Pakistan captain Babar Azam with Shaheen Shah Afridi (PTI Photo)
Pakistan have entrusted Sahibzada Farhan with the captaincy for the men’s cricket competition at the 2026 Asian Games, which will take place in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, during September and October. The selectors have opted for a youthful and largely experimental 15-member squad, with several uncapped players included in the setup.Farhan, who has represented Pakistan in 46 T20 Internationals, will lead the national side for the first time in white-ball cricket. Abdul Samad has been appointed vice-captain for the tournament. The squad features four players who are yet to make their T20I debuts for Pakistan: Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat and Saad Masood. Meanwhile, Usman Khan has been chosen as the team’s primary wicketkeeper.Pakistan’s squad for the Asian Games 2026: Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Saad Masood, Saim Ayub, Sufyan Moqim and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper).While Farhan has been a regular presence in Pakistan’s T20 setup, he has not previously captained the national team in either limited-overs format. Samad, on the other hand, has appeared in five T20Is but has not featured in the format for Pakistan since March last year. His most recent international appearance came in the ODI series against Australia.The squad bears little resemblance to the one Pakistan fielded at the T20 World Cup earlier this year. Several established stars have been left out, including regular white-ball captain Salman Ali Agha, along with Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Shadab Khan.A significant portion of the selected players are currently involved in Pakistan’s preparations at the National Cricket Academy. Fourteen members of the Asian Games squad are also part of the NCA white-ball camp, which is scheduled to begin in Lahore on June 15.The men’s cricket tournament at the Asian Games will commence on September 24, with the medal matches set to be played on October 3.
The Group Stage of the Free Fire Esports World Cup 2026 will take place in Paris, France, over two days, July 15 and 16, 2026. A total of 24 teams have been seeded into two groups for the Group Stage. The four best performers from each group will advance to the Grand Finals, while the fifth-to-10th-ranked teams from each group will play in the Survival Stage.
The bottom two teams from each group, i.e., a total of four teams, will be eliminated from the World Cup 2026 during the initial stage. 12 teams from the Group Stage will battle against each other in the Survival Stage on July 17, with the best four moving to the Grand Finals and the bottom eight being eliminated from the event.
The Grand Finals of the Free Fire World Cup 2026 will be played on July 18, featuring eight teams from the Group Stage and four teams from the Survival Stage. This international event is part of the Esports World Cup 2026 and will feature a huge $1 million prize pool.
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Groups for Free Fire Esports World Cup 2026
Here are the two groups for the Group Stage of the World Cup 2026:
Group A
Team Apex (India)
EVOS Divine (Indonesia)
All Gamers International (Thailand)
Aurora Gaming (Malaysia)
Buriram United Esports (Thailand)
Team Falcons (Thailand)
LOUD (Brazil)
GunDynasty (LATHAM)
Titan Esports Club (Bangladesh)
Demons Pride (Pakistan)
DRS Gaming (Nepal)
ParadoX Gaming (Africa)
Group B
Total Gaming Esports (India)
Straw Hats (Bangladesh)
Twisted Minds (Thailand)
Team Secret WAG (Vietnam)
S8UL Esports (India)
MIBR LOS (Brazil)
MÍA Corp (USA)
RRQ Kazu (Indonesia)
LYON (LATHAM)
Fluxo W7M (Brazil)
Team Vitality (Indonesia)
Al Ahli Esports (Saudi Arabia)
How to watch
All World Cup matches will be broadcast live on Free Fire Max Esports India Official’s YouTube channel from 3:00 pm IST onwards.
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Team Apex Gaming, S8UL, and Total Gaming Esports will represent India in the Free Fire World Cup 2026. These squads were in the top three in the FFMIC 2026 Spring, held earlier this year. Their main goal will be to showcase some phenomenal performances on the global stage and earn a podium finish.
