World Cup News

The pressure is quietly building around Thomas Tuchel as the countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins. The pressure is quietly building around Thomas Tuchel as the countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup begins. England may have cruised through qualification, but doubts linger, and the scrutiny surrounding the manager’s methods is only intensifying. For the national team, the situation feels delicate. England has shown moments of control and authority, yet recent performances have left questions unanswered, particularly about balance and identity under Tuchel’s leadership. The Three Lions’ qualification campaign was close to flawless on paper. The team won all eight matches in their group without conceding a single goal, underlining defensive discipline and efficiency. However, those numbers tell only part of the story. Under the German boss, England has struggled to convince in key moments, particularly in friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, where performances lacked cohesion and attacking sharpness. The challenge ahead is far from straightforward. England has been drawn into a difficult group alongside Croatia, Ghana, and Panama. This group has already been labeled one of the toughest in the tournament. REAL MADRID PLAYERS, WORLD CUP SCHEDULE (All times CET) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 England – Group L June 17th, 22:00 – England vs Croatia 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇭🇷 June 23rd, 22:00 – England vs Ghana 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇭 June 27th, 23:00 – England vs Panama 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇵🇦 pic.twitter.com/xH9wk4PcB8 — Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) April 1, 2026 Croatia brings experience and pedigree, while Ghana and Panama offer unpredictability and physical intensity. For Tuchel, this context raises the stakes. Any tactical uncertainty or lack of cohesion could quickly be exposed on the biggest stage. Hoeness reveals how Kompany is better than Tuchel It is in this tense build-up that criticism from Uli Hoeness has added another layer of concern. Speaking publicly, the Bayern figure delivered a sharp assessment of Tuchel’s time at the German club. “Two things are important,” Hoeness began by explaining in the Auf eine weiss-blaue Tasse podcast. “This coach [Vincent Kmpany] makes every player better. And I’ve never seen him conduct a press conference where he said: I need a left-back, I need a right-back, as was the case under Tuchel.” The 74-year-old honorary Bayern president also questioned Tuchel’s approach to accountability, claiming: “When the team didn’t play well, he never questioned himself; it was always the team’s fault.” Hoeness highlights issues in player treatment and trust The critique went deeper, touching on Tuchel’s man-management. Hoeness pointed to specific examples involving players, including comments about individuals that were seen as dismissive or overly critical. “That right-back isn’t working, Kimmich isn’t a good player… I can’t use him at all,” Hoeness recalled, referencing Tuchel’s reported remarks about members of the squad. He also shared a striking anecdote: “He once asked Josip Stanisic if he could speak German, even though he was born here.” For Hoeness, such moments reflected deeper issues in communication and connection within the team. The ex-forward also highlighted the coach’s repeated public requests for new signings, arguing that it created unnecessary pressure on the squad structure. The former Bayern Munich boss frequently demanded reinforcements in key positions, particularly in defensive midfield, which he felt was missing a “holding six.” He contrasted this with a more development-focused approach under Vincent Kompany, suggesting a philosophical divide in squad management. The implication was clear: Tuchel’s methods, in Hoeness’ view, leaned too heavily on external fixes rather than internal solutions. Thomas Tuchel, Head Coach of England, reacts What it means for England The timing of these comments is significant. As Tuchel prepares to finalize his squad, questions about his leadership style are resurfacing at a critical moment. England’s recent history has been one of near misses, reaching major finals without lifting a trophy. Now, with expectations high once again, the margin for error is slim. The concern is not purely about tactics. It is about whether Tuchel can foster unity, manage big personalities, and maintain trust within the dressing room when pressure peaks.

Real Sociedad manager Pellegrino Matarazzo cut a confident figure ahead of his side’s Copa del Rey final on Saturday with Atletico Madrid. La Real are hoping to lift the trophy for a second time in five years after doing so in 2021, but have been a surprise package in the second half of the season. […] The post ‘We’re very excited, we need release tension in the right way’ – Real Sociedad manager Pellegrino Matarazzo appeared first on Football España.

Around the world, here are the channels you can watch Newcastle United v Bournemouth Live TV. The global TV listings are featured below for local (to you) coverage on Saturday... You can click here to read the full article.

April 17 - Ollie Watkins still has hope of making England's World Cup squad despite being dropped for last month's friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, with the Aston Villa forward saying all he can do in the last few weeks of the season is score goals.

Aston Villa and Fulham are also interested...

The Japanese Football Association said Shunsuke Nakamura would join coach Hajime Moriyasu’s backroom staff for the World Cup, where Japan has been drawn in Group F with the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden.

