Cup

The word “process” has been used so many times by the Scotland head coach and his players in recent days it’s probably the new team motto.

But there is truth in it.

Pocognoli is trying to implement a radically different system to his predecessor. Not only that, it’s a different mindset. All while trying to embed a clutch of new players.

It’s early days for the Belgian, his group, and, of course, Bowie. But the man on loan at Sassuolo believes things are clicking, and it’s an opportunity for him to make his mark.

“It’s a lot longer international break,” he explained. “We spend a lot more time together so it’s good for him to get his message across and his ideas. Also, we play more games so we have to train a little bit less of course.

“I think for me it’s a fresh start with a new coach and different ideas.

“He said to me ‘you don’t need to prove yourself, just go and do what I know you can do’ and I feel like I’m just doing that.”

Bowie, who made his Rovers debut at 16, added: “I think people, obviously Scottish fans, have the same idea of how I was when I was at Hibs and that’s all they can remember.

“But I feel like since I moved to Serie A, it’s a different challenge against more experienced players and at a higher level.

“So, yeah, I feel like I’ve definitely kicked into another gear and I feel like I’m showing that.”

Nairobi, Kenya – With less than nine months until the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania are entering the most demanding phase of preparations: completing and testing the stadiums, training grounds and supporting infrastructure needed to host the tournament.

The tournament, scheduled for June 19 to July 17, 2027, will be the first Africa Cup of Nations jointly hosted by three countries and the competition’s return to East Africa since Ethiopia staged the finals in 1976.

A Confederation of African Football (CAF) delegation spent eight days inspecting facilities across the three host countries earlier this month, assessing stadiums, training grounds, hotels, airports and other infrastructure. The delegation included officials responsible for competitions, safety and security, transport, media, television and logistics.

Kenya: Talanta takes centre stage

In Kenya, the biggest project is the newly built Talanta Sports International Stadium in Nairobi.

The 60,000-capacity stadium is intended to be the country’s flagship AFCON venue and was inspected by CAF earlier this month. During a subsequent visit, CAF President Patrice Motsepe said he was impressed by the progress at Talanta. He also visited Kasarani Stadium, where work remains to be completed.

But Kenya’s preparations extend well beyond its new flagship stadium.

CAF’s inspection also covered training venues, hotels, airport infrastructure and other sites supporting the Nairobi tournament operation.

Nicholus Musonye, chairman of Kenya’s AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee, told Al Jazeera that the country was addressing the outstanding requirements.

“I want to assure Africa, and I want to assure the world, that Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, we are ready to host AFCON,” Musonye said.

He said work on Kasarani’s pitch should be completed by the end of October, with the venue planned to be ready for handover in December.

But concerns remain about some of the facilities that will support the tournament.

Kelvin Kimaru, a Kenyan football fan, told Al Jazeera that training grounds remained a concern.

“We are not yet ready because the training grounds for the coming teams are not yet ready,” Kimaru said.

Moses Kamalik, an executive member of the Boxing Federation of Kenya, said other venues also needed work, including Nyayo Stadium and Kipchoge Keino Stadium in Eldoret.

The challenge for Kenya is broader than completing Talanta; it needs a network of match venues, training grounds and supporting facilities capable of operating together when teams and supporters arrive.

Tanzania: the race extends beyond stadiums

Tanzania is also entering the final stretch, with preparations covering stadiums, training grounds and the infrastructure connecting them.

Neema Msitha, chief executive of the country’s AFCON 2027 Local Organising Committee, told Al Jazeera that the country’s stadiums were more than 80 percent complete on average and expected to be ready for handover to CAF in January.

“All these stadiums are almost ready. If you grade them on average, all of them are almost above 80 percent,” Msitha said.

Training facilities are being developed alongside the main venues, with five facilities being prepared in each host location. Msitha said they were about 75 percent complete.

The Tanzanian government has also applied pressure to accelerate the work.

In August, Prime Minister Mwigulu Nchemba ordered work on AFCON training grounds to speed up, saying the facilities needed to be completed on time and meet CAF standards. He issued the directive after inspecting the Farasi and Leaders Club training grounds in Dar-es-Salaam.

