The United States’ men’s national team already has a major injury question mark before the 2026 FIFA World Cup even kicks off.

Chris Richards, the 26-year-old who many believe is the best defender on the USMNT heading into the tournament, won’t be traveling for the team’s international friendly against Senegal on Sunday.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino said that Richards is dealing with an ankle injury that has kept him out of Crystal Palace’s last two matches of the season. And even worse for fans, there’s currently no public timetable for his return.

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Chris Richards of the United States prepares before the Gold Cup match against Haiti at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on June 22, 2025. The United States won 2-1. (Shaun Clark/Getty Images)

“I think he needs to keep doing his rehab,” Pochettino said, per the New York Post. “I think it’s much better to stay here and plan to train and [see] next week how it is.”

The “here” Pochettino speaks of is the USMNT training facility in Atlanta, which is where Richards is staying while his teammates head to Charlotte, North Carolina, for their matchup with Senegal.

DIEGO LUNA, WHO WAS IN NIKE’S WORLD CUP PROMOTIONAL ADS, SHOCKINGLY LEFT OFF USMNT ROSTER

Richards also wasn’t present for the team’s 26-man roster reveal in New York City last week, sending a video message instead as he stayed with Crystal Palace for its European final match in Germany. He didn’t play in the match despite being available as a sub.

Richards has yet to train with the USMNT, and Pochettino didn’t appear too optimistic he would be ready for the team’s first match against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles.

Chris Richards, wearing jersey number 3, plays for the United States during an international friendly soccer match against Japan at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 9, 2025. (Koji Watanabe/Getty Images)

“I was asking from yesterday when he arrived to [assistant coach] Jesús [Pérez] 100 times, ‘What do you think, what do you think, which formation we have’” Pochettino explained. “Wait, wait, wait, wait. The answer was ‘Wait, wait, wait.’ It’s too early. We need to see. The next few days are going to be key to see the possibilities to be ready or not for the World Cup.”

While it’s not expected Richards will be taken off the roster, FIFA requires all 48 teams to finalize their 26-man squads by June. Teams can still make injury-related roster changes up to 24 hours before their first match.

The USMNT will try to get their chemistry and technical skills in check against Senegal, while also facing Germany in a pre-World Cup friendly before heading to Los Angeles for the start of their Group D schedule.

After Paraguay, the U.S. will have Australia in Seattle on June 19, followed by Türkiye in their final group stage match on June 25 back at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Chris Richards trains with the United States men’s national soccer team at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground in Marietta, Ga., on March 26, 2026. (John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

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But a significant question mark remains at one of the most important positions on the field for the USMNT: center back. Richards is a natural fit there, but the depth behind him is far less convincing, even after Pochettino sacrificed some attacking options to bolster the defense on his roster.

Richards was expected to start every match for the U.S. even before the roster was finalized, so it will be interesting to see how his injury progresses closer to the first match on June 12.

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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms Saturday on a contract with Seattle Seahawks assistant Nolan Teasley to be their general manager, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been finalized with Teasley, who has spent his entire 13-year NFL career with Seattle. During that span, the Seahawks made the playoffs nine times, reached three Super Bowls, and won two of them including the most recent one in February.

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Teasley was promoted in 2023 to assistant GM by president of football operations and general manager John Schneider, who was the architect of both of those championship teams. After the Vikings decided not to re-sign quarterback Sam Darnold last year, he joined the Seahawks and helped them become champions.

Teasley will replace Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, who was fired in January after four years in the role. Adofo-Mensah was an outside-of-the-box hire, bringing economics degrees and Wall Street experience to the world of pro football. Vikings owners Mark Wilf and Zygi Wilf were first seeking more of a collaborator with this hire, a leader who could better bridge between the personnel department and the coaching staff, but all of their external candidates had traditional scouting backgrounds.

Watching Darnold lead the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, after he won 14 games in 2024 in his lone season with the Vikings, also undoubtedly played some part for the Wilf family in the dismissal of Adofo-Mensah.

Teasley was among five finalists who met in person this week with Vikings leadership during the second round of interviews, beating out current Vikings executive vice president of football operations Rob Brzezinski, Denver Broncos assistant general manager Reed Burckhardt, Buffalo Bills assistant general manager Terrance Gray, and Los Angeles Rams assistant general manager John McKay.

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Brzezinski, who directed the draft last month while serving as interim general manager, has been with the Vikings since 1999 and rose to the top through his expertise in salary cap management and player contract negotiation. Brzezinski, who is widely respected in the organization and throughout the league, will remain in his role alongside Teasley and coach Kevin O’Connell, a trio the Wilfs will entrust to bring the Vikings their first championship.

