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Dominic Solanke has opened up on his injury hell as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury. The Tottenham striker has been restricted to just three competitive club appearances this season owing to an ankle problem sustained in pre-season. Solanke's last outing for Spurs came from the bench in the 2-0 win at Manchester City back in August.

Jordi Alba has rubbished comparisons between Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal, claiming that Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer “has no rival”. Teenage wonderkid Yamal has been thrust into an obvious debate ever since he stepped out of the La Masia academy system. He has become a global superstar in his own right, but there will never be another Messi.

Thibaut Courtois admits that Lamine Yamal “lit a bit of a fire” under the latest Clasico clash between arch-rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona. Said contest took place at Santiago Bernabeu on October 26. Ugly scenes unfolded at the end of a 2-1 victory for the hosts, with teenage wonderkid Yamal attracting plenty of attention during the post-match skirmishes.

Lionel Messi has sent another “we’ll be back” message to Barcelona after being crowned the “most beloved player” in the club’s history. The Argentine superstar has been awarded that honour following a supporter vote. He feels proud to have received such a title, given the calibre of talent that he was up against, and remains determined to head back to Catalunya at some stage.

There's been a lot of talk lately about the Premier League as a product. Is modern football actually boring? Are teams now too reliant on set pieces to score goals? Are the mavericks and the willing protagonists being silenced just to preserve their manager's tactics? Have we gone too far in pursuit of sporting perfection?

At one point during the international break, it appeared as if both Napoli and Atalanta would have new coaches in place for this weekend's meeting between the two sides at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. However, while the Bergamaschi inevitably sacked Ivan Juric the day after their shocking 3-0 defeat at home to Sassuolo, Antonio Conte remains in charge of the Partenopei - which is actually something of a surprise.

Born just outside Marseille to Algerian parents, it was always going to be hard for a footballer as silky as Samir Nasri to avoid comparisons with the great Zinedine Zidane. When he was snapped up by Arsenal in the peak of the 'Wenger-ball' years, it made complete sense. Here was this uber-talented attacking midfielder who could glide past opponents for fun, why wouldn't he be the Gunners' next marquee player?

Neymar issued a public apology after conceding a controversial penalty in a game that has kept Santos in a relegation dogfight. The Brazilian superstar was in action on Wednesday evening against Mirassol. An eventful outing saw him open the scoring inside four minutes, before being responsible for presenting Serie A rivals with an opportunity to level the scores.

Ruben Amorim has been told he already has the perfect replacement for an injured Benjamin Sesko in the Manchester United squad. The Red Devils endured an anxious wait after the striker limped off late in the dramatic 2-2 draw against Tottenham, sparking fears of a potentially devastating knee injury for their marquee summer signing. He is now expected to miss around a month of action for Amorim's side.

He’s following in his father’s illustrious footballing footsteps, and making a big splash on the international football scene, but not in the position, or for the country, many would imagine. Louis Thomas Buffon, son of the legendary former Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi, scored two hat-tricks during the November break in Under-19 European Championship qualifiers against Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland.

Struggling Manchester United star Kobbie Mainoo has been told that Arsenal is the perfect place for him to get his career back on track. Mainoo established himself as a regular starter at Old Trafford under former Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag, but he has fallen out of favour since the arrival of Ruben Amorim, and serious questions are being asked of his future.

Former Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo has opened up on Lionel Messi's "difficult" two-year spell at the French club. The Argentina captain joined the Ligue 1 giants on a free transfer in 2021 after ending a two-decade-long relationship with Barcelona, but struggled to settle in his two seasons at Parc des Princes and eventually moved to Inter Miami in the summer of 2023.

Arsenal and the Rwanda Development Board have mutually agreed to end their eight-year "Visit Rwanda" sponsorship deal at the conclusion of the 2025-26 season. The partnership, which sees the "Visit Rwanda" logo printed on Arsenal's sleeves, has been worth a reported £10 million ($13.1m) per year to the club.

Mikel Arteta has explained why his success at Arsenal is down to his "hero" Pep Guardiola while opening up on his first meeting with the legendary Spanish manager at the age of 15. Following his retirement from professional football in 2016, Arteta worked as an assistant coach under Guardiola at Manchester City before taking up his first head coaching project with the Gunners in December 2019.

Real Madrid’s teen sensation Franco Mastantuono has weighed into the GOAT debate and risked the wrath of the Bernabeu faithful by claiming former Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi deserves that title, not Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi and Ronaldo have traded titles and accolades at the world’s biggest clubs and at international tournaments for years, but Mastantuono believes his Argentina colleague has the edge as the finest player in history.

Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson has confirmed that Issa Kabore suffered a serious hamstring injury while on international duty with Burkina Faso. Kabore will now spend time with parent club Manchester City to have treatment, and Wrexham have been informed of how long they can realistically expect him to be out.

Carlo Ancelotti has explained why he ordered Estevao Willian to hand Brazil's second penalty to Lucas Paqueta in the draw against Tunisia, with the West Ham star's subsequent miss proving costly for the Selecao. The five-time world champions squandered a host of chances throughout the 90 minutes as they limped to a 1-1 draw against the African nation in their final international match of 2025.

It’s exactly twenty years since Ronaldinho's masterclass in El Clasico, where his two stunning solo goals helped Barcelona to a memorable 3-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Brazilian superstar's performance was so impressive that he even received a standing ovation from the Real Madrid faithful. Now, Marcus Rashford is leading the promotional material for the release of Barca's 2025-26 fourth kit to celebrate that momentous victory.

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has issued a concerning update on Arsenal star Kai Havertz. The German forward has not played for the Gunners since picking up a knee injury in a training session following their season opener against Manchester United. Havertz subsequently underwent surgery, but no firm return date has been set, and his recovery could take longer than expected after this new setback.

Ruben Amorim is reportedly set to call on Eric Cantona, David Beckham and four other Manchester United legends in a bid to take his squad rebuild to the next level. The Red Devils endured a nightmare 2024-25 campaign but have shown signs of improvement in the first half of the new season, and sit seventh in the Premier League table after winning three and drawing two of their last five matches.

Manchester City and Australia star Mary Fowler has revealed she and another team-mate were the victims of a vile racist prank after their final game for Montpellier. The incident, which occurred in 2020, came after other departing players had received flowers. Fowler, one of only a few players of colour on the squad, called the act "hard to laugh off" and questioned whether it was "just a simple error".

Curacao have become the smallest nation ever to reach the World Cup after a 0-0 draw with Jamaica in their final qualifying game. Curacao finished the third round qualifying stage at the top of Group B with 12 points from six games, one more than Jamaica. Ex-England boss Steve McClaren resigned from his post with Jamaica immediately after the final whistle. The other teams that sealed direct qualification from CONCACAF are Haiti and Panama.

There were emotional scenes at Hampden Park after Scotland secured their qualification for next year's World Cup and it was a particularly poignant moment for Andy Robertson, who took time after the match to pay tribute to late Liverpool team-mate Diogo Jota, who lost his life in a tragic car accident in Spain earlier this year.

We are now less than seven months out from the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with the group-stage draw set to take place in Washington DC on December 5. Forty-two participating nations are locked in, with four teams from the UEFA play-offs and two intercontinental winners set to complete the line up in March. All of the so-called elite countries will be there, from holders Argentina and arch-rivals Brazil, to Euro 2024 winners Spain and France.

Dominik Szoboszlai has denied taunting Ireland players after the Liverpool midfielder became embroiled in a social media storm following Hungary's World Cup qualifying loss against Heimir Hallgrimsson's side. Ireland dramatically clinched a 3-2 victory in the dying moments as Troy Parrott completed his hat-trick to help his nation secure a spot in the play-offs.

At an extravagant White House state dinner honouring Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), U.S. President Donald Trump announced the presence of football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Acknowledging his youngest son Barron's admiration for the Al-Nassr and Portugal striker, Trump joked that the meeting had increased his son’s respect for him. Ronaldo was joined at the black-tie event by his fiancée Georgina Rodriguez, and they both posed for a selfie with Elon Musk at one stage.

When the draw for the first ever league phase of the Women's Champions League was made back in September, there were a lot of ties that caught the eye. From the repeat of last year's semi-final between eventual champions Arsenal and eight-time winners Lyon, to the return of Mary Earps to Old Trafford as her current side, Paris Saint-Germain, faced former club Manchester United, it was a draw that certainly did not disappoint. But no fixture drew the attention quite like that which will take place on Thursday at Stamford Bridge, between Chelsea and Barcelona.

GOAL breaks down all the confirmed qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, plus the teams who could soon be on their way.

Arsenal have been named among the Premier League teams "reviewing their position" regarding a proposed salary cap that could be introduced to the competition and has been scheduled for a vote this week. But circumstances have changed for the Gunners after an executive at the Emirates Stadium who was in favour of the idea has left the club.