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• Real Madrid star missed games against Wales and Latvia

• Head coach says absentees are all ‘eager to come back’

Thomas Tuchel will reach out to Jude Bellingham and the other ­players he excluded from his latest England squad before he makes his next ­selection in November.

The head coach’s decision to overlook Bellingham for the Wembley friendly against Wales last Thursday and the World Cup qualifier against ­Latvia in Riga on Tuesday has dominated the discourse. Tuchel wanted to show faith in the squad that won against Andorra and Serbia in September and it meant no room for those who missed out on the initial selection for fitness reasons. If Bellingham was the highest-profile absentee against Wales and Latvia, then Phil Foden was not far behind. Adam Wharton was also left out.

Chelsea kickstarted their European campaign with a comfortable victory over Paris FC. Alyssa Thompson scored her first goal in west London as Sonia Bompastor’s side dominated proceedings. Sandy Baltimore opened the scoring from the penalty spot while Johanna Rytting Kaneryd and Erin Cuthbert also got on the scoresheet.

Chelsea had endured a frustrating start to their Champions League challenge, the only trophy to elude their grasp. A 1-1 draw against Twente last week in Enschede had added a bit of pressure on this encounter at Stamford Bridge with sterner opposition to come.

• German coach follows Steven Gerrard in dropping out

• Muscat is currently in charge of China’s Shanghai Port

Rangers face increased pressure to complete a deal for Kevin Muscat to become their new manager after another leading candidate, Danny Röhl, made it known he has withdrawn from the process.

Röhl, who left Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, becomes the second coach after Steven Gerrard to remove his name from consideration after detailed talks with the Rangers board. The messiness of this situation is unlikely to placate an already angry fan base. There was, however, an increased confidence from Rangers sources on Wednesday that Muscat could be delivered.

• Trump claimed Fifa president could ‘easily’ move games

• Wu says Trump comments are ‘targeting Boston values’

The mayor of Boston, Michelle Wu, implied the city was ready for a face-off with the US president Donald Trump over his claim he could order Fifa to remove World Cup games from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, 22 miles south-west of the city.

Wu appeared on local podcast “Java with Jimmy” on Wednesday to respond to Tuesday’s criticism from the White House, which labeled the Democrat as “radical left”. Trump threatened he would make a call to the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, if Boston did not “clean up its act”.

• Fishlock is Wales’ record caps winner and goalscorer

• She will continue to play for NWSL club Seattle Reign

Jess Fishlock, widely regarded as the Wales women’s national team’s greatest player, has announced she will retire from international football after the home friendly against Australia this month.

The 38-year-old is Wales’s record goalscorer, despite playing predominantly as a midfielder, and their most‑capped player, with 165 international appearances and 48 goals.

• Angel City forward to end 14-year pro career

• Press played 155 times for the US, scoring 64 times

One of the most electrifying players in US women’s soccer has called it a career.

Christen Press, who starred for the US women’s national team over 155 appearances from 2013 to 2021, announced on Wednesday that she would be retiring as a player at the conclusion of the 2025 NWSL season with Angel City FC.

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Following the murine pitch invasion in which a rat halted Tuesday’s match between Wales and Belgium, Football Daily rather hoped a like-minded, attention-seeking bear, elk or wild boar might inject some much-needed jeopardy into England’s methodical 5-0 rout of Latvia by emerging from the long row of trees at the side of Riga’s Daugova Stadium and wandering on to the field of play. Sadly, there were no such comedy wildlife incursions, so as England piled the hurt (and goals) on their hosts, their travelling fans chose instead to amuse themselves by relentlessly ribbing Thomas Tuchel, who had been extremely critical of the library-level silence during England’s dismantling of Wales at Wembley. “I got a bit of stick and I found it quite creative,” parped Tuchel, having spent the evening being serenaded by fans insisting they would sing when they want, among other pertinent ditties containing effing and jeffing that has no place in a family football email. “It made me smile. It’s British humour and I can take it. No harm done.”