Teasley was the only finalist without ties to the Vikings. Burckhardt and Gray both previously worked as scouts for the Vikings. O’Connell previously worked for the Rams. Gray, McKay and Teasley took part in the NFL’s accelerator program that was revamped with a rollout at the league meetings earlier this month.

Teasley is a Washington native who graduated from Central Washington University in 2007 with a degree in public relations, working in marketing before making the jump to the NFL and joining the Seahawks as an intern in the scouting department in 2013. He became director of pro personnel in 2018.

Adofo-Mensah and Ryan Poles were the only two finalists who had in-person interviews for the vacancy in 2022 after the firing of Rick Spielman. Poles was hired by the Chicago Bears instead and remains in that job for the defending NFC North champions.

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Manchester City have their top transfer targets but their summer will also depend on which players in the current squad want to leave

Enzo Maresca will inherit a strong Manchester City squad. Under Pep Guardiola this season, they won two trophies and also pushed Arsenal into the final week of the Premier League season, with the Champions League the only major disappointment.

As City chased silverware in the final two months of the campaign, Guardiola made few changes as he largely settled on a best XI that – other than Bernardo Silva – will all still be here for the new manager. Marc Guehi and Antoine Semenyo have made the summer transfer window easier with the way they instantly settled into the starting lineup after their January moves.

How busy City are over the next few months will largely be guided by how many others in the squad want to stay though. Guardiola’s decision not to significantly rotate had a knock-on effect for many others in the group that saw them get little game time, giving them personal disappointment to end the campaign.

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As City players assess their options, there will be a number who at least think about whether the Etihad is still the right place for them going forward.

Savinho

For the second consecutive summer, Tottenham are interested in the Brazilian winger and City haven’t immediately turned them away. They did ultimately last season, but it has been another frustrating campaign for the 22-year-old that saw him even fail to make the 55-man longlist for the Brazil World Cup squad.

There is still time for things to click and Maresca could revitalise him – he always looks better on the left rather than the right – but equally there is a clear opportunity for a change of Premier League environment that could be the spark that Savinho needs. With Jeremy Doku having his best season and Semenyo fresh competition, Savinho has to decide if he wants the fight at City or a new challenge elsewhere.

James Trafford

Trafford has done very well this season to retain if not enhance his value given that he was replaced as No.1 after three league games. He has impressed in the limited opportunities he has had and won two trophies at Wembley in his role as cup keeper as well as earning a spot at the World Cup with England as third-choice keeper.

The 23-year-old has been thinking about an exit for some time given he wants to be No.1 for club and country, and is not short of interest in England and Europe. At the same time, the arrival of Maresca back at City may give him pause for thought given the two had a strong relationship when they were in the academy together.

Nico Gonzalez

Nico Gonzalez has had the bigest fall from grace of any City player this season. Nobody made more consecutive starts than him as he clocked up 15 in the first part of the campaign, but by the end of it he was left out of matchday squads entirely; missing the FA Cup final completely after scoring a banging winner in the semi must have hurt.

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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.

Eighteen months since signing for £49m, Gonzalez still doesn’t really have a role in the squad and he and Maresca will have to work out how to get the best out of him on a regular basis – or if anyone is best served with a move.

Josko Gvardiol

The silver lining for Josko Gvardiol’s season is that he has recovered in time for the World Cup. There was a chance that his broken leg could have seen him miss the summer tournament but he worked hard to return in four months rather than the six it could have been.

Gvardiol has the chance to show on the biggest stage once again that he is one of the best defenders in the world, and that will only enhance his appeal to the best clubs in the game that have recognised he is yet to sign a new deal at the Etihad. There are still two years on his contract, but this would be the last summer for City to get big money for him if he makes it clear he wants to look elsewhere after a bruising two years in English football.

Omar Marmoush

Marmoush hit the ground running when he signed in January 2025 but this season has been a write-off. Being back-up to Erling Haaland is a role with a limited shelf life because of the frustration that comes with not playing, and makes being asked to contribute without any rhythm so much harder.

There is every chance that Marmoush vows to turn things around and force his way back into the team next season, but at the same time, looking over to Spain to see how Julian Alvarez has flourished since being Haaland’s No.2 will make a move seem more attractive.

Rico Lewis

It was a dream start to the season for Lewis, shunning a move to Forest and earning a new City contract after a standout performance in the opening game. Things very quickly went downhill though and he has barely been seen in the second half of the season, with the writing seemingly on the wall for his City career unless there is a shock U-turn.

Lewis had been seen as a player similar to Bernardo Silva so could try his chances of filling in for that role, but with Elliot Anderson likely to be on his way that is the more likely destination for most of Silva’s minutes. Lewis has had plenty of time to consider a move and it feels like he needs a new start somewhere.