Argentine youth developer Facundo Alvanezzi discusses his 11 years at FC Basel, his role in shaping stars like Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri, and why fostering "hunger" and embracing mistakes is the secret to producing elite talent. Alongside the technological leaps of the 21st century, soccer has evolved through the implementation of new instruments and methodologies embraced by clubs across all levels of the game. Yet technology alone does not always translate into better players or better human beings. World Soccer Talk had the opportunity to sit down with Argentine youth developer Facundo Alvanezzi, who spent 11 years at Swiss club FC Basel between 2008 and 2019. Having trained in South America and studied the methods of some of Europe’s most renowned clubs, including FC Barcelona, AC Milan and Bayern Munich, Alvanezzi applied his knowledge to help produce elite talents such as Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaqiri and Fabian Schär, among others. A former professional player in Argentina who also played in Italy, Alvanezzi began his coaching career at Aldosivi before departing for Basel in 2008. Moving from scheduled training sessions with limited soccer balls, “compensated by the amount of talent,” to an environment where every youth team trained on a heated pitch, had balls for every player, full kits and access to psychologists, nutritionists and other health professionals represented a dramatic shift in perspective. FC Basel and a commitment to youth development Already proficient in Italian from his playing days, Alvanezzi still had to immerse himself in the cultural and linguistic demands of his new environment, all in service of what he considers the cornerstone of his work: communication. In a single training session, he might move between Italian, French, and German while coordinating multiple groups of young players across state-of-the-art facilities designed to maximize their development. FC Basel’s U-14 squad. “A club like Basel worked with all 14 or 15 age groups all at the same time. The First Division had its own separate pitch. But for everything related to the youth levels from U21 down, everyone had their own respective pitch. Even the littlest ones, the 5 and 6-year-olds, had their own synthetic fields with dimensions suited for 5 or 6-year-olds. Just to give you an idea—no time was wasted there. In other words, time is utilized in a way that enriches you instead of being a deficit that hinders the development of future players.“ Alvanezzi then put into context the remarkable achievement of a small nation punching well above its weight. “You can’t forget that Switzerland has a population of between 6 and 7 million inhabitants, so the emerging talent back then was very scarce. They did an extraordinary market study so that today they have 17, 18, 19, and 20-year-olds—which didn’t happen before—playing and qualified for the next World Cup in the US, Mexico, and Canada. So, basically, everything related to infrastructure and planning… whether you like it or not, having that entire grid set up allowed me—as someone passionate about football who loves being on the pitch—to work peacefully. I knew I had my designated pitch to work with the U15s, the U16s, the U17s,” he added. The role of a youth developer and the cultivation of talent A fluent Spanish speaker, Alvanezzi describes himself as a “formador de juveniles,” a youth developer rather than a coach, drawing a sharp distinction between the two roles: “The developer (formador) teaches and builds; they earn very little, if anything at all. In terms of titles—U14s, U15s, the Reserves… I don’t care about those. The coach (entrenador) is there to train, to play, to compete, to get points, to win a domestic league, a Libertadores, a Euros, a Champions League, or a World Cup. They are two completely different things. That’s why there aren’t many coaches developing players, and there aren’t many developers coaching elite teams.“ Another key principle in his approach is trusting the creative instincts of young players rather than issuing directives, recognizing that the youth phase is when information can have the most profound impact. He pairs this with a cosmopolitan perspective while never abandoning his own core beliefs. Facundo Alvanezzi on the touchline. “In other words: at no point do I impose. I don’t impose knowledge, authority, or didactics—nothing. I seduce. Those are two completely different things. And I try to seduce through knowledge. Because when you have knowledge, you can ‘disarm’ the player; when you explain the how, the when, the where, and the why. Of course, when I go somewhere else, I adapt, but I cannot renounce my genes.“ When he arrived in Switzerland, Alvanezzi found himself surrounded by cutting-edge technology, GPS tracking and gym equipment, yet he remains committed to the idea of developing players “with a ball.” “In player development, I adapted to the systems, but with my own imprint. I carry the Argentine imprint everywhere. It’s this: I watch a player—how he walks—a 5-year-old, a 10, 15, or 20-year-old. I watch him walk. I throw him a ball. I watch him make a couple of touches—juggling in the air, a change of direction. And right then, I realize what that footballer might be capable of. Or not,” he explained. The value of mistakes in youth development Elite clubs increasingly measure the success of their youth teams by silverware, mirroring the pressure placed on the first team. But for Alvanezzi, perfection is not the goal. Forcing young players into rigid systems, he argues, sends them to the first team with significant blind spots, and he views the ability to make mistakes as one of the most valuable learning tools available. “Here are players I can ask to play a football of possession and position. And then there are footballers to whom I have to say, ‘You: control the ball, don’t carry it, and pass it to a teammate.’ Meanwhile, for another player—because I go against the establishment and the system—,” Alvanezzi said. “I believe one of the virtues I have in this vocation of developing players is that I value the error. From the error, I create the virtue of the success. In the context of teaching, I don’t criticize the player; I seduce him. ‘But what if I struggle, I lose the ball, it’s hard for me, and they score on us?’ And what’s the problem? I don’t want my trophies and medals hanging in my house. What good are they to me? If, in the end, I didn’t get any player to move up to the First Division. If I didn’t develop a single player for the first team,” he added. Alvanezzi, who says he has not a single medal or trophy displayed in his home, considers the players he has helped reach the elite level to be his true honors: “Now, my ‘medals’ are an average of 45 to 50 players who reached the top level. Especially at Basel. We had a coach like Thorsten Fink, who helped us a lot and used to play for Bayern Munich. He helped us bring up kids at 16 or 17 years old. I had the pleasure of training players like Yann Sommer, Granit Xhaka, Shaqiri, Breel Embolo, Noah Okafor, Fabian Schär , Eray Cömert, Neftali Manzambi, Raoul Petretta, Cedric Itten—an immense number of players. Those are the medals one gets to hang up.