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18 CommentsLeicester City have named former Rangers and Southampton boss Russell Martin as their manager on a three-year contract.Martin's 123-day spell in the Scottish Premiership with Rangers ended in October and he drops down to England's third tier to try to revive his coaching career.The 40-year-old takes over a Leicester side who find themselves in League One after back-to-back relegations.He replaces Gary Rowett, who failed to keep the Foxes in the Championship during his short-term contract last season after taking over a side hit by a six-point deduction for previous spending breaches."This is a club with great history, strong support and high expectations, and I'm looking forward to getting to know the club, the city and the supporters," said Martin."My immediate focus is on the team: building strong relationships, setting clear standards and creating performances that Leicester City supporters can connect with and be proud of."Martin becomes the seventh permanent manager appointed at Leicester since FA Cup-winning boss Brendan Rodgers left in April 2023.Dean Smith, Enzo Maresca, Steve Cooper, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Marti Cifuentes and Rowett all had stints in charge at King Power Stadium in the chaotic years since Rodgers' departure.The Foxes have been relegated three times in the past four seasons and promoted once, with Maresca leaving for Chelsea immediately after leading Leicester to the Championship title in his only season in charge - 2023-24.The nadir for the Foxes came last season, with a points deduction contributing to their relegation to League One in a campaign that marked the 10-year anniversary of the club's famous 5,000-1 Premier League title triumph.Martin, who guided Southampton to Premier League promotion with a play-off final win against Leeds United in the same season that Leicester went up as Championship winners in 2024, takes the Foxes job at a time when both he and the club need to rebuild their reputations."Russell will be supported by a football structure focused on alignment, accountability and high standards," said Leicester's sporting director James McCarron."Our role is to make sure the right environment is in place around the team."The manner in which Martin oversaw Southampton's promotion - based on a possession heavy, patient passing approach - was a reflection of the football Maresca, a manager now being linked as Pep Guardiola's replacement at Manchester City, had Leicester playing at the same time.It is why Leicester were keen on appointing Martin last summer before he joined Rangers, and why he has got the job this time around.He also moves to Leicester - a club playing in the third tier for just the second time in their 142-year history - with League One know-how having started his managerial career at that level with MK Dons in 2019.It was there that the former Scotland international, who counts Norwich City, Rangers, Wycombe Wanderers and Peterborough United among the clubs he played for, hung up his boots to move into management.After guiding MK Dons to a 13th-placed finish in 2020-21, he was appointed boss at Swansea City, where he spent two seasons before taking over at Southampton.Latest Leicester news, analysis and fan viewsListen to Leicester City content on BBC SoundsFollow Leicester City on BBC SoundsPre-match, post-match and topical Foxes contentListen on SoundsSubscribe and listen for everything you love about Leicester City

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13 CommentsCape Verde stunned Spain by holding the reigning European champions to a goalless draw on their World Cup debut on Monday.Ably supported by a superb defensive display from those in front of him, veteran goalkeeper Vozinha made several excellent saves to preserve a clean sheet and secure a point that few thought possible before kick-off.Here are some of the key statistics from their memorable draw in Atlanta.Vozinha, who plays his club football in Portugal's second tier for Chaves, turned 40 on 3 June and is the second-oldest man to make his World Cup debut.Essam El-Hadary - also a goalkeeper - was 45 years and 161 days old when he made his first appearance at the 2018 tournament for Egypt.Spain had 27 attempts during the match and Vozinha made seven saves. Since 1966, the only goalkeeper aged 40 or above to make more stops in a World Cup fixture is Northern Ireland's Pat Jennings, who made 10 saves against Brazil in 1986.An incredibly disciplined performance by Cape Verde was exemplified by the fact that they were penalised for only one foul - the fewest by a team in a World Cup match on record since 1966.That foul, committed by Sidny Lopes Cabral in the first half, was punished with a yellow card.The 40-year-old keeper who inspired Cape Verde's historic debutSince then, Spain have had 49 shots and completed 2,500 passes without finding the net.That game against Japan was followed by a 0-0 draw in their last-16 match against Morocco - which they eventually lost on penalties - and another stalemate against Cape Verde to start their 2026 campaign.Striker Mikel Oyarzabal, who scored Spain's winning goal in the Euro 2024 final against England, did not touch the ball in the first 30 minutes against Cape Verde. Statisticians Opta do not have another example of this happening in a World Cup match since 1966.World Cup debutants Cape Verde earn stunning draw against SpainThey have only won their first match in three of their past 15 appearances, drawing five and losing seven.One of those seven defeats, however, came in 2010 - when they went on to lift the trophy for the first time.It has been a lean period for the country at World Cups since then, though.A group-stage exit in 2014 was followed by successive losses in the last 16 in 2018 and 2022.They have played 12 matches since beating the Netherlands in the 2010 final but have only won three times.Play BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor gameEverything you need to know about the World Cup