I was more than happy (not really) to be proven wrong over the provenance of those puffins (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). But then I realised I am being gaslighted (gaslit?). That picture was used in an article in the Sunday Times (Paddle out to see the puffins in Northumberland, Sunday 18 July 2021) and, of course, it is used in a more generic way on a Turkish site (evrenatlasi.com.tr, 1 Nisan 2022). So who to believe? The Sunday Times or Getty Images or Football Daily? I assume that all your stuff is underwritten by The Man to ensure accuracy and that you aren’t allowed to write any old rubb … oh, er... Having said that, it is worth noting that puffins are eaten in the Faroes and, according to a friend of mine who was obliged to eat them to show respect in the midst of fisheries negotiations, they taste very fishy. Sounds like a metaphor for the whole debate” – Peter Holford.

In the spirit of the Faroe Islands/Taunton comparison (yesterday’s Football Daily), Iceland (population 391,810), the smallest country to qualify for the World Cup, has a lower population than Croydon (population 397,741). However, maybe a more flattering comparison is available” – Derrick Cameron.

Everyone’s favourite, Gianni Infantino, drooled: ‘President Trump has broken down barriers, has built bridges, has put people together’ (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). Au contraire, Gianni. Here in the USA USA USA, he has erected barriers in cities that are under military control, built walls around our borders, and separated families in his anti-immigration push. I hate to get all political, but I’m not sure what Gianni has been watching” – Jim Carter, Florida.

The one question not yet asked about the Cardiff rat (yesterday’s Joe Rodent section, full email edition): ‘How did it beat the offside trap?’ – Nigel Sanders.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

• Italian banned for alleged false accounting at Juventus

• Johan Lange is promoted to work alongside Paratici

Tottenham have confirmed the full‑time return of Fabio Paratici as part of a new leadership structure in their men’s football operation.

Paratici resigned in April 2023 as Tottenham’s managing director of football after losing an appeal in Italy against a 30-month ban from the game, punishment for his role in alleged false accounting at his pre­vious club, Juventus.

From PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye to Brazil’s next hope, we select some of the most talented players born in 2008. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and go even further back. Here’s our Premier League class of 2025

More than half the 26 places appear to be locked down but big names are at risk with qualification secured and the tournament looming

Fresh from breaking Gordon Banks’s record for consecutive England clean sheets, Jordan Pickford remains the undisputed pick in goal. A miserly defensive record is a positive for Thomas Tuchel, even if the shutouts have come against poor sides. John Stones, such an elegant centre-back, is back in the team and will start at the World Cup if he stays fit. But who will partner him? Tuchel likes Ezri Konsa, whose versatility also makes him an option at right-back, and Marc Guéhi; big Dan Burn also looks established after making his international debut in March. It is more uncertain at left-back, but Reece James will play at right-back as long as his body does not let him down.

Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed he could take World Cup matches away from US cities he deems “unsafe”. Here’s what he said – and what powers he does and doesn’t have

By blending diaspora players with homegrown talent the island nation of fewer than 600,000 people has qualified for 2026 tournament

On 5 July 1975, the Cape Verdean flag was raised for the first time at Estádio da Várzea in the capital city of Praia, marking the nation’s declaration of independence from Portugal. At that moment, there was no national football team – and no sign of what was to come.

Exactly 100 days after the 50th anniversary of independence, the country’s flag was waved at the very same ground, where crowds gathered to celebrate Cape Verde’s historic first World Cup qualification with the players who had earlier secured the decisive 3-0 win against Eswatini five miles away at the National Stadium. This island nation off the coast of Senegal, with a population of fewer than 600,000, has become the second‑smallest country to qualify for the tournament, after Iceland in 2018.

• US president says games could be moved due to safety

• Boston street takeovers, LA wildfires are blamed

Donald Trump has again said he’d pressure Fifa to remove 2026 World Cup games from a host city on the basis of that city’s politics, with Boston becoming the third such city to receive such a threat from the US president. Trump also said he would consider a similar action against Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics on account of potential safety issues.

Trump has no legal authority to directly take either action, but he can apply pressure to each competition’s governing body to move host cities.

• Ronaldo double includes 41st World Cup qualifying goal

• Republic of Ireland keep dream alive with Armenia win

Cristiano Ronaldo set a record for World Cup qualifying goals but the Group F leaders Portugal were denied early World Cup qualification by a late Hungary equaliser to snatch a 2-2 draw.

