25 h. ago Estêvão shows Chelsea he can form dangerous partnership with Palmer

Playmaker scored against his new club and should form an entertaining combination with the England internationalThe good news for Chelsea is that Cole Palmer and Estêvão Willian will be on the same team when they next share a pitch. Even better, it seems two of the most gifted young forwards around already have a connection. They were on opposite sides in Philadelphia on Friday night but friends when it was over, sharing a warm embrace after Chelsea’s victory over Palmeiras in the Club World Cup, swapping shirts and perhaps thinking about how much fun they are going to have at the expense of opposition defences when they line up together next season.It was a heartwarming sight. Palmer offered a reminder that he remains the main man at Chelsea, performing with craft and intelligence during a first half in which he opened the scoring in smooth fashion, but Estêvão vied for centre stage on his final appearance for Palmeiras. It was an extraordinary performance given the context. Antici...

Politics

33 h. ago Real Madrid survive late Dortmund scare to set up Club World Cup semi

Quarter-final: Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia DortmundG García 10, F García 20, Mbappé 90+4; Beier 90+2, Guirassy 90+8Real Madrid have set up a date with Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup semi-final, despite a chaotic last 10 minutes, giving Kylian Mbappé a chance to face his former side on a big stage after he scored a fantastic acrobatic goal in a 3-2 win over Borussia Dortmund.Xabi Alonso’s Madrid looked entirely in control for the vast majority of the match, until a remarkable stoppage time made things nervy and Thibaut Courtois’s last-gasp save preserved the victory. That incredible conclusion to an otherwise pedestrian match also included a late red card given to Real Madrid’s Dean Huijsen, the impressive new arrival in central defence, who will miss the semi-final as a result of bringing down Serhou Guirassy right after Mbappé’s stupendous volley for Real Madrid’s third. Continue reading...

Events

50 h. ago PSG’s culture shift leads into mighty Club World Cup showdown with Bayern

European champions are enjoying themselves under Luis Enrique, a world away from their last game against the German clubThe last time they crossed paths, Vincent Kompany was on his way in and Luis Enrique was on his way out. It was late November at the Allianz Arena and Bayern Munich’s new manager waited by the press room while his opposite number at Paris Saint-Germain spoke to the media; as he listened in, he could hardly believe what he heard. “It was completely over the top,” Kompany recalled in Atlanta when he again followed Luis Enrique into a chair lined up before the cameras, and before another big night, seven months later and more than 7,000 miles away. “Now we’re talking about the same game from a totally different perspective; it’s interesting to press fast forward and see how much things can change.”That night, Bayern beat PSG 1-0 in the Champions League. Five games into the competition, PSG had won just once, against Girona at the Parc des Princes and that was their th...

Culture

52 h. ago Chelsea edge Palmeiras as late deflection books Club World Cup semi

Palmeiras 1-2 Chelsea (Estêvão 53); Palmer (16), Weverton (83, og)Malo Gusto’s cross deflected past Palmeiras goalkeeperTheir place in the last four of the Club World Cup in the bag and the prospect of a £97m windfall still up for grabs, Chelsea found themselves in an unusual position: relieved to have survived a taxing second half, hailing Malo Gusto’s unlikely role as matchwinner and able to delight in the opposition’s goalscorer being named superior player of the match.For a while the story of this entertaining quarter-final looked like it was going to be about Enzo Maresca finding it within himself to forgive Estêvão Willian. Everything had changed when the Brazilian sensation, who joins Chelsea after this tournament, cancelled out an early goal from Cole Palmer and hauled Palmeiras level at the start of the second half. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago Chelsea edge Palmeiras and inspired Estêvão to reach Club World Cup semis

Palmeiras 1-2 Chelsea: (Estêvão 53); Palmer (16), Weverton (83og)Malo Gusto’s cross deflected past Palmeiras goalkeeperTheir place in the last four of the Club World Cup in the bag and the prospect of a £97m windfall still up for grabs, Chelsea found themselves in an unusual position: relieved to have survived a taxing second half, hailing Malo Gusto’s unlikely role as match-winner and able to delight in the opposition’s goalscorer being named superior player of the match.For a while the story of this entertaining quarter-final looked like it was going to be about Enzo Maresca finding it within himself to forgive Estêvão. Everything had changed when the Brazilian sensation, who joins Chelsea after this tournament, cancelled out an early goal from Cole Palmer and hauled Palmeiras level at the start of the second half. Continue reading...

Politics

52 h. ago Palmeiras vs Chelsea LIVE: Club World Cup match result, latest updates and reaction as Blues reach semi

A semi-final bout is on the line in Philadelphia

Society

54 h. ago Palmeiras vs Chelsea LIVE: Club World Cup match stream, latest score and goal updates

A semi-final bout is on the line in Philadelphia

Sport

56 h. ago Chelsea XI vs Palmeiras: Starting lineup, confirmed team news, Joao Pedro debut, injury latest for Club World Cup

Romeo Lavia faces a late fitness test ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup tie

Events

56 h. ago Palmeiras vs Chelsea LIVE: Club World Cup match stream, latest team news, lineups, TV, prediction

A semi-final bout is on the line in Philadelphia

Society

57 h. ago Chelsea XI vs Palmeiras: Joao Pedro debut, predicted lineup, confirmed team news, injury latest for Club World Cup

