It’s fair to say that Thomas Tuchel has ruffled a few feathers with his England squad for this summer’s World Cup.

There was no room for Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White or Cole Palmer. Or the Manchester United defensive pairing of Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw.

Instead, the England manager has turned to the likes of Ivan Toney, Noni Madueke and Tino Livramento as the Euro 2024 runners-up look to go one better in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

A breakdown of the squad per league minutes played shows that much of England’s starting spine will arrive into the tournament with plenty of miles on the clock — with Jordan Pickford, Marc Guehi, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers and Harry Kane having played 75 per cent or more of the 2025-26 season.

There is an interesting mix of experience in the squad. Six players have more than 50 caps for England but there are also 10 players who have 10 caps or fewer. The blend is two groups at either end of the scale, with no player in the squad boasting between 30 and 40 caps.

Arsenal and Manchester City bring the most players to the squad (four each) — Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Madueke from the Premier League champions, and an interesting mix of City players — from likely starters (Guehi and Nico O’Reilly) to expected squad players (John Stones and James Trafford). Interestingly, Stones and Trafford have just 631 league minutes between them this season.

Three Aston Villa players and three Newcastle players prop up the squad, with 12 other clubs represented by a single player.

Our data and tactics writers analyse the 26 players that Tuchel did pick for the tournament — and what each of them will offer England at the World Cup…

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The goalkeepers (3)

Jordan Pickford (Everton)

Whatever your opinion on Jordan Pickford might be in an Everton shirt, no one can argue that England’s No 1 has always delivered for his country.

Pickford’s distribution has long been discussed as his main strength in the England goalkeeper debate but his shot-stopping has been excellent this season — making crucial saves and preventing four goals above expectation, based on the quality of shots faced.

Arriving at a major international tournament in good form is important for any player, but there is a heightened responsibility on your starting goalkeeper to instil calmness and trust across the team. Pickford will offer you that.

Mark Carey

Dean Henderson (Nottingham Forest)

Only Pickford (13.8) and Emiliano Martinez (11.3) have prevented more non-penalty goals in the Premier League since 2023-24 than Dean Henderson’s 7.8. In three seasons at Selhurst Park, he has developed into a reliable presence in goal and his personality, similar to Pickford, attracts fans and critics.

Henderson’s remit in possession within Palace’s direct system has been straightforward, with 61 per cent of his league passes in 2025-26 going long. If needed by Tuchel, though, his distribution will be tested. 

Anantaajith Raghuraman

James Trafford (Manchester City)

Barring a significant injury to Jordan Pickford, James Trafford will understand his role as a back-up goalkeeper in this squad — as he has done for his club this season. 

The 23-year-old did manage to start in two cup finals for Manchester City, but things have not quite gone to plan in 2025-26, with just three league starts to speak of since making the move from Burnley last summer.

Trafford does have experience of success internationally, with an integral role played in England’s under-21 victory in the 2023 European Championships — saving a last-minute penalty against Spain in the final.

Mark Carey

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The defenders (9)

Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa)

England are not overspilling with options at centre-back but Ezri Konsa is a reliable squad option. He is one of only 10 players to clock more than 3,000 Premier League minutes this season, while his passing accuracy of 95.5 per cent is the highest of anyone in the division.

As a defender, he is passive, preferring to hang back and sweep while a more front-footed partner challenges and scraps up ahead. When he is called upon, however, he rarely fouls and wins a high proportion of his duels.

No thrills, but fewer spills; he will be a dependable presence around England’s most uncertain area of the pitch.

Thom Harris

Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City)

Nico O’Reilly has evolved into one of Manchester City’s players of the season. 

A versatile operator who has played attacking and central midfield and at left-back, he can navigate tight spaces with both his ball-carrying and neat short passing. O’Reilly offers plenty of off-the-ball running too, especially on the underlap, and has picked up some great positions in the final third to score nine goals and assist six more across competitions, as seen below.

