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England are the UEFA European U21 Championship winners for 2025 
Lee Carsley has done it again
Lee Carsley has done it again
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Contact the PP Team
International Football Discussion
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Ford to make 100th England appearance in Argentina opener
George Ford will become the seventh man to make 100 Test appearances for England when he starts at fly-half in the first Test against Argentina on Saturday.
Ford, 32, made his England debut against Wales in the 2014 Six Nations and was a key part of the side that reached the Rugby World Cup final in 2019.
Centre Seb Atkinson and wing Will Muir both win their first England caps, with uncapped Bath back row Guy Pepper on the bench.
Ford shares the captaincy with hooker Jamie George, with Northampton's Alex Coles partnering Charlie Ewels in the second row and flanker Sam Underhill making his Test comeback after missing the Six Nations with an ankle injury.
Ben Spencer is preferred to Jack van Poortvliet at scrum-half, while full-back Freddie Steward comes in for his first England appearance since February.
With 13 first-choice players missing on Lions duty, there is an inexperienced look to England's team - nine of the starting XV have fewer than 15 caps.
www.bbc.com
George Ford will become the seventh man to make 100 Test appearances for England when he starts at fly-half in the first Test against Argentina on Saturday.
Ford, 32, made his England debut against Wales in the 2014 Six Nations and was a key part of the side that reached the Rugby World Cup final in 2019.
Centre Seb Atkinson and wing Will Muir both win their first England caps, with uncapped Bath back row Guy Pepper on the bench.
Ford shares the captaincy with hooker Jamie George, with Northampton's Alex Coles partnering Charlie Ewels in the second row and flanker Sam Underhill making his Test comeback after missing the Six Nations with an ankle injury.
Ben Spencer is preferred to Jack van Poortvliet at scrum-half, while full-back Freddie Steward comes in for his first England appearance since February.
With 13 first-choice players missing on Lions duty, there is an inexperienced look to England's team - nine of the starting XV have fewer than 15 caps.
Argentina v England: George Ford to win 100th cap
George Ford will become the eighth man to make 100 Test appearances for England when he starts at fly-half in the first Test against Argentina on Saturday.
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Former Porto captain Costa dies aged 53
Former Porto captain Jorge Costa has died aged 53 after having a cardiac arrest at the club's training centre.
The defender led the Portuguese club to Champions League glory under manager Jose Mourinho in 2004 and won 50 caps for Portugal.
Costa spent a season on loan at Charlton in the Premier League in 2001-02 and retired from playing in 2006.
The centre-back moved into management and held positions at 16 clubs before taking up the role of Porto's director of professional football last season.
It is the third unexpected death of an former Porto player this summer following the tragic passing of former loanee Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in July, who spent six years at the club.
www.bbc.com
Former Porto captain Jorge Costa has died aged 53 after having a cardiac arrest at the club's training centre.
The defender led the Portuguese club to Champions League glory under manager Jose Mourinho in 2004 and won 50 caps for Portugal.
Costa spent a season on loan at Charlton in the Premier League in 2001-02 and retired from playing in 2006.
The centre-back moved into management and held positions at 16 clubs before taking up the role of Porto's director of professional football last season.
It is the third unexpected death of an former Porto player this summer following the tragic passing of former loanee Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in July, who spent six years at the club.
Jorge Costa: Porto's Champions League-winning captain dies aged 53
Former Porto captain Jorge Costa dies aged 53 after having a cardiac arrest at the club's training centre.
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Celtic blew the chance to reach the Champions League after an ignominious defeat in a penalty shootout away to Kairat Almaty as Brendan Rodgers' side failed to score a goal in 210 minutes.
Substitute Adam Idah missed the first spot-kick, and home keeper Temirlan Anarbekov capped a fine display with further saves to deny Luke McCowan and, tellingly, Daizen Maeda.
It sealed a 3-2 outcome on penalties to send the Khazak side into the Champions League proper for the first time in their history.
Maeda had earlier blasted a late 85th-minute shot over the bar that would have ended the agony endured over two legs, with a powerful McCowan strike well stopped in extra time too.
The build-up to the game was dominated by Celtic's listless showing in the first leg and lack of recruitment throught the summer, but the side did little to right that wrong for much of the second leg.
The first half saw Kasper Schmeichel and the offside flag deny Kairat in their fleeting ventures forward, while James Forrest's header was smartly tipped over the bar. Both sides struggled to show any signs of attacking impetus as the first half, mercifully, drew to a close.
