Latest Sports Stories

Football News

The top stories and transfer rumours from Wednesday's newspapers...Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba has discussed the possibility of joining Manchester United with some of the club's players - The SunNottingham Forest could demand a record-breaking fee for a British player if they are to part ways with Elliot Anderson this summer. Forest want £105m for Anderson but could demand as high as £110m - Daily MailBournemouth value Alex Scott at around £80m and remain determined to keep him this summer, with Liverpool linked with a move after appointing Andoni Iraola - talkSPORTArsenal enquired about Juventus' 21-year-old Turkish international Kenan Yildiz but Juventus do not want to sell - The AthleticManchester United are considering a surprise move for Leeds United goalkeeper Karl Darlow as they seek a replacement for Altay Bayindir, while Wolves' Sam Johnstone is also on their radar - Daily MailSaudi Pro League side Al Hilal are interested in Nottingham Forest manager Vítor Pereira - talkSPORTArsenal are open to selling winger Gabriel Martinelli this summer - talkSPORTAn unnamed Premier League club hold an interest in Roma forward Paulo Dybala - The Athletic#Ibrahima Konate has signed a four-year deal with Real Madrid after his Liverpool contract expired - RMC Sport

Football News

Previous imageNext imageSlide 1 of 4, i back page, End of image galleryPublished12 minutes agoReal Madrid scout Arsenal's Riccardo Calafiori, Tottenham consider Juventus defender Gleison Bremer to replace Cristian Romero, Manchester United chase Newcastle's Lewis Hall.Real Madrid are interested in Arsenal and Italy defender Riccardo Calafiori, 24, who previously played under Jose Mourinho at Roma. (Sky Sports), externalTottenham are considering a move for Juventus and Brazil defender Gleison Bremer, 29, to replace 28-year-old Argentina international Cristian Romero in central defence. (Tuttosport - in Italian), externalManchester United are not interested in signing Romero from Tottenham but are interested in Newcastle's versatile 21-year-old English defender Lewis Hall. (Teamtalk), externalCo-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is willing to satisfy the wage demands of Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, 23, in order to bring him to Manchester United. (Mirror), externalManchester City remain the frontrunners to sign Anderson despite United's efforts to steal a march on their rivals. (Star - subscription required), externalIncoming Real Madrid boss Mourinho is keen on West Ham's 21-year-old Portugal midfielder Mateus Fernandes who is also of interest to Chelsea. (AS - in Spanish), externalManchester United are also exploring a deal for Fernandes with West Ham valuing the player at about £80m, but the London club are in no rush to sell him. (Sky Sports), externalManchester United are considering a surprise move for 35-year-old English goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who is out of contract at Leeds this summer, with Turkish shot-stopper Altay Bayindir, 28, set leave Old Trafford. (Talksport, external)Fulham are interested in signing Nigeria midfielder Samuel Chukwueze from AC Milan following the 27-year-old's season-long loan at Craven Cottage, but are trying to negotiate a smaller fee. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), externalAtletico Madrid are hopeful of persuading former Manchester City midfielder Bernando Silva to join them instead of Barcelona or Real Madrid because they can offer the 31-year-old Portuguese more game time. (Marca - in Spanish), externalFulham are weighing up whether to trigger the £8m release clause of Ipswich head coach Kieran McKenna, who leads their list of candidates to replace Marco Silva. (Talksport, external)Leicester are in talks with former Southampton and Rangers head coach Russell Martin about taking over the club following their relegation to League One. (Leicester Mercury, external)Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast

Football News

A TV camera suspended by wires fell on to the pitch during Hungary's friendly against Kazakhstan at Nagyerdei Stadium in Debrecen, forcing a brief stoppage in play. Hungarian media reported the camera began smoking midway through the first half after fire damaged the cable supporting it.The camera then plunged from a height of more than 20 metres and landed just inside the touchline near Hungary's warm-up area, two metres from a cameraman.Nobody was injured and players took a drinks break in the 26th minute while the incident was dealt with.Hungary went on to beat Kazakhstan 3-1, with Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai among the goalscorers.Listen to the latest Football Daily podcastSoundsGet football news sent straight to your phone