Romeo Lavia faces a late fitness test ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup tie

Events

58 h. ago Chelsea XI vs Palmeiras: Predicted lineup, confirmed team news, Lavia injury latest for Club World Cup

Romeo Lavia faces a late fitness test ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup tie

Events

64 h. ago Football Daily | Infantino awaits his ‘big bang’ as Club World Cup refuses to slide away

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Like Dr John Hammond and his scientists in Jurassic Park, Gianni Infantino and his fawning Fifa lickspittles have spent recent years so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn’t stop to think if they should. The upshot is that a preposterously lucrative tournament described by its creator as “a big bang” has been crowbarred into an already jam-packed calendar. And the largesse of its in-no-way unethically sourced prize-money for those participating now threatens to destroy several already under-threat footballing ecosystems around the world.I want to talk about my mate. My buddy. The bloke I loved and will miss like crazy. I could talk about him as a player for hours, but none of that feels like it matters right now. It’s the man. The person. He was such a good guy. The best. So genuine. Just normal and real. Full of love for the people he cared about. Full of fun. He was the most British foreign player I’ve ever ...

Sport

67 h. ago Bellingham v Bellingham: the art of the deal, even if big date must wait

Dortmund’s pursuit of younger brother included hotel visit and talk of a Club World Cup meeting with Real MadridJobe Bellingham was furious when he found out that the early yellow card he had been shown for a tackle on Nelson Deossa against Monterrey meant missing the next game of the Club World Cup and he was still furious the following day.The news hit hard when he heard it at half-time heading down the tunnel, and the hurt wasn’t going away in a hurry. This was not just the next game, it was the game: Borussia Dortmund versus Real Madrid, the Bellingham brothers on the same pitch for the first time, and the match so special Dortmund used it to convince him to move to Germany in the first place. That and a disguise. Continue reading...

Economics

67 h. ago Chelsea XI vs Palmeiras: Lavia injury latest, predicted lineup, confirmed team news for Club World Cup

Romeo Lavia faces a late fitness test ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup tie

Events

69 h. ago Sports quiz of the week: Wimbledon, Euro 2025, Club World Cup and Lions

Have you been watching the football, cycling, cricket, tennis, rugby union, basketball and Formula One? Continue reading...

Politics

3 d. ago Chelsea XI vs Palmeiras: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup, injury latest for Club World Cup

Joao Pedro is in contention to make his Chelsea debut after joining from Brighton

Events

3 d. ago Estêvão will try to beat Chelsea at the Club World Cup – and then join them

The 18-year-old says it’s ‘very difficult’ to focus on Palmeiras as he knows his time with the club is coming to an endWho would have thought that two Brazilian clubs would reach the Club World Cup quarter-finals? If Fluminense beat Al-Hilal in Orlando on Friday and Palmeiras get the better of Chelsea a few hours later in Philadelphia, one of them will make it to the final. Chelsea have already been embarrassed by one Brazilian side at the tournament – they were trounced 3-1 by Flamengo a fortnight ago in the group stage – but they are still favourites to beat Palmeiras in the quarter-finals.The English side came out on top when the teams met in the final of the Club World Cup three years ago, winning 2-1 thanks to a 117th-minute penalty converted by Kai Havertz. At that point, a young prodigy known as “Messinho”, or little Messi, was taking his first steps in the Palmeiras academy having joined from Cruzeiro. When the teams meet again on Friday night, Estêvão Willian will be the ce...

Politics

5 d. ago Gonzalo García downs Juventus to send Real Madrid to Club World Cup quarters

Last 16: Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus (G García 54)Mbappé makes first appearance of tournamentKylian Mbappé at last made his debut at the Club World Cup, coming on to face Juventus two weeks and four games after he was hospitalised with a stomach virus that saw him lose five kilos. But while the Hard Rock Stadium chanted his name, cheered as he made his way to the halfway line and stood as one to hand him an ovation when he came on, the excitement overflowing, it was the kid for whom Rita Hayworth is family but many of them had not heard of a month ago who took Real Madrid into the quarter-final.The best competitions always have a revelation; here, it is the 21-year-old Gonzalo García. He scored his third goal in the US, a superb thumping header doing what no one else could over 90 minutes here, and beating the Juventus keeper, Michele Di Gregorio. A family of rugby players, bullfighters, and perhaps the most famous actress there ever was – his grandfather was Rita’s cousin – has a foot...

Politics

5 d. ago The Club World Cup that wasn’t: how fake highlights took over the internet

Using clever tactics and Messi clickbait, Egyptian creators racked up 14m views with highlights posted before kickoff. YouTube didn’t catch on until it was too lateThis story was reported by Indicator, a publication that investigates digital deception, and co-published with the Guardian.It was Thursday morning in America and something didn’t look right in the highlights of the Club World Cup match between Manchester City and Juventus.Suzi Ragheb provided research support and translation of one of the videos in Arabic. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Club World Cup 2025: Results, fixtures and knockout schedule after Man City stunned by Al

The expanded version of the competition in the United States rounds out the last 16 phase with Chelsea still in with a chance but Man City’s hopes were ended by Al-Hilal

Politics