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French Open 2026: Swiatek through, Djokovic and Svitolina in action on day four – live | French Open 2026

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2 months ago

May 27, 2026

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Key events

And Trungelliti quickly secures a hold to leave Khachanov needing one of his own to stay in the set at 5-6. Can he get his head right? Or are we, somehow, going to a decider? either way, the underdog is enjoying his day, celebrating his points in grand style and milking the increasing enjoyment of the crowd.

Svitolina closes out a bagel set against Quevedo, while Rublev leads Carabelli 1-1 5-2. Back on Mathieu, meanwhile, though Khachanov saves break point with a big serve, a monstrous forehand from Trungelliti raises another … then an inside-out forehand lands just wide of the sideline and, from 0-4 down, the Argentine levels at 5-5! I can’t imagine an easier ball to win a match than the one Khachanov missed – genuinely, I think I’d have stuck it away, likewise the one before it that wasn’t dismissed.

Oh my goodness me! Khachanov takes control of what is surely the final rally, Trungelliti just about staying in the match, retrieving pending the inevitable winner. But when he lands a ball just over the net, which bounces up in friendly style to allow the winning putaway … Khachanov totally misses his shot! In comms, they think it’s stress but actually, I’d put it down to carelessness – mentally, he was celebrating – and as I type, he finds himself down advantage! This isn’t over yet.

And he gets himself to 15-30 but, when he misses a shot on the baseline, allowing Khachanov a forehand winner, he hugs a security guard in disappointment. Further flat forehands then come at him, he can’t respond, and is now match-point down at 5-4 40-30 in the fourth…

Lovely stuff! Trungelliti slices an outswinging backhand winner, securing a hold which forces Khachanov to serve for his spot in round three, noising up the crowd in celebration. He’s given loads to this game, his ballsy, imaginative style great fun to watch but impossible to sustain.

Before it’s played, let me let you know that Svitolina has raced to a 4-0 lead against Quevedo; now it’s been played, I can advise that Trungelliti is now up advantage, and Rublev has saved four break-back points to lead Carabelli 1-1 4-1.

And a terrific leaping backhand overhead makes 0-30, Khachanov saluting the crowd, but a storming forehand winner halves Trungelliti’s deficit. And another big forehand seizes control of the next rally – it takes two overheads to finish it when really one should’ve been enough – for all the good it does him, Khachanov unleashing a forehand barrage of his own to raise match point.

Trungelleti forces Khachanov to 30-all, but from there, the no 13 seed closes out, and is now a game away from round three.

Rublev has also righted himself, earning break point and sending back a high-kicking return that incites Carabelli to net a forehand; he leads 1-1 3-1. The bounce on these courts is quite something, almost like on hards, as if Jannik Sinner needed another advantage, but if the weather holds, I wonder if we might see some of the clay specialists sent home sooner than expected.

Down 2-4 in the fourth, having taken a break back, Trungelliti secures a hold with a big ace out wide, and he might just be enjoying a second wind; Khachanov leads 2-1 4-3, but will now serve under a little bit of pressure.

Thiago Tirante beats Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1 6-3

It’s a funny thing, really: I once spoke to an agent on behalf of a young tenniser, and the first question he asked me was how tall is he? Yet Tirante, “just” 6’1, is the fastest server on tour and in the tournament, and he’s through to face either Kokkinakis or Carreño Busta. I’m excited to see how he progresses, because Fritz, Lehecka and Davidovich Fokina, the highest seeds in his eighth, have gone.

Not quite yet, Rublev coming back to hold for 1-0, while Khachanov now leads 2-1 4-1, Trungelleti’s legs quitting on him. Meanwhile, we’re away again on Chatrier, the question – not one that’ll be answered today – whether Svitolina is finally ready to take a major. In Madrid, she lost in the first round to Bondár, but then in Rome, she beat Baptise, Rybakina, Swiatek and Gauff en route to the title. That is qiote some work.

As we feared, Trungelleti has gone. He takes a break between sets, still loses his serve twice at the start of the fourth, and Khachanov leads 2-1 3-0. On Mathieu, though, it might just be a different story, Carabelli levelling with Rublev at 1-6 6-1 and making 0-30 at the start of the third. We shall see.

De Jong is through, beating Cina 3, 1 and 3; replacing them on Court 6 are Navone and Mensik, who are level at 3-3 in the first.

Next on Chatrier: Elina Svitolina (7) v Kaitlin Quevado.