Two Ronaldo goals – the first his 40th in qualifying to set the landmark – put Portugal on the verge of qualification but Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai struck in added time to stop the celebration party in Lisbon.

• Potter had seven years in charge of club side Östersund

• ‘I love Swedish football. It would be a great opportunity’

Graham Potter has said he would be interested in taking over as Sweden’s new manager because he “loves” the country that gave him his first opportunity in coaching.

The former Blackburn manager Jon Dahl Tomasson was sacked on Tuesday after a disastrous start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, with a 1‑0 defeat at home by Kosovo leaving Sweden bottom of their group. It is less than a month since Potter left West Ham after winning six of his 23 Premier League games, with the former Chelsea manager having lasted just 31 games at Stamford Bridge.

• World Cup 2026 cohosts defeat Socceroos 2-1 in Colorado

• USA captain Christian Pulisic injured; Jordan Bos opens scoring

USA captain Christian Pulisic was forced off early with a lower leg complaint as the World Cup cohosts scrapped to a 2-1 win over Australia at Dick’s Sporting Goods Stadium in Colorado on Wednesday.

A double from striker Haji Wright cancelled out a shock opening goal from Socceroos left-back Jordy Bos, handing Tony Popovic his first loss and denying Australia the chance to climb the Fifa rankings and potentially face an easier group at next year’s tournament.

The average Premier League game lasts 100 minutes and 36 seconds, but the ball is only in play for 54.7% of that

By Opta Analyst

The start of every football match brings a little flutter in the stomach. Will the stars perform? Will the referee have a good game by giving your players every decision? And will the football gods shine down on your team? A more pertinent question to ask this season, though, is how much football will we actually see?

We wrote about ball-in-play time a few seasons ago, revealing that fans were not seeing as much football as in previous years. We’re not saying our data nosiness led to referees adding more stoppage time, but there was a notable rise in ball-in-play time over the next two campaigns. It went up from 54 minutes and 49 seconds in 2022-23 to 58 minutes and 11 seconds in 2023-24. It’s still early in the 2025-26 season, but the pendulum may be swinging back the other way.

Watching footballers for a living is not as glamorous as it may seem and, as this book extract reveals, the job is changing with technology

“I once travelled from Greece to Denmark to scout a goalkeeper. I went straight from the airport to the stadium, only for him to face zero shots. After away fans rioted, the match was abandoned, and the police had to intervene. My phone battery died, and I only made it to my hotel late at night, just in time for four hours of sleep before flying back. Despite the chaos, that game still provided valuable insights: I saw first-hand how much the home fans adored the player and observed his leadership and quality, even if all his shot-stopping happened in the warm-up.”

Here, then, is the life of those involved in one of the most misunderstood aspects of the game. Their stories reveal a side of football that rarely makes headlines – one of adaptability, forbearance, and sometimes, outright audacity.

Plus: more players ignoring tactical instructions, free-kick flurries and Wembley Stadium’s first resident club

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Last month, Jeremy Ngakia scored twice for Watford against Oxford to take his career goals total to three from 116 senior club appearances. Excluding players who scored only once, has anybody with 100+ appearances managed a higher percentage of their career goals in a single match?” wonders Peter Skilton.

Denis Boone writes in with the tale of Matthieu Chalmé. “French right-back Chalmé played 362 professional matches during his career, mostly for Lille and Bordeaux,” Denis writes. “He scored four career goals, with three of them coming in a single game. Chalmé netted all three goals in Lille’s 3-0 win at Ajaccio in March 2004, recording the most unlikely of hat-tricks.”

Any more for any more? Mail us with your suggestions.

A new exhibition in Liverpool tells the story of the grassy arenas, from churning tribal terraces to hyper-modern, wedding-cake-like structures with retractable pitches. And let’s hear it for the world’s first all-timber stadium!

Bill Shankly, a man so beloved by Liverpool that there is now a hotel in the city named after him, once famously observed: “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

Inevitably, Shankly pops up in Home Ground, a punchy new exhibition on the architecture and social culture of football stadiums. The legendary manager is pictured savouring the acclaim of an adoring crowd, part of a tableau on the farewell to the Kop prior to its metamorphosis from churning tribal terrace into a more sedate, all-seater stand.

