The Netherlands beat Uzbekistan but failed to put their minds at ease. Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry to the US. Olivier Giroud has extended his contract with Lille, whilst Ibrahima Konaté is set to sign for Real Madrid. Monaco have qualified for their fifth consecutive Betclic Élite final. Serena Williams is making her return to the courts.

Guela Doue scored a goal and set up the winning strike as Ivory Coast surprised France – and Doue’s brother in the French dugout – with a 2-1 victory in a World Cup warmup match.

Amad Diallo fired home Doue’s low cross from the right six minutes from time at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes Thursday.

Rayan Cherki had put France ahead in the final minute of the first half when he left two defenders behind and beat goalkeeper Yahia Fofana with a low shot.

Fofana was frequently in action, saving the chances of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise and again Cherki.

But Doue – whose brother Desire Doue plays for France – received a through ball from Nicolas Pepe to equalize eight minutes into the second half.

Many fans waved posters with a photo of Didier Deschamps to thank the coach for a successful reign that began in 2012 and saw France win the 2018 World Cup and reach the 2022 final and will come to an end after this edition.

Deschamps had all six players involved in the Champions League final – Ousmane Dembele, Bradley Barcola, Warren Zaire-Emery, Desire Doue, Lucas Hernandez and William Saliba – on the bench. He used Hernandez, Zaire-Emery and Barcola as substitutes in the second half.

France will play one more warmup – against Northern Ireland on Monday in Lille – before heading to the United States.

France opens its campaign against Senegal on June 16 in New Jersey.

Ivory Coast meets Ecuador in its opener in Philadelphia on June 14.

Spain held by IraqSpain – another World Cup favorite – was held 1-1 at home by Iraq in La Coruna.

Playing without forwards Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, Spain took a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute on Ferran Torres’ goal.

Merchas Doski’s left-footed strike from just outside the box beat goalkeeper Joan Garcia to equalize before the half-hour mark.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said he expects Yamal to be fit to face Cape Verde in the team’s World Cup opener in Atlanta on June 15.

De la Fuente rested David Raya, Martin Zubimendi and Fabian Ruiz – who all participated in the Champions League’s final. Recently injured Mikel Merino came on as a substitute.

Spain is scheduled to play one more warmup game – against Peru in Mexico on Monday.

Iraq meets Norway in its World Cup opener in Massachusetts on June 16.

England’s national football team will use a new high-carbohydrate liquid pouch this summer, designed to help cope with the World Cup rigours this summer.

The Football Association has meticulously prepared for the tournament’s unique stresses, including travel, time zones, heat, and humidity in North America.

This groundwork involved England’s performance nutritionists collaborating with sports drinks partner Lucozade’s research and development team to develop a product for hydration, fuelling, and recovery in North America.

Lucozade Elite, a high-carbohydrate electrolyte solution, is being used by Thomas Tuchel’s side at the World Cup. It is not commercially available, having been exclusively developed for use by the national teams.

England midfielder Jude Bellingham said: “Football is demanding enough on its own, but when you’re playing regularly and at the highest level, the small details become even more important.

“Everything around preparation, hydration and fuelling has to be right so you can perform consistently throughout a game. The right preparation can make a big difference.”

England have been in Florida since last Monday acclimatising to the heat and humidity during a warm weather training camp, which ends with Wednesday’s friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando.

Harry Kane played down the impact the USA’s sweltering temperatures will have on England’s World Cup chances after they had their first proper run-out on American soil.

The Three Lions played their first of two warm-up matches on Saturday evening, beating the World Cup’s lowest-ranked side New Zealand 1-0 – and while Tuchel was unhappy with some of the “freestyle” football shown in the first half against New Zealand, emerging unscathed from the patchwork pitch was a boost.

Kane admitted the surface was “a bit sticky” as they were made to sweat in 33 degrees Celsius heat, but the skipper feels talk about the conditions have been overblown.

“To be honest, I don’t think the heat’s been too bad,” the striker, who played at last year’s Club World Cup in America, added.

“Obviously, we’ve been getting used to it in training. After the first couple of days, I felt like most of the lads were used to it.

“Today actually didn’t feel terrible out there, so I think there’s a talking point that might get over spoke about, to be honest.

“We’re all professional athletes. We all have done the right preparation to get ready for this tournament between us and the staff as well.

“We have another 10 days or so until that first game, training in this environment, so I think come the tournament, it won’t be a factor.”

