After Conquering Europe, PSG Now Have Sights Set On Club World Cup Glory

Freshly crowned kings of Europe, Paris Saint-Germain arrived this week in the United States for the Club World Cup and are treating FIFA’s lucrative new competition not as a nuisance at the end of an exhausting season but as a serious objective.

“I think it is an incredible competition,” PSG coach Luis Enrique said of the Club World Cup in the immediate aftermath of his team’s UEFA Champions League triumph in Munich two weeks ago.

“Our aim is to be competitive and try to win a fifth trophy of the season.”

The Qatar-backed French giants could be forgiven for wanting some time to bask in the glory of their 5-0 victory over Inter Milan in Munich, which allowed them to finally win the Champions League for the first time in their history.

There had been numerous agonising failures in Europe’s elite club competition, as well as billions of euros spent on transfer fees on stars like Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, before captain Marquinhos raised the trophy aloft.

“We have made history for the club, for the city and for the whole country,” defender Lucas Hernandez told sports daily L’Equipe after the PSG squad paraded their trophy down the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, attended a reception with President Emmanuel Macron and celebrated with almost 50,000 fans at their Parc des Princes stadium.

PSG have played 58 matches since last August and also swept all the available domestic trophies in France this season, as has become the norm in recent years.

READ ALSO: Five Things To Look Out For As Club World Cup Kicks Off

 No Time to Stop

Paris Saint-Germain’s French defender #21 Lucas Hernandez (R) holds the UEFA Champions League Trophy during a parade on the Champs-Élysées avenue in Paris on June 1, 2025, a day after PSG won the 2025 UEFA Champions League final football match against Inter Milan in Munich. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)

 

But there is simply no time to stop and reflect.

Many of their players, including Champions League final hero Desire Doue, spent last week on international duty before returning to their club and departing for Los Angeles, where they will begin their Club World Cup adventure this weekend.

“The tournament itself is a really attractive prospect,” Luis Enrique told FIFA.com.

“We have to strike the balance between managing the physical and mental fatigue we’re experiencing now at the end of a long season and harnessing the motivation that comes with being involved in the competition.”

PSG’s opening game will be against another European heavyweight as they take on Antoine Griezmann’s Atletico Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, just outside Los Angeles, on Sunday.

They will then also face South American champions Botafogo, of Brazil, before moving north to take on Seattle Sounders in their remaining Group B matches.

Expected to qualify for the knockout phase without too many issues, PSG could end up playing a total of seven matches if they make it to the final in New York on July 13 — just a month before their scheduled first game of next season in the UEFA Supercup against Tottenham Hotspur.

The strain of such a long campaign is telling, with Ousmane Dembele — their top scorer this season with 33 goals — struggling with an injury picked up playing for France last week.

They did not manage to add any new players to their squad during the brief transfer window that opened at the start of this month ahead of the tournament — reported interest in Bournemouth’s Ukrainian defender Illia Zabarnyi did not turn into anything concrete.

But the rewards for success in the Club World Cup are enticing and should be enough to keep Luis Enrique’s squad focused on their objective, with up to a stunning $125 million in prize money on offer for the best-performing European team if they manage to go all the way.

Leinster ‘silenced a few critics’ with URC title – Conan

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Leinster captain Jack Conan says winning the United Rugby Championship helped his side “silence a few critics”.

Leo Cullen’s team won the competition for the first time since 2021 – and ninth time overall – after a comfortable 32-7 victory against the Bulls at Croke Park.

And Conan was pleased with the success after the Irish side’s recent shortcomings in European deciders.

“Definitely feeling a bit of relief, just so delighted for everyone who has put in so much work the last few years,” he told TG4.

“I’m glad we showed up and performed and were able to silence a few critics.”

Conan, who will now link up with the British and Irish Lions for their summer tour of Australia, revelled in winning the trophy at the GAA headquarters and in front of a crowd as Leinster’s last triumph in the competition four years ago was behind closed doors due to Covid.

“It’s incredibly special and not something you dream of growing up or even in the last few years it’s been a while since we played here,” he added in the post-match press conference.

Leinster led 19-0 at half-time and Conan believes the strong defensive effort to shut out South African visitors Bulls after racing into the lead helped his side over the line in the second half.