World Cup News

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSteven McKenzieandAndrew Picken,Data journalist, BBC ScotlandScotland's first game in the World Cup finals for almost 30 years takes place in the early hours of Sunday.The match against Haiti kicks off in Boston at 0200 BST, meaning it will probably be almost four in the morning by the time fans know whether Scotland's return to the tournament has been as triumphal as they hope.Pubs, clubs and fan zones have been given special licences to open and serve alcohol during the night.Here's how you can watch Scotland's World Cup matches.All Scotland's group stage games are being shown on free-to-air TV channels.The Haiti game will be shown live on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.The second game against Morocco on Friday 19 June at 2300 BST will be shown on ITV and STV.And the final group game against Brazil will be on BBC channels at 2300 on Wednesday 24 June.A decision on who covers Scotland's games if they reach the later stages of the competition will be taken after the group matches.Almost all of Scotland's councils, who approve extensions to licensing rules, have confirmed that pubs and clubs will be allowed to stay open to show the games despite them often continuing beyond normal closing times.Some of the councils have stipulated pubs must close half an hour after the final whistle in order to ensure that drinking does not continue after the game.East Ayrshire Council said there was no blanket extension for all pubs but it has approved licences for many that applied to stay open.North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire Councils also said extensions were considered on a case-by-case basis.Comhairle nan Eilean Siar in the Western Isles is also taking this approach.Falkirk Council said it would approve applications for extensions on an individual pub basis for the Haiti game, which kicks off at 02:00, but there would be a general extension for the other two games which begin at 23:00.There are very few fan zones but across Scotland many large venues will be showing the games.In Glasgow, the OVO Hydro, Saint Luke's and SWG3 will all be televising the matches on large screens. These events, and similar ones across Scotland, require tickets to be purchased in advance.In Aberdeen, the city's Beach Ballroom will host a World Cup fan zone and in Forfar the Reid Hall will show Scotland's opening game against Haiti.In Fife, the Ice Arena in Kirkcaldy will be transformed into a World Cup fan zone and in Edinburgh, the Gyle Shopping Centre will show all three of Scotland's group games on a large screen.In Dundee, LiveHouse will be transformed into a huge indoor fan zone with a capacity of 4,500 people.In Falkirk, a fan zone will be held at Falkirk Stadium, with space for more than 600 fans.Inverness Leisure centre will also show all three of Scotland's group games.The TRNSMT festival in Glasgow has been granted a special licence to show the Morocco game at 23:00 on Friday 19 June, after the bands have finished.Scotland booked its place in the 2026 World Cup after an extraordinary 4-2 win over Denmark at Hampden in November.Just weeks later, First Minister John Swinney said Monday 15 June - the day after Scotland's first game finishes at 04:00 - should be designated as a national bank holiday.There is no law requiring businesses, such as banks, to close on bank holidays and it has been left to firms and other organisations outside the public sector to decide if their staff should have it.Just five of Scotland's 32 councils say they are giving the public holiday - Aberdeen, Dundee, Glasgow, Renfrewshire and South Lanarkshire.This means all the schools in those areas will be closed as well as other council services.North Ayrshire had initially approved the day off, but three councillors called in the decision saying it would cost the council more than £1m in lost productivity.All of Scotland's health boards have approved 15 June as a day off.That means a total of 237,200 public sector workers are entitled to take the holiday - 74,000 council workers and 163,200 NHS workers.Joining them will be about 16,650 people who work for the Scottish government.Local authorities that have rejected the holiday would strongly argue they are not being party poopers but acting responsibility.Many point out it would mean additional costs at a time when they are having to make unpopular cuts to services.Highland councillors said giving the day off could cost the local authority an estimated £150,000.They agreed to reject the proposal after arguing the holiday could have an impact on essential services such as bin collections and schools.City of Edinburgh Council also rejected the one-day break.The local authority cited concerns over an estimated £350,000 cost for the holiday.A report to Inverclyde Council suggested financial implications would be about £72,000, with an additional £9,000 then going towards free school meal holiday payments for eligible carers.It added that "while not a direct cost" the productivity losses would amount to £610,000.The Federation of Small Businesses Scotland said employers would try to be as flexible as they always were with time off.Director Colin Borland said: "But, realistically, if you have customers to look after and orders to fulfil, you can't simply shut down and give everyone the day off."It will be a particularly busy time for lots of small businesses and self-employed people – so it will probably be all hands on deck for many bars, shops, restaurants, taxi firms and more."