“ He then stressed that the developer’s job demands patience and an embrace of the mistake. “They need to learn to play with the right foot, with the left foot, and have a lot of contact with the ball. When I arrived at Basel and asked for—for example, the squads there are 18 players—I asked for no less than one ball per player. At first, they just looked at me. ‘Why one ball per player?’ Because, what did I achieve over the years? That in an hour and a half, the players went from an average of 200 touches in a standard session… once I integrated the technical and game-based training, that multiplied to 1,400 daily touches with the ball. The more touches you have, the more you polish the errors.“ In an environment dominated by innovation, Alvanezzi believes the fundamentals are often left behind, and his street soccer mentality changed the culture at Basel. “In Europe, ‘soccer practice’ (11v11) doesn’t exist. From Monday to Friday, it’s all small-sided games. Everything. So when I got to Basel, imagine the resistance from the other coaches. They told me, ‘No, Facundo, you’re crazy. The players will get injured; we don’t do that here; everything is small-sided.’ “And I told them, ‘The 11v11 is the symptom for Saturday or Sunday; it’s how you know which player you can count on and which one you can’t. You might think you can count on someone, but on a full pitch, it becomes too big for them, and they become completely disorganized. We need a parameter.’ Well, I implemented it at Basel until it became their own ‘modus operandi’ that on Thursdays, we did the 11v11 practice. The teams started improving exponentially because they were finally playing football not in a 20×20 or 30×30 space, but in 100×65—which is where real football is played,” he added. ‘Hunger’: the defining trait of the players who made it Among the many stars Alvanezzi has helped develop, a common thread runs through the backstories of those who reached the highest level: adversity. Both Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka were born and raised in a disintegrating Yugoslavia amid violence before finding asylum in Switzerland. Breel Embolo‘s path was similar, leaving Cameroon with his family before settling in France and eventually Switzerland. That contrast between their upbringing and those of more comfortable peers is precisely what Alvanezzi calls “hunger,” the spark that gave them a decisive edge. “From an early age, when you watch them train—unlike the vast majority of Swiss youth developers who never experienced need—these were kids of struggle. They are born, raised, and developed out of hardship. So, the only possibility they had to emerge—unlike other great Swiss talents I had at Basel who didn’t make it—they weren’t going to make it because they lacked that ‘hunger.’ That potentiality of saying, ‘Through soccer, I am going to help my family; I am going to emerge; I am going to be somebody.‘” Alvanezzi then reflected on the social realities that shaped Xhaka, Shaqiri and Embolo. “They lacked even the most basic conditions in an elite, first-world country. They were segregated because they weren’t Swiss. They are three starters for the Swiss national team who have played in World Cups, but Breel is from Cameroon, and the other two are Kosovar. When society wasn’t integrating them, but they were useful to the national team football-wise, they nationalized them.“ Alvanezzi with Neftali Manzambi, Breel Embolo, and Charles Pickel. He then illustrated how that hunger translates into a measurable competitive advantage. “Genetically, all of that plays in their favor, 80 or 90% more than the well-off Swiss player… That “plus” works in your favor. While they came to training on foot or by tram, the vast majority of players of Swiss origin came every day with their fathers in a different car—a Mercedes-Benz, a Porsche… That factor of having nothing missing ends up working against you. Since you have everything, what am I going to be ambitious about? Playing in a World Cup? I’m not interested. Reaching the first team? If I make it, I make it, and if I don’t, I still have everything,” he stated. A memorable trip to South Africa In 2010, following the World Cup in South Africa, Alvanezzi traveled to the country for fifteen days representing the Swiss U15 national team with Basel at the Danone Nations Cup, competing against teams from Japan, Argentina, China, England, Italy and others. What left the deepest impression on him, however, was not the competition itself but the cultural awakening it triggered among his Swiss players and the youth developers around them. “They didn’t know what it was like for a kid not to have a cell phone, or to walk around barefoot. They couldn’t understand why colored people sat at one table and white people at another because of the legacy of apartheid. All the Swiss kids traveled with the latest cell phones. They would leave half of their plates full of food. And 50 meters away, at the fence in a gated area of the complex, local kids would come to beg for food,” he recalled. FC Basel youth squad in 2010 Danone Cup. “Along with several other Latino coaches, I would gather the leftover food and give it to them. It reached the point where FIFA was going to fine me, because they said I wasn’t allowed to feed the people. And I told them: ‘Why not? It’s the most important thing; they’re hungry. The only one who understood it on that trip was Breel Embolo,” Alvanezzi added. Talent, mentality and the cohesion of a group One of the most enduring debates in sports is whether the right mentality can outshine raw talent through sheer hard work, or whether that notion is simply wishful thinking. For Alvanezzi, the two qualities are not in competition but are complementary, with every player on a team assigned a specific purpose that allows both to coexist. Using the contrasting examples of Erling Haaland and Rayan Cherki, one a physical force of nature, the other a pure embodiment of technical brilliance, he illustrates how different profiles can coexist within the same system “They are complementary and different at the same time. You can link this to the aspect of mental construction. Mentality is also something you develop. If I convince you that in three years you have to improve your heading or your left foot, and you end up doing it in a match to stop a counter-attack… that is mentality,” Alvanezzi stated. “When you see Haaland playing with his back to the goal, he looks like an average player; put him facing the goal, and he’s an animal. He hides his deficit in back-to-goal play—and tries to do it as little as possible—but he has an above-average mentality that allows him to fail ten times and try again. Cherki, on the other hand, relies entirely on his talent. He has a different mentality, but he understood that to stay at the elite level, he must not interpret that (reliance on talent) as a fragility,” he added. While Alvanezzi acknowledged that mental strength is partly something “you bring it with you, but you can also incorporate it,” he was equally quick to point out that he has seen players with extraordinary talent but no capacity for hard work, and others with far less natural ability but the psychological resilience to make it to the top. Bridging that gap, he argues, is just as much the developer’s responsibility as any technical instruction. “Mental construction is also developed. If I talk to you and try to seduce and convince you of your errors with respect, you will be more receptive. Today, kids are given 20 hours of leisure time outside of training, and we don’t teach them how to think. But to develop players, you must be emotionally well-constituted and rationally grounded. If you aren’t vocational and emotional, you cannot develop players; you should do something else.