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Swing down, sweet chariot, stop and let me ride, Swansea have a new, familiar friend.

Reaction to that Germany defeat via goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, via Reuters. Germany lost 4-1 to Sweden on Saturday.

Timekeeping used to be an issue for the Frenchman but now his rapid pressing is pushing him towards a Ballon d’Or

Ousmane Dembélé is right behind you and way ahead of everyone, which is just where Luis Enrique always imagined him. At the end of Paris Saint-Germain’s destruction of Real Madrid in the semi-final of the Club World Cup in New Jersey this week, the coach declared his No 10 the season’s best player “by far”; not so much for the 35 goals and 16 assists but for something more simple. So simple it has taken a decade to do. But then Didier Deschamps, his national team manager with France, did say that being late is “a little habit of his”.

Well, it was. If there is a portrait that defines the PSG team potentially 90 minutes from winning it all, an image that embodies them and Dembélé’s transformation, it may be that shot of him poised, coiled, at the edge of Inter’s area in the Champions League final. Toes on the line, his eyes narrow and fixed on Yann Sommer like a leopard ready to pounce, a sprinter listening for the gun. It is a scene repeated relentlessly, opponents made prey, Wednesday at the MetLife another episode. “I told him he was pressing a lot; he told me he has to,” Madrid’s keeper, Thibaut Courtois, said. “I get half a second to think.”

It was a fixture that had promised a show and it delivered. Sweden embarrassed Germany after Carlotta Wamser’s bizarre handball save reduced Christian Wück’s side to 10 players and handed them a two-goal deficit that would grow to three.

Jule Brand had put Germany ahead early on before Stina Blackstenius levelled and the teenage full-back Smilla Holmberg gave Sweden the lead. Then came Wamser’s incomprehensible save with her hands to deny Fridolina Rolfö, who converted the resulting spot-kick before Lina Hurtig scored Sweden’s fourth late on.

• Carroll makes surprise move to non-league club

• Dagenham announce takeover by Qatari investors

Andy Carroll will play sixth-tier football next season after signing for the National League South side Dagenham & Redbridge on a free transfer.

The former Newcastle, West Ham and Liverpool striker, 36, who became a free agent after leaving Bordeaux this summer, has reportedly taken a minority stake in the club as part of a Qatari-led takeover, and will be managed by the former Manchester City striker Lee Bradbury.

Ballon d’Or winner becomes the latest veteran, after Kevin De Bruyne, to be pulled in by Italian game’s leisurely pace of life

Luka Modric will turn 40 in September. He has played 930 games over the course of a career and has won seven league titles and six Champions Leagues. He even broke the Messi-Ronaldo duopoly to claim the Ballon d’Or after inspiring Croatia to the World Cup final in 2018.

He rarely lasts a full 90 minutes these days, didn’t start a game during the Club World Cup and suffered the indignity of coming on for his Madrid farewell with the semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain long since lost. He could have retired five years ago and still been one of the most respected players in the history of the game but, his eyes on next summer’s World Cup, when his contract at Real Madrid expired Modric chose to join Milan.

Despite objections from the Premier League, a regulator tasked with protecting the whole of the sport has moved a significant step closer to reality

It seems like a lifetime ago that the fan-led review into football governance emerged from the wreckage of the failed European Super League. The ideas that underpin the independent regulator were born out of that crisis: an attempt to stop the drift of our national game toward private greed, corporate overreach and ownership disconnect from local communities. Years later, we are probably on the verge of finally seeing those ideas enshrined in law.

Tuesday’s resounding 415 to 98 vote on the football governance bill. in the House of Commons means the process should come to a resolution with royal assent in the coming days. Although that may feel inevitable given the overwhelming cross-party support in the Commons, anyone who has worked in politics knows better than to celebrate before the final whistle. But we are, at last, in what looks like the final minutes of the game.

• Angharad James says the pressure is all on England

• Wales need four-goal win to have any hope of progress

The Wales captain, Angharad James, says it is in the players’ blood and DNA to want to knock England out of Euro 2025 as the sides prepare to meet in Sunday’s final Group D fixture.

England know victory would guarantee progress to the knockout stages and could go through without winning. Wales must win by at least a four-goal margin to have any hope of reaching the quarter-finals and need the Netherlands to lose to France.