As with his in-possession play, both his physique and technique stand out without the ball too. O’Reilly’s 5.9 ‘true’ interceptions (which includes interceptions and blocked passes) per 1000 opposition touches ranks fifth among full-backs with 900 or more Premier League minutes. 

Anantaajith Raghuraman

Marc Guehi (Manchester City)

Having adapted pretty seamlessly since his January move to Manchester City, Marc Guehi is arguably England’s first-choice centre-back.

He moves the ball nicely through the lines with zipped passes on both feet, carries the ball confidently out from the back, and is comfortable defending in wide areas when he’s dragged out of position.

Though we haven’t seen it much at City, Guehi is also a threat from set pieces, having taken more shots than any other Premier League centre-back this season. He has largely played on the left, but certainly has the skill set to shift to the other side to accommodate potential centre-back partners.

His experience, incisive distribution and versatility will all be called upon this summer.

Thom Harris

John Stones (Manchester City)

On his day, John Stones is the unflappable, quietly dominant centre-back who makes winning teams tick. It is testament to that ability that Pep Guardiola made him his first signing at Manchester City ago, and that the pair will leave the club together 10 years on.

The problem is that we don’t know how close to his best the 31-year-old currently is.

It has been a tough season for the Manchester City man, his game time dwindling amid persistent injuries and stern competition for starts. He has featured in just 11 per cent of possible minutes in the Premier League this season, largely consigned to cup games and Champions League group stage outings where, to be fair, he looked like his composed self.

Stones’ ability on the ball will assist England’s build-up while his experience and trophy-winning know-how will bring a calming influence on the group. Hopefully his fitness holds up.

Thom Harris

Dan Burn (Newcastle United)

You know what you’re going to get with Dan Burn. 

Maximum commitment, no-nonsense defending and a strong aerial presence. Aside from his profile offering something different within an international set-up, Burn will be well-regarded for his versatility to play centre-back or left-back — as he has done for his club side this season.

He might not be at the forefront of Tuchel’s mind when looking at the starting line-up but Burn will be a valuable squad member that could prove to be a very useful tool in both boxes if England were protecting — or searching for — a lead when the game is tight.

Mark Carey

Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur)

If it were raw, technical qualities that Tuchel was looking for at full-back, then Trent Alexander-Arnold would be a guaranteed selection — but Djed Spence’s inclusion shows what England’s manager is prioritising in his squad.

The 25-year-old is decent in possession but his key strengths are his ball-carrying, overlapping (or underlapping) runs beyond the ball, and one-v-one defending. In testing conditions in the United States, that athleticism is clearly regarded as a more important attribute.

Despite his preferred role at right-back, Spence has played a lot of this season at left-back for Tottenham Hotspur. That makes him one of many players in the squad who can play in multiple positions when Tuchel looks to curate his back line.

Mark Carey

Tino Livramento (Newcastle United)

Tino Livramento is an excellent addition to the squad for multiple reasons. 

The first is his energy to get up and down the touchline and dovetail well with his winger ahead of him, overlapping in the final third but swiftly getting back into position when the ball is turned over. He has the technical qualities to go with that but his raw athleticism will be valuable under the searing heat in the United States.

The second reason is his versatility. Livramento can play left or right-back, providing Tuchel with two options for the price of one when considering who can play in his back line. This will be the 23-year-old’s first senior tournament, but he knows what it takes to win with England after winning the under-21 European Championship last summer.

Mark Carey

Reece James (Chelsea)

Where there was once huge competition to play right-back for England, the retirements of Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker, and the eternal question about whether Trent Alexander-Arnold fits into the England side, leave Reece James as the obvious option in that position. His own England career has been somewhat disjointed: he played once at Euro 2020 but missed both World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024 through injury.

Fitness has always been the main question about James. The secondary question is now whether he’s still a right-back. He played his best football this season in central midfield for Chelsea, although has returned to his old right-back role in recent weeks. 

James boasts great speed and crossing ability, and he’s improved in one-against-one situations compared to when he played under Tuchel at club level. He’s also an excellent set-piece taker and scored a fine free kick in the 3-0 qualification win over Latvia.