“ Beyond individual qualities, Alvanezzi insists that everything must be considered through the lens of the collective, where a single weak link can unravel even the most talented group: “The developer has to work with a clear idea and a common goal. The ‘mind’ of the team, 90% of the time, has to be uniform. If it isn’t uniform, the group disintegrates, no matter how much talent you have.“ “If mentally you are thinking ‘white’ and I am thinking ‘black,’ and we have to play with a red ball, but neither of us wants to yield, it means we aren’t complementary. Individualism and egocentrism generate a very large negative impact. We all row to reach the shore and save ourselves; it can’t be that one rows right and another rows left, leaving us in the high seas until a wave drowns us,” Alvanezzi concluded. Stress: the invisible enemy of athletes As in any high-performance discipline, stress management has become one of the defining challenges in modern soccer, a sport that has seen its fixture calendar grow to near-unsustainable levels. “Players today have an enormous match load. They play 80, 90, 100 matches a year. In my era, that didn’t exist. And that carries an enormous physical, mental, and psychological toll, which is one of the many reasons why footballers get injured. Everything is connected. And if the head isn’t right, the body will never be right,” Alvanezzi stated. Xherdan Shaqiri of Basel (Daniela Porcelli/Getty Images). With stress affecting muscles, tendons and bones alike, conventional metrics like GPS data and weight measurements become meaningless when the mental aspect is ignored, he argues. “A player will always tell you they are at 100%. I liked, and I still like, for the player to train at 50% or 60%. If a kid trains at 100% five days a week and then tries to play at 200% on the weekend, they end up getting hurt. Sooner or later. It’s a universal law.“ These pressures are not confined to the professional game, extending deep into the youth system as well. “Let’s take away the weights, take away the GPS, work more on the mental side, and talk to the footballer. When a footballer tells you they want to stay 60 minutes longer after training… ‘No. Go home. Rest. Eat well. Take a nap. Look after yourself. Read, watch a movie. Relax. Do yoga. Meditate.’ But for all of that, you have to talk, and you have to be prepared,” he stated. Alvanezzi also addressed the lack of preventive awareness he has observed at the youth level: “That’s why I like it when a player comes and tells me: ‘This and that is happening to me.’ ‘Don’t worry. You’re not playing this match; you’re going to train at 50%.’ I’d rather give you two weeks of rest than have it be six months of forced leave due to a ligament tear. Today, there is no prevention because we, the developers, aren’t prepared to prevent; we are competitive, egocentric beings who want to win everything, forgetting that we don’t play anymore.“ U.S. soccer and MLS evolution: the legacy of 1994 Through friends living and working in the United States, and despite acknowledging that his English is far from perfect, Alvanezzi has been able to witness a genuine transformation in the country’s soccer culture, one he traces directly back to the 1994 World Cup, when MLS was widely seen as nothing more than a retirement league. That perception, he says, has been thoroughly dismantled. “Today, football in the US—I’m not saying it competes head-to-head with baseball, basketball, or ice hockey—but it has gained a very prominent position. It’s no coincidence that Lionel Messi, the most emblematic figure in world football today, is playing in MLS. Players who before, as you said, came perhaps for a final retirement to spend their last seasons in a low-caliber competition, find it’s a different world now. It has grown so much that renowned players prefer to come to MLS rather than go to a country in the Middle East or Asia.“ While acknowledging that MLS remains a league in the midst of its evolution, Alvanezzi offered a measured timeline for when it could fully establish itself at the highest level. “The evolution in terms of the training and qualification of the coaches and developers is very good. I have excellent references. Like any expanding football in a developmental stage, I think it will take them another 5 to 10 years to consolidate. It usually takes 10 to 15 years for a major league to stabilize and reach an international competitive level. They are currently in that developmental process from every point of view,” he stated. The influence of Latinos in U.S. soccer Once considered a secondary destination for professional development, the United States has transformed into a country that offers genuine, high-level opportunities for coaches and developers alike. That growth has been driven in part by soccer’s surging popularity, the influence of the Latino community, and high-profile figures like Lionel Messi and David Beckham, who have brought the sport to new audiences across the country. Lionel Messi greets David Beckham, co-owner of Inter Miami CF (Elsa/Getty Images). “There are many Latinos and Argentines working in development at important clubs and academies. It is expanding in a very interesting way. They take the culture they don’t have—they are very pragmatic in that sense. Whatever they lack, they acquire it. Don’t ask me how, but they go after it. If they don’t have a qualified scientist, they go find one in Germany, Norway, or Sweden and bring them to their country to make it evolve. They do exactly the same with soccer.“ For youth coaches specifically, the shift in available resources has been nothing short of transformative. “They start from the foundation: youth development. And because of their immense purchasing power as a nation, they can leverage incredible infrastructure. Being in an academy there—even one not affiliated with a famous MLS club—means having 4, 5, or 6 pitches to train on. They have indoor gyms for “fast football” when the weather is bad. Material in abundance. For a developer like me, who dealt with hardships starting out in Argentina—not in terms of talent, but in terms of equipment and structure—imagine what that solves.“

