Cape Verde achieved a historic 0-0 draw against Spain in their first World Cup game, showcasing a heroic defensive effort. Saudi Arabia secured a point against Uruguay, while Belgium and New Zealand faced challenges in their Group G matches.
Thomas Tuchel has named a 26-man England squad for the 2026 World Cup, including surprise selection Djed Spence. Meanwhile, Congo must isolate in Belgium before travelling to the US due to Ebola concerns. Notable omissions include Cole Palmer and Jarrod Bowen.
Jérémy Doku finds the net again, Joshua Zirkzee struggles at Sunderland and Ismaïla Sarr is fulfilling his potentialOn Friday when Bruno Fernandes became the Football Writers’ Association player of the year, either Declan Rice or David Raya could have been forgiven for feeling a touch aggrieved. Both have been essential to Arsenal’s bid for a Premier League and Champions League double but it is Raya who showed why he may have been more deserving at the London Stadium as his technically pinpoint one-on-one save gave Arsenal the platform they so desperately needed to secure a vital three points late on. Mikel Arteta’s side were on the ropes as Mateus Fernandes exchanged a one-two with Pablo to run in with the goal at his mercy. Surely this was it for Arsenal: the title slipping again. Raya’s nerve held strong, making the most crucial of saves. Arsenal’s dream of winning a first title in 22 years remains in his hands. Graham SearlesMatch report: West Ham 0-1 ArsenalBarney Ronay: VAR offers up title-deciding momentMatch report: Manchester City 3-0 BrentfordMatch report: Liverpool 1-1 ChelseaMatch report: Sunderland 0-0 Manchester UnitedMatch report: Nottingham Forest 1-1 NewcastleMatch report: Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa Continue reading...
Multibillion stage of title-relegation stagger boils down to a referee in front of a screen decoding a raised forearmThere’s a great moment towards the end of the otherwise non-great Rocky III, when Clubber Lang is asked by a straw-hatted, bowtie-twirling US sports reporter for a prediction before his imminent title fight. There’s a pause as Clubber looks down, lets the mask of showmanship drop, and just says the word “pain”.You can say that again. Let’s face it, this was always going to hurt, whichever way the latest note in the conjoined title‑relegation stagger fell. Just as it was always likely the destination of the Premier League title would come down to staring at a referee staring at a screen to decide the minutiae of an arm wrestle at a corner. Continue reading...
Footballer has 664 million followers but his boring presence is a reminder of how reel-life destroys what it touchesBuy the backpack airlines hate. Fawn strangely at a child athlete. This TV presenter drank olive oil for a month and absolutely nothing happened. The streets (no actual streets involved) won’t forget (robots can’t forget) Paul Pogba (or equivalent coding).Nineties dance hits. Ruben Amorim loyalists. Argue with fake fans over a fake photo of fake empty seats. Buy a backpack that hates you because you once thought about buying a backpack, and like a Hungarian grandmother it will never, ever forget and you will be punished. Continue reading...
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s trickery and imagination in Munich gave a reminder of the challenge facing Arsenal in the finalWell, it was never going to be quite the same. You only get one all-time high, one first kiss, one Catcher in the Rye, one loved-up alien-ball dreamscape of a game like the first leg between these two teams.In the event Bayern Munich never really laid a glove on Paris Saint-Germain at the Allianz Arena. They trailed from the third minute to Ousmane Dembélé’s goal, drew level on the night through Harry Kane at the death, but looked in between like a team trying to generate energy from a standing start, always kept at one remove by the extended arm, the palm on their forehead, fists whirling in the empty air between. Continue reading...
Manchester City did not choke at Everton to hand Arsenal the advantage but it was another reminder the Premier League’s random qualities are still keyFor me Clive, it’s all about the Socratic paradox. The wisest man is the man who knows enough to know he knows nothing. I’ve always said that. Or never said it. Or only said it sometimes. One of those. Either way the Premier League title race could have been designed to prove that, in an age of thundering takes and mega-certainties, nobody actually has any idea what’s going on here.Manchester City’s draw at Everton on Monday night has already been described as The Moment. Advantage Arsenal. This is the consensus. On Tuesday morning, Rob Earnshaw was asked on Sky Sports if this is “the week the season will be decided” and replied: “ABSOLUTELY,” almost before the question had ended. And while you have to admire Rob Earnshaw’s sense of showmanship, there is still a large chance this might not actually be the case. Continue reading...
While the doping-friendly event does not seem keen on journalistic interrogation, here’s what needs to be askedThe plan to fly to Las Vegas to cover what the Enhanced Games claims is the “next frontier of human performance” ended with a short email sent at 7.02pm on Friday. “After careful consideration, we are unable to approve your media credential request for this year’s event,” it said. “Due to the high volume of applications and limited media capacity, we could not accommodate all requests … thank you again for your interest and understanding.”Admittedly, the rejection didn’t come entirely out of the blue. Unlike most sports organisations, the Enhanced Games had a pre-screening process which led to a nice PR man calling me a few days beforehand. His opening gambit? To point out the Guardian’s negativity towards the event (“Grotesque” – Barney Ronay; “Showcasing so much of the wrongness of the age” – Marina Hyde; “Competitors run the risk of their libido being ‘killed off’, leading experts have warned” – Sean Ingle). Continue reading...
Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Barney Ronay to discuss all the weekend’s Premier League actionRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.On today’s pod: Arsenal deliver what some are calling a “statement victory” with a commanding 3-0 win over Fulham. With Bukayo Saka back and firing and Viktor Gyökeres grabbing two goals, are they still the team to beat in the title race? Continue reading...
England head coach survived Ashes review but going missing for 43% of the county season is straight out of SeinfeldGeorge: Right now I just sit around pretending I’m busy.Jerry: How do you do that?George: I look annoyed. Think about it. When you look annoyed all the time, people think you’re busy. [Rolls his eyes, slaps his forehead, does look busy.]Does anyone remember Brendon McCullum? You know. Baz. It was a thing. People said “Bazball” in parliament. It was probably in the dictionary, one of those new zeitgeisty words, like rofl. Distinguishing marks? Hat. Jawline. A way of standing. Sports socks provocatively splayed on an ornate balcony. Look, it doesn’t really matter. But has anyone actually … seen him? Continue reading...
In the end it doesn’t matter if you prefer the IPL or red-ball cricket, or which is better. The war is overApril is the cruellest month,Breeding likes on the feed (nets with Virat). Continue reading...
