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• England to play Croatia, Panama and Ghana in Group L

• France joined by Senegal and Norway in Group I

• Trump awarded inaugural Fifa peace prize

England will face a rematch of their 2018 semi-final in the opening fixture of their World Cup campaign next summer, after they were drawn alongside Croatia in Group L.

England will also play Panama, another side they faced at the Russia World Cup, and Ghana. Venues and kick-off times will be announced from 5pm GMT on Saturday but the group’s matches are split across four US cities – Dallas, Boston, New York/New Jersey and Philadelphia – and Toronto.

How each team qualified for the tournament, who will be favourites to progress and which games to look out for

The opening game in the Azteca will be a repeat of the opener in 2010 when South Africa drew 1-1 with Mexico in Soccer City, Soweto. Mexico have won one knockout game at the World Cup, beating Bulgaria last time they hosted, in 1986. Their manager, Javier Aguirre, was a forward in that side and will be targeting their third quarter-final as hosts. South Africa, coached by the veteran Belgian Hugo Broos, qualified for their first World Cup since hosting, finishing above Nigeria and Benin, despite having a game against Lesotho they appeared to have won awarded against them for fielding a suspended player.

England manager happy to ‘focus on what we can influence’ after a draw that will live long in the memory and not for the right reasons

At the end of an extraordinary day in the US capital and a World Cup draw that lurched between the ridiculous and the sublime (with a greater emphasis on the former, if the truth be told), Thomas Tuchel and England now know. Croatia in Toronto or Dallas. Ghana in Boston or Toronto. Panama in New Jersey or Philadelphia. And that is just the group games.

With the excitement running wild and, well, England being England, their determination to bring it home to the fore, it was not long before the permutations were being scrutinised. It could be Mexico at the Azteca in the last 16 – the scene of the Hand of God in 1986. It could be Brazil in Miami in the quarter-finals. Tuchel pulled a face as if to say: “Wow.” There had been a lot to process. And that is before we talk about the Honourable Donald J Trump and his Fifa peace prize glory.

• Steve Clarke’s side also drawn with Haiti in Group C

• Fifth time Scotland and Brazil will meet at a World Cup

Scotland face a mouthwatering reunion with Brazil in their first World Cup campaign since 1998 after being drawn in Group C at Friday’s ceremony.

Steve Clarke’s players will also face Morocco and Haiti on their return to the tournament, opening their campaign against the latter on 13 June. That curtain raiser will be played in either Boston or the MetLife Stadium near New York.

• Trump praised by Infantino at DC ceremony

• President’s peace claims disputed by critics

• Follow the live blog of the World Cup draw

Donald Trump has been named the first winner of the newly created Fifa peace prize, claiming “the world is a safer place now” as he received the award at the draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington DC.

Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president and one of Trump’s closest sporting allies, presented the honour onstage at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, saying Trump had been selected “in recognition of his exceptional and extraordinary actions to promote peace and unity around the world”.

Exclusive: Billionaire is claimed to be anonymous figure behind $70m of wins in US legal case. He denies betting on his own teams

Tony Bloom, the billionaire owner of Brighton & Hove Albion FC, is facing questions over claims he was an anonymous gambler behind $70m (£52m) in winnings – which allegedly included bets on his football teams.

Bloom – one of the world’s most successful professional gamblers – is claimed to be the “John Doe” referred to in a US legal case that tried to unmask who has benefited from the lucrative winning streak.

As Premier League’s most in-form side prepare to host Arsenal their experience is beginning to look like a superpower

In a parallel universe somewhere, Unai Emery is still wrestling with his black puffer coat in his dugout at the Amex Stadium, trying to force his hands through the sleeves, fresh from hurling it to the ground in wild celebration. The adrenaline of Aston Villa’s 4-3 comeback win at Brighton on Wednesday has probably only just faded. He made cinematic viewing and triggered memories of Mario Balotelli struggling to put on a warm-up bib and Tim Sherwood, while Villa manager a decade ago, launching his club-branded jacket towards the turf after Christian Benteke equalised against QPR.