“To hold them out at half-time, credit to the lads for putting their heads in where you wouldn’t put a shovel, the mental lift that gave us was huge,” he admitted.

“Before the game we spoke about taking it moment by moment and not getting ahead of ourselves. We knew it was going to be unbelievably physical and there was no point focusing on the bigger picture, but we dealt really with how direct they were.

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England knocked out of World Cup of Darts by Germany

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England’s Luke Humphries and Luke Littler are out of the World Cup of Darts after suffering a shock defeat by hosts Germany in the last 16.

The German pair of Martin Schindler and tournament debutant Ricardo Pietreczko took advantage of a string of missed doubles and some sloppy play by the top two players in the world to win 8-4 in Frankfurt.

Humphries and Littler, who both became MBEs on Saturday in the King’s Birthday Honours, were aiming to lead England to a record-extending sixth World Cup crown – with Humphries partnering Michael Smith to victory last year.

But playing together for the first time, the tournament favourites looked far from comfortable from the start as Germany broke throw in the opening leg, cheered on by a home crowd.

The English pair recovered to level the match at 2-2, but it was then Germany who rose to the occasion with some brilliant play, winning the next five legs to leave them on the brink of a famous victory.

“We believed in ourselves and we put in a solid performance, and the double 16s that Ricardo threw were so important,” said Schindler, the world number 18, praising his 28th-ranked partner.

“We are delighted to go through. German darts is in good shape right now and we will continue to push forward.”

Schindler and Pietreczko will next meet Australia’s Simon Whitlock and Damon Heta, the 2022 winners, after they defeated debutants Argentina 8-1.

Former World Championship finalist Whitlock said afterwards that England’s defeat had not been a surprise to him.

Heta added: “They probably relied on each other, thinking ‘Oh, he’ll do the business’.

“But the conditions weren’t great. The crowd was all for Germany so it was probably brutal out there for them, but they will take it as another learning curve and probably get stronger – unfortunately for the rest of us.

“Fair play to Germany, they played good darts, but we are just worried about us and what we have got to do.”

The Netherlands, represented by Danny Noppert and Gian van Veen, advanced with an 8-0 whitewash of Scotland’s Gary Anderson and Peter Wright, while Wales’ two-time winners Gerwyn Price and Jonny Clayton were 8-2 victors over the Philippines.

Northern Ireland’s Josh Rock and Daryl Gurney, the fourth seeds, defeated South Africa 8-2 to set up a last-eight tie against 2019 runners-up Republic of Ireland, who are represented by William O’Connor and Keane Barry.

Quarter-final draw

Germany v Australia

Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland

Wales v Hong Kong

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Stutchbury, 19, makes British fencing history

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Teenager Carolina Stutchbury has become Great Britain’s first woman fencer to win a European Championship silver medal.

The 19-year-old reached the individual women’s foil final in Genoa after strong performances throughout the day, but suffered a 15-13 loss to France’s world number nine Eva Lacheray.

It meant United States-based Stutchbury went one better than last year when she took European bronze.

That had made her the only British female fencer to have claimed a place on the podium since the event was re-established in 1981.

“To medal twice in a row gives me confidence in my ability to perform consistently at major events and I am looking forward to the World Champs in Tbilisi in July.”

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  • Fencing

Jesy Nelson’s baby twins go home for the first time as she celebrates birthday

Jesy Nelson celebrated her latest birthday on Saturday by taking the baby twin daughters that she shares with boyfriend Zion Foster home for the first time

Jesy Nelson has taken her baby twins home for the first time(Image: @jesynelson/Instagram)

Jesy Nelson announced her baby twins, who she welcomed with boyfriend, Zion Foster, have arrived at her home for the first time. The 34-year-old former Little Mix star welcomed daughters Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster on 18 May.

The babies arrived two months early, being born at 31 weeks and five days, following a high-risk pregnancy complicated by twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The Mine singer had been in hospital for months after undergoing emergency surgery to save her children while they were still in the womb.

Now Jesy has revealed that Jesy and her girls are back home almost a full month since they arrived. And they were able to make it home in time for her birthday.

Taking to Instagram on Saturday, the singer shared a photograph showing her doting over her daughters in her home. She wrote in an accompanying caption: “My babies made it home for my birthday.”

