Category Sports News

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill will be without key midfield duo Shea Charles and Ali McCann for this month’s 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg.

Southampton midfielder Charles misses out with a hamstring injury, while McCann fractured his arm in action for Preston North End last month.

Charles ‘ younger brother, Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles, is also absent with the shoulder problem that has kept him out of Northern Ireland’s past four games.

Oxford United defender Brodie Spencer is another absentee in a squad that sees uncapped Barnsley midfielder Patrick Kelly promoted from the under-21s.

The former West Ham player, who moved to Oakwell in the summer, has previously played 12 times for the under-21s.

Northern Ireland are third in Group A, three points behind leaders Germany and second-place Slovakia with two games remaining.

They face Slovakia in Kosice on 14 November before concluding their campaign at home to Luxembourg three days later.

Goalkeepers: Bailey Peacock-Farrell (Blackpool, on loan from Birmingham City), Conor Hazard (Plymouth Argyle), Luke Southwood (Bristol Rovers)

Defenders: Daniel Ballard (Sunderland), Trai Hume (Sunderland), Paddy McNair (San Diego), Conor Bradley (Liverpool), Ciaron Brown (Oxford United), Eoin Toal (Bolton Wanderers), Ruairi McConville (Norwich City), Terry Devlin (Portsmouth), Ryan Johnson (AFC Wimbledon)

Midfielders: George Saville (Luton Town), Isaac Price (West Bromwich Albion), Paul Smyth (Queens Park Rangers), Ethan Galbraith (Swansea City), Justin Devenny (Crystal Palace), Ross McCausland (Aris Limassol, on loan from Rangers), Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock), Jamie Donley (Stoke City, on loan from Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie McDonnell (Mansfield Town, on loan from Nottingham Forest), Patrick Kelly (Barnsley)

While Conor Bradley and Isaac Price may garner more headlines, Shea Charles and Ali McCann have become the fulcrum around which O’Neill has built his side.

The manager has said previously that McCann is the sort of player his side “miss the most when he’s not available”, while Charles is a driving force from midfield and perhaps the best passer of the ball in the side, something all the more important in the absence of his brother’s distribution from between the posts.

Moving Paddy McNair or Justin Devenny, who are regular starters at left wing-back and center-back, into central midfield is a possibility, but that would leave similar gaps open elsewhere.

Spencer would have been the most obvious choice to replace Devenny down the left flank if not for his own injury.

Without their entire starting midfield trio from their previous four qualifiers, who will replace Galbraith with Northern Ireland in the Slovakia game at least?

Captain Ben Stokes has extended his England central contract through to the end of the next home Ashes series in 2027.

Stokes, whose previous deal was due to expire at the end of next summer, is one of 14 players to sign on for two years.

They include pace bowler Jofra Archer, who has signed an extended contract following his return to Test cricket.

England said the contracts reward performances in the past year, while also looking ahead to the upcoming schedule. The home Ashes in 2027 is followed by a 50-over World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

All of the 16 players in the squad for the upcoming Ashes in Australia have been handed a contract of at least one year.

Eleven of the Ashes squad – including Stokes, Archer, Joe Root and Harry Brook – have signed two-year deals.

Four of the five with one-year contracts – batters Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, spinner Shoaib Bashir and seamer Matthew Potts – are not multi-format players, while 35-year-old pace bowler Mark Wood is entering the final part of a three-year contract he signed in 2023.

The extension of Stokes’ contract is particularly eye-catching.

The 34-year-old all-rounder has a chequered injury record and is currently recovering from a shoulder problem.

However, he is on track to be fit for the first Ashes Test in Perth on 21 November, which would be his first action since July.

All-rounder Jamie Overton, who has taken a break from red-ball cricket, is given a one-year deal for his first central contract.

Also signing one-year deals for the first time are pace bowlers Sonny Baker, Saqib Mahmood and Luke Wood, along with all-rounder Liam Dawson.

Chris Woakes, who retired from international cricket last month, drops off the list.