Road infrastructure is also part of the preparations. In June, Works Minister Abdallah Ulega ordered contractors working on roads linked to the tournament in Arusha to operate around the clock to meet deadlines and international standards.

Msitha pointed to regional airlines, Air Tanzania and ferry services between Dar-es-Salaam and Zanzibar as part of the transport arrangements being developed for teams, officials and supporters.

CAF’s September inspection included Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam and other key facilities in Tanzania as the governing body continued to assess preparations across the three hosts.

Uganda faces its own deadlines

Uganda is working towards the same year-end push.

Patrick Ogwel, a CAF infrastructure monitoring officer, told Al Jazeera that infrastructure development was expected to be ready by December 31.

Hoima City Stadium has been completed and commissioned, he said, while Akii-Bua Olympic Stadium in Lira is due to be completed and commissioned by December.

Uganda’s Local Organising Committee has identified Akii-Bua, Hoima City Stadium and Mandela National Stadium as its three main stadiums. It expects 10 of the country’s 12 training facilities to be ready by the end of the year.

The organising committee said after CAF’s latest inspection that all three stadiums remained on course for completion by the end of December, while some training facilities were planned to be completed in January 2027.

But the deadlines are not without pressure.

On September 24, Uganda’s State Minister for Sports Peter Ogwang directed the Uganda People’s Defence Forces to accelerate work on several AFCON training facilities, citing concerns about the pace of construction at sites including Pece Stadium in Gulu, Lira and Gulu University.

After its September inspection, the CAF delegation also briefed President Yoweri Museveni, with challenges outside Kampala among the issues raised during the assessment.

From construction to tournament readiness

The coming months will test whether the three hosts can turn construction progress into a functioning tournament operation.

AFCON requires stadiums and training grounds that can handle teams and spectators while meeting requirements for broadcasting, media, security, transport, hospitality and match operations.

A completed stadium is only one part of the equation.

Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda have already gained experience from jointly hosting the 2024 African Nations Championship, which allowed the three countries to work together on a major continental tournament. CAF has also involved representatives from the three local organising committees in an observer mission at the recent AFCON in Morocco.

But AFCON will be a larger undertaking, with 24 national teams competing across the three countries for almost a month.

The coming months will determine whether the work under way across the three countries can be completed, verified and brought into operation before teams and supporters begin arriving.

For supporters in East Africa, the tournament represents more than a test of stadiums and infrastructure. It is also a chance to experience Africa’s biggest national-team competition on home soil.

Gilbert Okeya, a Kenyan football fan and Football Kenya Federation referee, told Al Jazeera:

“We are happy because we are going to host, and we are going to have an opportunity to have live matches for AFCON in our country.”

Fishlock, who has said this will be her last year playing club football, will be on duty with Reign when Wales go to Albania on Friday, 9 October and then again in the return leg in Llanelli four days later.

Should Wales overcome a side who are 36 places in the Fifa rankings – and one they beat twice in the group phase of World Cup qualifying – they will play either Norway or Romania in a two-legged play-off final in December.

Wilkinson has revealed that another recently retired former player, Kayleigh Barton, will be part of her staff for the Albania ties and then Fishlock will have a role should Wales reach the final.

Fishlock previously worked as a technical assistant for Wales’ opening game of this qualifying campaign, against the Czech Republic in March.

Wilkinson explained that Fishlock had been in touch before she named her semi-final squad on Tuesday, adding: “I didn’t appreciate her saying ‘call me up coach, I’m ready’, which I thought was mean, but [she was] a wonderful player and a great leader for us.

“If we are able to get past Albania, she’ll be coming in as a coach for us for the next round.”

Lewis was part of the Wales squad at the 2022 union World Cup and was set to play in the inaugural WXV tournament a year later.

But she suffered a serious knee injury as Wales beat Italy in the 2023 Six Nations.

Since her recovery Lewis has played for Brython Thunder in the Celtic Challenge but, with no WRU contract, felt she had unfinished business and “didn’t want any regrets”.

“I could have easily just walked away from rugby at that point. I could have just been like ‘I’m done’,” said Lewis.

