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Chris Sutton believes Celtic may need to spend more than £50m overhauling their squad this summer if they are to retain their Premiership title and compete in the Champions League.Martin O'Neill led Celtic to their fifth title in a row on the last day of the season in May as a fractured campaign on and off the pitch ultimately yielded a double, with victory over Dunfermline also securing Scottish Cup success.However, whereas Celtic have enjoyed relative dominance in recent years, they were just minutes away from being pipped to the title by Hearts, with managerial turnover and off-field supporter protests over recruitment disrupting last season.Sutton believes those recruitment issues are still a concern and thinks departures of key players could push Celtic into a bigger spend in the summer window as they look to address key areas in the squad."Martin worked wonders last season. I didn't see Celtic winning the title from the position which he was put in on a couple of occasions," he told Sky Sports News. "I mean, the run towards the end of the season was extraordinary but I still think you can't get away from the fact there needs to be a lot of change at Celtic in terms of recruitment."They've got the Champions League qualifier which is really important and, however exciting it was for Celtic fans to end up getting over the line last season, you can't get away from the fact that Celtic struggled at times throughout the season. So, Martin will be looking to, I'm sure, bring players in."It'll be interesting to see who goes out from Celtic. It looks like Reo Hatate will go, possibly Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels but they're big players for the team. So, who are Celtic going to replace those type of players with? I think that Celtic are possibly going to have to spend up to or more than £50m really because the squad does need a rebuild."In full: 2026/27 Scottish Premiership fixturesCeltic will start their upcoming Premiership campaign with the visit of Dundee on August 3, live on Sky Sports, and will host Rangers in the first Old Firm clash of the season on September 20. Before that, however, they will have to negotiate a Champions League play-off tie on August 18/19.Celtic failed to make the group stages of the Champions League last season, losing out in the play-offs on penalties to Kairat Almaty and Sutton thinks serious work needs to be done over the summer to ensure the club are back at Europe's top table."The squad looked tired last season at times," he said. "The question is, is the squad from last season good enough to win the Scottish Premiership this season, good enough to challenge in Europe? I think it would be a struggle again this season if Celtic don't bring players in. Everybody can see what needs to happen."I think Martin O'Neill will know that. So, recruitment is of paramount importance. And Champions League football, again, that Champions League qualifier is absolutely massive for Celtic. It can change the mood in and around the club. You get through that into the Champions League and the supporters will be delighted. You don't get through and then the old misery will start again."Rangers kick off their Premiership season with a trip to Tannadice to face Dundee United in what will be Derek McInnes's first competitive match in charge."Going away to Dundee United is a good opening game, then Hibs at home and St Mirren after that, two home games, with a chance to build up some momentum before travelling to Aberdeen," Boyd said."For Rangers it is an opportunity to get points on the board. Rangers need to start the season well. Obviously, that didn't happen last season and they were playing catch up."They need to get off to a good start and see where that takes them because when you fall behind in this league it can be difficult to get back in and we have seen the amount of change that happened at Ibrox last season because of the poor start so I think for Rangers and Derek McInnes they will want to get off to a really good start."McInnes has replaced Danny Röhl at Ibrox after the German took over at RB Salzburg and Sutton thinks Rangers will be better for the managerial change."Danny Röhl didn't have the stomach for it," Sutton said. "He walked away or, you know, he's gone to Salzburg. But Derek's stepping in."Last season at Hearts, they pushed Celtic all the way. I thought he did brilliantly. He's proven himself in management and I think it's a really smart appointment from Rangers, actually."When it came to the crunch at the end of the season, Rangers lost four games on the spin. Everything sort of changed then and Röhl's demeanour changed."And I don't think it was a great surprise to anybody that he ended up leaving. So, I think Rangers are better off without him. And, you know, Derek McInnes is a good appointment."Hearts are yet to announce a replacement for McInnes and will have their own rebuild to contend with following the departure of captain Lawrence Shankland to Ibrox.Despite that, Boyd believes Hearts are capable of challenging for the title again and insists Tony Bloom and Jamestown Analytics will be vital if that is to happen."Hearts have lost their manager and their captain and talisman in Lawrence Shankland but I think they will only get stronger," Boyd said. "Yes, last season they ran Celtic ever so close, but I think with Jamestown Analytics and a new manager they will get in shortly, then they will start to build again."It is brilliant for Scottish football because for a long time it has been Rangers and Celtic who were the only ones winning titles, with Celtic dominating recently. Now, all of a sudden, there is someone else in the mix and you are just hoping the likes of Hibs and Aberdeen, the bigger clubs, can come to the party as well because if they do then we've got a really exciting league."Sutton has questioned if Hearts' best chance for title success was last season but knows Bloom will have a plan to have the team competing at the top end of the table again."This is going to be a very different Hearts side," Sutton said. "They are a really fascinating story because of what they achieved last season. Everybody will be thinking, well, can they challenge again? They've lost the best striker in Scotland, in Lawrence Shankland, to Rangers. They've lost their talented manager, Derek McInnes, to Rangers."What are Jamestown Analytics going to do in terms of trying to replace them? I'm sure they've got a plan. I'm sure Tony Bloom has a plan. It'll be interesting to see who comes in as the next Hearts coach and which route they go down."I'm sure Hearts will be there or thereabouts, but maybe it's the case that they had their chance last season. This season may be slightly different. I think that they're really interesting to watch."