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25 CommentsAs the final whistle rang out around the Atlanta Stadium, the cameras cut to Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha.Tears streamed down the 40-year-old's face as the magnitude of what he had just achieved was starting to sink in, after his side's 0-0 draw with World Cup favourites Spain.The stands erupted and thousands of Cape Verde supporters, who had carried their team with relentless noise for 90 minutes, celebrated together - hugging, dancing, and relishing the result.On the pitch, players raced towards each other in complete joy. Even the neutrals had been swept up in the occasion - by full-time, many were celebrating too.Against European champions Spain, veteran goalkeeper Vozinha had delivered the performance of his life to earn a heroic clean sheet and the most memorable result in his country's history."I cried because I grew up with my grandparents," said Vozinha after being awarded player of the match. "Unfortunately they were not here. They died a few years before. They were everything for me, everything for 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 on time. I would like her to be here."He added: "Our best weapon is our unity. Regardless of the player who arrives today, or the player who is 10 or 15 years old, the way we treat our family is our greatest strength."Everyone thought that we came here just to enjoy the World Cup, but no, we know that we have teams that we will always respect, because this is our first time, but we are here to compete, and we are here to fight for our country."World Cup debutants Cape Verde earn stunning draw against Spain2,500 passes since Spain's last World Cup goal - key stats as Cape Verde stifle group rivalsBorn Josimar Dias, the Cape Verde goalkeeper has spent his entire career chasing the dream of playing at a World Cup.When it finally arrived, it came with history attached. At 40 years and 12 days, he became the oldest player to appear in a nation's debut World Cup match, surpassing the record set on Sunday by Curacao's Eloy Room.In fact, only Egypt's Essam El Hadary was older when making their World Cup debut.It is a remarkable milestone in a career defined by perseverance."I started playing professional football when I was 25 years old, in 2012. It was too late for a person like me," said Vozinha."I thought about leaving the national team, but then I continued because of this dream."The performance is a performance for everyone. I am the man of the game, but this award is for all my colleagues, because without them, nothing is possible. And I will continue to work for the team and for the people."Cape Verde lies nearly 600km off the west coast of Africa, a beautiful but isolated archipelago where opportunities for young footballers are limited. Growing up in Mindelo, Vozinha faced challenges from the outset."I was one of the best keepers on my island, but I was small," he recalled. "Even when I performed well, I wasn't selected because of my height."Like many players before him, he eventually left for Portugal, the country's former colonial power, in search of opportunity. That decision marked the beginning of a career that would take him across Slovakia, Angola, Moldova and Cyprus. Now Vozinha plays with Portuguese second-tier side Chaves.Even Vozinha's name carries a piece of footballing history. His father had hoped to call him 'Valdano', after the Argentina and Real Madrid great Jorge Valdano, but the Cape Verde authorities refused. Instead, he was named Josimar after the Brazil defender who rose to prominence at the 1986 World Cup.Decades later, on another World Cup stage, Vozinha has created history of his own.Roared on by thousands of Cape Verde supporters, he stood firm against Spain's relentless attack, making seven crucial saves - the only goalkeeper over 40 years of age to have made more in a World Cup match was Pat Jennings with 10 on his 41st birthday for Northern Ireland against Brazil in 1986.Each save was greeted like a Cape Verde goal by those in the stands in Atlanta.Away from the ground, he was becoming a viral sensation, too - rising from 50,000 followers on Instagram to more than 1.5m after CazeTV - the YouTube channel which has the World Cup rights in Brazil, urged their watchers to follow him."That is crazy," he remarked to reporters when told about it afterwards.Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said the goalkeeper "lit up this game"."He has been absolutely brilliant," Nevin told 5 Live. "He's done it at 40 years of age. Every single camera is on him, all his players are pointing to him. It is a beautiful moment."Cape Verde spent the vast majority of the game in their own 18-yard box - not all of it, and when they broke they were brave and they broke in numbers."To do that and to keep that level of concentration, you don't do that if you're a bunch of individuals, you only do that if you're a team."Lee Dixon on ITV added: "It's absolutely fantastic. A brilliant performance. They deserve that point more than anything and Spain almost don't deserve a point. They walk off disappointed but the night is Cape Verde's."What a performance from every single one of them, the centre halves, the full-backs, that man there [Vozinha] crying - I'm almost crying myself."For a nation of just over half a million people, the third smallest ever to qualify for a World Cup, this was a result of immense significance.In the stands, their supporters matched that intensity. Clad in blue and waving red, white and blue flags, they sang and danced throughout, lifting their team through every difficult moment. By full-time, neutrals had been won over. Cape Verde's story had become everyone's story.A small island nation, no larger than Sheffield, had captured the imagination of the football world.Everything you need to know about the World Cup

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Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Saudi Arabia v Uruguay at the Miami Stadium. Saudi Arabia started the last World Cup with a stunning victory over Argentina. They’d love to do the same another South American giant tonight – not least because it would increase their chances of getting out of a World Cup group for only the second time. The first, as any football nerd worth their loneliness will know, came on their World Cup debut at USA 94.Uruguay didn’t even qualify for that tournament. They also missed out in 1998 and 2006, but a memorable run to the semi-finals in 2010 reminded everyone of their pedigree – and their ability to attract or cause controversy.They’ve been a fixture since then and, while it’s hard to see them adding a third triumph to sit alongside 1930 and 1950, they never leave a World Cup without making an impression. Last time around, they and Ghana managed to knock each other out of the competition.Whatever Uruguay achieve this time round, it won’t be dull, not when they are coached by Marcelo Bielsa.