By the end, Emery was hoarse and Villa had chalked up an eighth victory in nine Premier League matches, 12 out of 14 in all competitions. Across the past 10 league matches, Villa have accrued a division-high 25 points and in that time only Manchester City have scored more goals and Arsenal conceded fewer. This is the same team that failed to win any of their opening six matches and took three points from their first five league games. At that point Emery was concerned and shared his feelings with his squad, insisting his players raise their performance levels at training and in matches. Belief within an experienced squad – at 27.4 years, the average age of players selected in the league this season is the joint-oldest, with Fulham – did not waver.

Word from the top-tier press conferences, including Maresca singling out Tosin’s gaffes and Paquetá expecting an instant West Ham return

• UK government freezes assets of Gurpreet Singh Rehal

• Rehal accused of recruiting for Sikh militant group

The UK government has frozen the financial assets of a key member of Morecambe FC’s ownership group after he was accused of supporting a terrorist organisation in India.

Morecambe say they have ceased relations with Gurpreet Singh Rehal, previously described as the head of communications and director of marketing for the club’s owner, Panjab Warriors.

• ‘We want to bring him into more threatening situations’

• Conor Bradley available for Saturday’s trip to Leeds

Arne Slot has conceded Liverpool are not bringing the best out of Alexander Isak and must maximise their record signing’s strengths in the manner Manchester City do with Erling Haaland.

The £125m striker scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool in last Sunday’s win at West Ham but was unable to build on that breakthrough against Sunderland on Wednesday. Isak had another quiet game. Slot has repeatedly defended the Swede’s slow start as an inevitable consequence of missing pre-season with Newcastle, when he in effect went on strike to force his exit, but Liverpool’s head coach admits his team are also culpable for the player’s problems.

• Mainoo has not started in Premier League this season

• Amorim: ‘I try to put the best players on the pitch’

Ruben Amorim has denied not trusting Manchester United’s academy by pointing to his selection of Kobbie Mainoo in the matchday squad.

Mainoo was an unused substitute in Thursday’s 1-1 draw at home to West Ham. The 20-year-old midfielder, who has been at the club since he was six, has made 10 appearances this season but only one start, against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup.

Aston Villa welcome leaders Arsenal in Saturday’s early kick-off before Manchester City host Sunderland

Saturday 12.30pm TNT Sports 1 Venue Villa Park

Player-manager on his long road to recovery after a betting addiction, and leading the lowest-ranked team left in the FA Cup

“It’s tough, it’s stressful, it’s completely draining … but I absolutely love what I do,” says Scott Davies, sitting in an empty dressing room waiting for his players to arrive for training. Since 2022, Davies has been the player-manager of Slough Town who, sitting third bottom in National League South, are the lowest-ranked team left in this season’s FA Cup.

Some players are stuck in traffic; training was moved forward to teatime to accommodate a local team’s match on the Arbour Park pitch. When the session gets under way in the bucketing rain, the sixth‑tier side are sharing the 3G surface with a junior team. “I always thought I’d love to be a manager of a non-league football club and have a job on the side,” says Davies. The 37-year-old has opted out of training, instead watching the session from inside, with a tactics board propped up in front of him.

Aitana Bonmatí has been voted the best female player on the planet by our panel of 127 experts ahead of Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo

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Van de Ven may be key for Spurs, Wissa could make Newcastle debut and Dyche deserves warm Everton welcome

Arsenal’s recent memories of Aston Villa are of awkward opponents. Mikel Arteta’s side squandered a two-goal lead at the Emirates Stadium when the teams last met, in January, Arsenal dropping two points, their title charge dented. With such little margin for error, it was the kind of day that boosted Liverpool and crystallised the sense that the Gunners would come up short. Villa also defeated Arsenal in 2023-24, abruptly halting a six-game winning streak. Now Arsenal are in a different position, at the summit with a five-point lead – and six clear of Unai Emery’s team. Victory at Villa Park on Saturday, against a side that have lost only once in the league since August, would offer another significant indication that this could be the season Arsenal take the crown. Ben Fisher