Rodgers opted to keep the same XI that started the game for the second period as he looked for a response from the players trusted to get the job done.
Despite reinforcements now seeming likely, the squad still looked uninspiring and without of a matchwinner as the riches of the Champions League hung in the balance.
As the tie slipped into the latter stages, a looping back pass from Callum McGregor had to be punched clear twice by Schmeichel, giving Kairat an indirect free-kick on the six-yard line.
It was blasted off of Maeda, with the hosts screaming for a penalty, but referee Maurizio Mariani waved away their spot-kick appeals.
Five minutes from full-time the best chance of the tie presented itself to Maeda as he raced on to the end of a well-weighted McGregor through-ball, but the forward couldn't compose himself and blazed over the bar. The hearty band of Celtic supporters that made the trip were disconsolate.
Kairat tired as extra time started but Celtic still remained unable to find any sort of effective route to goal.
A sharp intake of breath followed McCowan's saved shot as they continued to probe but failed to avoid the tension and lottery of a penalty shootout.
Idah stepped up first and had his effort saved, with Engels and McGregor the only two to convert on a grim night in Almaty.
www.bbc.com
Substitute Adam Idah missed the first spot-kick, and home keeper Temirlan Anarbekov capped a fine display with further saves to deny Luke McCowan and, tellingly, Daizen Maeda.
It sealed a 3-2 outcome on penalties to send the Khazak side into the Champions League proper for the first time in their history.
Maeda had earlier blasted a late 85th-minute shot over the bar that would have ended the agony endured over two legs, with a powerful McCowan strike well stopped in extra time too.
The build-up to the game was dominated by Celtic's listless showing in the first leg and lack of recruitment throught the summer, but the side did little to right that wrong for much of the second leg.
The first half saw Kasper Schmeichel and the offside flag deny Kairat in their fleeting ventures forward, while James Forrest's header was smartly tipped over the bar. Both sides struggled to show any signs of attacking impetus as the first half, mercifully, drew to a close.
Rodgers opted to keep the same XI that started the game for the second period as he looked for a response from the players trusted to get the job done.
Despite reinforcements now seeming likely, the squad still looked uninspiring and without of a matchwinner as the riches of the Champions League hung in the balance.
As the tie slipped into the latter stages, a looping back pass from Callum McGregor had to be punched clear twice by Schmeichel, giving Kairat an indirect free-kick on the six-yard line.
It was blasted off of Maeda, with the hosts screaming for a penalty, but referee Maurizio Mariani waved away their spot-kick appeals.
Five minutes from full-time the best chance of the tie presented itself to Maeda as he raced on to the end of a well-weighted McGregor through-ball, but the forward couldn't compose himself and blazed over the bar. The hearty band of Celtic supporters that made the trip were disconsolate.
Kairat tired as extra time started but Celtic still remained unable to find any sort of effective route to goal.
A sharp intake of breath followed McCowan's saved shot as they continued to probe but failed to avoid the tension and lottery of a penalty shootout.
Idah stepped up first and had his effort saved, with Engels and McGregor the only two to convert on a grim night in Almaty.
Kairat Almaty 0-0 Celtic (Kairat win 3-2 on pens): Brendan Rodgers' side crash out of Champions League play-off
Celtic succumbed to an embarrassing shootout defeat to Kazakhstan's Kairat Almaty in the Champions League play-offs.
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Paqueta could sue FA after spot-fixing acquittal
West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta is considering suing the Football Association after he was cleared of spot-fixing.
Sources close to the 28-year-old have told BBC Sport that the player's lawyers are currently "considering all options".
The Brazilian was charged by the FA in May 2024 for allegedly getting booked deliberately for the "improper purpose of affecting the betting market".
Paqueta was cleared on four counts of supposed spot-fixing by an independent commission in July 2025.
Written reasons detailing the commission's findings were published on Wednesday, calling into question the FA's decision not to call in independent expertise on the key area of betting data.
Paqueta's legal team is now analysing the case and considering all options in response, including suing the FA.
The FA's investigation into Paqueta began in August 2023 - nine months before the Brazilian was eventually charged.
The announcement of the investigation led to the collapse of the Brazilian's £80m move to Manchester City.
