Why each playoff team can win the Super Bowl: Seattle’s defense to the good Drake Maye

One of the Broncos, Rams, Seahawks and Patriots will claim the championship in a few weeks. Here are the factors that will help decide the result

A month ago, the Rams looked like a near-complete team. Special teams aside, they had answers everywhere. Coaching. Quarterback. Playmakers. A defense that could steal a game if necessary. They’re still a formidable opponent, but cracks have started to emerge.

Published: January 22, 2026, 10:00 am

Champions League review: Bodø/Glimt stun again as McKennie leads a Juve revival

Arsenal remained on top of the Champions League on the penultimate matchday of the group phase, which also featured a targeted Jude Bellingham celebration

• Jonas Gahr Støre, the prime minister of Norway and the recent recipient of a Nobel peace prize-related missive from Donald Trump, took in a Champions League match on Tuesday. Bodø/Glimt’s stadium is more than 700 miles from Oslo but the prime minister’s long journey proved well worth it. Bodø beating Manchester City 3-1, a first-ever win in the group stage, was Norway’s greatest club football triumph since Rosenborg beat – and knocked out – mighty Milan from the competition in December 1996.

Published: January 22, 2026, 4:43 pm

Naomi Osaka battles past Cirstea but emotions boil over in ‘fair play’ row

• Romanian player accuses opponent after defeat

• Osaka: ‘I don’t react well to being casually disrespected’

The courtside photographer pit was already full 10 minutes before call time on Thursday night inside Margaret Court Arena. As all cameras pointed directly at the players’ entrance, it was not difficult to understand why they were there.

A day earlier, Naomi Osaka had produced one of the enduring images of the 2026 Australian Open, marching on to Rod Laver Arena in an outfit inspired by a jellyfish. This time, before her gritty, contentious 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 second-round win over Sorana Cirstea, she left the hat and veil back in the locker room.

Published: January 22, 2026, 3:00 pm

US chess star Daniel Naroditsky’s death was accidental, medical examiner says

• Report cites cardiac arrhythmia tied to sarcoidosis

• Drug use contributory but not fatal, examiner says

American chess grandmaster Daniel Naroditsky died last year after suffering a sudden heart rhythm disturbance, with an underlying heart condition identified as the primary cause, according to a report released by North Carolina medical authorities.

The 29-year-old was found dead at his townhome in Charlotte in October 2025. At the time, police said his death was being investigated as a possible overdose or suicide, and no cause had been made public.

Published: January 22, 2026, 5:28 pm

Heated Rivalry star duo named torchbearers for 2026 Winter Olympics

• Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie to join torch relay

• Opening ceremony set mainly for San Siro stadium

• Williams already in Milan via fashion week appearances

Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie, the stars of the hit television series Heated Rivalry, have been named official torchbearers for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.

The actors will carry the Olympic flame during the torch relay that concludes in Milan on 6 February, the day of the opening ceremony that will be centered in the city’s San Siro football stadium. Organizers have not yet announced when or where Williams and Storrie will take part.

Published: January 22, 2026, 4:45 pm

A World Cup boycott over Trump? Football’s hypotheticals cannot be dismissed any more | Nick Ames

Unprecedented times call for previously unthinkable conversations when it comes to the US-shaped problem

Could European countries really decide to boycott the World Cup this summer? It is an astonishing question to be asking in 2026 and an indictment of the bind in which, as Donald Trump sows confusion around a potential annexation of Greenland, the world’s most popular sport finds itself. But the idea is at least seeping into the mainstream and senior figures are asking what, in a worst-case scenario, it would take for football to meet the moment.

Unprecedented times call for previously unthinkable conversations. As the Guardian reported this week, an anniversary party for the Hungarian FA on Monday became the forum for unofficial discussions among national association heads about how a unified approach to the US-shaped problem might take shape.

