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World Cup 2026 news; Newcastle’s £24m deal for Jaouen; PFA awards shortlists: football– live | Football
Key events
If you were reading earlier about England’s 6-1 win over Panama in the 2022 World Cup, there was a quiz question. Harry Kane got a hat-trick but I also asked which player scored an unlikely brace?
The answer: John Stones. Yes, really.
Thanks Luke. Player-guide session a little compromised due to a parcel delivered to the wrong door, a phone call about US Open golf shifts and a ham omelette that wouldn’t cook itself.
That’s the lot from me: David will be back from his marathon player-guide reading session imminently.
Craig McLeish has been given the St Mirren job on a permanent basis after he maintained their Scottish Premiership status.
“I want to thank Keith [Lasley, chief executive] and the board for giving me this opportunity and I’m ready to grasp it. I’m delighted that my vision aligned with the club’s and they feel I’m the best person to take us forward,” McLeish said.
“It feels like maybe the end of a cycle with where we were at. We’ve achieved a lot over this last period, and we have to now look at what we do and how we operate as a club.” PA Media
Fresh from Premier League title success, Arsenal’s Leandro Trossard wants to play a significant role for Belgium at the World Cup.
“I really can’t wait to get started,” he said on Friday, a day after belatedly joining up with his teammates after last Saturday’s Champions League final.
“Everyone is starting the World Cup campaign full of enthusiasm, which is very positive. I’ve only been able to take part in one training session so far, so not much has stood out to me yet, but I can see that everyone is focused and ready to begin the World Cup.”
Asked if he is in his best form ever, Trossard added: “That’s always difficult to answer. But I’m certainly in very good form, and I hope to carry that into the World Cup.”
Winning the Premier League is also a positive for Belgium’s hopes, he said.
“It’s very good when players arrive here having won titles, but that doesn’t change your status. Not mine either but I will try to bring that experience into the national team.
“We’ve had a very good season with Arsenal. Of course, it’s disappointing how the Champions League ended. Penalty shootouts are a lottery, and it was stressful to experience it from the sidelines. But we’ve still had a fantastic season and we’re very proud of winning the English title.
“The title celebrations and the parade were fantastic. We were able to celebrate properly with the squad.“
As for his club future Trossard gave nothing away: “At the moment I am still an Arsenal player. We’ll see what happens in the summer,” he said.
Belgium have a friendly against Tunisia in Brussels on Saturday before Monday’s departure to the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the US, where they begin their Group G campaign in Seattle, on June 15, against Egypt. Reuters
How is Sergiño Dest getting on for the USMNT?
I know it’s a question you’ve been pondering.
Jeff Rueter has all the relevant details here:
Ewan Murray
The summit of Scottish football provides a wonderful environment for those who value long-term career stops. Neil Doncaster, chief executive of the Scottish Professional Football League, arrived at the then Scottish Premier League in 2009. Ian Maxwell, bizarrely headhunted from relegation-bound Partick Thistle, has been the Scottish Football Association’s chief executive since 2018. Scot Gemmill’s tenure as the nation’s under-21 manager has lasted a decade despite underwhelming results.
Glass half-full or half-empty; either this is a domain that delivers admirable continuity or one in which no one makes sufficient progress to appeal to those in bigger ponds.
Against this backdrop, Steve Clarke’s four-year extension as Scotland manager is really no surprise. “It’s pretty staggering for anyone to say that giving him a new contract is a gamble,” said Maxwell. The Scottish FA’s president, Mike Mulraney, delivered standard bluster when assessing the deal. “I don’t need other people to vindicate my decision,” insisted Mulraney.
Next up on Friday’s football content smorgasbord: a piece from Ewan Murray on Steve Clarke, the Scotland head coach. (They’re in Group C with Haiti, Morocco and Brazil. Their first match is against Haiti on Sunday 14 June, at 2am UK time.)
And here, for good measure, is their team guide by Ewan Murray:
I’m not long for this blog but if you need to get something off your chest, email me.
Apropos of the current photo atop this blog, keep an eye out for Alexis Saelemaekers of Belgium. He’s shown some seriously classy touches during his loan spell at Roma.
Sweden are in Group F at the World Cup with the Netherlands, Japan and Tunisia. A tasty group and no mistake.
