Sports

Ezri Konsa: Arsenal preparing offer for Aston Villa defender as Morgan Rogers talks continue – Paper Talk | Football News

Published

4 minutes ago

July 18, 2026

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The top stories and transfer rumours from Saturday’s newspapers…

PREMIER LEAGUE

Arsenal are preparing an offer for Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa, who has yet to agree a new deal with Villa – Daily Mail

Arsenal are continuing discussions over Morgan Rogers with his representatives and Aston Villa – Daily Mail

Aston Villa continue to explore the market for wingers, with the likes of West Ham’s Crysencio Summerville and Ibrahim Mbaye at PSG among names on their radar – Daily Mail

Crystal Palace value Chelsea target Maxence Lacroix at up to £60m – The Sun

Maxence Lacroix wants to leave Crystal Palace amid interest from Chelsea – The Times

Ipswich Town have had a £2.5million bid rejected for FC Volendam goalkeeper Kayne van Oevelen – Daily Mail

Hull are set to sign Olympiacos’ Konstantis Tzolakis as Ivor Pandur’s replacement in goal – The Sun

ENGLAND

Thomas Tuchel’s appointment as England head coach in 2024 did not gain the unanimous backing of FA board members. Some strongly believed the job should go to an English candidate, rather than someone who had not previously managed an international team – The Times

Liverpool winger Rio Ngumoha is in the frame to be part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad next season as the England head coach builds a team to challenge for Euro 2028 – The Telegraph

Thomas Tuchel has privately rejected accusations that he encouraged his England team to try to hang on against Argentina in their World Cup semi-final defeat – The Telegraph

One of the leading physiologists in sport believes England’s players went into their game against Argentina burdened by severe fatigue – The Times

WORLD CUP

Gianni Infantino has the formal endorsement of more than 200 countries for re-election as Fifa’s president despite the climate of unrest that has swirled since the scandal surrounding Folarin Balogun’s reprieve from suspension – The Guardian

The World Cup final is not under any threat despite the air quality warnings in the area – ESPN

Sir Gareth Southgate will attend Sunday’s World Cup final, a longstanding trip planned by the former England manager that would have stood even if England had won their semi-final – The Telegraph

SCOTTISH FOOTBALL

Celtic have missed out on bringing back Kelechi Iheanacho after refusing to match the striker’s eye-watering wage demands – Daily Record

Celtic are ready to step up their interest in Egypt’s World Cup winger Haissem Hassan – The Scottish Sun

CRICKET

Justin Langer is believed to have moved to the top of the ECB’s shortlist of potential coaches of the men’s Test team, after Andy Flower ruled himself out of the running for the position on Friday – The Guardian

Sports

World Cup 2026: How do Spain and Argentina compare before the final?

Published

11 minutes ago

July 18, 2026

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Sunday’s World Cup final pits holders Argentina against Spain. The South American champions against the European champions. How do they compare? This is the story of the numbers.

Since two of their games went to extra time, Argentina have played an hour of football more than Spain at this tournament – so we have taken that into account by including the ‘per 90 minutes’ version of each statistic.

With 19 goals, Argentina side have scored the most at the tournament, thanks mainly to some clinical finishing. They have now scored at least two goals in each of their past 13 World Cup games, since losing 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in their opening fixture four years ago.

Despite taking more shots, Spain have scored six goals fewer – as they have been average finishers so far, simply scoring as many goals as expected given the number and quality of their chances (13 scored, against an xG rating of 13.3).

Argentina have actually only scored one more goal from inside the box but have been far more dangerous outside it, scoring five times while Spain are yet to score from distance.

Sports

World Cup 2026: Wayne Rooney rows down Hudson Rriver after Norway pledge

Published

18 minutes ago

July 18, 2026

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Wayne Rooney is a man of his word.

Turn the clock back to the last 16 of the World Cup, when the former England striker pledged to row down the River Mersey if Norway beat Brazil.

Norway did exactly that, beating the five-time champions 2-1, so BBC Sport pundit Rooney confirmed live on air that he would take on the challenge in the US.

He and fellow pundits Joe Hart and Micah Richards swapped their microphones for oars and took to the Hudson River in New York.

“I loved it,” Rooney said. “The fans were brilliant. So we’ve done it out of respect for the fans.”

Norway fans’ viking row became a sensation at the World Cup, and even Norway striker Erling Haaland was keen to see Rooney in action.

“Wayne, I expect you to go out on a rowing trip,” he said.

Norway were knocked out by England in the quarter-finals.

Rooney, Hart and Richards will be back on dry land alongside Gabby Logan for Sunday’s World Cup final (20:00 BST), which will be available to watch live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

England play France in the World Cup third-place match on Saturday at 22:00, also live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.