Qualification has been so easy it gives little indication how the side will fare against big hitters at the World Cup

As Harry Kane stepped up to make it 3-0 to England with the final kick of the first half at a wet, chilly and deflated Daugava Stadium it was strange to think that there was a time when the very act of reaching a major tournament was an event in its own right.

It is not supposed to be this much of a doddle. Qualifying was once a nerve-shredding experience. It could make or break reputations and even provided some of the most iconic moments in the history of English football: the euphoria of David Beckham’s free-kick against Greece in 2001, the bloody‑minded defiance of Paul Ince in Rome in 1997 or, at the other end of the spectrum, the farce of Steve McClaren’s umbrella at Wembley in 2007, the agony of Graham Taylor in Rotterdam in 1993 and the shock of Jan Tomaszewski’s heroics in goal for Poland against Sir Alf Ramsey’s England in 1973.

Clubs’ plan to open new ground in 2031 has been met by local opposition but is required for hosts to stay competitive

A protester outside held a sign insisting “San Siro belongs to the citizens” but Milan’s city council was about to change all that, voting to sell one of the world’s most famous football stadiums to tenants who plan to tear it down. Milan have played home games at what is officially the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza since 1926. Inter moved in with them 21 years later. They propose to build a shared home on the same grounds.

It has been a long time coming. The clubs announced joint plans for a new stadium as long ago as June 2019, with an intention to complete work within three years. International architecture firms were consulted and designs made public, but they never progressed out of this first phase.

• Australia in race with South Korea, Ecuador and Austria for spot in pot 2

• Tony Popovic’s side out to stretch winning streak in United States friendly

The Socceroos will seek to build on their momentum under coach Tony Popovic and edge closer to a more favourable draw at the 2026 World Cup when they meet the United States in a friendly in Denver at noon AEST on Wednesday.

Australia secured a seventh straight victory when Nestory Irankunda’s goal was enough to snatch a 1-0 win over Canada last Saturday and are now in line to rise to world No 24 when the Fifa rankings are next updated on 23 October.

The club will finally begin playing in Miami next season. For local fans near Chase Stadium there are mixed emotions

From an abandoned and derelict symbol of failed efforts to establish professional football in south Florida, to the arena where Lionel Messi has dazzled MLS while attracting visitors from around the globe. It has been a unique journey for the site where Fort Lauderdale’s Lockhart Stadium once stood.

“Even after all these years it’s so funny to me that Lionel Messi, one of the most famous faces in the history of mankind, is not only playing for our club but playing in this stadium that was abandoned,” said Nico Abad, a member of The Siege supporters’ group and a native of Broward County, where Chase Stadium stands on the former site of Lockhart. “It’s where kids would go to do doughnuts and to smoke and drink.”

• Australia snatch 1-0 win from 2026 World Cup co-host in Montreal

• Paul Izzo keeps out Les Rouges after teenager pinches goal in 71st minute

Teenage sensation Nestory Irankunda has scored his second goal in two matches, while goalkeeper Paul Izzo starred to deliver the Socceroos a fiery 1-0 win over Canada.

After surviving a dour first half dominated by Canada, the Socceroos came to life with the introduction of second-half substitutes Jordy Bos, Lewis Miller and Patrick Yazbek, before Watford star Irankunda netted in the 71st minute.

The former Newcastle and Peru winger became Pakistan’s head coach in July and he tells Tusdiq Din he enjoys the challenge of making the team more competitive

Nolberto Solano has become accustomed to firsts. He was the first Peruvian to feature in the Premier League after he joined Newcastle in 1998, and the first to play in an FA Cup final the following year. In April 2001 he became the first Premier League player to be sent off by Mike Dean. Now, in the latest stop on a peripatetic coaching journey, the 50-year-old is hoping to lead Pakistan’s men to their first Asian Cup.

After taking the lesser trodden path from Lima to Lahore, Solano faces crucial back-to-back qualifiers for the 2027 tournament against Afghanistan, beginning at home on Thursday. Then, in November and March, come visits from Syria and Myanmar, who won the reverse fixtures. Solano, who replaced the Englishman Stephen Constantine as Pakistan’s head coach in July, is clear on his ambitions.