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With France captain in spotlight at team hotel and in home press, head coach tries to pull focus ahead of World Cup opener against SenegalSince France arrived at their World Cup base in Boston last week they have been a regular source of fascination for locals. Crowds of mostly young people have formed outside Les Bleus’ downtown hotel to cheer the team as they leave for training. All the players are met with pleas for waves and autographs, but the roar that meets Kylian Mbappé is of a different order altogether.Mbappé is one of a small number of contemporary footballers whose names have cut through with the US public (though he is not yet a mononym, unlike Messi). As France begin their quest for a third World Cup he is inevitably the focus back home too, not least after giving an interview to Le Parisien at the weekend in which he denied ambitions of one day becoming president of France, saying: “I’m hated enough as it is!”For Didier Deschamps, the question of how to handle the Mbappé phenomenon is one of many that require striking a delicate balance. Fortunately, the 57-year-old has some experience in the demands and contradictions of leading a top international team. Speaking on the eve of their Group I opener against Senegal, with all the extra distractions of 2002 and all that, the French head coach was set on turning down the temperature.Deschamps has been steadfast in his support for his captain in the buildup to the tournament as Mbappé’s public opposition to far-right politics in France has led to criticism from figures such as Michel Platini. Mbappé was not present at France’s pre-match press conference, with N’Golo Kanté speaking instead. Deschamps denied this had anything to do with any public remarks or controversy, but also said: “My priority is to protect my players.”Asked whether the extent of Mbappé’s fame meant he had to take a different approach to managing him, Deschamps did not demur. “I speak to [Mbappé] very often and he’s a world-famous player even in the US but it’s his life,” he said. “He manages himself. Kylian is Kylian. The younger generation, the less younger, love him everywhere in the world, but that doesn’t mean he’s not normal when he plays and when he’s in the group. This has got nothing to do with why he is not here today.”Only four members of the squad that won the World Cup in 2018 remain, Mbappé and Kanté among them. Another is the reigning Ballon d’Or, Ousmane Dembélé, who is also the focus of pre-tournament expectations, with the hope he can bring his club form to the international stage, where he has seven goals from 59 caps. Here, the messaging from Deschamps is different, as he chose to lower any pressure on the Paris Saint-Germain forward. “Ousmane is concerned and concentrated like all the other players, but there clearly is a desire to be very good and to be decisive, just like he is regularly with his club, PSG,” he said.Dembélé has been given extra time to recover from last month’s Champions League final, with Deschamps adding intriguingly that his place in the team against Senegal would be dependent on “physical and probably more importantly psychological” considerations. “If he’s at his top level it will be a plus for the French squad,” he said.All the individual deflections add up to a cumulative approach from Deschamps as he enters his final tournament as French head coach: he wants to dial down any suggestions that his team are the favourites to win this World Cup. “France has the ability to win … but so do six or seven other nations,” he said. “The way there is going to be hard. Of course, France has high-level potential because of the results it has produced over the last two World Cups. We’ve also got many high-quality players for whom this will be their first World Cup. And so I don’t want to paint the French squad as better than the others.”Deschamps eventually left the bowels of the New York New Jersey Stadium looking relaxed, and feigned shock when told in parting that his training session that afternoon would be, briefly, open to the media. Much of his team may not have seen anything like this World Cup before, but the coach and his key lieutenants are accustomed to the scrutiny.

