultish about it, creating outcomes without engaging in processes.

Perhaps that is inevitable with Gianni Infantino’s style of leadership; like all populists, he is big on vision and short on practical reality. It was there in the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams.

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» David Squires on … his essential Women’s Euro 2025 wallchart

Our cartoonist has created a fixture planner so you can keep track of all the results. Print it out and fill it in

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» ‘I cut off his head six times’: the sculptors behind football statues

Sculptors discuss their craft and the pressure of preserving a player’s likeness and legacy for generations of fans

By Nutmeg magazine

At its heart, football is about community. A feeling of shared identity and purpose. A place where supporters gather to watch their team. The games, goals and moments that live on in the club’s collective memory through a shared act of will. The people responsible for these defining moments – shrewd managers, inspiring captains, prolific goalscorers – are increasingly immortalised in statues.

A sculptor is enlisted to preserve their likeness in a single definitive pose. The subjects take on a size and form, literally larger than life, befitting the impact they had on the club and community that chooses to honour them. According to the Sporting Statues Project, which is run by Chris Stride and Ffion Thomas, there are more than 100 football statues in the UK. The vast majority have been made since the turn of the millennium and there are even more in progress. They have exploded in popularity, becoming the established means of commemoration.

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» Emma Hayes: ‘As for managing England one day, I’ll never say never’

Former Chelsea manager answers your questions on life and work in the US, what she’s looking forward to in this summer’s Euros and pining for roast chicken

Read the first of Emma’s Guardian columns on the Euros

You seem like you’ve taken to the US like a duck to water. But what food or drink from back home are you missing? Antony, Staffordshire
I always miss a roast dinner, roast chicken. And the milk. The milk is different over there so when you have a cup of tea it’s just not the same because the milk is not the same. It alters the quality of the tea so that’s tough for me.

How’s life in America been treating you? Is the infrastructure for women’s football noticeably more developed there? And the million‑dollar question: what happens when your new team face England in the World Cup final in 2027? Tom Stubbs, Brussels
First of all, I love being there. The cultural approach to the girls’ and women’s game is more ingrained in the US because they’ve been doing it for longer in terms of providing opportunities. That’s noticeable. The US approach to women’s sport stands out, not just soccer, but with basketball, too. As for that hypothetical for 2027, well, you’re saying we’re in the World Cup final so I’m excited. If you give me that option today, I’ll bite your hand off. I want to be in the World Cup final competing to win a World Cup so, whoever you’re facing, it’s going to be a top, top side, and I don’t get emotional about it – it’s England but I’m repping the USA so my focus is on the USA.

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» ‘I’m not scared of taking risks’: Robbie Savage sets sights on Forest Green revival

Former Wales international admits he ‘will have to win the fans over’ on unveiling at National League club

Off the roundabout at the summit of Spring Hill, the billboard on Another Way that usually displays Forest Green Rovers’ next opponents is shouting about their new manager. “Welcome Robbie,” it reads in block capitals. A club famous for doing things differently have appointed Robbie Savage on a four-year contract, enthused by his sole, record-breaking season in the dugout at Macclesfield FC – the 50-year-old led the team to the Northern Premier League title after transitioning from the role of director of football – rather than fretting whether he is qualified for the job.

“I know there will be a bit of scepticism because I’ve only had one year in management,” says Savage. “I know I will have to win fans over. But I’m not scared of that. I got released from the biggest football club in the world [Manchester United] at 19, told I wasn’t good enough. But I’ve always proved people wrong because I’ve got a great work ethic. I spoke to Brendan Rodgers, Martin O’Neill and Sean Dyche and they all said: ‘What an opportunity.’ Everybody wants to help me so that goes to show I must be OK because they’re willing to help.”

