John Ashdown
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Articles by John Ashdown
Lionel Messi has ‘quite a few doubts’ about football future after death of his father
Lionel Messi in action for Inter Miami in August. Photograph: Dax Tamargo/Shutterstock Lionel Messi has hinted that the end of his career may be near after admitting to “quite a few doubts” about his football future following the death of his father. Jorge Messi died last week at the age of 68 in Rosario, Argentina, after a long illness, with his health during this summer’s World Cup appearing to take a toll on Argentina’s 39-year-old captain.
Lionel Messi has ‘quite a few doubts’ about football future after death of his father
Lionel Messi has ‘quite a few doubts’ about football future after death of his father
Lionel Messi has ‘quite a few doubts’ about football future after death of his father
Lionel Messi has hinted that the end of his career may be near after admitting to “quite a few doubts” about his football future following the death of his father. Jorge Messi died last week at the age of 68 in Rosario, Argentina, after a long illness, with his health during this summer’s World Cup appearing to take a toll on Argentina’s 39-year-old captain. In a tribute on Instagram on Wednesday, Messi wrote: “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you. I don’t know how to move forward.
Commonwealth Games 2026: Athletics, boxing, netball and cycling – live
LIVE – Updated at 13:56 Join our writers for all the latest with 21 golds up for grabs on Saturday as the 2026 Games continue across Glasgow. Gold for England's Isaac Okoh Boxing Okoh keeps Williams at arm's length and does more than enough to secure the gold. That's England's 21st of the Games – they're second in the medal table but well behind Australia who have a dominant 59. Boxing A quiet second round but Okoh stays in control. He takes it 4-1 with the judges.
FIFA opens disciplinary proceedings against Argentina over Falklands banner and final chaos
Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Argentina over the Falkland Islands banner displayed after their World Cup semi‑final win against England in Atlanta. As Argentina celebrated reaching the final with their dramatic 2-1 victory, several players held a sign proclaiming “ Las Malvinas son Argentinas ” – the Malvinas are Argentinian – in reference to the British overseas territory in the south Atlantic.
Fifa opens disciplinary proceedings against Argentina over Falklands banner and final chaos
Argentina’s Giovani Lo Celso holds a banner with the words ‘the Malvinas are Argentinian’ after their semi-final win over England.Photograph: Rebecca Blackwell/AP Fifa has opened disciplinary proceedings against Argentina over the Falkland Islands banner displayed after their World Cup semi‑final win against England in Atlanta.
Belgium and the End Of The Golden Generation Klaxon
Look at it up there on the hill, shining in the sunlight, an almost imperceptible aura of melancholia surrounding it like a halo. Look at the ornate carvings, the faces etched across its flanks. There’s Davor Suker! Preben Elkjær! Ferenc Puskas! Is that … it is! It’s Danny Mills, his face almost entirely worn away by the years of tourists rubbing it for luck.
How to destroy a feelgood factor
Where to start? “Overturn this”? Romelu Lukaku dance-mocking Donald Trump? Civil war erupting between Fifa and Uefa? Maybe here: full-time in Seattle on Monday brought an end to the Geopolitics World Cup’s three-day hostmageddon. Saturday: Canada thunked 3-0 by Morocco. Sunday: Mexico Helm’s-Deeped 3-2 by England. Monday: USA USA USA routed 4-1 by Belgium.
How to destroy a feelgood factor with a sad star-spangled World Cup response
Where to start? “Overturn this”? Romelu Lukaku dance-mocking Donald Trump? Civil war erupting between Fifa and Uefa? Maybe here: full-time in Seattle on Monday brought an end to the Geopolitics World Cup’s three-day hostmageddon. Saturday: Canada thunked 3-0 by Morocco. Sunday: Mexico Helm’s-Deeped 3-2 by England. Monday: USA USA USA routed 4-1 by Belgium.
Gennaro Gattuso exits as Italy manager after World Cup qualifying failure
John Ashdown Italy's chaotic and miserable week on and off the pitch reached a predictable conclusion on Friday with the head coach, Gennaro Gattuso, leaving the role after the Azzurri's failure to reach the World Cup. Italy were beaten by Bosnia and Herzegovina in their World Cup playoff on Tuesday, the home side winning on penalties in Zenica, meaning the four-time winners have now missed out on the finals for three successive editions.