Rodri

City don’t want him to move on but he is approaching the final 12 months of his contract and heading to the World Cup without signing a new deal. Similar to Gvardiol, as he goes away with his national team, he will have to think about whether the brutal schedule in England is still something he thinks is best for his body or if there are other routes to challenging for major trophies that will give him a better chance of avoiding injuries.

Freya Kemp of England celebrates after taking the wicket of Jemimah Rodrigues during the England and India, 2nd Women’s IT20 match at Seat Unique Stadium on May 30, 2026 in Bristol, England. (Photo/Getty Images)

Freya Kemp starred with both bat and ball as England defeated India by 26 runs in the second Women’s T20I in Bristol on Saturday to level the three-match series 1-1.Kemp first gave England a late boost with an unbeaten 39 off just 13 balls before returning figures of 2/15, dismissing Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues as India finished at 142/9 while chasing 169.The series will now be decided in the third and final T20I in Taunton on Tuesday.Earlier, India looked in control for most of England’s innings after restricting the hosts through the middle overs. Left-arm spinner Shree Charani continued her impressive start to international cricket, picking up 3/25.However, Kemp changed the course of the innings at the death. England scored 39 runs in the final two overs, including 24 runs from the last over bowled by Arundhati Reddy. Kemp struck two sixes and two fours during her innings as England reached 168/5.India made a positive start to the chase through openers Shafali Verma and Mandhana. Shafali scored 22 off 14 balls while Mandhana made 32 off 25 as the visitors kept pace with the target.Even after losing the openers, India were placed comfortably at 78/2 after 10 overs.The match turned during the middle overs when England’s spinners Charlie Dean and Sophie Ecclestone slowed the scoring. Boundaries became difficult to find and the required run rate kept climbing.Yastika Bhatia, who was dropped by Dean on 29, struggled to increase the scoring rate and was eventually retired out after making 33 off 36 balls as India looked for quicker runs.Dean built pressure with a series of economical overs while Ecclestone also kept the Indian batters under control from the other end.India captain Harmanpreet Kaur tried to keep the chase alive with 28 off 22 balls. During her innings, she became only the third batter in Women’s T20Is to score 4,000 runs, joining Suzie Bates and Smriti Mandhana.But England continued to strike at key moments.Kemp removed Jemimah shortly after she came to the crease, while Dean delivered a major blow by dismissing Richa Ghosh (8) and Harmanpreet within four balls.Harmanpreet edged Dean behind while trying to attack outside off, and her dismissal left India with too much to do.With the required rate rising rapidly and wickets falling regularly, India were unable to recover as England sealed the win and kept the series alive.

Midfielder Tyler Fletcher was given his Scotland debut as a half-time substitute and Clarke confirmed the 19-year-old was one possible replacement for Gilmour.

The Manchester United player – son of former Scotland captain Darren – is one of four youngsters that have trained with the squad this week.

None of those are part of the squad for the World Cup matches against Haiti, Morocco and Brazil, and neither are Rangers’ Conor Barron, Andy Irving of Sparta Prague and Udinese’s Lennon Milller, who Clarke also named-checked.

“Those three are on standby and obviously Tyler joined us this week,” he said. “He’s trained well this week, so he’s a little bit closer than the other three, but I’d need to have a big discussion with my staff and decide the best way to go.”

Fletcher – whose twin Jack plays age-grade football for England – made his senior debut for his father’s former club in February and also came on in the final game of the season against Brighton.

Former Scotland winger Neil McCann put it to Clarke on BBC One Scotland that he looked “really accomplished” in a holding role.

Clarke responded: “Everybody was impressed – the players were impressed, the coaching staff were impressed, I had no doubts.

“I actually thought about putting him on as Billy came off but I just thought I’d have a little look, see how the game panned out before introducing him at half-time.”

Scotland midfielder Kenny McLean played with Darren Fletcher at the start of his own international career and said he “can’t speak highly enough” of Tyler.

“I said to the lads after his first session, I could see something special in him, so I was glad that he’d got on today. He deserved it after the week he’s had,” the Norwich City midfielder said.

“In my first session with Scotland, Darren stood out a mile. Fortunately for us, his son is pretty similar. There’s a lot of potential, it’s about using him the right way.”

The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is widely considered the most prestigious club football competition in the world. Bringing together Europe’s top teams every season, the tournament serves as the ultimate stage for clubs seeking continental supremacy and global recognition.

Although other confederations such as CONMEBOL, AFC and CAF organize their own elite club competitions, none enjoy the same level of international attention, viewership and commercial success as the Champions League.