Football News

Three wins and three defeats to finish third in their qualifying group may not look like much, but there is plenty for Republic of Ireland to be proud of in how they navigated what many said was the 'group of death' in League A.The bottom seeds, who had only won promotion to League A with a last-gasp goal against Belgium in a promotion/relegation play-off last year, were tipped to go straight back down to League B when they were drawn against France, Netherlands and Poland.Manager Carla Ward always said they wanted to aim as high as possible, and while they fell short of scaling their Everest by narrowly losing to France in their final qualifier to miss out on automatic World Cup qualification, they still have a chance to reach next year's tournament in Brazil.They became the first side promoted to League A not to be relegated straight back down and the first to pick up not just two but three wins in the top tier, including that sensational win over Netherlands in Cork on Friday.Their third-place finish has secured a seeded play-off in the autumn and they will be the team many will want to avoid when the draw is made on 18 June given how they have shocked Poland twice and the Netherlands and run France ever so close.Ward's overriding feelings when speaking to RTE were pride tinged with pain that they couldn't get over the line, although she was philosophical in how far they have come and how far they can go."I'm incredibly proud of this group and I said it to them there. We've got a special, special group who work unbelievably hard. It shows you everything, the [French] scenes at the end, they didn't have it easy tonight," she said."France are a top, top side and the fact we are here disappointed tells you an awful lot about where we are."You can take so many positives. This campaign we have grown and got better and better. Whether we had won, drawn or lost tonight we wanted to continue on the journey. We are in a really good place going into October and that has to be the focus."Women's World Cup qualifier: Republic of Ireland fall to defeat against France who qualify for World Cup'The World Cup needs this group'Fireworks were let off and the PA system was turned up loud as France got their World Cup qualification party started at the Stade des Alpes, but they will breathe a huge sigh of relief as Republic of Ireland pushed them all the way in Grenoble.Ward's side, as they have done throughout the campaign, recovered from the setback of a below-par first half in which they conceded what proved to be a fine winner from Melvine Malard, to have a real go at France, although they ultimately fell short.Thiniba Samoura's sending off for hauling down Emily Murphy when she was through looked to be a turning point in the Irish side's favour just as they were building momentum, but they could not capitalise with Abbie Larkin missing a huge chance to equalise moments later.So close yet so far for the Republic of Ireland, who were serenaded by the small section of Irish fans that made the trip who recognised the efforts this group of players have made in transforming the campaign around after two early losses against the Netherlands and France.They will take comfort from their improving performances and results in this group and will relish a crack at the play-offs considering they navigated them successfully the last time they reached the World Cup, although it is a more arduous route now with a semi-final and final."The goal is the World Cup, that is what we want to achieve. It's a different route for us, but we're disappointed to lose to one of the best in the world tonight and that tells its own story," Ward added."The World Cup needs this group, let me tell you that right now, they're a special bunch."

Football News

England were forced to settle for a Women's World Cup play-off spot despite easing past Ukraine at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.Sarina Wiegman's side issued the perfect response to the dismal 4-0 defeat to Spain on Friday night, but the world champions' victory over Iceland means that there is still work to be done for the Lionesses to earn their place in Brazil next year.Goals from Jess Carter and Georgia Stanway put Wiegman's side en route to victory in the first half before substitute Beth Mead added the icing on the cake with a wonderful free-kick.Despite that, England will have to do things the hard way if they want to be on the plane next year.Coming off the back of their heaviest defeat since the Euro 2009 final, the Lionesses started positively on Merseyside as they looked for the ideal response.They took the lead just before the quarter-hour mark as Carter was left unmarked at the back post and had the simple task of heading home a Lauren James cross from close range.The best move of the game brought the hosts' second just before the break. Some crisp interplay allowed Alessia Russo to play a square ball into the path of the sliding Stanway who joined the ball in the back of the net.With Spain already in command in what would turn into a 6-1 victory in Reykjavik, Wiegman's side came out looking flat in the second half as if they knew they were already condemned for the play-offs.The atmosphere did at least pick up as Mead rifled a free-kick into the bottom corner to make her the joint fifth-highest scorer in Lionesses history as she notched her 40th and England's third on the night.To an extent, it was all in vein. The European champions must find their way to the World Cup via the play-offs as they finish behind their rivals in Group A3.England's path to next summer's tournament in Brazil has just become much longer and far more convoluted. Round 1 (October): As a League A runner-up, England will be seeded and drawn against a League C group winner (or one of the best League C runners-up). Round 2 (late November/early December): If successful in round 1, England will advance to a second two-legged play-off round to determine the final tournament qualifiers.

