The Guardian

⚽️ Infantino tells fans to ‘chill’ in response to Fifa’s critics ⚽️ Match centre | Player guide | Bracketology | Mail Tom WSL: City sign Charles . Manchester City have agreed a £500,000 deal to sign the England full-back Niamh Charles from Chelsea, the Guardian understands, with the transfer expected to be completed soon. The 26-year-old, who has 34 senior international caps for the Lionesses and…

Antoine Semenyo will need help from his supporting cast but there is plenty of excitement about a 20-year-old midfielder likened to Michael Essien This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network , a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to …

It may just be time to forget the sullied buildup and enjoy the tournament although co-hosts are not optimistic It has been difficult to go anywhere in Mexico City this week without seeing Hugo Sánchez, the great former Real Madrid striker, trying to sell you something. Raúl Jiménez is on a few billboards and Toluca’s Alexis Vega on a couple of others, but Sánchez remains the king. Football adver…

In Mexico, football is played wherever space permits. The Reuters photographer Raquel Cunha spent three months taking photos of amateur matches across Mexico City and beyond Across Mexico, a co-host of the 2026 World Cup, football pitches are laid out wherever communities can find the space. On the edges of towns, on highway underpasses, and even in a volcano crater, spaces are cleared that allow…

Australia forward misses training three days from Turkey match Tony Popovic’s squad is thin on specialist attacking options Socceroos striker Mo Touré sent a scare through camp days before the team’s World Cup opener after he missed training on Wednesday (Thursday AEST), highlighting the vulnerability of a squad thin on forward options. Touré was at the team’s training base in Oakland for the tea…

Fifa president has prostrated the organisation before Donald Trump and lost control of his own tournament as a result Even the Nazis tried to tone things down a bit. Before the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, acutely conscious of how it might be perceived by foreign visitors, the Third Reich tried to soften some of its harder, more intolerant edges. Antisemitic signs and images were removed from shops a…

Midfielder delivered complete performance against Costa Rica that should make up Thomas Tuchel’s mind for him It only took eight seconds for Jude Bellingham to steal the lightning’s thunder. Given the nod over Morgan Rogers, Bellingham set the tone for England when their friendly against Costa Rica finally got under way. The No 10 pressed from the front, racing to charge down a clearance from Dar…

Knicks erase 29-point deficit to win Game 4 Anunoby scores winner with 2.3 seconds left New York take commanding 3-1 Finals lead The New York Knicks stared into the abyss and somehow found a way out. Facing a 29-point deficit in front of a shell-shocked Madison Square Garden crowd, New York completed the largest comeback in NBA finals history on Wednesday night when OG Anunoby’s tip-in off a Jale…

World No 1 easily chase 131 to win by six wickets Georgia Voll hits 77no off 48 with 10 fours and two sixes Sophie Molineux’s Australian team, without a world title to their name, look determined to put matters right at the Women’s T20 World Cup, if the ruthless manner of their warm-up wins is anything to go by. After crushing tournament hosts England on Monday , world No 1 Australian hammered We…

Quarterback has two years added to his deal Contract will last until Mahomes is 38 The Kansas City Chiefs and their starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes , have agreed to a restructured contract that adds two years to his deal and pushes his total compensation past a half-billion dollars, according to sources. Mahomes signed a 10-year, $450m contract in 2020 that set a benchmark not only for the …

Fifa president defends handling of tournament ‘Screaming and shouting does not find a solution’ Gianni Infantino told football fans to “chill and relax” on the eve of the World Cup, while Fifa faced criticism from the United Nations over the immigration issues that have overshadowed the buildup to the tournament. The Fifa president launched a staunch defence of his organisation’s handling of the …

City intensify their pursuit of England midfielder Forest want fee to match British record £125m for Isak Manchester City have made a second bid worth £122m for Elliot Anderson which has been rejected by Nottingham Forest, who want a British record transfer fee of £125m before any add-ons for the England midfielder. City’s offer follows an initial bid of £80m for the 23-year-old and is worth a gu…

Changes will address energy management issues Verstappen one of most outspoken critics of current rules The key players in Formula One have come to an agreement to settle the proposed changes to the sport’s engines for the 2027 and 2028 seasons. These have been seen as crucial in addressing widespread driver dissatisfaction with the current formula, not least for the four-time champion Max Versta…

Cooper Lutkenhaus, 17, wins 800m by 0.01sec Gout Gout sixth; Tebogo: ‘He still has a long way to go’ There are fewer venues more deeply embedded into track and field’s soul than the Bislett Stadium. An extraordinary 70 world records have been set here. Plenty of reputations have been made. Plenty more left frayed, too. And so it proved again as the brilliant 17-year-old American Cooper Lutkenhaus…

Sciver-Brunt back to ‘normal self’ with half-century Jones: ‘I feel everything has been ticked off’ England’s World Cup preparations concluded with a five-run win in their final warm-up against India at Cardiff, in what will be a vital confidence-booster before their tournament opener against Sri Lanka on Friday evening. England hit 171 for six, including a half-century from Nat Sciver-Brunt – th…