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Tuchel unhappy at Toney’s commitment in 2025Head coach justifies not including Phil FodenThomas Tuchel made Ivan Toney the wildcard selection of his World Cup squad after holding clear-the-air talks with him over his attitude. The England head coach also considered how Harry Kane likes to play alongside Toney before making the Al-Ahli striker the most eye-catching inclusion of his 26-man party for the tournament.Tuchel’s squad announcement at Wembley was dominated as ever by the players he overlooked – chiefly Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Harry Maguire. Tuchel said Palmer had “just failed” to produce consistently this season, while he admitted he no longer knew Foden’s best position. Continue reading...

Upgrades for the grid’s leading team will be unveiled in Montreal, where wet weather could also play a partFour races into what has been a disjointed opening to the Formula One season, the sport is still in a period of rapid adaptation and adjustment as drivers and teams come to grips with their new cars. While this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix may offer some indication of the form to come and championship ambitions, it is also something of an outlier.The focus in Montreal will be of two-fold interest centred largely on Mercedes. The team have opened the new season with a dominant car that has claimed all four poles and all four wins. Yet with the new regulations offering enormous scope for improvement, a fierce development fight will define 2026. McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari all brought their first major upgrades to the last round in Miami; Mercedes bring their opening salvo of major parts to Quebec. Continue reading...

Football manager went from dressing like an overgrown schoolboy to relaxing the unwritten manager dress codeIn 2016, when Pep Guardiola took his place in the dugout for his first game in charge of Manchester City, the fashion plates in the Premier League included José Mourinho, in a quarter zip and mac at Manchester United and Arsène Wenger, dapper in his suit and unzippable puffer jacket at Arsenal.Guardiola, dressed like an overgrown schoolboy in V-neck, shirt, tie and blazer, didn’t seem as if he was going to be that much of a sartorial threat. But 10 years down the line, he is the undisputed champion of dugout style. Continue reading...

Year-long dispute led to French Open media protestNovak Djokovic chose not to participate in walkoutAryna Sabalenka insisted the player push for a greater financial contribution from the grand slams is primarily focused on improving the welfare of lower-ranked players as the world’s elite advanced with their eve-of-tournament protest at Roland Garros.“I feel like the whole point here, it’s not about me,” Sabalenka said. “It’s about the players who are lower in the ranking, who are suffering. It’s not easy to live in this tennis world with that percentage that we are earning. Continue reading...

British Horseracing Authority’s email sent to all trainers aims to reduce the risk of a shutdown, as happened in 2019The British Horseracing Authority has emailed all British trainers to underline the need for vigilance during a surge in equine flu, to prevent any possibility of a shutdown of racing, as reported cases of the disease rise in the general horse population.An outbreak of equine flu led to a six-day shutdown in February 2019, when a total of 23 meetings were cancelled. It was the most significant suspension of racing since the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in 2001, which forced the abandonment of more than 100 meetings including the Cheltenham Festival. Continue reading...

Home rider drops Leknessund before surging to winBettiol: ‘I knew every single corner in the last 50km’The Italian cyclist Alberto Bettiol attacked at the top of the final climb to ride solo to victory on stage 13 of the Giro d’Italia in Verbania on Friday, five years after his last stage win.Bettiol, who also soloed to win a stage in 2021, caught Andreas Leknessund as they reached the Ungiasca summit and left the Norwegian in his wake before powering away on the descent to the shore of Lake Maggiore. The Italian took a quick glance over his shoulder before raising his arms long before the line in celebration, and his girlfriend, Lisa Finetti, was there to hug him after the finish. Continue reading...

Scheme gets FA Women’s National League approvalFA to ratify move that has divided women’s gameA proposal to allow four academy sides from Women’s Super League clubs to join the third tier from 2027 has been approved by the FA Women’s National League board.The league’s management met FAWNL representatives on Friday and were told of the board’s backing. The plans will now be put to the Football Association for further discussion before the changes can be rubber stamped. A final decision is expected in July. Continue reading...

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The final day of the season pitches West Ham and Tottenham in a battle for survival with Spurs being safe if they secure a point against EvertonSunday 4pm Sky Sports Tennis Venue Amex Stadium Continue reading...

With temperatures in the mid-30s expected, Leo Cullen’s side will need to be at their best to avoid another sad denouement to a French dramaThere was a very different feel when Leinster last came to Bilbao for a Champions Cup final. In 2018 it was wet, grey and could have passed for Ballsbridge in March. Not so this time with temperatures in the mid-30s and another baking afternoon in store for their rendezvous with the warm – in every sense – favourites, Bordeaux-Bègles.When Leinster’s fair-skinned head coach, Leo Cullen, walked out for the captain’s run it was reminiscent of a David Attenborough documentary featuring a lone polar bear on a fast-melting iceberg. There will be no hiding place for heavy tight forwards, a factor exacerbated by the game kicking off in mid-afternoon. Apparently, an evening slot was impossible for French TV because of a clash with – wait for it – the closing ceremony of the Cannes film festival. Continue reading...