Don’t forget to check out our essential guide to each and every player at the tournament:
“I have had enough life experience to be able to put all these things into perspective,” Potter says. “I’m grateful for all the experiences I have had, pluses and minuses. In the end, you have to deal with what life throws at you. After West Ham I could have done two things. I could have sat around and done media. Or you can go and work.”
Coming up next, an excellent interview with the Sweden head coach, Graham Potter, by Jacob Steinberg …
David Hytner
“It was hot in ‘94,” thundered Alexi Lalas, the former USA defender turned Fox Sports analyst, who starred for his country when they were the sole World Cup hosts that year. “And guess what? It’s going to be hot again this time.”
Lalas’s booming address came last December at the draw in Washington DC for this summer’s tournament and, to digress slightly, it was difficult not to fixate on his sheer vocality. Lalas is loud and confident, outspoken and there was the moment when he considered England’s chances at the finals. Notoriously, they failed to qualify 32 years ago.
To sum up, Lalas made it plain that England were coming to his turf with the express intention of making off with the trophy, bringing it home and so on and he, for one, was absolutely not OK with that. What does he have against England? It was unclear. Anyway …
Coming up next, a dispatch from David Hytner, one of our reporters with England’s World Cup hopefuls in Tampa.
Newcastle agree £24.2m deal for goalkeeper Jaouen from Reims
Newcastle have agreed a £24.2m, four-year deal with Reims for the goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen. The 20-year-old stands at 6ft 6in, and attracted widespread interest from across Europe after 15 clean sheets in Ligue 2 last season. He has been tipped to become France’s first-choice keeper.
For the moment Jaouen will arrive on Tyneside as Eddie Howe’s second-choice goalkeeper. With Aaron Ramsdale having recently returned to Southampton after a season-long loan at St James’ Park, Nick Pope is Newcastle’s first choice.
Yet with Howe still seeking another senior goalkeeper – Manchester City’s James Trafford ranks high on his wishlist – Pope may depart this summer. Hull and Leeds are believed to be among those interested in signing the former England international.
In a summer of change in Newcastle’s goalkeeping departmentm Howe is also in the market for a third-choice keeper after John Ruddy’s departure.
Newcastle’s manager wants two top-class goalkeepers on his books and believes that Jaouen will be capable of challenging whoever becomes No1 at the start of next season for a starting place.
The football never, ever ends. Especially not in World Cup year. Fabio Grosso’s winning penalty for Italy in 2006 was one of the absolutely great World Cup moments … and here is some Grosso news from the land of the Azzurri:
Fabio Grosso has resigned as coach of Sassuolo, the Serie A club announced on Friday, with reports he will join Fiorentina.
“Sassuolo have reached an agreement to terminate the contracts of first-team coach Fabio Grosso and his staff,” the Serie A club said.
Grosso, 48, had been in charge of Sassuolo since July 2024 when the club were playing in Serie B. At the end of his first season, the 2006 World Cup winner led Sassuolo back to the top flight, and this season the club finished 11th in Serie A.
The Italian press have linked Grosso with Fiorentina who had a difficult 2025-26 season under Stefano Pioli and then Paolo Vanoli but nevertheless secured survival, finishing 15th.
For the first time in his career, Grosso, formerly a defender with Palermo, Inter Milan and Juventus, would be at the helm of one of the historic clubs in the Italian league.
His only previous experience at a top club was with French outfit Lyon and it lasted just three months, between September and November 2023.
He was sacked after seven matches with just one win and a particularly painful start when he was hit in the face and hospitalised following an attack on his team’s bus.
The Italian league is set for a coaching shake-up with in addition to Sassuolo and likely Fiorentina, Bologna, Napoli, Milan, and Lazio have changed manager or are about to change coaches.
Thanks David. Why not treat yourself, and aim for 200? Hi everyone.
While I head for some food and read another 173 of our 1,248 player guides, I’ll hand the blog to Luke McLaughlin.
Some emails have landed. A couple here:
Louise writes: “My compliments for the Bracketology. Already having a lot of fun with it with friends! Hope it will stay active in the coming weeks so we can adjust.”
Krish writes: “What are the chances of a USA – Iran knockout game and could you please pass on a request to David Squires to sketch Trump’s reaction should they lose that game?”
Using our online wizardry, I’ve worked out that if the USA win Group D and Iran finish second in Group G, they wouldn’t play each other until the final. If Iran finish third, it would be the semis.
Tom Garry
Manchester United have agreed to sign the Atletico Madrid defender Andrea Medina on a free transfer this summer, the Guardian understands. The 22-year-old is set to move to the English club when her contract expires at the end of June.