Ipswich chair apologises for causing fans ‘hurt and pain' after Farage's visit to club
The Ipswich Town chair and chief executive, Mark Ashton, has apologised for “any hurt, pain or distress” caused by Nigel Farage's visit to Portman Road this week. Farage visited the club on Monday, and footage of his trip – including images of the Reform UK leader holding up an Ipswich No 10 shirt with his name on the back – was used by the political party on social media.
Will there be no more Neymar for Brazil?
It has been rather an underwhelming World Cup cycle for Brazil. They arrived at the Human Rights World Cup as fairly hot favourites but after their exit at the hands of Croatia in the last eight in Al-Rayyan four years ago things have drifted.
Tottenham v Aston Villa: FA Cup third round – live
LIVE – Updated at 19:59 Minute-by-minute report: Join John Ashdown for updates as two Premier League sides meet in the Cup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 19:59 It's all kicking off near the Spurs goal. Rogers and Palhinha to the fore. 19:49 Here's Morgan Rogers talking to the BBC: “We were good the first half, second half they came out really well. We had to dig deep and I think we deserved the win in the end." “I feel really good, I'm in a good bit of form, but so are the team as a collective.
Tottenham v Aston Villa: FA Cup third round – live
LIVE – Updated at 17:51 Minute-by-minute report: Join John Ashdown for updates as two Premier League sides meet in the Cup at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 17:51 5 min: Kamara doesn't look able to continue. He tried but has gone down again – Youri Tielemans is set to replace him. 17:49 4 min: Kamara gets whacked by Palhinha in midfield. It's all very stop-start thus far.
Macclesfield v Crystal Palace: FA Cup third round – live
LIVE – Updated at 12:47 Minute-by-minute report: Join John Ashdown for updates as the Cup holders begin their campaign with a trip to the National League North club. 12:47 31 min: Macclesfield waste another set-piece opportunity to get the ball into the box – again the free-kick near halfway is scuffed a little short. They need to make better use of those opportunities – they're sure to be few and far between.
Macclesfield v Crystal Palace: FA Cup third round – live
LIVE – Updated at 11:25 Minute-by-minute report: Join John Ashdown for updates as the Cup holders begin their campaign with a trip to the National League North club. The lineups 11:25 Macclesfield: Dearnley, Fensome, Menayese, Dawson, Buckley-Ricketts, Mellor, Duffy, Heathecote, Lacey, Kay, Edmondson. Subs: Callister, Matheson, Griffiths, Elliott, Dos Santos, Whitehead, Woltman, Stone, Borthwick-Jackson.
Macclesfield v Crystal Palace: FA Cup third round – live
Macclesfield’s Moss Rose should be rocking on Saturday. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images/Reuters Preamble Hello all. FA Cup third-round Saturday kicks off with a proper bit of Cup romance – the lowest-ranked team left in the competition, Macclesfield from the National League North, where they sit 14th, sandwiched between Chester and Telford, against the holders, Premier League behemoths (in this context at least) Crystal Palace.
Sheffield United sink Wednesday thanks to Tyrese Campbell’s derby double
One derby goal tends to be enough for a place in Steel City folklore, so Tyrese Campbell is more than assured of his place in the pantheon after scoring twice in Sheffield United’s 3-0 win at Hillsborough, 12 months on from his similarly matchwinning effort in the fixture at Bramall Lane. Chris Wilder’s side remain in the Championship bottom three but this was a bright spot in what has thus far been an otherwise bleak campaign.
Sheffield United sink Wednesday thanks to Tyrese Campbell’s derby double
One derby goal tends to be enough for a place in Steel City folklore, so Tyrese Campbell is more than assured of his entry to the pantheon after scoring twice in Sheffield United’s 3-0 win at Hillsborough, 12 months on from his similar match-winning effort in the fixture at Bramall Lane. Chris Wilder’s side remain in the Championship bottom three but this was a bright spot in what has otherwise been a bleak campaign.
Following Sheffield United in the hope of playoff success is a lifetime of hurt
Saturday’s game against Sunderland will be Sheffield United’s fifth playoff final. They have lost each of their previous four. I was at every one. 1997, Crystal Palace 1-0 Sheffield United, Wembley: the one that hurt Technically this was United’s second experience of playoff misery having lost a relegation playoff against Bristol City in 1988, but by the mid-1990s the Football League post-season had developed into A Thing, thanks in large part to the decision to move the final to Wembley in 1990.
