3 h. ago National team manager reacts as team shares hotel with international music superstar

‘I’ve heard the name,’ the Scotland manager said when informed that Katy Perry is staying at the same hotel as his side

Society

10 h. ago Clarke nonplussed by Katy Perry but hopes for fireworks from Scotland in qualifiers

Scotland’s manager not aware his squad shared a hotel with the pop superstar with focus solely on Greece gameEven close proximity to a global superstar cannot divert Scotland’s attention from their World Cup dream. Or is it a teenage one? Katy Perry shared a city centre hotel with Steve Clarke and his squad this week as the singer’s Lifetimes Tour stopped off in Glasgow. Clarke did not quite go as far as saying, “Katy who?” but he was nonplussed by his squad rubbing shoulders with a bestselling artist.“Was she?” said Clarke when asked about Perry’s whereabouts. “I didn’t know she was there. I’ve heard the name and I’m sure if you played me a couple of her songs I’d say: ‘I recognise that one.’ But I couldn’t name you one of her songs. That’s no disrespect to Katy but I’m from a different generation.” Pressed on whether he would even recognise Perry, Clarke – by now laughing – added: “Eh, no. And she wouldn’t recognise me.” This very much feels like two worlds that should never colli...

Events

10 h. ago Bayern Munich chief mocked for bitter Liverpool claim after Florian Wirtz jets in

Florian Wirtz has been the subject of a number of snide comments from Bayern Munich figures since joining Liverpool, but the German national team have now hit back

Politics

14 h. ago ‘Sensationally damning’: Malaysian football rocked by naturalisation scandal

Seven national-team players, including one from La Liga, have been suspended by Fifa over claims of cheatingThere hasn’t been that much to smile about for Malaysian football fans in recent years, so there was real jubilation among the 60,000 home spectators upon the final whistle in Kuala Lumpur on on 10 June. A 4-0 win over regional rivals Vietnam not just kept the Harimau Malaya (Malayan Tigers) on course for the 2027 Asian Cup but well and truly confirmed they were dining back at the top table in southeast Asia. Four months later, they are still the talk of the region of 650 million people, but not in a good way.The story starts, as it does increasingly in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) football these days, with naturalisation. In January, the crown prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, the owner of Johor Darul Ta’zim football club, and former president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM), wrote on social media: “We have identified 6-7 heritage p...

Politics

18 h. ago Nolberto Solano: ‘I would like to play like Klopp but you need to be realistic’

The former Newcastle and Peru winger became Pakistan’s head coach in July and he tells Tusdiq Din he enjoys the challenge of making the team more competitiveNolberto Solano has become accustomed to firsts. He was the first Peruvian to feature in the Premier League after he joined Newcastle in 1998, and the first to play in an FA Cup final the following year. In April 2001 he became the first Premier League player to be sent off by Mike Dean. Now, in the latest stop on a peripatetic coaching journey, the 50-year-old is hoping to lead Pakistan’s men to their first Asian Cup.After taking the lesser trodden path from Lima to Lahore, Solano faces crucial back-to-back qualifiers for the 2027 tournament against Afghanistan, beginning at home on Thursday. Then, in November and March, come visits from Syria and Myanmar, who won the reverse fixtures. Solano, who replaced the Englishman Stephen Constantine as Pakistan’s head coach in July, is clear on his ambitions. Continue reading...

Politics

20 h. ago Malaysia rejects Fifa accusations it forged players’ citizenship and says it will appeal sanctions

Malaysia’s football association says it will appeal Fifa sanctions and fine after seven players on national team suspended for one yearThe Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) will appeal Fifa’s decision to sanction it for allegedly falsifying the citizenship documents of seven overseas-born players who have been suspended from representing the country for one year.Fifa fined FAM $438,000 this September and suspended the players after it discovered their grandparents were not born in Malaysia as FAM had claimed, but instead in Argentina, Brazil, the Netherlands and Spain. The global football body reiterated its claims about falsified or doctored documentation in a disciplinary committee report released on Monday. Continue reading...