A versatile left-back who can also play at centre-back and as wing-back, Medina has been monitored by Manchester United for a long time and her arrival should add plenty of tactical flexibility for the Women’s Super League team.
The former Real Betis player has enjoyed extensive success with Spain’s youth international teams at tournaments, including helping them win the 2022 Under-20 World Cup, when she was a key part of the starting side.
She was named in the 25-player Spain senior squad for this month’s Women’s World Cup qualifiers, with Spain facing England on Friday, although she is not expected to feature against the Lionesses because she has not been handed a squad number in their final matchday 23.
Spain need a win in Mallorca to keep alive their chances of qualifying automatically for next summer’s World Cup, ahead of England, who would top the group is they avoid defeat.
What’s the world on the street, Johnny? Interesting read here as some of our correspondents share their first thoughts.
World-class footballers aren’t just created in a lab or given every possible privilege to reach the top. Germany’s Antonio Rüdiger grew up in Neukölln, Berlin, in a community largely made up of refugees, where his parents settled after fleeing civil war in Sierra Leone.
The Real Madrid defender has opened up about his upbringing after joining the “Gamechanging Team” of the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) – a group of footballers with displacement backgrounds standing with refugees and challenging stereotypes. He tells his story to Sam Cunningham.
Thomas Tuchel won’t be able to field his first-choice XI against New Zealand on Saturday. That’s because his Arsenal contingent, including Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka, will only join up with the squad next week following their Champions League exploits.
As for that likely starting XI for their World Cup opener against Croatia in Dallas on 17 June, the release of England’s squad numbers a few days ago surely dropped a few hints.
1/ Jordan Pickford
2/ Ezri Konsa
3/ Nico O’Reilly
4/ Declan Rice
5/ John Stones
6/ Marc Guehi
7/ Bukayo Saka
8/ Elliot Anderson
9/ Harry Kane
10/ Jude Bellingham
11/ Marcus Rashford
Rest of squad: 12 Tino Livramento, 13 Dean Henderson, 14 Jordan Henderson, 15 Dan Burn, 16 Kobbie Mainoo, 17 Morgan Rogers, 18 Anthony Gordon, 19 Ollie Watkins, 20 Noni Madueke, 21 Eberechi Eze, 22 Ivan Toney, 23 James Trafford, 24 Reece James, 25 Djed Spence, 26 Jarell Quansah
England play New Zealand at both cricket and football on Saturday. Well, that’s if the Lord’s Test lasts until then. Follow it here!
In Tampa on Saturday (4pm local time, 9pm UK), Thomas Tuchel’s men will hope they can cope with the heat and brush aside a New Zealand side that lost 4-0 to Haiti a few days ago. To be fair, the All Whites are better than that result suggests. Learn more about them here.
Results from last night’s pre-World Cup friendlies. Includes a shock defeat for France.
Spain 1-1 Iraq
France 1-2 Ivory Coast
Sweden 2-2 Greece
Panama 4-2 Dominican Republic
South Korea 1-0 El Salvador
Iran 2-0 Mali
A few notes. France took the lead through Rayan Cherki on the stroke of half-time but a late winner from Manchester United’s Amed Diallo condemned the French to their first defeat in 364 days.
Sweden conceded an injury-time equaliser against the Greeks but note this: much-derided Arsenal striker Viktor Gyökeres now has 20 goals in his 33 internationals after pulling the Swedes level.
Four goals for Panama. They also scored twice against Brazil last weekend although conceded six. Expect goals, mostly from England, when they take on Thomas Tuchel’s men in the final Group L group game on 27 June. England beat them 6-1 in the last World Cup, remember, with Harry Kane firing in a two-penalty hat-trick. Mythical prize if you can remember the Three Lions’ other goalscorers. One got an unlikely brace.
So, Spain open against Cape Verde. Come with us and get to know more about their Group H rivals, the Blue Sharks.
Spain are the narrow World Cup favourites ahead of France. So drawing 1-1 with Iraq last night in their final friendly before setting off for the finals was something of a surprise of first glance. Sid Lowe was at Estadio Riazor and explains that there’s nothing to panic about given that the Spanish fielded a team that will bare no resemblance to the one that starts their World Cup opener against Cape Verde on 15 June.
Bruno Fernandes certainly deserves his place on that PFA list. But will he still be at Old Trafford next season?
