John Stones says England building ‘something special’ after reaching World Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more John Stones says England’s World Cup qualification is sweet reward for getting through the tough times which left him contemplating retirement. Stones was part of Thomas Tuchel’s side which beat Latvia 5-0 on Tuesday to secure their place at next summer’s tournament in North America. The Manchester City defender recently revealed he thought about hanging up his boots after last season was decimated by injury. But he is through the other side of that nightmare and is targeting “something special”. Asked whether it helps get over his struggles, he said: “It definitely does. It’s hard for me to express it. “The personal satisfaction, joy, happiness of being here, of going through that tough period, I suppose that’s why you do it. “I have proved to myself that I can overcome anything, in tough times. “It makes it more satisfying and I’ll hopefully be on the plane to go next year and hopefully we can do something special.” England became the first European nation to qualify for the tournament after they made it six wins from six without conceding a goal. The last three games especially have seen Tuchel’s men click and Stones wants the upward trajectory to continue. “Just the manner we’ve done it in, I’ve only been here fully this camp, but was partially here last camp, and could see where it was going,” he said. “Six clean sheets, numerous goals, the fashion that we’ve done it in and the professionalism that’s been set. “How we have treated every game, and how we’ve performed in every game, it’s been getting better and better. We’ve got to keep building. “We’re not trying to make a statement. We’re trying to try to build and get better. “It’s a pleasure to be a part of, I’m extremely proud of the guys that have contributed over this period, it’s been really special.”
These 3 Kaizer Chiefs players may have to leave to play for Bafana
These Kaizer Chiefs players have some big decisions to make after Bafana Bafana booked their spot as one of the 48 teams set to compete at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Free Spins, Flights, and Bets on Betway South Africa booked their spot after beating Rwanda 3-0 on Tuesday evening to finish top of Group C. This result has ramifications for the current crop of Kaizer Chiefs players in the upcoming months. CHIEFS KEEPER WILL NEED TO LEAVE TO PLAY IN THE FWC Kaizer Chiefs’ squad members have struggled for national representation under current Bafana Bafana head coach, Hugo Broos. His recent squads for the all-important CAF qualifiers have often featured no Amakhosi players. In addition, several previously capped national players have fallen out of favour with Broos since joining the Glamour Boys. With next year’s World Cup just eight months away, a couple of Amakhosi players may well have to consider leaving Naturena in order to play more frequently for the national team. In goal, Bruce Bvuma has played second fiddle to Brandon Peterson in recent times. In fact, Rwandan goalkeeper, Fiacre Ntwari, was also used ahead of him at Kaizer Chiefs last season. Now, Peterson is the established first-choice shot-stopper at the Soweto giants. This suggests that Bvuma may need to find a new club if he hopes to represent South Africa going forward. AMAKHOSI MIDFIELDERS MUST CONSIDER THEIR OPTIONS Additionally, midfielders Nkosingiphile Ngcobo and Sibongiseni Mthethwa may also have to consider their options moving forward. Ngcobo has all the potential in the world and is a well-rounded player. However, he has fallen out of favour with the Amakhosi technical staff in the past season (during former coach Nasreddine Nabi’s tenure). He was linked with a possible loan move that did not materialise in the recent transfer window. Meanwhile, Mthethwa has gone from playing regularly for the national squad to not being called up to training camps since joining Kaizer Chiefs. In fairness, he did spend most of last season sidelined, suggesting he could play himself back into contention if he’s able to rediscover his peak form.