Team Secret from Vietnam won the Free Fire World Series 2026 SEA Spring. All Gamers and Twisted Minds were second and third, respectively. Aurora, Buriram, RRQ, Vitality, and Falcons also performed well and made it to the World Cup 2026.
Defending champion Indonesia’s Evos Divine has received a special invite to the event. LOUD, LOS, and Fluxo played impressively in the FFWS Brazil 2026 Split 1 to crack the Free Fire World Cup 2026.
Nepal’s DRS and Pakistan’s Demons Pride have qualified for the World Cup by delivering strong performances in their regional events. Bangladeshi teams Straw Hats and Titan Esports have also secured spots in this international tournament.
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Trainer Nick Ryan indicated that the stars had once again aligned at Caulfield, paving the way for Winnasedge to achieve its most significant career victory.
Following a 1100-metre win at Caulfield on June 27, Winnasedge returned to the same venue on Saturday to capture the Group 3 Sir John Monash Stakes (1100m).
Sent out as the favoured $4.40 chance under jockey Luke Currie, Winnasedge triumphed by a long neck over Bellatrix Star ($11), with Sir Now ($13) securing third place a short-head further back.
“Last start he drew in and the pattern was in his favour and today he drew wide and the pattern is in his favour again,” Ryan said.
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“The stars aligned a little bit but he’s a good horse and got the job done, but he’s always been a good little horse.
“He was placed in a Red Anchor Stakes at three, he ran well in a Tobin Bronze Stakes over in Adelaide.
“He’s always been up to this level, so to do it at weight-for-age, was great and it’s great to team up with my great mate Luke Currie, back from America after his holiday and he executed it perfectly the way the track has been playing.”
Currie had previously guided Winnasedge to a placing in the Red Anchor Stakes in October 2024 and during its respectable run in the Tobin Bronze Stakes at Morphettville in April of the prior year.
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Saturday’s engagement was the first time Currie had partnered Winnasedge since its performance in Adelaide, with Ryan attributing the timing to Ben Allen’s departure for Europe.
“Ben Allen is on a plane to Europe and Luke’s back from America,” Ryan stated.
“Luke and I go way back, we’re good mates and it’s good to team up with him in Stakes company today.”
Ryan indicated that Winnasedge is likely to contest another Stakes race at Caulfield, specifically the Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) on July 25.
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“He’ll have a fitness edge,” Ryan commented.
“He was fourth up today. He’s fit, 1200 (metres) will be no issues, so why not.”
Compare racing odds from leading online bookmakers for the upcoming Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes.
Jordan Spieth and Scottie Scheffler were stumped. Who, they wondered, would be considered the defending champion this week at the Open Championship: Scheffler, last year’s winner, or Spieth, the champion in 2017, the last time the Open was played at Royal Birkdale?
“I said, ‘Well, are you the defending champ,’ Spieth said recently, “‘or am I the defending champ?’
“He was like, ‘No, it’s you.’
“‘I was like, ‘No, no, no, you don’t get to do that. It’s you.”
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Whatever the case may be, consider Spieth’s mood light then, and if you’re backing him for a Birkdale defense, that’s welcomed, of course. Are there other positive signs? Maybe. This season on the PGA Tour, he’s missed just two cuts in 18 starts. His Strokes Gained stats are fair: 60th in total, 74th in tee to green, 73rd in off the tee, 83rd in approach the green, 85th in around the green and 53rd in putting.
And there’s this:
“I’m more consistent and an all-around better player,” he said, “than I’ve been in a long time.”
Why’s that?
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“Statistically, I feel like I could lead every category on a given week, and I have this year,” Spieth said. “It means that each part of my game can be at the highest level. I just haven’t put it together and put it together consistently enough yet.
“But my mechanics are mainly what’s significantly better. Then build-up of confidence, trusting in my wrist, simple things. That wasn’t always something that was an issue, but when it was, it was.