Michael Cox

Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen)

You would be forgiven for ignoring Jarell Quansah’s progress since his move to Germany last summer, but the 23-year-old has been a mainstay of Bayer Leverkusen’s back line this season — helping them to the third-best defensive record in the Bundesliga.

Quansah’s character is composed and unassuming, with a calmness to his game that will rarely see him overawed in possession. He is one of many players in the squad who provides versatility for Tuchel, with an ability to play as a centre-back or right-back in England’s back line.

He only has one senior cap but Quansah is representative of England’s wider youth system — having played at under-16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 level for his country.

Mark Carey

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The midfielders (6)

Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest)

If you buy the official World Cup 2026 sticker album, you won’t find any place for Elliot Anderson, who only made his England debut in September.

But with the exception of when Tuchel played two entirely different starting XIs in the March international break, he hasn’t been out of the head coach’s starting line-up since, and is likely to play in the engine room alongside Declan Rice.

Like many emerging English central midfielders, Anderson is a No 8 who can do a bit of everything. He’s tenacious and energetic, but intelligent with his passing and clever at popping up in dangerous positions on the edge of the box. One recent goal against his old team Newcastle, where he played a give-and-go before smashing the ball home, was somewhat reminiscent of Paul Gascoigne. 

Michael Cox

Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United)

After being frozen out by former boss Ruben Amorim, Mainoo has regained his fitness and form for Manchester United.

As shown below, the 21-year-old can accelerate an attack — drifting into the left half-space when United go forward, with an eye for a pass between the lines to find his creative team-mates ahead of him.

A lot has changed since Mainoo started in England’s Euro 2024 final defeat to Spain but his skill set remains the same. Anderson might have the edge for a starting place next to Rice in midfield but Mainoo will make that decision very difficult for Tuchel.

Mark Carey

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)

Though Jude Bellingham has struggled to live up to his debut season at Real Madrid, when he scored 19 goals and provided a further six assists, he still offers incredible athleticism and duel-winning strength in midfield. 

The 22-year-old is box-to-box and all-action, comfortable both driving his team up the pitch with long-strided runs or ghosting into the penalty area himself. That is reflected by his player role dashboard below, the only midfielder of such a profile in the England squad.

Two years ago in Germany, it was his sensational bicycle kick against Slovakia that kept England in the European Championship before their run to the final. They simply cannot leave a player of his energy, intensity and match-winning ability at home.

Thom Harris

Jordan Henderson (Brentford)

England’s most experienced player, having made his debut back in 2010 under Fabio Capello. Since then, he’s moved from Sunderland to Liverpool, captained them to European Cup and Premier League success, controversially moved to Saudi Arabia, then moved to the Netherlands to captain Ajax, before joining Brentford last summer.

Essentially seen as a solid, reliable and dependable midfielder and a proper leader away from the pitch, Henderson’s selection won’t be popular, but managers consistently appreciate his presence in the squad. He was left out for Euro 2024 after being unable to prove his fitness, but has made himself a regular in Tuchel’s squad. He turns 36 the day before England’s opener against Croatia, so this will surely be his final tournament at international level.

Michael Cox

Declan Rice (Arsenal)

Rice has only grown in stature since his £100million ($130.9m) move to Arsenal; an imperious all-round midfielder who gallops across the pitch to put out fires and spur his team on.

Perhaps his standout attribute is an ability to run with the ball through the middle of the pitch. No central midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues has completed more carries of at least 10 metres this season, a trait that allows him to change the pace of attacks and drive at weaknesses in the opposition.

He deals with possession well, even if he is not a natural at receiving the ball in tight spaces, while his athleticism and sturdy physique allow him to dominate vast areas of the pitch.

Rice has played almost 94 per cent of Arsenal’s minutes in the Premier League and the Champions League this season, both competitions that they could go on to win. He will be just as central for England.

