* Advanced talks in train after NRL interest waned * US-based LionCap Global among key suitors The Rugby Football League is in advanced talks with several private equity firms about selling a stake in Super League. The Guardian has learned that the RFL has had multiple offers from funds interested in buying into the competition after the collapse of a proposed investment in Super League from Australia’s National Rugby League. Continue reading...

By blending diaspora players with homegrown talent the island nation of fewer than 600,000 people has qualified for 2026 tournament On 5 July 1975, the Cape Verdean flag was raised for the first time at Estádio da Várzea in the capital city of Praia, marking the nation’s declaration of independence from Portugal. At that moment, there was no national football team – and no sign of what was to come. Exactly 100 days after the 50th anniversary of independence, the same flag was waved at the very same ground, where crowds gathered to celebrate Cape Verde’s historic first World Cup qualification with the players who had earlier secured the decisive 3-0 win over Eswatini five miles away at the National Stadium. This island nation off the coast of Senegal, with a population of fewer than 600,000, has become the second-smallest country to qualify for the tournament, after Iceland in 2018. Continue reading...

I had high hopes of making a difference when I joined Halifax Women but ended up feeling let down. Clubs have a responsibility to look after their players – at all levels Football has given me some wonderful experiences. As a young Arab and Egyptian woman playing for Stoke City from 2017 to 2021 I broke barriers and that paved the way for some exciting opportunities. Fifa selected me as a 2022 World Cup ambassador and put me in a film with David Beckham; I also became an Adidas ambassador and worked as an Afcon pundit for the BBC. But there have been less easy times as well. As an Egyptian international, representing a country that stands 95th in the Fifa rankings, there are obstacles to playing in the biggest leagues. Because of the points system for international players I left Stoke for the chance of playing second-tier football in Spain with Albacete. And since coming back to England, I’ve seen a world very distant from the new riches of the WSL. Continue reading...

Ex-official appeared in court over charge relating to a category A video, the most serious kind Former Premier League referee David Coote has pleaded guilty at Nottingham crown court to making an indecent image of a child. The ex-official appeared at Nottingham crown court on Tuesday in connection with an allegation relating to a category A video, the most serious kind, recovered by officers in February. Continue reading...

From PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye to Brazil’s next hope, we select some of the most talented players born in 2008. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and go even further back. Here’s our Premier League class of 2025 Continue reading...

* Wales’s World Cup qualifying loss to Belgium interrupted * ‘It’s something I’ve not seen in my 36 years at Cardiff City’ Cardiff City have defended their pest control policy after a rat halted play during the second half of Wales’s World Cup qualifier against Belgium. The Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made an unsuccessful attempt to catch the rodent during Belgium’s 4-2 win on Monday night before the Wales substitute Brennan Johnson ushered the rat off the Cardiff City Stadium pitch. The rat then slipped past a ball boy and disappeared behind the VAR monitor and was not seen again. Continue reading...

Clubs’ plan to open new ground in 2031 has been met by local opposition but is required for hosts to stay competitive A protester outside held a sign insisting “San Siro belongs to the citizens” but Milan’s city council was about to change all that, voting to sell one of the world’s most famous football stadiums to tenants who plan to tear it down. Milan have played home games at what is officially the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza since 1926. Inter moved in with them 21 years later. They propose to build a shared home on the same grounds. It has been a long time coming. The clubs announced joint plans for a new stadium as long ago as June 2019, with an intention to complete work within three years. International architecture firms were consulted and designs made public, but they never progressed out of this first phase. Continue reading...

* Greaves edges out world champion 6-5 in semi-final * She will now face Gian van Veen in November finale Beau Greaves won a thrilling last-leg decider to shock Luke Littler 6-5 in the semi-finals of the PDC world youth championship in Wigan. Greaves, a three-time WDF women’s world champion who has secured a PDC Tour card for the 2026-27 season, had gone 2-1 up in the semi-final. Littler responded with the next three legs, the PDC world champion competing the day after defeating rival Luke Humphries 6-1 in the World Grand Prix final in Leicester. Continue reading...

