The Guardian

Updates on Manchester City and Nations League news Fixtures | Get Football Daily | And you can email Billy Hello and welcome to Friday’s football blog, where we’ll keep you up to date with the latest news on the Manchester City case plus reaction and previews of the men’s Nations League action. Man City are expected to lodge an appeal before the deadline today against the guilty verdict on over 1…

Fighters have always provided rich material for stories on stage and screen and the appeal to audiences has not wavered Three of my greatest joys in life are watching sport, going to the theatre and playing violin. So it felt almost embarrassing to discover a classic play that combined all three, yet I’d never heard of it before. To be fair, Golden Boy has not been performed in the UK in more tha…

Host nation won having led almost from start to finish, while young English player reached a stunning landmark Uzbekistan, the host nation, won the open gold medals at the 2026 Olympiad, the biennial chess international team tournament, at Samarkand last week in the style of the legendary Soviet grandmasters of long ago. India, the defending champions, were second, Germany a surprise third, and t…

Harris hits three-run homer in decisive Game 3 Kerr throws 3 1/3 scoreless innings for Atlanta Braves advance to face two-time champion Dodgers Michael Harris II hit a three-run homer in the first inning, Ray Kerr threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-2 on Thursday night in the decisive Game 3 of their National League wildcard series. Ozzie Albies h…

Szmyt hits career-long kick with 10 seconds remaining Cleveland improve to 3-1 after surviving Pittsburgh rally Rodgers throws three TDs but two costly interceptions Deshaun Watson passed for 268 yards and moved the Browns into position for Andre Szmyt’s career-long 56-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining, giving Cleveland a 27-24 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday night. Watson, w…

Four-time MVP adds 10 rebounds in 94-83 victory Clark finishes with 18 points in deciding Game 3 Aces continue pursuit of fourth title in five years A’ja Wilson made sure her basketball spoke for itself Thursday night, as the four-time WNBA MVP scored 36 points to lead the defending champion Las Vegas Aces to a 94-83 victory over the Indiana Fever in the deciding Game 3 of the first round. The th…

Portugal pull away to 4-2 win in Denmark Jürgen Klopp’s Germany beat Serbia 2-0 Portugal maintained their perfect start to Nations League Group A4 as Jorge Jesus’s squad showed little signs of missing Cristiano Ronaldo with a 4-2 victory over Denmark in Copenhagen. The 41-year-old Al-Nassr forward and five-time Ballon d’Or winner left the camp before the match amid reports of a falling out with J…

There’s no ignoring the holders but what of the hosts, the All Blacks, France and even England? Here’s a rundown of all 24 teams taking part in Australia in 2027 Beaten by Australia last weekend but the manner in which they came back after Rassie Erasmus emptied his bench was emphatic. The series victory over New Zealand was the one they really wanted this year and achieving that, romping from 1-…

Protests halted events in Dublin twice before the Republic of Ireland were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw after Austria came back in the second half of their Nations League encounter at the Aviva Stadium. Despite a significant security presence, the contest was twice interrupted in the opening 45 minutes, first due to what campaign group Stop the Game later referred to in a statement as a “limit…

On a night when Erling Haaland moped around the pitch, dragging his hulking frame across the Cardiff turf, Wales registered a welcome victory over 10-man Norway and their first this year. Daniel James cancelled out Oscar Bobb’s well-worked opener in the first half and 17 seconds into the restart Torbjørn Heggem was sent off for fouling James as the Leeds winger streamed through towards goal, resu…

Manchester City played out a high-quality draw with Real Madrid in the Women’s Champions League after an unprecedented week of off-field tension at the English club. The result – which was a fair reflection of an even but entertaining game – left both sides with two points from their opening two fixtures, but City will know their league phase opponents should theoretically become less challenging…

WTA announces ‘major milestone’ in fight for equality Combined WTA 1000 events to award equal prize money All combined WTA 1000 tournaments will award women equal prize ⁠money to the men from 2027, the Women’s Tennis Association has announced, ⁠with the Italian ⁠Open ​and other major events joining the rest of the category in offering the ⁠same payouts. Billie Jean King has often said that she wa…

England’s identity under Steve Borthwick is not as clear as it should be this close to the tournament It was not so long ago that the Rugby Football Union would host an annual Christmas bash. Executives, head coaches, assistants, members of staff and an invitation to the press pack. Mince pies and mulled wine, even a touch of merriment if we were lucky. Eddie Jones would sometimes make an appeara…

The former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach took 12 years to build a city filled with stadiums, skyscrapers and bespoke homes. It is a marvel We may finally have cracked the case as to why the Pittsburgh Steelers stagnated so much over the final years of Mike Tomlin’s tenure as head coach: he was focused on virtual urban planning. I’m kidding, of course. It’s good when people in high-pressure jobs …

Row sparked by head coach’s decision to leave the 41-year-old on the bench has left a great international career at risk of ending in acrimony The drama surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo and the national team has naturally become the biggest story here in Portugal. It led Wednesday evening’s news broadcasts and made the front page of virtually every major newspaper. For some, Ronaldo was right to wal…