The Guardian

With Oceania praising Fifa on Friday, all six confederations have finally had their say on the fallout from the World Cup sell-off plan The Oceania Football Confederation’s (OFC) decision to belatedly issue a statement following this week’s executive committee meeting praising Fifa’s “progress achieved over the last decade” means all six continental confederations have finally had their say on th…

Chelsea set 5pm Friday deadline for bids for midfielder Maresca: ‘I don’t think we’re going to do something today’ Enzo Maresca is expecting a busy end to the transfer window but says Manchester City will not meet Chelsea’s 5pm Friday deadline to sign Enzo Fernández. Maresca takes charge of City for the first time in a competitive match on Sunday against Arsenal in Cardiff but is a long way from …

With Marco Silva leaving after five years can the club take advantage of the links their new coach, Álvaro Arbeloa, has with Real Madrid? Guardian writers’ predicted position: 15th (NB: this is not necessarily John Brewin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 11th Continue reading...

With the UK experiencing the driest summer on record, we look at how the weather is affecting the pitches and courses across the country Continue reading...

Sunderland and Leeds defied the odds and stayed up last season. Will Coventry, Hull and Ipswich continue the trend? By WhoScored A quarter of a century after their last appearance in the Premier League – following financial ruin, ground-sharing in Northampton and Birmingham and even a spell in League Two – Coventry have finally completed their comeback story. But the bunting has been packed away …

First Test, day two: Australia 198; Bangladesh 351 for 6 in Darwin Opener hits maiden Test century as tourists build 153-run lead A maiden Test century by Tanzid Hasan has given Bangladesh a 153-run lead against an Australian side that were forced to use eight bowlers in Darwin. In just his second Test match, the 25-year-old left-hander’s brilliant 101 put the Tigers in position to push for what …

⚽ All the latest football news, comment and previews ⚽ This weekend’s fixtures | Read Football Daily | Mail Tom I’m not sure I’m ready for this, are you ready for this? Surely it’s too hot for the EFL to be back. Can we push it until after another Test series or some more balmy nights of athletics? Ready or not, tonight Wolves striker Raúl Jiménez will likely be jeered by the travelling Blackburn…

England’s men start their post-Bazball future next week with a three-Test series against Pakistan. Cricket correspondent Ali Martin will be online at 2pm BST on Friday 14 August to answer your questions about this new era for the team – and anything else you’d like to discuss Ask a question: log in or sign up here Meet the new boss … same as the old boss? Next week Joe Root returns as England cap…

Tourists have prioritised winning at home with spin in recent times, leaving their attack leaning heavily on Abbas’s guile for England tour When Pakistan last arrived in England for a Test tour, in the Covid-bubble summer of 2020, they brought along the future. Shaheen Shah Afridi, 20, was the towering left-armer set for world domination. Naseem Shah, 17, was armed with a Test hat-trick and a vel…

Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, is youngest ever British women’s champion while Supratit Banerjee, 12, becomes England’s youngest ever international master A new generation took over at the top of British chess on Sunday, when a trio of youthful talents demonstrated their skills on a national stage. Shreyas Royal, 17, of Dartford, Kent, became the youngest ever British champion, breaking Michael Adams’s …

They may have sold Robbie Ure, their top scorer, to Sevilla, but the team from Uppsala have good reason to believe they can finish the job For most teams, losing a forward with 15 goals in 15 games midway through the season, amid a historic title chase, might be cause for panic. Sirius, the runaway Allsvenskan leaders, are not most teams. “I’m actually really confident,” says Henrik Castegren, th…

Hunt had won 100m already; Asher-Smith wins bronze Mark English wins 800m for Ireland’s first men’s gold Two down. Two to go. Amy Hunt’s dream of winning a record four gold medals at a single European championships gathered further momentum with a bravura performance in front of a raucous Alexander Stadium crowd. Hunt was given a huge cheer by the 20,082 in attendance, by far the biggest of the c…

Rangers 1-1 Jagiellonia Bialystok (2-3 agg) Spirited Hearts hold Benfica but also out of competition Derek McInnes’s fledgling tenure as Rangers manager is in disarray after his side exited the Europa League qualifiers with a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Jagiellonia Bialystok after drawing 1-1 at Ibrox. Rangers had lost 2-1 in the first leg in Poland last week but there was optimism when the captain, …

Leeds 16-20 Leigh Clubs optimistic of securing better offer soon On what may prove to be the most significant day in Super League’s modern history away from the field, Leigh Leopards blew wide open the race for top spot in this year’s competition on it with a stunning victory against the league leaders, Leeds Rhinos. Super League clubs were finally informed of a long-awaited opening offer from th…

Former world No 4 slumps to 6-3, 7-5 first-round loss Draper still recovering from long-term arm injury The minuscule amount of confidence and self-belief Jack Draper currently has to call upon in the most difficult period of his career was underscored in the very first game of his opening match in Cincinnati. Draper began his service game by shanking a forehand into the back fence, which he foll…