World Cup News

Senior football correspondentPublished2 minutes agoEngland head coach Thomas Tuchel says Bukayo Saka's fitness is being managed heading into the World Cup.The Arsenal attacker missed part of the season climax through a muscle injury, though he did return in time for the club's run-in as they won the Premier League title.Tuchel said Saka, who has scored 14 goals in 48 appearances for the Three Lions, still requires careful attention before the tournament which has raised some concerns given he is a key player."We still have to take a little bit of care for Bukayo [Saka] who had an injury in March and carried it through the club campaign," Tuchel told a news conference."He made himself available at the end of the season and did so brilliantly, but he was managed in between matches. That continues a bit at the moment - we are building him up."We just came from training and everyone was involved including Bukayo."Tuchel said he must assess Saka and the rest of his England squad before deciding who starts the final warm-up match against Costa Rica on Wednesday (21:00 BST).Having made 11 changes at half-time in Saturday's 1-0 win against New Zealand, Tuchel will give some players a longer run-out to build their fitness before the tournament opener with Croatia.John Stones is among the players who could benefit from more game time having played a peripheral role at Manchester City last season."Of course [Stones can start]. Everyone can start - everyone is fit and ready and John is one of them," said Tuchel."Before this, we have two more matches to play and hopefully we take the next step. Hopefully we all stay healthy and have the full availability for Croatia."No-one needs a break. Everyone is available which is very good news. No [injury] complaints after the first match."[We've had] one day of recovery and two good training sessions. We are ready to give it a push tomorrow - meaning more than 45 minutes."Players will play 60, maybe 70 minutes. We will make this decision in the afternoon."Why super-sized and politicised World Cup comes at a costEngland have reached two European Championship finals in succession and been tipped to go deep into the tournament in North America."If you get to two Euros finals, and reach semi-finals and quarter-finals of the World Cup, then you are there - then you can win it," the 52-year-old German said."Then maybe it just takes a bit of luck or whatever. I strongly believe we are there, but I also believe we are not the favourites because of the history."We see ourselves as competitors and challengers. We want to go all the way but I don't think we are the heavy favourites."Tuchel continued: "Maybe it's the wrong comparison, but if you go to Wimbledon and haven't won it for 60 years, you're not the favourites - but you can win it, of course. That's what we want to do."We know what it takes, and it also requires a calm mindset and focus on our steps. If we want to reach the top of the mountain, we need to start the journey step by step. Otherwise, we'll get distracted."I have belief. We all have belief and a dream. But it comes with hard work, responsibility, commitment and discipline - and sometimes disappointment. That's all part of it. But we dare to dream, and that's important."Meanwhile, Tuchel has expressed his gratitude to the Football Association (FA) for allowing him to focus on the football despite the growing number of political issues that have engulfed the build-up to the tournament.There have also been a series of visa issues connected to participants Iran in recent days."I'm grateful to the FA for letting me separate [politics and football] and talk about football and just talk about football because we need to be focused," added Tuchel."We can't be distracted. It's hard enough to be focused without being distracted."Everything you need to know about the World Cup

