At the time of Clarke’s appointment in May 2019, Scotland were looking for someone who could do one principal thing – get the country back to a major men’s tournament for the first time since 1998.

That has been achieved, multiple times. So the remit for his successor will be to build on that success in qualifying for three finals by reaching the knockout phase.

Clearly that is easier said than done. Clarke has done a magnificent job in galvanising the squad and the country, developing a much-lauded club-like spirit, which has certainly played a role in qualification success.

That is something that must be fostered while evolving the make-up of a squad that was one of the oldest at the World Cup.

But something else is required. Clarke was a pragmatist at heart and, although he set the team up in a more attacking formation in the win over Haiti, in particular, it never truly felt like the shackles were off.

Should the next manager be someone with a more attacking ethos? You feel that would be welcomed by fans, many of whom have despaired at exiting consecutive Euros and now a World Cup without really laying a glove on the opposition.

“This has been a special, special group. And he’s got the best out of them,” said former Scotland winger Pat Nevin, a close friend of Clarke.

“But a lot of them are not going to last. I know these days 40 seems young for a World Cup player. In reality, that’s not the way it is, though.

“It’s not obvious who the next group of players are. So whoever comes in, it’s actually a bit of a monster job to do.”

Man Utd forward Marcus Rashford is playing for England at the World Cup after spending the season on loan with Barcelona.

Harry Maguire has backed a potential Marcus Rashford return to Manchester United after his loan spell with Barcelona, who did not trigger their option to sign him permanently following the end of the season.

Barcelona moved quickly to sign Anthony Gordon from Newcastle in a £70m deal at the start of the window. Gordon plays on the left wing, and his arrival meant Barca did not trigger their £26m option to sign Rashford.

Rashford contributed 14 goals and 14 assists for Barcelona as they won La Liga, but the Catalan club wanted to explore signing him for a lower fee than was agreed when the loan was rubber-stamped.

United will not engage with Barcelona if they ask about another loan deal for next season, which leaves Rashford’s future up in the air ahead of 2026/2027.

Rashford is currently representing England at the World Cup, but he is set to report for United’s pre-season once he enjoys a break after the tournament.

United are fine with the possibility of Rashford returning for pre-season after the World Cup, and Michael Carrick suggested the door was open to his reintroduction when he spoke at a press conference last season.

Maguire has now given his backing for Rashford to rejoin the dressing room. When asked whether he would welcome Rashford back with open arms, he told The Rest Is Football: “Yeah, of course, I have an amazing relationship with Marcus and have had some great times with him over the years.

“I know what a wonderful player he can be. I’m sure it’s up to the club and up to Marcus to find a mutual agreement. Of course, if Marcus does come back, we want him to come back and play and be happy and confident.

“It needs to be right for himself, it needs to be right for the club, but everyone knows what a great player Marcus can be for whatever club he plays for next season.”

During the World Cup, Maguire has provided punditry for The Rest Is Football podcast, and he praised the impact Rashford had for England in his first start of the tournament against Panama.

Maguire said: “I think he was so direct and positive with everything that he did. We spoke about the Ghana game, where it was a bit slow, and we had too much patience in the game.

“I think Rashy straight away took the game to Panama, and I think in the first 10 minutes, he put four or five crosses in the box, and it wasn’t as accurate as he normally is, and then he finds that one where Harry probably was unfortunate not to score.

“He was a constant threat throughout the game and when he’s in that mood I think us England fans know how good he can be, and I’ve had the pleasure of playing with him at Manchester United for many years, so when he’s in that frame and in that direct mode he’s unstoppable on his day.”

The World Cup final will take place on July 19. Even if England reach the final of the tournament, Rashford will theoretically be back in pre-season in time to be available for United’s final friendly of the summer against AC Milan on August 15.

Rashford has two years remaining on his £325,000 per week United contract, which was signed in the summer of 2023 after a 30-goal season.

Jaron Ennis became a two-weight unified world champion last night in Brooklyn, stopping Xander Zayas inside seven rounds. Watching on was a man who previously held belts in both divisions, Terence Crawford.

Ennis knocked Zayas down three times at the Barclays Center before the Puerto Rican’s corner threw in the towel, ending his reign as boxing’s youngest male unified champion.

Now the WBA and WBO super-welterweight champion, ‘Boots’ produced a performance full of precision, angles and power. It was not without adversity, however, as Zayas rocked him in the third round and briefly appeared to have the Philadelphia native in trouble.