Thom Harris

Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

Nipping in to slide home Aston Villa’s final goal in the 3-0 Europa League final win over Freiburg was a fitting way for Morgan Rogers to finish a 2025-26 campaign in which he briefly felt like the in-form player in the Premier League.

Granted, he started the season slowly and fatigue probably played a role towards the end of the campaign but, at his best, Rogers seemed to be scoring long-range curlers almost every week.

Tuchel has long seemed a fan of Rogers, often favouring him in the No 10 role ahead of Jude Bellingham — the two grew up together in the West Midlands and have a friendly rivalry for that spot. But Rogers is able to play in a variety of positions and actually often looked better for Villa this season when drifting infield from the left. 

Michael Cox

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Forwards (8)

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)

When Bukayo Saka missed the decisive penalty as England lost the Euro 2020 final on home soil, he was a young, emerging talent.

Since then, he’s had two separate eras of his career. He bounced back from that disappointment to enjoy three hugely consistent seasons for Arsenal, recording 18, 25 and 25 goal contributions. But that figure has fallen to 16 and 12 in the last couple of seasons, amid fatigue and injury issues.

But managers like Saka, in part because he’s more defensively diligent than most wingers and his tactical flexibility means he can fill in as something of a wing-back at times. In attack, Saka is excellent at nipping inside from the right flank to receive forward passes on the run, and loves attempting low shots from inside-right positions on the edge of the box.

Michael Cox

Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)

Few players thrive more than Eberechi Eze when given the creative freedom to unlock a defence.

Some head coaches might want their players to fit within a rigid structure but the 27-year-old is at his best when given licence to roam. A mid-season dip in form saw Eze come out of the Arsenal side but he was crucial in their march to the title in the final weeks of the season. 

With an ability to glide past an opponent, thread a pass forward, or thump a shot from distance, Eze can bring unpredictability to Tuchel’s squad. That might mean that he is not a regular starter but the quality he can bring from the bench is not to be underestimated.

Mark Carey

Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, on loan from Manchester United)

“He is explosive, fast, strong in the air, so for him there are no limits,” Tuchel said about Rashford in October 2025, having brought him back into the squad in March 2025 after a year away.

Those qualities were on show in 2025-26. Rashford’s season at Barcelona brought two winners’ medals and 23 goal contributions across La Liga and the Champions League, including a memorable free kick against Real Madrid this month, all while playing across the front line.

Concerns about Rashford have been spurned chances and an inability to maintain his output with and without the ball for 90 minutes when compared to Raphinha, the man he covered for.

Rashford provides experience, having played at the last two World Cups. His short bursts of pace will prove handy on the break and against the low blocks England might encounter, while he showed better defensive engagement overall during his season in Catalonia.

Anantaajith Raghuraman

Noni Madueke (Arsenal)

Noni Madueke’s modus operandi is his dribbling. Only six Premier League players (with 900-plus minutes) average more take-ons than his six per 90 minutes this season, as he consistently looks to commit bodies towards him.

Beyond that drop of a shoulder, Madueke would be the first to say that his end product still needs to improve. His versatility to play on either wing will come in handy, but this season’s two league goals and a single assist for Arsenal are not attacking numbers that leap off the page.

The 24-year-old can offer a valuable skill set to the squad, with his dribbling ability likely to be desired against tired legs off the bench. However, Madueke will not be expecting to start ahead of his club team-mate Bukayo Saka on the right of England’s attack. 

Mark Carey

Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)

A return of six league goals will be a disappointment for Anthony Gordon but the 25-year-old did thrive on the European stage with 10 goals in 12 Champions League games for Newcastle. The hope will be that he provides output closer to the latter than the former this summer.

At his best, Gordon’s relentless energy can be a key weapon in and out of possession — pressing relentlessly, dribbling frequently, and consistently offering runs beyond the opposition defence. That could prove to be particularly useful in England’s set-up, with Kane likely to drop deeper and look for team-mates ahead of him.