“But internally, I knew I wasn’t, and I put so much time and effort into coming back and getting back fit, and I was only 28, and I was like, ‘I’ve still got so much time left’, and I just felt individually I didn’t deserve my time to be done based on someone else’s decision.

“So I took some time, and then I just set a goal to myself. If I got the opportunity to play rugby league, great.

“If I had the opportunity to play union, I wouldn’t say no. But this opportunity came up, and I just grabbed it with two hands, and hopefully now it’s paid off.”

Australia-born Jasmin Strange is one of four potential debutants in England’s 23-strong squad for the World Cup.

Sydney Roosters second-row forward Strange, who is set to play in Sunday’s NRLW Grand Final against Brisbane Broncos, has committed herself to England, for whom she qualifies through her mother Adele.

The 23-year-old is the daughter of Roosters women’s head coach John Strange, who played for Featherstone in the 1990s.

Strange is joined by three uncapped players – Leeds Rhinos’ Connie Boyd, Hope Millard of Canterbury Bulldogs, and Wigan Warriors’ Lucie Sams.

In addition to Strange and Millard, whose father Shane was a forward for Widnes, Leeds and Wigan, three other NRLW players have made the squad – including dual code international Fran Goldthorp, who last played rugby league for her country at the most recent World Cup in 2022.

Newcastle Knights’ Georgia Roche and Hollie-Mae Dodd of Canberra Raiders have also been included.

Strange’s inclusion as a heritage player – one who qualifies through parentage – comes after eligibility rules were relaxed this year.

An International Rugby League ruling means that players can now represent more than one of the three tier one nations – Australia, New Zealand and England.

That led to speculation that head coach Stu Barrow might call on more heritage players with NRLW experience – such as Roosters playmaker Jocelyn Kelleher, Bulldogs half-back Tayla Preston and Wests Tigers full-back Caitlin Turnbull.

But Barrow has said he wants to give homegrown players an opportunity to develop.

All three Woman of Steel nominees – Jenna Foubister, Eva Hunter and Megan Williams – have been selected, along with six of their Wigan team-mates. Grand Final winners York Valkyrie have one player in the squad in forward Liv Wood.

Loose forward Jodie Cunningham, who will retire after the World Cup, is selected along with St Helens team-mate Vicky Whitfield, who will be competing at her fourth World Cup.

Barrow said: “Narrowing our squad from 40 players to a final 23 has involved some difficult decisions, but we believe we have the right balance of experience and youth to compete on the world stage.

“It’s also an exciting moment for the programme with the inclusion of Australian-based heritage players for the first time.”

This year’s men’s, women’s and wheelchair World Cups will run concurrently, with England competing in all three. The wheelchair squad was announced last week, while the men’s squad will be confirmed on 5 October.

The tournaments are being staged largely in Australia, with Papua New Guinea’s men and women each playing two pool matches in their own country, and their New Zealand counterparts playing one.

England face three group matches – beginning in Perth against Wales on 17 October and Australia on 24 October, before facing Samoa in Wollongong on 30 October.

The top two sides in England’s four-team group will go through to the semi-finals on 7 and 8 November, with the final on 15 November.

Watch highlights from the final day of the Presidents Cup as the United States complete a thrilling comeback to beat the Internationals and win their 11th successive title.

READ MORE: US complete thrilling comeback to retain Presidents Cup

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In the most bizarre of cricketing summers, Ben Duckett has had a bizarre summer of his own.

The only Englishman to compile a Test ton, and the scorer of 141 against India in a one-day international at Lord’s, ends with nine scores below 20 from his other 15 innings.

He was talked about as the world’s best all-format batter after his 149 against India last summer but has averaged 27.15 since then across formats.

It is right that England are reticent to drop a batter who has hit such highs, especially as a senior player and one with significant List A experience – a total of 111 matches – behind him in a squad still lacking in 50-over matches.

Duckett and Jacob Bethell also shared an opening stand of 192 in the series decider against India at Lord’s.

But, unlike the Test side where Emilio Gay’s place as Duckett’s partner is not fully secure, never mind a replacement waiting in the wings, Tom Banton and Bethell have shown there could be another world without the diminutive left-hander.

