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Jürgen Klopp and Cristiano Ronaldo led the tributes from across the football world to Diogo Jota after the Liverpool and Portugal forward was killed in a car accident in Spain. Jota’s brother, André, also died in the crash in the province of Zamora.

Jota was 28, a father of three young children and had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso, less than a fortnight ago. Klopp, who signed Jota for Liverpool in 2020 and managed him for four seasons, posted on Instagram: “This is a moment where I struggle! There must be a bigger purpose! But I can’t see it!

• Updates from Group B game in Sion; kick-off 5pm BST

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I have to say, the Stade Tourbillon is probably one of the most picturesque stadiums I think I’ve ever seen! The mountainous backdrop behind the ground is absolutely stunning. Anyway, onto the football now…

The teams are out! The national anthems are about to be sung. Kick-off is just a few moments away!

Midfielder’s suspension may mean shifting Fernández and risking raw talent in quarter-final against Palmeiras

Moisés Caicedo was still going strong. There were 108 minutes on the clock at the Bank of America Stadium – not taking into account the lengthy weather delay – when the Chelsea midfielder won possession in Benfica’s half, found Cole Palmer and surged forward.

Palmer advanced towards a back-pedalling, understaffed defence. He waited for support before finding the overlapping Caicedo. Benfica, tiring with 10 men, were defeated by Caicedo’s power. The 23-year-old shot, Anatoliy Trubin made a mess of his save and the ball squirmed loose to Christopher Nkunku to score the goal that sent Enzo Maresca’s side into the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.

Two-time Ballon d’Or winner is back with the squad, giving the favourites added momentum at the ideal time

If Spain required any form of pick-me-up before a summer that many assume will bathe them in gold, it came in the sight of Aitana Bonmatí appearing at their second training session in Switzerland. She tuned up on an exercise bike during the first part of Tuesday’s warm-up before later working with the ball.

If the sighs of relief were audible from Madrid, Barcelona and beyond, the Spanish football federation’s accompanying statement resembled a giant exhalation of its own. “With Aitana back, the entire group is now at their base camp in Lausanne, ready to take on the European dream,” it said.

Liverpool’s Diogo Jota has died in a car accident in Spain. It is devastating news and still hard to get our head around. Jota was 28, a father of three young children and married his long-term partner Rute Cardoso less than two weeks ago. His younger brother André Silva, a footballer for Penafiel, also died in the crash. It is an unimaginable loss for their friends and family to process and we hope they get all the support and love they need. At Anfield, where Jota was adored by Liverpool fans for his goalscoring instinct, pace and combative dribbling style, the club flag is at half-mast and scarves, shirts and other tributes bearing the forward’s name are still being left.

Real Madrid head coach likens unfettered midfielder to former Liverpool teammate after Club World Cup heroics

Fede Valverde once said that he could spend all day watching Steven Gerrard play; his coach sometimes feels like he still is, and no one is better placed to see it or make it so. Xabi Alonso had been in charge at Real Madrid for just two games when he said that the Uruguayan reminded him of his former partner in the Liverpool midfield. “ I haven’t seen many players with his physical performance,” he said. “I’m very happy to be coaching him. Every manager would like a Valverde on the team.”

Coming from Alonso, it was quite the compliment. There was always something special between him and the Liverpool captain. Gerrard described the Spaniard as “pure quality, a class act on the pitch and a gentlemen off it,” and was “devastated” at his departure, writing: “I missed you every day from the moment you left.” Alonso said that Gerrard was the better player, the man with whom he won the European Cup, scoring six minutes apart, and shared the Istanbul kiss that inspired endless fan fiction; the man he once called “my hero, my mate”.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Sam Dalling, Sanny Rudravajhala and Tom Garry for a transfer round-up and the latest from Euro 2025 in Switzerland

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On the podcast today: the panel run the rule over the most interesting stories from the transfer rumour mill. Eze to Arsenal, Kudus to Spurs, Romero to Atlético and, most surprisingly, Barry to Everton.

Today’s rumours are here for you

Last week it was Istanbul, this week it is Turin. Jadon Sancho’s next destination for employment is like an Interrail trip around our favourite city break destinations. According to Corriere dello Sport, Manchester United want £25m for the England winger, 25, and Juventus are interested. Helpfully, Sancho is said to be prepared to lower his wage demands in order to join the Old Lady.