Aston Villa v Arsenal, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Bournemouth v Chelsea, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Sunderland, Saturday 3pm

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Head coach credits loyalty to his trusty Casio watch for helping him lift the Lisbon club after Ruben Amorim’s messy exit

If there is a stoppage in what is sure to be a supercharged Dérbi de Lisboa on Friday, the Sporting head coach, Rui Borges, will likely look down to check the watch he considers a lucky charm.

The black Casio – bought for €20 while still playing for his hometown club Mirandela in north-east Portugal, 150km inland from Porto – is a symbol of his superstitious nature and one he has maintained on his journey from the obscurity of being an amateur coach to making a mark on the biggest stage in club football.

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Until Soungoutou Magassa’s 83rd-minute equaliser Manchester United seemed to be flowering in the cold of winter on the way to a win that would have been their fifth in eight games.

Instead Jarrod Bowen’s flick-on from Andy Irving’s corner from the right had to be cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui, only for the ball to go straight to Magassa, who drove home a first goal for the Hammers.

• Hislop had surgery for ‘fairly aggressive prostate cancer’

• Cancer has spread to pelvic bone of 56-year-old

The former Newcastle, West Ham and Portsmouth goalkeeper Shaka Hislop has revealed he has prostate cancer, which has spread to his pelvic bone. Hislop said he had been diagnosed with “a fairly aggressive prostate cancer” about 18 months ago, which required surgery. Further tests showed the cancer had spread.

“Roughly 18 months ago, I went for my annual physical and insisted on a PSA test, as I always do,” Hislop, 56, said in a video on Instagram. “This time around though my PSA was elevated. An MRI and biopsy quickly determined that I had a fairly aggressive prostate cancer.

• Chair of Fifa’s referees committee offers his support

• Collina wants to ensure changes do not slow down game

Pierluigi Collina has said he would be in favour of the use of the video assistant referee system to determine whether corners have been correctly awarded at the World Cup next summer. The chair of Fifa’s referees committee, speaking at a media briefing in Washington, made clear he supported the advance of technology.

Collina said conversations were taking place over whether VAR could adjudicate on second yellow cards. They will continue at the next meeting of the International Football Association Board, the law-making body, in Wales next March, meaning there would be time for the ruling to come into effect for the World Cup. Collina also said discussions were taking place over how best to combat time-wasting, including when goalkeepers go to ground, seemingly feigning injury to allow managers to hold team meetings. He added that Fifa wanted to explore AI-based innovations to help match officials and improve the game, although he gave no details on this.

• David Hopkinson says revenue growth is core focus

• Team are Saudi PIF’s ‘favourite investment’, CEO adds

Newcastle United’s chief executive regards the club as a rocket ship and believes that, by 2030, it could house the world’s best team. David Hopkinson has hit the ground running since succeeding Darren Eales at St James’ Park in September and the Canadian’s five-year plan is nothing if not ambitious.

“By 2030, I see this club being in the debate about being the top club in the world,” he said. “That kind of progress doesn’t take as long as you might think. What it takes is clarity of conviction.

• Defender will miss Real Madrid match against Man City

• Injury hurts slim hopes of making England squad

Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to be out for at least two months after a scan confirmed the Real Madrid full-back has torn his left thigh muscle.

Alexander-Arnold was withdrawn just before the hour in a 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday night having provided his first assist of the season, from which Kylian Mbappé scored the opening goal. He was making his fourth consecutive start since suffering an injury – also to his left thigh – against Marseille in September.