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Assistant manager’s half-time interview on ITV offered an unexpectedly honest insight into the in-game mood in the campEngland’s players have been effusive in their praise for Thomas Tuchel’s half-time talk, but the half-time talk that ITV viewers in the UK got was very different, in the form of a refreshingly frank interview with his assistant, Anthony Barry.In-game interviews of staff are another novel broadcasting feature of this World Cup, like the innovative use of refcam, but, rather than fob off a reporter with some meaningless platitudes about the lads giving it 110%, Barry gave an honest assessment of the team’s failings up to that point.What Barry served up was not the usual scripted optimism but a raw autopsy of England’s opening-half paralysis, pinpointing that the team were suffering from an excess of nervous energy in what he described as a “complicated and confusing” 45 minutes.He criticised the mentality of the players for falling into “fearful patterns”, and making the wrong decisions – as he put it, “Playing longer when we should play short, playing short when we should play long, and not playing through the gaps, not allowing us to accelerate our game the way we wanted to.”Barry was honest enough to admit that even the gift of an early penalty had not settled the team. Saying that nervous energy was “maybe expected in the opening game of a World Cup”, he nevertheless lamented that the early goal did not free the team up “to play more like ourselves”.He didn’t offer a smile for the cameras. He finished with the blunt assessment: “We conceded the second goal late on, and now we have to speak about that at half-time,” leaving viewers with the distinct impression of a man heading down the tunnel with a clipboard full of problems to solve.During his playing days as a midfielder, Barry knocked around the lower leagues with spells at Yeovil Town, Chester City, Fleetwood Town and Forest Green Rovers, but if he isn’t a particularly familiar face to TV viewers – yet – he is very much a familiar face to Tuchel.After launching his coaching career in 2015 and working with Wigan, Barry joined Chelsea in 2020, where he served under Tuchel before following the manager to Bayern Munich in 2023. Alongside these club roles, Barry built an impressive international resume assisting the Republic of Ireland, Belgium and Portugal, before stepping in to the England assistant manager role.His on-screen diagnosis of an England performance that delivered an inspiring result but which was far from flawless mirrored Tuchel’s assessment after the final whistle. The German said “sometimes you want it too much and you overthink it” before noting that there were far too many backward passes for his liking.“I told them to calm down,” Tuchel said of his half-time talk. “To calm down, calm their nerves. And encourage them to do it our way.” Armchair viewers of England’s World Cup campaign look as if they could get to enjoy an unprecedented insight into what the management team are about to tell the players in dressing room.