Published: January 22, 2026, 12:43 pm

Vonn, Shiffrin and Kim headline US ski and snowboard team for 2026 Olympics

• Lindsey Vonn set for fifth Games after comeback

• US Ski & Snowboard to send 97 athletes to Italy

• Nearly half of US roster are first-time Olympians

Lindsey Vonn will compete in her fifth Winter Olympics next month after being named to a 97-athlete US Ski & Snowboard roster for the 2026 Milano Cortina Games, a team led by some of the most decorated figures in American winter sports history but also notable for its relative inexperience.

US Ski & Snowboard announced Thursday that it had nominated 97 athletes – 73 skiers and 24 snowboarders – to represent Team USA at the Games, which run from 6–22 February across northern Italy. The rest of the US team will be officially announced on Monday.

Published: January 22, 2026, 3:33 pm

John Herdman led Canada to a long-awaited World Cup. Can he do the same with Indonesia?

The South Asian nation is among the world’s most populous and is mad for football, but qualifying for the World Cup is a big ask

There’s a simple change of scenery, and then there’s John Herdman’s latest coaching move.

The 50-year-old has taken quite a jump from Canada, a huge country where soccer is not the biggest sport, to Indonesia, a huge country where it definitely is. If he can repeat his 2022 heroics for 2030, he will be a hero to a nation of 280 million people who are just desperate to return to the global stage. Canada had a gap of 36 years between their first and second World Cup appearances. If the new coach in Jakarta is successful next time, then what will be a 92-year wait would come to an end.

Published: January 22, 2026, 11:00 am

Stan Wawrinka wins marathon against Gea to make grand slam history at 40

• First man in forties to reach slam third round for 48 years

• Swiss will face Fritz after beating Arthur Gea in five sets

Stan Wawrinka described his marathon second-round win at the ­Australian Open as a special moment in his career after becoming the first 40-year-old to reach the third round of a men’s grand slam in 48 years.

Wawrinka, who will retire at the end of the season, survived a five‑set epic against Arthur Gea of France, recovering from 2-1 down in sets to win 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3) after 4hr 33min.

Published: January 22, 2026, 3:31 pm

Laura Holden: ‘I don’t want what happened to me to happen to anyone else’

The former Aberdeen midfielder, now with Swindon, opens up about the debilitating effect of suffering an ACL injury during her time in Scotland

“People need to know what happened,” Laura Holden says as she reflects on her difficult two years at Aberdeen when injury changed the course of her life. “It’s not all sunshine and roses. There are demons that just get brushed under the carpet without having the light shone on them.”

It has taken the Swindon Town midfielder time and a change of club to process everything that happened in Scotland. Holden joined the Dons in August 2023, determined to establish herself as a key player at one of the biggest clubs in the Scottish Women’s Premier League. But just six matches and 31 minutes into the first season, she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament away at Hibernian.

This is an extract from our free email about women’s football, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Published: January 22, 2026, 12:00 pm

Casemiro to leave Manchester United in the summer after four seasons

• Brazil midfielder, 34 next month, out of contract

• He wants early announcement to help find new club

Casemiro will leave Manchester United when his contract expires in the summer after the club decided not to trigger a one-year extension.

United have chosen to part ways at this point to allow time to shape their summer transfer strategy. There is an eagerness to refresh the midfield as part of a squad overhaul, the ambition being to recruit younger players for the long term. Casemiro earns about £430,000 a week and his departure will help free up funds for signings.

Published: January 22, 2026, 4:57 pm

Leicester sign Switzerland forward Alisha Lehmann from FC Como

• Club continues January push for experienced players

• Kelly Gago wants to leave Everton, says Brian Sørensen

Leicester have signed the Switzerland forward Alisha Lehmann from FC Como. The WSL club have been targeting experienced players this month, having often had the youngest average age in the division in their starting XI this season.

Lehmann, who has played in England’s top flight for West Ham, Everton and Aston Villa, has 64 caps and was part of the Swiss squad at Euro 2025. She has signed a contract to 2028. “It feels like a homecoming, coming back to England, and I’m really happy,” she said.