“So a lot of factors, but I mean, all this last offseason I probably worked as hard as I had since I was 13 or 14 years old on mechanics. I feel like I don’t have to — I played a lot of the season feeling like I had to exaggerate a lot, but I would get it to the right place. It’s hard to be consistent feeling a super exaggerated move. I like to feel something, but I don’t want it to be crazy.
“I feel like as the year has progressed, I’ve actually been able to — it’s been tighter and tighter and tighter, but whether it’s some decisions I’ve made or just, you know, a bad putting round or a bad putting tournament or maybe I hit two drives left on the wrong hole. It’s been a different thing in certain tournaments that prevented me from having a chance on Sunday. Instead, I was starting in 18th, and I finished 13th.
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“To me it’s, like, OK, well maybe one week I’ll get away with that drive or something like that. When you win, a lot of times you kind of — you get away with something or a ball carries a bunker, and you made eagle versus, you know, going in it and making par. Just little things that happen throughout the first few days that I just have not been quite consistent enough, even though my overall game is way more consistent and the tools are all there at each area. That’s what I mean.”
Looking for some other ideas for the Open? Friend, you’ve clicked on the right article, where members of our staff have each made a to-win bet. The hope is, of course, that we help you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook.
On to our picks.
2026 Open Championship picks to win
PGA Tour golfers aren’t the only ones who can make some 💰 starting next Thursday. You can too! Here are a few tips. https://t.co/uldLYRZvRh
To-win: Viktor Hovland, +3,300. Hovland has not played well in the majors this year. (He packed his bags on Friday at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open.) But this week, he reverses the trend. Not only is he coming off a win at the Travelers and a tie for 13th at the Scottish, but in between his clunkers at Aronimink and Shinnecock, he also snuck in a third-place finish at the Canadian Open. His status as one of the game’s best iron players also will be a boon at Birkdale. Time to avenge Norway’s loss to England …
Adam Christensen
To-win: Chris Gotterup, +2,800. Gotterup is one of the most in-form golfers in the world right now. Nobody is having a better season outside the major championships, and he has shown the ability to bring his game across the pond. His wide-open, push-draw stance is unique, and his ability to vary his ball flights is incredibly fun to watch. Having his ticket when he is in contention coming down the stretch should be a great time.
James Colgan
To-win: Tommy Fleetwood, +1,600. He’s far too popular a choice to actually win this golf tournament, especially not with his hometown coming just up the road. Players NEVER win the event they want to win above all the others. They NEVER do it in front of all their loved ones. And nope, they NEVER win in that setting for their first major. OK, have I done enough reverse-jinxing yet? Please let this one happen.
Alex Gelman
To-win: Scottie Scheffler, +750. Scheffler is the pick to win the Open. After missing the cut last week for the first time in four years, expect the world No. 1 to respond. The value is too good to pass up. If everyone else wants to fade Scottie after one bad week, I’ll gladly back the best player in the world.
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Jack Hirsh
To win: Tommy Fleetwood, +1,600. Seems like everyone here is going for the best story, and that would be Tommy Lad getting it done in his hometown. He finally got his first PGA Tour win last year. Has been playing just about as well as anyone without a win this season and finally got the putter heated up after a slow start to the year. This would be an all-time feel-good one, and there’s no way I’m picking against it.
Jessica Marksbury
To-win: Scottie Scheffler, +750. I know, I KNOW. Picking the world No. 1 to win a major isn’t particularly edgy, but I think last week’s missed cut may actually turn out to be helpful for Scottie. Of course, he doesn’t have anything to prove, and his results this year speak for themselves, but I’m banking on the fact that extra rest will combine with some additional competitive fire to deliver a big-time performance this week.
Maddi MacClurg
To-win: Tommy Fleetwood, +1,600. Tommy Lad seems like the pick this week. He’s playing some of the best golf of his career with six top-10 finishes this season, and now the Open rolls into his backyard at Royal Birkdale. He grew up flighting shots into the blustery winds of links courses, and that’s exactly the kind of creativity this championship rewards. Add a massive home crowd behind him, and it feels like everything is lining up for Fleetwood to get his hands on the Claret Jug.