Manager learned at PSG to ignore star power in pursuit of a winning formula that prioritises brotherhood

Thomas Tuchel once stood on the touchline at Anfield, watching in disbelief as his self-indulgent Paris Saint-Germain players refused to put in the hard yards against Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. “Guys, what is this?” he said, but there was never going to be a reaction from individuals with too much power and not enough respect for the basic concepts of teamwork.

Intensity? Tracking back? Not for us, thanks. Too many wanted to do their own thing and it ground Tuchel down in the end. The German is a coach who wants structure, identity, sacrifice and energy. At PSG, though, he saw how individualism can bring a dressing room down. How could Tuchel make his mark when he had players who would moan if a teammate looked at them the wrong way?

There is no grand PSR conspiracy against Unai Emery’s side. They should be challenging Newcastle or Tottenham for fifth

Four wins in a row and suddenly life does not seem so bad for Aston Villa. They are up into mid-table and if a 2-0 victory over Feyenoord in the Europa League will not quite live in the memory in the way last season’s games against Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain do, a return to Rotterdam at least evoked the glory days of 1982.

It will be a while yet before the frustration at missing out on the Champions League fades, but there does now seem to be a gathering recognition that Villa have a decent chance of winning the Europa League, potentially adding Istanbul’s Besiktas Park to De Kuip as a venue where they have won a European trophy.

An easy target for accusations of luxury hypocrisy, Neville has at least tried to address an issue that has everything to do with aggressively flag-draped and militarised modern sport

“At the far end of the food counter a group of men were pledging allegiance to the flag, with trays balanced in one hand, in order to be allowed to take seats at the table. A group that had arrived earlier was singing The Star-Spangled Banner in order that they might use the salt and pepper and ketchup there.”

Welcome to our own Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade, another real-time demonstration of the fact every satirical absurdity described in Catch-22 has become, yeah, pretty much totally plausible. The nation is now fully hostage to bad actors and phoney rage. And as ever football must act as a key amplifier of all this, a public echo chamber for the anxieties of what we must, out of a sense of duty, still call the real world.

We know so little about players’ personal feelings. It means everyone’s analysis of the game is fundamentally superficial

A couple of weeks ago, Liverpool were on course to win the Premier League for the second season running and probably the Champions League too. After Manchester City briefly won the title on the opening day when Tijjani Reijnders tore Wolves apart, the Reds’ run of winning without being that good made it feel inevitable. Winning when not at your best is, after all, a sign (™) of a title-winning side, Clive.

But then Liverpool continued playing not particularly well and started losing. At the same time the perennially second-placed high-performance cowards Arsenal have an excellent defence and at least two very good players in every position. Arise Sir Mikel.

Our cartoonist on a smooth journey towards the World Cup for England against a backdrop of flags and uproar

• Buy a copy of this cartoon in our Print Shop

• David’s latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now

The original throw-in specialist analyses how Premier League teams are reaping the rewards from set pieces

‘You are always looking for a super-strength,” says Dave Challinor. The Stockport manager has a tactics board in front him at the club’s training ground, offering a potential cure to the pain he inflicted on opponents for years. Long throws are back in fashion and causing panic across the Premier League as coaches once again see the merit in chaotic scenes.

Brentford are becoming the masters of the long throw under Keith Andrews, specifically via the arms of Michael Kayode, but face stiff competition, with numbers on the rise across the top flight. Missiles are being launched from touchlines to consistently great effect, bringing with them a headache for defenders and an extra weapon for attackers. Last season there was an average of 1.5 per game in the Premier League; that has risen to 3.7 this campaign. There have already been six goals as a direct result of long throws, compared with 15 in the entirety of last season. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Newcastle and Sunderland have joined Brentford as the most regular users of the long throw.

For all the co-owner’s promises of three-year spells, the head coach will not survive this season without real signs of a revival

The word from Manchester United insiders is that Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s headline-hogging declaration that three years is an apt timescale to judge Ruben Amorim is merely Sir Jim being Sir Jim, the self-made billionaire showing his anti-PR, maverick streak.

While the debate rages on TV, radio, social media, and in drinking parlours about the sagacity of his words, what Ratclifffe did not say or allude to intrigues as much.