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4 CommentsBrighton have signed Portuguese defender Costinha on a five-year contract from Olympiacos.The Seagulls are understood to have paid about £11m for the 26-year-old right-back.He spent the past two seasons in Greece and previously played for Portuguese club Rio Ave."Costinha is a player we have followed closely for some time," said Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler."He has the defensive capabilities, intensity and understanding of what we value. He is also comfortable in and out of possession and will add competition at right-back."Costinha spent time with several youth academies and in 2017 joined Rio Ave, where he made 121 first-team appearances before playing 74 times for Olympiacos, scoring 12 goals.He won one cap for Portugal U21s in 2022.Brighton agree £21.5m deal for winger YohannaPre-match, post-match and topical Albion contentListen on SoundsSubscribe and listen for everything you love about the SeagullsLatest Brighton news, analysis and fan viewsAsk about Brighton - what do you want to know?

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Former Wolves and Nottingham Forest striker Rafael Mir has been sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after he was found guilty of sexual assault.Mir, 28, and his friend Pablo Jara were both arrested in September 2024 after two women accused them of sexual assault at Mir's home.Mir's lawyer said at the time that the intercourse was consensual and that Mir categorically denied the accusations.In a statement released on Monday, a Valencia court said Mir "sexually assaulted one of the women in the swimming pool and in a bathroom" at his house in Betera after he and Jara met the women at a nightclub in Valencia.Mir was playing at Valencia on loan from Sevilla at the time of his arrest.The former Spain Under-23 striker received a seven-year prison sentence for sexual assault and a one-year and six-month sentence for assault causing bodily harm.Mir, who was also ordered to pay 64,000 euros (£55,000) as compensation for the victim, can appeal the sentence."I disagree with the ruling and we will appeal in the coming days. I continue to have faith in the justice system," Mir posted on Instagram on Monday.Mir moved to Wolves from Valencia in 2018, but played only four times for the club.He joined Sevilla in 2021 following loan spells at Nottingham Forest, Las Palmas and Huesca during his time at Wolves, while he was also part of Spain's team at the Tokyo Olympics.The forward currently plays for La Liga side Elche, on loan from Sevilla.In response to Mir's sentence, Sevilla stated its "utmost respect for judicial proceedings and expresses our firm and unequivocal condemnation of any type of violence, abuse, or sexual assault"."Such conduct has no place in our society or in the values promoted by sport," the club's statement added.Jara received a two-year sentence for sexual assault against a second victim and a further six months for an offence against moral integrity, as well as ordering him to pay a 6,280 euros (£5,400) fine.Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast

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43 CommentsUpdated 23 minutes agoWatford have appointed Alessio Dionisi as head coach on a two-year contract. The 46-year-old Italian replaces Ed Still, who was sacked on 3 May after less than three months in charge at Vicarage Road.Watford were thrashed 4-0 by Coventry City in Still's final game and finished 16th in the Championship, 16 points adrift of the play-off places.Dionisi is Watford's 12th head coach, not including interim bosses, since the end of the 2020-21 season, and the 24th since the Pozzo family took over the club in 2012."Alessio has been on our radar for a long period and we are really pleased to have reached an agreement with him," sporting director Gianluca Nani said."We made it clear we were looking for an experienced coach who has won leagues and been promoted - and Alessio fits the profile."Dionisi was sacked by Serie B club Empoli in March after only five months in charge following a run of five wins in 22 matches.But, as is common practice in Italy, Dionisi remained under contract at the Tuscan club on gardening leave.Watford have now reached an agreement with Empoli over his contract with them, which was set to run until near the end of 2027.Dionisi will bring Luca Vigiani, who worked under former Watford boss Walter Mazzarri in the 2016-17 season, back to Vicarage Road as an analyst, along with new head of physical performance Fabio Spighi.He will now embark on his 10th job in a 12-year managerial career, the first outside of his homeland."He is an excellent coach, who we believe has the credentials to get the best out of the players we have in the squad and those we want to add," Nani said."I know Alessio is really excited by the opportunity and we look forward to seeing the positive impact he will have here."Dionisi won the Serie B title in his first spell with Empoli in the 2020-21 season before replacing Roberto de Zerbi at Sassuolo that summer.He becomes the first Italian to manage Watford since Claudio Ranieri in the 2021-22 season, when Watford were last in the Premier League.Last season turned out to be a turbulent one for the club.After they dismissed Tom Cleverley at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, the club went through three permanent head coaches, as well as interim boss Charlie Daniels' two-game spell in charge.On the morning of their final-day drubbing by Coventry last month, chief executive Scott Duxbury wrote a statement on the club website saying Watford had made mistakes, labelling their end to the campaign "unacceptable" and "truly disappointing in the extreme".LatestWatford news, analysis and fan views