Nick Piastowski
To-win: Ludvig Aberg, +2,800. He’s been solid all year, outside of average putting. He wins his first major this week. (And gives me back-to-back majors of picking the winner.)
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Josh Schrock
To-win: Rory McIlroy +850. My heart tells me to take Tommy, but I keep thinking about Rory at Portrush in 2019, when the winning-at-home narrative was EVERYWHERE, and he blew it OB on the first hole and missed the cut. I don’t think Tommy will implode, but I don’t think he gets the major monkey off his back this time. Rory is playing good golf, he’s rested, and has been one of the best Open players of the past decade. He has handled this Masters victory better than his last and truly seems freed up — major No. 7 incoming.
Josh Sens
To-win: Rory McIlroy, +850. The best player in the world not named Scottie Scheffler is in full free-roll mode, energy focused squarely on the majors, playing without the weight of unmet expectations. It’s kind of shocking that he’s won this event only once. Right in his wheelhouse. Here comes number two.
Manchester United announced the signing of Andre Santos on Monday with his former Chelsea team-mate Cole Palmer sending a clear message
Chelsea star Cole Palmer has wished Andrey Santos well after his £50million transfer to Manchester United was confirmed on Monday. United identified the Brazilian as a concrete midfield target earlier this month and moved swiftly to wrap up a deal worth £48m plus £2million in add-ons.
Strengthening in the engine room is a priority for Michael Carrick and Co. this summer with numerous names linked. Santos was actually of interest to those at Old Trafford even prior to joining Chelsea in January 2023 and three-and-a-half years later, United have got their man.
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Just over an hour after the Premier League switch was confirmed, Palmer issued a clear message to Santos in the replies of United’s Instagram post. It read: “What a player! Good luck bro [red heart emoji].”
Further down in the Instagram post, Harry Maguire and JJ Gabriel were two United stars that responded to his Santos’ arrival being confirmed while Tottenham’s Richarlison also sent a message to his international team-mate.
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His fellow Brazilian Ederson also looked set to join but his impending move from Atalanta was called off at the eleventh hour because of a knee issue suffered last season.
United have swiftly responded to losing that signing with a deal agreed for Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans. The 29-year-old had a £35m release clause in his contract and that has been activated with personal terms agreed and a medical booked.
Tielemans missed Belgium’s final game at the World Cup due to a hamstring injury with his nation going on to be knocked out by Spain at the quarter-final stage.
His current issue does not look to be serious but he does not have the best fitness record over the last few seasons with 13 games missed in the 2025/26 campaign because of two separate problems.
Sophie Cunningham‘s surprise appearance as a UFC ring girl became one of the biggest viral moments of the weekend, and Caitlin Clark admitted she was just as surprised as everyone else.
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The Indiana Fever guard made headlines Saturday night after walking into the Octagon during UFC 329 in Las Vegas, holding the Round 1 card before the co-main event between Paddy Pimblett and Benoit Saint Denis. The moment quickly exploded across social media, drawing reactions from fans, fighters and fellow athletes.
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Clark, however, revealed she had no idea her teammate would be stepping into the spotlight.
“Yeah, it’s obviously really cool,” Clark said. “I honestly wasn’t watching the fights. I was trying to follow the best I could on my phone. I don’t even know if I have Paramount Plus. I probably don’t subscribe to that. So I don’t know. I wasn’t going to pay for another subscription.
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“And Sophie didn’t tell me she was doing that. I knew she was going to the fight, but I didn’t know she was doing that. I don’t know if she even knew she was doing that when she walked in the door. But it was still fun to see.”
Clark’s comment about not wanting to add another streaming subscription drew laughs, but it also highlighted just how unexpected Cunningham’s appearance was, even for her teammates. The UFC moment quickly became one of the most talked-about stories of the weekend, with photos and videos of Cunningham inside the Octagon spreading rapidly online.