While he might not have had the strongest campaign individually, Gordon could be a crucial cog in Tuchel’s wider system. 

Mark Carey

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich)

Harry Kane is undoubtedly England’s star man and is coming off the back of an incredible Bundesliga season for Bayern Munich after scoring 36 league goals at a rate of 1.4 per 90 minutes — comfortably the best of his career.

England’s all-time top goalscorer has carried a lot of the attacking burden in recent years. Kane scored eight of his country’s 20 goals during qualifying and has scored 34 per cent of their total goals in their last four major tournaments.

He will be a marked man for much of the tournament, but the 32-year-old’s ability to evade defenders and intelligently drop into pockets of space is one of his key strengths. In hot, testing conditions in the United States, he will need runners ahead of him to pick out — providing him with the freedom to punish opponents with his creativity as well as his elite finishing.

Thom Harris

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Ollie Watkins provided one of the best moments in the recent history of the England national side with his excellent winner on the spin against the Netherlands at Euro 2024. At that tournament, he was the main understudy to Kane, offering the speed in behind that England’s captain looked unable to provide.

He’s only scored two further England goals since then and his club form with Aston Villa has been patchy, even in a season which ended with Europa League success. But he’s hit double figures in each of his six seasons with Villa and can work the channels excellently.

Ultimately, Tuchel has selected the three strikers Gareth Southgate picked at Euro 2024: Kane, Toney, Watkins.

Michael Cox

Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli)

The biggest surprise name among the attackers, Toney was unfortunate to miss out on the World Cup 2022 squad after a good run of form, but had a decent impact at Euro 2024 as a substitute, assisting Kane’s late equaliser against Slovakia with a flick-on.

In the quarter-finals, he was brought on primarily to take a penalty and converted in England’s shootout win over Switzerland. His record of 59 from 63 from the spot might be a key reason for his inclusion.

Equally, Toney has spent the last two years playing in Saudi Arabia, so it is remarkable he’s been selected over the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Welbeck, considering they’ve had such fine seasons in the Premier League. He has, at least, scored 72 goals since joining Al-Ahli in 2024.

Michael Cox

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Hello! The king’s ransom paid off. Cristiano Ronaldo has cracked the Saudi Pro League.

Coming up:

🏆 Ronaldo’s first Saudi title
👀 Tuchel causes England stir

🕵️ Damning Spygate findings

📲 MLS broadcast… on an iPhone

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CR7 heaven: Ronaldo scores twice as he finally clinches first Saudi title 

In the final reckoning, where will the Saudi Pro League rank in Cristiano Ronaldo’s haul of honours? This, after all, is a man who has won prestigious domestic championships in England, Spain and Italy; a forward with five Champions Leagues to his name, five Ballon d’Ors, and the rest.

Perhaps more damaging to his ego was the thought of not winning a Saudi title; of unexpectedly finding that a hitherto minor football league was impervious to his powers. But no danger because last night, Ronaldo got his medal. Al Nassr are SPL champions. It only took three and a half seasons, and somewhere close to a billion dollars.

As much as anybody can when we’re talking about so much money, Ronaldo has had to earn it. His third full year in Saudi has been a soap opera, and Al Nassr’s title was on the line until the last half-hour of their final match against Damac. They blew a previous chance to wrap it up when their goalkeeper fumbled in a 98th-minute own goal, and they’ve navigated plenty of politics, the worst of it Ronaldo sitting out of two games in an apparent huff about Al Nassr’s transfers.

But cometh the hour, and all that. With 63 minutes played yesterday and Al Nassr leading 2-1, Ronaldo put the result beyond doubt with a free kick from a tight angle (above). Nine minutes from the end, he banged in another goal for good measure. When the moment came, he was front and centre, exactly where he likes to be.

The championship is his first in any country since Juventus edged Serie A with him in 2020. Few of his titles have required more persistence or come at a greater financial cost. It’s not a fairytale of our time, but it is job done.