FA Cup winners feel hard done by after being banned from Europa League due to a breach of multi-club ownership rules

As an emotional Steve Parish said, it felt like “winning the lottery and going to the counter and you don’t get the prize”. Confirmation from Uefa on Friday of Crystal Palace’s demotion from the Europa League to Conference League had been expected since European football’s governing body delayed its decision to await the outcome of Lyon’s appeal against being relegated to Ligue 2.

That did not make it any easier for Parish, who has proudly overseen Palace’s rise from the brink of extinction in 2010 to a first major trophy. When the final whistle blew at Wembley to seal Palace’s FA Cup final victory against Manchester City eight weeks ago, Parish was greeted by a massive bear hug from John Textor, who at that stage was Palace’s largest shareholder, but had spectacularly fallen out with the chair over not being allowed more of an influence.

Netherlands manager prepares for what could be his final game as he takes on a coach whose bold choices have led to Les Bleues leading Group D

Convention plays a big part in football. There’s the convention that settled starting XIs help winning teams build momentum, the convention that experience really matters at major tournaments and, perhaps above all, the convention that head coaches are best off saying nothing remotely controversial.

The good news from Basel is that, in Andries Jonker and Laurent Bonadei, the Netherlands and France possess two managers who pour scorn on unwritten norms and treat received wisdoms with suspicion.

Win over the Netherlands shows Sarina Wiegman has kept spirits high in the Lionesses’ camp as decisive matches loom

England are back on track. They really needed that display against the Netherlands and it was a pivotal moment for them. It was a very, very commanding performance.

Physically, they showed their dominance and exposed the Netherlands’ weaknesses at the back. With Lauren James, in what I think is her best position, playing from the right and being able to drift in, you can maintain your midfield structure. Her performance showed why Sarina Wiegman has selected her and the team performance showed why she stuck with the group that she did.

Arne Slot’s squad face an emotional afternoon at Preston on Sunday but believe it is better to start again at Deepdale than on tour in Hong Kong

Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and André Silva has continued to grow this week along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston on Sunday, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The Premier League champions intend to honour their teammate in the best way they know how.

It will be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale for what is certain to be a hugely emotional occasion, and less than two days since the club retired Jota’s No 20 shirt. There was no pressure on Liverpool to honour a friendly that could have been cancelled easily – unlike their commitment to a tour of Hong Kong and Japan at the end of the month – but at no point was that option relayed to Preston.

With the Lions’ final warm-up too, it’s another action-packed weekend of live writing and fine reporting

Online abuse of striker exposed as specious as selfless displays make her key to Lionesses’ success

Dare mention Alessia Russo was a good pick for player of the match after her three assists against the Netherlands, without an afterword on Lauren James also being superb or highlighting the performances of Jess Carter or Hannah Hampton or any of the others in an all-around strong showing, and you will be accused of being influenced by PRusso.

The not-so-witty merging of PR and the player’s name has become an insult online, used to denigrate anyone who suggests that Russo may be quite a good player. Your opinion cannot possibly be right; it’s Russo’s good PR team that has led you to believe that she is good. You have been influenced, you are a sheep, you have been blinded by the shiny Adidas adverts and the magazine cover shoots. Open your eyes, they scream into the online abyss, Russo is an average player, someone else was better, anyone else was better.

Poland bowed out of Euro 2025 with their first victory at a major tournament

The players are out and the anthems are in full swing, just a few moments until kick-off.

Ben Mock has emailed:

Denmark and Poland both have some top-notch cheeses. My personal favorites are Fynbo and Maribo from Denmark and Oscypek from Poland. Poland is also great for meats (Kielbasa and Kabanos are personal highlights!)

Hope to see a better showing from Denmark today, disappointed with them this entire tournament. And of course, rooting for Poland to avoid becoming the first-ever team not to score at their debut Euros!

Young Chelsea striker is mixing first experience of tournament football with photography hobby and family time in effort to stay focused

Aggie Beever-Jones doesn’t have much tournament experience. The England striker missed out on the 2020 under-17 Euros owing to Covid cancellations and featured at only the under-19s Euros in 2022, where she scored twice in the group stage against Norway, before arriving at Euro 2025.