Clark loves the attention Cunningham brought to the WNBA
Clark believes moments like Cunningham’s UFC appearance help showcase the personalities that continue to make the WNBA more popular than ever.
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“Obviously, it’s cool that people love it and shows like people are really paying attention to the WNBA and players that we have and the personalities we have across this league,” Clark said. “It’s certainly fun. … Maybe we’ll see her do more of it. Who knows? Maybe she’ll be a UFC fighter at one point. I don’t know. That’s up to Sophie.”
Cunningham has developed a reputation as one of the league’s biggest personalities, and her surprise role at UFC 329 only added to that growing profile. The appearance also came after she spent time backstage with UFC stars, including featherweight champion Max Holloway, recreating a viral pointing meme that quickly circulated across social media.
Any attention Cunningham received off the court was quickly matched by her performance on it. Less than 24 hours after her UFC appearance, the veteran guard helped Indiana dismantle the defending champion Aces in Las Vegas. Cunningham caught fire from beyond the arc, knocking down six 3-pointers on her way to 20 points.
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Kelsey Mitchell led the Fever with 27 points, while Clark added 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists as Indiana rolled to one of its most impressive victories of the season. The convincing win continued the Fever’s recent surge and showed the team can generate headlines both on and off the floor. For Cunningham, it capped an unforgettable 24-hour stretch that included a viral moment inside the Octagon and one of her best shooting performances of the season.
Clark may not have watched the UFC event live, but after seeing Cunningham’s viral appearance and following it with a big road win over the Aces, it’s safe to say the Fever had one of the most memorable weekends in the WNBA.
Like everyone, Tom Kim has seen how successful mallet putters have become at the highest levels of professional golf.
For a player who won his first three PGA Tour events with a blade-model putter, Kim started experimenting with different putters over the past three seasons, including both mallets and blades.
But earlier this spring, Kim decided to go back to what works and switched back to a Scotty Cameron Newport 2-style blade with a custom LA Golf graphite shaft.
“I’ve always putted my best with a blade,” Kim said when he switched back to the putter in March. “I was using a mallet for a couple of years, but I’ve won a lot of my tournaments with a blade, and I wanted to come back, kind of use something natural. Scotty and [Director of Player Fitting and Development] Paul [Vizanko] really helped me with this piece and it looks great with the mint blue [paintfill].”
The exact putter, a TourType GSS tour prototype, is the same one Kim used for his first PGA Tour win at the 2022 Wyndham Championship. He then used different Newport 2-style putters to win his next two Tour events.
STUDIO CARBON STEEL (SCS) FACE INSERT
Designed to deliver the unmistakably soft sound and feel of carbon, the new precision milled Studio Carbon Steel (SCS) insert is treated with an electroless nickel plating for enhanced durability in a re-engineered concept that includes the line’s new chain-link face milling technology and aerospace-inspired vibration damping for tuned sound, feel and performance.
CHAIN-LINK FACE MILLING TECHNOLOGY
New chain-link face milling technology reduces the putter face insert’s touch points at impact with the ball using a texture that softens the sound and provides improved roll characteristics while preserving feel and feedback off the putter face.
FULL CONTACT SLIM GRIP
With a comfortable chain-link texture to match the new putter face milling pattern, the custom crafted Full Contact Slim paddle-style grip was designed to complement the stroke and performance of blade and mid-mallet putters. Its uniquely contoured profile and flat top provide superior comfort and contact between the hands and the putter, and enhanced body alignment.
He re-inserted the custom gamer in March and hasn’t wavered since. Last week in Scotland, Kim ranked 20th in Stokes Gained: Putting, picking up 3.658 strokes for the week and rolling in 296 feet of putts. Those numbers were even better during his final-round 64, when he gained 2.328 strokes, which was the sixth-best in the field.