Saudi vs MLS

Al Hilal are Saudi’s dominant team, and Al Nassr’s title is only their second in a decade. From the perspective of the club, topping the division mattered to them, and it wasn’t too much to ask that their huge outlay on Ronaldo (along with a splurge on other recognised European players) delivered that.

From a national point of view, however, the simple fact of Ronaldo’s presence in Saudi was enough in itself. Not everybody is delighted by it — there was sniping from rivals’ players this season, some of whom complained that refereeing decisions were helping Ronaldo and Al Nassr to grab that elusive SPL crown — but awareness of the league went stratospheric because of him.

One point worth making about the SPL is its ability to attract elite footballers who are somewhere near their prime. Whereas Major League Soccer continues to operate as something of a retirement home for Thomas Muller, James Rodriguez and their ilk, more peak-age players are drawn to Saudi (in no small part because of the cash on offer, let’s be real). It isn’t a case of a 41-year-old Ronaldo flying the flag alone.

Which isn’t to say the SPL is necessarily much cop either, but it has seeped into the sport’s global consciousness. To put that another way, if Ronaldo wasn’t there, you wouldn’t be reading about Al Nassr’s title in TAFC this morning. And that, in the end, was the whole point of the enterprise.

📇 With neat timing, a one-of-a-kind Ronaldo trading card has just sold for $1.35m (£1m). The previous record for a CR7 collectible was $312,000. Safe to say he isn’t going out of fashion.

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News round-up

• Apple TV is to broadcast this weekend’s MLS meeting between LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo… using solely an iPhone. It’s the first time this has been done in any major setting, and I’m intrigued to see what the experience is like.
• Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner set nerves jangling in the States by saying Chris Richards had torn two ligaments in his left ankle, but sources close to the USMNT defender insist he’ll be fit for the World Cup.
• As predicted, Manuel Neuer is back in the Germany squad two years after retiring from the international scene. Not only that, he’s going to be Julian Nagelsmann’s first choice at the 2026 finals. Evergreen (and that’s not just his shirt).
• The UK normally sends a stack of police officers to the World Cup, to aid security. This time, it’s sending only three. Host nations tend to foot the bill, but the United States administration doesn’t want to pay.
• Tottenham Hotspur full-back Djed Spence suffered a broken jaw after taking an arm in the face from Liam Delap during their midweek defeat to Chelsea. He’s soldiering on, though, and he’ll play in Spurs’ crucial last-day match against Everton on Sunday. He’s also off to the World Cup with England…

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England exiles: Foden, Palmer and Maguire left out of World Cup squad

England head coach Thomas Tuchel revealed his World Cup squad this morning. That might surprise you. If you were following the news feeds yesterday, you’d think it had been announced already.

In drip-drip style, decision after decision seeped out yesterday. Or rather, word began leaking about a litany of players who had not been selected. Manchester United’s Harry Maguire was one, and he wasted no time telling UK radio station talkSPORT that he was “shocked and gutted” (getting ahead of the story like this is a tacit admission that you’re absolutely seething).

There were other big omissions too: Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Morgan Gibbs-White. Ivan Toney — now with Saudi’s Al Ahli — made the cut, however, along with Kobbie Mainoo, Noni Madueke and Aston Villa’s Europa League-winning attackers, Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers. Oh, and veteran Jordan Henderson, soon to turn 36, has himself a berth as well.

Tuchel, as you can see, isn’t pandering to public sentiment (though none of us could pretend that Palmer or Foden have shown any sort of form for their clubs this season). He’s gone out on a limb, and he’s following his own mind, as he’s entitled to do. All I would say, given the historical scrutiny on England bosses, is that his key calls need to pay off handsomely. People in these parts keep receipts.

📲 England squad LIVE blog is here and our writers’ analysis of the picks is here.

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‘Deplorable’ spying: Southampton’s Eckert authorised plan to film Middlesbrough training

The longer the Championship’s Spygate saga goes on, the worse it looks for Southampton. They’ve been booted out of tomorrow’s play-off final. They lost their appeal against that sanction outright. And now their head coach, Tonda Eckert, is seeing his reputation trashed.