Championship final day: Leeds crowned champions and Luton relegated
Leeds were crowned Championship champions in dramatic fashion after Manor Solomon’s injury-time winner against Plymouth at Home Park meant Daniel Farke’s side held off Burnley, who beat Millwall 3-1, to seal top spot with a century of points.
What Andy Carroll did next
It seems pretty likely that history will look back on the career of Andy Carroll (if at all) with a certain amount of puzzlement and confusion. Terrifyingly effective £35m goal trebuchet? Knack-prone serial flop? The final flourishing of the English Big Man? The great what-might-have-been of the Capello/Hodgson England eras? A wasted talent whose international caps only arrived because the alternative was Jay Bothroyd?
Fin Graham wins road race gold for GB as Paralympics medal flurry continues
Fin Graham has had his fair share of close finishes at these Games. In the velodrome he was edged out by his teammate Jaco van Gass in the C3 indidivdual pursuit. In the road time trial on Wednesday fewer than 20 seconds over those 28.3km separated him from a second medal. But on Saturday he finally came out on the winning side of a close call, taking gold in the men’s C1-3 road race in Clichy-sous-Bois by a whisker from France’s Thomas Peyroton-Dartet.
GB’s Ben Sandilands storms to 1500m Paralympic gold and new world record
GB’s Ben Sandilands storms to 1500m Paralympic gold and new world record Ben Sandilands stormed to a Paralympic gold medal and a new world record in the men’s T20 1500m at the Stade de France. The 21-year-old from Kirkcaldy surged home in 3min 45.40sec, beating the previous world record by 0.10sec and finishing more than four seconds ahead of his nearest rival, Portugal’s Sandro Baessa. The USA’s Michael Brannigan, the previous world record holder and Rio Paralympic champion, finished third.
Newson adds powerlifting silver to Paralympic collection as GB haul swells
Zoe Newson had experienced the joy of bronze medals in London and Rio, then the pain of a fourth-placed finish in Tokyo, but on Wednesday in Paris the 32-year-old went one step further on the podium, winning silver in dramatic circumstances at La Chapelle Arena. On the first day of the powerlifting competition Newson attempted the final 109kg lift she needed for second spot but was initially adjudged to have fouled. She and her team appealed and, after a tense pause, the silver medal was hers.
GB’s Dan Bethell wins Paralympics silver after nailbiting badminton battle
Dan Bethell in action against India's Nitesh Kumar at the Porte de la Chapelle Arena. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA Dan Bethell came within one point of a Paralympic badminton gold but eventually had to settle for silver – just as he did at the Tokyo Games – after the narrowest of defeats to India’s Kumar Nitesh in the final of the SL3 men’s singles. Bethell, the No 2 seed, lost the first set 21-14 to the top-ranked Nitesh but battled back to take the second 21-18 and set up a decider.
ParalympicsGB enjoy Super Saturday in pool as Clegg, Ellard and Tai win gold
ParalympicsGB swimmers enjoyed a Super Saturday in Paris, collecting five medals – including three golds – in a 40-minute flurry at La Défense Arena, and breaking two world records in the process. The deluge helped solidify Great Britain’s spot in second place in the medal table – China having disappeared over the horizon at the top – on a day in which joy in the pool was matched by heartbreak at the velodrome, where a late crash denied Archie Atkinson a seemingly certain gold.
Premier League 2023-24 review: flops of the season
It’s not been a great year for Brand Premier League, the supposed best league in the world, where just about everyone is perpetually angry or miserable. Who’s happy? Manchester City, of course. Villa, sure. But elsewhere? Liverpool rage about kick-off times. Wolves are furious about VAR. Forest are mad about that too but also about their PSR-induced points deduction. Everton see your points deduction and raise you a takeover saga that has rumbled on without resolution.
Premier League 2023-24 review: managers of the season
Unai Emery (Aston Villa) It’s fair to say expectations were high at Villa Park for the man who had taken over in the autumn of 2022 with the club mired in a relegation battle and guided them to seventh last season. It’s also fair to say he has exceeded them. Emery has steered Villa to their best league finish since 1996 and next season they will compete for the European Cup for the first time since they qualified as winners in 1982-83.