Sancho’s departure will free up some cash to fund the potential signing of Ollie Watkins, because nothing says thought out transfer strategy like paying £60m for a 29-year-old striker due a big payday. Multiple back pages suggest that Jim Ratcliffe’s crew are intensifying their pursuit of Watkins, with Rasmus Højlund potentially returning to Italy.

Africa’s major women’s tournament starts in Morocco with Spain’s World Cup-winning coach under pressure to deliver

The historic task of one host staging Africa’s two major competitions this year, the women’s and men’s Africa Cup of Nations – Wafcon and Afcon – within six months of each other could really have been given to only one country: Morocco. It has arguably the best football facilities on the continent and has made itself the tournament-hosting sweet spot for the Confederation of African Football (Caf).

Three years ago a very successful Wafcon was staged there and the North African country then agreed to organise the next two tournaments, as no other nation on the continent offered to shoulder the responsibility. The 2025 edition kicks off on Saturday evening, with the hosts playing Zambia in the opening game.

This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.

The Liverpool and Portugal striker has died aged 28 in a car crash in Spain. We take a look at his illustrious career on the pitch

As the Lionesses prepare to defend their title at Euro 2025 we trace the manager’s tenure, including her dismay after a 10-0 win

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

Football’s reigning world champions – and favourites to win Euro 2025 – have become symbols of women’s fight for equality

For years, they battled on multiple fronts: pushing back against the misogyny, misconduct and mistreatment of their football federation while simultaneously seeking to be the best in the world.

The conflicts of Spain’s women’s team exploded into public view after they won the World Cup in 2023 – a historic triumph that was almost immediately overshadowed by an unwanted kiss on the lips from the country’s football chief.

There is no shortage of contenders but who will finish as the tournament’s top scorer in Switzerland?

The race to be stop scorer at the Women’s Euros 2025 in Switzerland is a fascinating one. Spain, the world champions, have several players who can top the list: Esther González, Clàudia Pina and Salma Paralluelo. The beaten finalists in Australia and New Zealand – England – count Alessia Russo as their main threat but also have Beth Mead, Chloe Kelly, Lauren James and Lauren Hemp who can chip in with goals.

Germany and France also have high hopes of going all the way this summer and have, among their ranks, Lea Schüller, Jule Brand, Klara Bühl, Marie-Antoinette Katoto, Sandy Baltimore and Kadidiatou Diani.

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

Our cartoonist has created a fixture planner so you can keep track of all the results. Print it out and fill it in

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Club World Cup upset may be a turning point in how football in the region is viewed by Europe’s elite

So it came to pass that the blue moon was eclipsed by the crescent and the world of football took on a slightly different hue. For the past couple of years, the Saudi Pro League had been dismissed as a destination for the old, greedy, unambitious or all three. On Tuesday, European football woke up to be faced with a new side of Saudi Arabian football as Al-Hilal celebrated a 4-3 win over Manchester City to go through to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup.

If a member of the European elite being turned over by a team that had previously been little-known on the world stage was what the competition needed then this was it.

The 18-year-old says it’s ‘very difficult’ to focus on Palmeiras as he knows his time with the club is coming to an end

Who would have thought ​that two Brazilian clubs would reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals? If Fluminense beat Al-Hilal in Orlando on Friday and Palmeiras get the better of Chelsea a few hours later in Philadelphia, one of them will make it to the final. Chelsea have already been embarrassed by one Brazilian side at the tournament – they were trounced 3-1 by Flamengo a fortnight ago in the group stage – but they are still favourites to beat Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.

The English side came out on top when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup three years ago, winning 2-1 thanks to a 117th-minute penalty converted by Kai Havertz. At that point, a young prodigy known as “Messinho”, or little Messi, was taking his first steps in the Palmeiras academy having joined from Cruzeiro. When the teams meet again on Friday night, Estêvão Willian will be the central focus. The 18-year-old is inextricably linked to both clubs, having turned professional at one before agreeing to join the other in a deal that could be worth up to £52m.

• Englishman leaving Norwegian club Brann

• WSL experience includes time at Manchester United

The English coach Martin Ho has signed a three-year deal as Tottenham Hotspur’s head coach until 2028, the Guardian understands. The 35-year-old had been in charge of the Norwegian club Brann’s women’s team for two years, since leaving his role as the assistant coach at Manchester United women in July 2023.

