But as Sindre Walle Egeli and his family reached the turnstiles, the cruelest of realities dawned. It was the pathway to Premier League football Walle Egeli had craved; Ipswich, despite stern competition, had landed one of the most sought-after prospects in Europe. View image in fullscreen Sindre Walle Egeli, celebrating after scoring for Norway Under-21s last year, has one senior cap. Walle Egeli scored a six-minute hat-trick for the under-17s and made his senior debut against Kazakhstan last September at a younger age than Haaland achieved. View image in fullscreen Sindre Walle Egeli feels Ipswich, who play Wrexham on Saturday, are ‘starting to really get into the flow’.

A new draft text on the outcome of the Cop30 climate talks has been published that contains no mention of a phase-out of fossil fuels, despite countries supporting such action having threatened to block any agreement without it. An option to start the process of drawing up a potential roadmap for the “transition away from fossil fuels” was included in the first draft of a potential outcome from the two weeks of talks, published on Tuesday. But early on Friday morning, a “mutirão” text was published by the presidency which contained no mention of the roadmap, and no mention of the term “fossil fuels”. It reads: “We cannot support an outcome that does not include a roadmap for implementing a just, orderly, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. Some started to draw up proposals for a forum in which all countries could take part, to discuss a possible roadmap for the transition.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said his country was facing 'one of the most difficult moments in our history' after being presented with a 28-point peace plan drafted by the US, which pressed Kyiv to end its war with Russia and concede territory. In a 10-minute address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine was facing the pressure of having to choose between accepting the plan or losing a key partner, the US, and dealing with 'an extremely difficult winter' ahead

The Liberal Democrats are forcing a vote in parliament on creating a new customs union to put pressure on Labour MPs to take a more pro-EU stance. However, the Lib Dems are hoping to demonstrate support among pro-EU MPs for the idea of a new customs union. View image in fullscreen The Lib Dems’ bill will be voted on two weeks after the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, publishes her budget. “A customs union with the EU is the single biggest lever this government could pull to turbocharge the UK economy. Keir Starmer’s government has repeatedly said it does not want to join a customs union with the EU, saying it was a red line.

When the new deal was publicly announced, the Nauruan president posted an interview online, explaining the arrangement to his country. That version has never been disputed by either the Australian or Nauruan governments. Responding to a demand from the Australian Senate, the government refused to release the translation it acknowledges it holds. This is an alarming level of secrecy, but not a novel position when it comes to Australia’s tenacious offshore policy. If Australia’s offshore processing regime is as uncontroversial as the government insists, why is nobody allowed to see it, to interrogate it?

Unknown gunmen have abducted 215 schoolchildren and 12 teachers from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, the second mass abduction in the country in a week. The incident in the early hours of Friday is the third documented mass school abduction in the state in the last decade. In the last attack in Niger state, in May 2021, 135 pupils were abducted from an Islamic seminary, six of whom died while being held. On Monday, gunmen stormed a girls’ boarding school in neighbouring Kebbi state, abducting 25 schoolgirls and killing the vice-principal. Trump has since said that US forces could go “guns-a-blazing” into Nigeria if the country fails to protect its Christian population.

David Field, who this month became head of the world’s zoo industry group, said of zoos that treat animals badly: “It makes me feel desperate. Keeping wild animals solely for entertainment purposes was socially acceptable some decades ago, but there are now far more concerns for their welfare and the conservation objectives of their captivity. As the new president of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Field hopes he will be in a position to address some of that. Speaking to the Guardian exclusively, he said: “There are many zoos in this country and certainly abroad that I would like to see closed. A recent report found numerous welfare breaches in UK zoos, including animals kept outside in poor weather without access to shelter.

A gold Rolex desk clock and a $130,000 engraved gold bar given to Donald Trump by a group of Swiss billionaires have raised questions in Europe and the US about the personalisation of US presidential power. Lisa Mazzone, the president of the Green party in Switzerland said the gifts appeared to show Trump’s “corrupt logic had poisoned the Swiss elite”. View image in fullscreen President Donald Trump speaks while signing the bill package to open the federal government in the Oval Office. The gold bar, emblazoned with the numbers 45 and 47 to honour Trump’s first and second presidency were given by Marwan Shakarchi, the head of the Swiss gold refining company MKS. They added that presidents might decide to personally retain or buy some of the gifts received but they could be taxed.

