Pochettino’s first full USMNT year started shakily. It ends with real World Cup hope
“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.
Source:The Guardian
November 19, 2025 17:18 UTC
Scotland bathes in undiluted bliss as ‘worldies’ and superheroes end World Cup wait
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.
Source:The Guardian
November 19, 2025 17:14 UTC
Beth Mead: ‘If we don’t adapt to climate change, football becomes a privilege, not a right‘
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.
Source:The Guardian
November 19, 2025 16:31 UTC
‘I make decisions to win’: Wiegman defends her handling of Earps and Hampton
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).
Source:The Guardian
November 18, 2025 23:31 UTC
Nigeria left to blame ‘voodoo’ after dramatic playoff defeat by DR Congo
But the Super Eagles will not be returning to North American soil for next summer’s tournament – and they are not blaming their shooting boots. After a fraught and dramatic continental playoff final on Sunday, where Nigeria were eliminated by DR Congo on penalties, the Super Eagles manager, Éric Chelle, said that his team had been defeated by “voodoo”. He then accused DR Congo of “doing maraboutage” – a term used colloquially to describe acts of magic or bewitchment. Photograph: Jalal Morchidi/EPAThe loss ends a disjointed two-year qualifying campaign for the Super Eagles, which left them to sneak into the continental playoffs on goal difference. DR Congo grew in confidence, dominating possession and pressing hard, with Fiston Mayele having two efforts disallowed for fouls in a frantic period of extra time.
Source:The Guardian
November 18, 2025 23:29 UTC
Nestlé accused of ’risking health of babies for profit’ over added sugar in cereals sold in African countries
Nestlé is still adding sugar to most baby cereals sold across Africa, according to an investigation by campaigners who have accused the company of “putting the health of African babies at risk for profit”. Nestlé described the investigation, from Public Eye, a Swiss group that calls itself a global justice organisation, as “misleading”. The laboratory found added sugar in more than 90% of baby cereals, with an average of 6g, or one-and-a-half teaspoons, per serving. Most products without added sugar were imported, they said, and had originally been intended for sale in Europe, apart from two variants recently launched in South Africa. We do not have double standards when it comes to early childhood nutrition.”In the past year, Nestlé has introduced 14 Cerelac variants with no added sugar in India, and Diby said it was accelerating the rollout of no added sugar varieties in African countries.
Source:The Guardian
November 18, 2025 23:27 UTC
FTSE 100 in biggest drop since April as stock market sell-off continues – as it happened
The blue-chip FTSE 100 share index has closed down 123 points, or 1.27%, at 9552 points, its lowest closing point since 22 October. Here’s our news story about today’s market sell-off: Crypto market sheds more than $1tn in six weeks amid fears of tech bubble Read more Goodnight! The blue-chip FTSE 100 share index has closed down 123 points, or 1.27%, at 9552 points, its lowest closing point since 22 October. Here’s our news story about today’s market sell-off: Crypto market sheds more than $1tn in six weeks amid fears of tech bubble Read more Goodnight! As the session draws towards a close, the UK’s FTSE 100 share index is now down 153 points, or 1.6%, at 9,521 points.
Source:The Guardian
November 18, 2025 22:53 UTC
Crest Nicholson plans job cuts and warns on profits, blaming budget uncertainty
The housebuilder Crest Nicholson has warned of job cuts and worse than expected profits after a summer of “subdued” sales amid uncertainty around the possible property taxes in the budget. Anthony Codling, a housing analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said budget uncertainty had “wiped out the autumn selling season, a critical period for Crest with an October year-end”. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com to send you this newsletter. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy . We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Source:The Guardian
November 18, 2025 21:19 UTC
Viktor Orbán begins ‘anti-war roadshow’ as Hungary gears up for 2026 elections
Hungary’s prime minister has kicked off a weeks-long “anti-war roadshow”, turning criticism of European support for Ukraine into an early campaign message before next year’s elections. Orbán has positioned himself as the voice of reason against what he says is a failed EU-led campaign to arm Ukraine. Last month, Orbán led a “peace march” in which he told thousands in the crowd that Hungary was “the only country in Europe standing up for peace”. after newsletter promotionShe fled to Hungary at the start of the invasion, and learned the language, but said she received anti-Ukrainian comments. Orbán still holds an advantage on foreign policy, especially on peace and migration.
