Latest Sports Stories

Football News

58 CommentsTottenham Hotspur have joined the list of clubs interested in Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.Spurs manager Roberto de Zerbi is a long-time admirer of the Italian and even identified him as a target during his time in charge of Sassuolo, while Tonali was playing in Serie A.Now, several years on, it is understood Spurs have explored the financials of a deal for the 26-year-old.Manchester City and Arsenal have also shown an interest, as BBC Sport previously reported, but no club has yet made a formal approach.Newcastle have already sold forward Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69.3m, but chief executive David Hopkinson has previously made it clear they will only trade players on "our terms".They are in a strong position as Tonali is effectively contracted until 2030 after the Italian signed a new deal during his 10-month betting ban to repay the faith the club showed in him.The current market could also work in Newcastle's favour, if a bidding war ensues, given the valuations of midfielders elsewhere.Nottingham Forest rejected a second offer worth around £120m from Manchester City for Elliot Anderson, while relegated West Ham want up to £80m for Mateus Fernandes.By Ciaran Kelly, Newcastle United reporterNewcastle may have finished above Tottenham in the Premier League in three of the last four seasons.However, Spurs are still a long way clear of Newcastle in the revenue table thanks to substantial off-field income streams, which have offset difficult league campaigns.In the respective clubs' most recent financial accounts, the Londoners generated £230m more in revenue than Newcastle.Spurs are now looking to make the most of such headroom by raising their salary ceiling.In an interview with BBC Sport, in May, the club's chief executive Vinai Venkatesham confirmed the change in approach and said they needed "experience, leadership and also that kind of physical robustness".His technical qualities are well-known, but in 2024-25 - his best league campaign for Newcastle - he also tirelessly won possession back in midfield on 109 occasions, made 34 interceptions and applied 1,308 high pressure movements.No wonder even his usually measured head coach Eddie Howe once said he "fell in love" with this all-rounder when he first watched him play.Howe would ideally not want to lose players like Tonali, Gordon or Alexander Isak for that matter, who joined Liverpool for a British record £125m last summer.But Newcastle are having to become better sellers and plan accordingly as part of the club's rebuild.If a huge offer of up to £100m is eventually made by one of Tonali's suitors, it may be tempting to cash in on a player whose form has noticeably dipped.However, at this early stage of the window, that remains a big if.Latest Newcastle news, analysis and fan viewsAsk about Newcastle - what do you want to know?

