Category Sports News

Despite a heavily crowded end-of-season schedule, England manager Thomas Tuchel is expected to name a strong squad on Friday. He is unlikely to negotiate with clubs.

According to sources, the England boss wants to work with as many players as possible and for as long as possible, so he won’t offer guarantees to Premier League managers on workload.

Before the 2026 World Cup begins, Tuchel emphasized before victories over Latvia and Albania in March that he has only 60 days and 24 sessions with his squad.

Gareth Southgate was replaced by a German manager with a mandate to win the tournament.

A six-day England training camp will take place from 4 to 10 June, with a qualifier for the World Cup in Andorra on June 7 and a friendly encounter with Senegal on June 10.

Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, and Bayern Munich will compete in the expanded Club World Cup that Fifa will host on June 15 through July 13 during the course of its expanded run in the United States.

The tournament’s participating clubs are eager to release their players from June’s international window, not just England.

Tuchel and the players’ briefing before the World Cup was made clear from their first meeting, though.

In his first team, Tuchel makes big selection calls and makes justifications in press conferences, as evidenced by the surprise calls-ups of Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford, and Dan Burn.

The FA cited the Club World Cup as a “significant challenge” for protecting players’ welfare, which could also have “financial implications.”

Trent Alexander-Arnold, who is currently a free agent, might also be called up because the Spanish team is attempting to complete his Liverpool transfer before the Club World Cup begins.

Phil Foden, a player from Manchester City, started Tuchel’s first game but has struggled this season.

The attacker claimed that the incident from the Manchester derby on April 6 caused him to “struggle” this season and that he has been “struggling” mentally due to “things going on off the pitch.”

If Tuchel chooses Foden, it may also spark the club versus country debate by giving him a few weeks off to get it back to 100%.

Harry Kane has been celebrating his first trophy with Bayern Munich, and England is expected to take home another one before the Club World Cup.

With their Europa Conference League final in Poland on May 28th, Cole Palmer, who missed the first games while Tuchelis was unavailable, is another player in contention for the Club World Cup with Chelsea team-mates Reece James, Levi Colwill, and Noni Madueke all in contention.

Tuchel once said in March in the club versus country debate, “We do what’s good for us.” We stay in touch with the clubs, monitor the statuses closely, and take no unprofessional risks. Because I consider the players to be first and foremost. The player should not suffer any injuries.

In the end, we take good care of ourselves, the clubs take good care of themselves, and the main focus is the players. This is where it is.

Morgan Gibbs-White, a late call-up at Nottingham Forest after missing out on the first team, is another option. Will Ipswich’s forward Liam Delap, who is in demand at various Premier League clubs, be called up for a senior role?

Rashford, an on-loan at Aston Villa, has been sidelined for several weeks with a hamstring injury, so his fitness is unknown, while Anthony Gordon, a Newcastle player, has suffered a decline in performance. Eberechi Eze, who won the FA Cup with Crystal Palace, could now have a clear shot at the left-wing position in Tuchel’s side.

Eze has scored seven goals in his past six games and is currently in excellent form in the latter part of the season. In the win over Lativa in March, he scored his first England goal.

In midfield, Tuchel might turn to teammate Adam Wharton for assistance. Although Tuchel was a member of the U21 squad during Tuchel’s first training camp, he was unable to play in the 4-2 victory over Wolves on Tuesday due to a concussion. However, he did train with the senior squad during Tuchel’s first training camp after that.

French Open 2025

Dates: May 25 through June 8th, Location: Roland Garros, Paris

Francesca Jones, a Brit, is one win away from the French Open main draw, but Dan Evans suffered a defeat in Paris’ second qualifying round.

World No. 113 Jones fought back from a set down to defeat Mai Hontama from Japan 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, in the final qualifying round.

The main draw will begin on Sunday when the 24-year-old faces Ukrainian Anastasiia Soboleva, a 230-ranked player.

Clement Tabur, the 311th-ranked Frenchman, defeated Evans 6-1, 6-3, in an effort to make his eighth appearance at Roland Garros.

After a difficult two hours and 17 minutes, Jones clearly enjoyed her second qualifying encounter.

Before Jones took control of the second set, the players exchanged six consecutive serve breaks at the start of the second.

She would win the match if she won it in four games straight, but the tension only grew as the match drew to a close with five more breakups.

Crucially, Jones was the first to dig in on serve in the second set, giving her a springboard to victory as she won her third match point.

Before turning to embrace her supporters in the crowd, the Briton exuded joy.

Former US Open champion Marin Cilic is also qualified for the final round of qualifying for the men’s event.

Ireland greats Peter O’Mahony and Conor Murray and former New Zealand captain Sam Cane have been named in the Barbarians squad for next month’s fixture against South Africa.

Flanker O’Mahony and scrum-half Murray retired from international rugby following this year’s Six Nations after decorated careers in green, while Cane ended his time with the All Blacks at the end of 2024.

