Author: Tristan Wells

Teboho Mokoena was serving a one-game suspension for accumulating too many yellow cards, but was played anyway by Bafana Bafana. It leaves the South Africans second in Group C of the African World Cup qualifying groups, level on points with Benin and three clear of Nigeria in third. Rwanda, who sit fourth, are tied on 11 points with the Nigerians, who take on Lesotho on Friday. Hugo Broos’ South African side, captained by goalkeeper Ronwen Williams, will hang their goalscoring hopes on Burnley’s Lyle Foster, who has eight goals in 18 games for his country. As for Zimbabwe, who are…

The Super Eagles continue in their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup today, facing Lesotho in Polokwane.Now Bafana Bafana have been handed a points penalty, though, Nigeria are back in contention.Only the top seed in the group will earn automatic qualification for the tournament, and the Super Eagles sit just three points off the lead with two matches remaining.Benin, who have never before played at the World Cup, lead the way, edging South Africa on goal difference.Nigeria’s final qualifier of this international break will prove crucial, though, as they face Benin in what could be a winner takes…

England host Wales tonight in a friendly as Thomas Tuchel’s side continue building towards next year’s World Cup.The Three Lions, however, will have a different look about them for the second half of the friendly at Wembley.England’s shirts will have no names on them after the break as the match has been dedicated as an ‘Alzheimer’s Society International’ as part of the Football Association (FA) and Alzheimer’s Society’s official charity partnership.This is the fourth ‘Alzheimer’s Society International’ and it will also be marked by England and Wales players walking out alongside 22 fans living with dementia.Those selected will replace the…

While this is billed as an international friendly, that is rarely ever the case when two rivals meet as bragging rights will be at stake in a ‘Battle of Britain’ clash.That said, it is likely that Thomas Tuchel and Craig Bellamy will each have one eye on their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.The Three Lions find themselves in a great position to book a place at next summer’s tournament having won all five games in Group K so far, leading second-placed Albania by seven points at the halfway stage.Meanwhile, Wales are currently third in their group but still have to play…

England will warm up for this week’s World Cup qualifying clash with Latvia by hosting home nations rival Wales at Wembley Stadium.The Three Lions will hope to replicate the Lionesses’ rout from this summer, in which they beat Wales 6-1 en route to winning Euro 2025.The outing should provide Thomas Tuchel the opportunity to experiment with his squad somewhat. He has already shown that he is not afraid to tinker with his lineup, naming a heavily rotated side to face Andorra at Villa Park in September, and could hand new chances to Elliot Anderson and Ruben Loftus-Cheek under the Wembley…

Manchester United secured a morale-boosting victory over Sunderland last weekend to relieve the pressure on Ruben Amorim following a difficult start to the season.Amorim praised a focused performance from his team against a Sunderland side who have enjoyed a strong opening to the campaign, but was careful not to look too far ahead with United still yet to win back-to-back games this term.There has been little cause for optimism at United this season, but as they showed against Sunderland, there is some semblance of a side maturing under Amorim, and they will hope to carry that momentum after the international…

The Blues are the hot favourites for this year’s competition, despite their London rivals Arsenal being the defending champions. The Gunners took the crown with a 1-0 win over Barcelona in Lisbon last May, with Stina Blackstenius notching the winner to give Renee Slegers’ side their second European title, and their first in 18 years. Now, Sonia Bompastor’s treble winners are looking to end their drought at the continent’s top table, where they have not reached the final since 2021. There, they were thrashed 4-0 by Barcelona in Gothenberg, and since then, they have had a group-stage exit and three…

Next year is World Cup year, and excitement is building as the draw for the group stage draws nearer. Jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, it is the first time that the tournament will be hosted by three countries. It is also the first year of the new format, where 48 teams replace the old 32. That means that there will now be 12 groups of four, rather than the standard eight. Initially, the idea was to have 16 groups of three, but FIFA changed tack and returned to the four-team group format. The Americas’ 2026 bid…

However, despite those heroics, Crouch (at the time of writing) has not been confirmed in the Liverpool Legends squad for the reverse fixture.That said, the likes of Sander Westerveld, Fabio Aurelio, Martin Skrtel, Ragnar Klavan, Mark Gonzalez, Jay Spearing, Gregory Vignal, Igor Biscan, Florent Sinama-Pongolle and Natasha Dowie are all returning.Last month it was announced that Pepe Reina will make his first appearance for the Liverpool Legends, while Stephane Henchoz has also signed up to face Chelsea.The pair could be part of a Liverpool defence that also includes Skrtel and Aurelio, while Robbie Keane has been included in a squad…

The match will see Chelsea raise funds for Chelsea Foundation and in particular, the Chelsea Players’ Trust which supports the welfare of those who made the club what it is today.Meanwhile, Liverpool have confirmed all funds raised will go towards supporting the vital work of the LFC Foundation.This marks the second legends match between the two sides this year following on from the fixture in March which marked the 20th anniversary of an intense rivalry between Liverpool and Chelsea.Roberto Di Matteo will lead the Chelsea Legends against the Liverpool Legends managed by the quartet of Ian Rush, John Aldridge, Phil…