If so, this will bitterly disappoint those calling for stronger language on fossil fuels and the need to limit global temperatures. Instead, he complained there was only weakness and a clear breach of last year’s agreement on climate finance goals. The pact to double adaptation finance by 2025 made at Cop26 in Glasgow has not been met. If so, this will bitterly disappoint those calling for stronger language on fossil fuels and the need to limit global temperatures. We will continue to push for a strong agreement that includes the phase out of fossil fuels and tripling ambition on climate adaptation.

Pope Leo has reiterated his disapproval of Donald Trump’s immigration policies, saying foreigners in the US are being treated in an “extremely disrespectful way”. Leo, who was elected in May after the death of Pope Francis, has in recent weeks adopted an increasingly strong tone in his criticism of Trump’s immigration policies. In September, he called the US’s treatment of immigrants “inhuman” and in October he questioned whether Trump’s policies were in line with the Catholic church’s teachings. On that occasion, he was also speaking from Castel Gandolfo, to which he usually retreats on Monday afternoons and Tuesdays. The Chicago-born pontiff revived papal holidays in Castel Gandolfo this summer after the tradition was interrupted by Pope Francis, who preferred to spend his time off at a Vatican guesthouse.

“England qualified for the World Cup in perfect style, winning all eight games without conceding a goal,” writes Charlie Wilson. “How many teams have done this?”This isn’t the first time England have qualified for a World Cup without conceding a goal. We think England are the first men’s team from Europe to achieve this particular definition of World Cup perfection. Possibly the most spectacular performance came from Germany Women before the 1995 World Cup, a campaign that doubled up as qualification for Euro 95. Oddly, three of the four men’s teams went on to lose their first game at the World Cup proper.

“But what I really, really appreciate from the team, the roster, and all the staff is the way we start to connect together. By posting a series of confidence and momentum-building results, punctuated by a head-turning one, the co-hosts will enter a World Cup year in a much better place than they might have imagined at the close of 2024. That was, I think, when the reality touched.”Yet dispiriting friendly losses to Turkey and Switzerland in early June made things look desperately bleak for the World Cup. “I felt like we had a group of guys [at the Gold Cup] that really connected on a deeper level,” Berhalter told TNT on Tuesday. Guys have each other’s backs.”Around this time, the USMNT finally and fully became Pochettino’s team.

The surrealism continued with the post-match celebrations: even Steve Clarke was seen to crack a grin and bust some moves. A dour Scotsman in whose direction other dour Scotsmen unsmilingly tip their tam-o’-shanters, the gaffer has scarcely demonstrated such outright ebullience. “I know the age I’m at this is my last chance of a World Cup and I couldn’t get my mate Diogo Jota out of my head today. We spoke so much together about this World Cup.” Wherever he might be, Robbo’s much-missed friend and former teammate almost certainly won’t be alone in hoping the Scotland skipper does the tournament they both dreamed of proud. As a keen footballer, I joined the local amateur team AS Montbeliard to keep fit, train and play for the season.

But when the whistle blew, no protocol could change the fact that the climate itself has changed. I walked away with the realisation that the game I love, the game that’s given me everything, is already being shaped by the changing climate. This isn’t something that’s happening in the future. If we don’t adapt, the world’s most accessible sport becomes a privilege, not a right. Investing in adaptation isn’t a distraction from tackling the causes of climate change – it’s how we protect people while we do it.

Sarina Wiegman has defended promoting Hannah Hampton to be England’s first-choice goalkeeper ahead of Mary Earps, saying she makes “decisions to win”, after Earps criticised the head coach’s move in her autobiography. “We had a very good goalkeeper unit and the two goalkeepers were competing for the No 1 spot,” Wiegman said. Quick Guide England squad Show Goalkeepers: Sophie Baggaley (Brighton), Khiara Keating (Manchester City), Anna Moorhouse (Orlando Pride). Midfielders: Laura Blindkilde Brown (Manchester City), Grace Clinton (Manchester City), Missy Bo Kearns (Aston Villa), Lucia Kendall (Aston Villa), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Chelsea). Forwards: Aggie Beever-Jones (Chelsea), Freya Godfrey (London City Lionesses), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Chloe Kelly (Arsenal), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Jess Park (Manchester United), Alessia Russo (Arsenal).