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World Cup 2026: New Zealand name Tommy Smith & Chris Wood in squad

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In 2010 – competing at a World Cup for only the second time following their 1982 debut – New Zealand drew with Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay but failed to reach the knockout stages.

They will face Belgium, Egypt and Iran in the group stage of the 2026 tournament, which is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July.

New Zealand will play England in a friendly in Tampa, Florida, on 6 June, three days after facing Haiti.

Wood, who returned in April after six months out with a knee problem that required surgery, will captain the 26-man squad.

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Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua press conference: ‘Fury will try every trick in the book to get to AJ’ | Boxing News

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Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua’s first press conference is expected to go ahead in London on Wednesday ahead of their blockbuster heavyweight fight on December 11, and Sky Sports‘ Matthew Macklin has spoken of what he expects when the two British rivals face off….

I think the press conference will be important.

The psychological, mental aspect of boxing is huge. It’s an individual sport – one on one – so if you can get into the other guy’s head and help put him in a negative headspace, you’re halfway there.

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Dillian Whyte believes Fury and Joshua are already engaging in mind games ahead of their fight

Confidence is key. And if someone’s struggling with confidence, if you can put some seeds of doubt in their mind, that’s a real benefit to you.

There’s a lot on the line. A lot of people involved, a lot of money, a lot of pride, a lot of ego, so there’s already cracks appearing left, right and centre.

Fury will certainly be trying every trick in the book.

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Fury claimed over the weekend that the Joshua fight had a ‘one per cent’ chance of happening

There will be people there who will try and control things as best they can, trying to make sure that nothing physical happens. But I’d expect Fury to be animated.

Joshua less so. I wouldn’t have said that the psychological warfare was as big a part of AJ’s game as it is Fury’s. I don’t think he’s as well versed in it.

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Sky Sports expert Johnny Nelson says Joshua could be in a ‘world of trouble’ when he faces Fury

But sometimes not engaging can be good, it can sort of give you the edge – like Carl Froch the second time round with George Groves.

I think he realised that for the first fight he wasted so much energy on things and fell into the traps that George was setting.

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A look back at the entertaining build up to Froch v Groves 2 in 2014 which had plenty of ‘push and pull’

I think was it Michael Corleone [in The Godfather III] who said, “Never hate your enemies, it affects your judgment”. And I think, certainly with Froch the first time round, that was a factor.

Ahead of the second fight, he just chose to disengage. So maybe AJ will do similar and choose to not get involved?

I think we’ll get there. I think the fight will go ahead, but I do think there’ll be some twists and turns and bumps in the road on the way.

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The F1 Show podcast – Sky Sports | F1 News

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The F1 Show podcast from Sky Sports brings you the best Formula 1 analysis, expert opinion and behind-the-scenes stories from the paddock.

Join Simon Lazenby and special guests from the world of F1 and sport, as they react to all the major F1 news and events and answer your questions after every Grand Prix weekend.

Hit follow, subscribe, get involved and strap-in for what’s set to be an incredible season of racing.

The F1 Show podcast – latest episodes

Follow the 2026 F1 season with Sky Sports

F1 is back, with all 22 race weekends live on Sky Sports.

The action kicked off in Melbourne, Australia on March 8 and again runs into December, with Abu Dhabi bringing the curtain down on the first season of F1’s new rules era.

Follow the latest F1 news, see the full 2026 F1 schedule and find out how to watch or stream on Sky Sports F1 or the Sky Sports app. Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW TV.

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Scotland: Sebastian Pocognoli’s ‘sad’ Hampden debut as he demands Nations League response | Football News

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Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli admitted his Hampden Park debut left him “sad” as he stressed the importance of winning their next Nations League match.

Jack Hendry’s early red card effectively rendered his home debut against Switzerland a write-off.

They went down 3-0 in their second Nations League match after the Swiss took full advantage of playing the majority of the match with an extra man.

Scotland have failed to score in four successive matches for the first time since 1971, albeit three of their opponents have been in the top 15 of the FIFA rankings.

“I had a warm welcome from the crowd and that made me feel a little bit sad because we wanted to give something back and we couldn’t,” said the new boss.

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Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli was frustrated as his Hampden Park debut ended in a 3-0 defeat to Switzerland.

“Even with 11 men, if we had the bad result, we would have wanted to give something, some emotion, something to analyse, something to give a direction about where we want to go, and we didn’t have the chance to show it and that frustrated me a lot.”

Pocognoli was pleased with his team’s attitude but felt there was little else to take from a match in which a Swiss side that reached the World Cup quarter-finals in the summer were able to flex their muscles.

“Not a lot to say about the game, you know- 80 per cent of the game with 10 men,” the Belgian added.

It was a tough night for 10-man Scotland against the Swiss
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It was a tough night for 10-man Scotland against the Swiss

“Red card, then directly punished from the red card with a free-kick, so probably the worst situation that we can have.

“We should prefer maybe a penalty and to stay with 11 men and to maybe show exactly what we planned for the game.

“We started quite aggressive, front foot, and then after eight minutes, the game plan has to be put to the side and we just see if the team react well or not with 10 men, and they did their best.

“To be honest, they had a great attitude to just stick together, try to have the moment in transition or set-pieces or something, but it never happened because Switzerland is a good side and they didn’t give anything away.”

Brondby captain Luis Binks made his Scotland debut
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Brondby captain Luis Binks made his Scotland debut

With just one point and no goals from their opening two Nations League fixtures after a 0-0 draw in Slovenia at the weekend, Pocognoli admits Scotland’s next match in North Macedonia on Saturday has taken on added significance.

“Yeah, it’s important to get a result because it can give a boost to the staff, not only for me but for all the people who worked so hard from the first day,” said the 39-year-old.

“We had a good second half in Slovenia, and eight minutes tonight that we can analyse on some good aspects, but we need also a good performance in Macedonia and the result is important.”

Gunn: ‘We stick together’

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Scotland goalkeeper Angus Gunn insists they will win and lose as a team after Jack Hendry tried to apologise for his red card in their Nations League defeat to Switzerland.

Goalkeeper Angus Gunn insisted there was no blame game in the Scotland dressing room after Tuesday night’s defeat.

“He [Jack] tried to apologise to lads in there but the manager was like, that’s football, that happens.

“That’s why we’re a team and that’s why we stick together and no-one’s got to apologise for anything.

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t dig deep and get a result.”

“Hopefully, that’s lessons learned, playing the majority of the game with 10 men. Hopefully, we can maybe use that in the future and come out on a positive side.

“That’s two games down and we’ve got two more to finish this camp off.

“We’ve just got to go and react. It’s Saturday night and we’ve got a good squad. Everyone’s ready for their opportunity.”

Scotland’s Nations League fixtures

  • October 3 – North Macedonia (A) 7.45pm
  • October 6 – Slovenia (H) 7.45pm
  • November 13 – North Macedonia (H) 7.45pm
  • November 16 – Switzerland (A) 7.45pm

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