Kim joins Matt Fitzpatrick as the only players to win on Tour this season while using a blade putter, as pros have increasingly valued the alignment and forgiveness benefits of mallets.
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But not everyone is going to putt better with something larger, and some players might simply have an emotional connection to a blade shape, which is why the category likely won’t go anywhere for the foreseeable future.
The Delhi High Court has protected the personality rights of India cricketer Abhishek Sharma and restrained third parties from unauthorisedly misusing his name, image, etc., for any commercial or personal gain, including the dissemination of AI-generated content and the sale of merchandise. In an interim order passed on July 9 on Sharma’s lawsuit, Justice Jyoti Singh directed Meta Platforms and other online platforms, as well as e-commerce sellers hosting the infringing material, to take down the offending links.
The lawsuit stated that several social media users were using artificial intelligence (AI) to generate false images and videos of Sharma, which were not only spreading rumours but also lowering his commercial value and dignity.
The plea also highlighted that certain handles had created morphed images with abusive, offensive and uncivilised language, while some were selling apparel bearing the cricketer’s name, image and likeness without permission.
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Justice Singh observed that Sharma is a prominent player of the Indian national team, widely recognised as a rising and influential figure in international cricket, and that the content in question was “false and obscene” and portrayed him in a bad light.
The judge said that in cases where personality rights are established, an individual is entitled to protection against the unauthorised use or exploitation of his attributes.
Several public figures, including actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Salman Khan, Art of Living founder Ravi Shankar, journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, podcaster Raj Shamani and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, had approached the high court earlier seeking protection of their personality and publicity rights.
The high court had granted them interim relief
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UK & Norway PM Sport Football Jerseys Ahead Of England, Norway Quarterfinal Clash
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell reacts alongside wide receiver Brandon Powell before kickoff against New Orleans at U.S. Bank Stadium, sharing a light moment as the team completes its pregame routine. On Nov. 12, 2023, O’Connell and Powell prepare for the matchup while Minnesota readies to face the Saints before its home crowd. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports.
The Minnesota Vikings have not won a playoff game on Kevin O’Connell’s watch — he’s been in charge for four seasons — and unless that changes, he could be the proverbial hot seat, according to SB Nation‘s Bill Williamson.
He published a list last week for surprise skippers who could face the music after the 2026 campaign, and for better or worse, O’Connell made the cut.
Year Five Brings a Different Standard for O’Connell
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell watches pregame warmups at Lumen Field, studying his players as Seattle prepares for the late-season matchup. On Nov. 30, 2025, O’Connell surveys the field before kickoff while Minnesota completes its final preparations and readies for another difficult road test in the Pacific Northwest that afternoon. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images.
Williamson: O’Connell May Be on the Hot Seat
On a list that included Detroit Lions boss Dan Campbell, Williamson scribed, “O’Connell’s situation is similar to Campbell’s. He is considered an excellent coach and he won the NFL Coach of the Year award in 2024, but if he fails to lead the Vikings to the playoffs for a second straight year, there could be consequences, especially if the quarterback situation is a mess again.”
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“He was hired partly because of his prowess as a quarterback whisperer. If progress isn’t made, he could be in trouble. Remember, new Minnesota general manager Nolan Teasley doesn’t have ties to O’Connell, so he must prove himself in 2026.”
David Canales (Carolina Panthers), Demeco Ryans (Houston Texans), and Dan Quinn (Washington Commanders) also made the cut for fringe hot-seat contenders.
The Logic Is Not Terrible
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While most Vikings fans exalt O’Connell as a wonderful head coach — he has the NFL’s fifth-best winning percentage on his watch — Williamson’s classification of the hot seat is not outrageous.
For example, how much longer would the Vikings’ ownership group and new general manager Nolan Teasley allow O’Connell to stick around without a playoff win? The clock has reached four years. Is it five years? Six? Or — the year is 2028, and the Vikings haven’t won a postseason game with O’Connell in charge. Does the man just have untouchable job security?
