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Latest news as final week of World Cup gets under wayPower rankings | Sign up to Football Daily | Email usI mean, just look at him.In which regard, here are some words on the great man. Continue reading...

Former Test coach apologises for poor resultsODI series against India begins on TuesdayBrendon McCullum has apologised for the flatlining results that triggered his removal as England’s Test head coach, but promised to collaborate with his successor as leadership of the men’s national teams is once again split.Preparing for Tuesday’s first one-day international against India – a series that remains under his remit as head coach of the men’s white-ball sides – McCullum showed no resentment regard

Only Test: India, 285 & 341-7dec, bt England, 170 & 186, by 270 runsEcclestone hits milestone half-century on final morningIndia defeated England by 270 runs in the one-off Test here, a famous victory that will go some way to making up for their failure to reach the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup this month. The first women’s Test to take place at the ground broke the world record attendance figure, attracting a crowd of 37,846 across three-and-a-bit days.England batted for long enough on the

Slovenian’s dominance has drawn admiration and criticism, with some fearing the race is losing its competitive edgeRiding the Tour de France in 40C is hard enough without having to race against Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates XRG every day. As the peloton takes a breather, lounges in the shade and rehydrates on the Tour’s first rest day, most team managers are pondering what genuine opportunities they may still have, in the face of Pogacar’s domination, to try to achieve success.“Is Pogacar

The World Cup spotlight causes single games to live longer in the memory than any other. The remaining teams at this tournament face defining momentsWorld Cup games mean more. England have only ever played 79 games in the finals, which is to say, not much more than two Premier League seasons in the 76 years since they first entered. Those games draw huge audiences: more than 17 million in the UK watched Saturday’s win over Norway, even though it was after midnight by the time it finished. In mos

Defending champions will pose a threat with Messi’s genius but their lack of width and energy in the midfield offers encouragement for Thomas TuchelSwitzerland knew how to deal with Lionel Messi. They congested the centre of the pitch and made it impossible for him to find angles for threaded passes or rapier finishes. One of Messi’s trademark moves, when the tempo has slowed, is to go through the gears with a quick bounce pass off one of his teammates near the edge of the box. The idea is that

Matches will take place on 10 and 13 OctoberWashington DC and Chester, Pennsylvania to hostThe top two teams in women’s soccer will meet in a pair of friendlies this fall, with the United States hosting Spain in Washington DC on 10 October and Chester, Pennsylvania three days later.The meeting pits the 2024 Olympic gold medalist United States against a Spain side who won the 2023 women’s World Cup. It will serve as a benchmark for both sides in the run-up to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil. Continu

India romp to 270-run victory before lunch, despite 50 for Sophie Ecclestone, at historic first women’s Test at Lord’s.45th over: England 139-7 ( Ecclestone 8, Wong 0) Wong gets her first examination of the innings from Rana – prods gently forwards to every ball. A maiden.44th over: England 139-7 ( Ecclestone 8, Wong 0) A handsome drive from Ecclestone gives a little pick-me-up to England fans. Continue reading...

After being ensconced at SW19 since the start of the tournament, our photographer Tom Jenkins has picked out some of his favourite images from the thousands he has taken during this year’s Wimbledon ChampionshipsThe tournament concluded with Linda Noskova fending off a fightback by Karolina Muchova to win her first grand slam title and Jannik Sinner defeating Alexander Zverev to retain his Wimbledon title.Novak Djokovic was back at SW19 on the trail of his 25th grand slam title, the racket’s sha

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!So, here we are. After a century of matches, and for the first time in history, the World Cup has entered its sixth week. But is it about to get longer? Gianni Infantino didn’t even get through the first of an agonising two-day rest period before dropping the hint that Fifa would be “examining and discussing” the potential for the 2030 tournament to be a 64-team affair. Some may say – not Football Daily, of course – that this was a handy way to