Football News

Thomas Tuchel made it plain that when the stress came with the serious business of World Cup matches, he believed his England team would thrive. What had gone before, especially in the friendlies, was little more than a distraction. Here in the Lone Star state, which tallies with what England have on their shirts, it was time to make a statement about that second star.There was a fair helping of stress against Croatia, the 11th best team in the world and the highest ranked pot two nation in the tournament – particularly in the first half. It was down to defending that was simply too open and generous. A seesaw opening 45 minutes ended 2-2, Harry Kane scoring England’s goals, the first from a retaken penalty. Martin Baturina and Petar Musa replied for Croatia. England were powerful on corners. The overall sense in open play was one of confusion.And yet with the heat on, they responded. Jude Bellingham was in the mood throughout, determined to play without fear and to the point of maximum expression and it was the midfielder that tilted the contest in England’s favour with a storming run and finish.It was a powerhouse display from England in the second half. They created a fistful of chances, albeit at 3-2 it remained a little too edgy for Tuchel’s liking. Croatia knew they might need only one moment and the substitute Marco Pasalic almost provided one towards the end, Jordan Pickford saving England with a smart block.England had too much. A pleasing detail was the impact of some of Tuchel’s substitutes. Djed Spence almost made it 4-2 before Marcus Rashford did with a clinical finish – a jink inside and a low shot. The chance was laid on by another replacement, Bukayo Saka. England are up and running.It was wild at the outset, fast and loose, England guilty of messing about with their buildup play, giving Croatia hope. The pendulum swung with the early England goal and it was sparked by the sharpness and determination of Noni Madueke, whom Tuchel started ahead of Saka.After Croatia could not properly clear a Declan Rice corner, which Kane won with a deflected shot, Madueke beat Luka Modric to the breaking ball. Modric’s attempted clearance turned into a hack at Madueke and the scene was set for Kane from the penalty spot.Everybody knew what Kane was thinking about as he went through his pre-penalty routine. The critical miss in the quarter-final loss by France at the last World Cup. Incredibly, Kane was thwarted again, the Croatia goalkeeper, Dominik Livakovic, reading his intentions and going left to save.This time fortune smiled on the England captain. Livakovic had left his line before Kane struck the ball and, after a video assistant referee review, Clément Turpin ordered a retake. Tuchel once described the referee as “terrible” and a “1/10” performer after Turpin had sent him off in a Champions League game. Tuchel was happier with him here. Kane made the most of the reprieve, going for the same corner and watching Livakovic go the wrong way.Thank goodness for the house that Jerry Jones built or, more specifically, the roof the Dallas Cowboys owners put on this venue. It was a blazing 32C outside in Arlington but inside the dome the air-conditioning was set to 22C. It made a mockery of the hydration breaks, which were booed by the England supporters.Zlatko Dalic had preferred Mario Pasalic to Mateo Kovacic in one of the deep midfield roles and Tuchel struggled to adapt England’s press in the first half. Croatia were cohesive on the ball, able to make life hard for England and their first equaliser came as no great surprise.There was a vulnerability about England at the back and when Croatia won possession on halfway from Bellingham, they dropped a ball up the inside-right channel for Petar Sucic. He jinked inside John Stones, sending him off towards Dallas, and the layoff was whipped by Baturina into the far top corner. Pickford got a hand to it but there was too much power.Croatia’s second equaliser had a similar feel to it. From an England point of view, it was even more galling. Josip Sutalo flipped a ball over a static England backline – where was Reece James? – and Ivan Perisic was clear and able to direct a header back to the unmarked Musa. His volleyed finish was true. It cancelled out Kane’s second goal, a thumping header from another Rice corner. That time, it was Croatia’s marking that broke down.Tuchel could not be happy with the first half and his assistant, Anthony Barry, made that clear during a half-time interview. His conclusions? Too much nervous energy from England. Not enough sound decisions with the ball. England needed clarity. They needed a goal upon the restart and they got it from Bellingham. Who else?Croatia could not live with his surging runs, his desire to get into areas that made life as uncomfortable as possible for them. It was a ball up the inside-right from Elliot Anderson that appeared to be for Madueke only for Bellingham to take over. He did that a lot. He was too quick for the covering Sutalo. The low shot was angled perfectly into the far corner.It was the prompt for England to turn the screw. For a crazy spell, it felt like a school game, Tuchel’s players too big and too strong for Croatia. There was a flood of chances for them leading up to the hour – clear ones, as well – only for the finish to prove elusive. Nico O’Reilly blew two headers from Rice corners, Anthony Gordon going close on one of the rebounds. Kane had further sightings. Bellingham had another. So did Rice.It was an entertaining spectacle, much to like in attacking terms from an England point of view. The result was the best bit.

Football News

Visa issues have hit many teams’ traveling parties as they head toward the USA, but Ghana have a curious case of a player who is welcome in the USA but not in Canada. Midfielder Thomas Partey, a longtime Arsenal player now with Villarreal, was not allowed to cross the border. Court documents show Partey had claimed he was not facing criminal charges in any country, but he is awaiting trial in London over rape and sexual assault allegations.Mohammed Kudus and Mohammed Salisu are not on the Ghanaian roster due to injury.The starting lineup that will face Panama is: Ati-Zigi; Mensah, Adjetey, Opoku, Senaya; Yirenkyi, Owusu; Semenyo, Sulemana, Nuamah; Ayew (capt.).London-born Antoine Semenyo comes into the Cup after a torrid campaign in the Premier League. Jordan Ayew has 34 goals in 120 appearances but has been on a downturn along with his club, Leicester City.Lawrence Ati-Zigi starts in goal, denying us the chance to see a player from an Irish club – Joseph Anang of St. Patrick’s Athletic.Three players in the starting XI play for Auxerre – midfielder Elisha Owusu and outside backs Gideon Mensah and Marvin Senaya. A fourth, Ernest Nuamah, also plays in France with Lyon.