Bethell, who scored 91 in the third ODI against India before missing the Sri Lanka series with a knee injury, is talked of as a senior player in the group, despite still being just 22, while Banton’s first England century on Sunday was superb.

The way Banton hits the ball at the top of the bounce looks suited to the bouncy pitches of South Africa, where the majority of the World Cup will be played.

Duckett, in contrast, averages 23.4 on surfaces deemed as ‘high bouncing’ since the start of 2023. This winter’s Test series in South Africa may shed some more light.

World-ranked number 15 Northern Ireland’s emphatic 73-50 victory over Republic of Ireland in their final qualifier was not enough to secure one of the two qualification spots automatically.

However, Scotland’s narrow win over Wales in Sunday’s later game booked both teams spots with Wales, who are ranked ninth in the world, missing out.

“It was a real rollercoaster of a day,” O’Hanlon continued.

“Obviously we started out with a hard-fought win against the Republic of Ireland, but we knew that we were still relying on Scotland.

“That match was just up and down the whole way through, so we were nerve-wrecked watching that. Just sitting in the stands, not being able to control anything, was nerve-wracking.”

O’Hanlon was captain of the side when they finished 10th in the World Cup seven years ago.

But, now, the 42-year-old said the squad will head to Sydney with ambitions of competing for results rather than simply gaining experience.

“The last one we were at was in Liverpool and there was a lot of home support, but Sydney is the home of netball at the minute,” O’Hanlon added.

“Sydney is the centre of the best league in the world. It’ll be a brilliant spectacle and it’s just class to be a part of it.

“The group will be going into the games not just to experience, not just to learn, but to actually go on and compete and try to win games and get results. That’s the next step for us really.”

The United States completed a thrilling comeback on the final day to beat the Internationals and win an 11th successive Presidents Cup.

The hosts, containing eight of the world’s 11 top-ranked players, trailed by three points going into Sunday and were looking to avoid just a second defeat since the biennial competition began 32 years ago.

They dominated the singles, winning nine of the 12 matches, to seal a 17-13 win at Medinah – the scene of Team Europe’s famous Ryder Cup comeback win in 2012.

Jacob Bridgeman secured the decisive point by holing a four-foot par putt at the 18th to seal a one-up win over Australia’s Min Woo Lee.

There were also wins for Cameron Young, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler, Chris Gotterup, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Jackson Koivun.

“I told the guys last night that funny stuff happens here. Medinah’s got a history of funny things happening,” said US captain Brandt Snedeker, who was a member of the team beaten by Europe in 2012.

“All these guys fought for each other, fought for this country, fought for this team.”

International captain Geoff Ogilvy said: “The US team came out firing, we knew they would.

“It was on a knife edge all day. If some of those one downs we had out there had flipped to one up, the numbers looked really good and who knows what momentum that could give.”

US President Donald Trump was in attendance in his role as honorary chairman, greeting the players and making a speech before the matches got under way.

Scotland and Northern Ireland secured qualification for the Netball World Cup after a three-day event in East Kilbride.

The top two sides from the four-team tournament won their spots in the finals, which take place in Sydney, Australia, with Wales and Republic of Ireland failing to qualify.

Northern Ireland’s emphatic 73-50 win in the early match on Sunday meant they would qualify should Scotland win or draw, while Wales’ only path to qualification was through a victory over Scotland.

Heading into the final match of the tournament between the Scots and Welsh, the event hosts had their spot in the finals secured unless Wales won with an overwhelming points haul and Scotland ran out 55-48 victors.

The World Cup runs from 25 August-5 September 2027.

The International team need five points on the final day to secure a first Presidents Cup in 28 years after holding off a United States fightback on day three in Medinah.

The Internationals were behind in every match at one stage but will go into Sunday’s singles holding a 10-5-7.5 lead.

The hosts had the better of the morning session, winning two and tying one of the four-balls.

But the teams split the afternoon foursomes, with Canada’s Corey Conners saving par at the 18th to win the final match on the course and preserve the Internationals’ three-point lead.

The International team have only won the President’s Cup once since its inception in 1994 and never on American soil.

