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Yamal's recovery progressing well, but starting him in the opener carries risk.

Barcelon

According to Cadena SER, Yamal's recovery is progressing well, and he aims to play in the opening match against Cape Verde.

This Thursday, the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada will kick off. However, the Spanish team will not have its debut until 0:00 on June 16th Beijing time (CEST), against Cape Verde. The biggest question before this FIFA World Cup is Yamal's current condition and when he will be able to represent the Spanish team at 100% in this summer's intercontinental tournament.

Yamal is currently in good condition and spirits, actively catching up, and has seen hope for his return. After several difficult weeks, the player from Rocafonda is very eager to participate in the FIFA World Cup. At the beginning of his injury, he was very anxious and worried that he would miss the tournament. The key was whether the ligaments were affected, and when he was told that there was no problem with the ligaments, he breathed a sigh of relief and began to recover with the goal of participating in this FIFA World Cup.

As revealed today by Cadena SER Catalonia's program "Què T'hi Jugues!", Barcelona and the Spanish team, Barcelona and the Royal Spanish Football Federation immediately began to cooperate, hoping to handle Yamal's injury as properly as possible. The Spanish team has a physiotherapist, Fernando Galán, who also works for Barcelona as an external consultant and collaborates with Yamal. Yamal is diligently recovering with him because he wants to play for a period in the first match. Starting him would be risky.

Barcelona is quite concerned about the risk of Yamal's recurrence and believes that letting him play for an extended period in the first match against Cape Verde is an unwarranted risk. However, Yamal's recovery is going smoothly, and he hopes to test his condition in the first match by playing for a short period; then play for a longer time in the second match; and reach 100% fitness by the third, decisive group stage match against Uruguay.

Spain's next match, the second round of the FIFA World Cup group stage, will be held at 0:00 on June 22nd Beijing time (CEST), against Saudi Arabia. Finally, the Spanish team coached by Luis de la Fuente will conclude the group stage at 8:00 on June 27th Beijing time (CEST) in Mexico against Uruguay.

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Spain

Luis de la Fuente

Yamal

FIFA World Cup

Atletico not selling Alvarez, Barcelona has not made official offer.

According to Marca, Atletico Madrid insists it will not sell Alvarez.

The topic of Alvarez potentially leaving Atletico Madrid continues to spark discussion, but journalist Roberto Gomez was clear in his stance on the show. He stated that Atletico Madrid's position on the future of the Argentine forward will not change.

The journalist claimed that the Real Madrid president directly contacted Cerezo, hoping to convey a proposal for the forward to Atletico Madrid. He said: "Between approximately 23:30 and 0:00 CEST, Real Madrid president Florentino contacted Atletico Madrid president Cerezo."

According to the information provided by Gomez, the Atletico Madrid president's response was very direct. He stated: "The Atletico Madrid president's attitude was firm and very clear. The player is still under contract, he will fulfill his contract with Atletico Madrid, we will not sell, nor will we enter into negotiations."

Gomez repeatedly emphasized the same point on the show: "Atletico Madrid will not sell Alvarez to Real Madrid, nor will they sell him to Barcelona." He also mentioned that the player's release clause is as high as 500 million euros.

Gomez also discussed Barcelona's situation. He stated that Barcelona has not made any official offers, and pointed out: "The official way to do it is what Florentino did yesterday." He emphasized that the Real Madrid president directly contacted Cerezo himself.

Regarding the future of the Argentine forward, Gomez admitted that he had heard rumors in the past few days that the player might be interested in leaving, but he clearly stated that Atletico Madrid's position would not change. He reiterated: "For Atletico Madrid, Alvarez will stay."

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Real Madrid

Barcelona

Atletico Madrid

Florentino Pérez Rodríguez

Alvarez

Dembele: I feel good; France's front three are working to build chemistry.

Paris Saint-Germain

France defeated Northern Ireland 3-1 in a warm-up match. After the game, Dembele spoke to TF1 about how the team adjusted their form and regained their rhythm through the warm-up fixtures. He said France performed well in the second warm-up match and that the team felt good overall.

Dembele said in a TF1 interview: "We had two warm-up matches to better prepare for the FIFA World Cup and regain our rhythm. We played very well in the second match and felt good overall. Now we can go to the United States."

I also feel good, and I am very satisfied with the team's offensive organization. The three of us up front will often switch positions and move more frequently from our original positions. Everyone is working hard to build better chemistry. We will work hard to prepare for the match against Senegal on June 16."

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Paris Saint-Germain

France

Dembele

FIFA World Cup

Neymar making 'good progress' on injury recovery.

Neymar's World Cup hopes have been boosted after a positive result from his MRI scan.

Having been named in Brazil's squad for the first time under Carlo Ancelotti for the World Cup, Neymar suffered another injury setback – a calf issue which sidelined him for two to three weeks.