By the time a player breaks into the senior side they usually have several tournaments under their belt but Covid means Beever-Jones is a part of the generation of young players coming through that lost out.

Get to know every single squad member at the tournament. Click on the player pictures for a full profile and ratings

All the latest Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A deals and a club-by-club guide

• Women’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves

Every deal in the NWSL, WSL, Liga F, Frauen-Bundesliga, Première Ligue and Serie A Femminile as well as a club-by-club guide

• Men’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves

• Infantino acts after player welfare fears at Club World Cup

• ‘Heat is definitely an issue. We have covered stadiums’

Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has said indoor air-conditioned venues will be used as much as possible for day-time kick-offs at the 2026 World Cup to combat expected high temperatures. Concerns have been raised about player welfare during the Club World Cup in the US, which will co-host next year’s tournament with Canada and Mexico.

Enzo Fernández described conditions during Chelsea’s semi-final against Fluminense, when the temperature was 35C, as “very dangerous”.

• Striker facing fine after missing squad trip to Algarve

• Sporting have no intention of relenting over sale price

Viktor Gyökeres faces disciplinary action from Sporting after he missed his deadline to report for pre-season training. The striker, who wants a move to Arsenal, had been asked to join the rest of the squad by 5pm local time on Saturday.

Gyökeres’s absence was not entirely unexpected, the Sweden international having informed the club of his intention not to return for the new campaign. There is a faint hope at Sporting that a deal with Arsenal could be finalised this weekend.

• Former Manchester United coach getting ‘fitter and fitter’

• He is open to offers to from top-tier national team

The former Netherlands and Manchester United coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.

The 73-year-old told an interviewer three years ago that he had prostate cancer, but on Friday told the same Dutch television talk show: “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.” When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Netherlands and he has not worked since the last World Cup, in Qatar in 2022.

• Forest also preparing complaint to Premier League

• Spurs alleged to have made illegal approach for player

Morgan Gibbs-White’s expected £60m move to Tottenham is on hold because Nottingham Forest are considering legal action over an alleged illegal approach for the player.

Forest are also preparing a complaint to the Premier League, arguing that Spurs’ conduct surrounding the proposed transfer has been inappropriate. It had been expected that Gibbs-White would have a medical on Friday before completing the move.

• Paris Saint-Germain coach cautious of difficult game against Chelsea

• ‘I have been better when I lost,’ Enrique says

There is just one game left in the season in which Paris Saint-Germain finally won the first Champions League in their history to complete a historic treble and that game is the Club World Cup final, but Luis Enrique says it has not been his best. He was better, he claims, when he lost. Besides, the PSG coach said, Manchester City remain the best team around and his side must face a Chelsea team he likened to his own which can still deny them the perfect campaign and have a manager he “loves”.

“The Champions League was our first and it was very important: that was our main objective when we came to Paris last year,” Enrique said. “And on Sunday we have the chance, with the last game of the season, to win another one, with the Club World Cup. But it is important that we are conscious of the difficulty of the game. [Enzo] Maresca is a coach I love. I love the way he has of playing with the ball. They have a lot of good individual platers but they also have a real sense of duty. They are a bit like our team. They are physically strong too. It will be a very even game and a very difficult one.

Once the glitziest name in US soccer, the Cosmos are back in Paterson, New Jersey, with a historic stadium, a grassroots ethos and ambitions to build a real club from the ground up

There’s a new New York Cosmos in town – in the town of Paterson, New Jersey, to be precise. One of the most storied names in American soccer has hit the reset button, finding a new league, a new city and a refreshed, community-first approach.

While many high-profile new teams in US sports are parachuted in at the top of their league’s hierarchy, this Cosmos revival feels different – some of that by design, some by necessity. Thursday’s announcement at the newly restored Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson offered longtime fans and curious onlookers a glimpse into this fresh direction, and the reasons behind it.