Leeds United continue to pull further away from the relegation zone. They recently picked up a massive result that silenced the critics, beating Manchester United 2-1 at Old Trafford. This win marks the first time the Whites have won at the Theatre of Dreams since 1981, giving them a huge boost in their fight to […] The post 27-Year-Old Leeds United Player’s Agent Backed To Push For A Coventry City Move: Long-Term Deal Needed? appeared first on The 4th Official - A view from the sideline.

U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker has officially stepped down from his role, and while it won’t have too much affect on the upcoming FIFA World Cup in North America, the optics are negative no matter which way you look at it. Crocker is reportedly set to take up a similar role with the Saudi ... Read more

Brazil former star Filipe Luis highlighted the importance of Carlo Ancelotti at this crucial moment. With two months to go before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Brazil are hopeful that Carlo Ancelotti can provide the national team with a tactical identity that allows them to compete for the title in North America. Filipe Luis expressed confidence that the Italian coach will get the job done in time. “Ancelotti brings us many good things,” Filipe Luis said during a conference organized by Conmebol this week, according to Diario AS. “There are no guarantees we’ll win anything, but it’s the best that could have happened.” The former Atletico Madrid defender pointed to the timing of Ancelotti’s arrival to take over the national team. In mid-2025, Brazil were coming off a heavy loss to Argentina in Buenos Aires and, with four matches remaining in the South American qualifiers, had not yet secured their place in the World Cup. Carlo Ancelotti delivered the results needed to achieve that goal and has since used every FIFA break to shape a team that had struggled to meet expectations since the departure of Tite after the 2022 World Cup at Qatar. Vinicius Junior is subbed off by Carlo Ancelotti, Head Coach of Brazil. Filipe Luis believes in Brazil’s chances The general consensus among fans and analysts lists Spain, France and Argentina as the top favorites to win the 2026 World Cup. Despite being the most successful national team in the competition’s history, Brazil are not placed in that top tier, but rather in a second group alongside other powerhouses such as Germany, England and Portugal. However, Filipe Luis warned those who might count Brazil out of the title race. “Brazil will always be one of the favorites, even when things aren’t going well,” said the former Flamengo manager, extending that view to Argentina as well. To support his confidence in Ancelotti’s squad, Filipe Luis pointed to the team’s individual talent: “People don’t believe Brazil can win. But if you look at the five best players in the world, we have two: Raphinha and Vini Jr.” Brazil’s path in the 2026 World Cup Brazil are in Group C of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They will open their campaign on June 13 against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, before traveling to Philadelphia six days later to face Haiti. Their final group-stage match will be on June 24 in Miami against Scotland. If everything goes as expected and Carlo Ancelotti’s side finish top of the group, they will advance to the Round of 16, where they would face the runner-up of Group F — made up of Netherlands, Japan, Sweden and Tunisia — in Houston on June 29.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has announced that he will be leaving the club upon the expiration of his contract this summer. talkSPORT BET have priced the current Ipswich manager Kieran McKenn…

