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Ireland may not be at this World Cup, but the League of Ireland still has a story worth following.

For supporters of the domestic game, the tournament is not only about the usual favourites, global stars and headline fixtures. It is also a chance to see players connected to Irish football step onto the biggest stage in the sport.

That angle matters. The League of Ireland is often judged through attendances, European results or transfer value, but international recognition is another measure of progress. When players based in Ireland are selected for World Cup squads, it reflects well on the league and its clubs.

Joseph Anang gives St Pat’s a World Cup storyline

The clearest League of Ireland World Cup link is Joseph Anang. The St Patrick’s Athletic goalkeeper was included in Ghana’s 26-man squad, creating a notable moment for the Inchicore club. A World Cup call-up for a player based at Richmond Park is rare, giving St Pat’s supporters a direct interest in Ghana’s campaign.

Anang’s route is also a reminder that careers rarely move in straight lines. Having come through the West Ham United system and previously spent time on loan, he has built a strong profile in Ireland. Regular senior football has clearly helped him build rhythm, confidence and reputation.

Whether Anang starts matches or serves as part of Ghana’s goalkeeping group, the selection itself is significant. It shows that the domestic competition can still provide a platform for players with international ambitions.

Pico Lopes remains one of the league’s great international stories

Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes offers another strong League of Ireland connection. The Shamrock Rovers defender is part of one of football’s best modern international stories, with Cape Verde reaching the World Cup for the first time. Born in Ireland and developed through the local football pathway, Lopes has become a key figure for Cape Verde while continuing to represent one of the biggest clubs in the Irish game.

His journey is different from Anang’s, but just as important. Lopes is a long-serving League of Ireland figure, shaped by years of domestic football, European qualifiers, title races and pressure games with Shamrock Rovers.

Cape Verde’s qualification has already been framed as a historic achievement, and Lopes gives Irish supporters a personal link to that story. It is rare for a League of Ireland regular to be involved in a World Cup group-stage campaign, and even rarer for that player to carry such a deep connection with an Irish club.

Why this matters for Irish football followers

For Sports News Ireland readers, this is the kind of World Cup angle that goes beyond standard match previews. Ireland’s absence from the tournament is disappointing, but the domestic league still has representation through stories worth tracking. Fans will follow the world cup favourites, team sheets and knockout possibilities, yet Anang and Lopes bring the tournament closer to home.

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From a football perspective, the better story is still the same: two League of Ireland players can help keep local interest alive during a World Cup without the Republic of Ireland.

What to watch during the tournament

For Anang, the question is whether he can move closer to minutes with Ghana or use the tournament environment to strengthen his standing within the national setup. Even if he does not start, training daily at World Cup level can be valuable when he returns to club football.

For Lopes, the focus is different. Cape Verde are one of the stories of the tournament, and their matches should attract neutral interest. Lopes’ defensive experience, leadership and composure will matter if Cape Verde are to stay competitive. Shamrock Rovers fans know his strengths well: organisation, resilience and the ability to handle pressure.

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The World Cup will still be dominated by the biggest nations and the biggest names. But for Irish football, the presence of League of Ireland figures adds a smaller, more local storyline that deserves attention. Anang and Lopes show that the domestic game can still reach global tournaments, even in different ways.

That may not soften the frustration of Ireland missing out, but it gives supporters something tangible to follow. When the tournament begins, League of Ireland fans will not just be watching from the outside. Through St Patrick’s Athletic, Shamrock Rovers, Ghana and Cape Verde, the domestic game will have a place in the wider World Cup conversation

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A Turkish state broadcaster has removed a commentator from its World Cup coverage after he mistakenly identified the Iran and New Zealand teams during a live broadcast.

TRT confirmed late on Tuesday that the commentator, named by Turkish media as Murat Ekrem Çimen, had been withdrawn from the US World Cup broadcast team pending an investigation. He will not continue to comment on matches throughout the tournament.

Reports in Turkish media indicate that Mr Çimen referred to Iran’s attacks as New Zealand’s and vice-versa during the opening minutes of the broadcast.

TRT described the error as “unacceptable” under its broadcasting standards.

“We apologise to our viewers and the public for this error,” the broadcaster stated. “It is unacceptable for TRT that someone with over 30 years of experience in sports broadcasting would make such a mistake.”

The Group G match on Monday night ended in a 2-2 draw, with Iran twice coming from behind to rescue a point from their opening game.

Elijah Just put New Zealand in front twice, but his goals were cancelled out by strikes from Ramin Rezaeian and Mohammad Mohebi.

Iran faced a disrupted build-up to the tournament amid the nation’s ongoing conflict with the US, who are co-hosting the World Cup.