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Wow, just wow. At 1.57pm, Atlanta time, 3,291 miles from home, the final whistle went on Cape Verde’s first World Cup game, and they had only gone and done it and what they had done was madness – they had only gone and held the favourites. Bubista had said that he wanted the world to see who and what they are and, boy, did they see. Cape Verde’s coach had insisted that getting here was was more than football – it was music, it was culture, it was everything. So what was this? This was wonderful. What a moment and what a noise greeted the moment when the impossible had become real.An Atlantic archipelago of 600,000 people. A Shamrock Rovers centre-back from Crumlin, Dublin, who had been found on LinkedIn. A goalkeeper from Portugal’s second division, another Josimar leaving his mark on the history of this competition and a million minds, to be talked about for generations. All of them. They had come to the US, faced Spain, and resisted them, their bodies on the line and their hearts on their sleeves. Even the introduction of Lamine Yamal, the teenage icon cast as Spain’s saviour couldn’t defeat them.Cape Verde got a point from Atlanta but they got a whole, whole lot more. They might have literally got more. As this game entered the final, dramatic, tense minutes with the score at 0-0, it was they, not Spain, who actually got the best chances. Amazingly on 90 minutes Diney Borges leapt inside the Spain area, rising to meet a header and his moment of immortality only for Unai Simón to save. Three minutes later Ryan Mendes had his opportunity too. Dani Olmo had to block from Kevin Pina too, an incredible story on the edge of getting even more absurd. But this will live for ever.And if those were huge moments, so too was the astonishing block from Pico Lopes, diving in on 88 minutes to deny Olmo. Lopes, born in Dublin, the man whose coach contacted him on LinkedIn and who had ignored the first message – it was in a language he doesn’t understand and he assumed it was spam – has made history. Behind Lopes, 40-year-old Josimar “Vozinha” Dias had too. They all had; what heroes they have become. A starting XI that plays in eight different leagues, none of them the elite, an entire 26, had held off Spain. Nothing does stories like football, like the World Cup.Spain had 24 shots and couldn’t find a way through, but this wasn’t fluke, far from it. Bubista’s players had worked for it, deserved it from the very start when that countdown to kick-off came and, a minute and six seconds later than scheduled, Dailon Livramento got Cape Verde’s first-ever touch at a World Cup.And so it began, an act of rebellion and resistance. Bubista has said his team would have the courage to attack but also that they would have to defend well and that was the priority here, naturally enough. Spain took possession but didn’t really find a way to take advantage. Sitting on the bench behind Luis de la Fuente were Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal, the men – well, boy in the latter’s case – who had made them so different at the Euros. Both are on their way back from injury and without them it is not just that the selección lack exceptional players, it is that their identity shifts.For Spain, there wasn’t much happening in truth, at least not to begin with. It took 14 minutes for Pedri to have their first shot, then Pau Cubarsí struck wide, and that was pretty much that. When the first quarter ended with fans whistling the time-out-disguised-as-a-cooling-break in an air-conditioned stadium that has a roof, they had not troubled Cape Verde. As the players gathered in a circle around De la Fuente, the coach’s message was clear, hand thrusting in a cutting motion.When they came back for the second quarter, it was Ryan Mendes who had the first notable moment, lifting the ball over Gavi and seeing his shot blocked by Marc Cucurella. There was also a moment when Livramento shot from halfway. And Jovane Cabral curled wide. But Spain did improve and as the half came towards a close the chances appeared. Which was when Vozinha did, too. The first of a series of superb saves came from Mikel Oyarzabal’s header after Ferran Torres hit the bar.That had begun, like much of what Spain did, from Cucurella getting in behind. And when he did so again soon after, he pulled back for Torres to strike a first-time shot. Vozinha saved that too, and again when Aymeric Laporte headed towards the far post just before the break. Spain came back out with the appearance of more intent, more aggression. Pedri was back at the heart of it. The shot count rose, at the feet of Fabián Ruiz especially. Yet it still wasn’t quite happening, and time was getting on.And on, and on. And, to the surprise of everyone here, while Spain’s subs warmed up, there were still no changes. They reached the end of the third quarter before Lamine Yamal appeared, the second water break bringing instructions and the introduction of the teenager. Mikel Merino came with him. Lamine Yamal’s introduction changed everything, the whole mood, the noise. Well, almost everything. It didn’t change history, not this time. Cape Verde did that and it was music.