She says that Bejlek has a tricky game, breaking rhythm. so she needed to adjust to that, likewise the lefty serve out wide.

Otherwise, on her new coach, Francisco Roig she says it was good to start the clay-court season in Majorca and they speak the same language – he wants for her game what she wants for her game. With every coach, there’s a different approach, but she’s adjusting.

Finally, asked by Henri Leconte about how she’ll spend her time off, given generally speaking, she likes to see the places she visits, she confides that this year is more about cuisine. She has a chef from Roland-Garros in the evening, so is exploring healthy French food; there are loads of things she’d like to do, but they’ll probably have to wait until she’s finished playing.

Khachanov breaks Trungelleti to secure a 6-1 third set and with it a 2-1 lead, which means, finally, we can go to Swiatek’s interview…

On the other hand – or maybe the same hand – Carabelli is bang into it against Rublev, up 4-0 in the second set having lost the first 6-1. We’ve got to assume it’s a purple patch that will soon expire, but against an opponent given to imploding, he might not need to play that well for that long.

Khachanov is racing away with it against Trungeletti who, as we’ve seen so often, has a decent top level but can’t sustain it through a five-set match – can anyone? So, now he’s cooled, he’s finding his modal level isn’t high enough when faced with an opponent this good.

Iga Swiatek (3) beats Sára Bejlek 6-3 6-3

It wasn’t as easy as the scoreline suggests – Bejlek offered a challenge on return, just couldn’t hold serve – but Swiatek is through. Next up: Ostapenko, against whom she’s 0-6, or Linette.

Er, or not. Again, Bejlek is broken, meaning Swiatek is now serving for the match.

Oh have a look! Bejlek breaks yet again, doing brilliantly to stay in the decisive point before directing a forehand to the tootsies; the pick up goes into the net. That’s 38 unforced errors Swiatek’s made today, and this match might just be getting close.

When less heralded players take on seeds, it’s often not the top level that gets them but the consistency, and that’s what happens on Lenglen, Trungelliti – who played beautifully in set two – handing Khachanov a break to love that he didn’t have to earn. The Russian leads 7-6 5-7 2-0.

Rublev is playing nicely, rushing to a 6-1 first set against Carabelli, but will this be the major he finally beats a player seeded higher than him? In his eighth is Alex de Minaur, who he definitely has the game to bin, but does he have the head?

Again, Bejlek just can’t consolidate, broken by Swiatek for 6-2 3-1, but the four-time champ looks a lot less than impregnable here. Of course, she’ll improve through the rounds as she does, a relatively friendly draw facilitating that, but she’s seeded to meet Rybakina in the semis, and that’s a match that’d need the best version of her or close to it.

Tirante, who serves faster than anyone on tour, has taken the first set against Davidovich Fokina to lead 4-6 7-6 6-1. I daresay the hard courts and quick ball-speed are helping him in that regard.

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…Trungelliti has a set! An ace down the T levels the match at 1-1, and this is brewing into something extremely intriguing.

It’s all going on: Bejlek breaks Swiatek but can she consolidate – she trails 2-6 1-2 having not yet managed so to do; Rublev breaks Carabelli for 3-1 in the first; and Trungelliti has 40-0…

Swiatek breaks Bejlek for 6-2 2-0 but let’s go back to Lenglen, where Trungelliti, who looks not unlike Danny from Withnail, has a break point … and he stays in the rally, then casually flicks a drop that’s far too good! He leads 6-5 in the second, and will serve for it following change of ends.

Photograph: Aurélien Morissard/AP

Photograph: web

I don’t suppose anyone will be surprised to learn that Khachanov has three break-back points … and he takes the first, so leads 7-6 5-5 and looks just too good to lose to Trungelliti, well though he’s playing.

… but Khachanov responds well, battling to deuce before securing the hold; Trungelliti will now serve for the set at 6-7 5-4. Meantime, Swiatek is forced to and from deuce and advantage in game one of set two, but she gets there in the end, leading Bejlek 6-2 1-0.

Trungelliti holds for a 5-3 second-set lead and when an inside-out forehand from Khachanov drop wide, he’s two points from levelling the match … make that one, a forehand dumped into the net making 15-40…

On 14, Tirante took the second-set breaker to level with Davidovich Fokina at a set apiece, then broke at the start of the third for 1-0; Wang, the no 32 seed, also levelled her match at one set all, Korpatsch taking the opening game of the decider; and De Jong now leads Cina by two sets and a break. He, you may remember, beat Jack Draper in the 2024 edition of this competition, also taking a set off Carlos Alcaraz when they met thereafter, and saw off Stan Wawrinka in round one, so he’s got some game.