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27 CommentsGary Lineker thinks Harry Kane is "the greatest English striker we've ever had" after the England captain equalled his record of 10 World Cup goals on Wednesday. Kane, 32, scored twice as England opened their tournament campaign in Dallas with a 4-2 victory against Croatia in Group L.Former Three Lions striker Lineker, 65, reached his tally between the 1986 World Cup in Mexico and Italia 90, while Kane is playing at his third tournament after featuring in Russia in 2018 and Qatar four years ago."Welcome to the double-figures club. It's great. I mean, it may have taken him a World Cup more," ex-Match of the Day presenter Lineker joked on The Rest is Football podcast."In all seriousness, Harry Kane is, I think, the greatest English striker we've ever had. I genuinely think that now."Kane now has 81 goals in 115 international appearances and leads the list of England's record goalscorers.England face Ghana in their second group game on 23 June at 21:00 BST.Bayern Munich's Kane gave England the lead with a retaken penalty early in the first half, before scoring a powerful header to restore his side's lead three minutes before the break."I'm absolutely delighted that Kane equalled my record," Lineker continued. "His all-round game is, for me, what separates him from all the others."Kane's standout performance comes after Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria, Kylian Mbappe opened his account for France with two goals in the win over Senegal and Manchester City's Erling Haaland also scored a brace in Norway's victory against Iran.Lineker's co-host Alan Shearer, who scored 30 goals for England including two at the 1998 World Cup, said: "Harry Kane has seen Messi, Mbappe and Haaland all come on straight away and get the goals."It's only a matter of time before he breaks your record."Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, who was left out of England boss Thomas Tuchel's squad for this summer's tournament, said Kane is not just the Three Lions' best player, he's "one of the best players in the world".He added: "You can't speak highly enough of him. On the pitch, he's unbelievable, but, off the pitch, he's a massive leader."World Cup: Kane & Bellingham Put On A ShowSoundsTactical analysis: England look exciting but how can they tighten up?Play BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor gameEverything you need to know about the World Cup

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All 48 teams have played their first matches. From xG to assists to transfer value, here’s some of the more revealing bits of dataThe first round of fixtures at the World Cup is in the bank so we’ve finally seen all 48 teams. But what have we learned? Who was good, bad, lucky or fired after just one game? A dig into the Opta data has revealed some facts that may not have been immediately apparent from the scorelines.Mexico moved the ball upfield slower than any other team in the first round of fixtures. They could afford to take their time as South Africa offered next to no threat. It’s unlikely to end well when a team receive as many red cards as they have touches in the opposition penalty area, which was the case for the losing side.This game was the first to feature one of the trademarks of the 2025-26 Premier League season. The former West Ham defender Vladimir Coufal launched a long throw-in, which the Wolves centre-back Ladislav Krejci headed home to give Czechia the lead. South Korea were worthy winners, with the 25-pass buildup to Hwang In-beom’s equaliser the joint-fifth longest passing sequence leading to a goal in the World Cup since records begin in 1966.Czechia’s set-play prowess looked weak compared with what Bosnia and Herzegovina offered. Seven of their eight shots against Canada were from set pieces. Sergej Barbarez will need his team to generate more than one open play chance per match. Their remaining opponents being as wasteful as the Canadians will help too.Opta Analyst’s pre-match predications rated this as the second-closest match of the opening set of fixtures. The USA looked at the supercomputer and laughed. Paraguay conceded the joint-second fewest goals in the South American qualifying group yet allowed their hosts 53 touches in their penalty area, the second-most after Curaçao against Germany.These matches are grouped together because their favourites failed to win for broadly the same reason. Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey and Uruguay are the top five teams for possession and final-third pass accuracy. They had the ball where a team would want it and, Portugal aside, generated at least 25 shots.The problem was the quality of their chances. A reasonable expected goals tally looks far less impressive when divided among numerous low probability efforts from long range. Spain averaged 0.08 xG per shot, with Uruguay (0.06) and Turkey (0.04) among the teams below them. That is worse than Burnley and Wolves averaged in the Premier League this season (0.09), two teams nobody is looking to emulate.The so-called minnows have defensive fortitude that they did not always carry in the past. Giants be warned.This summed up what we can probably expect from Brazil. Their midfield may be porous, as shown by Morocco’s goal, but if they can get the ball to Vinícius Júnior then they’ll probably be fine.We should doff our caps to Carlo Ancelotti, though. His half-time changes helped ensure Morocco did not have a shot between the break and the 98th minute.There have already been nine draws. Even allowing for the World Cup being bigger than ever, the proportion of draws in this phase of the competition has never been higher. Is this a byproduct of a bloated format with little jeopardy for most teams? We’ll see.This is the one match that should have ended all-square. It was a dead heat