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» ‘I’ve had some honest conversations with myself’: Gary O’Neil keen to step back on to management train

Former Wolves manager on dealing with the sack, controlling his emotions and why he won’t talk about his football ‘philosophy’

“The journey’s been pretty high speed,” Gary O’Neil says as he opens up on a whirlwind start to his managerial career. “When you’re in work it’s different because there’s always another massive game coming, whereas this has really given me time to have a deep dive into everything. The real benefit is the chance to breathe.”

Sometimes there is an upside to life slowing down. O’Neil has had time to reflect and ask himself tough questions in the seven months since his sacking by Wolves. Why did it unravel after such a promising start? O’Neil is hungry. He has devoted a lot of time to studying set pieces and speaking to experts in the field given that a poor record at dead balls played a big part in Wolves’ struggles this past season.

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» Football Daily | Infantino awaits his ‘big bang’ as Club World Cup refuses to slide away

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Like Dr John Hammond and his scientists in Jurassic Park, Gianni Infantino and his fawning Fifa lickspittles have spent recent years so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should. The upshot is that a preposterously lucrative tournament described by its creator as “a big bang” has been crowbarred into an already jam-packed calendar. And the largesse of its in-no-way unethically sourced prize-money for those participating now threatens to destroy several already under-threat footballing ecosystems around the world.

I want to talk about my mate. My buddy. The bloke I loved and will miss like crazy. I could talk about him as a player for hours, but none of that feels like it matters right now. It’s the man. The person. He was such a good guy. The best. So genuine. Just normal and real. Full of love for the people he cared about. Full of fun. He was the most British foreign player I’ve ever met. I can’t believe we’re saying goodbye. It’s too soon, and it hurts so much. But thank you for being in my life, mate – and for making it better” – Liverpool’s Andy Robertson remembers his friend, Diogo Jota. And Miguel Dantas reports on how the deaths of Jota and his brother André Silva have shaken Portugal, where mourners are gathering in Gondomar for the funeral on Saturday.

Diogo Jota, an opponent that you’d have in your team in a heartbeat, and that’s from a Toffee” – Ian Taylor.

Regarding Chinese third-tier club Changchun Xidu and the superstitious paper charms (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). Are they effective if you want to put off a co-worker competing for the same promotion? Asking for a friend” – Steve Mintz.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

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» Despite unfulfilled bombast, this Club World Cup has been saved by the soccer | Leander Schaerlaeckens

The group stage has featured some great games and indelible moments, thanks mostly to the participants who took things seriously

Inside the corporate monstrosity hides something that’s actually quite lovely and joyful and organic. It’s burrowed down real deep, beneath layers and layers of maximalist nonsense. But it’s in there somewhere, a good soccer tournament, cloaked by all the avarice and bombast, in spite of itself and those responsible for it.

It’s true: the Club World Cup and its new summer format haven’t been all bad. The group stage, which concluded on Thursday, offered fun and competitive teams. It served up a few genuinely enthralling games, especially in the clashes between the European and South American sides. The fans of some teams – the indefatigable singing and chanting of Boca Juniors’ and River Plate’s barras; the churning sea of red hopping up and down for the Urawa; the clapping and singing Wydad fans; the drumming and dancing Brazilians crisscrossing the nation in the wake of their four thriving clubs – injected the proceedings with exactly the kind of summer tournament folklore and fever you should hope for. We’ve even seen some kit design excellence – thank you, Botafogo.

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» I went back to the team where it all started. I am able to be the role model I never had | Pernille Harder

I recently spent time coaching 80 girls at FC Midtjylland, the team where I began my career but had to leave in my teens as they had no women’s team

I will be on a plane on Monday with Denmark heading to Switzerland to take part in my fourth Euros, but before the tournament I went back to where it all began for me, to Danish side FC Midtjylland. I was there to spend time coaching 80 girls from the age of eight to 13.

More than 20 years ago, I began my own journey there and things looked very different then. There was no women’s team and no women who played football. For me to go back as a role model these girls gives me a lot of energy. There is no better way to ground yourself than to be reminded where you came from.

