Stuart James
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Senior football writer @TheAthletic. Previously spent 15 years working for the Guardian & Observer newspapers
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Articles by Stuart James
What Gareth Southgate and England have learned from in-depth analysis of France
There will be no secrets when England face France on Saturday night. Not just because so many of this France team do play or have played in England, or for the biggest clubs in Europe, although that is a factor, but because Gareth Southgate and his eager team of analysts have done so much work on Didier Deschamps’ side over the last few years. Opposition analysis is a huge part of Southgate’s England, but their work on France goes far beyond what they would do for most potential opponents.
Forest flattened Man City and Brobbey battered Chelsea: Who won the Premier League weekend?
Welcome to week 10 of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — a ranking system that has completely justified its blind and unwavering faith in Bournemouth earlier in the season. After a fortnight off that was ruined by watching Swansea City concede five goals at Queens Park Rangers, normal service has resumed with all 10 Premier League matches watched in full this weekend.
What is going wrong for Man City? What are we to make of Tottenham?
If another international break soon offers a chance to take stock, the opening quarter of this Premier League season has revealed a champion unwilling to let go and rivals unable to catch up. The opening Saturday of November only entrenched that sentiment. Arsenal’s well-tuned engines kept rolling with a workmanlike 1-0 home win over Hull City, a result later bolstered by Manchester City’s evening stumble.
Nottingham Forest 3 Manchester City 1: Stunning Delap, Cherki goals; how bad were Maresca’s side?
A brilliant double from Liam Delap and a rare strike from Jair Cunha saw Nottingham Forest stun Manchester City in the Premier League. Oliver Glasner’s side piled the pressure on from the first whistle, pressing their opponents into mistakes at the City Ground. It resulted in Cunha stealing possession in the first five minutes before driving into the City penalty area and slotting home. Delap then doubled the tally, with a great breakaway goal, after City squandered possession again in midfield.
Premier League live scores: Latest news and updates as Leeds host Spurs in early kick-off
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Premier League Saturday games — latest Four Premier League matches take place today, with Leeds and Tottenham contesting the early kick-off. Later, Arsenal host Hull, Newcastle travel to Fulham and Manchester City go to Nottingham Forest.
By Steve Madeley Verified, Jack Pitt-Brooke Verified, George Edwards, Max Mathews Verified, Beren Cross Verified, Stuart James Verified, Chris Waugh Verified, George Ramsay Verified
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The New York Times
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Brighton astonish again but sound the alarm bell at Newcastle. Who won the Premier League weekend?
Welcome to week seven of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — a ranking system that is fast turning into a Brighton & Hove Albion appreciation page. In case you’ve missed the previous six weeks, this is not the official standings, where results are the only thing that matters.
Alex Scott is a £100m transfer waiting to happen. Here’s what makes him special
“He is so smooth on the ball, his decision making is at the highest level. He plays with so much confidence. He is so active — the work-rate off the ball. He is just the complete package.” Thomas Tuchel’s glowing praise for Alex Scott, following his full England debut in the emphatic 7-0 victory over Croatia in Rijeka earlier this month, did nothing to dampen the hype around the Bournemouth midfielder. Scott is a £100million ($133m) transfer waiting to happen.
The synthetic evolution of porous liquids
Porosity has long been considered a property exclusive to solids, yet a new class of materials now combines permanent, well defined pores with the ability to flow. Realizing the full promise of these materials as ‘supersolvents’ will require a deeper understanding of the liquid–pore interface and continued exploration of understudied designs, alongside their translation into separation, catalysis, sensing and therapeutic applications.
Petr Cech and the skull fracture that changed football, 20 years on
Petr Cech has no memory of the incident that nearly cost him his life. The last thing he can recall of Chelsea’s visit to the Madejski Stadium to face Reading 20 years ago, on October 14, 2006, is switching ends after the pre-match coin toss. Video footage fills in the blank of the 17 seconds that immediately followed the home side’s kick-off: Steve Sidwell passed to Nicky Shorey, who moved the ball back to goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann.
Welcome to week six of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — a ranking system that will make the Nottingham Forest head coach Oliver Glasner instantly feel better. In case you’ve missed the previous five weeks, this is not the official standings, where results are the only thing that matters.