Published: January 22, 2026, 3:00 pm

Southampton’s Léo Scienza: ‘I am in the most difficult league in the world. It’s a bloodbath’

Brazilian endured hard times in the Swedish fifth tier after his father’s death but has found a home in the Championship

Seven years ago Léo Scienza’s life broke into a thousand pieces. On his 20th birthday his father died and the young footballer locked himself in his room for two months, having lost the will to live. “You know when everything is bad and nothing makes sense any more?” the Southampton midfielder says. “My life had no meaning any more.

“Everyone has a dark side and I’m not the best person to talk about depression or what depression is. In fact, I only understood it later. My father died on my birthday – that will always be marked in my life. After he died I just wanted to stay in my dark room doing nothing. I didn’t want to see anyone, I didn’t want to talk to anyone.”

Published: January 22, 2026, 10:09 am

Birmingham’s major move shows where fiscal power lies in women’s football

Ambitious owners and financial growth have allowed WSL and WSL2 clubs to assert dominance in the transfer market

“If anyone didn’t take our ambition seriously, I hope they really do after this window, because it shows what we’re pushing for.”

Amy Merricks was answering a question about Birmingham City breaking the second-tier transfer record to sign Wilma Leidhammar from Norrköping, but the head coach’s words could easily sum up the English January transfer window as a whole, as teams in the Women’s Super League, and in WSL2, demonstrate where the financial power lies in the women’s game.

Published: January 22, 2026, 8:00 am

Why are there so many goalless draws in the Premier League this season?

Passes, shots and goals are all down on last season. It might keep tacticians happy but it’s not as much fun

By Opta Analyst

Gerard Piqué spoke to his former Spain teammate Iker Casillas on his podcast last February and the topic of goalless draws came up. You might expect a centre-back and goalkeeper to be excited about the art of defending but rather Piqué suggested that teams should be punished for participating in goalless draws.

“It can’t be that you go to a football stadium, spend €100, €200 or €300, and the match ends 0-0,” said Piqué. “Something needs to change. One proposal to consider would be that if the match ends 0-0, the teams would score zero points. Then the match would open up in the 70th minute.”

Published: January 22, 2026, 8:00 am

Players’ group’s $1bn breakaway tour plan pushes tennis to brink of civil war

• PTPA develops new Future Tennis blueprint for the sport

• Funding sought from investment banks for Pinnacle Tour

The players’ lobby group embroiled in a lawsuit with tennis authorities is seeking $1bn in investment to fund a radical restructure of the professional game based around a new “Pinnacle Tour” that would offer more prize money for the top men and women despite playing fewer tournaments.

In a direct challenge to the ATP and WTA tours, the Professional Tennis Players Association has developed a new blueprint for the sport, Future Tennis, that was sent to more than 20 investment banks and financial advisory firms on 20 January.

Published: January 22, 2026, 5:27 pm

Sri Lanka beat England by 19 runs in first men’s one-day international – as it happened

Sri Lanka took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series, England starting their innings well chasing a gettable target only for a middle-order collapse to stymie their hopes

1st over: Sri Lanka 7-0 (Nissanka 3, Mishara 4) This is the first time Overton has opened the bowling in an ODI. He starts with a short ball that is pulled smoothly for two by Nissanka. A single behind square brings the left-handed Mishara on strike; he’s beaten first ball, chasing a short delivery that snaps away off the seam.

Mishara gets off the mark with a cross-bat edge that lands short of Buttler and bounces through for four.

Published: January 22, 2026, 5:02 pm

England fall short as Harry Brook fails to fire in opening ODI defeat by Sri Lanka

• Sri Lanka (271-6) beat England (252 all out) by 19 runs

• Kusal Mendis’s unbeaten knock of 93 proves vital

After a year in the job, it was on: a first one-day international victory away from home for Brendon McCullum as England’s head coach, a touch of joy in a troubling winter. With Ben Duckett and Joe Root hitting watchful half-centuries, the base was set on a turner, chasing a target of 272.