In the last several decades, these coaches, like O’Connell, have entered Year No. 5 without a playoff win:
Jack Del Rio (Jaguars)
Jeff Fisher (Titans)
Dennis Green (Vikings)
Dick Jauron (Bears)
Marvin Lewis (Bengals)
Kevin O’Connell (Vikings)
Dan Reeves (Broncos)
Jim Schwartz (Lions)
David Shula (Bengals)
Norv Turner (Commanders)
Dave Wannstedt (Bears)
Sam Wyche (Bengals)
None ultimately won a Super Bowl, though Wyche and the Bengals reached the big game in 1988.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell stands on the field before facing Dallas at AT&T Stadium, taking in the scene as players complete their pregame work. On Dec. 14, 2025, O’Connell watches warmups and prepares for kickoff while Minnesota gets ready for a prime-time road matchup against the Cowboys in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images.
The Viking Age‘s Chris Schad noted last month, “It appears that O’Connell’s job isn’t in jeopardy. O’Connell has a 43-25 record and won an NFC North title since being hired by the Vikings in 2022, but he’s the only head coach in the division without a playoff win.”
“It’s also fair to note that Hall of Famer Tony Dungy and future Hall of Famer Andy Reid have been fired for the worst track records in the playoffs. But it feels like the Vikings are invested in O’Connell the same way the Cincinnati Bengals were invested in Marvin Lewis, who coached the team for 16 seasons without a playoff victory from 2003 to 2018.”
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Likelihood of a Poor Season Is Low
Thankfully for O’Connell, his roster is in decent shape to end the drought. His defense ranked third overall in 2025 per DVOA and EPA/Play. The unit lost Jonathan Greenard via trade in April but welcomed newcomers like Caleb Banks (DT), Domonique Orange (DT), Jake Golday (LB), Jakobe Thomas (S), and James Pierre (CB). Because Brian Flores remains the defensive coordinator, the defense should be in good shape and is probably good enough to win a Super Bowl, so long as the offense does its part.
On that note, the Vikings signed two main free agents for O’Connell’s side of the ball: quarterback Kyler Murray and wide receiver Jauan Jennings. In 2025, the offense was doomed by poor and inconsistent quarterback play; the working theory heading into 2026 is that Murray will provide a new level of production and stability.
The only thing that would surely get O’Connell fired in 2026 would be a terrible season, such as 3-14 or 4-13. At the roster’s current level, those scenarios are unlikely.
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Just Win, Baby
This is “easy” for O’Connell to fix. Just win a damn playoff game. It’s not complicated.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell watches first-half action against Tennessee from the sideline at Nissan Stadium, tracking the offense as the preseason matchup develops. On Aug. 22, 2025, O’Connell studies the field while Minnesota evaluates its roster and works through another important tune-up before the regular season begins that summer. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images.
O’Connell has reached the postseason twice — his first season and in 2024. It’s time to take the next step. A single playoff win would change the narrative on O’Connell’s outlook, as it would show growth and a step in the right direction. For example, Mike Zimmer won a postseason game in 2019, and that arguably bought him two more seasons as the skipper.
Now, O’Connell needs that.
The 40-year-old may not be explicitly on the hot seat entering 2026, but if his team misses the postseason tournament or gets clobbered in the Wildcard Round, Williamson is correct that hot-seat chatter would be inevitable.
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Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
Spain’s former Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has come under fire after claiming that France’s national football team has “no French players” ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final between the two countries.The remark, made in an opinion piece for Spanish news website El Debate, sparked widespread criticism from political leaders in both Spain and France, who described it as xenophobic and racist. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the statement, writing on X: “There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin colour. Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it.” He added, “Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic statements.”