Football News

Thomas Tuchel has played down England's chances of winning the World Cup, admitting they are not among the favourites to end 60 years of hurt.England head into the World Cup as third favourites with the bookmakers, just behind Spain and France, but have not won a major trophy since 1966.Tuchel feels that a lack of previous silverware at tournament level means England remain behind other nations in terms of the pecking order.Ahead of England's final warm-up fixture with Costa Rica on Wednesday, manager Tuchel said: "We can't be one of the favourites as we haven't won it for so long."There are proven winners within the tournament. These are the favourites. We can compete for the trophy and dream big. We know what it takes. Our responsibility is on the effort - this is where the focus is - we see ourselves as competitors and challengers. We want to go all the way. I don't think we're heavy favourites."But we want to win. We know what it takes. It takes a calm mind and focus on our steps. If we want to reach the top of the mountain we go step-by-step otherwise we will get distracted. I have belief but it comes with responsibility, hard work, discipline and deal with setbacks. We dare to dream."Tuchel's side are putting the final touches to their pre-World Cup training camp in Miami as they bid to prepare themselves for what is to come weather-wise in the USA.World Cup 2026 fixture schedule and UK kick-off timesEngland's fixtures and routes to 2026 World Cup final

Football News

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 given an extra week off after his involvement in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Tuchel gave a similar break to his other Arsenal players Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke.But while Tuchel said those three were at 100% fitness, the picture is less encouraging for Saka, who was substituted in the 83rd minute of the PSG game, which Arsenal lost on penalties. It would normally be unthinkable for Saka not to play all of such a showpiece.Tuchel said in March, after Saka and Rice were forced to withdraw from the friendly against Japan, that they were pushing through at 70% and had been feeling discomfort for “quite a while”. While Rice is now better, Saka is still struggling.“Declan is on 100% and Bukayo is still getting there, playing through discomfort at the end of the season … obviously managing it and playing at a high level but still not on his 100%,” Tuchel said. “He is the one we are building and taking care of in training. Declan is 100%, Ebs is 100%, Noni is 100%.“Bukayo is just not there yet. Some things are missing … consecutive trainings. They took very good care of him [at Arsenal] and were very aware of it and we will do a little bit the same. He is at the moment not able to do every training session through the week and then play. He is still going to be managed.“Arsenal brought him back [at the end of April] and he was straight away decisive. And then they decided together – Bukayo and Arsenal – to let him play through his pain and discomfort, even if it was not possible to train the whole week in the buildups. I think it is very unlikely Bukayo starts and finishes all the matches from now on.”Tuchel said that Morgan Rogers and Marcus Rashford could play on the right wing but Madueke is really his only other pure option in the position. “Clarity is the most important thing … players know where they can compete,” he added. “We will hopefully not have a lot of experiments in the tournament.”England play Costa Rica in their second and final warm-up game in Orlando on Wednesday and kick off their World Cup against Croatia in Dallas next Wednesday. Tuchel has a few major decisions to make for his starting XI and arguably none bigger than Rogers versus Jude Bellingham in the No 10 role. Tuchel, though, is keen for the public to stop obsessing about whether Bellingham starts.“We have a lot of proof we can win football matches without Jude and that’s the more important headline,” Tuchel said. “Jude is with us. Jude is in amazing form but we have to stop talking about individuals. Jude will not win this World Cup alone. It’s simply impossible. No one will win this World Cup alone. We win it as a team.“I will not play this game. You [in the media] can play this game. We have Harry [Kane], we have Declan, we have Jude, we have Morgan, we have Bukayo Saka. We have big, big players and some of them will be on the bench.“It is a long tournament and the guys we pick tomorrow [against Costa Rica], the guys we pick against Croatia are not necessarily the guys that we pick in all the games.“They need to understand that not all of them will start all of the time at the same time. They can play decisive roles when they finish the matches. They can still be upset with my decision, angry and not aligned with my decision but they have to accept it and then push their teammates.”England beat New Zealand 1-0 in Tampa in their first warm-up friendly on Saturday in what was a glorified training exercise, Tuchel fielding different XIs in each half. He will give certain players 60-70 minutes against Costa Rica and it will be possible to pick up clues about his starting lineup for Croatia.The Costa Rica game, however, may not offer Tuchel the challenge he originally envisaged. The central American nation sacked the manager, Miguel Herrera, last November after they failed to qualify for the World Cup and replaced him at the start of March with Fernando Batista, who is overseeing a transitional phase. He is expected to play a number of development players against England.“The idea was that we play against a back four [in the New Zealand game] and a back five [against Costa Rica],” Tuchel said. “But the coach changed in November and [the new man] doesn’t play with a back five any more. So, welcome to reality! But we have to adapt. We need to take the next step from the match against New Zealand, which was what it was, and now I definitely expect a development in every category of the match up front.”