After a thrilling fourth round with back-and-forth action, Ennis regained complete control and systematically beat the fight out of the brave 23-year-old.

The victory marks another significant step towards building his own legacy in the sport, but Ennis continues to be measured against Terence Crawford after the two never managed to meet while campaigning at welterweight. During fight week, the new champion even labelled ‘Bud’ “easy work.”

Reacting shortly after the performance, Crawford – who retired last year as an undefeated five-weight world champion – suggested the display showed there are still levels between the pair.

“Ima keep my comments to myself, but y’all get it I hope.”

Ima keep my comments to myself, but yall get it I hope.😂

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) June 28, 2026

Advertisement

Asked about Crawford’s remarks during his post-fight press conference, Ennis insisted he is focused solely on taking over the super-welterweight division and is not concerned with what retired fighters have to say.

To do that, he must target the division’s other champions, Sebastian Fundora and Josh Kelly, while a long-discussed grudge match with Vergil Ortiz Jr also remains one of the biggest fights available at 154lbs.

Co-hosts Canada begin the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup when they face South Africa in the lone contest on Sunday, June 28. The Canadians finished second in Group B after suffering a 2-1 loss to Switzerland in the final group stage match, and they’ll have to play this game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles rather than in front of their home crowd. South Africa managed to get a late draw against Czechia thanks to a penalty, then took advantage of one of the few opportunities they had against Korea Republic in a 1-0 win. Neither country has played a World Cup knockout game in its soccer history, but we know one will make history by going to the Round of 16.

We’ve taken how both teams fared in the group stage into consideration ahead of Sunday’s knockout game and put together a same-game parlay for South Africa vs. Canada, with additional insights from SportsLine experts Jon Eimer, Brad Thomas and Martin Green. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.

South Africa vs. Canada World Cup same-game parlay

• Under 2.5 goals
• Both teams to score “No”
• South Africa double chance

FanDuel SGP price: +319

Under 2.5 goals

Canada’s six-goal outburst against a nine-man Qatar side has to be largely dismissed, since it’s unlikely South Africa will have multiple players sent off. Similarly, South Africa’s expected goal number of 0.07 from their opener against Mexico can largely be thrown out. These teams are fairly evenly matched on paper, though Canada have the edge when it comes to experience, especially in the attacking third. However, South Africa have defended quite well for most of the tournament. They’ve only allowed three goals, and one of those was conceded after they went down a man. I expect this to be a largely defensive contest that finishes Under 2.5 goals in regular time.

Both teams to score “No”

This has hit in two of Canada’s three group stage games and once in South Africa’s three matches. Canada produced 1.23 expected goals against Bosnia and 1.66 expected goals against Switzerland, while South Africa had 1.38 expected goals against Czechia and 1.16 against South Korea. And yet, I don’t believe either of these sides are truly that creative offensively. Canada have the talent edge but they might not have the crowd support they usually do, and South Africa have done well to hold off some solid attacking units in the group stage. I’ve already backed the Under, and I don’t think both teams get a goal in this one.

South Africa double chance

As mentioned above, I see this being a low-scoring match where both teams try to avoid major mistakes. Typically, this would favor a squad like Canada. However, all logic goes out the window with this South Africa team. They’ve already made history advancing to the Round of 32 out of a group where many expected them to finish last by a considerable margin. They’ve gotten quite lucky with timely goals and despite arguably not controlling any of the games they played, but they’re here. I’ll ride with the momentum they have to back a South Africa double chance in regular time.

Need to know

The World Cup has reached the knockout stage with 32 teams still in the hunt to land the trophy

The World Cup knockout fixtures are now set in stone after the group stage concluded in the early hours of Sunday morning. Of the 48 teams who began the tournament in North America, 32 remain standing and will now face off over the next few days to determine the last 16.

England will be among them. The Three Lions wrapped up top spot in their World Cup group with a win over Panama on Saturday night. Thomas Tuchel’s men now take on DR Congo on Wednesday at 5pm in the first knockout round.

Scotland’s tournament is over though, a 1-0 win over Haiti in their opening game was followed by defeats to Morocco and Brazil and their three point tally but minus three goal difference was not enough to see them through to the next round.

Three teams came through qualifying with a 100 per cent record. France justified their pre-tournament favourite status as they came through a testing looking group with nine points from nine and Didier Deschamps side will now play Sweden. Argentina also recorded maximum points and they will play surprise package Cape Verde.

