Sports

‘I’m not a person who puts up with rudeness’: unpicking fantasy and reality with an Italian football ultra

I’ve met many hardcore, violent fans, but the hostage-negotiating, cocaine-smuggling, Marxist-Leninist Alessandro Casolari still stood out

Bleep tests, alcohol bans and Gazza: Italia 90 set the bar for England and sports science

Bobby Robson employed a head of human performance for the World Cup and, despite wariness, the players got on board

Iran twice come from behind to claim draw in World Cup opener with New Zealand

What, really, were the emotions flowing through the veins of Iran’s players as they took to the pitch in Los Angeles? A few hours earlier Donald Trump, in France before the G7 summit, said a peace deal had been signed. A penny for the thoughts, too, of the Fifa president up in the VIP seats, Gianni Infantino, who in effect admitted he was powerless to prevent Iran from the chaos that has overshadowed their participation.

US upbeat on Pulisic’s fitness ahead of Australia game: ‘Christian will be ready, relax’

Mauricio Pochettino has moved to allay concerns over Christian Pulisic’s fitness as the US prepare for their World Cup clash with Australia on Friday.

Australia won’t ‘baby’ players about social media use before USA World Cup clash

Assistant coach Hayden Foxe backs Socceroos to handle match hype

Araújo to the rescue as Uruguay deny Saudi Arabia another World Cup shock

Fifa’s embrace of rapacious American capitalism may have found its limits in Miami, one of the entertainment capitals of the world.

‘The best goalscorer in the world’: Erling Haaland primed for World Cup debut

Norway coach Solbakken backs striker to make impact

World Cup official cleared by Fifa and says gesture was ‘subconscious twitch’

Evans had been accused of white supremacist gesture

Leicester appoint Russell Martin as Wolves unveil César Peixoto as coach

Martin joins Leicester after relegation to League One

Cape Verde's Vozinha in tears as cost of visa stopped mother being at Spain draw

Keeper named player of the match against Euro winners

Lukaku makes instant impact to force own goal and rescue draw for Belgium against Egypt

For just over half of Egypt’s opening match against Belgium, it looked as though the Pharaohs had done enough for a famous first World Cup win. And then Rudi Garcia went to his bench and brought on the player Belgium have long relied on in thorny situations.

Saka says he is gambling on fitness but ‘ready to go’ for England’s date with Croatia

Tuchel warns forward’s fitness being carefully monitored