Football News

36 CommentsThree of football's biggest superstars lit up the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday.Kylian Mbappe's two goals against Senegal made him France's all-time leading scorer.Norway's Erling Haaland then marked his World Cup debut with two goals in a victory against Iraq.Lionel Messi went one better, netting a hat-trick for Argentina against Algeria to move level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the joint-leading goalscorer in World Cup finals history.On Wednesday, the stage was set for Cristiano Ronaldo to make his own mark on the tournament - but the Portugal captain was unable to follow suit.His side laboured to a 1-1 draw against DR Congo and Ronaldo struggled to make an impact in his first opportunity to make history by becoming the first man to score in six different World Cups.Ex-Premier League striker Chris Sutton, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live, was critical of boss Roberto Martinez's decision to leave the 41-year-old - who has 229 caps and 143 goals for his country - on the field for the full match in Houston.As striker Goncalo Ramos replaced midfielder Vitinha in the 83th minute, Sutton said: "That's embarrassing from Martinez. It might work but are we all watching a different game?"He's scared to take him off. He's not the manager. [Ronaldo] may end up scoring the winner but the game has passed him by today."DR Congo earn first World Cup point to frustrate Portugal and RonaldoBefore kick-off, ex-England captain Wayne Rooney joked that his former Manchester United team-mate would be "raging - but in a good way" that the other stars had begun the tournament so well the previous day."That's how he's pushed himself and his mentality is that everything is a challenge for him," said Rooney on BBC One."Over the years, him and Messi have pushed each other to get to these levels."He wants to be the best and that's not in a bad way. He'll want to go out there and score two or three tonight to show he's still at that level."But Portugal's opening group match did not go to plan for Ronaldo nor his much-lauded team-mates, despite them taking a sixth-minute lead when Pedro Neto's left-wing cross was superbly headed in by Paris St-Germain's Joao Neves.Newcastle forward Yoane Wissa nodded in a deserved equaliser for DR Congo just before half-time and for all Portugal's dominance of the ball - they had 75% possession - they managed only seven attempts at goal. Only one - the goal scored by Neves - was on target.Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo, who is closing in on 1,000 career goals for club and country, had two chances in quick succession midway through the second half.Half-time substitute Francisco Conceicao twice cut the ball back to him from the right.The first was played slightly behind Ronaldo, who sent a tame effort past the near post. While the ball was in a better position for the second opportunity, the forward was put under pressure by the DR Congo defence and his finish flew wide.Ronaldo's tally of 25 touches was the fewest of Portugal's outfield players who played the full match, while he has now gone 10 consecutive games at major tournaments without finding the net."His stats will never be the best," said Rooney at full-time. "What he needs is chances. If he gets good chances, he'll score goals."Rooney and two former France internationals, Gael Clichy and Olivier Giroud, all thought Conceicao was in a better position to shoot at goal himself rather than try to set up Ronaldo for the striker's first chance.Former France full-back Clichy also believed Ronaldo's superstar status might "unconsciously" have an effect on how some of his team-mates play."We said at the beginning of the game that Ronaldo will be helping young players because of his character and experience, but sometimes unconsciously those kinds of players can kind of take too much light," he told BBC One."In the first chance, maybe if it was not Ronaldo, [Conceicao] would have had a go at goal."I've lived it with some players at Arsenal and Manchester City, where you feel that the player is such an important player, unconsciously he's taking everything from every player."I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but when you take them out, you can see players taking responsibility."Clichy said that situation was not necessarily Ronaldo's fault and added: "This is normal and this is where the choice of the manager is important because during the 90 minutes, we were saying 'is he going to take him out because we know he's got a goal in him?'"But at the same time, we know the game is sometimes not natural because of him being on the pitch."Play BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor gameEverything you need to know about the World Cup

Football News

Manchester United and Tottenham move for Crysencio Summerville, Chelsea monitoring goalkeeper Diogo Costa and Andrea Cambiaso also a Chelsea target.Manchester United and Tottenham have made moves to sign Netherlands forward Crysencio Summerville, 24, from West Ham. (Teamtalk), externalChelsea are monitoring 26-year-old Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa as they consider moving for the £51m-rated Portugal international. (Mirror), externalChelsea are interested in signing Italy full-back Andrea Cambiaso, 26, from Juventus and could offer Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson, 24, as part of the deal. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), externalReal Madrid's bid for Atletico Madrid's Argentina striker Julian Alvarez, 26, was a 'phantom offer', with Bayern Munich's Michael Olise their top target, and Real remain hopeful of signing the 24-year-old France winger. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish), externalManchester United have no plans to negotiate a new loan agreement with Barcelona for England forward Marcus Rashford, 28. (ESPN), externalTottenham have turned down a second bid from Brighton worth £35m for 19-year-old Croatia centre-back Luka Vuskovic, who spent last season on loan at Hamburg. (Sky Sports), externalTottenham have opened talks over a deal for Germany Under-21 forward Said El Mala from Cologne and hope to beat Newcastle and Nottingham Forest to the 19-year-old's signature. (Teamtalk), externalLazio and Feyenoord are both monitoring the future of Manchester City's 20-year-old English midfielder Charlie Gray. (Football Insider), externalGotham FC have agreed terms with 32-year-old Australia forward Sam Kerr, who is a free agent after leaving Women's Super League side Chelsea. (ESPN), externalSpurs join three-way Tonali fight - Wednesday's gossipListen to the latest Football Daily podcast