The Irish duo both won five Six Nations titles and represented the British and Irish Lions during their Test careers.

Cane, also a flanker, earned 104 New Zealand caps and helped his country win the 2015 World Cup.

However, he became the first male player in World Cup history to be sent off in a final during the All Blacks ‘ defeat by South Africa at the 2023 tournament.

Baa-Baas head coach Robbie Deans says his squad will feature a “blend of high-profile global international stars, and other standout performers from European clubs, Super Rugby and the Japanese league”.

“Peter and Conor have been an integral part of the Irish team for nearly 15 years and both have amassed over hundred caps for their country and represented the British &amp, Irish Lions on a number of tours”, said Deans.

“Sam is also a Test centurion, played in the last three Rugby World Cups and captained the All Blacks from 2020-2023.

O’Mahony and Cane are poised to line out in the same back row after the pair were involved in a verbal spat during Ireland’s win over the All Blacks in Dunedin in 2022.

It happened as tempers flared after O’Mahony helped hold the ball up over the line to deny the All Blacks a late try and help Ireland secure their first ever win in New Zealand.

Cane later shrugged off the altercation, saying:” No, it’s just good rugby banter, it’s all part of the game.

“I don’t mind it. It’s good stuff”.

Cane went on to inspire New Zealand to a World Cup quarter-final win over Ireland in Paris in 2023, but insisted he did not use his history with O’Mahony as extra motivation.

“We know they’ve got a few players who like to try to get under your skin”, he said.

World Rugby has confirmed that December will be the draw for the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup pool draw.

The tournament, which will take place in Australia from October 1 through November 13, will now have 24 teams instead of the 20 that have previously existed since the 1999 World Cup.

Six teams of four will be divided into the teams.

So far in the tournament, 16 teams have qualified: South Africa, France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Argentina, Japan, Georgia, Spain, Portugal, and Romania, two-time defending champions.

The 8 to 18 November tournament’s final qualifying event will take place in Dubai.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill says Conor Bradley will not be “fazed” by competition at Liverpool next season.

The 21-year-old has featured 28 times for the Anfield club this season and picked up a Premier League medal with Arne Slot’s side.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure this summer, Bradley will hope to establish himself as first-choice right-back next season, although the club are expected to make Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong their first summer signing.

“Conor’s not stupid. He’s playing, arguably, in one of the top three teams in Europe, they’ve won the Premier League and won it convincingly,” said O’Neill after naming Bradley in his squad for friendlies against Denmark and Iceland next month.

“You have to expect competition and Conor knows that, whatever form that comes in.

Should Frimpong come in, O’Neill believes that the dynamic of that competition will be different for Bradley than it was when vying for minutes with Alexander-Arnold.

“He provided that competition for Trent but he was trying at that point in time to dislodge a player that was very, very established at the club, a much-loved player and a player that had been very successful at the club,” he added.

“I think whatever happens now at Liverpool, that competition will be different because it will be a newer player coming into the club if they choose to do that, but Conor’s already proven that he’s ready to step up.

“I think you see that the manager there more than trusts him.”

That trust has recently been underlined by a new, long-term contract, and O’Neill feels that “stability” will be a benefit to a player he has handed the captain’s armband on two occasions.

“Conor’s not really driven by contracts. He’s driven by opportunity to play, and that’s quite refreshing in the modern game,” he said.

“I think that having that stability will help him, but he’s driven by minutes and he wants to make sure that he gets as many minutes as possible for Liverpool.

“He wants to play in the big games at Liverpool. He comes here [with Northern Ireland], he plays in the big games, he’s captained the team here, and I think you see that in his performances here.

At the conclusion of a 38-game season, two teams were tied on points in the top of the league, separated only by goal difference, but one side still wins the title.

In the Combined Counties Premier South, Jersey Bulls and Redhill were awarded three points each for fielding an ineligible player, but Surrey side AFC Whyteleafe won the title instead.

The club, which was only established four years ago, had a fantastic season in the FA Vase final earlier this month when they were defeated 2-1 by Whitstable Town at Wembley.

Jersey won the game 4-0 over Tooting and Mitcham United on March 20 but received three points for fielding a player who should have received a suspension.

The club will now receive automatic promotion to the eighth-tier Isthmian League Division One South East, and Whyteleafe will now receive the trophy, who would have placed third with 95 points.

In the interim, Redhill will face Cobham in the play-offs, while Jersey will face Fleet Town.

Kelly Waters, the head of Whyteleafe, told BBC Radio Surrey, “I feel great that we were crowned champions and promoted to Step Four.”

“I feel very sorry for Jersey and Redhill given their circumstances,” he said. “I’ve personally experienced it myself while managing at Balham and it’s painful.

We’ve ultimately been a beneficiary of that and we couldn’t be happier to be back in Step Four because they have to enforce the rules to make sure people don’t use them inappropriately.

The current Whyteleafe FC was founded by chairman and co-manager Waters shortly after the original Whyteleafe FC folded in 2021.