A new study shows twitches and involuntary movements between throws can lead to things going wrong at the oche Sunday night in Leicester. A study in contrast. At one point Luke Humphries’s eyes widen as another 22g Red Dragon dart flies past double 16. He shakes his head. Looks down. Bites his lip. Meanwhile, the automaton beside him powers on. Until the moment Luke Littler is pumping his fists, revelling in his 6-1 victory and a first World Grand Prix title. Littler’s extraordinary immunity to pressure is fast reaching the stage where even peak-era Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal would be taking notes. In his quarter-final against Gerwyn Price, Littler looked down and out at times until he hit a 156 checkout to clinch the match. Against Humphries, it didn’t matter that his three-dart average was more than a point lower as he won five of his six sets in final-leg deciders. Continue reading...

Keeper has kept eight clean sheets in succession but is keen to acknowledge the team ethic As they like to say in the US, dee-fense wins championships. The sentiment is not an exclusively American thing. “Attack wins you games, defence win you titles,” Sir Alex Ferguson once said. And he should know, having won quite a lot of them with Manchester United. As England look forward to next summer’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, the idea has come to resonate, mainly because of how miserly they have been at the back under Thomas Tuchel. Continue reading...

* ‘He needs to push himself … there are no limits’ * Head coach opens door for Jude Bellingham role Thomas Tuchel believes Marcus Rashford can still become one of the best in the world, but the England head coach has warned he will end up with regrets unless he pushes himself to the limit and improves in the final third. Tuchel, who also cautiously opened the door to Jude Bellingham being part of England’s leadership group if the midfielder returns to the squad, pulled no punches as he discussed Rashford’s development in the leadup to the World Cup qualifier against Latvia in Riga on Tuesday night. England’s head coach said potential is not enough and made clear that the challenge for the 27-year-old, who has 18 goals in 64 international appearances, is to become more consistent. Continue reading...

Craig Bellamy cited Nostradamus in the buildup to this contest, advising to expect the unexpected given the 4‑3 thriller that unfolded the last time these nations met. But while Wales gave Belgium an early fright, two Kevin De Bruyne penalties and a Thomas Meunier strike paved the way to a comeback victory that surely ends the hosts’ hopes of qualifying automatically for the World Cup. Nathan Broadhead, on as a substitute, pulled a goal back in the 89th minute but almost immediately Leandro Trossard converted from close range to cap the victory, this time featuring just the six goals. Joe Rodon headed in to give Wales a welcome leg‑up but Belgium stirred to maintain their pristine qualifying record; their last defeat in a qualifier coming here in June 2015, when Gareth Bale scored to propel Wales towards Euro 2016. Wales will likely have to do it the hard way if they are to reach North America next summer. Continue reading...

Chelsea defender played key role in Euro 2022 triumph and transformed how Lionesses viewed success Only two footballers have had the honour of captaining England in a senior World Cup final: the late Bobby Moore and Millie Bright, who announced her international retirement on Monday. That alone ensures the 32-year-old’s Lionesses career will leave an indelible mark on English football. Her entry on to the list of England greats had been guaranteed a year earlier, though, as one of the key heroines of the summer of 2022. When Leah Williamson prepared to raise the Euro 2022 trophy at Wembley after England’s victory against Germany had secured the Lionesses’ first major trophy, she chose to angle it slightly into the direction of the woman next to her, Bright, her vice-captain, so they could lift it together, acknowledging Bright’s major contribution. As the pair held aloft the 60cm-high trophy, weighing 6.7kg, Bright’s tattooed forearm was centre stage in front of the white fireworks erupting behind them in a colourful scene of euphoria. Continue reading...

A fifth successive Il Lombardia triumph completed another dominant season for the Slovenian, while on the women’s tour Pauline Ferrand-Prévot divided opinion Tadej Pogacar’s command of world cycling now seems limitless. The man from Slovenia ended 2025 as he began it, dominating a coveted Italian classic, Il Lombardia, to win the “race of the falling leaves” for the fifth consecutive time. The 27-year-old started his European season by winning the Tuscan gravel race, Strade Bianche. He closed it having matched Italian icon Fausto Coppi’s record of five Lombardy wins and Eddy Merckx’s achievement of winning three “monument” races, the Tour de France and the world road race title in the same year. Continue reading...

