The Guardian

Germany’s 2014 World Cup winning goalkeeper and a Brazilian icon are among those who have have called time after the 2026 tournament First participated in the World Cup in 2010 before winning the trophy four years later. Germany have had little success since and their penalty shootout defeat by Paraguay marked the end of Neuer’s international career. He initially retired after Euro 2024 but rever…

England international signs seven-year contract Xabi Alonso was key factor in Chelsea’s record signing Morgan Rogers has joined Chelsea from Aston Villa for a fee of £117m, signing a seven-year deal to become the Blues’ record signing. A deal was agreed on Saturday for the 23-year-old to move to Stamford Bridge as the club stole in ahead of Arsenal, who had been in talks to sign the England inter…

Revamped tournament returns with pyrotechnics and plenty more fireworks from Nicholas Pooran’s bat In 2012 John Newman’s first hit, as featured vocalist on Rudimental’s Feel the Love , went straight into the charts at No 1. The following year his first solo release, Love Me Again , did it too, also earning him a Brit nomination for single of the year and one for the Ivor Novellos as best song mus…

Belgian wins time trail and says pursuit of leader ‘not over yet’ Florian Lipowitz, third last year, quits race after crashing Remco Evenepoel took back-to-back stage wins in the Tour de France, and eroded some of Tadej Pogacar’s overall lead, with victory in the stage-16 time trial from Evian to Thonon-les-Bains. The Olympic road and time trial champion, now second overall in the Tour, won on th…

Freestyle swimmer eligible for Scotland through father Gerry Madeleine’s appearance in 2007 still under police investigation Madeleine McCann’s younger brother, Sean, has been selected to represent Scotland in swimming at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. McCann, a student at Loughborough University, is expected to compete in a number of longer-distance freestyle events when competition begins a…

As the Commonwealth Games return to Scotland’s biggest city, the mood is markedly different from the last time Glasgow hosted the event The first person to stop on Glasgow’s streets does not recognise the Commonwealth Games mascot, Finnie the unicorn. “I genuinely didn’t realise that the unicorn was the mascot,” Karl, a 33-year-old Glaswegian native, says with a laugh. “I caught a glimpse of one …

Explosion in ticketing and hospitality revenue goes along with a Fifa desire to recoup lost TV income in future deals As is often the case, it has been left to Donald Trump to say the quiet bit out loud. “We have to do this again and we have to do it while I’m around, you hear that Gianni?” the US president told Fox News in an interview broadcast in the buildup to the World Cup final. An American…

Fans claim they are being ‘treated as suspects’ Club planning to reinstate tickets before season begins Manchester United’s official Fans’ Forum, Manchester United Supporters Trust (Must), The 1958 and five other such groups have complained to the club over supporters being “treated as suspects” after some had season tickets suspended as part of a move to stop the illegal reselling of seats. Unit…

An unlikely match ‘like a World Cup final’ was for some first proof of Yorkshire immigrant community’s love of cricket On 30 June 1986 the Yorkshire Post printed an invitation to a pre-match reception at the Majestic hotel. “Meet cricket club celebrities,” the invite read. “Auction, £10 (including buffet) .” But these were not just any old cricket celebrities, this was India and Pakistan, led by …

Bhatia backed by father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal Minority stake deal values the club at £4.5bn Liverpool’s owner is in talks over selling a significant minority stake to a consortium led by the Queens Park Rangers co-owner Amit Bhatia and backed by his father-in-law Lakshmi Mittal, the billionaire Indian steel magnate. Fenway Sports Group confirmed in a statement to the Financial Times that it had b…

Move is significant step in row over prize money US Open will come under pressure to follow suit The French Open has become the first grand slam tournament to offer players a share of the event’s revenue in a significant step forward in the row over prize money. Officials from Roland Garros made the offer to the players’ representative, Larry Scott, in talks at Wimbledon a fortnight ago in a move…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! The Geopolitics World Cup is already fading from view, replaced by a thin July gruel of pre-season friendlies and transfer tales. But there’s still time to cast another look back over the 48-team, 104-game, 308-goal leviathan that has dominated the last six weeks of our lives. Without further ado, here are 48 reasons to cherish this year’s World…

47-year-old took charge of two tournament matches Taylor has refereed in the Premier League for 16 years Anthony Taylor has announced his retirement from elite refereeing after a distinguished career spanning more than two decades and 831 matches. One of England’s most accomplished officials, the 47-year-old officiated 668 matches in the professional game in England. He brings the curtain down on…

Australians Jesse Asmus and Olympic champion Saya Sakakibara make the podium as Brisbane hosts 3,000 riders from 41 nations for the global event Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Every World Cup produces cult heroes, icons who make it possible for us to sit back and start misty-eyed recollections by saying: “Do you remember Roger Milla/Saeed Al-Owairan/Keisuke Honda/Paul the Octopus?” Well, the Geopolitics World Cup has not let us down! Here are 10 cult heroes who’ve emerged from this tournament. Continue reading...