on expected goals to two decimal places, at 1.05 apiece.Transfermarkt’s data suggests the Germany starting XI was worth €559.4m (£485m) more than the 11 men that lined up for Curaçao. Opta gave the four-time champions a 90.7% chance of winning the match.The Netherlands increased their expected goals tally by 1.38 in Opta’s post-shot model, the most of any team. Japan had 19 touches in the opposition penalty area and had the lowest xG of any team that scored at least twice.These matches ended in similarly glorious or heartbreaking fashion depending on your perspective. Ecuador hit a post three times, while Panama missed two Opta-defined big chances. The data suggested both teams were probably worthy of a draw as the clock hit 89 minutes.Amad Diallo and Caleb Yirenkyi put paid to those hopes with very late winners for the countries.This result may give the impression that Sweden are back on track after their deeply disappointing qualification campaign. The notion is undermined by Graham Potter’s men overachieving against their xG by 3.67 goals, the most of any team.It is fair to assume the Tunisian football federation is not paying attention to expected goal outliers, as it fired Sabri Lamouchi after the game. It will take more than Hervé Renard to save them.This was a lesson in the importance of taking chances. At 1-0 up early in the second half, Mohamed Salah had a header saved, with the goalscorer Emam Ashour blasting the rebound out for a throw-in. Omar Marmoush sliced wide on a counterattack shortly afterwards too.Enter Romelu. Lukaku came on in the 66th minute, immediately forced an equalising own goal and Egypt mustered only three low-value chances between that point and full time.Iran fielded the joint-second oldest starting XI in the history of the World Cup (at 31.8 years old). People who love naming footballers of yesteryear will enjoy trying to recall the Germany side of 1998 that was older. They beat Iran 2-0, funnily enough.Age didn’t prevent this from being one of the most entertaining matches. Iran were unlucky to run into the New Zealand duo of Chris Wood and Elijah Just. The former assisted the latter twice, making them the only combination to have linked up for two goals.France produced a game of two halves. Their efforts in the opening 45 minutes had them careering towards the “big team with lots of the ball fail to win” section of this roundup. Gorgeous defence-splitting passes from Michael Olise and Adrien Rabiot ensured otherwise.Six Premier League teams did not muster more than their two through-ball assists in the entire season; France logged their pair in a 16-minute spell of incision.Iraq were holding their own until a pair of defensive errors handed Norway a second lead. Erling Haaland leads the World Cup for individual expected goals, with the goalkeeper Jalal Hassan’s blunder contributing hugely to his tally.The most surprising statistic of the first wave of fixtures is that Algeria had more touches in the opposition penalty area than Argentina, limiting the defending champions to 12. But they were also the only team to fail to register a shot on target and when Lionel Messi is on song, data is almost irrelevant. Almost.Eleven shots with four on target. As it was for Austria, so it was for Jordan. The difference came in Opta-defined big chances (which are opportunities where you can reasonably expect the attacker to score). The Austrians led that metric 4-0 and they benefited from an own goal too.England had seven big chances, more than any other side. It was hardly surprising that four came from dead-ball situations, as Thomas Tuchel’s side had more shots this way than in open play. Harry Kane’s double carried him on to our rundown of the highest goalscorers in World Cup history and he should join the top 10 before the group stage is out.Last and by most means least, we have a fairly routine win for Colombia. Uzbekistan made the xG figures look respectable thanks to Abbosbek Fayzullayev scoring with a chance valued at 0.98 expected goals. Few people in any walk of life will ever be handed a better opportunity to become a national hero.

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Mike Costello, the legendary boxing commentator, tells a story of when he was fresh in the game, an old pro heard him getting dead excited calling a fight that wasn’t Hagler-Hearns, so issued some advice: always leave yourself somewhere to go.For those of us involved in a similar kind of thing, this is an important lesson, but one easier grasped than lived – especially during the World Cup and even more so during this World Cup. How not to unload the suitcase – and why not unload the suitcase – when Curaçao equalise against Germany, Cape Verde force a draw with Spain and DRC equalise against then draw with Portugal? For them – and so for us, sport being the experience of living your life through others – this is their Hagler-Hearns, so it makes more sense to trust you’ll find somewhere to go than not turn up somewhere you desperately need to be.Which is to say we’ve enjoyed a sensational first week of football – but Czechia and South Africa have not, enduing the respective agonies of a soul-crushing late winner conceded and a total no-show dropped. But the structure of the competition is in their favour, a defeat today terminal for neither – though with final-round matches against Mexico and South Korea upcoming, a win feels essential for both.Kick-off: 12pm local and EDT, 5pm BST, 2am AEST

