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Morocco youngest top-ranked Fifa World Cup squad, Brazil oldest: LCP study | FIFA World Cup 2026

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Morocco has the youngest squad among the top 10 Fifa-ranked teams competing in this year’s World Cup, with an average age of 25.92 years and seven of its 26 players below the age of 23, according to a study by UK-based Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP).

 


The study, led by Amlan Roy, investment partner for global macro research at LCP, examined the macro demographics of participating countries in the ongoing tournament.

 

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Spain follows Morocco, with an average squad age of 26.19 years. France is third at 26.58 years, while England is fourth at 26.62 years. Each team has a squad of 26 players and a coach.

 
 


Among the top 10 ranked teams, the oldest squads are from Latin America. Brazil has an average squad age of 28.65 years, followed by Argentina at 28.62 years. Argentina’s squad includes 39-year-old Lionel Messi, who has already scored five goals in two matches in the tournament.

 

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Among all 48 teams playing in the World Cup this year, Ecuador has the youngest squad, with an average age of 25.58 years and seven players below 23.

 


The study also looks at which countries have the highest concentration of professional footballers and clubs, a measure that reflects not only the sport’s popularity but also the opportunities available to players.

 

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Mexico tops the table among the 48 participating countries. It has 9,464 professional footballers and 244 professional football clubs, the highest in both categories.

 


Spain follows with 8,560 professional footballers, while England has 5,582. Turkey is fourth, with 3,917 professional players.

 

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The growing popularity of football in the US is also striking, particularly because the country is one of the venues for the current World Cup. Once seen largely as the land of American football, the US now has more than 101 professional football clubs, the fourth-highest among the 48 countries. It also has 2,971 professional footballers.

 


Saudi Arabia, too, is flexing its football muscle. It has the third-highest number of professional football clubs among participating countries, while 1,505 players in the country have turned professional.

 

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Football, however, remains a game of the masses, and there is little direct correlation between a country’s per capita gross domestic product (GDP) ranking and its Fifa ranking.

 

Morocco, for instance, is ranked eighth in Fifa rankings, but 38th among the 48 participating countries in terms of per capita GDP. Brazil is ranked sixth in football, but 29th on per capita GDP. Argentina is ranked third in Fifa rankings, but 27th by per capita GDP.

 

Switzerland, by contrast, tops the table among participating countries in terms of per capita GDP, but is ranked 18th in Fifa rankings.  Morocco youngest, Brazil oldest 

Country

Fifa rank

Average squad age

Players under 23

Morocco

8

25.92

7

Spain

2

26.19

5

France

1

26.58

5

England

4

26.62

4

Belgium

9

27.12

4

Netherlands

7

27.27

4

Portugal

5

27.54

5

Germany

10

27.54

5

Argentina

3

28.62

2

Brazil

6

28.65

3


Source: LCP’s 2026 World Cup Countries’ Macro Demographics report 

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  Mexico has the deepest professional football base 


Country

Professional footballers

Professional clubs

Mexico

9,464

244

Spain

8,560

41

England

5,582

92

Turkey

3,917

136

Argentina

3,613

18

Sweden

3,092

32

Czechia

2,959

30

France

2,906

47

USA

2,791

101

Japan

2,126

60

Source: LCP’s 2026 World Cup Countries’ Macro Demographics report 


  Football strength does not follow income rankings 

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Country

Fifa rank

GDP per capita rank

What it shows

France

1

14

Strong football, rich economy

Spain

2

30

Football rank far ahead of income rank

Argentina

3

27

Football strength exceeds income rank

Brazil

6

29

Same pattern as Argentina

Morocco

8

38

Major football overperformance

Switzerland

18

1

Richest, but not top football rank

USA

16

3

High income, mid-table football rank

Qatar

38

5

High income does not imply football strength


Source: Source: LCP’s 2026 World Cup Countries’ Macro Demographics report

        
 

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Commonwealth Games 2026: Michaela Walsh and Kaci Rock take silver after final defeats

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Team Northern Ireland boxers Michaela Walsh and Kaci Rock both had to settle for Commonwealth Games silver medals as they lost their respective finals by unanimous decision.

Holy Family fighter Walsh, who has earned a medal in each of her four successive Games appearances, has claimed a third silver after also coming second in 2014 and 2018.

But she missed out on the chance to add a second gold to the one she won in Birmingham four years ago after being outclassed by Jaismine.

The decorated 33-year-old also won gold in 2022, and joins bowler Neil Booth, shooter Martin Millar plus Mike Bull and Lady Mary Peters from athletics on four medals.

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Only shooter David Calvert has won more medals with eight, four of which were gold.

Three of the five judges scored the fight 29-28 while the other two gave it 30-27 with all in favour of Jaismine.

Walsh made a slow start and had an uphill battle after a cagey first round which she lost 3-2.