* Updates from the 7.45pm BST kick-off in Cardiff * Live scores: all the goals as they go in | Email Michael “Everything crossed for a Wales victory tonight!” emails Ian Kay. “A point would be admirable, but sadly not much use. Liechtenstein and Kazakhstan are almost certainly going to lose their remaining games, which means that if Wales get a point tonight, it would be no different to a defeat - Belgium would finish top, and Wales would still need to beat North Macedonia to take the play-off spot. So if the scores are level with five minutes to go tonight, Wales would be foolish to sit on it.” The ever-dependable Ben Davies earns his 100th international cap for Wales, just the fourth male player to do so after Gareth Bale, Chris Gunter and Wayne Hennessey. Here’s Ben Fisher on ‘Mr Consistency’. Continue reading...

A new study shows twitches and involuntary movements between throws can lead to things going wrong at the oche Sunday night in Leicester. A study in contrast. At one point Luke Humphries’s eyes widen as another 22g Red Dragon dart flies past double 16. He shakes his head. Looks down. Bites his lip. Meanwhile, the automaton beside him powers on. Until the moment Luke Littler is pumping his fists, revelling in his 6-1 victory and a first World Grand Prix title. Littler’s extraordinary immunity to pressure is fast reaching the stage where even peak-era Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal would be taking notes. In his quarter-final against Gerwyn Price, Littler looked down and out at times until he hit a 156 checkout to clinch the match. Against Humphries, it didn’t matter that his three-dart average was more than a point lower as he won five of his six sets in final-leg deciders. Continue reading...

* Captain could return for November’s north London derby * Eberechi Eze and Ethan Nwaneri to deputise Arsenal expect Martin Ødegaard to miss another six weeks with the knee injury he sustained before the international break. The Arsenal captain went down clutching his left knee after clashing with Crysencio Summerville in the first half of a 2-0 victory against West Ham that sent Mikel Arteta’s side top of the table. Ødegaard twice attempted to carry on after treatment before being replaced by Martín Zubimendi, and Arteta said the 26-year-old had left the ground with his knee in a brace. Continue reading...

* Leeds half-back won the 2025 Man of Steel award * First Test against Australia at Wembley on 25 October The England head coach, Shaun Wane, has said the decision to leave Super League’s Man of Steel, Jake Connor, out of his squad for the Ashes was “not really difficult”. He added that he does not understand the obsession surrounding the exile of the Leeds Rhinos half-back. Connor is by far the most notable omission from the 24-man squad to take on Australia in the first Ashes series since 2003. It begins on 25 October at Wembley, with Tests at Everton and Headingley to follow on successive Saturdays. There are a number of surprise inclusions, including a returnfor Hull KR’s Joe Burgess after his two-try performance in the Super League Grand Final on Saturday. The winger has been out of the national side for a decade. Continue reading...

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri argued over events in Singapore and their team have to be careful it doesn’t continue in the title run-in McLaren and Formula One could do with anything decisive in the championship battle between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being decided on the track and without reference to the pit wall as the title run-in begins at the Circuit of the Americas on Friday. With the Singapore Grand Prix’s doubtless extensive and tense debriefs dealt with, McLaren will be hoping for a reset. Norris was almost certainly more than aware of the historical context of his riposte to his aggrieved teammate at the last grand prix weekend. In a fiercely contested title fight with the Australian, that Norris invoked one of Ayrton Senna’s most famous sentiments was lost on no one but the incident that provoked his comment was of an entirely different nature to those that defined the Brazilian’s great rivalries. Continue reading...

Ombudsman against Delacroix is a £1.3m clash to savour in the face of competition from Ireland and the US The Champion Stakes at Ascot, the highlight of the track’s Champions Day card this weekend, has barely figured in the official annual assessment of the “World’s Best Horse Race” since the prize – which is based on the average end-of-year rating of the first four horses home – was first awarded in 2015. The 2022 Champion, in which Bay Bridge beat Adayar with the previously unbeaten Baaeed fourth, was the runner-up behind Flightline’s sign-off win in the Breeders’ Cup Classic a couple of weeks later, but five of the past 10 runnings have failed to make even the top 10 globally. To date, York’s International Stakes, in 2020 and 2024, is the only British race to finish at the top of the pile. Ascot’s executives will quietly fancy their chances this year, however, after three of the top 12 horses worldwide at any distance all stood their ground for Saturday’s £1.3m Champion Stakes at Monday’s five-day stage. Continue reading...