“We were down in every match, and to come back and get one and a half points out of this morning, we felt that was a little victory because we were down everywhere,” said team captain Geoff Ogilvy.

“This afternoon, the same thing happened. Team USA played so well all day. They played some really high-level foursomes, especially this afternoon.

“For the boys to somehow come back and pinch two points out of that and split the session was amazing.”

Sunday sees 12 singles games take place, with each side needing 15.5 points to seal victory.

The International team produced a brilliant fightback in the foursomes on day two of the Presidents Cup to take a 7-3 lead over the United States.

The US had been 3-2 up after the fourballs on Thursday but in a stunning turnaround were beaten in all five matches in the alternate-shot format in Medinah on Friday.

It boosted their hopes of a first victory in the event since 1998 and only a second since the competition began in 1994.

Geoff Ogilvy’s side secured their first point of the day as Sungjae Im and Hideki Matsuyama saw off Russell Henley and Jacob Bridgeman 3&2.

Canadian duo Corey Conners and Nick Taylor then produced a stunning result as they held on to beat world number one Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns by one hole.

Burns almost snatched a half when his 20-foot putt at the last lipped out.

Open champion Ryan Fox and Min Woo Lee also edged a see-saw contest with Collin Morikawa and Wyndham Clark by one hole, before Adam Scott and Christiaan Bezuidenhout defeated Justin Thomas and Cameron Young 3&2.

Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim wrapped up the day with a dominant 4&3 victory over Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele.

There will be four further foursomes matches and four more fourballs on Saturday, with 12 singles games taking place on Sunday.

DR Congo beat Equatorial Guinea, while Ivory Coast cruise by Ghana and Cameroon beat Comoros as AFCON qualifiers begin.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo followed up their World Cup exploits ⁠with a 2-0 ⁠home win over Equatorial Guinea on the opening day of the group qualifiers for next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

Captain Chancel ⁠Mbemba headed home the opening goal in the fourth minute, and Yoane Wissa added a second 18 minutes from time in Kinshasa on Thursday, although ⁠the scoreline might have been more emphatic after they twice struck the woodwork and also had two efforts ruled offside.

It was the first game for the Congolese after advancing through the first phase of the World Cup for the first time ‌and running England close in their last-32 tie in Atlanta in July.

However, there was no opportunity for home supporters to celebrate their achievement as the size of the crowd at the Stade des Martyrs was restricted to 20,000 after sanctions for fan violence that followed defeat by Senegal in World Cup qualification one year ago.

Mauritania and Namibia were also winners ⁠in Thursday’s early games, while Libya netted a last-gasp penalty ⁠to salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Botswana behind closed doors in Tripoli, where the stadium was also banned because of previous supporter violence.

Botswana striker Tumisang Orebonye scored a double ⁠in the first half to put his side on course for a rare away win before Maruwan Alhibeeshi thrashed ⁠home from the edge of the area to ⁠pull one back in the 87th minute.

Botswana substitute Mothusi Cooper gave away a stoppage-time penalty with a clumsy challenge, allowing Ezoo El Mariamy to rescue a draw.

Mauritania won 3-1 over the Central ‌African Republic in Casablanca, Morocco, which included a superb chipped effort over the goalkeeper from Dawda Camara, while Bethuel Muzeu scored the only goal as Namibia ‌edged ‌Congo.

Ivory Coast beat Ghana 2-0 in a derby in Bouake in a Group C encounter.

A stunning strike from Malick Yalcouye opened the scoring from outside the box in the first half, although the Ghana keeper, Lawrence Ati-Zigi, will feel he should have done better at his near post.

Franck Kessie gave the Black Stars stopper no chance as he sent his opponent the wrong way with a side-footed second-half penalty.

Ghana, who failed to qualify for the 2025 edition of AFCON, are left to reflect on a match where they failed to register a shot on target until the 75th minute. They also conceded 61 percent of possession to their hosts.

Cameroon beat Comoros 3-1, while Tunisia were held to a 1-1 draw by Uganda in the pick of the other ties.

The United States began their bid to win an 11th consecutive Presidents Cup by opening up a 3-2 lead over the International team at the end of Thursday’s fourballs matches at Medinah Country Club in Illinois.

