England just needed to avoid defeat against Spain - instead they suffered their heaviest loss in 17 years, but it is not time to panic yet.
Tottenham complete the signing of Scotland captain Andy Robertson as he leaves Liverpool at the end of his contract.
Women's European World Cup Qualifiers
Turkey 2 - 1 Northern Ireland FT
Michael McArdle suffered his first defeat as Northern Ireland boss as his side were controversially beaten 2-1 by Turkey in their penultimate Women's World Cup qualifier at the Pendik Stadyumu.
NI fell behind after 26 minutes in Istanbul as Melike Pekel bent a looping effort over Jackie Burns.
McArdle's side responded well and levelled from the penalty spot through Megan Bell after a handball on the goal line by Busem Seker.
The Turkey striker was only shown a yellow card for the incident and went on to score what proved to be the winner two minutes after the break as she headed home from Selen Altunkulak's cross.
The result means that NI cannot catch Turkey in second and will finish third in Group B2, although they are guaranteed a play-off in the autumn.
Seker goal sinks NI in Istanbul
Turkey started well in the...
England’s hopes for direct qualification into next year’s Women’s World Cup suffered a significant blow after a dominant Spain side inflicted a resounding 4-0 defeat in Mallorca.
The Lionesses, who had entered the match leading qualifying Group A3 with a perfect record of four wins, found themselves trailing early when Patri Guijarro opened the scoring for the hosts.
Alexia Putellas then netted twice, either side of the half-time whistle, before Claudia Pina completed Spain’s ruthless display...
You would think representing your country at a World Cup would be the sole focus for England's players this summer.
The reality is a lot more complicated.
The tournament arrives in the middle of a busy summer of transfers, with several players in Thomas Tuchel's 26-man squad facing uncertain club futures.
Clubs will continue to pursue deals during the...
England head coach Thomas Tuchel says reports about the state of the pitch for his team's friendly against New Zealand will not influence which players are involved.
The Daily Mail said the playing surface for the match at the Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was a 'plug and play' pitch laid just a week ago.
Several pitches for World Cup matches are being played in stadiums that usually have artificial surfaces but...
Fifa says fans will be able to bring sealed disposable water bottles into World Cup stadiums following criticism over a decision to ban reusable bottles.
The governing body initially made a late policy change banning bottles - along with cups, jars and cans - because of safety concerns.
Fifa has now clarified the policy, saying it is only hard-sided reusable bottles that are banned.
"Each spectator can bring with them one 20 ounce (560ml) soft, plastic disposable factory-sealed water bottle into the stadium," said World Cup 2026 chief operating officer...
Germany forward Lennart Karl has been ruled out of the 2026 World Cup with a thigh injury.
The highly rated 18-year-old suffered the issue in Germany's final training session before a warm-up game against World Cup co-hosts United States.
Bayern Munich's Karl started in Germany's 4-0 win against Finland in a friendly on Sunday, during which he set up one of the goals, but he will now be replaced by RB Leipzig's Assan Ouedraogo.
"I feel incredibly sorry for Lenny," said Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann.
"It's a huge shock for him and all of us that he's missing the World Cup. It's only a small consolation that he's young and has many...
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are all vying for places at the Women's World Cup - but how can they get there with one round of group games left in European qualifying?
Martin O'Neill will continue as Celtic manager after leading the side to a Premiership and Scottish Cup double.
Manchester United will need to pay 80 million to sign West Ham United midfielder Mateus Fernandes this summer, according to Record.
Chelsea have joined Manchester United and Aston Villa in the pursuit of Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White this summer, according to The Daily Mail.
Chelsea are one of the clubs interested in signing Brentford striker Igor Thiago,
Newcastle United are exploring a move for Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson ahead of the summer transfer window.
Real Madrid are unlikely to make an approach to sign Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez despite expressing an interest to his entourage earlier this year.
Chelsea have revived their interest in signing AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
Turkish giants Besiktas are weighing up a summer move for Arsenal winger Leandro Trossard, having missed out on his services last season.
Newcastle United are reportedly eyeing a move for Michael Parker, currently playing for Orgryte IS. The 21-year-old defender has emerged as a promising talent in the Swedish league, contributing both defensively and offensively for his team this season. Parker's performances have caught the attention of various scouts, with Newcastle believed to be leading the charge for his signature.
Manchester United is reportedly still in the race to secure the signature of prolific striker Robert Lewandowski, who has recently departed FC Barcelona. The Polish forward has long harbored ambitions of moving to the Premier League, and sources suggest that United could be one of his preferred destinations.
Manchester United are reportedly in advanced negotiations to sign Iliman Ndiaye from Everton, as they look to bolster their attacking options. The 2025/26 season has seen Ndiaye deliver impressive performances in the Premier League.
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Mark Langdon, Paul Watson and Ed Aarons as Crystal Palace win the Europa Conference League
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.
On today’s podcast: another trophy for Crystal Palace. At the start of last season they had only ever won the Kent Cup, now they add the Europa Conference League to last year’s FA Cup win. It was Oliver Glasner’s last game … we think – could he change his mind? While it just was not to be for Rayo Vallecano, it has given us the chance to learn about this wonderful throwback club in Spain.
