Messi shows glimpses of his genius on Fifa’s stage of fakery as Club World Cup begins

A largely incoherent Inter Miami was held to a scoreless draw by Al Ahly as the opening ceremony outshined the football on the pitch

Well, this was at least a first. Gianni was right on that front. On a clammy, boisterous, vaguely hallucinogenic night at the Hard Rock Stadium, the opening act of Fifa’s billion dollar death star, the newly bulked and tanned Club World Cup, did produce something genuinely new. This was surely the first major sporting event where the opening ceremony was infinitely more entertaining, and indeed comprehensible as a basic human activity, than the sporting spectacle that followed.

By the end the best team in Africa, Al Ahly, had drawn 0-0 with a largely incoherent Inter Miami, a team that looked in the first half like people who had a dim idea what this sport is meant to look like, but who were also struggling through a terrible wall-eyed hangover to remember which way is forward.

Published: June 15, 2025, 4:13 am

Hitchins dismantles Kambosos inside eight to retain 140lb title at Garden

• Hitchins stops Kambosos with vicious body shot

• Brooklyn native dominates from start in hometown

• Aussie Kambosos suffers fourth defeat in six fights

Richardson Hitchins delivered a career-best performance on Saturday night at the Theater at Madison Square Garden, stopping George Kambosos Jr with a withering body shot in the eighth round to retain the IBF’s version of the light welterweight championship.

In his first defense of the 140lb belt, and his first time headlining a card in his hometown, Hitchins (20-0, 8 KOs) controlled every round before putting Kambosos down with a sharp left hook to the midsection. The Australian rose to his feet before the count of 10, but referee Michael Griffin waved off the fight as Kambosos visibly grimaced in pain, unable to continue.

Published: June 15, 2025, 4:41 am

Home-country hero Daniel Suárez wins first Nascar race in Mexico since 2008

• Suárez wins in Mexico after starting from the back

• Backup car, bold moves fuel Suárez’s comeback win

• Crowd erupts as Suárez salutes fans in Spanish

In all his high hopes and hard work over the last year to promote Nascar’s return to his home country of Mexico, even Daniel Suárez could not have imagined the amazing story of his dramatic win in Saturday’s The Chilango 150 – coming from last place on the grid in a backup car and charging to Victory Lane.

After victory spinouts, the 33-year old from Monterrey, Mexico, climbed out of his No 9 JR Motorsports Chevrolet, stood on the car’s roof, pounded his chest and pointed upward to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez grandstands – shouting to the thrilled crowd in his native Spanish and thanking his loyal fans for their support.

Published: June 15, 2025, 3:17 am

Tyrrell Hatton cool but Matt Fitzpatrick rages as Sam Burns keeps US Open lead

• Nine-over Fitzpatrick lambasts course as Hatton gets to one over

• Sam Burns still leads by one at four under, from Spaun and Scott

If a quiz question was to ask which English golfer a) lacerated the setup at the US Open, as another b) fired himself into contention before offering a much calmer assessment, the answers from the vast majority of observers would be obvious: a) Tyrrell Hatton, b) Matt Fitzpatrick. The reality at Oakmont was the complete opposite.

First to Fitzpatrick. The 2022 champion finds himself unimpressed by this golfing brute, as he was happy to declare after a third round of 72 left him nine over par. “I personally don’t think it’s fair,” said the Yorkshireman. “I think there’s hard that’s fair and there’s just straight unfair. And I just think that this falls into that [second] category, really. I just don’t think it necessarily rewards good shots and I think it penalises bad shots too harshly. You can be more penalised for hitting a shot one yard off the fairway, six inches off the fairway, than you can 40 yards off the fairway. And obviously, when you’ve got the greens as extreme as these, it amplifies any miss.

Published: June 15, 2025, 12:18 am

Caitlin Clark spectacular in return from injury as Fever hand Liberty first loss

• Clark drops 32 as Fever end Liberty’s 9–0 start

• Indiana hit 17 threes, shoot 48.1% from field

• Performance draws praise from LeBron James

Caitlin Clark totaled 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in a spectacular return from a left quad injury on Saturday leading the Indiana Fever to a 102-88 victory over the New York Liberty, snapping their season-opening nine-game winning streak.

After missing five games, Clark scored 25 points in the first half to help Indiana (5-5) rally from an early 11-point deficit. Clark made 11-of-20 shots and tied a career high by hitting seven threees, including several from well beyond the arc.

