South African football news

A first win at a World Cup is the floor-level target for a team that still relies heavily on the ability of Mohamed Salah This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network , a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running…

• EGY

It was another season to remember for Lamine Yamal and Barcelona, along with Getafe, Rayo and one naughty fan Lamine Yamal wore the crown and flew the flag. With the last kick of the opening game of 2025-26, Barcelona’s new No 10 – the teenager handed the shirt Ladislao Kubala, Luis Suárez, Diego Maradona, Rivaldo,…

• BAR
• GET

While small pool of talent and elite clubs in women’s game makes switches between rivals inevitable, this move is contentious. But some reaction has gone too far The red neon lights flicker in the dark for a moment, then the room is blue, and there is Katie McCabe, a grin on her face and a Chelsea shirt on, her cont…

• CHE

We ask what the experience of playing at a World Cup is as Scotland are set to return.

• SCO

Talks continue over future of Celtic manager post as Hibernian midfielder is linked with West Ham.

• WES
• CEL

Since their first attempt in 1954 there's always been some kind of misfortune lurking in the shadows for Scotland at World Cups, writes Tom English.

• SCO

Chelsea's former record goalscorer Bobby Tambling - who netted 202 goals for the club - dies at the age of 84.

• CHE

It is possible that nobody alive today has watched more football than Marcelo Bielsa, the former Leeds United boss who will lead Uruguay at the World Cup.

• LEE
• URU

Lamine Yamal is a key figure in Spain's World Cup squad, but why is the 18-year-old quick to dismiss Messi comparisons?

• SPA

Manchester City have an opening transfer bid for midfielder Elliot Anderson rejected by Nottingham Forest.

• NOT
• MCI

Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate opens up on how the deaths of team-mate Diogo Jota and his father left him battling depression during his final season at the club.

• LIV

AC Milan rival Premier League sides for West Ham's Crysencio Summerville, Real Madrid to sign Inter's Denzel Dumfries and Newcastle target Nigerian teenager Zadok Yohanna.

• REA
• NEW
• WES
• INT

Bristol City forward Sinclair Armstrong leaves the Championship club in order to join Turkish side Goztepe for an undisclosed fee.

• BRI

BBC Sport look at all of the World Cup 2026 squads and answer some of the key questions.

Andoni Iraola is the new Liverpool head coach on a two-year contract - but what is the feeling around the city to his impending arrival?

• LIV

Will Liverpool-bound Andoni Iraola buck the trend of Premier League managers struggling after moving to a so-called 'big-six' club?

• LIV

Having stormed through African qualifying without conceding a goal, can Sabri Lamouchi lead the Eagles of Carthage out of the group stage for the first time? This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network , a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who q…

• TUN

BBC Sport explores whether spying is as regular an occurrence in Germany as Southampton boss Tonda Eckert claims.

• IPS
• GER

We all have a tendency to take the game far too seriously – this seven-a-side tournament provided the perfect antidote As much as it is tempting to romanticise about Bill Shankly’s most famous quote, he was wrong. Football is not more serious than life and death, and over the years far too many of us seem to have ta…

Three England fans discuss the failure of England’s Golden Generation.

• ENG

With a record 10 African sides in action at the 2026 World Cup, BBC Sport Africa picks out some of the players to watch from the continent.

• ARG
• SPA