The Spain captain on his team’s chances in the World Cup semi-final, analysing every game so far and how to get the best out of Lamine Yamal“I’m not that bad,” Rodrigo Hernández says. It is the morning after the 2026 World Cup’s 100th game and in a conference room at the Cotton Bowl where old posters line the walls and Spain are about to start their penultimate training session before the 101st match, their captain is doing the calculations. Even with the six in which he has played and all the t

Midfielder thought to have £35m release clauseMove comes as deal for Atalanta’s Éderson falls throughManchester United are closing in on the signing of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa after their move for the Atalanta midfielder Éderson fell through.Jason Wilcox, United’s director of football, is in advanced talks with Villa regarding a financial package for Tielemans. The 29-year-old, who was part of Belgium’s World Cup squad, is thought to have a £35m release clause in his contract, which has

Negotiations break down over proposed revenue shareWomen’s game faces significant cuts to operationsThe creation of a joint commercial venture between the tours of the men’s Association of Tennis ­Profes­sionals and the Women’s ­Tennis Association has been put on hold indefinitely as the women’s game faces the prospect of making significant cuts to its operational budget.Negotiations over a merger, which would have meant the tours pooling their commercial and media rights, have broken down over

Midfielder faced Villa in Europa League final in MayU-turn another summer transfer blow for NewcastleAston Villa have hijacked Newcastle’s pursuit of Johan Manzambi, and are close to completing a £49m deal with Freiburg for the Switzerland midfielder.Manzambi’s arrival will boost Villa before a season in which they return to the Champions League, and his move represents a considerable blow for Newcastle. Continue reading...

One manager expects takings to treble during England’s semi-final with Argentina on Wednesday; while national sales are up 10%The beleaguered pub sector is getting a boost from England’s World Cup run, with some landlords reporting roaring sales as anticipation builds for a bumper night on Wednesday for the semi-final clash with Argentina.Lisa Mayall, the manager of the British Oak in Kingswinford near Dudley in the West Midlands, was jubilant after England’s 2-1 win against Norway on Saturday n

Australian loses boys’ final to Jordan Lee of US 4-6, 6-4, 7-5Two-hour match will likely be 17-year-old’s last as a juniorCruz Hewitt has vowed to blossom again at Wimbledon as he brushed off the heartbreak of just failing to follow in the celebrated footsteps of his father, 24 years after Lleyton won the men’s title.With his dad watching on and cajoling him from the players’ box on No 1 Court, the 17-year-old Sydney prospect Hewitt fell agonisingly short in the boys’ final on Sunday after he ha

Sinner recovers from Roland Garros with win over ZverevWorld No 1 faced only one break point in finalJannik Sinner described his triumph at Wimbledon as particularly special considering his painful defeat at the French Open, after he recovered from a difficult first set to secure his second Wimbledon title with an impressive 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 win against the second seed Alexander Zverev.Sinner, the world No 1, successfully defended his Wimbledon title to clinch his fifth grand slam sing

The latest episode of Thomas versus Jude does not have to descend into a drama and team cannot afford to be distracted heading into the World Cup semi-finalThomas Tuchel lobbed a grenade into the mix. Jude Bellingham picked it up and threw it back. There was an explosion of honesty in Miami, where everyone was struggling to maintain composure in the stifling humidity, and it needs to be dealt with before England try to reach a men’s World Cup final for the first time on foreign soil.It is time f

Political leaders in both countries rebuke Mariano Rajoy after he writes team ‘does not have any French players’The former Spanish conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy is facing growing accusations of racism after writing in a World Cup newspaper column that the French national team “does not have any French players”.Rajoy, who was in office from 2011 to 2018, pondered Spain’s looming semi-final showdown with France in an article for the online newspaper El Debate on Friday. Continue readin

The build-up to the semi-finals began earnest and Senegal sacked their head coachSidebar, Whatever bears such a striking resemblance to Neil Innes’ I’m Free to be an Idiot that the former Monty Python collaborator received a songwriting credit and a share of the royalties in an out of court settlement.Wonderwall might be the England team’s Oasis song of choice, but surely they change it up to this more apposite (and far better imo) number. Continue reading...