Published: June 14, 2025, 9:55 pm

Auf wiedersehen, Thomas Müller, Germany’s dreammaker who found goals in space | Jonathan Wilson

Bayern Munich legend defined not only a position but an entire way of thinking about the game

It’s 17 years since Thomas Müller made his debut for Bayern. Since then he has played 751 games for the club, scoring 248 goals, while also scoring 45 goals in 131 games for Germany. He has won 13 Bundesliga titles, two Champions Leagues and a World Cup. He will retire at the end of the Club World Cup after a career played entirely at the highest level and yet still nobody has been able to quite work out what he is.

Is he a centre-forward? Is he a false 9? Is he a wide forward, a second striker, an attacking midfielder? Is he all of those things, none of those things or some of those things some of the time? Louis van Gaal loved him; Pep Guardiola never seemed quite so sure.

Published: June 14, 2025, 7:00 pm

Cloughie’s notes, Hillman Imps and Bela Lugosi: my glorious trove of old Forest programmes

Dusting off a pile of matchday gems from the City Ground spanning 50 years reveals a rich seam of cultural and sporting delights

What to do with the pile of vintage Nottingham Forest programmes that came into my possession several years ago? At first, standard protocol was observed for uncategorised piles of paper. The 21 City Ground programmes, spanning 50 years from September 1963 to November 2012, were packed away in a dark cupboard, ignored and unread. But finally taking the time to study them has paid dividends: a rich seam of history leaps off the pages in clear, elegant black-and-white type.

Forest’s presence in the top-flight’s upper echelons evoked the club’s halcyon days and plenty has been written about the Brian Clough-Peter Taylor era. Less attention has focused on Clough’s often entertaining programme notes during his 18-year tenure – while the editions outside Clough’s time are a fascinating way of charting Forest’s trajectory, as well as how profoundly football and wider society have changed.

Published: June 14, 2025, 4:43 pm

Al Ahly 0-0 Inter Miami: Club World Cup 2025 opening match – as it happened

• MLS side held by Egyptian champions in Club World Cup

• Explainer: all your Club World Cup questions answered

The stage has been cleared from the field. The teams have walked out, but instead of the traditional single line, they’re staring at each other as if they’re about to play Red Rover.

Now they’re shaking hands.

The VAR crew are from Spain and Uruguay. The referee is Alireza Faghani, who has moved to and works in Australia but is from Iran. What must be going through his mind right now?

Published: June 15, 2025, 2:17 am

Atlético Madrid weigh up move for Liverpool’s Andy Robertson

• Liverpool close to signing Bournemouth’s Kerkez for £45m

• Bournemouth want Rennes left-back Adrien Truffert

Andy Robertson is the subject of interest from Atlético Madrid as Liverpool edge closer towards the signing of the Bournemouth defender Milos Kerkez for a fee of about £45m. The Premier League champions planned to sign Kerkez to compete with the long-serving 31-year-old Scotland defender but are relaxed about the interest. Liverpool are not yet thought to have received any formal contact.

The trigger for Kerkez’s move is expected to be Bournemouth’s signing of the Rennes left-back Adrien Truffert. The 23-year-old Rennes captain, who received interest from other clubs, has agreed personal terms and is expected to cost about £15m.

Published: June 14, 2025, 7:05 pm

Natural entertainer Rayan Cherki ready for test of maturity at Manchester City

France international impressed with his flicks and tricks from a young age at Lyon. Now City hope he can fire their creative rebuild

“To win the Ballon d’Or and the Champions League,” came the response from Rayan Cherki to the Lyon academy director Jean-François Vulliez’s question. Even as a 15-year-old the playmaker was ambitious, knowing his talent would take him to the top. He might have expected to reach the Premier League earlier but he is ready to take the next steps at Manchester City.

Vulliez worked at Lyon for 12 years and from the moment he witnessed an eight-year-old Cherki he knew the club had a glorious talent on their hands. This week City paid £30.5m for the France international, who could make his debut against Wydad AC on Wednesday at the Club World Cup. Lyon’s academy coaches were soon gossiping about the two-footed generational talent who dribbled past opponents, created chances and plundered goals in the youth setup.

Published: June 14, 2025, 12:00 pm

Thomas Frank gave Brentford fans so much for so long – we will truly miss him | Natalie Sawyer

Across nearly seven years, Frank achieved great things. His switch to Spurs feels like a break-up but we wish him well

Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened. Thomas Frank is no longer Brentford’s manager and that’s not easy to write. We knew the day was drawing near but it’s still a bitter pill to swallow. It feels like a break-up, a one-sided one where we do not get the chance to ask why and how. And the grief supporters are experiencing is because we were so emotionally invested in a partnership that brought us so much joy in the near seven years we had together.