Ho is Spurs’s replacement for Robert Vilahamn, who was sacked in June after the club finished second from bottom in the WSL last term.

Finland secured their first victory at a Women’s European Championship in 16 years with a narrow win against 10-player Iceland. Katariina Kosola’s superb second-half strike proved enough after Hildur Antonsdóttir had seen red.

After all the buildup, the tournament finally got under way in the picturesque town of Thun. Sweltering under the heat of the Swiss summer, Iceland and Finland took to the field in the opening day’s early kick-off.

Defender aims to improve and grow successful culture with young squad during run to Club World Cup quarter-finals

Chelsea never won any popularity contests during the Roman Abramovich era. Calling them obnoxious is intended as a compliment. Infused with a champion spirit after appointing José Mourinho in 2004, Chelsea were renowned for their resilience and snarl, impossible to intimidate and more concerned with winning trophies than whether outsiders thought they were a great bunch of lads or liked their style of play.

Their mentality was unrivalled and lasted even after Mourinho left. Since Abramovich’s sale in 2022, though, Chelsea have gone down a very different road when it comes to building a dressing room culture. There are no ready-made talents arriving at Stamford Bridge and there have been plenty of times during the past three years when supporters have been left wondering why a team once marshalled by Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, John Terry, Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba were so lacking in character.

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

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“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.

Sculptors discuss their craft and the pressure of preserving a player’s likeness and legacy for generation of fans

By Nutmeg magazine

At its heart, football is about community. A feeling of shared identity and purpose. A place where supporters gather to watch their team. The games, goals and moments that live on in the club’s collective memory through a shared act of will. The people responsible for these defining moments – shrewd managers, inspiring captains, prolific goalscorers – are increasingly immortalised in statues.

A sculptor is enlisted to preserve their likeness in a single definitive pose. The subjects take on a size and form, literally larger than life, befitting the impact they had on the club and community that chooses to honour them. According to the Sporting Statues Project, which is run by Chris Stride and Ffion Thomas, there are more than 100 football statues in the UK. The vast majority have been made since the turn of the millennium and there are even more in progress. They have exploded in popularity, becoming the established means of commemoration.

With Olympic veterans sidelined and new faces stepping up, the US women’s national team looked dominant again this window – but questions remain in key positions

The US women’s national team have just wrapped up another successful window in an experimental year. After beating Ireland 4–0 in back-to-back friendlies, they defeated an experienced Canada side 3–0 in Washington, bringing their 2025 record to 8-0-2 while continuing to field youthful lineups full of emerging talent.

Emma Hayes’ return to Audi Field came nearly one year to the day since they drew 0–0 with Costa Rica in their final tune-up before going on to win Olympic gold in Paris. Since then, the four-time world champions have turned their focus to the 2027 World Cup. Hayes has worked diligently to build the depth and cohesion needed to challenge for the title.

After years of drift and false starts, the US men’s team is carving out identity and intensity under their new coach – just in time for a home World Cup

There is something cosmically funny about all of this. Late last summer, the United States men’s national team went out and hired the most qualified manager it could find. The one with the most impressive coaching resume by far of anyone US Soccer had ever employed on the men’s side. The most expensive, certainly. By a multiple. The man brought in to arrest the tailspin the USMNT had slowly slipped into after the 2022 World Cup. To finally unlock that elusive next level. To help a golden generation, or at least a shiny one, come good at last. To salvage something, anything, from a World Cup played mostly on home soil a year from now. Not to squander it all.

And what should Mauricio Pochettino add to the US national team’s brew of aptitudes and attitudes but pluck and grit? The very same underdog mentality, the ferocity and fitness, that had once taken the US from global laughingstocks to merely unembarrassing and then to internationally competitiveness.

Pep Guardiola has plenty to think about over the summer after a last-16 defeat to Al-Hilal in the United States

A manager rejuvenated is no overblown assessment of Pep Guardiola, whose friendly wave to this correspondent during a morning training session at Manchester City’s Boca Raton camp was emblematic of a man who oozed energy and commitment for the challenge of elevating his side again throughout the Club. World Cup. Immediately after the winding blow of Monday’s 4-3 defeat by Al-Hilal in Orlando, the 54-year-old blended disappointment with a measured optimism, fairly pointing to how if chances had been taken then City would be facing off against Fluminense in Friday’s quarter-final, back at the Camping World Stadium.