The second was a much closer affair and while she went all out for the stoppage in the third, her efforts were in vain as Jaismine did enough to win and claim the gold.

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Rock comes away from her first Games with NI’s fourth silver after falling short against England’s Sacha Hickey.

Hickey just had too much for 23-year-old Rock in an entertaining encounter, with four judges scoring it 30-27 and one 29-28 for the English fighter.

She edged the first two rounds and pushed on in the third to comfortably take victory.

Jon McConnell has the chance to add boxing’s first gold of these Games when he fights Wales’ Orlando Holley-Sotomi in the men’s light-middleweight final at 13:15 BST.

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Astros crush Rangers, leap into first place in AL West

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HOUSTON — Yainer Diaz homered and tied a career high with four hits and Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker also went deep to lead the Houston Astros to an 11-2 rout of the Texas Rangers Friday night that put them in first place in the AL West.

Jeremy Peña had three RBIs and Yordan Alvarez added two as the Astros tied a season high with 18 hits for their ninth win in 10 games to move a half-game ahead of Texas atop the division.

There were runners on first and third with one out in the second when LaMonte Wade Jr. doubled to make it 1-0. Nathan Eovaldi (10-9) plunked Peña on the arm to load the bases with two outs.

Alvarez followed with a single on a grounder to left field to score two and push the lead to 3-0.

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Cam Smith tripled with two outs in the fourth before Peña extended his hit streak to 12 games with a single that made it 4-0.

Paredes and Walker hit back-to-back home runs off Eovaldi to open the fifth inning and leave Houston up 6-0.

Joc Pederson homered and Corey Seager doubled and had two hits for the Rangers in his return after missing 23 games with inflammation in his lower back as they dropped a third straight.

Pederson’s home run to right-center field cut the lead to 6-1 in the sixth. Evan Carter hit an RBI single with two outs in the sixth to make it 6-2.

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Diaz’s solo homer was the first of four runs Houston scored with two outs in the seventh that pushed the lead to 10-2.

Houston starter Hunter Brown (3-1) yielded six hits and two runs in 5 2/3 innings.

Eovaldi allowed 10 hits and tied a season high with six runs in five innings.

Texas RHP Jacob deGrom (7-6, 3.67 ERA) opposes RHP Ronel Blanco (0-1, 8.10) when the series continues Saturday night.

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2026 AIG Women’s Open Saturday tee times: Round 3

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The 2026 AIG Women’s Open continues on Saturday, August 1, with the third round at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in England. You can find full AIG Women’s Open tee times for Saturday’s third round at the bottom of this post.

AIG Women’s Open Saturday tee times: What to know

At the halfway point of the 2026 AIG Women’s Open, Haeran Ryu has an eye on her third major championship win of the season.

Already the winner of the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and the 2026 Evian Championship, Ryu shot a two-under 69 on Friday in tough conditions at Royal Lytham and St. Annes to improve to seven under. That was good enough for a one-shot lead.

But Ryu has plenty of challengers with 36 holes to play, including World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul (five under), home country favorite Charley Hull (two under) and Nelly Korda (one under).

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Ryu will tee off for Round 3 on Saturday morning at 9:40 a.m. ET alongside Shiho Kuwaki.

You can watch Saturday’s third round of the AIG Women’s Open from 7 a.m.-12 p.m. ET on USA and then 12-2 p.m. ET on NBC. Additional Saturday streaming coverage will be provided by Golfchannel.com, the Golf Channel App and the NBC Sports App.

You can check out the complete Round 3 tee times for the 2026 AIG Women’s Open below.