Rewind to October 2018, when Frank was appointed as Dean Smith’s successor, and not many of us would have thought we would now be looking forward to a fifth campaign in the top flight. There is much to be grateful to Frank and his team for. They brought us the fabled BMW (Saïd Benrahma, Bryan Mbeumo and Ollie Watkins); they broke our playoff hoodoo at the 10th time of asking to take us to the Premier League; they set club records and beat some of the best teams in the land. It really has been quite the ride.

Published: June 14, 2025, 7:00 am

Viktor Gyökeres ready to snub Manchester United for ‘dream’ Arsenal move

• Sporting striker wants to play in Champions League

• Mikel Arteta thought to prefer Benjamin Sesko

Manchester United’s pursuit of Viktor Gyökeres appears doomed after the Sporting striker said signing for Arsenal would be a “dream”. United held exploratory discussions about buying the 27-year-old, with Ruben Amorim intent on strengthening the position. But it is understood the player’s representatives have told United he does not wish to join the club.

Instead Gyökeres is understood to view Arsenal as his preferred option since they will play in the Champions League next season.

Published: June 14, 2025, 6:00 pm

Verstappen lashes out at critics after Russell snatches Canadian F1 GP pole

• Mercedes’s George Russell shares front row with Red Bull rival

• ‘It is really pissing me off,’ Verstappen says of media scrutiny

A furious Max Verstappen lashed out at criticism of his driving, saying it was “childish, annoying and pissing me off” after his nemesis George Russell beat him to pole position for Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.

Russell snatched top spot with a brilliant final lap at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve to leave Verstappen trailing by 0.160sec, with the McLaren pair Oscar Piastri third and Lando Norris a disappointing seventh. It means Mercedes’s Russell and defending champion Verstappen will line up on the front row together, a fortnight after their collision in Spain.

Published: June 14, 2025, 9:27 pm

Formula One: Mercedes’ Russell snatches pole for Canadian grand prix – as it happened

George Russell beat Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri to pole position for the F1 Canadian grand prix in Montreal

Most drivers are warming up with the heavy hitters – McLaren and Ferrari – are still in the garage.

Kimi Antonelli complains about impeding in the pits on his radio. Looks like it was the Red Bull cars. George Russell is leading the pack with Kimi Antonelli and Alex Albon in P2 and P3.

Published: June 14, 2025, 9:27 pm

England crash out of World Cup as Littler and Humphries humbled by Germany

• World’s top two players suffer shock defeat

• German duo ease to 8-4 victory in Frankfurt

Luke Littler and Luke Humphries were left reeling as England’s hopes of retaining the World Cup of Darts were torn apart by Germany. The world’s top two players slipped to an 8-4 second round defeat at the Eissporthalle in Frankfurt, where Martin Schindler and Ricardo Pietreczko made the most of the backing of a partisan home crowd to seal a comprehensive victory.

Littler and Humphries, who both received MBEs in King Charles’s birthday honours, were made to pay for missed doubles, with the 18-year-old in particular turning in an off-colour display in a country where he has endured previous disappointments.

Published: June 14, 2025, 8:47 pm

Mehdi Taremi to miss Club World Cup after Israeli strikes close Iran’s airports

• Iranian forward remains in Tehran due to closed airspace

• Inter to start Club World Cup campaign on Wednesday

The Inter forward Mehdi Taremi will not be able to join his teammates at the Club World Cup in the United States as he is stuck in Tehran because of the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel.

Flights from all Iranian airports have been grounded after an exchange of military strikes between Iran and Israel over the past two days. That meant the Iran international was unable to take his scheduled flight on Saturday to join his teammates in Los Angeles.

Published: June 14, 2025, 6:47 pm

Leicester coach Cheika hits out at Cole yellow card after final defeat by Bath

• Forward sent to sin bin after collision with Finn Russell

• Ben Spencer believes ‘sky is the limit’ for Bath

Michael Cheika, the Leicester head coach, took issue with the officiating after his side’s playoff final defeat by Bath, describing the late yellow card shown to Dan Cole after an aerial collision with Finn Russell as “embarrassing for the game” and “hardly even a penalty”.

The Australian was also less than impressed with how the scrum was refereed. “I’ve never seen it before in my life, dominating like that and getting nothing, zero. In fact, getting penalised against.