Club World Cup final features two youth-driven teams but Enzo Maresca’s side believe they can hurt favourites

Chelsea have already made more than £80m from their Club World Cup adventure but they can achieve something priceless against Paris Saint-Germain. This goes beyond gaudy gold badges and money in the bank. The season with no end is almost over, the final of the tournament that nobody asked for is here and while Chelsea have no intention of getting carried away if they triumph in New Jersey on Sunday it is also the case that there would be no better way to demonstrate that they are on to something with their youth-driven project than by beating Luis Enrique’s awesome PSG.

Easier said than done, of course. One school of thought is that Chelsea will have done well if they leave MetLife Stadium with their dignity intact. Premier League opponents hold no fears for PSG, whose path to Champions League glory was paved by wins over Manchester City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal, while they were in terrifying form against Real Madrid on Wednesday. It finished 4-0, but it could have been 10; PSG really were that good and the reality is there will only be one outcome if they hit those heights again.

All 20 teams are jetting around between league seasons, including for friendlies, training camps and the Club World Cup

After a training camp in Spain the Gunners head to Asia, kicking off their tour with a friendly against Milan in Singapore. They play again at the National Stadium four days later, against Newcastle, then face Spurs in Hong Kong. Two friendlies follow at the Emirates Stadium, against Villarreal and Athletic Club.

Both countries had major question marks a year from kickoff, but South Korea turned those into one of the most memorable tourney runs ever

If there has been some criticism of Mauricio Pochettino almost a year out from the 2026 World Cup, Guus Hiddink could have said the same – and more – in the summer of 2001, when he was on the receiving end of thrashings and a new, unflattering, nickname.

A year and five days before South Korea started their campaign on home soil, the Dutchman was in charge as they lost 5-0 at home to France. The same scoreline happened again, a few weeks later, against the Czech Republic. A suddenly doubtful media dubbed the former Real Madrid boss ‘Oh Dae-yong,’ a Korean-sounding name that translates as ‘5-0’.

Donald Trump is closing the borders even though the World Cup and 2028 Olympics will take place in the US

Call it big, beautiful timing. On Tuesday, Fifa announced it had taken an office in Trump Tower. On Wednesday, Donald Trump announced he would attend the Club World Cup final. And who could begrudge the US president a little sporting entertainment after the week he has had? Those Nobel peace prize applications don’t write themselves.

Trump’s attendance at a tournament we can be 95% sure he doesn’t understand is, doubtless, a huge coup and political victory for football. This is a sport that only a decade ago was openly considered un-American, scrawled into the rightwing commentator’s list of pet peeves between meteorologists and Judy Blume. Ann Coulter described soccer’s growing popularity as a “sign of the nation’s moral decay”. Glenn Beck likened it to Obamacare: “It doesn’t matter how you try to sell it to us, it doesn’t matter how many celebrities you get … we want nothing to do with it.”

New manager faces tough questions before next season, with the biggest just how to find the right fit for superstar striker Kylian Mbappé

This is the end. For Real Madrid, the best thing that could be said about their last game of the 2024-2025 season was that it was their last game of the 2024-2025 season. So in the makeshift marquee set up by the MetLife Stadium, Xabi Alonso said exactly that, and repeatedly. He had watched his team, who aren’t entirely his team yet, be taken apart by Paris Saint-Germain; now he wanted to get home and “reset”, forget about it. Well, not forget exactly: the hurt might help, lessons learned. “I want this to have an impact but not drag us down,” he said. “In August we start 2025-26, which will be different.”

The way they fell was familiar, back to their recent past, their reality. “We suffered the way others have suffered against them,” Alonso said, and that was true, but it is not only PSG; it is Madrid too. This was their 68th game of the season and their 15th loss. They won only the Uefa Super Cup, a world away now, and the Intercontinental Cup against Pachuca in Qatar. In the league, Barcelona beat them twice, scoring four each time. In the cup, Barcelona put three past them; in the Super Cup, five. Arsenal scored three in the Champions League. PSG stopped at four because they didn’t need more.

• Footballer revealed details in social media post

• Test failure after match against Manchester United

Athletic Bilbao’s Yeray Álvarez has been provisionally suspended because of a failed doping test after a Europa League game against Manchester United, with the defender saying he unintentionally ingested a banned substance in medicine used to treat hair loss.

Álvarez said he had tested positive after Bilbao’s 3-0 home defeat in the semi-finals of Uefa’s second-tier club competition in May. The Spanish side also lost the return leg 4-1.