Kane scored the winner against the All Whites, a sublime first-half header, to take his tally to 67 for the season for club and country.

Sports broadcaster Gary Lineker has said his “marriage” with the BBC had started to “run out of love” by the time he left the corporation.

The former England footballer, 65, was the presenter of BBC’s Match Of The Day for 26 years until he stepped down in May last year following criticism over him airing his political opinions on social media.

His departure came after a row following an Instagram post he made about Zionism, which featured a depiction of a rat, historically an antisemitic insult.

Speaking on The Louis Theroux Podcast, Lineker said the incident sped up his exit from the corporation, describing his relationship with the broadcaster as like a marriage that had run its course.

He said: “I was going anyway, but we just brought it forward. I thought it seemed to be the sensible thing to do.

“I think it’s like a marriage with the BBC. We’d been together for a long time and we were starting to run out of love for each other. I’ll always love the BBC. It’s an amazing, amazing corporation.”

The sports broadcaster apologised for the post, adding that he did not see the rat visual and that he did not think “anyone actually believes I would’ve posted that”.

He said: “Obviously, I learned about that pretty quickly after that. But that one I felt bad about because that was my mistake. That was my mistake because it was not with intent, but I could see why some people would be upset by that.”

The former Barcelona striker fronts The Rest Is Football podcast alongside former footballers Micah Richards and Alan Shearer with the series airing as a daily TV show on Netflix for the 2026 World Cup to cover events in the US, Canada and Mexico, where the tournament is being held.

Last week, Lineker’s media enterprise, Goalhanger, was named Britain’s fastest-growing company, highlighting a successful transition from traditional punditry to the burgeoning podcast industry.

Research for the annual Sunday Times 100 revealed the production firm generated £37.9 million in sales in 2025. This impressive figure reflects an average annual sales growth of approximately 321% over the last three years, positioning it as the top performer among all companies scrutinised.

Adrien Broner has named who he sees as the sport’s current flagship fighter, better than the likes of Oleksandr Usyk, Naoya Inoue and Shakur Stevenson.

Most would argue that the No.1 pound-for-pound spot belongs to either Usyk or Inoue, with both having become two-division undisputed champions.

More recently, Inoue has closed the gap by successfully defending his super-bantamweight crown against Junto Nakatani, who he unanimously outpointed at a sold-out Tokyo Dome last month.

Usyk, meanwhile, was also in action last month, only his performance against former kickboxer Rico Verhoeven did not quite live up to the vast majority of expectations.

Rather controversially, though, former world champion Broner has rejected both the Japanese sensation and masterful Ukrainian as his leading fighter.

Instead, he continues to regard Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis, who has not fought since March 2025, as the most complete package in the sport today.

The 31-year-old’s last outing saw him retain his WBA lightweight title with a dubious draw against Lamont Roach, who was denied a clear 10-8 round after flooring his man in the ninth frame.

‘Tank’ was then set to face Jake Paul in an exhibition match last November, only to be removed from the lucrative opportunity due to a series of domestic violence allegations.

Subsequently, the WBA downgraded his status to “Champion in recess”, yet Broner has nonetheless told FightHype that he still sees Davis as the top pound-for-pound fighter.

“Tank [is the best fighter in the world]. Everything that them boys [other fighters] got, he got. But the s**t he [Davis] got, [they don’t have].”

Perhaps Broner is referring to the American’s considerable knockout power but, either way, it seems a stretch to rank Davis in any pound-for-pound list.

Bruno Fernandes can go one step further if Manchester United give him the dream midfield partner

Bruno Fernandes can look to break his own Premier League assists record next season thanks to Kobbie Mainoo.

The Manchester United captain made history against Brighton on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign by claiming a record-breaking 21st league assist. Fernandes’ corner was headed home by Patrick Dorgu in the 33rd minute to give Michael Carrick’s side the lead.

But it was clearly more important than any regular goal to the United players as they mobbed their skipper, who had been tied with Thierry Henry and Kevin De Bruyne on a record 20 assists beforehand.

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Fernandes’ milestone capped off an incredible individual campaign alongside playing a crucial role in the team securing Champions League qualification again, with his heroics clinching the Premier League Player of the Season and FWA Footballer of the Year awards.

And yet there is still scope for the 31-year-old to do better next season. Fernandes’ best form this term came when sharing the field with young midfielder Mainoo, who missed the majority of the season while Ruben Amorim was still in charge.