Justin Thomas and rookie Jackson Koivun put the first point on the board for Brandt Snedeker’s American team with a resounding 4&3 win over Canada’s Corey Conners and Colombia’s Nico Echavarria.

World number one Scottie Scheffler, who was partnered with his long-time friend Sam Burns, took the 17th hole and held on to close out their victory over Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im, who were left to rue several missed putts down the stretch.

And two-time major champions Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa ensured the US would take an advantage into Friday’s five foursome matches.

Clark and Morikawa led from the opening hole against Australia’s Adam Scott and reigning Open champion Ryan Fox before completing their 3&2 success with two holes to spare.

“A session win is a session win; we’re going to take it any way we can get it,” said Snedeker.

However, Geoff Ogilvy’s International side will head into the alternate shot format on Friday with optimism of remaining in contention to claim only their second ever triumph in the biennial contest, some 28 years after their first in 1998.

Japanese duo Hideki Matsuyama and debutant Ryo Hisatsune recorded a 3&1 success over Cameron Young and Xander Schauffele, while Kim Si-woo and Tom Kim always looked comfortable in their 3&2 win over Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay.

The five foursome matches scheduled to take place on Friday will be followed by two sessions on Saturday, split between four four-ball matches in the morning and four foursomes in the afternoon.

All 12 players on each team will then compete in the singles matches on Sunday, with 15½ points required for overall victory.

Follow updates, build-up, team news and lineups, from our live text commentary stream coverage as Yan Diomande stars.

Who: Ivory Coast vs Ghana
What: CAF Africa Cup of Nations qualifier
Where: Stade de Bouake, in Bouake, Ivory Coast
When: Thursday, September 24, at 7pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: Al Jazeera Sport will have live build-up from 16:00 GMT before our text commentary stream.

The qualification process for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off with a match befitting the final itself as Ivory Coast play Ghana.

Both nations are packed with high-profile players and are led by names that have managed at the highest levels of the game.

Al Jazeera takes a look at the mouth-watering opener on the path to the finals in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania.

Who else is in Ivory Coast and Ghana’s AFCON qualifying group?

The Gambia and Somalia complete Group C of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

In the next round of matches in the group, Ghana will entertain The Gambia on Tuesday, while Ivory Coast will travel to Somalia.

What are the expectations on Ivory Coast’s AFCON campaign?

Despite their round-of-32 exit in the FIFA World Cup 2026 at the hands of Norway, Ivory Coast’s task ahead is quite clear: win AFCON 2027.

The Elephants are led by Herve Renard, who is taking charge of the West African giants for the second time and replaced Emerse Fae following the World Cup.

The Frenchman previously managed Ivory Coast from 2014 to 2015, leading them to the AFCON title before joining French Ligue 1 club Lille immediately after the final.

Renard is a two-time AFCON winner, having also led Zambia to their historic win in 2012. The 57-year-old has also managed Morocco, Tunisia – in a last-minute call-up at World Cup 2026 – and Saudi Arabia, who he famously led to victory against Argentina in their group-stage match at Qatar 2022.

Who are the star names in the Ivory Coast side?

Although not blessed with the superstar-level talents like Didier Drogba from their 2015 victory, Ivory Coast are still a force to be reckoned with.

Yan Diomande is the shining light of African football following his $161m move to Spanish giants Real Madrid from RB Leipzig in Germany.

Former Barcelona midfielder, now with Atalanta in Italy’s Serie A, Franck Kessie is arguably the next biggest name in the current side.

Former Arsenal forward, Nicolas Pepe is resurrecting his career at Villarreal in Spain after a failed $92m transfer to the Gunners from French club Lille.

Ibrahim Sangare has been a standout performer in the English Premier League with Nottingham Forest, while Amad Diallo of Manchester United is the starlet of Ivory Coast football.

What is Ivory Coast’s AFCON record?

The Elephants are three-time AFCON winners and beat Ghana on penalties in the 1992 final for their first continental crown.

Renard’s 2015 victory also saw Ghana defeated, and once again it was by penalties.