But the discontent continued as 129 for one turned into 164 for six, Sri Lanka’s spinners ripping everything apart under lights in the first of three ODIs. The left-armer Dunith Wellalage combined his 12-ball 25 with two wickets in the collapse as the hosts, chasing their eighth consecutive ODI series win at home, triumphed by 19 runs.

Published: January 22, 2026, 4:55 pm

Luke Wright to leave role as England cricket selector amid Ashes fallout

• Wright to go after World Cup citing time travel demands

• Departure announced in middle of post Ashes review

Luke Wright will leave his role as a selector after next month’s Twenty20 World Cup in the first major change within the England hierarchy after their comprehensive Ashes defeat in Australia.

Amid speculation over the futures of Rob Key, the men’s director of cricket, and Brendon McCullum, head coach in all formats, Wright has made the call to leave, citing the travel demands of the position with a young family. Wright toured with England during the Ashes but is not present on the tour of Sri Lanka; he will fly out for the World Cup, with England’s campaign beginning on 8 February in Mumbai.

Published: January 22, 2026, 12:30 pm

Women’s transfer window January 2026: all deals from world’s top six leagues

Every deal in the WSL, NWSL, Liga F, Frauen-Bundesliga, Première Ligue and Serie A Femminile as well as a club-by-club guide

• Men’s transfer interactive – all the January deals

Published: January 22, 2026, 3:25 pm

Australian Open 2026: Sinner and Osaka advance, Bencic crashes out – as it happened

Jannik Sinner continued his title defence, Naomi Osaka won a tetchy contest and qualifier Nikola Bartunkova shocked Belinda Bencic

Cilic has punched his ticket into round three for the first time since 2022, with the 37-year-old and 2014 US Open champ taking out the 21st seed Shapovalov in straight sets. Decent win, that. He’ll face the winner of Casper Ruud v Jaume Munar.

Stan is still alive! He’s broken Gea in the final game of the fourth set to snatch it 7-5, finishing off with a vicious backhand winner down the line. It’s got to be one of the most devastating shots in tennis hasn’t it? I don’t think even Federer’s single-handed backhand quite had the equal beauty and brutality that Wawrinka’s does. They’re going to a fifth.

Published: January 22, 2026, 3:04 pm

Cody Bellinger stays with New York Yankees on five-year deal worth $162.5m

• Yankees lock up Bellinger for $32.5m annually

• Lefty slugger hit .302 at Yankee Stadium in 2025

• Deal includes no-trade provision and opt-outs

Cody Bellinger became the last of the top free-agent hitters to reach a deal, agreeing Wednesday to stay with the New York Yankees for a $162.5m, five-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical.

Published: January 21, 2026, 7:10 pm

The World Cup is out of reach for many. The hope lies outside the stadiums | Leander Schaerlaeckens

The opportunity for this tournament’s legacy is in the fan fests, camps and tune-ups accessible to more than the lucky few

In Germany, fans watched the games on screens in crowded town squares, their roars careening off ancient buildings, or from the banks of rivers, peering at floating, double-sided big screens on barges. At the next World Cup, in South Africa in 2010, people gathered in parks and open-air markets and hotel lobbies and unlicensed, makeshift bars in people’s garages. In Brazil, four years later, fans spilled from the bars on the Copacabana or watched in restaurants or in streets closed for the occasion – not as if anybody was driving during the Seleção’s games anyway.

During the 2018 World Cup, Russia surprised visitors – and its own citizens – with its friendliness as spontaneous parties broke out all over the country. The reason the 2022 World Cup in Qatar didn’t entirely feel like a real World Cup is that those sorts of spontaneous soccer gatherings just didn’t seem to be happening, or not at the same scale, at any rate. The absence of hordes of supporters just milling about everywhere contributed to the feeling of being at a Potemkin World Cup.

Published: January 21, 2026, 5:40 pm