Amorim oddly shunned the Englishman throughout his Old Trafford tenure but Mainoo enjoyed a resurgence under interim boss Carrick from January onwards. With Mainoo on the pitch, Fernandes recorded a whopping 17 assists.

He incredibly notched 12 assists in 16 games when Mainoo started, showing how fruitful the partnership will be for United again across a full season, despite an expected summer of midfield incomings.

Mainoo’s regular involvement will be crucial if Fernandes hopes to stand a chance of shattering the record he set just last month next term.

Astonishingly, Fernandes’ assists fell drastically when Mainoo was not on the pitch to just four. That again shows Fernandes is most effective when playing alongside the deeper Mainoo, who was misprofiled as a No.10 by Amorim previously.

The 21-year-old is expected to play an important role again next campaign due to the permanent appointment of Carrick.

There is, of course, the caveat that around half of the goals set up by Fernandes in the league came from corners. Nevertheless, should the duo start the full 38 games together next term, the Portugal international is projected to exceed even 21 assists.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

Texas A&M continues to collect postseason recognition even after its playoff exit, and this time one of the youngest Aggies is in the spotlight. On Monday, true freshman third baseman Nico Partida was named to the Freshman All‑American First Team by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), adding another major accolade to his breakout debut season.

After the Aggies reshuffled the infield following the 2025 campaign, Partida seized the starting third‑base job from day one an important development that allowed Gavin Grahovac to shift to first base, a preseason concern for the coaching staff. Partida not only stabilized the position but thrived in it, remaining a fixture in the lineup until suffering an injury late in the year.

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That injury ultimately derailed his chances at national Freshman of the Year, but up to that point he was widely viewed as a frontrunner. He earned Perfect Game’s Midseason Freshman of the Year, received an invitation to the 2026 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Training Camp, and was named to the Freshman All‑SEC Team.

The numbers back up the praise. In 49 games, Partida slashed .306/.408/.550 with 55 hits, eight doubles, 12 home runs, and 43 RBI. He recorded 17 multi‑hit games and 12 multi‑RBI performances, highlighted by a dominant outing against Georgia in which he tallied four hits, six RBI, and a grand slam.

Nelly Korda won the biggest title of her career over the weekend, besting the field at Riviera Country Club for a one-shot victory at the U.S. Women’s Open. But unlike so many of the victories in her career, she did not look totally in control of her swing throughout the week.

Her stubbornly uncooperative swing was apparent during her opening round of the championship on Thursday afternoon as she posted a two-over 73. In that opening stanza, Korda lost strokes to the field with her approach play — a rarity for one of the best ball strikers in the game.

“I hit it really good Monday through Wednesday, so I have honestly no idea where this came from,” she said. “So I’m going to go to the range.”

Joining her on the range was her sister, six-time LPGA winner Jessica. And as the duo searched in the dirt for the missing ingredient in Korda’s swing, Jessica noticed something. Her sister’s grip was looking a little weak, with her trail hand creeping too much on top of the shaft. In an effort to correct it, she suggested strengthening her grip and putting that trail hand a little more underneath the shaft.

Grip changes are some of the most difficult tweaks you can make to your golf swing, and most pros avoid them at all costs. When you are used to holding the club a certain way, even the slightest adjustment can send you spiraling, and it can change delivery dynamics pretty aggressively if not done correctly. But after the poor performance in Round 1, Korda decided to give it a shot.

“I just kind of keep laying it off at the top,” Kords said. “It felt super funky today, but I just trusted and went with it.”

The results were immediately evident. In Round 2, Korda’s iron play returned to its previous form. She gained over a shot on the field with her approach play, posting a 67 to get herself right back in the mix. She matched that number on Saturday to share a piece of the 54-hole lead, and headed into the final round in prime position to claim the title she craved most.

“I think the grip change is one of the hardest things to do,” Korda said in a TV interview after her round. “The trust level is definitely high with [Jessica]. I know I can always count on her. She’s been there through my warmups and warm downs almost every single day, so she’s been a great support system.”

The mid-tournament grip change was a risky move, and as a fellow professional golfer, Jessica knew how uncomfortable the adjustment must’ve been. Shortly after finishing off her one-shot victory, Korda met with the press and shared that Jessica “could barely sleep” from the thought of ruining her sister’s swing with the advice.

In the end, the risky move paid off. Korda posted a final-round 69 on Sunday to hold off the charging Charley Hull and Gabby Lopez, adding the biggest bullet point to her hall-of-fame-worthy resume.