I’ve watched all 50 Premier League games this season. Here’s what I learnt
As the Premier League returns following a three-week international break that felt more like three months for the club-obsessives among us, The Athletic thought this was a good moment to reflect on what we’ve learnt from analysing the first 50 games of the season. Those matches were all watched in full as part of our “Who won the weekend?” series, where we assess every team’s performance in that week’s game and subjectively/controversially rank them from one to 20 based on how well they played.
Cristiano Ronaldo: A ‘symbol of Portugal’ whose quest for 1,000 goals staggers on
People were on tiptoes, hauling themselves up to try to look over the barrier. Mobile phones acted like periscopes, providing a glimpse, if you were lucky, of Cristiano Ronaldo arriving at the stadium that had briefly been his home as a teenager. It was little more than an hour and a half before kick-off in Lisbon, the Portugal team coach had just parked up outside the Estadio Jose Alvalade, and there were Ronaldo shirts everywhere you turned.
The Premier League season so far: The biggest surprises, letdowns and who should be most worried?
The first five-game block of this Premier League season was always going to make for fascinating viewing. With nine newly-appointed managers, two more were embarking on their first full campaigns in charge following interim spells. There was the end of a dynasty at Manchester City, record summer transfer spending and the aftermath of a World Cup to factor in, too. What have our writers made of the 2026-27 Premier League?
Arsenal made to look normal and Coventry turn up to the party. Who won the Premier League weekend?
Welcome to week five of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — a ranking system that has evidently cursed Bournemouth. In our performance-based take, it is a clean slate at the start of each gameweek, which means you can go from top to bottom (and vice versa) in the space of a few days, with the 1-to-20 rankings assessed purely on how well each team played in their previous match.
Fulham vs Manchester United live updates: Premier League match team news, predictions, more
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Fulham vs Manchester United live updates: Premier League match team news, predictions, more Man Utd travel to Fulham in the final Premier League game of the weekend. September 20, 2026 at 3:32 PM GMT+2 Fulham host Manchester United today hoping to climb off the bottom of the Premier League table. Getty Images Fulham vs Manchester United — latest Fulham host Manchester United today in the final Premier League fixture before the international break.
By George Ramsay Verified, Chris McKenna Verified, Chris Mckenna Verified, Dermot Corrigan Verified, Steve Madeley Verified, Max Mathews Verified, Andy Mitten Verified, Stuart James Verified
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The New York Times
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Liam Delap, Josh King, Trent Alexander-Arnold? Six writers pick their England squad for the Nations League Original
Two months on from their agonising World Cup semi-final defeat by Argentina, England are back. On Friday morning Thomas Tuchel is expected to name a 26 or 27-man squad for the four Nations League games against Spain (September 26), Czech Republic (September 29 and October 6) and Croatia (October 3). Will Tuchel freshen up his squad with young in-form players like Josh King? Will there be room for Saudi-based strikers Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney?
Arsenal won ugly, Spurs stumbled and Coventry crumbled. Who won the Premier League weekend?
Welcome to week four of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — a ranking system that appears to have a weakness for a club that has yet to win a game this season. In case you missed week one, week two, or week three, this is not the official standings, where results are the only thing that matters.
Billy Vigar lost his life playing football. His parents want justice
“This is the under-16s at Arsenal, when Billy was playing up a year and they won the Liam Brady Cup,” Keith Vigar says, proudly pointing to a photograph hanging above the staircase at the family home in Storrington, West Sussex.
Champions League briefing: Ballon d’Or contenders dazzle, a 12-minute hat-trick and a two-man canoe Original
Two hat-tricks, including one that was scored in the space of 12 first-half minutes, tell only part of the story on a night when six Champions League matches delivered 25 goals. For Paris Saint-Germain, who have won back-to-back Champions League titles, it was business as usual.
Welcome to week three of The Athletic’s Premier League performance table — a ranking system that really does not appreciate tightly-contested matches. In case you missed week one, or week two, this is not the official standings, where results are the only thing that matters.