The EFL has published the written reasons for Southampton’s play-off expulsion, brought on by them admitting to filming opponents training on three occasions, in breach of EFL rules. The contents of the judgement are damning for Eckert and unsurprisingly, the club’s owner was in town yesterday to enquire as to what the hell is going on.

Eckert, a 33-year-old German who took charge at St Mary’s a year ago, was said to have personally authorised a “contrived and determined plan” to spy on other teams. It was described as a “deplorable approach”. His use of junior staff, including intern analyst Will Salt who Middlesbrough caught filming them earlier this month, was “morally wrong”, the findings said.

There was little in the way of mitigation, and there’s nothing but poison for Southampton to swallow. It’s a meltdown of epic proportions, and while this is merely my opinion, I can’t be alone in reaching the following conclusion: Eckert has to go.

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Around TAFC

• Ahead of what we’re certain will be Pep Guardiola’s swansong at Manchester City, Michael Cox looked back on his reign. His analysis is spot on: Pep built three fantastic teams. He couldn’t quite build a fourth.
• There’s an equally good round-table here, trying to guess what Guardiola does next. I’d predict one of three things: Major League Soccer, the Saudi Pro League or an international job.
• The Athletic’s subscribers have the chance to win our Premier League predictions league this weekend. Much as I’ve no desire to see a six-year-old in tears, bring it home, people.
• The USMNT’s Brenden Aaronson has had a strong campaign with Leeds United. He’s also become a pet project of renowned performance coach Tareq Azim. Tom Bogert spoke with both of them.
• Aston Villa went on the lash with the Europa League trophy in hand (who can blame them?). Jacob Tanswell and Eduardo Tansley went with them. I’ll check in on the pair of them later.
• Most clicked in Thursday’s TAFC: Prince William at the disco (there’s a song title in that).

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Catch a match

Selected games (times ET/UK)

Friday: Serie A: Fiorentina vs Atalanta, 2.45pm/7.45pm — Paramount+, DAZN/DAZN; Coupe de France final: Lens vs Nice, 3pm/8pm — Fox, Fubo (U.S. only).

Saturday: Championship play-off final: Hull City vs Middlesbrough, 10.30am/3.30pm — Paramount+/Sky Sports; UEFA Women’s Champions League final: Barcelona vs OL Lyonnes, 12pm/5pm — ESPN, Paramount+/BBC, Disney+; German DFB Pokal final: Bayern Munich vs Stuttgart, 2pm/7pm — ESPN, Fubo/Premier Sports; MLS: Nashville vs New York City, 8.30pm/1.30am; San Diego vs Vancouver Whitecaps, 9.30pm/2.30am; LA Galaxy vs Houston Dynamo, 10.30pm/3.30am — Apple TV in both regions.

Sunday: Premier League (all 11pm/4pm): Crystal Palace vs Arsenal — CNBC/Sky Sports; Liverpool vs Brentford — SYFY/Sky Sports; Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton — NBC, Peacock Premium/Sky Sports; West Ham United vs Leeds United — USA Network/Sky Sports; Serie A: Milan vs Cagliari, 2.45pm/7.45pm – Paramount+, DAZN/DAZN; MLS: Inter Miami vs Philadelphia Union, 7pm/12am — Fox, Apple TV, Fubo/Apple TV.

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And finally…

🫢 El segundo de @Caracas_FC y la curiosidad del año.

CONMEBOL #Sudamericana | #LaGranConquista pic.twitter.com/Vw8DW79noq

— CONMEBOL Sudamericana (@Sudamericana) May 22, 2026

This was an all-time fumble in South America overnight.

It’s the work of Matias Tagliamonte, goalkeeper at Argentina’s Racing Club, who all but threw the ball into his own net during a Copa Sudamericana tie against Caracas of Venezuela, that finished 2-2. Irving Gudino was the lucky recipient, tapping in the scraps from about six inches out. They all count.