Liverpool v Wolves, Burnley v Forest, Luton v Fulham and more: Premier League final day – live - NewsBreak
We have had all manner of fine pieces looking back at Klopp’s reign over the past few days: How have the fans seen this season? Always one of the most fascinating pieces of the year – we speak to fans of all 20 clubs to find out how they’re really feeling. Anfield is still filling up but Jürgen Klopp has stepped out on to the turf to oversee a bit of the warmup. The reception is predictably rapturous from those in the ground.
Mali 2-1 Burkina Faso: Africa Cup of Nations, last 16 – live reaction
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The Conti Cup: a slightly farcical few days for a slightly farcical competition
UNITED THEY FALL? Like regionalised draws? Enjoy weirdly uneven group stages and flawed tiebreakers? Got a thing for points deductions with unexpected ramifications? Then you’ll love the Conti Cup (or Women’s League Cup if you prefer). And it has been a slightly farcical few days for a slightly farcical competition. First, the background. Last week Aston Villa hammered Sunderland 7-0 in their final group game, securing top spot in Group A and a place in the quarter-finals.
Mali v Burkina Faso: Africa Cup of Nations, last 16 – live
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The Conti Cup: a slightly farcical few days for a slightly farcical competition
UNITED THEY FALL? Like regionalised draws? Enjoy weirdly uneven group stages and flawed tiebreakers? Got a thing for points deductions with unexpected ramifications? Then you’ll love the Conti Cup (or Women’s League Cup if you prefer). And it has been a slightly farcical few days for a slightly farcical competition. First, the background. Last week Aston Villa hammered Sunderland 7-0 in their final group game, securing top spot in Group A and a place in the quarter-finals.
The Conti Cup: a slightly farcical few days for a slightly farcical competition
Like regionalised draws? Enjoy weirdly uneven group stages and flawed tiebreakers? Got a thing for points deductions with unexpected ramifications? Then you’ll love the Conti Cup (or Women’s League Cup if you prefer). And it has been a slightly farcical few days for a slightly farcical competition. First, the background. Last week Aston Villa hammered Sunderland 7-0 in their final group game, securing top spot in Group A and a place in the quarter-finals.
Mali v Burkina Faso: Africa Cup of Nations, last 16 – live - NewsBreak
Mali’s players limber up. Photograph: Sia Kambou/AFP/Getty Images The teams Mali (4-4-2): D Diarra; H Traoré, Kouyate, Niakaté, Sacko; Camara, Coulibaly, Haidara, A Traoré; Sinayoko, Doumbia. Burkina Faso (4-3-3): Koffi; Kabore, Dayo, E Tapsoba, Yago; Ouédraogo, Sangare, Touré; B Traoré, Konate, AF Tapsoba. Preamble Hello all and welcome to live coverage of match 43 in this fascinating edition of Afcon. All of a sudden the tournament feels like it has opened up for this pair.
Manchester United and an eerie similarity with the Simpsons’ decline
As Football Daily blearily doomscrolled through the usual nonsense on Social Media Disgrace TwiXer over our cornflakes this morning, our attention was momentarily piqued by a clip from the latest season of the Simpsons. Now, we all remember the golden era don’t we? Mr Plow, Marge vs the Monorail, Flaming Moe’s, Who Shot Mr Burns, Lisa on Ice … in fact, pretty much anything and everything from the 90s. Classic, heady days that created moments deservedly ranked among the best ever.
How to solve everything with eight suggestions for improving VAR
Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images SO NEAR, YET SO VAR There were 116 teams winning, losing and drawing across the weekend in the Premier League, EFL, WSL and Women’s Championship, but as is so often the case these days, the only team anyone was talking about come Monday morning was, of course, the PGMOL, which released yet another mea culpa on Saturday after wrongly disallowing Luis Díaz’s goal for Liverpool in their defeat at Tottenham.
England v New Zealand: Ben Stokes scores 182 in third men’s ODI – live
The series is locked at 1-1. Join our writers for coverage of the latest action at the Oval. 16:50 19th over: England 125-2 (Malan 54, Stokes 60). A rare false shot from Stokes, slogging and missing at a sharp Phillips leg-break. They only deal in ones and twos in this over, but the series’ first 300+ score looks on here. 16:49 40th over: England 307-4 (Stokes 152, Livingstone 5).
