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League president Vincent Labrune predicted broadcast revenues of €1bn a season but reality has proved different “My watchword will be ‘unity’,” said Vincent Labrune when he was elected president of the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) – the body that governs France’s top two divisions – in 2020. But with little over a month until the new season, the former Marseille president finds himself in the line of fire, with several clubs in Ligue 1 facing the prospect of financial ruin owing to his failure to find a new bumper TV rights deal. When Amazon indicated last year that it would not renew the cut-price deal worth only €250m a season it signed in 2021 after the previous rights holder, Mediapro, pulled out of their €800m deal, Labrune made a bold promise. Yet his prediction that broadcast revenues could top €1bn a season in the new four-year cycle has come back to haunt the 53-year-old former communications executive. Continue reading...

Losing Euro 2020 final still hurts the midfielder, whose partnership with Kobbie Mainoo is blossoming It always comes back to control with England. In the very biggest matches, with the stakes high and the pressure rising, they have never quite been able to stay on top of things under Gareth Southgate. Indeed, as Declan Rice bounced over for a chat in the aftermath of England winning their semi-final against the Netherlands thanks to expert finishing from Ollie Watkins, what he remembered most was squandering the initiative after going up 1-0 against Italy in the Euro 2020 final. Three years on, the memory of Roberto Mancini’s tactical adjustments, Marco Verratti and Jorginho outpassing England and the eventual defeat on penalties still hurt. Continue reading...

* England manager: Spain are ‘rightly favourites’ for title * Southgate: substitutes’ impact ‘so powerful for group’ Gareth Southgate is confident ­England have enough character and knowhow to play the “tactically ­perfect” game that will be vital to becoming European champions at Spain’s expense on Sunday. Southgate, who is wary of Luis de la Fuente’s side having an extra day to prepare for the showpiece in ­Berlin, did not downplay the size of the task that awaits England after they reached their first major final on foreign soil thanks to Wednesday’s victory over the Netherlands. Continue reading...

* Selección has found new support in the Basque country * Rodri should have won the Ballon d’Or, according to fans Dani Vivian appeared in the room wearing the shirt from the last time Spain played England at the Euros, but when he was asked how the country lived it then and what it might mean for the final now, he shot back “I can’t say, I hadn’t even been born”, leaving everyone falling about. The summer of 1996 is retro chic down here in Donaueschingen, the moment when football was supposed to come home, providing the off-field clobber for the selección. Now 28 – yes, 28 – years later, they meet again. This time in Berlin, the trophy within reach. “I’m sure it was lived with passion then, like football always is in Spain,” Vivian added, and it certainly is this time. The Athletic Club centre-back revealed that the families of the players have been trying to charter a flight to the final. Meanwhile he welcomed “normal” viewing figures showing that the selección has found sup

* Women’s manager encourages men to ‘bring it home’ * Lionesses in final two games for Euro 2025 qualification Sarina Wiegman has urged England’s men’s team to “bring it home” after they reached the Euro 2024 final but said her “orange heart hurt” after Ollie Watkins’s late goal knocked out the Netherlands. “You want a political answer?” the Lionesses’ manager quipped when asked about her feelings after ­England’s 2-1 win over her home country. “To be really, really ­honest, I wish the very best for Gareth [­Southgate] and his team. We are colleagues, but it did hurt a little bit, my orange heart hurt.” Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen and Mark Langdon as England beat the Netherlands to book a final date with Spain Follow Football Weekly wherever you get your podcasts and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today: England have done it at the last with Ollie Watkins scoring a 90th-minute winner to beat the Netherlands. Is it time to praise Gareth Southgate’s substitutions? Continue reading...