Their most recent win came at the 2023 edition when they defeated Nigeria 2-1 on home soil.

What are the expectations on Ghana’s AFCON campaign?

Ghana, like Ivory Coast, were also eliminated at the round of 32 at the World Cup 2026 as they lost 1-0 to Colombia.

The Black Stars also lost their final group stage match to Croatia, but achieved a respectable 0-0 draw with eventual semifinalists England, while beating Panama to secure their progress to the knockouts.

Led by former Real Madrid manager Carlos Queiroz, Ghana will also have their sights set on the final of AFCON 2027.

Queiroz, who rose to prominence as assistant to Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, has the record of Iran’s longest-serving manager with a run between 2011 and 2019. The Portuguese also returned to manage the side at Qatar 2022.

Alongside his two-year stint as Real manager, the 73-year-old has also managed South Africa, Egypt, Colombia, Qatar and his native Portugal.

With his wealth of experience, the West Africans will hope to rise from a nation that failed to reach the last AFCON – finishing bottom of their qualifying group – to winners of the 2027 edition.

Who are the star names in the Ghana side?

Where Ivory Coast have more strength across the board, Ghana have a longer list of star attractions.

Manchester City forward Antoine Semenyo is undoubtedly Ghana’s key player, but is ably assisted in attack by Mohammed Kudus, who made his name in the English Premier League with West Ham before a big-money move to Tottenham.

Jordan Ayew is a long-established spearhead of attacks in European football, as well as for Ghana, for whom he remains the national team captain.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey is still a pivotal player for his new club Villarreal, while Athletic Bilbao’s Inaki Williams remains one of the hottest talents in La Liga, with a host of top clubs across Europe vying for his signature.

What is Ghana’s AFCON record?

Ghana are four-time winners of AFCON, but have not lifted the trophy since 1982.

Alongside their 1992 and 2015 defeats by Ivory Coast, they lost the 2010 edition to Egypt.

What happened the last time Ivory Coast played Ghana?

The last meeting between the sides came in a friendly in 2021 and, much like the 2015 AFCON final, it ended in a 0-0 draw.

The previous competitive meeting between the sides saw Ivory Coast win 3-1 in their round-of-16 match at AFCON 2010.

Head-to-head

This will be the 38th meeting between the border-sharing nations, with Ghana winning 15 of the encounters and Ivory Coast winning 10.

Ivory Coast team news

Diallo is the prominent absentee from the match for Ivory Coast as the forward recovers from injury.

Evann Guessand and Omar Diakite are notable omissions from Renard’s 25-man squad selection.

Ivory Coast predicted starting lineup

Fofana; Doue, Koussounou, O Diomande, Konan; Kessie, Sangare, Inao; Pepe, Bonny, Y Diomande

Ghana team news

Injuries have stripped the Ghana squad of a number of their leading names, including their captain Ayew.

The losses of Semenyo and Kudus are even greater blows, the latter having missed the 2026 World Cup with a hamstring injury.

Ghana predicted starting lineup

Asare; Oppong, Adjetey, Opoku, Mensah; Yirenkyi, Sibo, Donkor; Issahaku, Thomas-Asante, Nuamah

Daley Cross, manager of the England team, said of Lucy’s role: “She was just trying to do her best for him and trying to find a way to motivate him.

“His wife did drop in the conversation that he used to play at Manchester United as a schoolboy. So that got our ears twitched instantly.

“You could tell from him being on the pitch, even though he was so fresh into his journey, that he knew the football game and he would be such an incredible asset to us.

“You can be in a dark place, at the time of diagnosis, through your treatment or even post-transplant. So to have us exist to help and inspire people means that we are getting some incredible footballers.

“And that really is the power of it: to that transplant community or to the world, showing people that when you’ve had organ failure, your life isn’t over. There is a chance for you, and you can go and resume and live your life.”

As the recipient of a donor heart, Jackson has to manage his exercise workload more carefully than his team-mates, many of whom have had kidney transplants, the most common transplant in the UK.

His role in the side tends to involve 10-minute bursts, rather than playing for the duration of matches.

Goalkeepers: Eartha Cumings (Manchester City), Lee Gibson (Glasgow City), Sandy MacIver (Washington Spirit).