Faith at the core of Fiji Bati culture: Kativerata – FBC News
[Source: FNRL/Facebook] Faith remains the foundation of the Vodafone Fiji Bati side as they prepare for the Pacific Bowl Championship in Papua New Guinea. Head coach Wise Kativerata says maintaining spiritual discipline and humility has been key to building a stronger, more united team environment. Since taking over the role in 2023, he has worked to instill values that go beyond the field. Article continues after advertisement “For us, it’s important that we, as a group and as a team, always put God first in everything we do. Our devotion is to set the boys in the right place, right environment, and keep them humble.” Kativerata introduced a team motto, faith, family, footy, which he believes captures the spirit of the Fiji Bati both in competition and in life. He said everything within the team’s system ties back to faith, a principle that keeps the players grounded through the highs and lows of the game. “So everything always goes back to faith. We always try to put God first in everything we do. It keeps the boys humble, no matter what situation they go through in life.” The coach said he constantly reminds his players that perseverance and belief are just as important as talent and skill. Kativerata hopes that message continues to guide the team beyond the Pacific Bowl and into future tournaments. The Fiji Bati will begin their Pacific Bowl campaign against the Cook Islands this Saturday at 5pm in Papua New Guinea and it will air LIVE on FBC Sports. Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
Thomas Tuchel laughs off ‘sing when we want’ chants as England reach World Cup
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Thomas Tuchel took the taunts from England fans on the chin as his side booked their place at next summer’s World Cup. Harry Kane’s first-half double along with goals from Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze and a Maksims Tonisevs own goal earned a 5-0 victory over Latvia which guaranteed them a place at the tournament in North America. But Tuchel was on the receiving end of light-hearted chants from England’s travelling fans who were responding to the German’s criticism of the atmosphere during Thursday’s 3-0 friendly win over Wales. He was subject to taunts of “we sing when we want”, “are we loud enough for you?” and others while former England international Gary Neville was also on the receiving end following his recent comments about “middle-aged white men”. Tuchel said: “I got a bit of stick today, in the first half, pretty much in every song. “So fair enough. Well done. I take it and good humour, good sense of humour. “They had a reason today from my last comments and I guess that’s fair enough. I got a bit of stick and I found it quite creative. “It made me smile and this is how it has to be. It’s British humour and I surely can take it. No harm done. “It’s so important. They are here and I said the support in Serbia was brilliant, and we are very sure the support in America will be absolutely brilliant. “We need it. It makes such a difference if you go out as a player or as a coach and you see the fans behind the team and singing. “We want to make them proud, we want to make them happy. They should be happy to watch us and they should be able to identify with how we play. “We are on our way to build something and top performance from them.” Tuchel has done the first part of his job in getting England to the tournament and if they continue the upward trajectory of their last three matches, they will be contenders to win it. “We had in the group six matches. We won all six matches. We didn’t concede a goal,” said Tuchel. “It’s a very special moment today. I think we stepped up in the last two camps and it was another team effort.” Bayern Munich striker Kane led the way with two goals as he extended his red-hot start to the season to 21 goals in 13 games for club and country. The two in Riga, which took his international tally to 76, helped make England the first European team to qualify. “It’s a pleasure to have him. He’s in excellent shape, mentally, physically, in top form, top shape,” Tuchel said. “Apart from scoring another two goals, look at the goal in the 85th minute from Ebs, we have a ball loss and Harry goes all the way back to his own half and puts his head down in another sprint defensively. “As a captain, as the number nine. There’s no real need to do this. No one will ever blame him if he didn’t do it. “But he does it, and that sets the standards. That is so brilliant to see, because he helps us win the ball and this in the end results in the goal from Ebs. “Harry is ready to put in the intensity and the shift that is needed. “
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England have qualified for the World Cup but need to fix these issues to win it