* Berhalter spent six years as national team coach * The US lost to Uruguay in Copa quarter-finals Gregg Berhalter was fired as US men’s soccer coach on Wednesday, nine days after his team’s first-round exit from the Copa America flamed doubts he was the right person to remain in charge for the 2026 World Cup. Berhalter’s second term as coach was cut short 10 months after he returned to the bench with high hopes and proclaimed the team’s goal was “to change soccer in America forever.” In his second stint as coach, the US won seven games, lost six and drew once, leaving his overall record at 44 wins, 17 losses and 13 draws. Technical director Matt Crocker rehired Berhalter and will also make the recommendation on his replacement. The team will next play in September friendlies against Canada and New Zealand. “Our immediate focus is on finding a coach who can maximize our potential as we continue to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, and we have already begun our search p

Is it time for a rethink about Gareth Southgate’s substitutions? As the tension rose at the BVB Stadion and extra time beckoned, it was England who found an extra burst when two players who had not been on the pitch long combined to send them through to a first final on foreign soil. They were all off the bench when Ollie Watkins collected Cole Palmer’s pass, swivelled away from Stefan de Vrij and arrowed a stunning shot into the Netherlands net. Having trailed to a spectacular early goal from Xavi Simons, England had rallied through Harry Kane’s penalty, but they had run out of steam during the second half. When Southgate took Kane off for Watkins, nobody could have imagined the impact the striker would make. Continue reading...

Ecstatic Spain fans celebrated in the capital after their team beat France 2-1 to reach the Euro 2024 final. The fan zone in Madrid Río park erupted with joy as they watched Spain score twice in quick succession in the first half to secure a comeback win over France. A record-breaking goal from the teenager Lamine Yamal and a Dani Olmo effort propelled them to victory. Les Bleus fans meanwhile were left disappointed. Long faces filled a bar in Paris as France's tournament came to an anti-climactic end. * Lamine Yamal’s wonder goal leads Spain past France and into Euro 2024 final Continue reading...

* Drake backed Canada to beat world champions * Argentina reference Kendrick Lamar after victory Drake’s string of defeats against short geniuses continues apace. Weeks after being publicly humiliated by the world’s greatest rapper, the 5ft 5in Kendrick Lamar, he has been publicly humiliated by the world’s greatest footballer, the 5ft 7in Lionel Messi. The Canadian rapper posted on Instagram that he had bet $300,000 – to win $2.88m – that Les Rouges would beat Argentina in Tuesday’s Copa América semi-final. Messi duly scored his team’s second goal as Argentina beat Canada 2-0 to advance to Sunday’s Copa final, where they can retain the title they won in 2021. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Philippe Auclair and Semra Hunter as Spain see off France to extend march towards glory Follow Football Weekly wherever you get your podcasts and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. On the podcast today; Spain get a deserved 2-1 win over France as they progress to the final of Euro 2024. Lamine Yamal, how do you talk about him without mentioning he’s just 16? What a goal he scored. Continue reading...

* Players will watch men’s tie with Dutch coach Wiegman * Millie Bright stresses importance of tournament nous The England centre-back Millie Bright has joked that the Lionesses will need to be wearing protective gear when they watch the men’s national side face the Netherlands on Wednesday night in the company of their Dutch head coach, Sarina Wiegman. The women’s squad and Wiegman will be eagerly watching the men’s semi-final as a joint group of staff and players at their team hotel in Norwich, before their Euro 2025 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland on Friday, and the players hope their male counterparts can follow in their footsteps and win their first European Championship. Continue reading...

* Manager praises minority owner’s new club structure * ‘We are in a very strong position to go and attack’ Erik ten Hag has stated that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s new Manchester United structure has put the club in a very strong position to “attack” the challenge of winning the Premier League and European titles. Ratcliffe became United’s largest minority owner in February, taking control of football policy, and the Ineos owner has appointed Dan Ashworth as sporting director and Jason Wilcox as technical director. Continue reading...

Les Street has ‘eaten a whole butcher shop watching live sport’ at 123 stadiums and grassroots venues to find that the most simple fare is usually best Sometimes it’s the smell that serves as the introduction. The waft of cooking smoke enchants the visitor to their new surrounds. Meanwhile, the regular club supporter is reassured by the aroma with a sense of belonging that this place is genuinely home. Far away from the hubbub of larger stadiums with mass catering and bland offerings, lies grassroots football. A milieu where food is an integral part of the match-day ritual. A place where the identity of a club is forged not only on the pitch but in the kitchen. Continue reading...

