Cody Gakpo is thriving with the Netherlands but increased competition means his Liverpool future is uncertain.

Morocco confirmed their progress to the World Cup last 32 ⁠but twice had to ⁠come from behind to ​get the better of plucky Haiti 4-2 in an action-packed game on Wednesday, and fell short of topping Brazil in the Group C standings.Morocco finished level on seven points with ⁠the five-time world champions, who beat Scotland 3-0, but are runners-up on goal difference and will play the Group F winners – either Japan, the Netherlands or Sweden – on Monday in the first knockout round. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!The awesome thing about a World Cup is that – unlike the Premier League where almost every elite-grade head coach comes from the same scenic Spanish town – we get to enjoy some wonderfully varied managerial match-ups. Where else can we see grizzled international specialists against Big Cup-winning club gurus? Or retired national team legends opposite some bloke who got sacked by Everton? Or Ronald Koeman, who is both? Continue reading...

There may be about 5,000 miles between the Netherlands and their former colony Curacao but members of the Dutch royal family managed to see both sides play on Saturday.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Dan Bardell and Leander Schaerlaeckens as the Netherlands thrash Sweden and Germany get a late winner against Côte d’IvoireRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.On the podcast today: the Netherlands hammer Sweden 5-1 to top Group F. Brian Brobbey comes into the Dutch attack and transforms them with some classic centre-forward hold-up play. Continue reading...

It’s doubtful whether many Ecuador supporters – or many others for that matter – had ever heard the name Eloy Room before this match. They will never forget it now.Watched by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands in the stands, the Curaçao goalkeeper etched his name into the pantheon of World Cup legends with what must rank as one of the most heroic performances in the long history of the competition. Continue reading...

⚽️ Kick-off time: 9pm local/2pm AEST/5am BST/12am EDT⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail JonathanHello everybody and welcome to live coverage of Tunisia v Japan from Estadio Monterrey. Kick-off in this Group F clash is 9pm local time (12am EDT/5am BST/2pm AEST).Wherever you happen to be in the world thank you for keeping me company on what is perhaps the graveyard shift of the entire tournament. There isn’t the novelty of the first round of group matches, there isn’t the jeopardy of the third, and our cups already runneth over thanks to three of the matches of the World Cup so far already this matchday.When given oxygen the Netherlands were simply too good, scoring straight after the restart when Summerville twisted Sweden inside out and allowed Dumfries to cross again. Gakpo could not miss from a couple of yards and, enjoying a wildly productive afternoon of his own, proceeded to score another. This time he took a pass from Summerville, who had not been deemed fit to start, and cracked low to Kristoffer Nordfeldt’s right from 20 yards. Continue reading...

⚽ Champions League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | Follow us on Bluesky | And email Sarah A fun fact for you, Renée Slegers is the first Dutch manager to come up against a club from the Netherlands in the Women’s Champions League. Corina Dekker, Twente coach, has said ahead of the fixture: “We want to show what we can do [in this competition], and on the whole we’re doing well. That is again the aim for this match against Arsenal: to show who we are and demonstrate our character. It’s about what we do with the ball, not losing it too quickly, and making good use of the space we create.” Continue reading...

⚽ Champions League updates from the 8pm GMT kick-off ⚽ Live scores | David Squires on Salah | Follow us at Bluesky Arne Slot makes four changes from the 3-3 draw at Leeds: Andy Robertson, Joe Gomez, Alexis Mac Allister and Alexander Isak replace Milos Kerkez, Conor Bradley, Florian Wirtz and Cody Gakpo. Liverpool have named only eight of a possible 12 subs. Cristian Chiva sticks with the Inter side that hammered Como at the weekend. Continue reading...

Virgil van Dijk must not be written off - but he looks a shadow of his usual imperious self, writes Phil McNulty.

Ajax are forced to halt their Dutch League match against Groningen and later abandon due to supporters igniting fireworks and flares.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk concedes a penalty after handling the ball and Ivan Perisic scores the resulting penalty to give PSV the lead at Anfield.

Coach’s assistant in tough time at Feyenoord sees parallels with issues his former boss needs to deal with at Anfield Just over five weeks after Arne Slot’s Feyenoord had lost a tight Conference League final by a goal to Roma in 2022, they suffered a 7-0 home defeat by Copenhagen in their first pre-season friendly. Some of the Dutch club’s internationals were on holiday, seven of their starters from the final would leave that summer and Copenhagen were well ahead in preparations, but even so, the scoreline was bruising. It felt as if Slot had to start all over again. “I can remember it like yesterday,” says Marino Pusic, Slot’s assistant at Feyenoord and earlier at AZ. “The score could have been even higher – that says enough.” Copenhagen’s then coach, Jess Thorup, described it as more akin to “a training session than an actual friendly match”. Two weeks later a stronger Feyenoord side lost 4-0 to the Belgian club Union Saint-Gilloise. Then came home defeats by Lyon and Osasuna. Continue reading...

⚽ Updates as action continues in European groups ⚽ Get in touch! Share your thoughts with Daniel A question: can Germany or the Netherlands win the World Cup? My sense is no, not a chance; the winner will come from Spain, France, England, Brazil, Argentina, with it being hard to look past the first of those. Of course tonight’s big dogs could beat any of them in a one-off, but I can’t see them winning four knockout matches. They don’t have the gamebreakers or options of the best, nor anyone transcendental who can render everything but them irrelevant. Northern Ireland are, as we said, into the playoffs via the Nations League, but will want to build momentum going into that tonight. They fought hard against Slovakia, only to concede a winner in injury time, but they did beat the same opposition at home and, in Ethan Galbraith, have a very modern midfielder doing brillaintly at Swansea. Continue reading...