Mexico were the third side with a perfect group phase and they now play Ecuador. All three co-hosts secured their passages into the knockout stages with the USA topping their group to set up fixtures against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Canada finished second behind Switzerland and will kick off the last-32 against South Africa later today.

Of the other favourites, Brazil picked up two wins and a draw to top their group and earn a date with Japan while Spain face Austria.

The Netherlands were impressive in winning their group while Germany wrapped up top spot with a game to spare. Portugal were less than convincing to finish second to Colombia with Cristiano Ronaldo’s side now facing Croatia.

Plenty tipped Erling Haaland’s Norway as dark horses and they now face the Ivory Coast, who are one of a number of sides to have made history by reaching the knockout stages for the first time.

Full fixtures and UK kick off times: Tonight, 8pm: Canada vs South Africa; Monday, 6pm Brazil vs Japan, Monday, 9.30pm, Germany vs Paraguay. Tuesday, 2am, Netherlands vs Morocco, Tuesday, 6pm, Ivory Coast vs Norway; Tuesday, 10pm, France vs Sweden. Wednesday, 2am, Mexico vs Ecuador, Wednesday, 5pm, England vs DR Congo, Wednesday 9pm, Belgium vs Senegal. Thursday, 1am, USA vs Bosnia-Herzegovina, Thursday, 8pm, Spain vs Austria. Friday, 12midnight, Portugal vs Croatia, Friday, 4am, Switzerland vs Algeria, Friday, 7pm, Australia vs Egypt, Friday, 11pm, Argentina vs Cape Verde.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is only 15 years old, but the maturity the player has shown is way beyond his age. His sensational batting has helped him earn the ‘Boss Baby’ tag. In the Indian Premier League 2026, the teenager represented Rajasthan Royals and won the Orange Cap with 776 runs to his name. He also hit a record 72 sixes in the season, comfortably surpassing previous topper Chris Gayle’s 59 maximums from the 2012 season. RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara, a legendary wicketkeeper batter from Sri Lanka, recently talked about Sooryavanshi’s massive declaration ahead of a chase against Lucknow Super Giants.

Sangakkara revealed that Sooryavanshi claimed that he would hit around 13 sixes in the innings and ended up smashing 10.

“This year, we were playing Lucknow Super Giants. We had to chase 220 (221) to win the game and stay in the competition. We fielded first. Vaibhav is walking out, he winks at me and says, ‘Coach, don’t worry. It’s done.’ He walks into the dressing room and tells Donovan Ferreira and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, ‘Listen, the two of you. I am going to hit 13 sixes now. And once I do that, you just do the rest.’ He hit 10. And when he was on five sixes, Donovan and Pretorius thought, ‘What is he talking about?’ Then they suddenly sat down and said, ‘We better start counting this down because this kid is actually going to do it.’ So, that is the level of confidence he has,” said Kumar Sangakkara on Sky Sports.

The incident took place during the mid-innings break of RR’s IPL 2026 game against LSG at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur, on May 19.

RR’s stand-in captain Yashasvi Jaiswal won the toss and opted to bowl in the game. However, a good batting display from LSG helped the side post 220 for 5.

Sooryavanshi smashed 93 off just 48 balls as Rajasthan Royals completed the chase with seven wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Dhruv Jurel scored 53 not out off 38, helping the cause of his side.

RR had a good run in IPL 2026 as they reached Qualifier 2, where they lost to Gujarat Titans.

Catch India’s tour of England, 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs, from July 1-19, LIVE on JioHotstar

Featured Video Of The Day

Delhi vs Mumbai IPL 2026: Fans Flood Arun Jaitley Stadium for High-Voltage Clash

India vs Ireland Live Score: India will have little time to recover from their surprise defeat in the first T20I as they return to the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on Sunday for the second and final match of the series.

The reigning T20 World Cup champions were beaten by 34 runs after Ireland recovered from 36/3 to post 182/9 before bowling India out for 148. The win gave Ireland a 1-0 lead and put them one victory away from a famous bilateral T20I series triumph over India.

For Shreyas Iyer’s side, Sunday’s game is a must-win if they are to avoid an unexpected series defeat.

India need better execution

India made a brilliant start with the ball in the opening match, reducing Ireland to 36/3 inside the Powerplay through Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh.

However, the visitors failed to maintain that pressure. Lorcan Tucker and Gareth Delany rebuilt the innings before George Dockrell’s late hitting helped Ireland score 66 runs in the final five overs.