Gareth Southgate must decide on a back three or four, counter Cody Gakpo and weigh up Harry Kane’s struggles Precedent has gone out of the window. Gareth Southgate has always been a cautious manager, somebody who drew up his blueprints and stuck to them – and then came this tournament. Having failed to identify a partner for Declan Rice at the back of midfield, he has chopped and changed; that, allied to the lack of left-footed full-backs, led to the switch to a back three against Switzerland. Luke Shaw was fit enough to play the final 12 minutes plus extra time of that game so it may be he can start and offer natural width on the left. Even if he does, given the greater fluency of England in the first half of the quarter-final, it seems likely the back three will be retained. That then means either Kieran Trippier as right wing-back with Bukayo Saka moved into the forward line and, probably, Phil Foden missing out; or, more likely, Saka remaining at wing-back and Trippier standing d

Teenager has played with uncanny maturity and offers the sort of control on the ball that has long eluded the team Hang on, roll the tape back. Play it again. Shock as Jack Grealish and Marcus Rashford left out of England squad. England players using £421 smart ring to boost Euros hopes. Fury over Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer comments on podcast. Some men throw beer cups at Gareth Southgate (and miss). Jude Bellingham in hot water over “obscene gesture”. Nineteen-year-old runs England midfield in first international tournament. Bellingham fined over “obscene gesture” but escapes ban. Southgate hits back at critics. Southgate fumes over tactical “leaks” in media. Did you spot it? Did you need another look? Like the famous viral video of the moonwalking bear, there are times when it’s easy to get lost in the noise, in the distractions, to follow the loose threads, and ignore something quite unusual happening right in your field of vision. Like Kobbie Mainoo, who in the time it took

* Arteta keen to complete deal this week before US tour * Bologna and Basel to receive windfalls from transfer Arsenal are hoping to complete the signing of Riccardo Calafiori this week after holding further talks with Bologna over the Italy defender. The 22-year-old is understood to have agreed terms after his impressive displays at Euro 2024 and Mikel Arteta is keen to push through the transfer before Arsenal depart for their pre-season tour of the United States next week. Negotiations over the fee and the structure of payments are believed to have progressed over the past few days, with Bologna likely to receive about £42m for the player they signed from Basel last summer for £3.4m. The Swiss club are understood to be due 50% of any profit Bologna make. Continue reading...

* Greenwood met United football hierarchy on Monday * Forward not involved with training under Ten Hag Mason Greenwood held constructive discussions at Manchester United’s Carrington training centre on Monday morning with the club’s football leadership regarding a move away. Marseille have lodged a bid for the forward and talks are advanced, with United valuing the player at £40m. The meeting with the football leadership group, which is led by Dan Ashworth, the sporting director, was brief and considered positive, but Greenwood did not take part in training with Erik ten Hag’s squad and is not expected to do so this summer. This follows his exile from the team after he was arrested in January 2022. Subsequent criminal charges were dropped the following year. Continue reading...

Arsenal captain says it took time to get over missing out on the Premier League title on the season’s final day After a heartbreaking climax to the Premier League season, the last thing Martin Ødegaard wanted was to be sitting at home watching most of Europe’s best players battle it out in Germany. But that is exactly the position the Arsenal captain found himself in after Norway’s failure to qualify for Euro 2024, their chances having been ended by Scotland last year. “I wanted to be in the Euros and I’m pretty disappointed that we didn’t qualify,” he says. “The amount of games we play, the intensity in the games and how tough it is to play football at the biggest stage, it is really demanding so it is a good thing to get some rest. But I would prefer to be there.” Continue reading...

The Spain and Manchester City midfielder talks about adapting to the English game, to Pep and why la selección are flourishing under Luis de la Fuente It’s good to talk. Ask the man that Pep Guardiola says is “the best midfielder in the world, by far” and whom Spain’s coach, Luis de la Fuente, calls “the perfect computer” , the footballer one opponent described as a Rolls Royce, “a joy to even share a pitch with”, despite being defeated, and whose international captain reckons would have won the Ballon d’Or if he had just done the only thing he can’t do and won’t do either: sell himself. The man whose role, he says, is to “make my team work”, bringing “light”. Which is why his teams work like no others, even if he says: “I’m very lucky to be at the club I am at and to be Spanish. I’m surrounded by great players, winning dynamics.” Continue reading...