A Competition Steeped in History

The tournament was first launched in 1955 as the European Cup and initially featured only the champions of domestic leagues across Europe. For decades, it operated as a straight knockout competition before undergoing major changes in the early 1990s.

The introduction of a group-stage format in 1991 transformed the competition, while further expansion in the 1997-98 season allowed multiple clubs from Europe’s strongest leagues to qualify, increasing both competitiveness and commercial appeal.

New Era Under the Revamped Format

Beginning with the 2024-25 campaign, UEFA introduced a new structure for the Champions League. The traditional 32-team group stage was replaced by a 36-team league phase.

Under this system, each club plays eight matches against eight different opponents, creating a more varied and competitive schedule compared to the previous format.

Leading leagues such as the Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 continue to provide the majority of participants. UEFA has also explored the possibility of future expansion, with discussions around increasing the competition to 48 teams.

Who has won the most UCL titles?

Defending champion Coco Gauff was sent spinning out of the French Open as Austria’s Anastasia Potapova claimed a 4-6 7-6(1) 6-4 victory to reach the fourth round on Saturday and stay on course to win her maiden Grand Slam title.

Potapova rattled Gauff with powerful baseline hitting and broke to love in the opening game, before taking a ⁠4-2 lead when the American ​slipped ⁠and dropped to the floor of Court Philippe Chatrier while trying to reach for the ball.

Gauff dusted herself off and won the next two games in `front of a sparse centre court crowd, with the attention split between Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League soccer final with Arsenal in Budapest and Frenchman Moise Kouame in action at Roland Garros.

The 22-year-old raised her game again to take the first set, but Russian-born Potapova immediately ramped up the pressure ⁠and targeted the American’s wobbly serve to grab a double break at the start of the second set.

Potapova was on the verge of levelling the match while ahead 5-2 but Gauff moved through the gears to surge ahead by claiming four games in a row, only to lose the next game and then the set in a tiebreak where her serve let her down.

The pair traded ⁠breaks in a breathless decider, but world number ⁠four Gauff lost her way as Potapova took control and went through ‌in style ​for a meeting with 22nd ‌seed Anna Kalinskaya in the ​fourth round.

Reuters

Reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff lost in three sets to Austrian Anastasia Potapova to end to her Roland Garros title defence on Saturday. The fourth seed was defeated in the third round 4-6, 7-6 (7/1), 6-4 by the 28th seed after being a break up in the deciding set. “I think I’ve had a few (big wins) before, but I’d put it top three for sure,” Potapova said on court after earning a career third win over Gauff. Despite losing her first service game to open the match, Gauff struck back to break the Russian-born Austrian in the eighth and 10th games and take the lead.

Potapova responded with two consecutive breaks of her own to race 3-0 ahead at the start of the second frame.

The 25-year-old’s serve then deserted her as well, as the next five games all produced breaks, with Potapova passing up two set points behind her own delivery.

Gauff responded to that reprieve by earning her first hold of the set to force Potapova to serve again for the frame.

The two-time major winner  broke the world number 30 to level at 5-5 before holding again.

But Potapova then refound her own serve to force a tie-break.

A double fault dropped Gauff 5-0 behind, before she finally got on the board when Potapova overcooked a backhand.

It was too little, too late, however, as the Austrian powered to the next two points and sent the match into a deciding set.

Gauff drew first blood in the decider, pouncing on Potapova’s serve in the third game to nose in front, before being pegged back to 3-3.

A double fault in the next game brought Gauff two break-back points, but gutsy play allowed Potapova to hold.

A booming backhand winner down the line and a miss-hit Gauff forehand from deuce put Potapova 5-4 ahead with the world number four serving to keep her title defence alive.

But from 30-0, Gauff quickly unravelled and Potapova fell on her back in celebration as the American returned long and departed the tournament.

Potapova will meet Russian 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya for a spot in the quarter-finals.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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New Zealand have been boosted by the return of all-rounder Mitchell Santner for the Test series against England starting at Lord’s on Thursday.

Santner, 34, the Black Caps’ white-ball captain and key spinner, was initially ruled out of the first Test by a shoulder injury suffered last month in the Indian Premier League.

New Zealand had hoped he would recover for the second or third Tests but he will now join the squad before the first Test next week.

All-rounder Dean Foxcroft, who received his first call-up as cover, will return home.

New Zealand beat Ireland by an innings and 79 runs in this week’s one-off Test in Stormont.

They already have a strong bowling line-up featuring seamers Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke, Kyle Jamieson and Blair Tickner with Santner’s return a further boost.

He has taken 78 wickets in his 32 Tests and also made his one Test century against England in 2019.

New Zealand squad to play England: Tom Latham (capt), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears (traveling reserve), Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young