The commission noted that both Paqueta and West Ham would have "received substantial sums running into the tens of millions of pounds" and that "both the player and West Ham reserve all of their rights in that regard".
The FA, which has confirmed it will not be appealing against the decision, has been contacted for comment.
How Paqueta cleared his name
A 314-page document prepared by Sports Resolutions - an independent and not-for-profit dispute resolution service - provided detail of the case.
A range of information - from former West Ham manager David Moyes' views on the yellow cards to conversations Paqueta's hairdresser mother Cristiane had in a salon back in Brazil - is covered by the commission's written findings.
The FA claimed 542 bets totalling £46,758.83 were staked by 253 different bettors with a collective return of £213,703.81, reflecting a net profit of £166,944.98.
However, the commission noted that the FA's case rested "entirely on circumstantial evidence" and the decision to tender evidence on the betting data from one of its own employees, betting integrity investigator Tom Astley, was an "oddity" and "an obvious flaw".
"In the commission's view, on what the FA has accepted was the most important element of its case, it simply did not call independent expert evidence," the commission said in the written findings.
"Instead, it relies on the evidence of its integrity investigator and asks the commission to accept that he has shown the impartiality that would have been expected of an independent expert."
In his evidence, Astley said the betting on Paqueta "appears highly orchestrated".
The commission said the FA's legal counsel subsequently disagreed with Astley's assessment and was "thus abandoning, without further explanation, its case on orchestration".
The FA said 27 of the 253 bettors could be linked to the player, but Paqueta maintained he only had a real relationship with five of the people.
He said he did not speak to the five regularly, and even then, rarely about football.
The commission concluded that an analysis of the betting data was not "illustrative of a spot-fix" and added it was "in many respects inconsistent with a spot-fix, but consistent with alternative explanations".
Nick de Marco, part of Paqueta's legal team, said: "I remain delighted for my client Lucas, cleared of all the serious charges of spot-fixing.
"The decision is understood to be the longest sports-related judgment ever issued in the world - a reflection of how serious the case was, the amount of evidence deployed in what was the biggest case in the FA's history."
'Within the normal range of actions'
Ex-West Ham manager Moyes, now in charge of Everton, and former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg gave evidence on Paqueta's behalf from a performance perspective.
Moyes said he had "re-watched the yellow card incidents closely" and "consider them to be entirely within the normal range of actions for this player".
Clattenburg disagreed with findings presented by Stats Perform Integrity Services (SPIS) in support of the FA's case, and felt two of the four yellow cards should not have been shown.
"Each challenge is comfortably within the sphere of things that happen multiple times every match, both individually and when taken in conjunction with each other," Clattenburg said.
The commission concluded there was "nothing in Paqueta's on-field conduct" which advanced the FA's case that he had deliberately sought to be booked in any of the four games.
The commission found the FA's inability to locate one item of data from either of the player's mobile phones that even mentioned betting or had any connection to one of the four games related to the charges was a significant point in favour of Paqueta's defence and indicated he was being truthful about his lack of interest in gambling.
The FA accepted it could not be proved Paqueta had deliberately deleted any messages or contacts.
More than 300 deleted messages were recovered, none of which had anything to do with spot-fixing.
The commission said this was "a salient reminder to the commission not to jump to conclusions and the dangers of drawing adverse inferences from events unknown".
BBC
West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta is considering suing the Football Association after he was cleared of spot-fixing.
Sources close to the 28-year-old have told BBC Sport that the player's lawyers are currently "considering all options".
The Brazilian was charged by the FA in May 2024 for allegedly getting booked deliberately for the "improper purpose of affecting the betting market".
Paqueta was cleared on four counts of supposed spot-fixing by an independent commission in July 2025.
Written reasons detailing the commission's findings were published on Wednesday, calling into question the FA's decision not to call in independent expertise on the key area of betting data.
Paqueta's legal team is now analysing the case and considering all options in response, including suing the FA.
The FA's investigation into Paqueta began in August 2023 - nine months before the Brazilian was eventually charged.
The announcement of the investigation led to the collapse of the Brazilian's £80m move to Manchester City.
The commission noted that both Paqueta and West Ham would have "received substantial sums running into the tens of millions of pounds" and that "both the player and West Ham reserve all of their rights in that regard".
The FA, which has confirmed it will not be appealing against the decision, has been contacted for comment.
How Paqueta cleared his name
A 314-page document prepared by Sports Resolutions - an independent and not-for-profit dispute resolution service - provided detail of the case.