A foundational figure in the business of soccer and sports in the US is adamant that fans will find a way to attend big events, regardless of political issues

Whenever the modern era of American soccer began (the 1994 World Cup? Or the 1990 appearance by the US men? Or the 1991 World Cup win by the US women?), Alan Rothenberg was a key player.

Rothenberg came up as a lawyer under Jack Kent Cooke, owner of Washington’s NFL team, the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA, the LA Kings of the NHL, and – crucially, the Los Angeles Wolves of the North American Soccer League (NASL), a team that started life fielding mostly players from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Frenchman’s epiphany after a missed penalty at San Mamés in 2024 has led to a sensational 2025. Real Madrid are purring again

Kylian Mbappé returned to the Cathedral where he experienced his epiphany in 2024, his resurrection born after hitting rock bottom, and delivered something like salvation. Exactly a year since he missed a penalty there, a bad moment he later said was a good one, the Frenchman was back at San Mamés on Wednesday night.

Last time, he missed a second penalty in a week, an awakening accompanying failure; this time, he scored two goals in an hour and set up another, light let in through the dark again. As the Frenchman headed off the pitch early, Madrid 3-0 up against Athletic Bilbao with 15 minutes left, he embraced Xabi Alonso, who is still his manager.

We publish the full breakdown of the 104,140 votes cast this year plus a chance to search for any player who has ever received a point

Aitana Bonmatí has been voted the best female footballer in the world 2025 by the Guardian’s panel of experts. We asked 127 people in total, including players, coaches and journalists from all over the globe to create our definitive list for the year.

We asked the judges to choose 40 names each and rank their selection in order from 1-40, No 1 being their choice of the best player. The No 1 choice of each judge was awarded 40 points, No 2 given 39pts, down to 1pt for their No 40 choice. All the votes were added together to give a raw score. To minimise the influence of outliers in the list, the highest score awarded to a player was then deducted to give a final score.

Our cartoonist on what inspired him to draw some of his finest cartoons this year

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• David’s new book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now

“Denis Law is one of the few footballers I’m too young to have seen play live, but like all followers of the game, I’m aware of his impact and talent. What I hadn’t fully appreciated was what a kind and generous person he was – something that became obvious as I read the many tributes to his character, in preparation for this cartoon”.

New Celtic manager may not be a big name but he won over the US league with leadership style and attractive football

Other managers won more in Major League Soccer than Wilfried Nancy. Bruce Arena, say, certainly has a fuller trophy cabinet. Nancy, however, lifted more than just trophies. He lifted standards. At Columbus Crew, he set a benchmark for the rest, showing what was possible even with limited resources. Columbus didn’t have Lionel Messi or Son Heung-min, but they had Nancy as head coach, and that was often enough.

For the past three seasons, the Crew have been the most dynamic, boundary-pushing team in MLS. Nancy’s CF Montreal team weren’t bad either, establishing the style of play that would come to be known as Nancyball. He changed MLS’s managerial landscape for ever. It was only a matter of time until a call came from Europe.

West Ham captain and manager who held the club record for appearances and was voted by fans as the team’s greatest player

The footballer Billy Bonds, who has died aged 79, captained West Ham to two FA Cup final victories – in 1975 and 1980 – during a 21-year period at Upton Park in which he made a club record 799 appearances.

Voted by the fans as West Ham’s greatest ever player, ahead even of Bobby Moore, he also skippered the team to the finals of the European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1976 and the League Cup in 1981, although on both occasions on the losing side.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Will Unwin to discuss the Premier League, with David Conn discussing the IOPC report on policing at Hillsborough

On the podcast today: Manchester City were 5-1 up at Craven Cottage before very nearly throwing it away. If not for Josko Gvardiol’s goal-line clearance in injury time, Fulham might have pulled off one of the greatest ever Premier League comebacks.

Elsewhere, a late double for Cristian Romero earns Spurs a point away at lead-losing Newcastle, Jack Grealish wins it for Everton at Bournemouth, and we look ahead to the World Cup draw on Friday.