James is at Manchester United, Luca with Burnley and both are making a mark on the international stage as teenagers

It was almost a perfect night for the Scanlons when the 16-year-old Luca came on for his elder brother, James, to make his Gibraltar debut last month against the Faroe Islands, but there was a nagging problem. “I told him the night before not to play my position,” the older sibling jokes.

Only 57 days after Luca’s sweetest birthday, he became a full international. His plan was to be there to support James, alongside a plethora of other family members, but Gibraltar’s head coach, Scott Wiseman, invited him to train with men twice his age to see what he was about and saw enough to promote him from the under-21s. James is a right-footed winger who plays off the left and Luca is the opposite.

Response to strained schedule has been more football than ever, and a danger that the best will have nothing left to give at the World Cup

Cole Palmer and Ousmane Dembélé looked great when they were photographed sitting on Top of the Rock on the eve of the Club World Cup final but it is not being wise after the event to suggest that both might have been better off spending their summer lying on sunbeds.

Top players struggling with fitness issues was foreseeable before the first edition of Fifa’s expanded tournament took place. “The worst idea ever,” was Jürgen Klopp’s take, citing concerns over the long-term impact of squeezing even more football into an ever expanding calendar. “Last year it was the Copa [América] and the European Championship, this year it’s the Club World Cup, next year it’s the World Cup. That means no recovery for the players involved.”

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Something is rotten in the state of … Sweden, though it’s a Dane taking the blame. Jon Dahl Tomasson, one-time Newcastle flop turned elite Feyenoord and Milan forward and former Blackburn manager, has just been sent packing after presiding over historic failure as manager of his neighbouring country. “Resign JDT” read one banner in Stockholm’s national stadium after Sweden lost 2-0 to Switzerland on Friday, while another read “danskjävel”, roughly translated as JDT’s nationality within a portmanteau questioning his parentage. Yes, that’s Sweden, the country that boasts Alexander Isak, the Premier League’s most expensive striker, and Viktor Gyökeres, last year’s European Golden Boot winner who hardly came cheap to Arsenal. The midfield trio of Daniel Svensson, of Borussia Dortmund, Lucas Bergvall of Tottenham and Brighton’s Yasin Asari reeks of talent and promise.

Monday night, again at home, and the calls for Tomasson’s head continued after a 1-0 loss to Kosovo. They wouldn’t have to wait long to get their wish. Noa Bachner, red-hot columnist for Swedish outlet Expressen, pushed the button, writing: “No acceptable arguments for anything other than him being replaced. I haven’t been this sure since Alan Pardew managed Newcastle.” Which seems a tad harsh on the man briefly labelled “Pardiola” on Tyneside. Tomasson, in mitigation, was not helped by both Isak and Gyökeres playing well below their capabilities, with both given plunging ratings across the national press.

“We have full confidence in our national coach until we don’t,” wailed the Arsenal legend and Swedish FA suit Kim Källström after the match. It appears that faith melted away overnight like an Ikea candle. “The decision [to sack Tomasson] is based on the fact that the men’s national team has not delivered the results we hoped for,” Swedish FA chief suit Simon Åström roared on Tuesday afternoon. “There is still a chance of a playoff in March and our responsibility is to ensure that we have as optimal conditions as possible to be able to reach a [Geopolitics] World Cup playoff. In this, we assess that a new leadership is required in the form of a new coach.” Barring a mathematical miracle in their final matches with Switzerland and Slovenia, the nation of Nils Liedholm, Ralf Edström, “Brolin-Dahlin-Brolin!”, Henrik Larsson and Anders Svensson’s roulette will be missing out on a trip across the Atlantic next summer.

A hat-trick of corrections in yesterday’s letters feels impressive, even by Football Daily’s own very low standards” – Jim Hearson (who should read on for a VAR intervention).

I salute Peter Holford’s puffin knowledge (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). I have learned more in my life about puffins from a daily football email than from anything David Attenborough ever told me” – David Branch (who is going to learn some more from this link and the caption below).

I had high hopes of making a difference when I joined Halifax Women but ended up feeling let down. Clubs have a responsibility to look after their players – at all levels

Football has given me some wonderful experiences. As a young Arab and Egyptian woman playing for Stoke City from 2017 to 2021 I broke barriers and that paved the way for some exciting opportunities. Fifa selected me as a 2022 World Cup ambassador and put me in a film with David Beckham; I also became an Adidas ambassador and worked as an Afcon pundit for the BBC.

