Tuchel warns forward’s fitness being carefully monitoredSaka keen to play but not to ‘go against the manager’Bukayo Saka has admitted he is continuing to gamble on his fitness to play for England at the World Cup finals but said he “is ready to go” despite a nagging achilles injury.The Arsenal forward came off the bench in England’s last warm‑up game against Costa Rica but the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, warned that Saka’s fitness is being monitored carefully. The 24‑year‑old player is believed to have picked up the injury during the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City in March and missed Arsenal’s next seven matches as a result. Since then, he has completed 90 minutes only once in five appearances and was substituted before the end of normal time in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. Continue reading...

Eze dismisses idea of changing spot-kick technique‘If there is a penalty to take I’ll be there again’Eberechi Eze says he will not let his missed penalty in the Champions League final stop him from stepping up in a shootout for England in the World Cup.The attacking midfielder sent his kick wide when Arsenal lost on penalties to Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest last month but he is determined not to let the disappointment define him and is confident in his technique. Eze, who also had softly struck penalties saved for Crystal Palace in games against Liverpool and Newcastle last year, dismissed the idea that it is time to move away from his stuttered runup to the ball. Continue reading...

Spain left-back will complete transfer after World CupCucurella had spoken out against Chelsea hierarchyReal Madrid have reached a verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea in a package worth up to €60m (£52m).The Spain left-back, who is preparing to face Cape Verde in the World Cup, threw his future into doubt when he criticised the Chelsea hierarchy during the March international break. Cucurella said the team paid for “inexperience” when thrashed by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and he raised misgivings over Enzo Maresca’s departure as head coach. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!In case you missed it last week, there was a brilliant bit of camerawork in France’s warm-up match against the Côte d’Ivoire in Nantes. After the African side drew level through Guéla Doué, the camera immediately panned to his younger brother on the opposition bench, Desiré, as the unusued French substitute wore a wry smile as he watched the Côte d’Ivoire celebrations.If I’m still here today, it’s because the French team has won a lot of games. Otherwise, it could have ended before, whether I decided it or it was decided for me” – Didier Deschamps gets his chat on with Luke Entwistle as he heads for a swansong with Les Bleus at the GWC, discussing a legacy that no one – bar, perhaps, himself – would dare dispute.Re yesterday’s Football Daily: you are invited for lunch. The host does not allow your son to come, treats your wife with scorn, and asks your daughter to leave midway through. When you are ready to leave, he detains your wife and presents you with a hefty bill. Does it sound strange? Welcome to GWC 2026!” – Krishna Moorthy.Please pass on my thanks to David Squires, once again, for giving me the spine to metaphorically crumple up and toss into the waste bin this entire GWC spectacle. It was a bit shy of four years ago when a Squires cartoon depicting the deplorable working conditions of immigrants in Qatar gave me the strength to say sod off to the entire enterprise – and I had been watching games since the 1970 final, the first televised here in the USA USA USA. But I admit, as these games have drawn near I have felt myself weakening, looking for some rationale to justify paying attention once again. Then yesterday you presented us with his latest cartoon. It was the perfect reminder of what is truly the essential character of Fifa, my country’s political leaders and as a result, the GWC. So thank you Football Daily, and thank you David Squires!” – Mike Fichtner (and others).Jürgen Klinsmann may well have seen Maradona’s warmup (yesterday’s Football Daily letters). He could conceivably have started one of his dives in Stuttgart, and ended up in Munich” – Mike Rice.Re movable corner flags at the GWC (Monday’s Football Daily): shame Fifa hasn’t gone the full hog, and introduced movable goalposts. Might have helped England should they be forced into another penalty shootout” – Callum Taylor.This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions. Continue reading...

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique wants to avoid facing Brazilian champions Flamengo in the Intercontinental Cup final on Dec. 17.

Emily Keogh, Yash Thakur and Sam Marsden answer some of our burning questions after the fifth round of the UEFA Women's Champions League action.

Here is the information you need to keep in mind if you are going to the Stade Louis-II for the match between AS Monaco and the Turkish.

After AS Monaco's important victory against Paris Saint-Germain (1-0), Thiago Scuro spoke in the mixed zone.

AS Monaco showed character to win against Paris at the Stade Louis-II in the big match of the 14th matchday of Ligue 1 (1-0).

After leading for a long time, AS Monaco players were held to a draw against Pafos (2-2) on the fifth matchday of the Champions League.

⚽ Goals, updates and news from the 8pm GMT kick-offs ⚽ Live scoreboard | Latest table | And you can email Scott Tottenham Hotspur make five changes after their 4-1 no-show at Arsenal. Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Pedro Porro, Pape Matar Sarr and Randal Kolo Muani step up; Kevin Danso, Destiny Udogie, Mohammed Kudus, Wilson Odobert and João Palhinha drop to the bench. The on-loan Kolo Muani is starting against his parent club. Liverpool make two changes to their starting XI in the wake of the embarrassing 3-0 home reverse to Nottingham Forest. Alisson, who returned to the team last Saturday after a period out injured, is missing again, so Giorgi Mamardashvili takes his place. Up front, Hugo Ekitike is preferred to Alexander Isak, who drops to the bench. Continue reading...

Thomas Frank is "1,000% sure" he can build a team at Tottenham and promised to learn from this bad spell as he prepares for an ominous meeting with Paris Saint-Germain.

On the eve of AS Monaco's Champions League match against Pafos, Sébastien Pocognoli spoke to the press about what was at stake.

Ousmane Dembélé could return for Paris St Germain in Wednesday's Champions League home fixture with Tottenham.