Captain Shreyas Iyer admitted after the match that India lost control during the middle overs and allowed Ireland to target the shorter straight boundaries. He said the team would “forget what’s happened” and come back “all guns blazing” in the series decider.

Bowling under the spotlight

India’s bowling, especially in the death overs, is likely to come under focus.

Although Harshit Rana impressed with figures of 3/24, India struggled to contain Ireland in the final overs. Better execution and smarter use of bowlers will be crucial if they are to stop another late assault.

Batters need to step up

India’s batting also failed to deliver in the opening match.

Abhishek Sharma smashed a quickfire 50 off just 20 balls to keep the chase alive, but once he was dismissed, the innings fell apart.

Captain Shreyas Iyer managed only three runs, while Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel all failed to convert their starts. Shivam Dube played a useful cameo, but India never built the partnerships needed to chase 183.

Will India make changes?

With the series on the line, India could make changes to the playing XI.

Young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is waiting for his opportunity and could be considered if the team management decides to freshen up the batting line-up after the disappointing performance in the opener.

Ireland chasing another historic moment

Ireland will enter the match full of confidence after registering their first-ever T20I win over India.

Captain Lorcan Tucker led from the front with a composed half-century, while Gareth Delany made a valuable contribution with the bat.

Debutants Matthew Hollard and Jai Moondra also impressed. Hollard picked up three wickets to win the Player of the Match award, while Moondra claimed two wickets with a disciplined spell.

Ireland now have the chance to seal a memorable series victory over the world champions on home soil.

India look to bounce back

Despite the setback, India have often responded strongly after defeats.

Shreyas Iyer’s side will be determined to level the series and avoid a rare bilateral T20I series loss, while Ireland will look to complete another famous chapter in their cricket history.

With pride, momentum and the series on the line, an exciting contest awaits in Belfast.

Squads

India: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Tilak Varma (vice-captain), Ravi Bishnoi, Abhishek Sharma, Suryansh Shedge, Prasidh Krishna, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Shivam Dube, Prince Yadav, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Ireland: Lorcan Tucker (captain), Ross Adair, Ben Calitz, Gareth Delany, George Dockrell, Stephen Doheny, Matthew Humphreys, Gavin Hoey, Matthew Hollard, Liam McCarthy, Jai Moondra, Harry Tector, Tim Tector and Reuben Wilson.

28/06/2026 – 00:56

28/06/2026 – 00:55

Full time! Panama 0-2 England

Austria and Algeria both secured places in the FIFA World Cup knockout stage after producing one of the most dramatic matches of the tournament, with a thrilling 3-3 draw that knocked Iran out of the competition.

The result meant Austria finished second in Group J and booked a last-32 clash with Spain, while Algeria claimed one of the final qualifying spots among the best third-placed teams and will face Switzerland.

Austria looked set for elimination when captain Riyad Mahrez scored his second goal of the match in the 93rd minute to give Algeria a 3-2 lead in Kansas City.

At that moment, Iran, who had drawn all three of their group matches, were on course to progress to the knockout stage.

However, substitute Sasa Kalajdzic produced a dramatic late equaliser in the 96th minute, heading home just over a minute after coming off the bench to send Austria through and spark wild celebrations among their players and supporters.

The draw also saw Austria make history as the first team to avoid defeat in a World Cup match after falling behind beyond the 90-minute mark.

Despite the fact that both teams knew a draw would guarantee qualification, the match was played with great intensity and excitement from start to finish.

Austria took the lead in the first half through Marko Arnautovic, who controlled a long pass from David Alaba before finishing past goalkeeper Oussama Benbot.

Algeria responded before half-time when Rafik Belghali scored after reacting quickest to a loose ball inside the penalty area.

Austria regained the lead shortly after the break as Marcel Sabitzer fired home from a cut-back by Konrad Laimer.

But Algeria hit back again within five minutes when Mahrez converted a brilliant cross from Houssem Aouar.

As the match entered stoppage time, Mahrez appeared to have completed a famous comeback when he fired home from a tight angle in the 93rd minute to put Algeria 3-2 ahead and seemingly send Austria out.

However, Kalajdzic had the final say, heading home in the sixth minute of added time to rescue Austria and ensure both teams advanced.

The result was particularly painful for Iran, whose hopes had already suffered after a late winner was ruled out by VAR in their 1-1 draw against Egypt earlier on Saturday.

Austria will now face Spain in Los Angeles on Thursday, while Algeria travel to Vancouver to take on Switzerland on Friday in the last 32.