England v Sri Lanka: second women’s one-day cricket international – live
Follow updates as England attempt to seal a one-day international series win over Sri Lanka at Northampton. 17:21 Right, that’s it from here. Tanya Aldred and Taha Hashim will be here on Thursday to take you through the game from Leicester but for now, cheerio! 17:19 That’s a shame. England likely denied a 2-0 lead in the series. They will hope for better luck in the third and final ODI in Leicester on Thursday. 17:17 Well, forget about that race against time. The rain has won.
Premier League 2023-24 preview No 17: Sheffield United
Guardian writers’ predicted position: 19th (NB: this is not necessarily John Ashdown’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Bleak. This season was always going to be an uphill struggle but the departure of Iliman Ndiaye, the team’s undoubted star, is a monumental blow that threatens to derail the campaign before it has begun.
Ireland Women switch to navy shorts for Six Nations over period concerns
Ryan Reaves and Bokondji Imama produced a real dud of a fight on Sunday. LONDON, Ont. — Championship on the line and a chance to draw for the win. This was Brad Gushue's wheelhouse and he delivered again Sunday when it counted most. With Manitoba sitting two in the 10th end, Gushue drew the four-foot ring with his final shot to win his fifth Tim Hortons Brier title in seven years. "I trusted it. We made it. It's awesome," Gushue said.
‘Some others might try it’: Trescothick on England’s aggressive trendsetters
It is fair to say England cricket sides have not always been at the bleeding edge of sporting trends (as a quick glance at any number of one-day and T20 kits will attest) but Trescothick believes the axis between Stokes and Brendon McCullum is creating a fashion others are likely follow. “It is up to everyone else to decide if they need to catch up and play this style,” he said. “It is not for us to judge. I think some teams will. Why not? What have they got to lose?
‘A challenging period’: Yorkshire agree to release Gary Ballance from his contract
Yorkshire have agreed to release Gary Ballance from his contract. The former England batsman, who played 23 Tests and 16 ODIs, met his former Yorkshire teammate Azeem Rafiq in August to apologise for racist language used while they played together at the club and was absent from the first team in the 2022 season with mental health issues. “We are sad to see Gary go, but he leaves with our best wishes,” said Darren Gough, the managing director of Yorkshire Cricket.
‘Some others might try it’: Trescothick on England’s aggressive trendsetters
For England’s elite batting coach, the Test team’s new all-out attack mindset has its drawbacks. While previous incumbents could be forgiven for letting their minds wander during sedate throw-down drills in the nets, Marcus Trescothick must contend with batsmen bringing their blitz approach to close quarters. He has already worn one crunching shot to the chest. “It’s an occupational hazard,” is his phlegmatic outlook.
‘Some others might try it’: Trescothick on England’s aggressive trendsetters
Read full article For England’s elite batting coach, the Test team’s new all-out attack mindset has its drawbacks. While previous incumbents could be forgiven for letting their minds wander during sedate throw-down drills in the nets, Marcus Trescothick must contend with batsmen bringing their blitz approach to close quarters. He has already worn one crunching shot to the chest. “It’s an occupational hazard,” is his phlegmatic outlook.
Yorkshire agree to release Gary Ballance from contract with club
Read full article Photograph: Ashley Allen/Getty Images Yorkshire have agreed to release Gary Ballance from his contract with the club. The former England batsman, who played 23 Tests and 16 ODIs, met his former Yorkshire teammate Azeem Rafiq in August to apologise for racist language used while they played together at the county and was absent from side in the 2022 season with mental-health issues.
Chelsea latest, Premier League team news and more - live updates!
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Premier League news, transfer updates and more: football countdown - live!
LIVE – Updated at 17:07 Join John Ashdown for team news and the latest transfer moves before another busy weekend of football. 17:07 Harry Kane has been talking to Sky Sports this afternoon about Antonio Conte, among other things. “He’s one of the best managers in the world,” he said. “We’ve not really reached the heights we’ve wanted to as a club over the last couple of years. It’s a big opportunity now to take advantage of what we’ve got.
Canadian football’s frozen generation ready for World Cup thaw
Photograph: Jason Franson/AP Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! PROCLAIM CANADA In a week where the big hitters – Brazil, Spain, Englandyestherewesaidit – stamped their tickets to the Human Rights World Cup, more unlikely contenders were edging their way towards the heat of Qatar from the wintry wilds of North America.
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