French leaders unite in condemning remarks
The criticism quickly spread across France. Interior Minister Laurent Nunez called Rajoy’s comments “absolutely unacceptable”, while Minister against Discrimination Aurore Berge denounced the “repeated racist outbursts” and said, “It’s time they stopped and that sport becomes sport again: a place where you are judged on your talent and by no other criteria.”Communist Party leader Fabien Roussel compared Rajoy’s remarks to earlier racist comments made by a Paraguayan senator about Kylian Mbappe, saying, “They just can’t stop themselves from slinging this disgusting racism.”French leaders stressed that the national team represents the country’s diversity. Overseas Territories Minister Naima Moutchou said, “Every time Les Bleus win, the same racist obsessions and insults re-emerge.” Socialist Party leader Olivier Faure added that “France has no skin colour or religion.”France’s embassy in Madrid also responded, saying, “All the players of the French team are French. Of 26 players, 23 were born in France. The three who were born abroad are also French.”French Football Federation president Philippe Diallo also criticised Rajoy’s statement, describing it as carrying an “intolerable undertone of racism.”The controversy has overshadowed the build-up to the highly anticipated World Cup semi-final, with political leaders on both sides insisting that players should be judged by their talent rather than their background.
“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino when defending the process.
“They operate autonomously … Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.”
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This particular decision was taken by FIFA’s 18-strong disciplinary committee, or at least this was the impression given by FIFA’s communications. But a report from UK newspaper The Times stated on Monday that the committee’s chairman, Mohammad al-Kamali, made the call unilaterally.
FIFA under fire for World Cup red card retraction
“Senior figures in football have questioned why FIFA has declined to publish the written reasons for the Balogun decision, adding to the lack of transparency around the case, or even to explain why Balogun’s ban was waived,” Times report reads.
“It is the first time since automatic suspensions for red cards were introduced to the World Cup that one has been lifted.”
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Committee decisions consistently taken by an individual
FIFA has not yet responded to questions on the matter from DW or any other outlet. Al-Kamali is a lawyer from the United Arab Emirates, which has strong links with the US, and heads the committee made up of legal experts, practicing lawyers and officials from football federations.
However, the committee’s power now appears to lie almost entirely in al-Kamali’s hands. The Financial Times reported last week that the body’s last 110 published decisions were made by one person, with al-Kamali “allowed to make rulings alone or delegate that power to someone else. Not all decisions are made public.”
Though politics have been a constant theme, the newly expanded tournament has been widely hailed as a success on the pitch. Now Infantino has hinted that he is looking to further expand from 48 to 64 teams for the next men’s tournament in 2030.
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“When organizing a World Cup, it’s important to organize it for the whole world. Not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup,” he told Swiss pay TV station blue Sport
“You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world.”
Infantino called the 2026 expansion a “huge success” and nine that nine out of 10 African teams reached the knockout rounds. However, only two of the nine Asian teams advanced from their groups and only one team from outside Europe and South America (Morocco) made the quarterfinals.
South American governing body CONMEBOL put forward an official proposal to expand the tournament to 64 teams in April 2025, but no decision has yet been made on the 2030 tournament.
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The 2030 World Cup is to be predominantly co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with the first three matches to be hosted by Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. This is ostensibly to celebrate the centenary of the World Cup, but it is also being seen as a way to pave the way for Saudi Arabia to host in 2034 as it means three continents (Europe, South America, Africa) all get a turn at hosting a competition at once, thus fulfilling FIFA’s remit to rotate tournaments around the continents.
The further expansion has not been entirely well received by other continental federations. Victor Montagliani, head of North American and Caribbean federation CONCACAF, said it “doesn’t feel right” and would harm “the broader football ecosystem.” His counterpart at the Asian federation, Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, said such a move would mean “chaos.” The European federation, UEFA, who are at loggerheads with FIFA, have said it is a “bad idea,” both for the tournament and qualifiying process. Complaints about an increased player workload also seem likely to be raised once again.
Despite the criticism, Infantino is expected to be easily reelected for another term next year, which would enable him to secure the expansion.
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