French President Emmanuel Macron has offered to support Arsene Wenger in his campaign to compete with Swiss Gianni Infantino for the presidency of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), according to what the British newspaper The Telegraph reported on Friday.
According to the report, Macron intends to communicate with other international leaders to rally support for Frenchman Wenger.
The former coach of the English team Arsenal has not yet made his decision about running against Infantino, but it was reported that Macron contacted his compatriot to persuade him to submit his candidacy.
It is noteworthy that the deadline for submitting nominations is next Wednesday, while news reports revealed that Wenger is among the names that may receive the support of the European Football Association (UEFA).
According to information from the German News Agency, Wenger was scheduled to decide this week about running in the elections scheduled for next March.
So far, in addition to Infantino, only Japanese Kozo Tashima, a member of the FIFA Council, has applied to run. However, he is not seen as having a realistic chance of winning.
UEFA is one of Infantino's harshest critics, but has not yet put forward a candidate of its own.
Infantino had faced severe criticism over a controversial, unsuccessful plan to involve private investors in the World Cup.
It was decided to cancel this plan last August after three continental federations rejected it, and UEFA threatened to boycott FIFA competitions.
Despite this, the current FIFA president recently succeeded in obtaining support from the federations of Africa, Asia, and South America, which gives him a majority that guarantees him victory for a fourth term in office.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said that his team will restore the services of strikers Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal before facing England in the European Nations League on Sunday, after the duo missed the 2-0 win over the Czechs on Thursday.
Yamal stayed in Barcelona to recover from a knee injury.
De la Fuente added to Spanish television channel La 1: “Lamine feels much better now and is very much looking forward to joining the team.”
Oyarzabal remained in San Sebastian, the home base of his team Real Sociedad, to attend the birth of his second child. De la Fuente confirmed that he will also participate in the training session that Spain will participate in on Friday evening.
“Mikel and Yamal will arrive, one at midday and the other a little later, but they will be with us,” De La Fuente said.
Spain leads Group C of the first level, three points behind England, and needs at least a draw to guarantee top spot in the group.
The two teams have already qualified for the quarter-finals of the tournament.
England coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed his support for Ben White after the defender was booed when he entered as a substitute in the match that ended with England's 2-1 victory over Croatia in the European Nations League at Wembley Stadium on Thursday.
Tuchel told reporters that he did not hear boos, in contrast to the applause that veteran Croatia midfielder Luka Modric received when he left the field, which was widely reported by the media present.
The Arsenal player played his first match with England since last March, before the 2026 World Cup, in which he did not participate with his country due to injury. He was also subjected to boos in the past after his decision to leave the national team.
White left the England camp early before the 2022 World Cup in Qatar for personal reasons, and later announced his unwillingness to play during the remainder of the term of former national team coach Gareth Southgate, which ended after the 2024 European Championship.
Tuchel said after the match in which captain Harry Kane celebrated his 126th international match with the England national team, a record, by scoring the winning goal from a penalty kick: “I did not hear the booing directed at Ben, and I thought we had passed that stage.”
He added: “I hope this does not happen again.” He is a player on our team. Since I took over he has been desperate to join the group. "He has not done anything wrong since I took charge."
He added: “I can only judge him based on what I see and what I lived with him. He is at the highest level and can really help us win matches.”
He continued: “As I said, he is part of our team, and we will protect our team. "He deserves to be with us."
Tuchel stressed that he is not worried that White will leave the team if the negative reactions continue.
“I don't think so,” he said. "I don't want to make it too big."
He added: “He always seemed committed, dedicated, and eager to join the camp and be called upon by me. “There is no reason to doubt his commitment or passion.”
He continued: “He overcame the booing last time, and I did not hear it this time.”