But there have been less easy times as well. As an Egyptian international, representing a country that stands 95th in the Fifa rankings, there are obstacles to playing in the biggest leagues. Because of the points system for international players I left Stoke for the chance of playing second-tier football in Spain with Albacete. And since coming back to England, I’ve seen a world very distant from the new riches of the WSL.

In this mailbag edition of his newsletter, Jonathan answers questions about the evolution of tactics, heat and World Cup outsiders

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Do you believe playing styles are developing incrementally or cyclically? Will things naturally come back around, or is it more a matter of rock, paper, scissors where one style counters another for a short while, as the current style gets broadly adopted? – Paul

I dislike the term “cyclical” for tactics because it implies inevitability. Winter, spring, summer, autumn is a cycle; what happens in football tactics is not. When older ideas are repurposed for the modern age, they come with knowledge of what went before. So, to take an extreme example, when Pep Guardiola started fielding teams in a sort of 3-2-2-3 shape, it wasn’t the W-M used by Herbert Chapman in the late 1920s, because in the 100 years since, football has changed enormously: players are fitter, pitches are better, kit is better, we understand pressing, we have data and sophisticated analytical modelling.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition.

Former England international is taking part in Chelsea v Liverpool legends match that will raise money for ex-players in need of support

“I loved competing,” says the former England international Katie Chapman. “I loved the adrenaline of it. That’s whatI missed, the adrenaline and addiction to competing. I spent years trying to find that feeling again.

“I ran a couple of marathons and I did all sorts of things trying to hunt that feeling down, but I had to get it into my mind that I’m never going to have that feeling again in the same way. I had to teach myself to say: ‘Listen, you’re not going to get that back, so stop trying to find it.’ Once I got there, then I could move myself forward.”

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Robyn Cowen and Tom Garry to reflect on Millie Bright’s international retirement, a busy weekend in the WSL and a mixed start for English clubs in the Champions League

On today’s pod: Millie Bright calls time on her England career and the panel reflect on her legacy, leadership and unforgettable moments in a Lionesses shirt.

Plus, the panel runs through all the latest WSL action as Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City all pick up wins, but not without drama. They talk Jess Park’s purple patch, Spurs’ growing resilience, and what’s not clicking yet for West Ham and Everton.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jordan Jarrett-Bryan and George Elek to discuss the World Cup qualifiers as Scotland’s 2-1 win against Belarus disguised a dismal performance

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On today’s pod: Scotland edged closer to World Cup qualification with an ugly win against Belarus at Hampden Park. “We know we have got to be better” was Scott McTominay’s verdict, but Scotland are now two wins away from securing a return to the tournament they have not appeared at since 1998.

Everton continue to struggle at home, Leicester’s long wait for an away win goes on but Spurs can take pride in defeat

The disquiet over Kyra Cooney-Cross’s lack of action has grown louder by the week and her 27-minute cameo in Arsenal’s 1-0 defeat of Brighton fuelled her case for a start. The Australian midfielder impressed when she featured last season and there were high hopes for her going into this campaign, but four games glued to the bench have been followed by 54 minutes as a substitute across the following three matches. Brighton were, by their own admission, tiring towards the end of their 1-0 defeat and Cooney-Cross’s ball-carrying and front-foot approach caught the eye as the Gunners tried to extend their lead. “When there’s a drop-off [in] minute 60 or 75 and intensity goes down in games and space becomes bigger, the gamechangers can make a real impact, and that’s 100% what Kyra did,” said the Arsenal manager Renée Slegers. “She capitalised on the spaces and the fatigue and the opposition team and she plays with a lot of confidence and forward intent and she brings all her best qualities to life today, so I’m really pleased.” The preferred midfield trio this season has been Kim Little, Mariona Caldentey and Frida Maanum, with Victoria Pelova also featuring and Alessia Russo dropping into the 10 on occasion. It is hard to see where Cooney-Cross fits into the equation, but with Arsenal struggling to assert authority, change may not be a bad thing. Suzanne Wrack

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