The Guardian

Morocco’s semi-final appearance in Qatar has raised the possibility of an African team reaching the final, but who are best poised to do so? With a record 10 African teams at the first 48-nation World Cup finals tournament, the big question, after Morocco’s historic semi-final appearance in Qatar , is whether any of them can go a step further. The prospect of an African side becoming world champi…

Fifa has found its tournament squarely caught up in the second Trump administration’s aggressive border restrictions For successive men’s World Cup tournaments Fifa has managed to bulldoze its way through costly immigration and entry requirements. In 2014 Brazil passed a law granting free temporary visas to ticket holders, and for Russia and Qatar, the respective autocracies bypassed traditional …

Evans becomes first men’s player to come out since Ian Roberts in 1995 Former Roosters and Eels player had struggled with suicidal thoughts Former prop forward Kane Evans says a weight has lifted from his shoulders after he became only the second male NRL player to come out as gay. In an emotional interview with Channel Nine’s 100% Footy, the 131-time NRL player said he had struggled with addicti…

England 3-0 Ukraine Carter 14, Stanway 37, Mead 67 England had to settle for a place in the World Cup playoffs despite cruising to a 3-0 victory against Ukraine, as Spain’s 6-1 win in Iceland forced England to finish in second spot. It is the first time that England have failed to top their World Cup qualifying group for nearly 25 years, since missing out on a place at the 2003 World Cup, back wh…

Arsenal forward still struggling with achilles injury ‘Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing’ Bukayo Saka continues to play through the pain of an achilles injury, according to the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, and must be managed carefully as the start of the World Cup looms large. The Arsenal winger joined up with the England squad in West Palm Beach on Saturday after being gi…

Videos show Spurs fans having jerseys ripped off Players from both teams say incidents are unacceptable Players from both teams in the NBA finals have condemned apparent attacks on San Antonio Spurs fans by supporters of the New York Knicks. Videos circulating on social media showed Spurs fans having their jerseys ripped off on the streets of New York in the aftermath of the Knicks’ loss in Game …

44-year-old victorious alongside partner Victoria Mboko Pair win 7-6 (2), 6-2 over Melichar-Martinez and Routliffe 1,375 days later, Serena Williams resumed her life as a professional tennis player to an uncharacteristic roar from a usually reserved Queen’s Club crowd filled to the brim. As she warmed up on the grass, flanked by a formidable, precocious partner in Victoria Mboko, Williams could n…

Questioned in France but championed from afar, the departing head coach has forged a legacy that no one – bar, perhaps, himself – would dare dispute Follow the verdant path towards the Château de Clairefontaine and you are met by a three-metre replica of the World Cup trophy accompanied by two stars, representing France’s World Cup triumphs. Didier Deschamps had his hand in both of them, captaini…

Midnight bedtime was entirely a public relations exercise to reconnect with fans – the same fans the ECB invites to one long piss-up at Lord’s The laws of cricket run to more than 200 pages. The International Cricket Council’s Test playing regulations fill another 125, the anti-doping code packs another 66, the code of conduct is 44 more, illegal bowling actions 37, kit and equipment 36. You’d be…

Real Madrid reveal they have made offer for Argentinian Arbeloa departs club, paving way for Mourinho return Real Madrid have revealed they have had a €150m (£129.4m) bid for Julián Alvarez rejected by city rivals Atlético Madrid. The Argentina striker has scored 49 goals in 106 appearances for Atlético since joining from Manchester City in 2024. The 26-year-old, whose contract runs until 2030, r…

Former victims’ commissioner says publication ‘deliberately came as close as possible to breaking the law’ David Sullivan’s Sport newspapers used sexualised images of underage girls as “bait for predatory men”, the former victims’ commissioner has said. Vera Baird spoke amid scrutiny of the newspapers’ ’Countdown to 16’ feature , where during Sullivan’s tenure as owner, models were pictured in li…

England captain considering his long-term future ECB continuing investigation into nightclub incident Ben Stokes is highly unlikely to be included in England’s squad for the second Test against New Zealand after the 35-year-old asked for space and time to consider his long-term future amid the fallout from a nightclub incident in the early hours of Monday morning. The England and Wales Cricket Bo…

Joe Dickerson is one of North America’s best referees, but he’ll be off the field in a high-pressure position when the World Cup begins • Predict the winner | Daily podcast | Download our app Joe Dickerson never set out to be a referee. As a player, he was told that reffing would be to make money on the side, learn responsibility, and – more pertinent to his team – learn the sport and begin to un…

Young sprinter is ready to take on the ‘big boys’ for the first time as he takes life in the spotlight in his stride Life comes at you fast, especially when you are Gout Gout. In April, the 18-year-old prodigy became the fastest teenager over 200m in history. Then last month, he finally got his own bedroom for the first time, having bought his family a new six-bedroom house in Brisbane. Now, in O…

Women’s head coach to select staff for New Zealand tour Lions team mainly be made up of dominant Red Roses Jo Yapp, the women’s British and Irish Lions head coach, revealed that she has spoken to Andy Farrell to pick “the brains of those who have gone before” as she begins her preparations for the inaugural tour. Yapp, who was in charge of Australia at last year’s World Cup, was appointed last mo…