Plus: David Conn joins the podcast to discuss the Independent Office for Police Conduct report on policing at Hillsborough. The IOPC found that 12 police officers would have faced gross misconduct cases if any were still serving.

Inaugural prize expected to be handed to Donald Trump but ‘process’ for choosing future winners to be proposed by controversial tycoon’s committee

It was the timing that set off the first alarm bells. With Donald Trump brooding over missing out on the Nobel peace prize, and shortly before Gianni Infantino, the president of world football’s governing body, Fifa, was due to meet the US president in Miami, an announcement was made.

In a press release and a post on his personal Instagram account last month, Infantino said Fifa would launch its very own peace prize, to be awarded each year to “individuals who help unite people in peace through unwavering commitment and special actions”.

Gus Poyet’s assistant says ‘moment of misunderstanding’ led to his being punished by the K League

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors had their “La Decima” banners ready on the second weekend of November to celebrate a 10th South Korean title won in style by the head coach, Gus Poyet. Their game with Daejeon Hana, however, turned out to be the most controversial and divisive of the season. Jeonbuk were leading 2-1 when, in injury time, the referee, Kim Woo-seong, did not award a penalty for handball, much to the displeasure of Mauricio Taricco, Poyet’s No 2.

Even when the video assistant referee intervened and Kim pointed to the spot, the former Tottenham full-back kept complaining, to the extent that he was shown a second yellow card minutes after the first. The Argentinian put his index fingers next to the outer corner of each eye. Kim interpreted the gesture as racist and reported the 52-year-old to the K League’s disciplinary committee.

Two major figures from the last 15 years of global soccer have largely met in big-game contexts. They’ll do so again in MLS Cup on Saturday

This was the matchup Thomas Müller wanted.

“My history with [Messi] forces me to hope for a final against Miami,” the former Bayern Munich and Germany star told Calen Carr in a recent interview previewing the MLS playoffs ahead for his new side, the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Barcelona recovered to secure a 3-1 win against Atlético Madrid on Tuesday, Goals from Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres handed the visitors their first La Liga defeat since August and extended the champions’ lead at the top.

Barcelona are on 37 points, four ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday. Atlético, arriving at Camp Nou on a seven-game winning run in all competitions, remain in fourth place with 31 points.

Perhaps the data-soaked discourse of modern football actually does this Premier League centurion something of a disservice

Stack them up. Pile them high. Sort them and arrange them, parse them and categorise them, order them to your table like items in a Chinese restaurant. Personal favourites? Give me the No 33 against Arsenal, the one with the flowing hair. I’ll also take a No 81 against Chelsea, when he spots a hapless Robert Sánchez out of goal, and lobs him deliciously from the edge of the area.

Give me a No 98 against Bournemouth, in which he deliberately slants his run around the keeper, slots it in from a tight angle, tries to clamber atop the advertising hoardings in triumph, loses his balance, collapses in peals of giggles. And maybe chuck in a No 53 against Brentford, in which Kristoffer Ajer somehow manages to fall over without being touched, spooked into incoherence by his very presence.

In the past, moments like Chelsea’s shorthanded goal might have sent Arsenal reeling. No longer

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The gap at the top is five points. Arsenal have now played two of their three toughest away games of the season. They’ve come through a potentially extremely tricky week with reputation enhanced, despite being without one of their starting centre-backs for all three games and both for one of them. If there is any sense of disappointment, it is only that they failed to beat Chelsea, whom they have become accustomed to getting the better of, despite having a man advantage from the 38th minute on Sunday.

But really there shouldn’t be any disappointment. Coming out of the international break, having conceded a late equaliser to Sunderland in their previous game, Arsenal looked potentially vulnerable. Despite having been by far the most impressive side this season, their lead over Manchester City was only four points. They were without Gabriel, who probably ranks alongside Declan Rice as their most important player. They faced Tottenham, Bayern and Chelsea over the course of eight days, and Manchester City appeared to be beginning to gather momentum.