* Former England centre made allegations in 2022 * Burrell ‘had to retire because of what’s gone on’ The former England rugby union player Luther Burrell has alleged that he was effectively forced to retire from the game after he spoke out about racist abuse he suffered from teammates. Burrell, 37, first alleged that he had been the victim of racism while playing for the then Newcastle Falcons, now Newcastle Red Bulls, in 2022. Among the allegations he made at the time, Burrell claimed that a teammate at Newcastle had referred to him as a “slave” and told him to apply sunscreen to his wrists and ankles as that’s “where your shackles were”. Continue reading...

* Brian Branch floors receiver after Chiefs victory * Safety says team were at wrong end of decisions The Detroit Lions’ matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs was expected to be feisty, but few thought it would end in a literal fight on Sunday night. The Chiefs had started the season poorly, by their high standards, and were coming off a painful loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars last week. But they dominated the Lions, who have suffered a string of injuries to their defense, on both sides of the ball to secure a 30-17 victory and move to 3-3 for the season. Continue reading...

Everton continue to struggle at home, Leicester’s long wait for an away win goes on but Spurs can take pride in defeat The disquiet over Kyra Cooney-Cross’s lack of action has grown louder by the week and her 27-minute cameo in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat of Brighton fuelled her case for a start. The Australian midfielder impressed when she featured last season and there were high hopes for her going into this campaign, but four games glued to the bench have been followed by 54 minutes as a substitute across the following three matches. Brighton were, by their own admission, tiring towards the end of their 1-0 defeat and Cooney-Cross’s ball-carrying and front-foot approach caught the eye as the Gunners tried to extend their lead. “When there’s a drop-off [in] minute 60 or 75 and intensity goes down in games and space becomes bigger, the gamechangers can make a real impact, and that’s 100% what Kyra did,” said Slegers. “She capitalised on the spaces and the fatigue and the opposition team and she plays with a lot of confidence and forward intent and she brings all her best qualities to life today, so I’m really pleased.” The preferred midfield trio this season has been Kim Little, Mariona Caldentey and Frida Maanum, with Victoria Pelova also featuring and Alessia Russo dropping into the 10 on occasion. It is hard to see where Cooney-Cross fits into the equation, but with Arsenal struggling to assert authority, change may not be a bad thing. Suzanne Wrack Continue reading...

* ‘It’s a feeling and I’m at peace with it,’ Bright says * She cites physical wellbeing and desire for more time Millie Bright has announced her retirement from international football on the eve of England’s squad announcement for friendlies against Brazil and Australia. The defender missed the team’s successful defence of their European Championship title last summer to look after her mental and physical health and revealed on Monday she would not be adding to her 88 England caps. “It’s a feeling and I’m at peace with it,” the 32-year-old said on her Rest is Football: Daly Brightness podcast. “Having the summer to reflect, fix my knee, and get my head straight really put things into perspective. As you get older, your priorities change. I’ve been craving family time, time with friends, and time for myself. ”I’ve always played through every injury I’ve ever had, but I got to a stage where I needed to make smart decisions and look after my physical and mental health … I’m incredibly proud and honoured to have played for England for so long. Every single cap has been special and the memories I’ve made, especially with this one sat opposite me [Rachel Daly], have been some of the best of my life. But yeah, it’s time. It’s the right time for me to call it a day with England.” Continue reading...

In this mailbag edition of his newsletter, Jonathan answers questions about the evolution of tactics, heat and World Cup outsiders * Sign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson here Do you believe playing styles are developing incrementally or cyclically? Will things naturally come back around, or is it more a matter of rock, paper, scissors where one style counters another for a short while, as the current style gets broadly adopted? – Paul I dislike the term “cyclical” for tactics because it implies inevitability. Winter, spring, summer, autumn is a cycle; what happens in football tactics is not. When older ideas are repurposed for the modern age, they come with knowledge of what went before. So, to take an extreme example, when Pep Guardiola started fielding teams in a sort of 3-2-2-3 shape, it wasn’t the W-M used by Herbert Chapman in the late 1920s, because in the 100 years since, football has changed enormously: players are fitter, pitches are better, kit is better, we understand pressing, we have data and sophisticated analytical modelling. This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email [email protected], and he’ll answer the best in a future edition. Continue reading...