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Last month, when Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman was asked if there was concern that her contract situation could prove to be a distraction for England ahead of the 2027 Women's World Cup, she was pretty bullish in her answer. "There is no distraction whatsoever," she responded. "Everyone is really focused on this qualification. I haven't heard anyone in my team or staff that has been occupied with that."

Twenty minutes - that's all Jeremie Frimpong needed to show Liverpool what they'd been missing in Saturday's Premier League clash with West Ham. The Reds were already 4-2 up when the Dutchman replaced Joe Gomez at right-back, but the game wasn't over. On the contrary, Valentin Castellanos had just pulled a goal back for the relegation-threatened visitors, who were causing Liverpool's defence all sorts of problems.

This is Legacy, GOAL’s feature and podcast series to mark the countdown to the 2026 World Cup. Each week, we explore the stories and the spirit behind the nations that define the world’s game. This week, we revisit one of international football’s most dramatic sagas: the rise, fall, and rebirth of Les Bleus. From Zinedine Zidane's headbutt in Berlin to Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick in Doha, France’s World Cup journey between 2006 and 2022 is a tale of collapse and resurrection; the story of a nation that turned shame into strength, and forged an identity where resilience became its greatest art.

Real Madrid lost for the second game in a row and were lacking in the final third in a 1-0 defeat to lowly Getafe. With Kylian Mbappe sidelined due to a knee injury, Los Blancos looked void of ideas. They conceded a remarkable goal in the first half, and didn't create enough in the second to deserve any more than a disappointing home defeat to a scrappy Getafe side.

Matchday 2 of MLS brought a signature comeback win for Inter Miami, and a continuation of form for the Red Bulls. But it might be time to worry about Atlanta.

When Roy Keane claimed in January that Michael Carrick should not get the Manchester United job permanently even if he wins every game until the end of the season, it was easy to think that the hypothetical scenario he painted would never be tested. But the man who inherited the famous No.16 shirt from the polemical Irishman at Old Trafford and thus unwillingly became his sworn enemy is holding Keane to his word.

Chelsea have plenty of issues to solve, but perhaps the most glaring right now is their lack of discipline. The lack of experienced heads within the youngest squad in the Premier League has been pointed to on a number of occasions during the BlueCo era, but nowhere is it more glaring than when it comes keeping a full compliment of players on the pitch at Stamford Bridge.

GOAL runs the rule over the British players earning a living away from their homeland, with plenty more stars deciding to leave their comfort zones in search of a better footballing life elsewhere. The Premier League is still obviously one of the world's most entertaining divisions and the Championship can prove fantastic for development, but there are more options out there.

The Women's Asian Cup began on March 1, kickstarting a month that was set to see two of the major tournaments in the women's game take place, with the Africa Cup of Nations to follow on March 17. Recent reports suggest the latter is, incredibly, set to be cancelled at the last minute, but the impact the Asian Cup will have on the continuing club competitions should still be fascinating, as teams across the women's game say goodbye to some of their best players for a few weeks.

Arsenal restored their five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the Premier League with a tense 2-1 victory over 10-man Chelsea on Sunday. The Gunners scored all three goals at the Emirates from set-pieces, with William Saliba and Jurrien Timber netting either side of Piero Hincapie deflecting a Reece James corner into his own net.

In a match defined by cheap shots and chaos, Jaedyn Shaw scored, Claudia Dickey delivered, and Lindsey Heaps kept the USWNT steady.

With their backs against the wall, the defending MLS Cup champions responded in a big way.

The USWNT opened up their SheBelieves tournament with a scrappy but effective victory over Argentina at GEODIS Stadium.

GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including some big goals from strikers

There's just no stopping Set-piece FC! Arsenal performed poorly in Sunday's crucial Premier League clash with Chelsea at the Emirates, but still managed to eke out a vital 2-1 victory over the 10-man Blues that moves them five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

Chelsea suffered their first Premier League defeat of the Liam Rosenior era as they went down 2-1 at Arsenal on Sunday. The Blues were undone by two Gunners set-pieces, and despite causing problems from dead balls themselves, most notably when Piero Hincapie put the ball into his own net, they were unable to make their chances count before Pedro Neto's red card ended their hopes of taking anything away from north London.

Manchester United came from behind to secure a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace on Sunday that lifts them to third place in the Premier League table. The Red Devils were not at their best for much of the afternoon, but benefitted from a Maxence Lacroix red card to turn the game around in the second half through goals from Bruno Fernandes and the in-form Benjamin Sesko.