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more So, England become the first European side to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, but the real wonder is whether that actually says anything more about their capability of finishing first next summer. Thomas Tuchel of course acknowledged that this was the expectation, but said it shouldn’t be completely taken for granted that it is a landmark achievement, even if this 5-0 in front of some trees in Riga wasn’t exactly Stockholm 1989 or Rome 1997. No bloodied bandages were required, as were seen with Terry Butcher and Paul Ince in those games. It instead couldn’t have been easier, as this thrashing of Latvia made it six wins from six with 18 goals and none conceded. Almost perfect. And that is something that has been more of an interest for Tuchel, as he has wanted England to qualify in a fashion befitting the expectations of them. So, after a relatively slow start, the German’s side have started to pick up some real speed – particularly in attack. There’s a growing coherence to the frontline, with the selected players complementing each other well. Morgan Rogers’s deftness is ideal for the runs of Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka, with a world-class scorer like Harry Kane looking like the best tactical fit in an England team for some time. open image in gallery Harry Kane scored twice against Latvia for the 75th and 76th goals of his international career (The FA via Getty Images) Gordon and the captain duly scored fine goals of different qualities, with Kane claiming his 77th and 78th for the country. Through all of that, there was a genuine symbolism and significance to England qualifying so early. When you cast an eye over the international game right now – and particularly this break’s results – they are arguably one of just seven sides who currently look capable of winning this World Cup. England are arguably fourth or fifth in a list headed by Spain, Argentina, France, maybe Portugal, and then possibly Netherlands and Brazil. It isn’t currently that intimidating. The field is certainly nothing like 1998 or 2002, when so many of the major nations had absolutely stacked squads. An irony of course is that the newly stacked calendar ensured many of those squads didn’t get to show that quality in an upset-laden 2002, and there may well be some echoes in this absurdly bloated 48-team tournament. open image in gallery Anthony Gordon impressed on the left wing to stake his claim for a starting place at the World Cup (Getty Images) England won’t be able to press in the way they’ve done in recent games in the heat of North America next summer, and that is one of a few issues that Tuchel is trying to wrestle with right now. Despite the perfect record, after all, it’s very far from true that England are a perfect team. Tuchel still has a lot to work out, not least the very psychological block that comes with being the major nation with the longest ongoing wait for an international trophy. Other than that, though, many of those same major nations would love to have Tuchel’s issues right now – not least Italy and his own German team. He is said to still be thinking about left-back, although Myles Lewis-Skelly seems to make that clearer with every performance. The only doubts are maybe over the teenager’s relative inexperience as regards tournament football, and his lack of game-time for Arsenal. Tuchel is also weighing up who plays in front of him at left-wing. He clearly wants real pace running off Kane, and it was conspicuous that Gordon marked his good performance with a goal in the same moment that the manager talks up Marcus Rashford potentially having a higher ceiling. England do have so many options in those positions around Kane, which stands in contrast to central defence and central midfield. So many of these games have ultimately been about England trying to work out how to “control” games when they don’t have a Martin Zubimendi. That does indirectly raise another issue. In order to win these matches and seal qualification, Tuchel has had to figure out how to beat low blocks, which won’t be the decisive challenge when it comes to sealing actual silverware. There’s still such an unknown there, until he gets to prepare for a proper tournament knockout against top opposition. All he can do right now is try to give himself options and put as many pieces as possible in place. Which of course brings us to the main issue for Tuchel, even if he would absolutely deny there is anything to talk about. That is the ongoing exclusion of Jude Bellingham, held up as his finest match-winner. open image in gallery Eberechi Eze proved how strong England’s squad depth is with a goal after coming off the bench (AP) Tuchel obviously won’t say it – and the exclusion of Phil Foden gives him a certain “cover” – but it’s hard not to see this as “political”, as the
Skipper & Marama Cup quarterfinal venues confirmed – FBC News
Churchill Park, Lautoka. [File Photo] Churchill Park in Lautoka and Lawaqa Park in Sigatoka will host this weekend’s 2025 Skipper Cup and Subrails Marama Cup quarter finals. In the Marama Cup, Namosi will face Nadi in the opening match at 9am, followed by Lautoka taking on Suva at 11am. Lautoka will then meet Tailevu at 1pm, before Suva and Nadi wrap up the day’s competition at Churchill Park at 3pm. Article continues after advertisement [Photo Credit: Fiji Sports Council] At Churchill Park Ground Three, Suva will take on Nadroga in the Under 20 grade at 11am, while Nadi meets Tailevu at 1pm at the same venue. Over at Lawaqa Park, Kadavu will meet Nadroga in the Marama Cup at 9am, followed by Naitasiri facing Nasinu at 11am. In the senior men’s division, Nadroga will go up against Malolo at 1pm, before Naitasiri meets Ba in the final match at 3pm. At Lawaqa Park Ground Two, the Under-20s competition will see Ba take on Macuata at 11am, followed by Naitasiri playing Vatukoula at 1pm. All matches from Lawaqa Park will be LIVE on FBC 2. Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.
