The Northern Ireland Football Association announced on Monday evening that Arsenal striker Siddash O'Neill will be absent from the national team's squad in preparation for its next matches against Ukraine and Hungary in the European Nations League, due to injury.
O'Neill, who is 18 years old, played his first international match with the senior national team against Guinea last June, and participated as a substitute in the last minutes during Northern Ireland's victories over Georgia and Ukraine during the last international break, bringing his tally to four international matches.
The recent period witnessed the player's first appearance with the first team for Arsenal, after he started against Fleetwood Town in the round of 16 of the English Football League Cup, a match that his team lost on penalties.
O'Neill joins the list of those absent from the two matches due to injuries, which also includes defenders Dan Ballard and Eoin Toole, and midfielders Alastair McCann and Jimmy McDonnell, while Connor Bradley, Liverpool defender, continues to be absent for a long time, after being away from the field since the beginning of this year.
The Northern Ireland national team leads Group Two in the second level with eight points from four matches, without suffering any defeat, and has the opportunity to qualify for the first level for the first time in its history.
The Northern Ireland national team will host its Ukrainian counterpart on Saturday, November 14, before hosting Hungary in the capital, Budapest, three days later at the end of the group competitions.
Spanish national team midfielder Alex Baena said in a radio interview on Monday that Julián Alvarez's public talk about his desire to leave Atletico Madrid was not accepted by his teammates.
The Argentine striker said publicly last June that he had discussed his future with the club, and that “the best thing for everyone is to leave,” adding that he was keen to achieve his dream.
Barcelona President Joan Laporta confirmed last August that the Catalan club was interested in contracting with Alvarez, but Atletico refused to sell him in a crisis that dominated sports news headlines in Spain during the summer.
“It seems a bit strange when a teammate publicly declares that he wants to leave,” Baena told Cadena Ser radio station on Monday evening. This was not very well received by us. “I can understand the player’s feeling of hesitation if a club like Barcelona or Real Madrid makes an offer to include him, but in the end it was the way he behaved that really bothered us at Atletico.”
Alvarez apologized to Atletico fans last month for his statements, and although the harsh whistles directed at him at the Metropolitano Stadium at the beginning of the season decreased, the hostile chants from Atletico fans were still heard.
“We would have supported him no matter what he decided to do,” Baena said. The important thing is that he is with us now, and we must show him all the affection in the world.”
Likewise, coach Diego Simeone said in a press conference last Sunday that Atletico will wait for Alvarez to return to his best levels, because he is “a great player and we love him.”
Deco, Barcelona's sporting director, confirmed last September that Barcelona had made an offer to include Alvarez in the summer, but he said that the "Julian" story had become a thing of the past, in an attempt to get over the matter.
On Monday, the Professional Tennis Players Association renewed its criticism of the match schedule, noting the withdrawal of world number one Elena Rybakina from the final tournament of the women’s season, saying that “her body is no longer able to provide more.”
Rybakina, the defending champion, said last Saturday that she was not physically ready to participate in the tournament, while the organizers attributed the withdrawal of the Kazakh player to her infection with a viral disease.
Rybakina, who won two Grand Slam titles this year, also withdrew from the round of 8 at the Tokyo Championship last month due to a neck injury.
The Professional Tennis Players Association said on social media about Rybakina: “She ends the year 2026 with two Grand Slam titles and four titles overall.” However, with the season-ending tournament scheduled for next November, her body is no longer able to do more... Players should not arrive at the biggest tournament of the year completely exhausted. The ATP continues to push for a season that allows players to stay healthy enough to finish the season.”
The Women's Professional Players Association did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. The Federation said earlier that the well-being of female players is a top priority, and that it listened to the players’ opinions regarding the tournament schedule.
There are concerns about the increased burden of matches on players in matches affiliated with the “Men’s Professional Players Association.” American Taylor Fritz said last Sunday that the short rest period between seasons gives players little chance to recover. “It's just life going on 24 hours a day,” he said on The Running Interview. We have a rest period of one month, and if you take that period off you will enter the year without having trained enough. Therefore; In fact, you cannot have more than a maximum of two weeks of rest, after which you have to return to training. Therefore; We practically get no time to rest at all. “You literally live on the move with your suitcase.”
The Professional Players Association said that players retain the freedom to choose their tournaments and matches, and that it is working to establish incentives to ensure that an appropriate number of matches are played during the season.
