The Guardian

It is the stroke that looks easy but can be a nightmare for some of the world’s top players – even Novak Djokovic has the Djokosmash Elite players are often at their most comfortable when speaking about the fine technical details of their game, but last month at the French Open, a straightforward question about the overhead smash initially drew little more than a regretful shake of the head from …

AJ Dybantsa went No 1 in a draft that proved to be low on drama, but loaded with generational talent The tanking teams Continue reading...

England captain contrite on return after curfew breach Oval loss ‘hurt me, because I’m very close with Joe’ Ben Stokes has spoken for the first time about his exclusion from the second Test against New Zealand on disciplinary grounds, revealing he has apologised to his teammates and was “hurt” seeing Joe Root criticised as a stand-in captain. The 35-year-old was stood down before the 253-run defe…

Photographs from across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas show communities gathering to watch the greatest show on earth Viewing figures for the 2026 World Cup have been massive so far, with footy-mad audiences lapping up the coverage. England’s victory over Croatia had a peak audience of 15.4 million on ITV, but that was nothing compared to Brazil where more than 30 million people watched as…

With one year to go on Wednesday, this week’s newsletter speaks to Aline Pellegrino and Angelina Constantino about their hopes for the tournament We are 365 days away from the 2027 Women’s World Cup, which will take place in eight Brazilian cities between 24 June and 25 July next year. This will be the third major women’s football tournament held in the country in the past two decades, after the …

Maja Göthberg lost contract after disclosing pregnancy First successful Cas case under Fifa maternity regulations Lazio Women unlawfully ended the Swedish footballer Maja Göthberg’s time at the club because of her pregnancy, the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) has ruled, ordering the Italian club to pay compensation. The landmark case revolved around Fifa’s maternity regulations, which were …

Debate is raging back home about whether Neymar, Casemiro, Endrick – and others – should be in the World Cup team against the Tartan Army The big stars have turned up for the 2026 World Cup. Lamine Yamal returned to the Spain team to help them thump Saudi Arabia. Lionel Messi is the tournament’s top scorer, giving Argentina hope of pinning “ la cuarta estrella ” to their shirts. And Kylian Mbappé…

Teenage sensation to abide by safeguarding rules T20 series begins in Durham next Wednesday India’s teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be required to use his own changing room for safeguarding reasons on his first international tour in England this summer. The 15-year-old is expected to make history by becoming India’s youngest international cricketer on Friday in a T20 international aga…

Alex Freeman has impressed from right-back while Eli Just is catching the eye with his body swerves and goal threat It is not difficult to see why this old head on young shoulders is destined for a big career. In a Morocco team conditioned to play first-time passes, he sets the tone with his instant decisions. Bouaddi is in essence the deepest of the midfield three and he not only plays quickly b…

With the group stage hurtling towards its end we look at who needs what to make the knockout phase Teams level on points are separated, in order, by head-to-head points; head-to-head goal difference; head-to-head goals scored; overall goal difference; overall goals scored; disciplinary points; Fifa ranking. Continue reading...

For years the United States sought a single soccer identity. Instead, its best team emerged from a patchwork of backgrounds, cultures and development paths In 1993, the United States Soccer Federation handed a contract to Rinus Michels. But the Dutch godfather of Total Football, operationalized through his on-field avatar Johan Cruyff, was not hired to coach the national team, or to coach anybody…

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Lars Sivertsen , Mark Langdon and Jacob Steinberg as England fail to break down Ghana Continue reading...

⚽ All the latest news on a day packed with six matches ⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Daniel This “I’m back” situation, though; it’ll take more than bagging a brace against Uzbekistan for that to be so. Roberto Martínez has options, too. He could play a wide player up front – Pedro Neto has done it for Chelsea – or Goncalo Ramos, who’s a striker. Continue reading...

Plus: is Dick Advocaat unique among coaches, long waits between World Cups and Dave Beasant revisionism Mail us with your all of your questions and answers “Sweden’s Yasin Ayari has a Tunisian father and chose not to celebrate his first goal against Tunisia (he couldn’t resist celebrating when he scored later, though). Declan Rice did something similar after scoring against the Republic of Irelan…