Building a Successful Master's Research Dissertation Journey in Health Professions Education
Hislop, Jane, Dunsmore, Agata, Western, Sylvia, Harpur, Ros, Marshall, Jennifer, Somerville, Susan, Sutherland, Laura and Stuart James, Kirstin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5587-3015 (2026) Building a Successful Master's Research Dissertation Journey in Health Professions Education. Scottish sCholars and Researchers In healthcare Professionals educaTion (ScriPt) Conference, Dundee, UK, 2 September 2026.
More misery for Tottenham. More goals for Chelsea. Who won the Premier League weekend?
Welcome to week two of the Premier League performance table — the sort of ranking system that the Crystal Palace head coach Pierre Sage refuses to take any comfort from. In case you missed week one, this isn’t the official Premier League table, where results are the be-all and end-all.
PFA reveal Premier League, WSL Teams of the Year – did the players get it right? Original
Five Arsenal players were selected for the PFA Premier League Team of the Year — as voted for by players — for 2025-26, with Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and Manchester City’s Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw the recipients of the Players’ Player of the Year awards. The PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) named its strongest teams for each of the top four divisions of English men’s football and top two leagues of the women’s game on Tuesday evening.
PFA reveal Premier League, WSL Teams of the Year – did the players get it right?
PFA reveal Premier League, WSL Teams of the Year – did the players get it right?
The Premier League is back. Who won the opening weekend?
First things first, this isn’t the official Premier League table. It’s a performance one, which will be updated weekly, and that means you can go from top to bottom, and vice versa, in the space of seven days. There’s a clean slate at the start of each gameweek, which will be good news for some clubs — Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at this rate.
Arsenal vs Coventry live updates: Premier League opening game latest score as Saka doubles champions' lead
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Arsenal vs Coventry live updates: Premier League opening game latest score as Saka doubles champions' lead Follow live as Premier League champions Arsenal host newly promoted Coventry in the season opener. Max Mathews and Ed Mackey August 21, 2026 at 3:37 PM EDT Bukayo Saka made it 2-0 to Arsenal in the 23rd minute. Getty Images Score: Arsenal 2-0 Coventry Arsenal are leading Coventry 2-0 in the first game of their Premier League title defence.
By Ed Mackey, Max Mathews Verified, Tom Burrows Verified, Liam Tharme Verified, James McNicholas Verified, Stuart James Verified, George Edwards
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The New York Times
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We need to talk about Adam Wharton, the pure footballer coveted by Manchester City Original
This is an updated version of an article first published in October 2025. “Adam Wharton is always watching…” Those five words accompanied a video the Premier League posted from its official Instagram account last season. The footage had been doing the rounds on social media for a while. In case you didn’t see the clip, it showed Wharton warming up at Everton.
Plymouth Parkway boss setting high bar for season after promising start
MANY at Plymouth Parkway may have been satisfied with a four-point return from three challenging games to start their Southern League Premier Division season, but not manager Karl Curtis. After a 7-0 thrashing of Bracknell Town kicked off their campaign, Parkway followed it up with a 1-1 draw at much-fancied Bath City last Tuesday. On Saturday, they fell to an agonising 3-2 defeat at Chippenham Town, another team backed to fare well this season, with the winning goal coming ten minutes from time.
Torquay United injuries hit squad ahead of trip to Weston-super-Mare
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Can anyone stop Arsenal from winning the Premier League again? Original
Can anyone stop Arsenal in the Premier League? It should be too soon to be asking a question like that. We’ve got a whole season ahead of us, 380 Premier League matches in total, starting on Friday under the lights at the Emirates Stadium and finishing in May next year. That’s a lot of football to be played.
Arsenal lead Manchester City in Community Shield: Live updates as Odegaard adds third goal for Premier League champions
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Arsenal lead Manchester City in Community Shield: Live updates as Odegaard adds third goal for Premier League champions Follow live updates as the Premier League champions face last season's FA Cup winners in Cardiff. August 16, 2026 at 11:54 AM EDT Martin Odegaard made it 3-0 to Arsenal in the 48th minute. Getty Images Score: Arsenal 3-0 Manchester City Arsenal are in full control of the 2026 Community Shield as they lead Manchester City 3-0 in Cardiff.