Iran moved their training base to Mexico ahead of the World Cup, with the squad flying into the US for each of their three group matches.

Following Monday’s match against New Zealand, Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team is the “most oppressed” at the World Cup.

“We’ve spent so much time commuting in the air,” he said.

“They didn’t even give us time to recover after the game today. They said we had to leave immediately.

“It’s very important for us to have time for recovery and yet we were asked to return to Tijuana and we are really troubled by that.

“We do not know why they are returning us. I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions are made elsewhere, we were supposed to arrive two nights before the game and we were not permitted, we were supposed to stay tonight and return tomorrow lunchtime but I have no idea why, and they haven’t told us.

“Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.”

It’s difficult to overstate the impact of the Williams sisters on tennis. Now in their forties, both are back playing at the top level, after Serena (44) joined 46-year-old Venus in appearances at the Queens tournament in London and the Berlin Open over the last week.

The pair have also been offered a wilcard doubles entry for Wimbledon a decade after they won the last of their six doubles titles at that particular Grand Slam. They have also won two US Open doubles titles, two in the French Open and four in the Australian Open. Between them they also have 30 Grand Slam singles titles, Serena has 23 of those. But her motivation for this comeback after four years out came a little closer to home. 

“My daughter Olympia told me I should play with Venus. She’s always right, so I was like ‘damn,’” Serena said. “So I said ‘You know, let’s see if we can do it’.”

Venus Williams had returned to top level tennis this January, becoming the oldest woman to play singles at the Australian Open.

At 45, Williams, was handed a wildcard for the tournament and was 27 years older than the youngest player in the women’s draw, fellow American Iva Jovic. After winning the first set, she fell 2-1 to Serbian player Olga Danilovic, in the first round. She’s won one of her six singles matches since her comeback but is looking forward to reprising her prolific doubles partnership.

“It’s incredible, the quality of her stroke is obviously there,” Venus, who unlike Serena never formally retired from the sport, told British broadcaster TNT of her sister’s return.

“She’s, I think, a little bit of a natural, she’s got a pretty good record, she knows what she’s doing and she’s very tenacious, so I’m not worried about how she’s going to play even though I haven’t seen her play, which is crazy.”

40 but not finished

While elite athletes competing into their 40s and beyond is not so unusual in less-physical sports, more elite athletes in more physically demanding sports appear to be able to sustain a career longer now than ever before.

LeBron James, 41, is still playing top-level basketball. Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Manuel Neuer are among eight over-40s at the ongoing football World Cup. . Former India cricket captain MS Dhoni was in the Chennai Super Kings squad in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL) at 44, though he didn’t make an appearance.

“Population aging is not only increasing the average age of citizens but the average ages of elite sport participants, too,” Dr. Rafal Chomik of the  UNSW Centre for Population Ageing Research (CEPAR) in Sydney, Australia, told DW.

“There are a number of likely explanations, including improvements in sports science, equipment innovation, and training regimes which are sport-specific, but there are also the wider societal trends that combine medical innovations and better health behaviors that shift all of us towards longer, healthier lives, including athletes.”

CEPAR conducted a study of Olympic athlete ages at the Tokyo Games in 2021. It found that the average age of Olympians increased by 2 years from 25 to 27 between 1992 and 2021, with the median age up to 25 from 23. The trend continued at the Paris Games in 2024, with the average age just over 27 and the median age not far behind at 26.6.

Power fades first

But not all sports are made equal in this regard. The oldest competitor in Paris was Australian equestrian rider Mary Hanna at 70. That sport had an average competitor age of 39.5 in Paris — rhythmic gymnastics was the lowest at 20.44.

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Another study, conducted over a 47-year period by the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and released last month, found that “fitness and strength begin to decline as early as age 35” and that increased exercise cannot change the age of peak performance in a given sport.

How an 81-year-old sprinter chases a world record

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“We seem to lose power —  measured by jumping ability in our study — at an earlier age than endurance and strength,” Maria Westerstahl, lead author of the study, told DW.

“One explanation could be that the explosive muscle cell type (Type II) appears most vulnerable to lack of exercise or to aging itself. However, we do not know why, so the exact reason requires further study,” she continued.

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“However, there is considerable room for change if you remain or become active. Aerobic capacity tracks the least, while muscular endurance tracks the most, meaning that aerobic capacity requires the most maintenance to preserve.”

Winning gets harder with age

This goes a long way to explaining why the likes of Williams, James and Ronaldo are such outliers in the top echelons of sports where power matters, whereas sports like equestrian, bowls or darts see players in their 40s, 50s or even older compete at the elite level.