A range of information - from former West Ham manager David Moyes' views on the yellow cards to conversations Paqueta's hairdresser mother Cristiane had in a salon back in Brazil - is covered by the commission's written findings.
The FA claimed 542 bets totalling £46,758.83 were staked by 253 different bettors with a collective return of £213,703.81, reflecting a net profit of £166,944.98.
However, the commission noted that the FA's case rested "entirely on circumstantial evidence" and the decision to tender evidence on the betting data from one of its own employees, betting integrity investigator Tom Astley, was an "oddity" and "an obvious flaw".
"In the commission's view, on what the FA has accepted was the most important element of its case, it simply did not call independent expert evidence," the commission said in the written findings.
"Instead, it relies on the evidence of its integrity investigator and asks the commission to accept that he has shown the impartiality that would have been expected of an independent expert."
In his evidence, Astley said the betting on Paqueta "appears highly orchestrated".
The commission said the FA's legal counsel subsequently disagreed with Astley's assessment and was "thus abandoning, without further explanation, its case on orchestration".
The FA said 27 of the 253 bettors could be linked to the player, but Paqueta maintained he only had a real relationship with five of the people.
He said he did not speak to the five regularly, and even then, rarely about football.
The commission concluded that an analysis of the betting data was not "illustrative of a spot-fix" and added it was "in many respects inconsistent with a spot-fix, but consistent with alternative explanations".
Nick de Marco, part of Paqueta's legal team, said: "I remain delighted for my client Lucas, cleared of all the serious charges of spot-fixing.
"The decision is understood to be the longest sports-related judgment ever issued in the world - a reflection of how serious the case was, the amount of evidence deployed in what was the biggest case in the FA's history."
'Within the normal range of actions'
Ex-West Ham manager Moyes, now in charge of Everton, and former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg gave evidence on Paqueta's behalf from a performance perspective.
Moyes said he had "re-watched the yellow card incidents closely" and "consider them to be entirely within the normal range of actions for this player".
Clattenburg disagreed with findings presented by Stats Perform Integrity Services (SPIS) in support of the FA's case, and felt two of the four yellow cards should not have been shown.
"Each challenge is comfortably within the sphere of things that happen multiple times every match, both individually and when taken in conjunction with each other," Clattenburg said.
The commission concluded there was "nothing in Paqueta's on-field conduct" which advanced the FA's case that he had deliberately sought to be booked in any of the four games.
The commission found the FA's inability to locate one item of data from either of the player's mobile phones that even mentioned betting or had any connection to one of the four games related to the charges was a significant point in favour of Paqueta's defence and indicated he was being truthful about his lack of interest in gambling.
The FA accepted it could not be proved Paqueta had deliberately deleted any messages or contacts.
More than 300 deleted messages were recovered, none of which had anything to do with spot-fixing.
The commission said this was "a salient reminder to the commission not to jump to conclusions and the dangers of drawing adverse inferences from events unknown".
BBC
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Another club turned down by Zinédine Zidane
Free since his departure from Real Madrid in 2021, Zinédine Zidane has once again said no to a club.
While waiting to take over from Didier Deschamps as head coach of the French national team, Zinédine Zidane remains without a team. Several clubs even tried to sign ZZ this summer.
According to information from FotoMaç, the former number 10 of Les Bleus was on Fenerbahçe's shortlist to succeed José Mourinho, who was dismissed a few days ago. But Zidane turned down the offer, as he continues to wait for the Tricolores. Since then, the Turkish club has set its sights on Domenico Tedesco.
foot-africa.com
Free since his departure from Real Madrid in 2021, Zinédine Zidane has once again said no to a club.
While waiting to take over from Didier Deschamps as head coach of the French national team, Zinédine Zidane remains without a team. Several clubs even tried to sign ZZ this summer.
According to information from FotoMaç, the former number 10 of Les Bleus was on Fenerbahçe's shortlist to succeed José Mourinho, who was dismissed a few days ago. But Zidane turned down the offer, as he continues to wait for the Tricolores. Since then, the Turkish club has set its sights on Domenico Tedesco.
Another club turned down by Zinédine Zidane
Free since his departure from Real Madrid in 2021, Zinédine Zidane has once again said no to a club.While waiting to take over from Didier Deschamps as head coach of the French national team, Zinédine
foot-africa.com
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