Published: June 14, 2025, 6:22 pm

Bath hold off Leicester to win Premiership title after 23-21 victory – as it happened

Bath ended their 29 year wait with victory at Twickenham

4 mins. Leicester win said scrum and there’s another one a minute later after more poor Batch handling. This second one brings down the full malevolence of the Tigers pack to crumble the Bath eight and bring about a penalty. Pollard pings a beautiful touchfinder deep into attacking territory.

2 mins. The crafty kick off is very nearly gathered by Cracknell, but the ball ends up pinging about a bit before Spencer gets his hands on it and punts it away. There’s a few carries by Leicester in their own half before a knock-on brings about the first scrum of the match.

Published: June 14, 2025, 4:50 pm

Tadej Pogacar tightens grip on yellow jersey in Critérium du Dauphiné

• Slovenian sets record with 98th career stage win

• Has 61sec lead over Jonas Vingegaard with one day to go

For the second straight day, Tadej Pogacar rode away from his main rivals on the final ascent as he cemented his grip on the Critérium du Dauphiné yellow jersey in Saturday’s mountainous Queen Stage. “I launched it and maintained a good pace to the top,” he said. The Slovenian had grabbed the overall lead the day before when he shot clear on the short closing climb.

On the penultimate stage, a 131.7km run from Grand-Aigueblanche, Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates teammate Pavel Sivakov reduced the leading pack by setting a ferocious tempo at the front at the start of the 20km final climb to Valmeinier ski resort.

Published: June 14, 2025, 3:51 pm

US Open golf 2025: Sam Burns keeps hold of lead at Oakmont – as it happened

• Sam Burns leads Adam Scott and JJ Spaun by one after Moving Day

• Official live leaderboard

Back-to-back birdies for Sam Stevens. The 28-year-old from Wichita picks up shots at 3 and 4 to move to +1 overall. All together now: ♫♪ I know I need a small vacation, but it don’t look like rain ♪♫ … except … “Those clouds are not looking friendly,” notes Rich Beem on Sky, snapping us out of our Campbell-Webb reverie. Indeed they do look dark and menacing in the middle distance. A fair chance we could have an enforced weather break sooner rather than later. Fingers crossed it doesn’t happen, but it doesn’t look promising.

This is Matt Wallace’s first appearance at a US Open for four years. The 35-year-old Londoner is grabbing the opportunity with both hands: decent opening rounds of 72 and 74, and he’s on the move today, with birdies at 4, 11 and now 13, the latter the reward for a glorious tee shot sent over the flag to six feet. He’s +3 overall.

Published: June 14, 2025, 11:57 pm

Rory McIlroy says he ‘didn’t really care’ about making US Open cut at Oakmont

• McIlroy downbeat despite avoiding early exit

• ‘Do I really want two more days here or not?’

Rory McIlroy admitted he was in two minds over whether he wanted to make the US Open cut, in the latest nod to the Northern Irishman’s psychological struggles since winning the Masters in April.

McIlroy made birdie on two of his last four holes on Friday evening to survive for the closing 36 holes at Oakmont. Until that point, he was heading for an early exit. McIlroy returned to the course to post 74 on Saturday, leaving him 10 over for the week, before addressing the media for the first time since Tuesday. McIlroy’s body language suggested he would rather be elsewhere.

Published: June 14, 2025, 9:41 pm

37-year-old Tatjana Maria storms into Queen’s final after stunning Madison Keys

• Veteran qualifier beats third top-20 player at event

• Australian Open champion outclassed in straight sets

Tatjana Maria knows a thing or two about fairytales, coming from the land of the Brothers Grimm and the Pied Piper of Hamelin. But not even she can quite comprehend the impossible magic of her last seven days at Queen’s Club.

When the 37-year-old arrived in west London she had lost nine matches in a row and looked in danger of dropping out of the world’s top 100. Now, unfathomably, she has powered into a WTA 500 final after winning six matches in a row – including two in qualifying – and beaten three players in the world’s top 15.

Published: June 14, 2025, 2:58 pm

Why female athletes are challenging the NCAA’s $2.8bn settlement

Eight women have appealed the NCAA’s antitrust deal, arguing it violates Title IX and unfairly favors men’s sports. Here’s what the settlement does and what’s next

College athletes spent decades fighting for the right to make money from their name, image and likeness (NIL). In 2021, they won. Now, a $2.8bn NCAA settlement is set to compensate hundreds of thousands of current and former athletes who missed out on those earnings. But not everyone thinks the deal is fair.

Eight female athletes filed an appeal this week, arguing the agreement violates Title IX, the US law banning sex-based discrimination in education. They say the way the money is divided, largely favoring football and men’s basketball players, shortchanges women by more than $1bn.

Published: June 14, 2025, 8:30 am