Brazil's all-time top-scorer, who was optimistic about his chances of being fit to play, underwent an MRI scan on Monday to check his progress from the injury.

And it appears he could be in line to make an appearance at a fourth World Cup, with his results showing he is on track in his return to fitness.

"The exam showed good progress in his treatment, within expected parameters," the CBF said in a statement.

"He will continue the recovery and physical preparation process planned by the Brazilian National Team's medical staff."

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A post shared by Neymar Jr ()

Neymar has not played for Brazil since October 2023, when he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury against Uruguay.

He missed both of the Selecao's pre-tournament friendlies – wins over Panama and Egypt – but still faces a race to be fit for Brazil's opener against Morocco on June 13.

They will also face Haiti and Scotland in Group C.

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Santos

Neymar

Messi's minutes to be managed as Argentina aim to avoid 'risks'.

Lionel Messi is set to play in Argentina's final friendly match ahead of the World Cup, though Lionel Scaloni is wary of taking unnecessary risks with his fitness.

Messi suffered muscle fatigue in Inter Miami's last MLS match before the World Cup break and was forced off the pitch.

He was subsequently named in Argentina's squad for their title defence, though his time on the pitch in the build-up to the tournament has been carefully managed.

Messi was named as a substitute in their 2-0 win over Honduras, but never came off the bench, though Scaloni is ready to get him back on the pitch against Iceland on Tuesday.

"Messi will play, I just don't know how many minutes," Scaloni said in a news conference on Monday.

"I still need to talk to him in training, and we will see how many minutes he plays to avoid any type of risks. We will decide, but in principle, he will play.

"We're going to distribute the minutes of the players who will play to try to avoid any mishaps."

Messi was not Argentina's only injury concern heading into the World Cup, though they have received more fitness boosts.

Nico Paz, Nahuel Molina and Gonzalo Montiel are all available, having been training separately due to varying injuries, while Julian Alvarez and Leandro Paredes are also on the right track.

"Julian Alvarez is doing well; he has an ankle discomfort that's going away," Scaloni added.

"Lea Paredes is also coming along well. In the next few days, he'll be able to rejoin the group."

Scaloni is, however, still waiting to announce Leonardo Balerdi's replacement after he was ruled out of the tournament prior to their match against Honduras.

"We'll have a clearer picture after the match regarding his replacement," Scaloni said.

"We can cover Balerdi's position, but we are also looking at other options depending on how the rest of the injured players progress."

After facing Iceland, Argentina then begin their World Cup campaign against Algeria on June 16 before also facing Austria and Jordan in Group J.

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Boca Juniors

Atletico Madrid

Scaloni

Messi

Paredes

Inter Miami CF

Alvarez

The Sun: Tuchel ranks 4th in world cup coach charm list.

According to The Sun, Tuchel ranked fourth in a World Cup coach attractiveness list.

Tuchel might not be satisfied if England finishes fourth in this summer's World Cup; he also wouldn't be happy if they lost to Sweden in the third-place playoff. But he would undoubtedly be pleased to be rated as the fourth most attractive coach in the tournament.

Among the 48 coaches preparing to lead their teams to the United States, Mexico, and Canada, Tuchel was just one step away from the top three. However, the England coach was surpassed by another former Chelsea manager, Potter, who led Sweden to a World Cup spot through the play-offs.

A study by Live Football Tickets considered multiple factors, including the "golden ratio" (facial mathematical symmetry), as well as height, age, and coaching achievements, to give a "final attractiveness score" out of 10.

Although Tuchel has a "chiseled jawline," his facial symmetry was lower than some of his competitors. However, his height of 1.91 meters and a 75% win rate earned him 8.43 points.

This score was slightly lower than Potter, who succeeded him at Chelsea, and scored 8.51 points.

Australia coach Tony Popovic ranked second with a score of 8.99. At 1.93 meters, he is the tallest coach in this World Cup.

The top spot went to Algeria's 62-year-old coach Petkovic, who was described as a "heartthrob" with a score of 9.30. Petkovic's golden ratio is 62.25%, he is 1.88 meters tall, and has a coaching win rate of 74%.

Tuchel ranked higher than Fae (Côte d'Ivoire, 8.37 points), Lopetegui (Qatar, 8.32 points), and even Nagelsmann (Germany, 8.29 points).

The remaining spots in the top ten belonged to Koeman (Netherlands, 8.24 points), Murat Yakin (Switzerland, 8.23 points), and Christiansen (Panama, 7.89 points).

However, this is not good news for a former Manchester United manager. Austria coach Rangnick ranked 34th with 6.53 points.

Additionally, among other former Chelsea managers, Ancelotti (Brazil, 6.95 points, 27th) and Pochettino (USA, 6.67 points, 30th) were positioned on either side of Deschamps (France, 6.82 points, 28th) and Steve Clarke (Scotland, 6.68 points, 29th).