* Company scrutinising City deals ‘works for rival clubs’ * Relates to legal fight on associated party transactions Manchester City are claiming the Premier League has treated them unfairly in assessing their commercial income by relying on the analysis of a data company that also works for their rivals. The Guardian has learned the league’s scrutiny of the fair market value of City’s deals was undertaken by Nielsen Sports, a global data and media valuation firm that has contracts with several top-flight clubs. City are understood to have raised the Premier League’s use of Nielsen in their legal battle over associated party transactions (APT), in which clubs strike sponsorship or revenue deals with businesses linked to their owners, which was heard in private last month. A decision on the landmark case is expected soon, although it is unclear when it will be made public. Continue reading...

Others may have gone missing, but the goalkeeper has been Southgate’s most reliable player in Germany Perhaps the most striking part of England’s quarter-final victory against Switzerland in Düsseldorf was the sense of contrast. For large parts of normal and extra time England once again played like a team here under sufferance. This was another awkward dance without music, a facsimile of how elite clubs play, footballers out there trying to run the patterns, then remembering that, actually, there are no patterns. Continue reading...

England were the biggest climbers before semi-finals which could disrupt Spain’s impressive rhythm They had to come through one hell of a battle against Germany, losing Pedri to injury after eight minutes, but in the end the players stood there, arms aloft, having made the semis thanks to Mikel Merino’s late headed goal. Dani Olmo had said beforehand that the game felt like a final and afterwards it was difficult to comprehend that Spain were not even in the final yet. Against France, they will be without the suspended Dani Carvajal and Robin Le Normand, with Jesús Navas and Nacho Fernández likely to deputise. It could disrupt the selección’s rhythm but they should have the squad to cope with the difficulties. Olmo started on the bench against Germany but in the end was arguably Spain’s best player. Continue reading...

* Supporters salute Gareth Southgate’s competitive record * Win over Switzerland proves an ‘unbelievable experience’ It was the early afternoon after the night before and Düsseldorf’s Altstadt had returned to something like normality. The streets were largely clear, there were brass bands parping in the square, and sitting quietly and heavy-lidded in the restaurants were the remnants of England’s travelling army. After England’s nerveless victory over Switzerland, during the penalty shootout at least, the Three Lions have gone back to their base in Blankenhain to prepare for Wednesday’s semi-final against the Netherlands. For many of the supporters, meanwhile, tens of thousands of whom were in the city for the game, their tournament is over. The airport was calling, but with a few extra memories tucked inside the hand luggage. Continue reading...

* Striker scored against Switzerland without looking at ball * ‘People may see it as crazy but it is what I do,’ he says Ivan Toney has said he will carry on with his “no-look” penalties at the Euros after scoring his spot-kick against Switzerland. The Brentford striker was one of five England players to score in the shootout but the only one to do so without looking at the ball when he kicked it. “I never look at the ball,” the Brentford striker said. “Considering it is my routine I just think it is what I do but some people may see it as crazy. But it is just my routine and I’ll stick to it. It’s been working and it can work whenever it is needed.” Continue reading...

Southgate’s plans are in tatters but his side are in the semi-finals and none of it makes the slightest sense It’s the second half of extra time, and about 107 minutes have been played, or maybe a couple, or maybe four months, it’s hard to tell. Eberechi Eze, who is now England’s left wing-back, dribbles out of his penalty area under pressure and pumps a long, hopeful, hopeless ball up the left flank. Harry Kane, who is nothing if not eager to earn his 26th touch of the night, duly chases it. The angle is against him and there are no teammates remotely nearby, and Manuel Akanji is breathing all over his shoulder blades, but Kane manages to keep the ball in. And keeps going. Over the touchline, off his feet, and straight into the England dugout, where he is wrapped up by Gareth Southgate. Continue reading...

Ángel Miguel Merino scored a memorable goal in Stuttgart in 1991 but his son’s winner for Spain has eclipsed it “This was the only thing I had left,” Ángel Miguel Merino joked, and now even that had been taken from him, but it was worth it: in return, he was given the gift of a lifetime, a gesture of gratitude for, well, for everything. No wonder there were tears in his eyes. There were 65 seconds of extra time remaining when his son Mikel jumped, twisted his neck and headed Spain into the semi-final of Euro 2024. At first there was, Merino Jr said, an “incredible silence”, a moment’s uncertainty when “I wasn’t aware what was happening”, and then he saw his teammates sprinting off the bench and it came to him just what he had done; what he had to do too. They embraced him and then, when they let go, he set off on a run around the corner flag. Continue reading...

