The Guardian

Gli Azzurri start favourites in the World Cup playoff on Thursday but Michael O’Neill says his young team will show no fear The shorter wait is the one worthy of considerably more attention. Four decades have passed since Northern Ireland appeared at a World Cup, then for the second time in succession. Any disappointment at finishing third in a group also involving Brazil and Spain was offset by …

The team have led a nomadic existence since Russia invaded and face a playoff against Sweden in Valencia on Thursday Around the pitch of the latest stadium Ukraine will call home, a set of banners reels off the venues that have accommodated them in the past four years. The list goes on: Lodz, Prague, Leverkusen, Wroclaw, Warsaw, Krakow, Murcia, Poznan and Trnava, some of those in multiple. If tha…

Automated Ball-Strike System will start this season Players will be able to challenge calls under system Former major league umpire Richie Garcia is worried about the impact that robot officials will have on their human counterparts. Major League Baseball has introduced the Automated Ball-Strike System for regular-season play in 2016, starting with the New York Yankees’ opener at San Francisco on…

Merseyside club to demand formal explanation from Premier League Chelsea docked no points for rule breaches, unlike Everton and Forest Everton are exploring a possible legal challenge against the Premier League for their handling of Chelsea’s undisclosed payments sanction. The club are understood to be preparing to write to the Premier League requesting a formal explanation for its failure to tak…

Despite a recent focus on youth, the big SPL clubs will have the Middle East’s biggest star in their sights, bringing a possible link-up with Mané and Ronaldo “We do not know where Mohamed will play next season,” Mohamed Salah’s agent, Ramy Abbas Issa, said on social media on Tuesday. “This also means that no one else knows. Beware of the attention seekers.” A worthy warning but a futile one now …

⚽️ WCL updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off at Old Trafford ⚽️ Arsenal 3-1 Chelsea | WSL trophy revamp | And mail Luke It’s raining goals in Spain. It’s Real Madrid 2-5 Barcelona now. Linda Caicedo just scored her second of the night for Madrid, and it was a belter, arrowed into the top corner from the edge of the box after a driving run at a backpedalling Barcelona defence. Continue reading...

Before meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, head coach has urged his players to step up and embrace the occasion “Have you ever seen Usain Bolt in the 100m?” Craig Bellamy asks a crowd of journalists in the Wynnstay auditorium at Wales’s hub in Hensol, on the eve of the World Cup playoff semi-final against Bosnia and Herzegovina . “He’s smiling, waving – all right, it does help he knows he can ru…

State department to expand program on 2 April Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Tunisia, Cape Verde affected No apparent exceptions for athletes or officials A newly expanded policy from the Trump administration could require travelers from five World Cup-qualified countries to front a bond of up to $15,000 in order to enter the United States for the tournament. Visa bonds operate like security de…

World champion hosts ‘Three Lions darts championship’ Littler: ‘It was a dream as a football fan to come here’ Luke Littler was happy to teach the England squad how to hit the target as he hosted a darts tournament at St George’s Park. The double world champion visited Thomas Tuchel’s group as they build up towards upcoming pre-World Cup friendlies with Uruguay and Japan. Continue reading...

Nigel Dewale, 60, given suspended prison sentence Offensive messages were sent during Euro 2025 A 60-year-old man has received a suspended prison sentence after pleading guilty to sending offensive messages about the England international Jess Carter during the European Championship last summer. Nigel Dewale, of Great Harwood in Lancashire, was sentenced to six weeks, suspended for 12 months, aft…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! With ratings declining, it was inevitable ties needed to be severed without commissioning a new season of a cherished Liverpudlian mainstay. This is what happens when things get tired, they can never replicate what they were in their prime. It is no great shame to have such a long run, collect plenty of awards on the way and finally realise the …

The NBA’s board of governors voted to move forward with the cities as targets for its first expansion since 2004. Here’s what it means for the future of the league The NBA has moved a step closer to adding teams in Seattle and Las Vegas. The league’s board of governors met this week and voted to explore bids and applicants for teams exclusively in those two cities, beginning the process for its f…

Home nations frontrunners to host Women’s World Cup United’s New Stadium Development wants showpiece The FA is resisting lobbying from Manchester United to nominate a rebuilt Old Trafford as the venue for the 2035 Women’s World Cup final. The chief executive of United’s New Stadium Development, Collette Roche, went public with the club’s aspirations to host the 2035 final for the first time on Tu…

Lead runners were led off course by guide vehicle World Athletics gives runners special entry Three runners who were led off course in a race that served as a qualifier for the World Road Running Championships have been given entry into the upcoming competition. Jessica McClain, Emma Grace Hurley and Ednah Kurgat were leading the USA Track & Field Half Marathon Championships in Atlanta earlier th…

Ireland face Czech Republic in playoff semi-final ‘We are just riding the wave of confidence’ Seamus Coleman believes the Republic of Ireland have “a duty” to lift the country by completing the job of qualifying for a World Cup for the first time since 2002. The Republic visit the Czech Republic on Thursday in a World Cup playoff semi-final that few would have imagined possible after collecting o…