The Guardian

Even the finest miss out on a place at the finals and for those who do get there, decisions can make or break a dream Ismail Elfath was taking his children to the park near his home in Texas when a message arrived. “Congratulations,” it read. Elfath hugged his wife. Fifa had selected him for his second World Cup. Relief and pride swept over him. “Going to a World Cup is the dream of every referee…

As a former NBA player, I know that criticism is part of the game. But in an age when players are under attack constantly, the Knick star is an example to us all The entire basketball world is singing the praises of Jalen Brunson and rightfully so. He has led the Knicks to the NBA finals for the first time since 1999 and has united the entire city of New York in a unique way. On every New York st…

Live Championship updates from 11am UK time Email Tanya | MCC apologises for Lord’s pitch Osman Samiuddin is a wonderful writer and this long read/podcast on Imran Khan is unputdownable/switchoffable. On a spearmint green pitch at the Oval, Dan Lawrence had one of his unstoppable days – an unorthodox tub-thumping of Hampshire . With fierce eye and rampaging bat he bashed 218 off 190 balls, and be…

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Iraq striker questioned for seven hours at O’Hare Team photographer denied entry after more 10 hours Iraq return to World Cup for first time since 1986 Iraq’s World Cup striker, Aymen Hussein, was held and questioned for nearly seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport after arriving with the squad early on Saturday, an Iraqi sporting official said. Hussein was finally allowed in, but the team’s ph…

Tuchel criticises England’s ‘freestyle’ approach Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Mail David This was an alarming and upsetting development last night but thankfully the updates on Christian Eriksen are positive after he collapsed in Denmark’s friendly against Ukraine. The former Manchester United midfielder, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a European Championship match in 2021, was…

Lionel Scaloni’s strong, confident squad are no longer reliant on Messi as they target back-to-back World Cup titles 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 the tournament kicking off on …

Mondo’s three-year unbeaten run ended at Diamond League meet Cameron Myers and Matthew Denny also secure podium finishes Kurtis Marschall has pulled off one of the upsets of the sporting year as the Australian beat the seemingly unbeatable pole vault king Armand Duplantis in front of his home fans in the Stockholm Diamond League meeting. And though the world’s top athlete was not happy his 40-eve…

American survives close putt on final hole Korda claims $2.5m first prize for victory England’s Hull misses out on first major title Nelly Korda won the US Women’s Open on Sunday for her second consecutive major victory, holding off Charley Hull and Gaby Lopez by one shot when her final putt curled perilously around the cup and dropped in. Korda’s first US Open win is the fourth major victory of …

Enrique Riquelme loses challenge against Pérez José Mourinho will now be confirmed as manager Florentino Pérez will continue as president of Real Madrid after winning their first elections in 20 years, paving the way for his plans to sell 5% of the club. Pérez, who has been president for 23 years across two spells – first between 2000 and 2006 and then since 2009, winning the last five elections …

The England coach’s squad is based on picking players in their right positions, setting up a series of one-on-one battles For Thomas Tuchel there is a fringe benefit to Anthony Gordon’s surprise move from Newcastle to Barcelona . “It is excellent,” the England manager said. “It is such a nice trip for me to watch matches. I can only encourage people to go to nice places.”’ Tuchel was in playful m…

Hamilton avoids Monaco chaos to go second in standings Gasly angry after penalties cost him third; Russell downcast Lewis Hamilton believes his first win for Ferrari is on the cards after a second-place finish at the Monaco Grand Prix, with the seven-time champion committed to chasing down the Formula One world championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, who won again in Monte Carlo. After the race ther…

The man of the match will not be judged on his comeback at Lord’s but on his ability to bowl spells when batters are set By 1pm, the only play left under way at Lord’s was at the wrong side of the stands, where the lads and dads with nothing else to do were batting with umbrellas in front of bins. The Test they had paid to see was done before lunch. In the end, the whole match lasted only 996 bal…

Mirra Andreeva’s rise to glory at Roland Garros owes so much to her lighthearted relationship with her coach, Conchita Martínez Conchita Martínez was in the middle of her account of her charge’s run to a first grand-slam title when she was rudely interrupted by a late arrival. Pursued by the rest of her team, tournament officials and a gloved staff member carrying the Coupe Suzanne-Lenglen, Mirra…