Michael Carrick has shed light on Kobbie Mainoo’s unexpected absence after Manchester United slumped to a 2-1 home defeat against Leeds United, a result that ended a 44-year wait for the visitors at Old Trafford.The midfielder was notably missing from the matchday squad despite having been a consistent presence in recent weeks.His omission raised immediate concerns, particularly given his growing importance in United’s midfield and the club’s ongoing efforts to secure his long-term future.Carrick moved quickly to clarify the situation before kickoff, revealing that the decision to leave Mainoo out was precautionary rather than indicative of a serious injury setback.The 20-year-old, who completed the full 90 minutes in United’s previous outing against Bournemouth nearly a month ago, had also been involved during the recent international break with England national football team.“Over the last day or so, Kobbie just had an issue in training,” Carrick told Sky Sports. “So it seems small but big enough to keep him out tonight. It wasn't worth the risk, to be honest, so we're hoping it's pretty small and it won't be too long.”Mainoo’s recent workload has been notable. In addition to his club duties, he featured twice for...

BUKAYO SAKA could return for Arsenal in "days not weeks", says Mikel Arteta, amid fears over the winger's condition. The England star picked up an Achilles injury last month and hasn't featured for the Gunners since their Carabao Cup final defeat to Man City. He missed England's clashes against Uruguay and Japan during the international...

The summer 2025 transfer window has become something that is at the heart of pretty much every Newcastle United discussion. What went wrong? Who is to blame? What should happen... You can click here to read the full article.

The Ghana Football Association has appointed Carlos Queiroz as head coach of the senior national team, the Black Stars. The former Real Madrid, Manchester United, Portugal, and Iran coach will lead Ghana’s campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Queiroz boasts an extensive World Cup pedigree. He [...] The post Carlos Queiroz appointed Black Stars head coach for 2026 FIFA World Cup first appeared on Sahara Football.

Kobbie Mainoo misses Manchester United's Premier League clash with Leeds United tonight due to injury.

'We're in a good place with it.'

With only two months left until the 2026 World Cup gets underway, all eyes will soon fall on North America. Watching England sign off their pre-tournament preparations with a downbeat 1-0 loss at home against Japan during March’s international break, Thomas Tuchel’s squad have plenty of expectations on their shoulders this summer. Although battles at […] The post The English duo who are keen to get their futures sorted before travelling to the World Cup this summer appeared first on Soccer News.

Arsenal suffered their third defeat in four matches as Mikel Arteta's side were deservedly beaten 2-1 at home by Bournemouth.

Nike have admitted they are aware of a glaring problem with their World Cup kits including the new England strip.

Bukayo Saka, Jurrien Timber, Riccardo Calafiori and Martin Odegaard miss out for Arsenal today in their Premier League clash with Bournemouth.

Nike has acknowledged its World Cup kits contain a design defect, admitting the shirts do not meet their expectations. Last month, the global sportswear brand released its collection of national te…

By Martin Graham Thomas Tuchel may not have another England fixture until the summer, but events in Europe on Thursday would have been encouraging for him. The national side struggled to find the net without Harry Kane in recent friendlies against Uruguay and Japan, exposing the lack of reliable alternatives to the 32-year-old captain […]