Reaction to goalkeeper’s error on Saturday was reprehensible but fans have had enough of being let down by the team

In my 35 years as a Tottenham fan, 15 of them as a season‑ticket holder, I’ve seen the home atmosphere turn ugly more than a few times. Chants of “We want our Tottenham back” have resurfaced during times of struggle, while mounting fury at Daniel Levy finally grew too loud to ignore for the Lewis family over the summer.

I remember well the chorus of boos that ultimately sounded the death knell for Nuno Espírito Santo, when he subbed off a lively Lucas Moura against Manchester United. And if you want a deeper cut, I was there in May 2007 to witness the visceral anger and disgust when Hossam Ghaly threw his shirt on the ground after being substituted by Martin Jol, half an hour after coming on.

In MLS and NWSL alike, edge-of-your-seat contests have delivered indelible moments that even the best title race run-in can’t match

There’s a TV commercial that’s been running on Apple TV during MLS games for Lowe’s hardware stores. Lionel Messi carefully places a soccer ball on a field, ready to take a free kick. He is flanked by Lionel Messi and Lionel Messi. On the sideline, manager Lionel Messi, assisted by Lionel Messi, gesticulates. Lionel Messi lays off the ball for Lionel Messi, who crosses it to Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi chests and volleys it into the net and is mobbed by another half dozen Lionel Messis (or is it Lionels Messi?).

Facing Inter Miami in the ongoing MLS playoffs must feel more or less like living inside this ad. Before Saturday’s Eastern Conference final against New York City FC, Messi had either scored or assisted on all 12 goals Miami had scored in the postseason. Messi has smashed up the league this year, but he has saved the real savagery for the playoffs.

Our cartoonist on the people and themes that are fuelling the buildup to next summer’s tournament in North America

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That he stayed after relegation in 1978 and lifted the FA Cup with the team still in Division Two typified his commitment

Some players embody a club but few have ever embodied their side more than Billy Bonds, who died on Sunday at the age of 79. He was not a one-club man but by the time he finally retired, at the age of 41, in 1988, he felt like one, having racked up a record 799 appearances for West Ham. Just as significantly, he had lifted the FA Cup twice as captain.

There was applause at the London Stadium on Sunday as a montage was shown on the big screens. It featured a number of spectacular long-range strikes because it’s easier to show somebody scoring goals than preventing them, and still harder to somehow sum up leadership.

For a man who insists football isn’t political, the Fifa boss is putting a lot of effort into courting the most divisive politician on Earth

Gianni Infantino was 18 years old the first time he ran for office. It was a presidential election at FC Brig-Glis, the local amateur football club in the small Swiss town where he grew up. Running against two older men, and with no discernible footballing record of his own, the little red-haired kid with freckles was, unsurprisingly, the rank outsider in the race.

But he had a vision. He had a ferocious work ethic, boundless enthusiasm, well-established networks in the town’s Italian immigrant community. And even at this tender age, he had a flair for an eye-catching scheme. To the shock of many veterans at the club, Infantino surged to victory: partly on the back of his pledge to attract new sponsors and revenue streams, and partly on something more tangible. Infantino promised that if he won, his mother Maria would wash all the players’ kits, every week, for as long as he was president.

Leaders wary of the topsy-turvy nature of a competitive fifth tier which is an obstacle course as well as a marathon

There is arguably no tougher feat in modern football than gaining automatic promotion from the National League. Even Wrexham, with all their Hollywood money, took three seasons to crack the code of the solitary automatic spot. There is an illustrious list of former Football League clubs queueing up at the summit of the fifth tier with an eye on the promised land, all upwardly mobile and thriving after battling through various crises. All but two– one up automatically, one through the playoffs – will end the season disappointed.

Rochdale believe they can be the chosen ones. Saved from liquidation last year by a £2m takeover by local family the Ogdens, the club are now thriving on the pitch under Jimmy McNulty and hoping for a return to the EFL, where they enjoyed a 102-year unbroken stay between 1921 and 2023.