2026 AIG Women’s Open tee times for Saturday: Round 3 (ET)

Tee No. 1

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3:50 a.m. – Pia Babnik, Sara Kouskova
4:00 a.m. – Manon De Roey, Cara Gainer
4:10 a.m. – Nastasia Nadaud, Ayaka Furue
4:20 a.m. – Hyo Joo Kim, Yunseo Yang (a)
4:30 a.m. – Alison Lee, Amelia Garvey
4:40 a.m. – Carla Tejedo Mulet, Patty Tavatanakit
4:50 a.m. – Maja Stark, Casandra Alexander
5:05 a.m. – Annabell Fuller, Alexandra Forsterling
5:15 a.m. – Yuka Saso, Amy Yang
5:25 a.m. – Jin Young Ko, Wei-Ling Hsu
5:35 a.m. – Pauline Roussin-Bouchard, Mi Hyang Lee
5:45 a.m. – Ashleigh Buhai, Chizzy Iwai
5:55 a.m. – Arpichaya Yubol, Jenny Shin
6:05 a.m. – Lindy Duncan, Aki Iwai
6:20 a.m. – Yuna Araki, Sei Young Kim
6:30 a.m. – Amanda Doherty, Alice Hewson
6:40 a.m. – Dewi Weber, Brooke M. Henderson
6:50 a.m. – Hannah Green, Nasa Hataoka
7:00 a.m. – Ariya Jutanugarn, Rose Zhang
7:10 a.m. – Minji Kang, Shannon Tan
7:20 a.m. – Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mao Saigo
7:35 a.m. – Auston Kim, Anna Nordqvist
7:45 a.m. – Esther Henseleit, Rio Takeda
7:55 a.m. – Aunchisa Utama, Yana Wilson
8:05 a.m. – Kajsa Arwefjall, Mimi Rhodes
8:15 a.m. – Nelly Korda, Lydia Ko
8:25 a.m. – Robyn Choi, Jin Hee Im
8:35 a.m. – Celine Boutier, Lottie Woad
8:50 a.m. – Minami Katsu, Chanettee Wannasaen
9:00 a.m. – Charley Hull, Lauren Coughlin
9:10 a.m. – Paula Martin Sampedro (a), Lucy Li
9:20 a.m. – Jing Yan, Soo Bin Joo
9:30 a.m. – Yealimi Noh, Jeeno Thitikul
9:40 a.m. – Shiho Kuwaki, Haeran Ryu

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5 Things WWE subtly told us on the go-home episode of SmackDown before SummerSlam 2026

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The ultimate episode of WWE SmackDown before SummerSlam concluded with CM Punk and Cody Rhodes engaging in a massive brawl. Besides this, the show also witnessed Haku’s return to the sports entertainment juggernaut.

Additionally, several notable developments occurred heading into SummerSlam 2026. In this article, let’s take a look at five things WWE subtly told us in the final edition of the blue brand before the Biggest Party of the Summer.


#5. WWE may have lost faith in Giulia

Lash Legend defeats Giulia in two minutes She earns the final spot in the Interim WWE Women’s Championship Ladder Match on Sunday #SmackDown

Giulia and Lash Legend locked horns in an Interim Women’s Championship qualifying match on the blue brand. Though fans were rooting for the Japanese star, Legend dominated and defeated her in barely two minutes.

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The WWE Universe was largely disappointed with the outcome and expressed frustration over Giulia’s booking. However, suffering such a loss subtly suggests that WWE may have lost faith in Giulia, making it unlikely that she will receive a major singles push on the blue brand anytime soon.


#4. CM Punk vs. Trick Williams teased

“SOONER OR LATER IM COMING FOR THAT WWE CHAMPIONSHIP” – TRICK WILLIAMS TO CM PUNK 👀 #Smackdown

When CM Punk was being interviewed backstage, Trick Williams confronted him. The United States champion asserted that sooner or later, he was coming for the Undisputed Title.

In response, the Second City Saint claimed that he needed challengers and would be ready to face Trick Williams in the near future. Before leaving, Punk promised to knock Trick down when he reached the top of the mountain.

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This interesting conversation subtly teases a potential feud between Punk and Williams in World Wrestling Entertainment. If the Voice of the Voiceless retains the title at SummerSlam, a match between the two could likely unfold in the coming months.


#3. Talla Tonga and Tama Tonga could dethrone Damian Priest and R-Truth

Haku appears to be the new manager of Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga on SmackDown. The veteran star returned to the blue brand this week and motivated the former MFT members. Later in the night, Tama and Talla stood tall by destroying Damian Priest, R-Truth, and The War Raiders.

The return of Haku and Tama & Talla’s destruction could be a hint that WWE is planning to push them as a major tag team. This subtly suggests that they could eventually dethrone Damian Priest and R-Truth to become the new WWE Tag Team Champions.


#2. Charlotte Flair losing at SummerSlam

Charlotte Flair and Jade Cargill were involved in a brawl on SmackDown. Additionally, Adam Pearce has announced a match between them for next week’s episode of the blue brand.

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For those unaware, Flair and Cargill will compete in the Interim Women’s Title Ladder Match at SummerSlam. Traditionally, the superstar who stands tall on the go-home episode before a premium live event often ends up losing at the event itself.

With the Queen standing tall over the Storm on SmackDown, it could be a subtle hint that she might fall short in the Interim Women’s title ladder match at the Biggest Party of the Summer.


#1. Cody Rhodes foreshadowing heel turn

Night 1 of SummerSlam will feature Cody Rhodes and CM Punk facing off for the Undisputed Title. During their final confrontation before the two-night PLE, fans noticed an interesting detail.

During SmackDown, the American Nightmare wore a black suit, something he rarely does on WWE television. This quickly drew comparisons to his AEW heel run, where he wore a black suit.

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As a result, many fans believe the SmackDown segment subtly foreshadowed a potential heel turn for Cody. At the Biggest Party of the Summer, the Prodigal Son could finally show his true colors by turning on The Best in the World.