By Ed Mackey, Michael Bailey, Sam Lee Verified, James McNicholas Verified, Art de Roche Verified, Stuart James Verified
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The New York Times
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Computer Science > Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Relocalising archival photographs within a contemporary scene model is challenging because historic and modern views can differ in photographic appearance, visible objects, and spatial layout. Therefore, we present HistReNeRF, a framework that estimates the 6-DoF pose of a historic photograph by matching adapted DINOv2 patch features to candidate rays sampled from a contemporary Neural Radiance Field (NeRF) reconstruction.
Swansea reject Hull City bid for Championship top scorer Zan Vipotnik
Hull City have had a bid rejected for Swansea City forward Zan Vipotnik. Newly-promoted Hull’s offer was below Swansea’s valuation of the Slovenian, who finished as top scorer in the Championship last season. Vipotnik scored 23 league goals as Swansea finished mid-table in 11th – nine points off sixth-placed Hull, who were promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs.
Swansea reject Hull City bid for Championship top scorer Zan Vipotnik
Hull City have had a bid rejected for Swansea City forward Zan Vipotnik. Newly-promoted Hull's offer was below Swansea's valuation of the Slovenian, who finished as top scorer in the Championship last season. Vipotnik scored 23 league goals as Swansea finished mid-table in 11th - nine points off sixth-placed Hull, who were promoted to the Premier League via the play-offs.
Plymouth Parkway 'couldn't be better prepared' for season to start
The waiting is nearly over for Plymouth Parkway with last Saturday's 3-0 home defeat to Truro City bringing the curtain down on their pre-season campaign. On paper, it looks like a heavy defeat to a team from the National South, but Parkway boss Karl Curtis felt it was just what his team needed as they prepare for Saturday's Southern League premier Division opener at home to Bracknell Town. “In a weird way, I enjoyed it, I really have,” Curtis said.
Plymouth Gladiators suffer three defeats but bigger picture not as bleak
PLYMOUTH Gladiators' weekend of three meetings in three days ended without a league point, but the bigger picture is not as bleak as the raw results suggest. The Gladiators came through a difficult run at Edinburgh, Berwick and Redcar with their play-off hopes still intact, and with several sides above them having games in hand, the Championship race remains finely balanced. The Friday defeat at Armadale set the tone for the weekend.
World Cup verdicts: Best and worst teams, favourite moments and who will win in 2030?
The World Cup may be over and our team of writers might have spent the past six weeks criss-crossing North America to report on all of its twists and turns, but we’re not done with them yet. Before their attention turns back to domestic football — or their summer holiday destinations — we wanted to know what they made of the 2026 tournament, now the dust is beginning to settle. Did the best team win? Which player surprised them? Which was the best host city? And who will win in four years’ time?
Plymouth Parkway win over Torquay United exactly what club striving for
PLYMOUTH Parkway took the next step in their preparations for the 2026/27 Southern League Premier Division season with a 1-0 win over Torquay United which left assistant manager Matt Godfree claiming the performance was what Parkway will strive to be this year.
France were supposed to win the World Cup. What went so wrong against Spain? Original
Well, who saw that coming? Not France, that’s for sure. Rayan Cherki captured the sense of shock and despair among the France players on a day when their World Cup dream died, in a 2-0 defeat to Spain that was as emphatic as the scoreline suggests. “It’s an immense disappointment,” Cherki said. “Today we lost against ourselves. We didn’t lose against the referee, we didn’t lose against Spain, we lost against ourselves. You all know that everyone was scared of us.
Commentary: Argentina vs. England is going to be glorious chaos
Clear your schedule and forget about any thoughts of sitting down to watch the beautiful game. Argentina against England is much more than a football match. It’s a ferocious and deep-rooted rivalry that’s full of enmity and transcends the sport. Inevitably, the Falkland Islands will be part of the discourse in the days that follow, even if England and Argentina have more than enough history on the pitch to prevent a 74-day conflict that took place 44 years ago from being a big talking point.
Spain outclasses France to reach World Cup final, was it always the No 1 team?