In the social media age, football is a fraction of the Portuguese Übermensch’s appeal and he is untroubled by his paymasters’ morals

The winners of next season’s AFC Champions League Two, Asia’s second-tier club competition, will receive about £1.8m. The winners of the Saudi King’s Cup will receive just over £1m. Prize money for the Saudi Pro League is not disclosed, but by the most recent available figures (for 2022-23) is in roughly the same area. Weekly attendances at the King Saud University Stadium, where top-tier ticket prices start at about £12, range between 10,000 and 25,000, although of course you also have to factor in pie and programme sales above that.

And so you really have to applaud Al-Nassr’s ambition in handing an estimated £492m to Cristiano Ronaldo over the next two years. Even if they sweep the board at domestic level, if they fight their way past Istiklol of Tajikistan’s 1xBet Higher League and Al-Wehdat of the Jordanian Pro League, if they extract maximum value from merch and sponsorships, you still struggle to see how they can cover a basic salary that comes to £488,000 a day, even before the bonuses and blandishments that will push the total package well beyond that.

• Luna scores twice in first 15 minutes in St Louis

• US hold off late push to beat Guatemala 2-1

• Final v Mexico set for Sunday night in Houston

Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes and the US men’s national team held on for a 2-1 victory over Guatemala in St Louis on Wednesday to advance to the final of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Luna tallied in the fourth and 15th minutes before Olger Escobar made it 2-1 in the 80th minute.

• Hutton heads home in 3-0 US win over Canada

• Coffey, Ryan also score in fifth straight shutout

• Lavelle shines with two assists in friendly win

Just playing for the US national team was a big opportunity for Claire Hutton.

Then Canada left her a bit too much space at the edge of the six-yard box – and Rose Lavelle found her with a perfect corner kick. The 19-year-old midfielder was ready.

A quarter-final collapse against Guatemala laid bare Canada’s lack of control, composure and tactical clarity under Jesse Marsch

What a joyous Sunday for the American football family. A rare one too. Has an international fanbase ever celebrated two sudden-death wins in the space of four sweet hours?

In a bitter Canadian irony, the only man inside the US Bank Stadium who could have spelled and pronounced schadenfreude on demand was the one on the end of it.

Bayern winger on testing positive for Covid at Euro 2022 and why England may struggle to defend their title

“Maybe I did the homework, but maybe I didn’t – the important thing was to get out on the pitch again.” Klara Bühl is describing her time at school when she would come home, eat, possibly do some schoolwork before heading out again.

“Football was everything for me. We played at school and then next to the school there was a small astro pitch. I played there until training began at five o’clock and so it was every afternoon.”

With Paris FC promoted, European champions could lose their monopoly in city if out-of-town move goes through

“Ici, c’est Paris” has been the rallying chant of Paris Saint-Germain supporters since the beginning of the 21st century. It has also become an advertising slogan for the club, who appropriated it to the fury of the ultras, who had trademarked it and have launched a lawsuit in response. But fans and marketing consultants, unless they do not fear ridicule, will not be able to use it once PSG carry out their plan to vacate the Parc des Princes, their home since they were promoted to Ligue 1 in 1974.

“It’s over now,” PSG’s president, Nasser al-Khelaifi, told reporters in March. “We want to move.” This was confirmed in a statement on 10 June, the day the newly crowned European champions flew to California and the Fifa Club World Cup. “I like the Parc a lot,” Khelaifi, known in France as Nak, said of the 48,583-capacity arena. “Everyone loves it. But [if we stay], we’re dead. In Europe, all the big clubs have 80,000- or 90,000-seat stadiums. If we want to be at that level for our supporters, the stadium must be expanded.” And because an expansion of the stadium is out of the question, it is likely that “Paris” (as the club love PSG to be called in the media) will no longer play in Paris by the time the decade is over, but in one of two towns of the grande banlieue, Massy or Poissy. We will know which come November 2026.