Jonny Bairstow’s two-year central contract has finally come to an end, while spinner Jack Leach also misses out after falling out of favour.

All-rounder Liam Livingstone has not played for England since the Champions Trophy in March and loses his deal, along with pace bowlers Olly Stone and Reece Topley.

England two-year central contracts

Jofra Archer (Sussex), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Curran (Surrey), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Ben Stokes (Durham), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)

England one-year central contracts

Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Zak Crawley (Kent), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Matthew Potts (Durham), Phil Salt (Lancashire), Luke Wood (Lancashire), Mark Wood (Durham)

England development contracts

Next year, Amanda Anisimova and six-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz will compete against each other at Queen’s.

Alcaraz, the second-ranked Spaniard, has won two of the previous three tournaments.

Meanwhile, world number four Anisimova made history playing grass tennis for the first time since 1973 when she made her debut at Queen’s.

Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, both of whom lost to Alcaraz and American Anisimova, both lost to each other in the Wimbledon singles final this year.

The men’s tournament will take place from June 13 to June 21, while the women’s tournament will take place from June 6 through June 14.

Alcaraz, the reigning French Open and US Open champion, said, “Queen’s is a very special tournament for me and one I look forward to every year.”

I couldn’t have asked for a better week, and it was incredible to win the title again in front of the incredible crowds in London.

It will be difficult to come back as the defending champion in front of these elite players, but I’m eager to go out there and fight for the title once more.

In the men’s final, Alcaraz defeated Jiri Lehecka in three sets, which was watched by a whopping 1,715,000 viewers on the BBC.

Later this year, Aryna Sabalenka will take on Nick Kyrgios in an exhibition match in the United Arab Emirates.

On December 28th, the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai will host Belarus’ Sabalenka, 27, and 30-year-old Australian Kyrgios, who are ranked 652nd in the world.

Sabalenka, the reigning US Open and Wimbledon champion, is a four-time Grand Slam champion.

Since returning from a serious wrist injury that required him to play for 18 months, Kyrgios, who reached a career-high 13th in 2016, has only played five games this year.

Since missing the Miami Open second round in March, he hasn’t played on the ATP Tour.

Three official matches, the most famous being Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King, have been dubbed the “Battle of the Sexes.”

Before King exacted revenge four months later, Riggs, an American veteran, beat Margaret Court in Australia.

Under hybrid rules, a 40-year-old Jimmy Connors defeated 35-year-old Martina Navratilova, a multiple Grand Slam champion, in 1992.

Billie Jean King deserves praise for her contributions to the women’s game, Sabalenka continued.

“I’m proud to be a part of this contemporary adaptation of the renowned “Battle of the Sexes” match and represent women’s tennis,” said I.

Kyrgios, who won the 2022 Wimbledon final, said he’ll be happy to face Sabalenka, who he shares an agent with.

You respond when the world number one challenges you, “as the saying goes. Aryna is a powerhouse and a true champion, he said, and I have a lot of respect for her.

Since the US Open in September rumor broke, tennis fans have divided into two camps.

In the era of social media content, some believe it to be harmless entertainment that will appeal to a younger, younger audience.

Others think it is a misguided initiative that was carried out by the Evolve agency, which the players both support, and presents an opportunity for women’s sport to belittled if Sabalenka is defeated by Kyrgios.

A significant part of the population thinks that the exhibition could unnecessarily foster sexism and misogyny because Kyrgios admitted to assaulting an ex-girlfriend in 2023 and later had to distance himself from controversial influencer Andrew Tate in 2024.

Sabalenka appears to be cautious about the impact the competition will have on women’s sports. She described the idea at the US Open as “cool idea” and laughed as she pledged to “kick Nick’s ass.”

However, it’s difficult to tell what she gains from the occasion, especially if she loses to a man who hasn’t been well for a while.

Kyrgios consistently demonstrates that he loves being in the spotlight, staying relevant despite his ongoing absence from the tour.

One of Victoria Mboko’s ascent’s defining characteristics is the ability to compartmentalise.