Announcement disappoints her legions of fans who hoped she might one day retake the field

US international and two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath announced her retirement on Thursday, after years away from the sport due to injury, disappointing her legions of fans who hoped she might one day retake the field.

Famed for her cool demeanour and extraordinary intelligence on the pitch, Heath picked up two Olympic golds and won the NWSL championship twice with the Portland Thorns.

• Former Real manager will not spend any time in jail

• Ancelotti convicted of failing to pay tax on image rights

The Brazil coach and former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has been given a one-year prison sentence and a fine of almost €400,000 (£345,000) after a Spanish court found him guilty of one count of tax fraud.

Ancelotti, who managed Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015 and between 2021 and 2025, appeared in court in Madrid in April to stand trial on charges of defrauding Spain’s tax office of more than €1m (£836,857) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.

The US lost a final but gained competitive options at multiple positions, which should make some entrenched yet absent stars nervous.

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In the end, the status quo went unchanged. Mexico won its second consecutive Concacaf Gold Cup trophy in a heated final with the United States in Houston’s NRG Stadium on Sunday. The oddly angular cup will be tucked into Mexico’s federation trophy case next to El Tri’s first Concacaf Nations League title, lifted in March. The program was unquestionably on top of Concacaf before the Gold Cup – now that it’s over, they still are.

If anything is changing, it’s the momentum in Mexico’s favor. The 2-1 victory over the United States men’s national team was the first time the Mexicans vanquished their arch-rivals in six years – minus one day.

Unexpectedly cheap tickets gave my boy an overwhelming soccer experience, and me a jolt of faith in a flawed tournament

My son had never been to a professional soccer game.

Soccer is, shall we say, not really his thing. It’s also never been particularly important to me that he likes soccer, that he likes what I like. Our sons will be their own men, come what may.

PSG’s Club World Cup demolition was further proof that perhaps Real Madrid signed the wrong French forward

The first drinks break was unplanned. It came six minutes ahead of schedule, but Real Madrid were grateful for the respite. They wandered to the touchline, dazed and confused, and reached for the water bottles. They looked to Xabi Alonso and hoped for answers. After 24 minutes of being pummelled by Paris Saint-Germain, though, the thought occurred that the players in white would have been better off asking for smelling salts.

It is never a good sign when the emergency team talk takes place with more than an hour left. PSG had just stormed into a 3-0 lead, Fabián Ruiz scoring his second after a stunning combination between the exceptional Ousmane Dembélé and the flying Achraf Hakimi on the right, and to be honest the scoreline felt kind on Madrid. The New Jersey sun was beating down but PSG were merciless. Lads, it’s 33C. Any chance of slowing down?

With only 16 players in the squad after contracts and loans ended, reliance on temporary measures beckons again

The vast scale of the overhaul required at Everton this summer had David Moyes worried. The start of pre-season has indicated why. The squad that reported on Sunday for a training camp in St Andrews contained 15 senior players in its ranks and numerous holes to fill. Progress is being made behind the scenes to repair the damage of the Farhad Moshiri years, but there is no easy fix.

Everton’s senior contingent will rise to 16 now that Idrissa Gueye has followed Michael Keane in signing a new contract, a week after becoming a free agent. Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, laments having 32 senior players on the books at Manchester City and could afford to omit Jack Grealish from his 27-man squad for the Club World Cup. There is no level playing field in the Premier League.

Spurs signing Klinsmann or selling Waddle were bolts from the blue. Now, transfer influencers track private jets and almost nothing is unknown

Which transfer fee blew your mind? It was probably Spurs signing Gazza for £2m in the summer of 1988. TWO MILLION. No one is worth that kind of money. The following year, I distinctly remember running into the living room – Spurs had just signed Gary Lineker. I was preparing for the season ahead, invisible football at my feet, commentating to myself: “Gascoigne, to Waddle, in for LINEKERRRR.” The next moment I switched on the TV and someone (let’s say Ray Stubbs) was telling me that Spurs had sold Waddle to Marseille. I was bereft. There was no warning. For me, or for Lineker it turns out.