Drama-biopic starring Steve Coogan will reignite a row that split Irish football fans but there are good signs for its artistic merit

Watching the teaser trailer for Saipan before its cinematic release later this summer called to mind that episode of Friends in which it is revealed Joey leaves his copy of The Shining in a freezer whenever it becomes too scary for him to continue reading. While 23 years may have passed since Roy Keane’s fabled eruption on the eponymous volcanic speck in the western Pacific, it is hard to get past the feeling that the makers of this drama-biopic might have been better off leaving the most seismic row in Irish football history and its accompanying media frenzy hidden among the frozen peas, ice-cream and portions of batch-cooked lasagne. Instead it is about to be sent out into a public domain where it will almost certainly reopen old and, in many cases, still festering wounds.

Everyone of a certain age with a passing interest in football has their own version of what happened in Saipan that they believe to be true, although the details often differ depending on who happens to be doing the telling at any given time. Over the years I have chatted to several former Republic of Ireland footballers who were present at the infamous team meeting where Mick McCarthy held aloft a copy of that interview given by Keane to the Irish Times and asked his captain to explain comments that were scathing in their criticism of the national association’s laissez-faire attitude when it came to preparing for the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea in the immediate run-up to the competition.

The individual walk-ons at Club World Cup underline Fifa’s failure to understand that football is a team sport – just ask PSG

It is in the details that the truest picture emerges. Quite aside from the endless politicking, the forever-war with Uefa, the consorting with autocrats and the intriguing broadcast rights and partnership deals, there has been, not a new, but growing sense during the Club World Cup that Fifa doesn’t really get football. There is something cargo-cultish about it, creating outcomes without engaging in processes.

Perhaps that is inevitable with Gianni Infantino’s style of leadership; like all populists, he is big on vision and short on practical reality. It was there in the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams.

After his rapid rise at Leverkusen, Liverpool’s new club-record signing is well set to step outside his comfort zone

When the Bayern Munich charm offensive starts in earnest, few players are impervious. When months of public flattery and declarations of interest in Florian Wirtz continued past the Rekordmeister’s title celebrations in Marienplatz and the departure of Xabi Alonso from Bayer Leverkusen, the whole of German football felt they knew which way the wind was blowing.

So it is an unpleasant surprise for Munich’s finest to see the red jersey Wirtz is holding up for the camera is not theirs, but that of Liverpool, who have signed him in a deal that could reach a British record £116m. Make no mistake: this is an authentic coup for the Premier League champions. How Wirtz came to choose a future in north-west England rather than southern Germany tells us much about the personality, as well as the player.

Our cartoonist visits Poenari Castle on Mount Cetatea to see what nonsense Vlad Dracula III has spouted this time

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Former Chelsea manager answers your questions on life and work in the US, what she’s looking forward to in this summer’s Euros and pining for roast chicken

Read the first of Emma’s Guardian columns on the Euros

You seem like you’ve taken to the US like a duck to water. But what food or drink from back home are you missing? Antony, Staffordshire
I always miss a roast dinner, roast chicken. And the milk. The milk is different over there so when you have a cup of tea it’s just not the same because the milk is not the same. It alters the quality of the tea so that’s tough for me.

How’s life in America been treating you? Is the infrastructure for women’s football noticeably more developed there? And the million‑dollar question: what happens when your new team face England in the World Cup final in 2027? Tom Stubbs, Brussels
First of all, I love being there. The cultural approach to the girls’ and women’s game is more ingrained in the US because they’ve been doing it for longer in terms of providing opportunities. That’s noticeable. The US approach to women’s sport stands out, not just soccer, but with basketball, too. As for that hypothetical for 2027, well, you’re saying we’re in the World Cup final so I’m excited. If you give me that option today, I’ll bite your hand off. I want to be in the World Cup final competing to win a World Cup so, whoever you’re facing, it’s going to be a top, top side, and I don’t get emotional about it – it’s England but I’m repping the USA so my focus is on the USA.

Those who played and witnessed firsthand the Lionesses’ success at a rapturous Wembley share their memories

On 31 July 2022 the Lionesses made history, Chloe Kelly’s goal in extra time earning a 2-1 win over Germany to secure a first major title at Euro 2022. The home Euros had swung the nation behind the team and women’s football has not looked back. What did the day of the final look like? Ahead of the Lionesses beginning their title defence, this is the inside story of English women’s football’s greatest day.