Fans were charmed by the photo, with one commenting: “They are both so beautiful! Happy birthday Jesy.” While another added: “So happy you guys are all home together.”

Jesy Nelson with daughters Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe Nelson-Foster
Jesy shared an endearing snap of herself at home with her twins(Image: instagram.com/jesynelson/)
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And a further fan wrote: “I knew they would make it home to be with you, precious miracle girls they did it for you.

Last month, Jesy delighted fans when she reveled her children had arrived “healthy and fighting strong” after arriving prematurely.

She also recently shared her experience with the girls in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). She wrote in an online post: “Nothing or no one will ever be able to prepare you as a parent for NICU.

“It’s the most scary overwhelming feeling of emotions not being able to feel like you can protect your babies.

“Naturally as a mother you just want to hold them and comfort them when they cry but you can’t because there are what feels like a million wires coming out of them. Tubes and masks in the way with people poking and prodding them, it breaks your heart into a million pieces.

“But slowly as the days go by and they get stronger and wires start to come away, moments like this feel like a dream.” The Black Magic singer expressed her joy over the fact her children were brought back together following treatment.

She explained: “Having them reunited for the first time ever today was the most magical feeling I will never be able to describe. The strongest little girls I’ve ever known who really do have the most inspiring story to tell.”

Jesy and 25-year-old musician Zion first started dating in January 2022and have had an on-off romance over the years. Zion has been at Jesy’s side throughout her pregnancy and hospital stay.

In early May the couple hinted they may have tied the knot as Zion shared a trio of black and white photos of himself with Jesy in a bed smiling and laughing together. Jesy reacted to the images to write “My husband” in the comments – sparking a flurry of comments from fans.

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Mollie King reveals realities of ‘less glamorous life’ of being mother of two

Former The Saturdays singer Mollie King opened up about what it’s really like juggling fame while being a mother of two

Mollie King reveals realities of ‘less glamorous life’ of being mother of two(Image: Getty Images)

Mollie King has swapped the red ­carpet for sleeping on the nursery ­carpet now she is a mum of two. The former The Saturdays singer gave birth to second daughter Liliana in December – and returned last month to her afternoon Radio 1 presenting slot.

Mollie, 38 – engaged to ex-England cricketer Stuart Broad – revealed: “Life’s a lot less glamorous when you’re a mum of two. “I was laughing with Stuart after [last month’s] Baftas. I went from walking the red carpet, to sleeping on my daughter’s carpet. I missed the afterparty and came home. She couldn’t sleep so I was sleeping on the floor in her bedroom while she was in her cot.

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Mollie King
Mollie recently welcomed her second baby(Image: mollieking/Instagram)

“I’d managed to get out of my dress but my hair and make-up was still glammed up. You don’t realise how much your parents did for you until you’re a parent yourself.”

Mollie and Stuart, 38, had Liliana just before Christmas, giving a sister to Annabella, two.

Mollie, who has hosted Radio 1’s Monday to Thursday early afternoon slot with Matt Edmondson for the past year, said of her return to work: “It’s such a tough one because I adore being at home with the girls.

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Mollie King
She shared the realities of being a mother of two(Image: Getty Images)

“But I also love being on the radio doing a job I love with Matt, who’s one of my best friends. The hardest thing is missing the girls and coping being away from them.

“But Stuart and I juggle it between us. We’re a bit of a tag team – he works most weekends and I work Monday to Thursday, so it’s a bit ‘one in, one out’.”

Mollie added: “But Annabella is brilliant, which makes things easier. I was worried she’d feel pushed aside but she’s been amazing. She’s very affectionate and protective over her already.”

Mollie had 13 top 10 hits with girl group The Saturdays, who went on hiatus in 2014 after a seven-year run.

Last year she raised more than £1.3million for Red Nose Day with her 310-mile Pedal Power bike ride.

She cycled in memory of her dad Stephen, who died of a brain tumour 10 days after Annabella was born.

Mollie said of working through her grief: “I don’t think you ever get over it. It’s been hard knowing he’s missed out on another granddaughter.

“When I had my little one, I felt such mixed feelings. I wish he’d known her. But I also know he’s still with me.”

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