Focused on Manchester United and in the 2026 World Cup, Harry Maguire has reportedly rejected a move to Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. Harry Maguire has rediscovered his best form in recent months, catching the attention of Inter Miami as his contract at Manchester United approached its expiration in June 2026. While the prospect of playing alongside Lionel Messi was reportedly on the table, the English defender has chosen to remain at Old Trafford, with his focus firmly on both the club and the 2026 World Cup. According to Transfermarkt and The Sun, Inter Miami were among the clubs interested in signing Maguire on a free transfer, along with Napoli. With the Herons dealing with a defensive crisis and still holding an available international roster spot, bringing in the England center back was seen as a viable solution to shore up the backline. However, Maguire reportedly turned down Inter Miami’s approach and has instead agreed to a one-year contract extension with Manchester United. That option had always been available for the club to exercise, and following Maguire’s resurgent run of form, United wasted no time in making the announcement official, with still two months remaining in the current season. As for Maguire, the defender expressed genuine enthusiasm about staying. “You can feel the ambition and potential of this exciting squad. The determination throughout the whole club to fight for major trophies is clear for everyone to see, and I am confident that our best moments together remain ahead of us,” he said in a statement on Manchester United’s official website. Harry Maguire of England. Maguire and a return to his highest level After a turbulent stretch at Manchester United that saw multiple managers dismissed, the captaincy stripped from him and a near-move to West Ham in 2023, the tide has turned dramatically for Maguire. Back as a regular starter, he has been a key figure in United’s push to third place in the Premier League, a finish that would return the club to the Champions League for the first time since the 2023-24 season. On the international front, Maguire has also worked his way back into England’s plans since September 2024. He featured in both the Uruguay and Japan friendlies during the March international break, and in an interview with The Athletic made clear just how motivated he is to be part of the World Cup squad. “Whatever role the manager would want me for, whether that’s starting or deciding games late on, I still believe, even at my age, I’m arguably one of the best defenders in the world in both boxes. I don’t think that’s open to question, really,” Maguire said, with Thomas Tuchel set to submit England’s final World Cup squad list in May.

The uniform lives on in anime, music and pop culture Leer

Alvaro Arbeloa spoke about Jude Bellingham ahead of Real Madrid’s La Liga clash with Girona. Jude Bellingham was a substitute last Tuesday in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern Munich. However, ahead of the La Liga match against Girona, Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa confirmed that things will be different. “Militao and Bellingham are going to start,” Arbeloa said during Thursday’s press conference, as reported by Diario AS. Both players are working to regain their best physical and sporting form, and the Girona match will be an ideal opportunity for them to log valuable minutes. Bellingham suffered a hamstring injury in mid-February that kept him out of 10 Real Madrid matches. He returned to action at the end of March as a substitute, and although he joined the England squad during the March FIFA break, he did not play in the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. Since then, the midfielder has played 31 minutes against Mallorca in La Liga last weekend, and 28 minutes against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He delivered a strong performance, playing a key role in the team’s second-half comeback that reduced the two-goal deficit. Inside our last training session before tomorrow's match! 👊 pic.twitter.com/g2VqGFSTo0 — Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) April 9, 2026 Militao also returns to the team Eder Militao finds himself in a situation very similar to Bellingham’s. The Brazilian defender also suffered a muscle injury that sidelined him for an extended period—missing 24 matches across all competitions since December. After returning for limited minutes against Mallorca, where he scored a goal, Militao also played 28 minutes against Bayern Munich and is now preparing to start for the first time this year. Finally, another piece of good news for Real Madrid is the return of Ferland Mendy, who has only been able to play five matches this season due to a string of injuries. “Mendy will get minutes,” Arbeloa confirmed at the press conference. Real Madrid have no margin for error in La Liga While it is clear that Real Madrid’s priority right now is the UEFA Champions League, where they will look to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Bayern Munich next Wednesday, that is not their only concern. They know that in La Liga, there is no room for error if they want to remain in the title race against Barcelona. With eight matches remaining, the Blaugrana lead the standings by seven points over Los Blancos, so a poor result against Girona this Friday would leave them with almost no chance of winning the title.

Like a LinkedIn Premium member, Manchester United star Harry Maguire has left a glowing endorsement of himself. Maguire put pen to paper on a new United contract at the start of the week. The 33-ye…

World Cup 2026: England eager to snap trophy drought England will head into the 2026 World Cup as one of the bookmakers’ favourites to lift the trophy, despite their underwhelming record in major tournaments. The Three Lions’s only previous success was in the 1966 World Cup on home soil. They have repeatedly failed to reward… The post World Cup 2026: England eager to snap trophy drought first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

Arsenal are likely to be sweating on the fitness of Martin Odegaard ahead of Saturday's crucial Premier League clash against Bournemouth on Saturday.