Waking up on the morning of the final, there was an eerie air of calm and confidence in the England camp.

The Germany v England final on Saturday brings together two stars in Nick Woltemade and Harvey Elliott

By WhoScored

Nick Woltemade enjoyed a solid season for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, scoring 12 times and providing two assists. He really came alive in the DFB-Pokal; Stuttgart won the cup and he finished as top scorer. Having made his senior debut for Germany against Portugal in their Nations League semi-final earlier this summer, Woltemade has been outstanding at the Under-21 Euros in Slovakia. ​The 23-year-old leads the way for both goals (​six) and assists (​three) at the competition. Already a wanted man, Woltemade’s stock is on the rise this summer – and will soar if Germany win the tournament on Saturday and he collects the Golden Boot.

Twenty-four long years after their relegation, then tumbling lower into ‘the mud’, the club whose fans would not let them die witnessed their return to Spain’s top table

Somewhere in the middle of all those people, of all the shouting and the crying, the emotion and the endless embraces, Santi Cazorla said that this, this, was the dream of his life. It was the dream of all their lives. At 11.43pm on 21 June 2025, the man who was twice a European champion with the greatest generation Spain has ever seen, who has won at Wembley, the Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabéu, was crouched at the side of the pitch at the Carlos Tartiere ready for one last run. And when the final whistle went – on this game and an entire era – he set off, 40 years old and a kid again leading them all on to the pitch and into primera.

From the touchline they followed, let loose at last. From everywhere else they did too, the stands where 29,624 fans had been through it again emptying on to the pitch. A quarter of a century later, Real Oviedo had returned to the first division. “It’s been many years in the mud,” Cazorla said: they had disappeared down to the second, third and fourth tier, twice they had almost disappeared entirely; here, against Mirandés in the playoff final second leg, the match he called “the biggest of my career”, they had conceded early, two goals down on aggregate, and were taken into extra time, tension tearing at them, even as they knew it was never going to be easy, but now they had actually done it; now they were back. In their centenary year.

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With the Lions Tour, Wimbledon, the second cricket Test between England and India and Copa Gianni all in full swing, the last thing all us sports fans who are so spoiled for summer choice need is keyboard warriors on social media abominations complaining about women’s football being “forced down our throats”. Especially given that, like each of the other sporting events listed above, watching Euro 2025 is still not compulsory. Due to take place in Switzerland over the next 25 days, the tournament kicks off on Wednesday, with Iceland taking on Finland in the early game before hosts Switzerland take on Norway in one of 22 out of 32 games that are already completely sold out.

I’m my own worst critic. If I’m not happy with it, it doesn’t go out. It simply doesn’t happen. When it came to [Swindon’s] Don Rogers, for instance, I cut that head off six times! It’s kind of scary when you do that” – Alan Herriott is among the sculptors who detail the pressure of preserving a player’s likeness and legacy for expectant fans in this entertaining piece.

During what used to be the close season for football I would fill some of the void by watching Wimbledon. Seeing the line judges ducking 140mph serves – or not – was particularly enjoyable. Imagine my disappointment when I discovered that, from this year, all the major calls are made by someone watching camera-assisted footage on a screen. Still, it seems these decisions are made more quickly and accurately. Perhaps football should consider something similar? Oh” – Justin Johnson.

Surely commentators must be aware that goalposts and crossbars are inanimate objects? The posts aren’t making last-ditch tackles, nor is the crossbar putting its body on the line by bravely throwing itself in front of goal-bound shots. So, for the love of Diego (other deities are available) please stop saying someone was ‘denied by the woodwork’. Otherwise my long-suffering wife will have to go on hearing me shout at the telly like a demented idiot who believes the commentators can actually hear him” – Mark McFadden.

Re: Diego Maradona’s choice of icy refreshment (yesterday’s Memory Lane, full email edition). From left to right: Pop-eye (limón); Frigo pie; Frigurón (in the form of a shark); Capitán Cola. Just FYI” – Tim Cole.

The group stage has featured some great games and indelible moments, thanks mostly to the participants who took things seriously

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Inside the corporate monstrosity hides something that’s actually quite lovely and joyful and organic. It’s burrowed down real deep, beneath layers and layers of maximalist nonsense. But it’s in there somewhere, a good soccer tournament, cloaked by all the avarice and bombast, in spite of itself and those responsible for it.