Football News

The spot-kick was awarded in the ninth minute after Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke.England captain Kane saw his first effort saved by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.The VAR stepped in to give Kane a second chance because Livakovic was off his line.At the time a kick is taken the keeper must have one foot on or above the line, and images showed that Livakovic had moved fractionally too soon.But even if the keeper had stayed on his line, the penalty would still have been retaken.After Livakovic made the save the loose ball dropped to Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol to clear for Croatia.But he had also moved too quickly and was inside the area when Kane took his first attempt.This is not an automatic retake, as the defender must impact an opposition attacker.Madueke was behind Gvardiol, so by clearing the ball he prevented the Arsenal winger from getting a shot from the rebound.Kane duly despatched at the second attempt.Croatia equalise again as England drawing 2-2 in thrilling World Cup openerKane's previous with retaken penaltiesInterestingly, Kane had a similar penalty saved for Bayern Munich in the Champions League against Atalanta earlier this season.Afterwards the forward said he had seen that the goalkeeper liked to come off his line, adding: "I knew that if I stopped, there was a good chance he'd come too far forward. And that's exactly what happened."Following Kane's penalty against Croatia, former Three Lions defender Conor Coady told 5 Live: "He can take any sort of penalty. He is that good at penalties."That is really clever if that is something he is thinking of, if he is watching other keepers and how they move and what they do, that is a really clever thing to do."He must've practiced, he's obviously looked at the keeper."Former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson added: "It has worked for him. The goalkeeper has come off his line but the interesting thing is he stuck to that technique for the next one."I have seen him do it this season before and I think his confidence and where he's at at the moment, you can't question him."The actual strike of the penalty was too close to the goalkeeper. Even if the goalkeeper hadn't tried to seek the advantage he would have still saved it."You look at the way he learned from the first penalty, was brave enough to go the same way and this one was much closer to the corner. He'll have practised many penalties going into this tournament."Play BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor gameEverything you need to know about the World Cup

Football News

England's World Cup opener against Croatia - which you can follow here - is now under way.You can rate both sets of players out of 10 below and come back 30 minutes after full-time to see the final ratings.Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play.After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.Can Bellingham become England's superstar once more at the World Cup?

Football News

Brest manager Eric Roy has died at the age of 58, the French Ligue 1 club have announced. A statement by Roy's family said the former Sunderland midfielder had been fighting pancreatic cancer for three and a half years.The Frenchman, who was sporting director at Watford in 2019 when the club were in the Premier League, joined Brest in January 2023 and guided them to Champions League qualification for the 2024-25 season - their first ever campaign in Europe."It is difficult to find the words to express all the sadness we feel following the passing of our coach Eric Roy," Brest wrote on X."The president, the management, and the entire Stade Brestois 29 share the pain of his family, his wife, his two children, as well as all his loved ones."His family wrote: “Dad was deeply kind, tender, upright, and honest. He knew how to encourage, to pass on knowledge, to push others to surpass themselves, to become the best version of themselves.“He had that demanding nature, that fairness, and that humanity.”Roy, who also played for and managed French side Nice, scored one goal during 27 appearances for Sunderland during the 1999-2000 season.Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast

Football News

15 CommentsVozinha, the goalkeeper whose heroics helped Cape Verde earn a draw against Spain, is set to be reunited with his mother ahead of their next game against Uruguay on Sunday.The 40-year-old told reporters after Monday's player-of-the-match performance that his mum had been unable to attend the World Cup because of the high cost of obtaining a US visa.But according to US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries,, external the visa fees have now been waived and arrangements are being made for her to travel to Miami."No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history," said Jeffries on X."I spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and asked the State Department to do everything in its power to ensure that his mother can attend Cape Verde's next match."It is a privilege to announce that Vozinha's mom will be able to secure a visa in time to attend the game this Sunday against Uruguay. All fees have been waived consistent with official policy. Travel arrangements are now being made for mother and son to reunite in Miami."I thank Secretary Rubio, US State Department officials, the government of Cape Verde and Fifa for working together to make this possible," added the Brooklyn Congressman.A US State Department official later added: "We can confirm our visa team in Praia is in close touch with her and providing the needed services."Cape Verde is one of five countries participating in the tournament whose citizens are required by the US government to pay a refundable visa deposit of around £11,000, although fans with match tickets were exempted from the rule in May.Vozinha has become a cult hero after his performance against Spain, attracting millions of new followers on social media.He has earned 91 caps for his country and currently plays club football for Chaves in Portugal's second tier, after a career that has included spells in Slovakia, Angola, Moldova and Cyprus."I cried because I grew up with my grandparents," said Vozinha following the goalless draw. "Unfortunately, they were not here. They died a few years before. They were everything to me, everything in my life."And also because of my mum. She didn't manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money you have to pay for the visa, we didn't manage it in time. I would like her to be here."At 40 years and 12 days, Vozinha became the oldest player to appear in a nation's debut World Cup match."I started playing professional football when I was 25 years old, in 2012. It was too late for a person like me," he added."I thought about leaving the national team, but then I continued because of this dream.Cape Verde face Uruguay on 21 June, followed by Saudi Arabia on 27 June in Group H.