I heard the striker talking about the transfer recently on the excellent What Did You Do Yesterday? podcast hosted by David O’Doherty and generic broadcaster Max Rushden (perhaps the second-best podcast he hosts).

Our cartoonist on the opening matches at the Women’s Euros and tributes to Diogo Jota

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Shakhtar Donetsk coach on staying calm on the touchline and learning from Diego Simeone and Luis Enrique

Arda Turan knows the question is coming. How has the firebrand who thrilled and exasperated during a successful, sometimes wildly controversial, playing career become a manager with the temperament to take on one of Europe’s most delicate jobs? It comes down to taking a breath. “When there is something going on, right now the first thing that comes into my mind is thinking rather than reacting,” he says with a grin.

There will be plenty to occupy that fizzing brain at Shakhtar Donetsk, where he was appointed head coach in May. His competitive debut comes on Thursday, against the Finnish side Ilves, but it is a Europa League first qualifying round tie and the Ukrainian giants are not used to that stage. This is only their second year since the turn of the century without any form of Champions League football and they have rolled the dice by asking one of Turkey’s greatest ever footballers to set them straight.

Under the guidance of a former Manchester United assistant, Minnesota United are finding MLS success with a surprising tactic

Not many soccer players are as passionate about dead balls as Anthony Markanich. Then again Minnesota United, under the 33-year-old first-time head coach Eric Ramsay, don’t play soccer like most teams.

“All the guys get really excited about set pieces, especially myself,” Markanich gushed last Friday after scoring a goal off a long throw-in by the center back Michael Boxall for the second time in a week. “I told Boxy I love when he has the ball for throw-ins and stuff – I get so excited about that.”

Midfielder has shown with Real Sociedad and Spain that he combines calm and control with a capacity to tackle

The way Martín Zubimendi remembers it, the day he was given the chance to be a ballboy for Real Sociedad against Manchester United he was more nervous than when he had to play. Standing at the side of the pitch, he found himself transfixed, the game flying by. So transfixed, in fact, that he forgot it was his job to pass the ball to the players and at one point Claudio Bravo, in goal that night at Anoeta, had to come over and take it off him because he was standing there watching. It was the first time it had happened to him; it would also be the last.

If there is anything that defines Arsenal’s new midfielder, it is that he is so calm, so in control. “He oozes assuredness from every pore,” says the Spain coach, Luis de la Fuente. “He doesn’t get nervous walking a tightrope with no safety net.” When he’s out there, games don’t just go by; they usually go where he wants them to. And as for passes, what he forgot to do that night defines him now: there were 1,752 of them in La Liga last season. No midfielder outside Real Madrid or Barcelona played more.

His loved ones’ lives are changed for ever and at one level this is not a sports story. But Jota’s footballing talent, heart and will should be cherished, amid the grief

Bad moon, bad times and a river that will be overflowing for some time yet. It is impossible not to feel a deep sense of pain, sadness and shared heartbreak at news of the sudden death of Diogo Jota and his brother André Silva in a car crash in Spain. Jota was 28, father to three young children and a husband to his long-term partner, whom he married 11 days before his death.

Things that happen in sport are often described, with due dramatic licence, as tragedies. This is not a sports story. But it is the most terrible human tragedy. Those who have suffered similarly can empathise. But it is above all a private horror, an event that will alter the lives of family and friends for ever.

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The inaugural Copa Gianni jamboree reaches its end game on Sunday as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, two lavishly-backed super clubs based a short Eurostar trip apart, battle to be kings of the global game. PSG have undermined their rivals’ complaints about packed schedules and player fatigue by flying in after Bigger Cup final and destroying better-rested teams. Chelsea, meanwhile, have benefited from a tournament that allows you to simply buy more players as you go – including those on opposing teams – in order to freshen things up. Whatever happens, football will be the winner, but has Copa Gianni been any good?

It is great to see and it’s proof that women’s footballers are great, and that is the way that game is going, so long may that continue” – England’s Lauren Hemp weighs in on the news that Arsenal will make Canada forward Olivia Smith the first £1m signing in the women’s game, as revealed in a Big Website exclusive on Thursday.

Montse Tomé’s side have scored 11 goals in two games with Aitana Bonmatí on the bench – but all is not lost for rivals

One week of Euro 2025 has passed and already there is unquestionably a frontrunner. Spain with their glittering array of talent have already shown the levels that they can reach in their opening two matches.