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Rhian Wilkinson says Wales will need to show courage in their World Cup play-offs rather than fear, after being handed a possible tie against Norway in the race to reach Brazil 2027.Wales must beat Albania and then either Romania or Norway in successive two-legged play-off ties if they are to reach next year's tournament.Wilkinson's side were in the same group as Albania in their qualifying campaign - winning 4-0 in Wrexham and 1-0 away from home.Wales, who topped League B Group 1 ahead of the Czech Republic, will be away in the first leg of round one on 9 October before hosting the Albanians - who finished third in the group - in the second leg on 13 October.Should they win that tie on aggregate, Wales will then play the winners of the match between Romania and Norway, who are managed by former Wales boss Gemma Grainger.Wales, who have never beaten a top-20 side in a competitive fixture, will be home for the first leg on 1 December and away in the second leg on 5 December should they make it through to round two.Wilkinson says facing Norway - currently 14th in the world rankings - would be an "incredible challenge" but one they have to embrace."If we want to be a side that makes major tournaments, then we have to be able to confidently show up against teams ranked higher than us and know that we're going to put in a strong performance," she said."Norway would be an incredible challenge, but a wonderful challenge."We can't be frightened of not showing up and giving everything. I'd like to take a more courageous stance, and I hope they (the players) follow me with it."Wilkinson says Wales have learned from their experience at Euro 2025, when they stuggled to make an impact against three of the world's best teams - Netherlands, France and England."I think we all learned a lot through the Euros - myself, my staff, the players," she said."Do I wish I'd coached differently? Parts of it, absolutely. I'm sure they (the players) look back on it and think like 'what if, what if we could have...'"But you don't know until you've been to a major event what it's going to be like, what the pressure feels like, what the stress feels like."We talked about it, we prepared for it, and it still blew us away, but there's confidence that comes from having done it."I also look at our last Nations League A campaign - two draws against Sweden, but also keeping the scores really competitive against some top nations."Wales will have to improve their away form if they are to get through the play-offs and make it to Brazil.Wilkinson's side sailed through their home qualifiers, with a 6-1 mauling of Montenegro, a 4-0 romp past Albania and a 3-1 win over Czech Republic to wrap up the group.On the road, however, they were fortunate to salvage a draw in the Czech Republic in their opening qualifier in March, then scraped a 1-0 victory in Albania before a shock 1-1 draw in Montenegro in the penultimate match."We were a bit frustrated when we played Albania away (in April), but this is a good opportunity to improve our performance against a challenging opposition," said Wilkinson."I thought (Albania) played really well in that second leg, so they'll be tough. It'll be a good tactical battle between them and us, and who's learnt the most."It was obvious from our campaign that our away form wasn't what we wanted it to be. There's definitely some work to be done away from home."It's about showing up with the best version of ourselves."And there we have it: Wales will almost certainly have to beat a top-20 side for the first time in a competitive game if they're to reach their first World Cup finals.Assuming Wales get past Albania, they'd expect to come up against Norway in round two... unless Romania can pull off a big shock and make a mockery of the 39 places between those two teams in the world rankings.Wales were beaten home and away by Norway the last time the sides met - in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2022.Norway are currently 14th in the world having come second to Germany in their qualifying group.It's a big challenge, but by no means impossible for Wales. One I'm sure head coach Wilkinson will embrace as she bids to get Wales to the second major tournament in their history.Northern Ireland or Portugal v Croatia or IcelandIsrael or Switzerland v Kosovo or AustriaCzech Republic or Scotland v Lithuania or SwedenBelgium or Poland v Kazakhstan or the Republic of IrelandTurkey or Slovenia v Hungary or NetherlandsLionesses will face Greece in World Cup play-offsFree agent Wales players put themselves in shop windowWales bosses lobbying Uefa to expand Women's Euros

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ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleIan WilliamsBBC Sport AfricaWhen Antonio Rudiger entered the fray as a substitute during Germany's World Cup opener - a 7-1 victory over Curacao at the Houston Stadium - he knew his large extended family would be watching on proudly.But things could have been very different if the Real Madrid defender's parents had not managed to flee Sierra Leone's decade-long civil war for a new life in Europe."There was only the decision to get out of there," Rudiger told BBC Sport Africa."I spoke many times with my brother about it, and he told me the stories of what he saw there and what a march they made from Kono [the family's home district in the far east of Sierra Leone] to the capital city to find a bit of safety."The distance between Kono and the capital Freetown is approximately 210 miles (340km) and the journey proved perilous, with Rudiger's uncle taking extreme action to prevent his nieces and nephews being swept up by rebels and turned into one of the thousands of child soldiers forced into battle during the conflict."