...
Kick off your afternoon with the Guardian’s take on the world of football
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Join us as we delve deeper into the wonderful world of women’s football in our weekly newsletter. It is informative, entertaining, global, critical – when needed – and, above all, passionate. Written mainly by Júlia Belas Trindade and Sophie Downey, expect guest appearances from stars such as Anita Asante, Ada Hegerberg and many more.
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Our editors’ favourite sporting images from the past week, from the spectacular to the powerful, and with a little bit of fun thrown in
The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action
Subscribe to get our editors’ pick of the Guardian’s award-winning sport coverage. We’ll email you the stand-out features and interviews, insightful analysis and highlights from the archive, plus films, podcasts, galleries and more – all arriving in your inbox at every Friday lunchtime. And we’ll set you up for the weekend and let you know our live coverage plans so you’ll be ahead of the game. Here’s what you can expect from us.
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Imitation versions of Shakhtar and Zorya in Russia
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Ukrainian FA urged Uefa to take action last year
Uefa is yet to take action against the integration of clubs from illegally occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia’s football system despite being urged to do so by the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) last year.
Imitation versions of Shakhtar Donetsk and Zorya Luhansk, two of the most successful clubs in Ukraine’s Premier League, have been competing in Russia’s fourth tier since its season began in March. They have joined the Crimea-based sides Rubin Yalta and FC Sevastopol in group 1 of the regionalised Football National League 2B, meaning a quarter of the teams in their division purport to represent areas of occupied Ukraine.
The Premier League season is over, but what did Guardian football writers enjoy, dislike or marvel at over the last nine months?
Goalkeepers never usually get a mention for this award but David Raya played an integral role in Arsenal finally getting over the line, winning the Premier League’s Golden Glove award for a third year in a row thanks to 19 clean sheets. Declan Rice and Bruno Fernandes were the outstanding outfield players. Ed Aarons
A century of our favourite images from the season including wild celebrations, protesting fans and goalmouth scrambles
Reigning champions Liverpool left it late to beat Bournemouth 4-2 on the opening day of the season in their first league game back at Anfield following the death of Diogo Jota. The Reds also squeaked past Newcastle thanks to Rio Ngumoha and then Arsenal, after Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick, which won goal of the month. Meanwhile, Manchester City lost 2-0 at home to Tottenham and...
We picked Liverpool as champions, Chelsea as challengers and tipped Brentford and Sunderland to go down. Oh dear
What we predicted: Mikel Arteta vowed this would be a “big summer” after finishing as runners-up in the Premier League for a third season in succession and the new sporting director, Andrea Berta, has delivered on a number of signings in his first transfer window. The question now for Arsenal supporters is whether Martín Zubimendi, Christian Nørgaard, Noni Madueke, Viktor Gyökeres, Cristhian Mosquera and Kepa Arrizabalaga can help them take that elusive final step to becoming champions for the first time since the Invincibles in 2004.
The most infuriating things, including mayhem at set pieces, daft jerseys and a largely ignored video game
You will almost certainly be aware that there have been a load of set-piece goals this season, and an extraordinary proliferation of long throws. At times the self-styled greatest league in the world has drowned in a torrent of guileless ball-flinging.
Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed Neymar will undergo an MRI scan on Monday as he continues his race to be fit for the World Cup.
Neymar suffered a calf injury while playing for Santos on May 17, just one day before he was named in Brazil's squad for the tournament.
The Selecao's all-time top scorer has not featured for Brazil since October 2023 due to a string of injuries, and though he has publicly stated he is not worried about his current issue, Ancelotti remains wary.
Brazil face Egypt in their final friendly before the World Cup on Saturday, a match in which Neymar will play no part.
And while Ancelotti remains optimistic that Neymar will be fit for their opener against Morocco on June 13, the MRI could also rule him out.
"I think his situation is quite clear," Ancelotti said of Neymar in Friday's press conference.
"He's doing a great job on his own. After the weekend, he'll have an MRI scan, and then, if everything goes well, he can...
Thomas Tuchel claimed he has not decided his starting 11 for England's World Cup opener against Croatia.
The Three Lions get their campaign underway in North America on June 17, before facing Ghana on June 23 and Panama on June 27.
Prior to the tournament, England face New Zealand and Costa Rica in warm-up games, with the first coming on Saturday against the All Whites.
This will be England’s first game played in America since a pair of friendlies against Ecuador and Honduras in June 2014 in the lead-up to the World Cup in Brazil. The Three Lions drew both fixtures at the Sun Life Stadium, 2-2 and 0-0, respectively.
Many, understandably, are already looking ahead to England's clash with Croatia, but Tuchel sees no reason to select his starting line-up just yet.
"I am still processing it," said Tuchel.
Bringing good energy to training pic...
Southampton have announced that Daniel Peretz has signed a permanent deal from Bayern Munich after a successful loan spell.