Liverpool have dropped to 12th in the table – matching the lowest finish by reigning Premier League champions

By WhoScored

Six defeats in 12 top-flight games is not just a wobble. It’s one of the worst starts ever made by defending Premier League champions. The last team to begin their title defence this badly was Leicester City in 2016-17. They finished 12th that season – where Liverpool are now – with Claudio Ranieri sacked midway through the campaign. The same fate befell José Mourinho at Chelsea in the 2015-16 season. They started with seven defeats in 12 games, a collapse so severe that Mourinho was shown the door a week before Christmas. For Liverpool and Arne Slot, the warning signs could not be clearer.

The transformation from champions to chaos has been stark. Just six months ago, Slot was heralded as a record breaker, the man who had taken on the unenviable task of replacing club legend Jürgen Klopp and done it with apparent ease. Under his guidance, Liverpool clinched the title with four games to spare, an achievement only three other teams have managed. Slot became the third-youngest manager to win the Premier League, the fifth to win it in his first season in England and, most importantly, he brought the title to Anfield for just the second time in 35 years.

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Out there in the extended WhatsApp metaverse, an exclusive group of footballers send each other memes, jokes and probably much else besides. What goes encrypted stays encrypted but it was only last week that Christian Fuchs, reliable left-back turned Newport County manager, revealed his appointment to the Welsh club had set the notifications buzzing on the “Champions” group, made up of the 2015-16 Leicester City players. Ten years ago today, a Riyad Mahrez hat-trick at Swansea sent the Foxes to the Premier League summit. Jamie Vardy was denied a goal but had just completed a record-breaking streak of scoring in 11 consecutive matches. The following Monday, a 2-1 win over Chelsea sent José Mourinho through the Stamford Bridge door marked Do One. “I want to stay and I hope Mr Abramovich and the board want me to stay because I want to stay,” squealed José. “All at Chelsea thank José for his immense contribution …” came the reply.

That season, everyone trailed in the wake of a Vardy, Mahrez and N’Golo Kanté-charged wrecking ball. Next summer there will doubtless be a 10th anniversary celebration. Their story continues to defy belief. No tactical manual or chalkboard wonk ever divined the sheer inspiration of Claudio Ranieri’s “dilly ding dilly dong” motivational techniques. The problem with football is that you can never truly bask in the past. Just look at Manchester United’s constipations or the deleterious fall of Liverpool, actual champions whose performances have turned even the cheeriest Anfield fan into a Samuel Beckett tragicomedy. Though if you are mining for misery look no further than Leicester in 2025. There is the possibility that the 10th anniversary party will take place in League One.

Did the downfall begin the very next season? Where did it all go wrong, Mr Vardy? An opening-day loss at Hull, a team with no manager, was soon followed by Ranieri’s defenestration: dilly ding, dilly gone. Since then, there’s been tragedy in the 2018 helicopter crash that killed Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the club’s owner. And good money thrown after bad: Leicester have walked a financial tightrope that may lead to docked points soon, plunging them into the Championship’s relegation zone. When Vardy departed for Cremonese last summer, the last of the immortals departed the tower. The doom has doubled. Ruud van Nistelrooy’s failure to find any fight against relegation last season has been replicated by Martí Cifuentes.

Unbeaten in Europe and with eight wins in eight games domestically, the club are aiming high after name change

When the Olympique Lyonnais women’s team officially became OL Lyonnes on 19 May, they came with a new mantra: “New story, same legend”. The eight-time European champions, now owned by Michele Kang and part of Kynisca – a multi-club ownership group dedicated to women’s sports that also already includes the Washington Spirit – are a “new project” with the aim of “developing as a women’s club with our own model”. As Kang put it: “The women’s team cannot just be a little sister to the men’s section.”