Though Swiatek isn’t really at it, Bejlek can’t play well enough for long enough to compete seriously, immediately handing back a set point before offering an overhead to seal it, the four-time champ punishing a winner to lead 6-2.

I’m enjoying Bejlek’s approach to this match, really attacking her forehands. It’s not working perfectly, but it’s a necessary tweak to enable her to live with the best around and evidences the aggressive mindset necessary in elite sport. At 15-40, though, she faces two set points … saving both …. and over on Lenglen, Trungelliti breaks Khachanov to love, leading 3-2 in the second having lost the first 7-6.

The left-handed Bejlek powers a sensational forehand winner down the line to raise break point at 1-5 and, though Swiatek saves it, she sends down a double to hand it back … then another. It’s probably too late to affect the outcome of this set, but at 2-5, the youngster is still in it.

Next on Mathieu: Ugo Carabelli v Andrey Rublev (11).

On Chatrier, Swiatek now leads Bejlek 5-1, but it hasn’t been as easy as the score suggests; on Lenglen, Khachanov leads Trungelliti 7-6 1-1; Korpatsch leads Wang 6-2 2-4; Davidovich Fokina leads Tirante 6-4 6-6 (3-5); and De Jong leads Cina 6-3 6-1 1-0.

Bencic is into round three for the first time since 2022, correcting the interviewer who says it’s 2019 and she’s delighted – she had good success at Roland-Garros as junior.

Mcnally is a very tricky opponent who isn’t easy to play, changing rhythm well, specially on clay, but she settled well and is happy.

On family life, she says “We’re living beautiful moments, I love to be a mum,” and is delighted to have her daughter in Paris with her.

Belinda Bencic (11) beats Caty Mcnally 6-4 6-0

Bencic does what she needs to do, easing through to a third-round meeting with Snigur or Stearns.

Mcnally has fully gone, broken again, and at 6-4 5-0, Bencic will shortly serve for the set.

While all that was going on, Bencic broke Mcally again for 4-0, and she’s almost into round three while, on Chatrier, Bejlek gets on the board only to be broken again; she trails Swiatek 3-1.

A backhand to the baseline from Khachanov is too good, Trungelliti unable to get it back and ceding three set points. The first vanishes when Khachanov goes long on the forehand; the second looks set for conversion when a colossal serve out wide captures momentum, but Trungelliti sticks in the point and elicits the error; oh, but have a look! The third, on return, sees him out wide to retrieve a high-kicking serve, Khachanov gets it back into play … then monsters a backhand winner down the line for to secure the set! He leads Trungelliti 7-6(5).

Swiatek breaks Bejlek for 2-0 and Bencic consolidates hers to lead Mcnally 6-4 2-0; Khachanov is up 4-3 on serve but oh, Trungelliti bets a forehand and, at 5-3, is in bing trouble.

Khachanov holds, then secures an immediate mini-break and, ultimately, this looks like one of those matches in which you know the favourite will find a way to do whatever is asked of him to win. Oh, but Trungelliti recovers it and we’re back on serve at 2-1, after which, consternation: Khachanov tries a moon-ball, it hits the overhead camera, and costs him a point; 2-2.

Bencic, up 6-4 0-40, hooks a terrific forehand into the corner for an immediate break in set two, and Mcnally is not enjoying this, at all – she just cant hit her spots consistently. Meantime, Trungelliti holds for 6-5, meaning Khachanov must do likewise to force a breaker in a set he looked to have won.

On Chatrier, Swiatek is preparing to serve against Bejlek; I’m excited to see how the youngster does, and how one of the most meticulous players on tour handles someone she’s never barely seen.

Khachanov saves another break-back point but Trungelliti earns another and they swap loopy, high-bouncing forehands … until the underdog tries a drop. Khachanov hares in to return it but cedes initiative in the process, and though he then has a chance to finish the rally with a forehand, he overhits, and we’re back level at 5-5, Trungelliti saluting the crowd and enjoying his morning.

Bencic, serving at 40-15, comes in to meet a loopy return, and though she doesn’t finish the point, Mcnally dumps her riposte, and that concludes a 6-4 set, taken by the no 11 seed.