After winning her second WTA Tour title of the year, the 19-year-old Canadian rose from the bottom 300 to the top 20, underlining why she is regarded as one of the best female prospects.

She overturned a 4-1 third-set deficit against Alexandra Eala and won three of her five matches to win the Hong Kong Open.

“I’m a person who always has a vision.” Mboko told BBC Sport, “I believe what has already passed has.”

When Mboko stunned the tour by winning the Montreal title in August, it was a similar tale of reset and rise.

She won one of the most significant titles outside of the four majors against four Grand Slam winners, Sofia Kenin, Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, and Naomi Osaka, at the age of 18.

In the semi-finals, she faced 2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina three times from a set down and fought back three times.

It was obvious that Mboko had already decided to concentrate on the future after being mobbed by young fans at Flushing Meadows, according to a statement made by the broadcaster at the US Open.

That hasn’t always been the case.

A 6-0, 6-0 defeat to her older sister Gracia at a junior tournament was a long-lasting wound that her siblings still use to rib her.

Mboko’s life depends heavily on his family. She gave her father Cyprien a warm embrace as he lifted the trophy for the cameras as she won her second WTA title.

In 1999, Cyprien and his wife Godee Kitadi moved to North America after leaving their homes in the politically unstable Democratic Republic of Congo.

The couple’s four children were born in Canada, but they initially resided in the United States.

After watching television shows starring stars from the 1990s like Andre Agassi, Mboko’s father was obsessed. Despite her parents’ lack of tennis skills, she never played tennis.

Mboko, who is hoping to make her first trip to DR Congo soon, said, “A lot of their life revolved around tennis.”

“My dad always made sure he was watching my drills. He used to work night shifts to pick up me in the morning.

They have always encouraged me to pursue my passions.

Mboko emphasized how significant her father’s “emotional support” was during her breakout season.

Mboko said, “I’ve always been very appreciative that he can travel and accompany me at these tournaments.

Mboko’s season couldn’t have gone much better.

She won her first 20 matches in 2025 and won four ITF World Tennis Tour titles in a row by the natural talent of first-strike tennis.

Before Montreal’s seismic success, confidence grew, but Mboko struggled as a result of a persistent wrist injury.

She did not win until two and a half months later in Tokyo after losing her first match at her next four matches, including the US Open.

No panic occurred. Despite her soft-spoken and unassuming off-court demeanor, Mboko remained confident in changing her course.

She said, “I get that there is a little pressure on you to win again after a tournament.”

I prefer to remain completely at ease and do not have high expectations.

You can beat or can beat you on any given day because there are so many talented players.

Most Valuable Promotions has announced that Jake Paul’s exhibition fight with Gervonta Davis has been canceled.

The Netflix-streamed event was supposed to be the ring-and-a-pee fight scheduled for November 14 in Miami.

The court’s decision comes days after Davis’ ex-girlfriend filed a lawsuit against him, alleging that he was causing emotional distress or that he had intentionally caused others to suffer.

MVP stated that the fight would “no longer be moving forward” following an investigation.

Our team has closely collaborated with all parties involved in this ethical situation, according to CEO and co-founder of MVP Nakisa Bidarian.

Paul responded to the announcement that the fight had been canceled on X by calling it “an absolute nightmare.”

Paul, the co-founder of MVP, expressed his regret to everyone involved.

According to the lawsuit complaint, Davis is accused of attacking former partner Courtney Rossel after previously making threats against her life at her place of employment on October 27.

Rossel claims that since the incidents, Davis has “physically assaulted and choked” her and that she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of at least four previous incidents.

Two months prior, a different ex-girlfriend dropped a domestic violence case against Davis.

After violating the terms of a 90-day house arrest sentence in relation to a criminal hit-and-run case in November 2020, Davis was detained in February and December of that year on domestic violence battery charges. He also served 44 days in prison in 2023.

Given that Paul, the current WBA 135-pound champion, previously squared off against Davis, who was a 200-pound cruiserweight champion, the fight had sparked controversy.