It’s true: the Club World Cup and its new summer format haven’t been all bad. The group stage, which concluded on Thursday, offered fun and competitive teams. It served up a few genuinely enthralling games, especially in the clashes between the European and South American sides. The fans of some teams – the indefatigable singing and chanting of Boca Juniors’ and River Plate’s barras; the churning sea of red hopping up and down for the Urawa; the clapping and singing Wydad fans; the drumming and dancing Brazilians crisscrossing the nation in the wake of their four thriving clubs – injected the proceedings with exactly the kind of summer tournament folklore and fever you should hope for. We’ve even seen some kit design excellence – thank you, Botafogo.

I recently spent time coaching 80 girls at FC Midtjylland, the team where I began my career but had to leave in my teens as they had no women’s team

I will be on a plane on Monday with Denmark heading to Switzerland to take part in my fourth Euros, but before the tournament I went back to where it all began for me, to Danish side FC Midtjylland. I was there to spend time coaching 80 girls from the age of eight to 13.

More than 20 years ago, I began my own journey there and things looked very different then. There was no women’s team and no women who played football. For me to go back as a role model these girls gives me a lot of energy. There is no better way to ground yourself than to be reminded where you came from.

Emma Hayes is leaning on NWSL players for friendlies to plan for individual development and vet wider playing pool

While national teams in Europe, Africa and South America prepare for the biggest tournaments in their region, the US women’s national team convene this month for three friendlies with a unique approach. For back-to-back tests against Republic of Ireland followed by a meeting with Canada, nearly all of their Europe-based players are on vacation.

“We’ve left out the vast majority of players that are playing in Europe bar one, and that’s Naomi Girma,” said the head coach, Emma Hayes. “The rest of those players have been playing non-stop [for the] last two years without a summer break and this is the only opportunity they will get for a much-needed break. It also gives us the chance to play players who are playing domestically.”

Today’s tittle-tattle is planting a flag in the sand

As the Mill sifts through its daily churn, it tries to weed out excessive Manchester United content. But the Old Trafford soap opera is a law unto itself and Wednesday brings more excitable Marcus Rashford gossip, with reports of the striker sizing up a move to Bayern Munich. The Sun says that Rashford, who has been linked with Barcelona, is on the German champions’ radar and a bid for the striker could be in the offing, with United wanting £40m.

In potential United incomings news, Ruben Amorim could seize on Internazionale’s post-Champions League final upheaval and move for Davide Frattesi. The midfielder is yet to decide whether he wants to stay at San Siro, but United have been in touch with Inter, who are prepared to let him go for about €35m (£30m). Spurs have also been linked with Frattesi.

Plus: different crests on a club’s home and away kits, European clubs playing throughout summer and more GD chasms

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Spurs finished 17th this season, yet claimed a place in the Champions League. They aren’t the lowest-ranked Uefa qualifier, though, as I recall Millwall playing in Europe in the early 2000s. Which other English second-tier teams have played in Uefa European competitions?” asks Richard Amos.

We looked at this back in the 2011-12 season as Birmingham entered the Europa League by virtue of winning that year’s League Cup. They exited in the group stage, behind Club Brugge and Portugal’s Braga (the latter beaten finalists the previous year), despite reaching the magical 10 points total.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Will Unwin, Lars Sivertsen and Sid Lowe to talk transfers and Premier League fixtures

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On the podcast today; the Club World Cup might have started to entertain? South American sides are enjoying themselves, Nicolas Jackson is not. It is, of course, impossible to forget the numerous off-pitch issues including Donald Trump invited Juventus to the White House, Fifa flip-flopping on anti-racism messaging and players not able to sit on the subs bench in ridiculous heat.

Half a dozen teams from outside their nation’s top flight who made it all the way to a domestic cup final

France’s secondary cup competition ran from 1994 to 2020, pushed by Ligue 1 sides who felt aggrieved by the Coupe de France’s great leveller of home advantage for its minnows. Paris St-Germain were the winners of the first and last editions of the League Cup and another seven in between. They lost one final, 25 years ago, to a team that were the antithesis of France’s spoiled ruling classes.

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.