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Newcastle United v Liverpool - Premier League

Ekitike rewarded with late France call-up as Cherki withdraws

New Liverpool star Hugo Ekitike earned a late call-up to the France squad as he replaced the injured Rayan Cherki in the national team. Ekitike got off to a dream start to his Reds career as he scored two goals in his first couple of matches for the Reds in the Premier League. His efforts were duly recognised by Didier Deschamps and was included in the French side for their World Cup qualifiers.

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Mbappe's €180,000 payment to police officers defended as 'lawful'

Kylian Mbappe has unexpectedly found himself embroiled in legal scrutiny after it was revealed that he donated over €180,000 from his FIFA World Cup bonus to a group of police officers. The Real Madrid forward reportedly transferred the significant amount to five officers from France’s riot police unit who were assigned to protect the national team during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Frequently asked questions

The US Women's team play across the year, with various breaks in the domestic soccer calendar. This combines friendlies, qualification games and major tournaments, which are held every two and four years.

The two biggest tournaments the USWNT plays in are the FIFA Women's World Cup and the Olympic Games. Both are held in real prestige in the women's game, while the CONCACAF Women's Championship is the main continental tournament the side plays in.

The USWNT has long been one of the best teams in the world and often goes into competitions as the favorites. They've won the World Cup a total of four times, as well as picking up five Olympic Gold Medals. The team has also won the CONCACAF Women's Championship a staggering nine times.

There's an actual hall of fame regarding the USWNT, with many players having represented their country hundreds of times. Kristine Lilly is the most capped player, with a staggering 354 appearances to her name. Christine Sinclair is at second with 311. Two other players have picked up over 300 caps, Carli Lloyd (316) and Christie Pearce (311).

The fanbase for the USWNT are known as the American Outlaws (AO for short). They are the unofficial supporters group for both the women's and men's national teams.