Even though two-time Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmatí is yet to return to the starting XI after suffering from a brief bout of viral meningitis, they have caught the eye with their goalscoring prowess and command of the ball. In among the goals and dominant play, however, are there some gaps in the armour that can be exploited?

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When Real Madrid refused en masse to turn up for last year’s Ballon d’Or ceremony because they knew their man on the shortlist hadn’t won the main award, their snub was widely and correctly perceived to have been an act of the most extreme petulance. And while their players and coaching staff did deign to attend last night’s Copa Gianni semi-final at the MetLife EnormoDome, they certainly didn’t turn up in any meaningful sense of the word and were duly humiliated by Paris Saint-Germain, the Bigger Cup holders Kylian Mbappé famously abandoned last summer to pursue his dream of … winning Bigger Cup. Subjected to the footballing equivalent of being attacked by a swarm of angry bees, Real simply had no answers for PSG’s terrifyingly energetic onslaught across 90 minutes.

Chelsea did offer me another contract, but I decided to go to Aston Villa because they were in the Championship. And I had an agreement with Villa that if we got promoted that year – we lost in the playoff final to Fulham – that I wouldn’t play against Chelsea the following year in the Premier League. So the two games I would have missed the next year would have been Chelsea, it just wouldn’t have felt right” – Plain Old John Terry tells TalkSport that his Aston Villa contract included a ‘won’t play against Chelsea’ clause.

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Fifa has long promised to grow the game in the USA USA USA, and what better place to do that than by opening a new office at the original venue of the 1991 Rumblelows League Cup fifth-round draw, Trump Tower in New York City. With its former leader recently involved in (and acquitted from) a corruption case, and accusations of the current president pursuing “private interests” over his responsibilities, what better place for Fifa to shake off the image as a cash-chasing, power-hungry behemoth than in the actual residence of the current USA president?

If it’s not a nice moment for Beth, it’s not a problem for me. Tomorrow for once we will not be friends. I will do everything I can to win tomorrow. Our golden rule is we do not discuss anything [pre-match]. I don’t know whether she’ll be starting tomorrow or whether she’ll be on the bench. As a Dutch player I will do everything possible to win the game” – Vivianne Miedema has insisted she will “not be friends” with her partner Beth Mead as the two face off for England’s critical Euro 2025 game against the Netherlands.

Today’s guff has attacking flair

Bayern Munich clearly had the hump when Florian Wirtz was lured to Liverpool rather than Bavaria. So after missing out on the former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker, are they trying to exact a spot of revenge by snatching Luis Díaz from the Reds? Latest reports from Germany suggest Bayern have upped their efforts with a £52m offer for the 28-year-old, and that new talks have taken place between Díaz’s representatives and Bayern Munich’s director of sport, Max Eberl.

Liverpool aren’t having any of it, hinting they would consider letting the Colombian go only if a significant offer arrived; £52m doesn’t fall into that category. The player himself has suggested he is open to an “exciting offer” but that may just be to improve his contract at Anfield. And that’s rather a sticking point: scroll down the list of Liverpool players’ wages and he’s surprisingly low but there appears to be no sign of an increase on the table.

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Football Daily would prefer not to have to think about Copa Gianni at all but we have a certain professional obligation to do so and have never knowingly been found shirking in the face of our responsibilities. To keep things simple, we prefer to view the tournament as a stand-alone competition that’s taking place between the end of the last season and the beginning of the next one, but the fact that it’s being contested by clubs instead of countries leaves plenty of room for debate. Watching Kingsley Coman “sprint” on to a through-ball from Harry Kane during Bayern Munich’s defeat by PSG as if he was running in knee-deep wet cement, we were presented with the sight of a player in next season’s kit who was quite clearly exhausted by the exertions of the one that may or may not have ended before the tournament in which he was playing started. Does the goal he didn’t score go down in the official xG column of last season, next season, or neither?

