The Guardian

Having battled back from injury to make the World Cup, the matchwinner’s goal was a deserved payoff for unsung sacrifices And then, suddenly, there was Mikel Merino circling the corner flag again, another marvellous moment to emulate his father Ángel Miguel and embrace his son Marco. To hold those who got him here and the whole of Spain, who would have hugged him back if they had the chance. Ther…

All the latest Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A deals and a club-by-club guide Women’s transfer window interactive guide Continue reading...

The suspension of the USA striker’s red card after Trump’s intervention has shown what Gianni Infantino’s organisation is trying to turn the sport into: scripted entertainment Frites 4 Cheats 1. Tintin 4 Tonto 1. Some good news here, perhaps. It seems Gianni Infantino was right after all. Football has united the world. Mainly football has united the world in gleeful satisfaction at the USA exitin…

Fans were denied thrilling finale as Charles Leclerc won behind safety car but there are no easy solutions The British Grand Prix ending under the safety car and denying a potentially thrilling finale was a controversial, but also complicated incident. It raised issues from the sport’s past and questions over what it may yet address for the future. The Silverstone victor, Charles Leclerc, of cour…

Our cartoonist looks at the big stories from the World Cup as England reach the last eight but the US slump out Buy David’s cartoons | Some of his favourite works And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

Champions believed to be preparing £60m offer Fresh blow for Newcastle after loss of Gordon and Tonali Arsenal are ready to step up their interest in Bruno Guimarães after the Brazil midfielder informed Newcastle that he wants to join the Premier League champions. Guimarães, who missed a penalty in Brazil’s defeat to Norway in the last-16 of the World Cup on Sunday, is understood to have his hear…

Dr Delroy Hall said Cusack struggled to juggle two jobs Cusack was found dead at her home in September 2023 The former club chaplain at Sheffield United has told an inquest into Maddy Cusack’s death that she repeatedly asked him not to inform the club that she had been speaking to him. Dr Delroy Hall volunteered in the role at Sheffield United from 2017 until November 2023, around two months afte…

The 23-year-old may not stand out by many metrics, but his excellence goes deeper than numbers alone How about we all agree on Arthur’s Seat? I’d love to claim it but the honour belongs to a quick-witted friend of a friend, the literary agent Geraldine Cooke. Maybe it doesn’t have the same alliteration as Henman Hill or Murray Mound but you would say Fery’s Foothill does him an injustice given ho…

Andrew Giuliani claims actions of referee Raphael Claus over US player Folarin Balogun ‘very, very highly suspicious’ Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House’s World Cup taskforce, has defended Donald Trump’s lobbying of Fifa to lift the suspension of US player Folarin Balogun for Monday’s game against Belgium. The US president claimed that Brazilian referee Raphael Claus , who showed Balogun a …

Country’s model prioritises joy while offering choice – and Erling Haaland’s World Cup exploits show that it works At full time, the arithmetic felt wrong. A team from a country of 5.5 million people, back at a World Cup after 28 years away, had just beaten the five-time champions to reach a first quarter-final. During Norway’s victory over Brazil on Sunday there was little between the fast feet …

Prince Abdullah asserts he is still owed £35m Shares allegedly transferred to new company The English Football League is investigating allegations that Sheffield United’s owner, the American investment group COH Sports, has formed a new parent company for the club to avoid paying £35m owed to the previous owner, Prince Abdullah. COH Sports, led by Steven Rosen and Helmy Eltoukhy, agreed a deal to…

On the eve of the first women’s Test at Lord’s, nine England players and one Australian from 1976 are gathering In a room in central London, about three miles from Lord’s, a group of 10 women will gather on Thursday for a very special reunion. Fifty years ago, on 4 August 1976, they were among the first female cricketers to play a match at the so-called Home of Cricket: a one-day international be…

Defender unable to train with squad on Wednesday Declan Rice and Marc Guéhi also trained individually Reece James is a doubt for England’s World Cup quarter-final against Norway in Miami on Saturday after he was again unable to train with the squad on Wednesday. The right-back has been unavailable since he injured a hamstring in England’s second group game – the 0-0 draw against Ghana in Boston. …

Statement says decisions ‘raised serious concerns’ Association rues ‘controversial and influential incidents’ The Egyptian Football Association has questioned the “fairness” of the national team’s 3-2 loss to Argentina in Tuesday’s World Cup last-16 encounter. Having gone 1-0 up through Yasser Ibrahim early on, Egypt thought they had doubled their lead in the second half when Mostafa Ziko scored …

No 2 seed wins 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 against American sixth seed Zverev: ‘I know 99% of people will be cheering for Fery’ It’s quite the sound listening to a tennis ball being pulverised by Alexander Zverev as he serves. There’s the crack of racket on ball. The gasps from the crowd. And then the oohs after they glance at the speed gun. And Taylor Fritz, who had a better view of Zverev’s howitzers than an…