Source:The Guardian
November 15, 2025 14:35 UTC
Ruthless Shiffrin storms to record 102nd win as Olympic slalom season begins
American Mikaela Shiffrin laid down a marker for the Olympic season ahead by obliterating her rivals to easily win the opening Alpine Ski World Cup slalom race on Saturday. Albanian Lara Colturi was second on her 19th birthday while fellow youngster Emma Aicher of Germany was third for the first World Cup slalom podium of her career. View image in fullscreen Mikaela Shiffrin in action during the Alpine Ski World Cup slalom on Saturday at Levi, Finland. Italian-born Albanian Colturi looks one of those capable of challenging Shiffrin after two impressive runs, even if she will have to wait a while longer for her first World Cup win. Ljutic had to settle for sixth place while slalom world champion Rast was a disappointing 15th.
Source:The Guardian
November 15, 2025 14:32 UTC
AfD hails US ban on European leftwing groups as historians fear crackdown on anti-fascists
But historians of anti-fascism warned that at a time when far-right groups were making electoral gains across the continent, the move set a dangerous precedent that could prepare the ground for a broader crackdown on leftwing activism. “The others are revolutionary groups,” he said. “This shows how the Trump administration is trying to lump all revolutionary and radical groups together under the label ‘antifa’. By establishing the (alleged) existence of foreign antifa groups, the Trump administration seems to be setting the stage for declaring American antifa groups (and all that they deem to be ‘antifa’) to be affiliated with these supposed foreign terrorist groups.”View image in fullscreen Supporters of AfD take part in a campaign rally in Berlin in February. Photograph: Christian Mang/ReutersThe antifa movement emerged in Germany in the 1920s.
Source:The Guardian
November 14, 2025 23:16 UTC
Trump accused of caving to big business after deal to cut Swiss tariffs to 15%
Donald Trump agreed to cut US tariffs on Switzerland from 39% to 15% as part of a new trade pact, lowering duties that strained economic ties and hit Swiss exporters. Leading Swiss executives met Trump at the White House earlier this month. Trump was gifted a golden table clock by Rolex, which was later spotted on his desk in the Oval Office. The Trump administration agreed to limit US tariffs on Switzerland and Liechtenstein “to a maximum of 15%” under the deal, according to a statement from the Swiss government. This brings US tariffs on Switzerland in line with those on the European Union – allowing Swiss exporters the same treatment as rivals in neighboring countries.
Source:The Guardian
November 14, 2025 23:16 UTC
Graham Potter poised to restore Sweden’s spirit and aim for World Cup
From one angle, that is just what the Sweden job resembles for Potter. They are bottom of their group with a single point but four games from a return to the World Cup finals. Sweden need three points, and a favour from Slovenia against Kosovo, to keep alive the race for second and a potentially crucial place among the playoff seeds. View image in fullscreen Sweden head coach Graham Potter has a number of fantastic talents such as Alexander Isak (left) at his disposal. Perhaps going back to what they know, 4-4-2 or otherwise, will help Potter and the nation he has grown to love.
Source:The Guardian
November 14, 2025 21:34 UTC
Outsiders sense Chess World Cup glory after host of big names make early exits
An early cull of the favourites at the Chess World Cup in Goa has resulted in 15 of the top 20 seeds heading for home early. The effect on the eight-man Candidates tournament, to be played in Cyprus in March-April 2026, is that at least one of its three qualifiers from the World Cup will be an unfamiliar name. View image in fullscreen 3998 Aryan Tari (Norway) v Pranav Venkatesh (India), World Cup, Goa 2025. Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (India) was knocked out of the World Cup by Dubov on Thursday, but leads the 2025 Fide circuit rankings and is almost sure of that place. The final three Candidates spots will be decided by the World Cup final and third-place match.
Source:The Guardian
November 14, 2025 08:08 UTC
After the glory of Euro 2025, what happened next for Switzerland?
According to Switzerland’s football association, their Women’s Super League has enjoyed a 62% increase in attendances this season, with an average attendance of 787. While that does not compare with the huge spike England’s Women’s Super League had after Euro 2022 – an average attendance increase of 172% the following season – it is still encouraging. Grasshopper, currently second in the Swiss WSL, had an average attendance of 300 last season; that is up to 450 for this campaign. Thun, bottom of the Swiss WSL, have more than doubled their average attendance, from 156 to 326. View image in fullscreen Switzerland fans declare their commitment to the national team at Euro 2025.
Source:The Guardian
November 13, 2025 14:51 UTC