There’s me being able to walk down the stairs after I’ve played 90 minutes of football, there’s me in the future when I have children being able to walk around properly, being able to bend down and pick up toys, there’s me being able to do normal life things like put on socks without being in pain and, for the first time in a long time, I genuinely didn’t think about the response of the public because that just wasn’t a priority” – Millie Bright reveals how she is feeling better in her mind after taking the decision to miss Euro 2025 and prioritise her recovery from a knee injury.

Sometimes Mauricio Pochettino wants it to be a penalty, sometimes he doesn’t. There’s just no pleasing some people. Extra moaning points for Poch insinuating that the officials were swayed by the pro-Mexico crowd for a game that USA USA USA were playing at home. P.S. A doff of the cap to Mexico for that uber cool black and gold kit …” – Noble Francis.

With a tip of the cap to The Usual Suspects … the greatest trick Infantino ever pulled was turning me into a Chelsea fan for two hours rooting against Infantino’s home team making the finals” – Harry Webb.

I can’t have been your only reader who paused between Friday’s tea time email and big website’s MBM coverage of the Jurassic reunion opening gig, to turn the dial of my retro digital transistors to the political satirical radio broadcast, Deadringers. I – and what I suspect to be 1,056 others – nearly choked on my fermented tofu when I heard a repeat of your dinosaur banter about the aforementioned group of monobrows. I assume the requisite phone calls were made – i.e. your people calling their people, etc – and payment made (four pack of budget Tin) before Tom Baker’s closing remarks” – Nicholas Tipple.

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Plus: more non top-flight teams playing in Europe, alumni of semi-finalists and England captains in one team

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“The Lionesses will be out of Euro 2025 after two games if they lose to the Netherlands on Wednesday and France avoid defeat against Wales,” laments Sarah Cassidy. “Would that be the earliest a defending champion has been eliminated at a major international tournament?”

In a less deathly group, England’s 2-1 defeat by France on Saturday would have been a wake-up call rather than a final warning. But that’s what it was, and if England lose to the Netherlands their title defence will probably be over after two games. Even a draw would leave them needing favours from other teams.

Plus: top scorers for two clubs in one season, very old under-21 players and much more

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Has a team won the Champions League without beating any reigning champions?” asks Paddy French. “And if not, which teams have beaten the fewest champions to win it? And which teams have beaten the most champions in winning the Champions League/European Cup?”

Let’s just clarify that Paddy is referring to reigning league champions, here, not reigning European champions, to which we had a few answers. Even in an era in which many Champions League teams are also-rans from the big leagues around Europe, the answer to the first question is no.

Best players, best managers, best matches, best goals, biggest flops and biggest gripes: our writers have their say

Mohamed Salah. The numbers don’t lie – 47 goal contributions in the Premier League was an outstanding return from the Egyptian, who seems to be getting better with age. Ed Aarons

Arne Slot’s first season could not have gone any better while Wolves fans drank to Vítor Pereira’s arrival

By winning the league, the Dutchman surprised pretty much everyone. He faced the daunting task of succeeding Jürgen Klopp and inherited the German’s squad, adding only Federico Chiesa, who barely kicked a ball in anger. Not much changed from the previous year, except Ryan Gravenberch became the designated defensive midfielder as Slot’s Liverpool looked to get on the ball as much as possible. Slot was never going to be a personality who generated headlines like Klopp did, keeping his cards close to his chest, but he always comes across as someone who is very personable and has brought the players closer together. Slot made Liverpool an efficient winning machine – rarely thrashing teams, often winning by the odd goal or two – and that allowed them to race to a second Premier League title. No one could compete with the Reds, which was partly down to rivals dropping their standards but most of it can be attributed to the fact Slot made his team superior.

Managers, teams and players who have disappointed over the campaign – including the reigning footballer of the year

Ruben Amorim’s average points tally of a point per league game since arriving at Manchester United in early November puts him just above Malky Mackay’s record at Cardiff and Paul Jewell’s Premier League record with Bradford, Wigan and Derby. While Sporting won the Primeira Liga title without Amorim, United have fallen down the table to 15th since the Portuguese took the reins from the interim coach, Ruud van Nistelrooy. Much of the ire towards United has been directed at the owners but on the pitch Amorim has failed to adapt his squad of expensive, experienced internationals into anything approaching a cohesive unit. The Europa League final defeat by Tottenham showed how much work is left to do.