The 25-year-old has signed a four-year deal with the Championship side, who reached the FA Cup semi-final in 2025-26 before being expelled from the play-off final due to spying on their semi-final opponents, Middlesbrough.
After initially being loaned out to Hamburg, where he only played two DFB-Pokal games, Peretz joined Southampton in January on a short-term loan deal.
Since Peretz's Championship debut, only Ivor Pandur (75), Egil Selvik (65) and Radek Vitek (65) made more saves than the Saints goalkeeper (64), who kept eight clean sheets as they finished in the play-off places.
"I’m super excited," Peretz told the club website.
Peretz on a perm
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC)...
Lennart Karl could miss the World Cup for Germany after suffering an injury that "does not look good", according to Julian Nagelsmann.
Karl was a somewhat surprising inclusion in Nagelsmann's squad, despite an impressive breakthrough season for Bayern Munich in 2025-26.
He also caught the eye in Germany's last friendly, a 4-0 win over Finland, getting an assist for their second goal when he set up Deniz Undav.
The youngster registered 16 goal involvements in 39 games for Bayern in all competitions (nine goals, seven assists), helping the team to the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal double.
However, Karl, who has three Germany caps to date, suffered an injury in training on Friday during preparations for their friendly against the United States.
And Nagelsmann admitted the 20-year-old's tournament could already be over.
"Lenny was injured," he said in Friday's press conference. "We have to see what it is.
"It does not look good.
"We...
Former Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is very excited about starting his work as the new head coach at Liverpool.
A message to our supporters from the new Reds head coach
pic.twitter.com/n1eOrKm5YZ
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) June 4, 2026
The post “It’s a great privilege and responsibility” – New Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola (Video) appeared first on SoccerNews.
Andy Robertson left Liverpool this summer as a free agent, and Tottenham Hotspur have taken advantage of the situation to snap up the experienced left-back.
Here he is, saying hello to the fans of his new club, while away with Scotland as they prepare for the World Cup.
New message: Andy Robertson pic.twitter.com/k4fo0A0JZv
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) June 5, 2026
The post New Tottenham Hotspur signing Andy Robertson says hello to fans (Video) appeared first on...
Lionel Messi once again headlines the MLS All-Star first XI, with Son Heung-min also selected for the first time.
Messi has been selected for the All-Stars squad in all three years he has been at Inter Miami, but he has yet to feature.
He missed the 2024 edition through injury before skipping last year's match, resulting in a one-game suspension from MLS.
As such, he is expected to feature for the first time against the Liga MX All-Stars on July 29 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, following the return to league action after the World Cup.
The 38-year-old has the most goal involvements in MLS so far this season (20 – 12 goals, eight assists).
The Argentina captain is currently the only player from Miami, with Nashville SC the best represented from the initial round of voting with three picks: Brian Schwake, Andy Najar and Hany Mukhtar.
The league’s brightest stars...
Having both missed out on the upcoming World Cup, Greece and Italy will bring the 2025–26 international season to a close when they meet for a friendly in Crete on Sunday.
With attentions already turning toward the next UEFA Nations League campaign in September, this fixture offers both teams a chance to reset and rebuild.
Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 1/1
Bookmaker: BetUS
Greece
Greece enter this match under growing pressure after a disappointing World Cup qualification campaign, which saw them finish only third in their group behind Scotland, missing out even on a place in the playoffs. It means their absence from FIFA’s global showpiece now stretches to over a decade.
That outcome was particularly frustrating given the progress they had shown in earlier competitions, notably a promising Nations League campaign where...
Finishing their preparations for the 2026 World Cup, Switzerland and Australia will play their final pre‑tournament friendly when they meet at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego on Saturday.
The Swiss are gearing up for their seventh consecutive major tournament, while the Socceroos prepare for a sixth straight appearance at the global finals.
Verdict: Switzerland win
Best odds: 13/20
Bookmaker: 20bet
Switzerland
Switzerland approach this fixture with quiet confidence after progressing through World Cup qualifying unbeaten, earning a place in Group B where they will face Qatar, Bosnia‑Herzegovina and co‑hosts Canada. As is often the case, the Nati are viewed as potential dark horses, though their recent tournament history highlights a consistent barrier, having failed to progress beyond the round of 16 in each of their...
Mauricio Pochettino admitted he will have to "make a decision" over Chris Richards' place at the World Cup soon, as he faces a race to be fit for the United States' opener.
Richards has been named in the USA's squad for the tournament, but even though the official rosters have already been submitted to FIFA, teams can still make changes due to injury up until 24 hours before their first game.
The defender suffered an ankle injury in Crystal Palace's 2-2 draw with Brentford in the Premier League on May 17 and, as such, was an unused substitute in the Eagles’ Conference League win over Rayo Vallecano.
He has since missed the USA's 3-2 friendly win over Senegal last Sunday and will not feature in their final match before the World Cup against Germany on Saturday.
"He's not ready to compete and to play," Pochettino said.
"In the next few days, we have the possibility to assess him and his ankle, then to make a decision.
"Maybe if tomorrow was...