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» Has a team won the Champions League without beating any league champions? | The Knowledge

Plus: top scorers for two clubs in one season, very old under-21 players and much more

  • Mail us with your questions and answers

“Has a team won the Champions League without beating any reigning champions?” asks Paddy French. “And if not, which teams have beaten the fewest champions to win it? And which teams have beaten the most champions in winning the Champions League/European Cup?”

Let’s just clarify that Paddy is referring to reigning league champions, here, not reigning European champions, to which we had a few answers. Even in an era in which many Champions League teams are also-rans from the big leagues around Europe, the answer to the first question is no.

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» Football transfer rumours: Real Madrid give all-clear for Arsenal to sign Rodrygo?

Today’s rumours don’t really have their heart in it

Four days into July, Arsenal fans could be forgiven for getting antsy over their outgoings list outnumbering their incomings by seven to one. If Gunnersaurus had ears they’d be pricking ozone-wards at word that Real Madrid are willing to let Rodrygo leave during the current window. Xabi Alonso seemingly likes the trade-off of losing a player who doesn’t currently waltz into his preferred XI (just 88 mins of action at the Club World Cup to date) and getting a fee not far short of £80m to help continue his reconfiguration at the Bernabéu.

The tricksy 24-year-old is seen as a substantial upgrade on Arsenal’s current threats from the left wing, but his arrival would not necessarily herald the exit of his Brazilian compatriot Gabriel Martinelli. A player who will leave, however, is knack-plagued defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, whose contract is being ripped up. That’s, thankfully, a situation suiting both parties, with the Japan international still almost half a year from returning to action after an endless string of knee twangs.

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» Transfers, Euro 2025 and Sheffield Wednesday in crisis: Football Weekly Extra - podcast

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Sam Dalling, Sanny Rudravajhala and Tom Garry for a transfer round-up and the latest from Euro 2025 in Switzerland

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: the panel run the rule over the most interesting stories from the transfer rumour mill. Eze to Arsenal, Kudus to Spurs, Romero to Atlético and, most surprisingly, Barry to Everton.

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» Premier League 2024-25 review: our writers’ best and worst of the season

Best players, best managers, best matches, best goals, biggest flops and biggest gripes: our writers have their say

Mohamed Salah. The numbers don’t lie – 47 goal contributions in the Premier League was an outstanding return from the Egyptian, who seems to be getting better with age. Ed Aarons

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» Premier League 2024-25 review: managers of the season

Arne Slot’s first season could not have gone any better while Wolves fans drank to Vítor Pereira’s arrival

By winning the league, the Dutchman surprised pretty much everyone. He faced the daunting task of succeeding Jürgen Klopp and inherited the German’s squad, adding only Federico Chiesa, who barely kicked a ball in anger. Not much changed from the previous year, except Ryan Gravenberch became the designated defensive midfielder as Slot’s Liverpool looked to get on the ball as much as possible. Slot was never going to be a personality who generated headlines like Klopp did, keeping his cards close to his chest, but he always comes across as someone who is very personable and has brought the players closer together. Slot made Liverpool an efficient winning machine – rarely thrashing teams, often winning by the odd goal or two – and that allowed them to race to a second Premier League title. No one could compete with the Reds, which was partly down to rivals dropping their standards but most of it can be attributed to the fact Slot made his team superior.

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» Premier League 2024-25 review: flops of the season

Managers, teams and players who have disappointed over the campaign – including the reigning footballer of the year

Ruben Amorim’s average points tally of a point per league game since arriving at Manchester United in early November puts him just above Malky Mackay’s record at Cardiff and Paul Jewell’s Premier League record with Bradford, Wigan and Derby. While Sporting won the Primeira Liga title without Amorim, United have fallen down the table to 15th since the Portuguese took the reins from the interim coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy. Much of the ire towards United has been directed at the owners but on the pitch Amorim has failed to adapt his squad of expensive, experienced internationals into anything approaching a cohesive unit. The Europa League final defeat by Tottenham showed how much work is left to do.

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