Spain will play a first World Cup final since winning it in 2010 after totally outclassing Kylian Mbappe and France to win the semifinal in Dallas 2-0. Spain came into the game unbeaten in 36 games and took the lead from the penalty spot when Lucas Digne swung a leg without looking and felled Lamine Yamal. Mikel Oyarzabal rolled in the penalty for his fifth goal of the tournament.
France’s William Saliba forced off with injury in World Cup semi-final vs. Spain Original
Saliba went down in an innocuous moment, with the ball at his feet in the 29th minute. He lowered himself to the turf, kicked the ball out of play, and called for medical attention. The exact nature of the injury is as yet unclear, but Saliba’s inability to continue was concerning. Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix immediately rushed to warm up, and was then readied by French coaches as a substitute.
Rivalidad feroz y arraigada en semifinal Inglaterra-Argentina
Despeja tu agenda, anota la hora del partido en el calendario y olvídate de sentarte a ver este hermoso deporte. El partido entre Argentina e Inglaterra es mucho más que un encuentro de fútbol; es una rivalidad feroz y arraigada, llena de animosidad, que trasciende el deporte.
This is Michael Olise, a very different kind of footballer Original
Everything is carefully scripted. An hour or so before kick-off in Dallas on Tuesday, France’s newest superstar will emerge from the tunnel to inspect the pitch. Except this won’t be a normal pitch inspection. It will be a Michael Olise pitch inspection: a languid walk towards the fringe of the playing surface, a couple of scuffs of his trainers on the grass, and a quick glance around the stadium before returning to the sanctuary of the dressing room.
France's William Saliba forced off with injury in World Cup semi-final vs. Spain
Saliba went down in an innocuous moment, with the ball at his feet in the 29th minute. He lowered himself to the turf, kicked the ball out of play, and called for medical attention. The exact nature of the injury is as yet unclear, but Saliba's inability to continue was concerning. Crystal Palace's Maxence Lacroix immediately rushed to warm up, and was then readied by French coaches as a substitute.
England’s World Cup semi-final with Argentina is going to be glorious, furious chaos
Clear your diary, put the kick-off time on the calendar and forget about any thoughts of sitting down to watch the beautiful game. Argentina against England is much more than a football match. It’s a ferocious and deep-rooted rivalry that’s full of enmity and transcends the sport.
Lionel Messi and Argentina march into World Cup semi-finals but what about ‘mistaken identity’ red card? Original
Lionel Messi and Argentina are in the World Cup semi-finals — but, once again, not without controversy. A breathtaking goal from Julian Alvarez in the 112th minute, curled into the top corner from just outside the penalty area, and a late third from Lautaro Martinez ended Switzerland’s resistance to seal a 3-1 win and set up a mouthwatering semi-final against old enemy England on Wednesday.
Messi starts as Argentina’s World Cup defence continues against Switzerland: Live updates
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Messi starts as Argentina’s World Cup defence continues against Switzerland: Live updates Argentina’s defence continues today with a last-eight tie against stubborn Switzerland. July 11, 2026 at 8:48 PM EDT Lionel Messi warming up for tonight's match Getty Images Argentina vs Switzerland — Latest Argentina and Switzerland face each other in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup in Kansas City today.
By George Ramsay Verified, Liliana Michelena, Michael Dominski Verified, Luke Bosher Verified, Adam Crafton Verified, Stuart James Verified, Jillian Thaw, Max Mathews Verified, Anantaajith Raghuraman, James Horncastle Verified, Phil Hay Verified
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The New York Times
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What’s it like to play against Lionel Messi, the greatest footballer of all time? Original
It’s a question that almost every footballer would love to be in a position to answer when they sit down with their grandchildren one day. ‘What’s it like to play against Lionel Messi?’ Sharing the pitch with the Argentinian is one of the biggest privileges in the game, even if it can also feel like a form of punishment when he’s setting off on another of those sinuous runs that turn world-class defenders into online jokes.
What’s it like to play against Lionel Messi, the greatest footballer of all time?
It’s a question that almost every footballer would love to be in a position to answer when they sit down with their grandchildren one day. ‘What’s it like to play against Lionel Messi?’ Sharing the pitch with the Argentinian is one of the biggest privileges in the game, even if it can also feel like a form of punishment when he’s setting off on another of those sinuous runs that turn world-class defenders into online jokes.
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