Trungelliti tries a drop that works nicely for 0-15, so goes again next point and nets; no matter, a big forehand is backed up with a leaping back, and that’s 15-30. And, well, ahahaha, you’ve got to laugh: all that work, quickly eradicated by an ace down the T … but just as Khachanov unloads on forehands that look definitive, Trungelliti gets one back then creams a glorious backhand winner down thew line to raise break-back point. For all the difference it makes, a big serve out wide dulty cleaned up towards the opposite corner; deuce, while, on Mathieu, Bencic makes it seven consecutive points in racing to 40-0 and three set points.

I don’t think I understand why the stands are so sparsely populated; surely they could just charge less to give the players, tournament and sport the crowds they deserve? Anyroad up, back on Mathieu, Mcnally again breaks Bencic back, and again, Bencic unloads on return, racing to 0-40; a fifth double follows, Mcnally tossing her racket in frustration, and the Swiss leads 5-4; she’ll serve for the set after change of ends, likewise Khachanov on Lenglen.

This is so tangential and obscure, even for me, but the name Tirante reminds me of one of the most luminously brilliant concerts i’ve ever been to, Ludovico Einaudi’s Taranta! It’s not his usual classical thing, but a collection of incendiary folk tunes – Ferma zitella is our family favourite, but they’re all worth your time.

This is the difference with Bencic: once, she might’ve lost confidence and discouraged herself, but now, she immediately restores her break for 4-3. Meantime, on Lenglen, Trungelliti is starting to ask questions of Khachanov, who leads 5-3 having held under pressure, while Davidovich Fokina is up 6-4 0-1 on Tirante.

Of course, as I type, she’s broken back for 3-3 but, as we said at the top, Mcnally is a tricky test and a battle not unlikely.

Bencic looks a slightly different player since returning from maternity leave. I’m not going to attempt any cod psychology about a sense of perspective and wellbeing, but it’s hard not to. Of course, she’s still got a no-show in her – remember her Wimbledon semi against Swiatek – but she’s no longer one of the mist likely seeds to suffer an upset.

We’re away on all courts bar Chatrier. On Lenglen, Khachanov leads the unheralded Argentine, Marco Trungelliti, 4-2; on Mathieu, it’s Bencic 3-2 Mcnally, with a break; and elsewhere, Davidovich Fokina, who came through a marathon against Damir Dzumhur, leads Tirante 5-2; Korpatch leads Wang 3-1; and Cina leads De Jong 2-1 with a break.

Preamble

Salut et bienvenue à Roland-Garros 2026 – quatrième jour!

And into round two we go. We open today with a nasty one for Belinda Bencic, the no 11 seed taking on Caty Mcnally while, at the same time Karen Kahchanov returns – and, an hour later, so too does Iga Swiatek, the four-time champ facing the Czech youngster, Sara Bejlek.

The match of the day, though, could well come on Court 4, where Marta Kostyuk meets Katie Volynets and Joan Fonseca faces Dino Prizmic, the 20-year-old Croatian who’s beaten both Novak Djokovic and Ben Shelton this clay-swing. That said, don’t be sleeping on the tussle tucked away on 13 between young Americans Alex Michelsen and Nishesh Basavareddy, conqueror of Taylor Fritz.

Otherwise, we’ve plenty of big names getting to it – Elina Svitolina, Elena Rybakina, Andrey Rubelv, Jasmine Paolini, Mirra Andreeva, Karolína Muchová, Hailey Baptiste and more – some of whom will presumably be involved in epics, the joy that of them that, at this stage, we can’t predict which. And if to that we add Fran Jones – coming off the biggest win of her career against Bea Haddad Maia – against Marie Bouzkovà, Ugo Humbert v Quentin Halys and Casper Ruud v Hamad Medhedovic, we have another day of compelling Grand Slam Tennis^TM to elevate and enrich our existence.

Chauette! On y va!

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Driver killed in Bedford train crash named

Published

2 months ago

June 21, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.

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Spain v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026

Published

2 months ago

June 21, 2026

info@oxinfo.co.uk

Key events

In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.

Oyarzabal profile

Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.

“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “

News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.

“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.

“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”

Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.

Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.

The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.

The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.

An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.

In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.

For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:

“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.

“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”

Saturday’s match reports here.

The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same ⁠team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.

“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are ⁠missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against ‌Cape Verde.

“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you ‌should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.

“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.

“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.

“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”

The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”

Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.

The teams – Lamine Yamal starts

Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.

Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.

Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)

Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?

Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.

Al-Aqidi profile

Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat

The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.

The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.

Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.

“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.

Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.

Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.

A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.

Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP

Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?

Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.

Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.

“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”

A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.

“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”

We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.

The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.

Lamine Yamal profile

Preamble

Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.

Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.

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