“Darts is not a sport where you need to be really strong. All you need is to basically be healthy,” darts player Paul Lim said after becoming the oldest player to win a match at the World Championship this year at the age of 71.

“Longevity is something in darts that will be longer than a lot of other sports.”

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Although Lim won a match, the title went to 18-year-old prodigy Luke Littler. Realistically, winning a match or two, rather than a seventh title, might be all that the Williams’ can achieve in London.

“If you look at the top 100 Tennis player lists over the last 30 years, for both men and women, the maximum age appears not to exceed 40,” Chomik said.

“Perhaps it becomes a distinction between participating and winning.”

This article was originally published on January 12, 2026. It was updated on June 17, 2026 to reflect the fact that the Williams sisters have been playing doubles in London and Berlin this summer. 

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Edited by: Chuck Penfold

Roman Reigns is on a quest to regain dominance in WWE with The Bloodline. The OTC is at the top of Monday Night RAW as the World Heavyweight Champion and wants Jey Uso to bring the Undisputed WWE Championship to the faction as well. Jacob Fatu has also joined the stable after losing the Tribal Combat to Reigns at Clash in Italy.

The YEET Master has qualified for the semifinals of the King of the Ring Tournament and will face Je’Von Evans on this week’s SmackDown to potentially secure a spot in the final against Oba Femi at Night of Champions.

That said, if Jey fails to win the tournament, it might affect his standing in The Bloodline. The OTC may not be pleased with The YEET Master if he comes back empty-handed. Reigns has taken a different approach with The Bloodline this time around, treating everyone as equals. However, failure may still have consequences for the members.

Reigns might even kick Jey Uso out of the faction if he doesn’t win the KOTR. Jimmy could choose his twin brother’s side and leave the group as well. This could then lead to the OTC forming a new version of The Bloodline.

If that happens, here are four stars Roman Reigns could be part of his Bloodline 2.0.

#4. Jacob Fatu

Jacob Fatu would likely remain a part of The Bloodline even if Roman Reigns decides to rebuild the faction. The Samoan Werewolf officially joined the group after losing Tribal Combat to Reigns at Clash in Italy. Since then, he has fully devoted himself to the OTC and has shown no signs of going against him.

That loyalty could be important if Jey and Jimmy Uso leave the faction. Moreover, Fatu gives Reigns something that very few superstars can. He is one of the most dangerous competitors on the roster and can completely change the outcome of a match or feud on his own.

Roman knows that. If The Bloodline were to enter a new chapter, it would make sense for Reigns to keep Fatu by his side. The OTC has a powerful enforcer at his disposal, and there is little reason to let him go.

#3. Solo Sikoa

Solo Sikoa could still find his way back into The Bloodline. On last week’s SmackDown, Roman Reigns sent Jacob Fatu to invite Solo back into the faction. However, the former Tribal Chief rejected the offer and made it clear that he was not interested.

However, that may not be the end of the story. If Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso leave the group, Reigns could find himself needing more allies. In that situation, bringing Solo back into the fold would make a lot of sense.

Moreover, there is already history between the two men. Solo was one of Roman Reigns’ most trusted allies during the original Bloodline run and played a major role in the faction’s success. While their relationship eventually broke down, the foundation is still there.

A rebuilt Bloodline could therefore give both of them a reason to put their differences aside. Solo has already shown that he is capable of operating within the faction, and Reigns clearly still sees value in him. If Bloodline 2.0 becomes a reality, Solo could end up being one of its most important members.

#2. Talla Tonga

Talla Tonga could also become part of a new version of The Bloodline. The giant star does not have much history with Roman Reigns. However, he has been closely aligned with Solo Sikoa and has shown loyalty to him.

That could be important. If Solo eventually agrees to rejoin The Bloodline, there is a good chance Talla will follow him. After all, he has consistently backed Sikoa and could view joining the faction as the best move for both of them.

Moreover, Talla would give the group something it currently lacks. His size alone makes him a valuable asset. Few superstars on the roster can match his physical presence, and he could quickly establish himself as one of the faction’s most intimidating members.

#1. Roman Reigns could bring Zilla Fatu into The Bloodline 2.0

Zilla Fatu could be a long-term addition to Bloodline 2.0. Recent reports have suggested that the company is interested in signing him, and he was recently spotted training at the WWE Performance Center.

That has naturally led to speculation about a possible role in The Bloodline storyline. If Roman Reigns ends up rebuilding the faction, Zilla could be an option. Unlike some of the other names on this list, he would bring something new to the group.

Moreover, he is still young and has plenty of potential. Adding Zilla would allow Roman Reigns to bring in someone who could develop alongside the faction and potentially become an important member in the future.