* Euro 2024 quarter-final, 5pm BST kick-off in Düsseldorf * Player guide | Golden Boot standings | And email Barry Gareth Southgate: Today marks the England manager’s 100th match in charge of his country. If his side fails to win, it will almost certainly be his last. England: He created an environment in which players could flourish yet Gareth Southgate has become a lightning rod for rage, writes Barney Ronay. Continue reading...

* No France player has scored from open play at Euros * Blunt attack leaves team ‘at mercy of our opponents’ Didier Deschamps admitted France need to start scoring goals if they are to win Euro 2024 after seeing them edge past Portugal on penalties after drawing another blank. The pre-tournament favourites were blunt again in a long, wayward affair which finished goalless after 120 minutes, and their manager accepted they cannot continue to rely on their opposition’s inability to punish them. Continue reading...

Saliba and Camavinga came out from the Portugal game with high marks but the midfield is still not working By Luke Entwistle for Get French Football News Once again Didier Deschamps made changes, once again they had a negligible effect, once again France advanced – rinse and repeat. That is the story of Les Bleus’ Euros so far as they played to type in their latest victory, over Portugal, on penalties. Continue reading...

Performances in Germany have been laboured but England must break shackles if they are to overcome Switzerland A familiar figure stood by the side of the pitch in Blankenhain, watching the humiliation unfold. An impromptu 11-a-side match between an outclassed English media team and backroom staff from the Football Association was progressing in predictably grisly fashion earlier this week – full context: they had an extremely fit and motivated Jimmy Floyd-Hasselbaink up front – when I trundled up the right flank and realised that the man on the touchline was Kyle Walker, England’s vice-captain and one of the greatest right-backs of his generation. “You know,” I said. “This is actually pretty intimidating.” Continue reading...

* Euro 2024 quarter-final, 5pm BST kick-off in Stuttgart * Player guide | Golden Boot standings | And mail Barry Big Interview: As a Spanish international with a German wife who has never played club football in his home country and plies his trade with RB Leipzig, Dani Olmo is as well placed as anybody to talk about today’s big game. Sid Lowe sat down with the midfielder for a chat in Donaueschingen … Those teams: A late call-up for Aleksander Pavlovic, who had to drop out of Germany’s squad with tonsilitis on the eve of the tournament, Emre Can makes his first start of the tournament for Germany, with pink-haired Barbie boy Robert Andrich making way. Continue reading...

Granit Xhaka probes deep in midfield but Murat Yakin’s side are happy to concede the lion’s share of the ball The past four goals Switzerland have scored in this tournament have come from their left side. In terms of buildup play, they are the most lopsided team remaining in the tournament, directing 45% of their attacks up the left flank and 21% through the centre. With the left-sided centre-half Ricardo Rodriguez often stepping forward to join the attack, combining with Michel Aebischer and either Dan Ndoye or Ruben Vargas on that flank, opposition teams have found themselves suddenly overloaded, most notably Italy in their 2-0 humbling in Berlin last Saturday. Continue reading...

* Midfielder kissed hand before crotch-grabbing gesture * Turkey’s Demiral gets two-game ban for ‘wolf’ salute Jude Bellingham is clear to face Switzerland on Saturday after being fined €30,000 (£25,400) and given a suspended one-match ban by Uefa for his lewd gesture after scoring England’s dramatic equali­ser against Slovakia. Bellingham was shown on TV to have kissed his right hand before making a crotch-grabbing ­action. He said it had been “an inside‑joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game” and in no way aimed at the Slovakia bench. Continue reading...

* Marsch was a frontrunner for the US job in 2022 * US knocked out after dismal group stage performance Canada coach Jesse Marsch has spoken of his disappointment at the poor performance of the USMNT at Copa América as his side prepare to take on Venezuela in the quarter-finals on Friday. The 50-year-old American coach led Canada to the last eight with a 1-0 win over Peru to finish second in Group A behind holders Argentina, while the US failed to progress from the group stage after a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay. Continue reading...

