Latest Sports Stories

Football News

Iconic blue shirt was worn in 5-2 win over SwedenSotheby’s auction takes place in New York in JulyPelé’s iconic blue No 10 shirt from the 1958 World Cup final is expected to become one of the most expensive football artefacts ever sold after being put up for auction.The Brazilian was 17 when he scored two goals in the 5-2 win over Sweden to secure the Seleção’s first World Cup and write his name into football lore.Now Sotheby’s expects the shirt’s rich history will lead to it fetching more than $6m (£4.5m) when it goes under the hammer in New York next month.That figure would put it, as a single item, behind only the Argentina jersey worn by Diego Maradona when he scored the Hand of God goal against England at Mexico 1986, which sold for $9.3m in 2022. A collection of six Lionel Messi shirts from the Qatar World Cup went for $7.8m in 2023.“The shirt itself is in extraordinary condition for something that’s nearly 70 years old,” Brendan Hawkes, Sotheby’s vice president of sport strategy, told the Guardian. “It’s just a really vibrant blue colour with the Brazil yellow on the back.“One of the things that struck me when I actually first handled it was how small it was. Pelé wasn’t a very large man and he wore this shirt when he was 17. He was a lean young kid at that point, and if you look at the pictures from that match, the shirt is actually quite small on him.”Pelé finished the tournament with six goals in four matches, and remains the youngest player to appear in a World Cup final. After the game he gave the shirt to his roommate Didi, and it stayed in Didi’s family until 1993, when it was donated to the Museu dos Esportes Edvaldo Alves Santa Rosa in Brazil.The museum offered the shirt at auction in London in 2004, where it sold for £59,000. Such is the boom in sports memorabilia that it is expected to fetch nearly 100 times that amount by the time bidding closes on 16 July.“We have seen just a ton of growth in this market over the last five years,” said Hawkes. “Maradona’s Hand of God shirt is still the high watermark for a single football shirt but we’re placing this in the same orbit.”Pelé revealed in his autobiography that a few of his teammates worried that wearing blue against Sweden would be a “bad omen”. “But Dr Paulo, the head of the delegation, turned it round cleverly,” Pelé wrote. “He said blue would be lucky, as it was the colour of our patron saint, Nossa Senhora de Aparecida, and it had served previous teams well.” And so it proved.

Football News

Gabriel Magalhães has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world. Photograph: Foto Arena LTDA/AlamyUnimpressive in qualification, fans will be hoping Carlo Ancelotti can get the best out of Vinícius Júnior, as he did at Real MadridThis 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 11 June.Brazil went on a true rollercoaster ride to reach the 2026 World Cup. There was a political crisis within the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) which led to a change in presidency. On the pitch it was just as bad, if not worse. It was the country’s worst qualifying campaign ever with defeats in Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia, as well as a historic home defeat – a first in World Cup qualifying – by Lionel Messi and co.After the 4-1 reverse in Buenos Aires in March 2025, the head coach Dorival Júnior was sacked and there were even fears Brazil would miss out on the tournament. However, the South American qualifying – with six direct spots for 10 teams – is extremely forgiving and there was renewed hope, not only for qualification but for the actual tournament, when Carlo Ancelotti was appointed in May 2025.Brazil go into the World Cup with the intention of playing a 4-2-4 formation, which has been Ancelotti’s preferred tactical set-up since his arrival. However, the Italian has lost several important players to injury, such as Eder Militão, Rodrygo and Estêvão. “Considering the players we have at our disposal we believe the best model of play for us is to go with four up front,” Ancelotti said in March.In this system the defensive midfielders have to support the defence. The lack of high-level full-backs is a concern, especially for a country long accustomed to players such as Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Marcelo and Dani Alves among others.The question of whether Neymar would make the World Cup dominated the buildup to the squad announcement and in the end the 34-year-old Santos forward had done just enough to get a place in Ancelotti’s 26-man squad. “We realised that in this last period he had continuity and was in good physical condition,” the coach said.However, he has now suffered a new calf injury is unlikely to start. He could even miss out on the whole tournament. Without a true No 9, Ancelotti’s Brazil showed in the friendlies against France and Croatia in March that they will rely on counterattacks and pace, exploiting the potential of Vinícius Júnior, much like Ancelotti did so successfully during his second spell at Real Madrid.Carlo Ancelotti has won everything – and in every possible way – throughout his career as a club manager. He is one of the most successful managers ever and has won a record five Champions League titles. Now, at the age of 66 – he turns 67 the day before the World Cup starts – he has embarked on a whole new adventure. “Coaching Brazil is highly motivating,” he told Estadão in 2025. “I believe this is one of the most important moments of my career.” The start to life in Brazil was not easy because of injuries to key players, defeats against Bolivia, Japan and France and the very strong pressure to select Neymar. But the likable Italian seems as unruffled as always. “I’m not obsessed with winning,” Ancelotti told the Guardian in May. “What I have is a passion for enjoying the moments that football has given me.”Viní Jr’s status as one of the best players on the planet is indisputable but he has, so far, never managed to replicate his Real Madrid performances with the Brazil national team, where he has, at the time of writing, played 47 matches, scoring just eight goals and providing seven assists. This is his chance to change that narrative as he will wear the historic No 10 shirt and be the team’s star at the 2026 World Cup. “If Vinícius is focused on the game, focused on his football, he is the best in the world,” Casemiro told the newspaper As in 2025. “In that way, he is the best. But that’s not easy, because he is constantly provoked.”Endrick needed to take a step back in order to move two steps forward. Overlooked at Real Madrid by Xabi Alonso he was loaned to Lyon in January and rediscovered his form, making 12 goal contributions in 17 Ligue 1 games. Ancelotti did not hesitate to call him up in March and against Croatia, having come on as a substitute, he proved the impetus as the Seleção came from 1-0 down to win 3-1. He may not be in Ancelotti’s starting XI at the start of the tournament but be not surprised if he is later on.During Arsenal’s climb to the top of the game in England and Europe, Gabriel Magalhães has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in the world. At the World Cup, much will be made of the performances and likely goals from Raphinha and Viní Jr or even Alisson’s saves, but all of that will count for nothing if Gabriel does not hold the defence together. “When you talk about the Brazilian national team, you have to work every day, work at your club so you can arrive here in top form,” Gabriel said in 2025. “I know I’m doing very well, but I also know the level I can still reach.”This World Cup will not feel like playing away for Brazil. According to the government, more than 2.8 million Brazilians live in the United States, most of them in the New York and Miami regions, where Brazil will play two of their three group games. In addition, many fans, possibly as many as hundreds of thousands, are expected to travel to North America for the tournament. The supporters’ group Movimento Verde Amarelo will be present and has the backing of fan groups from 40 different Brazilian football clubs. This should make venues such as MetLife Stadium and Hard Rock Stadium feel as close as possible to the Maracanã.The players and the CBF are staying well out of politics for this World Cup but Brazil and the US had a disagreement in March when president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said he had “forbidden” one of Donald Trump’s advisers from visiting the South American country. That was in retaliation for his health minister being denied a US visa. The two met recently at the White House and, while Trump said discussions had been “very good”, the two governments do not agree on key issues such as crime and trade.