PFA awards shortlists revealed
The shortlists for the Men’s and Women’s PFA players’ awards have been revealed. Arsenal’s Premier League-winning trio of Declan Rice, Gabriel and David Raya all feature while Bunny Shaw and Yui Hasegawa have both been nominated for the Women’s Player of the Year award after helping Manchester City to title glory.
Men’s Players’ Player of the Year nominations
Rayan Cherki (Man City)
Bruno Fernandes (Man Utd)
Erling Haaland (Man City)
Gabriel (Arsenal)
David Raya (Arsenal)
Declan Rice (Arsenal)
Women’s Players’ Player of the Year nominations
Kirsty Hanson (Aston Villa)
Yui Hasegawa (Man City)
Lauren James (Chelsea)
Jess Park (Man Utd)
Alessia Russo (Arsenal)
Bunny Shaw (Man City)
England can qualify for the 2027 Women’s World Cup finals in Brazil tonight. The good news: all they have to do is avoid defeat. The bad news: they’re away to holders Spain. Tom Garry is in Mallorca to set the scene.
Time for a quick niche post. It comes courtesy of my colleague, Will Unwin.
“If you like a blast from the past, one person who was considered by Leicester for their manager’s role was the former Everton and Sunderland goalkeeper Thomas Myhre, and preliminary talks were held. The Norwegian is currently in charge of top-tier HamKam in his homeland.”
Here’s Jonathan Wilson with some tactical analysis of whether Liverpool and Andoni are a good fit. The conclusions are generally positive.
“Iraola’s style of play would seem a good fit for Liverpool. Bournemouth tend to be a good side to watch, their football progressive and dynamic, with none of the passivity that came to characterise Slot’s Liverpool at their worst. The 4-2-3-1 shape Iraola has tended to favour would seem to fit with at least some of Liverpool’s thinking over the past year. Florian Wirtz should thrive in the central creative role largely occupied by Eli Junior Kroupi this season. The full-backs are attacking, as Bournemouth’s have been; for Milos Kerkez, who recovered towards the end of the season after a difficult start at Liverpool, this will be a reunion with Iraola, a coach to whom he felt so well disposed at Bournemouth that he celebrated an assist against Tottenham by running to the technical area to acknowledge his role in the goal.”
Will Andoni Iraola prove a hit at Liverpool? The appointment seems to have gone down extremely well with Reds fans, especially this line from the new boss: “For me, football is about emotions. About passion.”
First up, here’s Andy Hunter’s story of the 43-year-old Spaniard putting pen to paper at Anfield.
Who will England have to beat to win their first World Cup on foreign soil? The Opta supercomputer crunches the numbers. Warning: the path is not easy.
Bracketology! In past World Cups, a pencil and eraser on a wallchart was the only option to work out England’s most likely stage of elimination. But humans evolve. And now we have this tremendous piece of technology: a clickable online bracket. If they top their groups, can Spain and France (the two favourites) meet in the final? Touch and drag to find out!
Next up, the wallchart. Yep, nick some blu tack off one of your kids’ wonkily-hung posters of a K-pop band and get this centre stage on the kitchen wall. Probably another one in the toilet. Elegantly designed and beautifully illustrated.
World Cup 2026: guide to all 1,248 players
There’s only one place to start. The World Cup 2026: guide to all 1,248 players is a remarkable piece of work. Doffed cap to my colleagues who worked so hard to get this ready. It’ll take you a while to wade through so let’s get going straight away. How best to digest? Up to you. For some reason, my first clicks were to see how old Luka Modric is and then get more on Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal because he’s going to win the Golden Boot.
Preamble
Good morning! Well, it’s now less than a week away! Six days and 11 hours to be precise before the World Cup kicks off with the Group A clash between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa. We’ve got an absurd amount of analysis to hit you with as the build-up continues and that includes news of last night’s friendlies. Oh, and if you love a wallchart and an online bracket to work out when England might play Spain, we have you covered there too.
Beyond that, Andoni Iraola is in at Liverpool while there’s one of the biggest match-ups in women’s international football this evening as England take on Spain. The Lionesses will qualify for the 2027 World Cup finals in Brazil if they avoid defeat. As for England’s men, we’ll have all the latest ahead of their friendly with Chris Woods’ New Zealand on Saturday night.
“You have to say that’s magnificent!”
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
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.
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.
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.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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