[He] hid them in a bag of rice and then went back to get them and then to continue the journey," Rudiger added. "And sometimes they had to lay low, pretending they [were] dead to not get shot or to not get abducted."Rudiger, the youngest of six siblings, was born in Berlin after his family were accepted by Germany as refugees, while other relatives began new lives in other places such as the UK and the US.The 33-year-old remembers growing up in one of Germany's refugee centres."We had our room, then a family next to us had their room, so we were all together," he said."It influenced me a lot because nothing is given in life. You have to work for things, you have to sacrifice a lot to get where you sometimes get your goal."In a tournament in which diaspora players and fans have already made their mark, the two-time Champions League winner says now is "the right time to raise a voice" in support of refugees - and he is not alone.Alphonso Davies, captain of co-hosts Canada, spent his early years in a Ghanaian refugee camp after his parents fled Liberia, which like Sierra Leone was devastated by civil war during the 1990s and early 2000s."Canada means a lot to me," the Bayern Munich full-back told the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which has put together a symbolic "game-changing team" of refugee players to show "what is possible when young people displaced by war and persecution find safety, opportunity and welcome".Davies listed "going to school for the first time, being able to play the sport that I love and being able to make friends" among his memories of his adoptive country. "They welcomed us in with open arms.""They gave me the opportunity to be who I am and to be what I want to be in life."Among the other players putting their name to the UNHCR campaign are:Australia is also represented by a trio of forwards in the national team: Watford's Nestory Irankunda, Norwich's Mohamed Toure and Awer Mabil, who plays for Castellon in Spain's second tier.Irankunda's strike in their 2-0 win over Turkey made the 20-year-old the Socceroos' youngest World Cup goalscorer.Irankunda, Toure and Mabil nwere either born or grew up in African refugee camps but are now getting the chance to impress on football's biggest stage.Australia's professional footballers' association is so proud of the squad's multicultural makeup that it made a video with every player listing their place of birth or family heritage to showcase the benefits of immigration."Children and youth are among the most vulnerable during displacement from war, violence and persecution," said Barham Salih, high commissioner for refugees with the UN, which estimates that there are 48.8 million displaced children around the world."Some are separated from their families, affected by trauma, and some suffer abuse."But while players with backgrounds as refugees will be cheered at the World Cup, some of those involved in the UN campaign have concerns about changing global perceptions."The narrative goes a bit more blaming the refugees," said Rudiger, who believes empathy for the plight of those escaping conflict has diminished."Obviously, you have always the good and the bad. This is life, we all are not perfect. But the thing is, if one person does bad, are all bad?"You cannot smear it on everyone, because that's not fair. Because you have people who come here, they really want to change their life, they're doing good, they're trying to learn."They learn the language, they go to school, they achieve something in life."In January 2025, immediately after his inauguration, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending the US Refugee Admissions Programme (USRAP).Trump said the move would allow US authorities to prioritise national security and public safety.Since it was launched in 1980, USRAP has led to approximately 3.7 million refugees admitted into the States, including 504,000 Africans.In October, the Trump administration said it would limit the number of refugees to 7,500 over the current US fiscal year, giving priority to white South Africans following Trump's widely discredited claims of a "genocide" against Afrikaners.Recent figures from the US Department of State show that 6,069 refugees were admitted in the seven months from October to April - and all but three of them came from South Africa.In contrast, during the final full year of President Joe Biden's term, 100,034 refugees were accepted into the US, with 34,017 from 32 African nations. The Democratic Republic of Congo saw the highest number (19,923), with Somalia (4,801), Eritrea (2,411) and Sudan (2,184) also prominent.The decision to cut refugee acceptance numbers to a record low has been defended by the Trump administration as being "justified by humanitarian concerns or is otherwise in the national interest", but was opposed by campaigners."Sadly, right now, the most vulnerable in Africa and across the world have been shut out entirely," Krish O'Mara Vignarajah, president and chief executive of Global Refuge, a non-profit organisation which has previously worked with the State Department to resettle refugees, told BBC Sport Africa."What we will see [at the World Cup] is the US spending this summer celebrating, as they should, what humans can achieve when they're given a chance."US policymakers have spent the past year making sure fewer people get that chance, and it is a stark and deeply troubling contradiction."Meanwhile in Canada, the annual number of refugees being accepted has increased over the last decade – even as policymakers in recent years have shifted towards more restrictive immigration policies of their own.Over a 10-year period, data from the country's Refugee Protection Division (RPD) reveals that 9,972 refugees claims were accepted in 2016, rising to 50,067 in 2025.Thirty-eight African nations were represented in Canada's most recent figures, with Nigeria seeing the highest number of claims accepted.The USA hosted its first World Cup in 1994, a year in which more than 100,000 refugees were resettled in the country."We knew back then that hosting the world and welcoming the world were not separate ideas," said O'Mara Vignarajah. "But we have seem to have forgotten that."Star players like Rudiger and Davies hope to jog people's memories as they turn out for the nations which welcomed them and their families.