* French striker says runoff vote is ‘urgent situation’ * ‘We can’t let France fall into the hands of these people’ Kylian Mbappé has branded the first-round results of France’s snap parliamentary election “catastrophic”, urging voters to turn out in force and fend off the threat of a National Rally-controlled government when polls open for the runoff vote on Sunday. In the latest of several interventions by members of the France national football team, the influential captain Mbappé warned that the country must take its chance to ensure the far right, anti-immigration party is unable to seize power in what has become a tumultuous political battle. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! France or England? This was the toss-up before the Euros for who would win the whole thing, and it’s still, just about, a valid question. Both are in the last eight; both still possess an array of the world’s best. Both have also done their bit for science, using this tournament to offer an alternative cure to sleep deprivation. Results over entertainment has been the mantra of the favourites, with the French overly reliant on Monsieur Own Goal, a Golden Boot contender, and the English refusing to adopt a truly left-wing agenda (electoral views completely unintended). Montella has become one of us now. He hugs and kisses everyone. He hugged me tightly and said ‘We dedicate this victory to the Turkish nation and especially to you’. I want to thank Cristiano Ronaldo for his sterling work in promoting Thornton Heath (postcode CR7), the pride of Croydon” – Martin Davies. Regarding the Dutch team going on the Tin [yesterday’s Quote

* Hammers make improved offer for Wolves defender * Arsenal pay Brentford almost £30m for goalkeeper West Ham have made an improved offer of £40m for the Wolves defender Maximilian Kilman. Julen Lopetegui is prioritising the signing of a centre-back and has made Kilman his top target. It is thought West Ham’s latest bid will convince Wolves to sell their captain. West Ham had a bid of £25m rejected for the Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo this week and Lopetegui has decided to return to Kilman. Continue reading...

After defeating France three years ago, Steven Zuber refuses to set limits on what Swiss can achieve in Düsseldorf At the Switzerland camp up in the hills outside Stuttgart, they have been playing a lot of Uno. One of a number of “stupid card games” the squad have got into, according to the winger Steven Zuber; it is a pastime that looks easy to start with. But judicious use of the plus-four card is something that only comes with experience. On the field, Switzerland are no novices and have certainly been playing their cards right. With an average age of 30, they have held Germany to a draw and dispatched the holders, Italy. Next up are England and Zuber is among the contingent who have seen it and done it. Continue reading...

Tactics and team news for Spain v Germany, Portugal v France, England v Switzerland and Netherlands v Turkey By Ben McAleer for WhoScored An absolute blockbuster showdown to kick off the quarter-finals of Euro 2024. Spain were excellent in setting up a meeting with Germany as they put four past Georgia, though they perhaps should have scored more. La Roja managed 35 shots and 75% possession in the 4-1 win. Rodri returned from a one-game ban in that victory to score a fine equaliser after Spain went behind in the 18th minute. Continue reading...

* England midfielder Georgia Stanway calls deal ‘very sad’ * Ex-Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says club a ‘disgrace’ The England midfielder Georgia Stanway and the former Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron have been among those to criticise Blackburn Rovers, after reports that the club will be paying women’s team players merely minimum wage throughout next season on 16-hour-a-week contracts. The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday that Blackburn, who play in the second tier of the women’s pyramid, are set to be constrained by a playing budget of just £100,000 for next season and therefore their players, who are all semi-professional, will receive salaries of just £9,000. It is understood those reported numbers are consistent with the contract terms that have been discussed with several prospective players this summer, and that such salaries have previously been commonplace at the club in previous seasons. Continue reading...

* Portugal international nearly joined club last year * Bundesliga side set to pay an initial €51m Bayern Munich have agreed to sign the Fulham midfielder João Palhinha in a deal worth up to €56m (£47.4m). Palhinha almost moved to the Allianz Arena last year, only for the deal to break down on the final day of the transfer window. Continue reading...

* 24-year-old scored 14 goals for Sheffield United in 2022-23 * Sean Dyche hails versatility of his third summer signing Iliman Ndiaye has become Everton’s third signing of the summer after completing a €20m (£16.9m) move from Marseille. The former Sheffield United forward has signed a five-year contract at Goodison Park having attracted interest from several Premier League clubs, including Crystal Palace. Ndiaye only joined Marseille at the start of last season after scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists during United’s promotion-winning campaign of 2022-23. However, the 24-year-old Rouen-born forward had a difficult time back in France, with Marseille having four different coaches last season, and scored only four goals in 46 appearances. Continue reading...