With 104 games to navigate, World Cup 2026 is going to require some serious organisation even for supporters – we've got you covered

Everything you need to know about extra time at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

A relaxed chat with Nico and James on assortment of football related topics. On the Podcast discussion features FPL, Cost of football tickets, YouTube 'fans', Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup and fans at the tournament, England losing to Japan, fans being in the 'wrong end' and family members being in away ends, Nico tests James on his knowledge of a Tottenham game from 20 years ago, Rayan Cherki and showboating, being the main man in a team versus a squad member with a title challenger, if players can be born with talent, retraining positions, everyone starting out as a forward and lots more... Tomorrow on Planet FPL: Clash of the Correspondents, Burnley v Brighton with Jack Toner & Sam Murray Today on Patreon: Tot & Ham with Shamil Gillani (IT+) & The Midweek FPL Dilemma (IT+) The full Planet FPL schedule for this week can be found via this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/154986197 Want to become a member of our FPL community and support the Podcast? Join us on Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/planetfpl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow James on Twitter/x: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/PlanetFPLPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Suj on Twitter/x: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/sujanshah⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow Clayton on Twitter/x: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://twitter.com/claytsAFC⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow David on Twitter/x: https://x.com/PlanetFPLHunter Follow Nico on Twitter/x: https://twitter.com/nico_semedo Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@PlanetFPL⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Like us on Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/planetfpl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow us on Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/planetfpl⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #PremierLeague #FPL #ThatShowWithNico Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ARSENAL take on Sporting in a HUGE Champions League quarter-final - with their season in need of a boost. But, they will have to make the trip without Bukayo Saka. The 24-year-old missed games against Uruguay and Japan for Thomas Tuchel's England, and has not featured since the Carabao Cup final. He was also a...

The London Card Show is back and bigger than ever before as it prepares for its first event at Excel London. Once hosted in a sports hall, it’s now set to welcome thousands of trading card co…

Rio Ferdinand is pleased to see Marcus Rashford back in form and says Barcelona would be 'robbing' Man Utd by signing the forward for £26m.

Harry Maguire has put pen to paper on a new Manchester United contract. talkSPORT understands he could have earned more money by leaving on a free transfer with interest from other Premier League a…

The Champions League quarter-finals take place across Tuesday and Wednesday and the first double header sees Real Madrid hosting Bayern Munich and Arsenal making the trip to Lisbon to face Sporting…

Steven Gerrard has earmarked ‘the best player in the Bundesliga’ as his dream Liverpool replacement for Mohamed Salah. The legendary Reds captain joined talkSPORT Breakfast to discuss a…

Vincent Kompany revealed he would make a late decision on Harry Kane’s involvement for Bayern Munich’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid. Kane has been struggling with an ankle injury and missed England’s international friendly defeat to Japan as well as Bayern’s dramatic 3-2 win over Freiburg on Saturday. The 32-year-old has been […] The post Kompany to make late call on Kane´s fitness for Bayern´s Champions League quarter-final appeared first on Soccer News.

The Gunners have been sweating over several injuries.

The ideal solution for United this summer?

Should he be included?

Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane could return against Real Madrid on Tuesday after missing his club's dramatic 3-2 win in Freiburg on Matchday 28 and England's friendly against Japan.

Nico O’Reilly’s stock continues to rise at a rapid rate, so much so that Scott Minto believes he will start for England at the World Cup. However, the former Chelsea defender is not so …

With a growing number of Japan internationals arriving in Germany, bundesliga.com keeps you up-to-date with the progress of the league’s Japanese stars throughout the 2025/26 campaign…

Try The Athletic for FREE for 30 days: https://theathletic.com/tifofootball 📗 Tifo's new book, "How to Watch Football" is now available internationally: https://linktr.ee/tifobook The Japanese J League has decided to introduce penalty shootouts if a game ends level. #Shorts #Football #Japan Join the Tifo Discord Server - https://discord.gg/6nMGtSyyNM Follow Tifo Football by The Athletic: Facebook: http://facebook.com/TifoFootball Instagram: http://instagram.com/TifoFootball_ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tifofootball_ X: https://x.com/TifoFootball_ Listen to the Tifo Football podcast: The Athletic UK: http://bit.ly/TifoPodChannel Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/TifoFootPod Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/06QIGhqK31Qw1UvfHzRIDA YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWYJXDKS21OHj085qILmy-O2-yZqFIcuM&si=1tSREkvPh3Gps5NR Watch more Tifo: Tifo Football Podcast: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWYJXDKS21OHj085qILmy-O2-yZqFIcuM&si=1tSREkvPh3Gps5NR Tifo Sports by The Athletic: https://www.youtube.com/@TifoSports About Tifo Football by The Athletic: Tifo loves football. We create In-depth tactical, historical and geopolitical breakdowns of the beautiful game. We know there’s an appetite for thoughtful, intelligent content. For stuff that makes the complicated simple. We provide analysis on the Premier League, Champions League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, World Cup and more. Our podcasts interview some of the game’s leading figures. And our editorial covers football with depth and insight. Founded in 2017 and became a part of The Athletic in 2020. For business inquiries, reach out to [email protected]. Additional footage sourced from freestockfootagearchive.com Music provided by APM Music