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Heimir Hallgrimsson knows scale of World Cup task despite win over Armenia
Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Heimir Hallgrimsson admits the Republic of Ireland may need to do something special against Portugal next month if they are to make it to next summer’s World Cup finals. Ireland’s relief at a hard-fought 1-0 Group F victory over 10-man Armenia was tempered by the news of Hungary’s late equaliser which means they will have to at least deny Cristiano Ronaldo and company at the Aviva Stadium next month before targeting victory in Budapest three days later. Asked if the 2-2 draw in Lisbon had changed anything, Hallgrimsson said: “Not really, it doesn’t change anything. We always knew that we needed to go to Hungary and have a win there. “This looks like we need a point against Portugal, or Armenia to do us a favour in Yerevan. We all see that this Armenian team is no roll-over. There’s a big heart, there’s aggression and a spirit that is noticeable.” Evan Ferguson’s 70th-minute header – his fourth goal in five competitive games for his country – ultimately sealed a vital win at the Aviva Stadium which could, and perhaps should, have been more comfortable after Armenia skipper Tigran Barseghyan’s 52nd-minute dismissal for a headbutt on Finn Azaz. Ireland were largely passive and uninspired during a lukewarm first half but, aided and abetted by Barseghyan’s premature exit, forced their way across the finishing line to fulfil their head coach’s pre-match prophesy. Hallgrimsson said: “Listen, we said before this camp we would take a scrappy 1-0 win and it probably was kind of a scrappy 1-0 win, so we can’t be unhappy. “We’ve been complaining about the second game syndrome – we must be happy that we won the second game; we’ve been complaining about conceding early – we didn’t concede early, we didn’t concede at all, so we kept a clean sheet, that’s a good step. “We’ll take the positives and carry on to the next window. It’s just a new dawn, it’s a new day next window – this result today doesn’t matter at all. “We just needed the three points to be alive and have a chance, that’s number one, so we cannot be reading too much into that performance today. “It was always going to be a tough match for us – we needed to win – and again it’s going to be tough, just a different opponent, players playing higher quality next time.” Armenia boss Yegishe Melikyan admitted Barseghyan’s rush of blood had cost his side dear, but refused to condemn his indiscipline. Melikyan said: “Of course, the red card changed the game. It was a mistake. “He took responsibility. He said sorry to the whole dressing room. But, if a player makes a mistake, it is also my mistake and for that I apologise. “If there was no red card and we played 11 v 11, I think we could have got a good result. I thought we could have won, but we must go forward and I think we can get good results in the near future.”
Dirusolo named in Fijian Warriors squad to face Australia – FBC News
Savenaca Dirusolo. [Photo Credit: Kadavu Rugby Union] Kadavu fullback Savenaca Dirusolo has been named in the Fijian Warriors training camp ahead of their upcoming clash against Australia. The 22-year-old from Namalata, Tavuki is the only player from the Vanua Cup competition selected for the national camp. In a statement, the Kadavu Rugby Union says it is humbled by the achievement, adding that Dirusolo’s selection is a step forward in their mission to connect vanua rugby to the international stage. Article continues after advertisement Dirusolo is a product of the Kadavu Kaji Rugby pathway, having represented the province at U9 through to U12 levels, and was part of the Kadavu U20 side in 2024. He marched into camp this week with the Fijian Warriors as they prepare to take on Australia. The Union says Kadavu is proud to see one of its own wear the white jersey and wishes him well in this new journey. Stream the best of Fiji on VITI+. Anytime. Anywhere.