Turkey fans were overjoyed as the national team's Euro 2024 last-16 game against Austria saw them advance to the quarter-finals. Fans watching the game on a giant screen set up in Istanbul's Kadikoy district celebrated wildly with flares and singing while celebrations also broke out across many cities in Germany, including Berlin, as thousands of Turks took to the streets. * Güler the thriller turns killer to inspire Turkey * Gunok miracle save keeps Austria at bay Continue reading...

Reading not being able to compete in next year’s Championship is an example of what happens when we compel women’s sides to be dependent on men’s football Were it not for some diligent reporting you would probably have missed the most significant women’s football news – that Reading told the FA they would not be able to compete in the Championship next season. Women’s FA Cup semi-finalists in 2019, Reading have a rich history in the game, competing in the top division throughout the WSL’s formative professional years. It would have been harder to miss that Manchester United are moving their women’s team to portable buildings to give the men’s team access to the women’s training facilities while their own are being upgraded. Continue reading...

* London club could return with improved offer * Wolves’ Max Kilman also on Hammers’ radar West Ham have had a £25m bid for the Nice defender Jean-Clair Todibo turned down. Julen Lopetegui, West Ham’s new manager, is looking to sign a new centre-back and has targeted the Frenchman after failing to agree a fee with Wolves for Max Kilman. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Good Will Hunting is a great movie for many reasons. Robin Williams’ outstanding performance, Ben Affleck’s petty squabbling with his on-screen and actual brother, the fact that Affleck and Matt Damon’s Oscar-winning screenplay is actually (a little bit) autobiographical – both hailing from Massachusetts, Affleck’s father was a janitor at Harvard, while his mother went to the university, as did Damon, before dropping out. The film is a great watch, a classic and pleasing arc of self-discovery, with a happy-ish ending that avoids the pitfall of being too twee. The protagonist (Will, played by Damon) is a complete eejit – sucker-punching people, fighting police, insulting his mentor’s dead wife, ignoring the time and energy of others while taking his seemingly god-given talent for granted – but we end up rooting for him anyway, because genius is a bewitching and beguiling thing. Further to Peter Oh’s comparison between Glastonbury’s

The USMNT have crashed out of Copa América early. At best they have stagnated under their coach’s leadership as they aim to build for 2026 You can’t deny they played for him, and for each other. This was no capitulation, no cowed or callow performance against one of the world’s best teams. So Gregg Berhalter has not lost the locker room. But how, after this, can he not lose his job? How can anyone trust that he is the man to shape the USMNT into a team good enough to make a major impact at the 2026 World Cup? They have at best stagnated since Qatar 2022, and perhaps even regressed. Continue reading...

In this world of celebrity worship, the winning of football matches is a secondary concern. It’s all about Ronaldo There is a fascination always as legends fade, to watch how they rage against the diminution of their own powers, to see embodied in one shrugging, pouting frame the eternal human battle with mortality. Decay and decrepitude have their allure; what the romantics saw in a ruined abbey, so others will see in the dwindling figure of Cristiano Ronaldo. Some day there will be a Portugal match that is not about Ronaldo – but not here, not yet. It wasn’t just about the penalty he had saved by Jan Oblak in extra time, which left him in tears. He did, at least, make up for it in the shootout. Everything is about Ronaldo; Portuguese football has become the great psychodrama of his ageing. Diogo Costa may have saved three penalties in the shootout, but even then this was about Ronaldo. Continue reading...

The striker and his team embody a happy, functional tableau of people in France at odds with National Rally In the end it took a grudging moment of light to decide a chilly, grey game at a chilly, grey Merkur Spiel‑Arena in Düsseldorf; a moment that also seemed to resonate just a little with the noises beyond the pitch. Sport is often confused with politics. Sometimes, and frequently by design these days, sport is politics. Here we are. We are the dreamers. Lest we forget, Qatar’s ghost anthem for the missing workers of the great sporting power grab. Continue reading...