Author: Rowan Clarke

Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson has publicly accepted her side failed to perform as they dropped points in a Women’s World Cup qualifying draw in Montenegro. Wales looked set to collect three points following Hannah Cain’s first-half penalty, but were ultimately denied a crucial win on the night. A late equaliser from Jasna Djokovic left Wales with a draw they can have few complaints about, given their overall showing in Podgorica. Controversy surrounded a second-half effort from Elise Hughes, with Wales players convinced the ball had fully crossed the line before Montenegro defender Sladjana Bulatovic cleared it away. Without goalline…

Bayern Munich have made enquiries about signing Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha, with the 17-year-old attracting serious interest from the German giants. The Bundesliga club have reached out regarding a potential transfer, though sources have confirmed that no face-to-face discussions between the two clubs have yet taken place. Ngumoha is currently in Florida as a supplementary member of the England squad’s preparation camp and is understood to be aware of the interest from Germany. Despite Bayern’s approach, no agreement over personal terms has been struck between the player’s camp and the German club at this stage. Liverpool’s position remains firm, with…

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that worries over the state of the pitch in Tampa will not affect his selection for the friendly against New Zealand. The playing surface at the Raymond James Stadium, home of NFL side Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was reportedly laid just a week ago as a temporary grass pitch. Several World Cup venues across the United States have had grass pitches relaid to replace artificial surfaces ahead of the tournament beginning on 11 June. Football Association ground staff are understood to be in contact with the stadium over the condition of the surface, which…

Blackburn Rovers have appointed Tony Mowbray as their new head coach, with the 62-year-old returning to Ewood Park for a second spell in charge. Mowbray previously spent more than five years managing Rovers between 2017 and 2022, establishing himself as one of the most respected figures in the club’s recent history. He replaces Michael O’Neill, who decided not to take the job on a permanent basis after serving in an interim capacity during the second half of last season. When Mowbray first arrived at Ewood Park in February 2017, he was unable to prevent Rovers from dropping into League One,…

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has promised to make the biggest transfer in the club’s history if he wins Sunday’s presidential election. Perez told Spanish TV show Horizonte he plans to make an offer of “at least around 150m” euros for an attacking midfielder from a major Champions League club. The 79-year-old was keen to manage expectations, ruling out several high-profile names already linked with a potential move to the Bernabeu. “Olise is a great player but it’s not Olise,” Perez said, also confirming that Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland were not his intended targets. Perez added that…

Graham Potter described Sweden’s dramatic World Cup qualification as the best night of his coaching career after Viktor Gyokeres scored a stunning 88th-minute winner against Poland. The 3-2 play-off victory in front of 50,000 fans at Stockholm’s Strawberry Arena in March sent Sweden to their first World Cup since 2018 in extraordinary fashion. Potter, 51, had endured painful spells at Chelsea and West Ham before taking the Sweden job, and the qualification felt like a significant personal redemption. “It hurt. They are painful experiences,” he admitted, reflecting on those difficult chapters in his managerial career. “I have lived failure. I’ve…

Vinicius Junior arrives at the 2026 World Cup as one of football’s most decorated club players, yet his relationship with the Brazilian national team remains uniquely complicated. Despite being the Brazil player with the most goal involvements in this World Cup cycle, his numbers read just seven goals and six assists across 28 matches. Carlo Ancelotti, the Brazil manager, acknowledged the situation ahead of a friendly against Panama in late May, addressing the question of the nation’s leading figure with characteristic subtlety. “People sometimes say Brazil don’t have a star right now. Maybe that’s true,” Ancelotti said, adding that a…

Khaldoon Al Mubarak has revealed that Pep Guardiola threatened to quit Manchester City “100 times” during his decade in charge before the chairman finally believed him. The 55-year-old Guardiola stepped down at the end of this season after leading City to 17 major trophies, including six Premier League titles and a Champions League victory. Guardiola had one year remaining on his contract but told his final news conference that the club needed a “new manager” and “new energy” to move forward. Speaking in his annual interview with in-house media, Khaldoon explained why this resignation felt different from all the previous…

Switzerland forward Breel Embolo has been granted approval to travel to the United States ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Embolo had not travelled with his Swiss team-mates on Tuesday after his Esta authorisation was placed under review by US authorities. An Esta is an automated system that determines whether an international visitor is eligible to enter the United States without a traditional visa. The Switzerland football federation confirmed the positive outcome in an official statement released following a period of uncertainty for the player. “We have just been informed that Breel Embolo’s visa has been approved,” the statement read,…

Northern Ireland’s 1-0 win over Guinea in La Linea may not have been the headline fixture of their international window, but it carried significant meaning. Played under the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar in front of just 300 fans, the match underlined the clear direction Michael O’Neill’s side are travelling. Northern Ireland set a new record for their youngest starting XI since the end of World War Two, surpassing the mark set against Luxembourg in November 2024. The team fielded against Guinea had an average starting age of just 22.1, with O’Neill’s emerging generation given another opportunity to stake…