Former Leeds United duo Bielsa (Uruguay, 5.04 points) and Marsch (Canada, 4.94 points) ranked 44th and 45th respectively. Advocaat, returning to the Curaçao coaching role, ranked 39th with 5.92 points.

As for New Zealand coach Bazley, he ranked last at 48th with 4.31 points. At the World Cup, he might bring a stronger fighting spirit to prove that this list doesn't tell the whole story.

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Algeria
Australia
Côte d'Ivoire
England
Germany
Netherlands
Panama
Qatar
Sweden
Switzerland

OFFICIAL: Netherlands announce Jurriën Timber will miss the World Cup due to injury.

Arsenal

Jurriën Timber misses the 2026 World Cup.

The 24-year-old defender has not recovered sufficiently from a groin injury to take part in the World Cup in a medically responsible manner. In consultation with the medical staff, it has therefore been decided that Timber will leave the national team’s pre-camp in New York after the game against Uzbekistan.

Ronald Koeman has called up Lutsharel Geertruida (Sunderland) as Timber’s replacement. This brings the Netherlands squad at the base camp in Kansas back to 26 players.

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Arsenal

Netherlands

Timber
was overplayed by Arteta until he broke down. He should have rested him and trusted Mosquero or someone else until White was available. Arteta has got to rotate his team more,Zubimendi is knackered, Rice looks tired and MLS was available.Also why did we purchase Norgaard. Arteta plays players until they are knackered.

Origi announced his retirement: My purpose in the game is fulfilled

Divock Origi has announced his retirement on X.

Origi:
My purpose in the game is fulfilled ⭐️

I lived out my childhood dreams, played on the biggest stages, won the biggest trophies. Grateful to God for all of it.

To all my fans, the clubs, my teammates and my family: this will forever be ours. Thank you.

The mission is complete. Now I step into my next calling.

More of the journey to come.

Love,

Divock Origi

(End of the post)

Divock Origi's professional career started from Genk Youth. He moved to Lille and grew up as a striker there. The highlight of his career was during his Liverpool time. During his almost 7 years there, he had won trophies including one UCL champion, one FA Cup, one PL champion and one Carabao Cup. He appeared in 176 games for Liverpool, scored 41 goals and made 17 assists. Then he moved to AC Milan. His last team was Nottingham Forest until June 2024. He appeared 32 games for his national team Belgium, scored 3 goals and made 2 assists.

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Belgium

Liverpool

Nottingham Forest

Lille

Milan

Origi #

AS: Real Madrid demands UEFA strip Barcelona of all titles won during Negreira case

Real Madrid

According to Diario AS, Real Madrid has filed a complaint with UEFA regarding the Negreira case, demanding penalties for Barcelona and the revocation of all their titles from the relevant years.

During the Real Madrid elections, many names were mentioned as potential players to join Real Madrid. The day after the voting concluded, Florentino won with a clear 65-35 advantage. The reality is that Mourinho will soon be unveiled as the new head coach, Konate and Dumfries have both agreed to become Real Madrid players, and Nico Paz will return to the club that supported his development. On this basis, the next step is to rebuild and assemble the squad, but beyond that, there is an absolute reality: the name of the archenemy, which is Barcelona.

Florentino's actions in the weeks leading up to the vote and throughout the campaign were mostly aimed at pushing for an exemplary punishment for the Catalan club due to the Negreira case. His photo with Infantino and Ceferin a few days ago was no coincidence; besides garnering votes, he also hoped to find support for Real Madrid's ongoing sporting appeal.

The change in the script of Real Madrid's relationship with UEFA is part of a full understanding between the two parties on many key issues in European football, some of which involve business, and more involve the sporting aspect. This includes the integrity of the game and finding a legal framework that truly guarantees that sporting achievements dominate decision-making and the pursuit of championships.

The famous dossier, letter, or report that Real Madrid prepared in recent months has been sent to UEFA headquarters. UEFA is the only body authorized to penalize Barcelona for what Ceferin called in 2023 "the most serious case I have ever seen in football."

According to admissions from Valdebebas, in this reasoned complaint with clear evidence, Real Madrid is demanding more than just a penalty for Barcelona that would prevent them from participating in European competitions. Real Madrid's demand goes further: it hopes that the titles Barcelona won in those years will be removed from the historical record, so that the Blaugrana can no longer boast about these championships.

UEFA has never, at any point, closed this matter. Once the case entered judicial proceedings, UEFA was forced to temporarily set it aside, awaiting a ruling. UEFA has been monitoring the situation, and now it remains to be seen what stance UEFA will take in response to Real Madrid's sporting appeal.

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Real Madrid

Barcelona