Sport

35 h. ago Liverpool handed injury boost ahead of Man Utd as Arne Slot told to drop one player

One of Liverpool's key defenders has linked up with his national team despite suffering an injury in the Reds' defeat to Chelsea

Sport

40 h. ago Matt O'Riley shelves Marseille transfer talks as ex Celtic star gears up for World Cup battle

The former Hoops star - on loan at Marseille for the season - is only focussed on the here and now with his national team

Events

55 h. ago Cycling team Israel Premier Tech rebrands and drops national identity

Cycling team Israel Premier Tech has announced it is changing its name and moving away from its national identity

Politics

59 h. ago Nepal’s Australian football coach isn’t looking to scale the heights of Asian Cup glory. Just one point would do | Mark Lomas

Amid the social upheaval of the ‘Gen Z’ riots, Matt Ross wants to not only develop his team, but lay foundations for long-term growth of the sportWhen Matt Ross took the Nepal national football team job earlier this year, he knew there would be tough times ahead. Nepal’s mountainous terrain draws millions of tourists each year, but it has also made sporting progress difficult.Hamstrung by its terrain, football pitches are so scarce that the main national competition – the Nepal Super League – must be played over one month at a single venue: the Dasharath Stadium in Kathmandu. Continue reading...

Sport

3 d. ago Arsenal star Bukayo Saka makes England feelings clear after Thomas Tuchel comments

Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka is relishing his return to the England setup as he has only been involved in one national team camp since the appointment of Thomas Tuchel due to injury

Politics

3 d. ago Brutal Matthijs de Ligt verdict speaks volumes as Man Utd star axed from national team

Matthijs de Ligt has been left out of the Netherlands squad for the upcoming international break, with the Manchester United defender seemingly paying the price for his the club's recent struggles

Politics

4 d. ago Matthijs de Ligt Netherlands verdict speaks volumes as Man United star axed from national team

Matthijs de Ligt has not been selected for the Dutch national squad ahead of the October international break as Virgil van Dijk's comments on his fellow defender resurface from 2024

Politics

6 d. ago Rugby World Cup winners Red Roses return to roots for Rugbyfest weekend

The victorious England Women’s Rugby team, the Red Roses, step off the international stage for nationwide grassroots rugby celebration

Politics

7 d. ago England's Red Roses to inspire next generation after Rugby World Cup glory

The England women's rugby team will play a part in RugbyFest this weekend, with the nationwide initiative aimed at encouraging girls to take up the sport

Politics

7 d. ago Steve Clarke reveals Andy Robertson Liverpool heart to heart as Scotland boss talks up 'plus side' over skipper

The national team boss also spoke about youngster Ben Gannon-Doak as he announced his World Cup double-header squad

Politics

8 d. ago Three years on from stadium disaster, Indonesian football has a positive story to tell

The World Cup is in reach for Patrick Kluivert’s side and, though problems persist, things are looking up in one of Asia’s most passionate football nationsThree years ago this Wednesday, 135 football fans died at the Kanjuruhan stadium in Indonesia after security forces deployed teargas and created a stampede for the exits. 1 October 2022 was the nadir of a curve that had been sliding downwards for decades. This is a country that, in this century alone, has seen its FA president run the federation from a prison cell while facing corruption charges, the creation of rebel national leagues, federations and national team Fifa bans and fans being killed by other fans.In March 2023 there were more negative headlines when the country was stripped of hosting the Under-20 World Cup just months before kick-off after the governor of Bali said that Israel would not be welcome on the island. Erick Thohir, former owner of Inter and DC United and current co-owner of Oxford United, had just become ...

Events

1 week ago England women's rugby stars set for World Cup Final team talk by ENTIRE NATION

O2’s Voice of a Nation project has transformed thousands of fan submissions into one spine-tingling rallying cry which the England women's rugby team will hear before their final showdown with Canada

Sport

1 week ago 10 years on from the night Wales' rugby team made a nation lose the plot

Wales' stunning 28-25 win over England at Twickenham in the 2015 Rugby World Cup was a night that will never be forgotten - and here's the inside story of how it happened

Politics

1 week ago Stuart Armstrong addresses Scotland recall as he tells Aberdeen fans where his focus really is

Armstrong wants to see Dons arrest their awful start to the season before he even thinks about getting back into the national team

Politics