The Guardian

Manager on the values behind Spain’s coaching success, the joy of teaching and how Lamine Yamal has been touched by God’s wand On the ground floor of the Spanish football federation’s headquarters in Las Rozas are two classrooms covered with photos of everyone who has played for la selección . More than 800 men are there, frames spilling into the corridor, but the coach who leads them to the Worl…

Charity worker’s unsparing book explains how the game created support networks and ‘beautiful friendships’ The Bishopton Ladies goalkeeper and Street Soccer charity coordinator Sarah Rhind is emphatic about how integral football has been to her survival. “I can wholeheartedly say that without it I wouldn’t be in the position that I’m in now – if I was even lucky enough to still be here,” she says…

Ståle Solbakken leads country to first major tournament in 26 years knowing that, with Erling Haaland up front, anything can happen 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 …

Teams must be prepared for challenging travel and a cauldron of heat but will also encounter fantastic fans and a beautiful football culture This World Cup will be incomparable to anything we have seen before. Why? The pure scope of the tournament: 104 matches in three different countries played across 16 venues in three different time zones. If you have not travelled around the United States, it…

Australia coach praises competitiveness in final friendly Irankunda and Metcalfe impress ahead of World Cup opener Socceroos coach Tony Popovic is keeping his cards close to his chest about who he will start against Turkey on 14 June in Australia’s first World Cup match, after Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe made strong cases during the 1-1 draw against Switzerland. Irankunda struck the cro…

Sullivan hoped football would legitimise him but claims about historical conduct have led to his resignation from West Ham • Sullivan steps down at West Ham to fight claims about private life When David Sullivan was growing up in a council house in Cardiff, he dreamed of becoming a professional footballer. Short and squat, he would never be a player, but later in life the fortune he built through…

Graham Arnold’s team have overcome adversity on and off the pitch, but may benefit from the pressure being off them in a tough group 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…

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…

It was a glorified training game, mainly about acclimatisation for Thomas Tuchel’s England players; unsexy stuff like the right amount of loading, re-connecting with the manager’s principles. But the win was good, too, and it was welcome after the stodge of the March internationals, which had seen the draw against Uruguay and the loss by Japan . With the temperature peaking at 33C and the humidit…

“I think a medal of some sort will come. I pray and hope that it is the gold one.” Ally MacLeod was never to live down his hubris of 1978 . A Scotland loss to Peru and draw with Iran saw to that. Unlike MacLeod, Steve Clarke has never been prone to bold or rash predictions. Excitement will be left to everyone else. Who can reasonably deny them that? In a last outing before a first World Cup appea…

Antonee Robinson scores the Americans’ only goal US open World Cup on 12 June against Paraguay World Cup newsletter | Daily podcast | Get the app Ready or not, here comes the group stage. The US men concluded their pre-World Cup preparations with a 2-1 loss against Germany on Saturday at Soldier Field, in front of a lively sellout crowd of 63,636. The fans made their way to the historic venue on …

Yengi cancels out Dan Ndoye’s opener in 1-1 draw in San Diego Fellow Australia debutant Cristian Volpato makes little impact Striker Tete Yengi marked his Socceroos debut with a goal, as Australia salvaged a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their final World Cup warm-up in San Diego in a match that leaves coach Tony Popovic with more than one selection quandary. The coach turned to a largely second-c…

England’s heaviest defeat for decades does not signal the end for Sarina Wiegman’s European champions It was a tough night for Sarina Wiegman and her charges at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix. England’s biggest loss since a 6-2 defeat by Germany in the Euro 2009 final and their first loss in a qualifier since 2002 shattered their ambition of securing top spot in their 2027 World Cup group and autom…

The New York City mayor sat down with the Guardian and, using our World Cup Bracketology game , made a historic prediction for this summer • World Cup newsletter | Daily podcast | Download the app New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani walked confidently across the City Hall lawn on Thursday, sat down, and admitted that he had not had time to do much research into who he thought was going to win this…

After living in the Argentina idol’s shadow, the 39-year-old star of 2022 is still capable of a final glorious chapter Lionel Messi in Qatar felt like the perfect story. It was the great finale. He is doomed always to be compared with Diego Maradona and, placed alongside a life of operatic ups and downs, of injury and addiction, drugs bans and organised crime, the highest highs and the lowest low…