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Motherwell have appointed Alfred Johansson as the club's new manager, replacing Jens Berthel Askou at Fir Park.The 35-year-old arrives in Lanarkshire after two-and-a-half years in charge of Norwegian top league side Rosenborg.In his first season, he guided them to fourth place before finishing seventh the following year. He left the club last month just seven games into the new campaign.Askou, who left the Steelmen for Toulouse, was praised for implementing an attractive style of expansive and effective football as the Steelmen briefly threatened to challenge for the league title.He led Motherwell to a fourth-placed finish with victory, securing a return to European football next season.Johannson is confident he can build on that success."This is a huge honour for me," he told Motherwell FC."To work at this football club and to lead is a privilege. I've analysed the club closely, and the direction that it's going in is of huge importance to me. Last season was hugely successful, and I want to be able to carry this success forward. The squad of players we have is exciting, and we will get to work straight away.A new chapter is upon us 👋Alfred Johansson is the new manager of Motherwell Football Club."There is no time to waste with European football next month and the league season starting in a few weeks. I can't wait to get to know all the players and staff at the club, but most importantly, I'm looking forward to meeting the supporters. I'll see you all very soon."Chairman Kyrk Macmillan added: "Following the same data-driven process that we undertook to appoint the previous two managers of the football club, we believe Alfred is an excellent fit here at Motherwell. The data plays a key role to ensure the game model aligns with how we want to play and continues our evolution, but the process is also blended with ensuring we bring good people to the club."We met with Alfred on a number of occasions, and he stood out as the best candidate to continue our journey at the club. It became evident from our conversations that there was a clear alignment between both parties, and we have built a strong relationship already. Identifying and appointing someone that fits with the type of people we want to work with is equally as important."There is a strong belief that Alfred has the correct characteristics to lead and deliver on his ideas. He is a determined and ambitious young manager who wants to continue the success we had last season."It was important for the squad that we completed our detailed process of recruiting a new manager, but we were also conscious of time. With the players back in for pre-season this week, Alfred can begin working with his new squad ahead of a busy and exciting period for the football club."We were delighted with the connection our fans had with the team last season and we hope to take that even further this campaign"

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Alfred Johansson is the new manager at Motherwell, with the Swede aiming to build on the success of last season at Fir Park.The 35-year-old takes over from Jens Berthel Askou, who led the club to fourth place in the Scottish Premiership before departing for Toulouse.Johansson spent two-and-a-half-years in charge of Rosenborg in Norway before he was sacked in May.Motherwell say they followed the "same data-driven process" that unearthed Askou and previous boss Michael Wimmer."The data plays a key role to ensure the game model aligns with how we want to play and continues our evolution, but the process is also blended with ensuring we bring good people to the club," said chairman Kyrk Macmillan."There is a strong belief that Alfred has the correct characteristics to lead and deliver on his ideas. He is a determined and ambitious young manager who wants to continue the success we had last season."Just's 'incredible' World Cup double 'adds zeros' to Well valueMotherwell picked up 61 points in Askou's one league campaign in Scotland, winning 16 of their 38 games.Johansson, who did not play professional football, began youth coaching in his homeland and worked as academy manager at Djurgardens.He was youth manager in the second of his spells with FC Copenhagen, progressing to Under-19 level.Rosenborg made him their head coach in December 2023 and he went on to win 71 of his 131 matches."I've analysed the club closely, and the direction that it's going in is of huge importance to me," said Johansson."Last season was hugely successful, and I want to be able to carry this success forward. The squad of players we have is exciting, and we will get to work straight away."Motherwell meet Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands in the Conference League second qualifying round first leg on 23 July and open their Premiership campaign away to Hibernian on 2 August.