The OL Lyonnes era kicked off on 7 September, coinciding with the Lyon’s 1,000th match in the French women’s top division, against Marseille. Kang was present, alongside Mikel Zubizarreta, Kynisca’s global sporting director, who was poached from Barcelona Femení last year. On the pitch, new recruits snatched from other European clubs this summer – Jule Brand, Lily Yohannes, Ashley Lawrence, Ingrid Engen, Korbin Shrader and Marie-Antoinette Katoto – discovered what it will be like to play at the Groupama Stadium, where the men’s team plays, for the entire season.

Sports Interactive has included the women’s game after its tireless effort of collating a comprehensive database

Within minutes I am in the deep end as the Arsenal manager before the start of the 2025-26 season, sizing up a transfer budget that does not match my ambitions for the club. I am immediately at odds with the board when I launch a rogue bid to sign Aitana Bonmatí, which is immediately rejected.

I manage to recruit Alex Greenwood to shore things up in the wake of Leah Williamson’s injury and my late bid for Patri Guijarro, who wants to be part of my project, falls through at the last minute with the budget once again the problem. I demand answers from the board as to why they will not release more funds when the player-in-question wants to join, pointing out that our scouting report says she’s a necessary replacement for Lia Wälti.

Eberechi Eze’s hat-trick and Manchester City’s loss to Newcastle means Arsenal are in control of their own destiny

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So it turns out those who had already handed the title to Arsenal were right after all.

It’s absurd, of course, to start handing out the title in November but a feature of modern football is how obsessed it becomes so early with title races. It’s perhaps a legacy of the Pep Guardiola-Jürgen Klopp rivalry’s peak, when being champion meant amassing more than 95 points. It made sense then to scan the track far ahead for any potential hurdles because there were so few. But less than a third of the way through this season, Manchester City, who remain probably the biggest danger to Arsenal, have already dropped as many points as they did in the entirety of 2017-18, their 100-point campaign.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Jacob Steinberg as Chelsea lose 3-1 away at Leeds, Sunderland earn a draw at Anfield and Arsenal secure another straightforward win

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On the podcast today: another almost perfect night for Arsenal as title rivals Chelsea lose away at Leeds. The big man and big man strike partnership could turn Daniel Farke’s fortunes around.

Plus: the shambles that was 1950 World Cup qualifying, and plenty more brawling teammates

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“Has any player been shown a second yellow card while being substituted for not leaving the pitch correctly?” wonders Ken Foster.

They have indeed, Ken. Let Robin Horton take you back to a bitter January in 1980, when Stoke City were the visitors to Burnley in the FA Cup third round. “Stoke’s Denis Smith, already on a yellow card, limped towards the touchline with an injured ankle, only to linger on the touchline as substitute Paul Johnson was not properly warmed up,” Robin recalls. “Referee Kevin McNally therefore sent Smith off for time-wasting. McNally was not in Stoke’s good books; Burnley won the tie via a penalty, and Stoke’s Ray Evans also got his marching orders, for what manager Alan Durban described as ‘heavy sarcasm’.” That’s as good a reason for a dismissal as we can remember.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Emily Keogh and Ayisha Gulati to review England’s wins over China and Ghana. Plus, Suzy Wrack joins Faye to speak to the new Newcastle head coach, Tanya Oxtoby, about her return to club management.

On today’s pod: the Lionesses close out 2025 in style. England hit eight past China at Wembley, with Georgia Stanway scoring a hat-trick, before following up with a controlled win over Ghana on the south coast. The panel look at a clinical attacking display, Lucia Kendall’s dream homecoming and what Sarina Wiegman will take from facing two very different opponents.

Also, the panel reflects on a remarkable year for England, 17 games, 12 wins and back-to-back European titles, and considers what comes next as World Cup qualifying begins in March, with Ukraine, Iceland and Spain awaiting in the group.

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

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2008 and 31 August 2009, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 … and go even further back. Here’s our 2025 world picks

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