Defenders: Georgia Brown (Jacksonville), Jenna Clark (Liverpool), Nicola Docherty (Rangers), Sophie Howard (Como), Emma Lawton (Ipswich Town), Rachel McLauchlan (Newcastle United), Amy Muir (Glasgow City).

Midfielders: Chelsea Cornet (Birmingham City), Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea), Christy Grimshaw (AC Milan), Sam Kerr (Liverpool), Kirsty Maclean (Liverpool), Maria McAneny (Celtic), Miri Taylor (Aston Villa), Caroline Weir (Lyon).

Forwards: Lauren Davidson (Brann), Claire Emslie (Angel City), Freya Gregory (Newcastle United), Kirsty Hanson (Tottenham Hotspur), Kirsty Howat (Crystal Palace), Mia McAulay (Aston Villa), Kathleen McGovern (Newcastle United), Martha Thomas (Newcastle United).

Sonay Kartal and Katie Boulter lost their respective singles matches as Great Britain were beaten by a strong Czech Republic side in the Billie Jean King Cup quarter-finals.

Anne Keothavong’s team headed into the tie as underdogs, with all five Czech players placed higher in the singles rankings than any of the British squad.

Sonay Kartal produced a gritty performance as she returned to tennis after six months out with a lower back injury, but fell to a narrow 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 6-4 defeat in a marathon three-hour encounter with Marie Bouzkova.

Boulter could do little to get Britain back into the best-of-three tie as she was outplayed 6-2 7-6 (7-3) by Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova.

It was a second successive loss for Boulter at the hands of a Czech player, coming just three weeks after a 58-minute demolition by Karolina Muchova at the US Open.

It is the first time since 2023 that Britain have failed to reach the semi-finals at the Billie Jean King Cup and their wait for a maiden title will go on for another year.

The Czech Republic, who are 11-time winners of the tournament and the only team boasting two top-10 players at the Finals, will face either Kazakhstan or Spain in Friday’s semi-finals.

Great Britain will play in November’s Davis Cup Finals as Henry Patten and Neal Skuspki won their doubles match to give the nation an unassailable 3-0 lead in their qualifying tie against Ecuador.

Toby Samuel and Arthur Fery both triumphed in their singles matches at a sold-out Copper Box Arena in London on Saturday to get Britain off to a winning start in the best-of-five tie.

Patten and Skupski then took to the court on Sunday and booked Britain’s ticket to the ‘Final Eight’ event in Bologna at the earliest opportunity with a 6-3 6-4 win over Gonzalo Escobar and Diego Hidalgo.

“We’re feeling great,” said Patten in his on-court interview.

“[Captain] Leon [Smith] was giving us the team talk and saying we needed to be ready for the singles so we’re very, very happy to get it done on the first match.”

Great Britain had not reached the knockout stage of the Davis Cup since 2023 and, even against underdogs Ecuador, there were doubts if captain Leon Smith could end that run given his inexperienced team in London.

Jack Draper ended his difficult season early, while Jan Choinski and Jacob Fearnley were both unavailable through injury.

Smith was then dealt a late blow when British number two Cameron Norrie pulled out on Friday after feeling pain in his arm during a practice session.

However, Samuel – after a breakthrough season that has seen him rise from outside the world’s top 250 to 95th in the rankings – stepped up on his Davis Cup debut.

Just weeks after winning his first Grand Slam match at the US Open, the 24-year-old overcame nerves and fought back from a set down to beat Andres Andrade 4-6 6-4 6-1.

Fery, meanwhile, was making just his second Davis Cup appearance as the British number one claimed an assured 7-5 6-0 win over Alvaro Guillen Meza.

And with world number one Patten and new US Open champion Skupski to call upon for Sunday’s doubles rubber, victory seemed to be well within Britain’s grasp.

The pair, despite not playing together on the ATP Tour, combined effortlessly and did not face a single break point against the Ecuadorians.

“I made my debut in 2019 with all the other guys like Jamie Murray, Andy Murray, Evo [Dan Evans] and now I guess I am the oldest in the team,” said 36-year-old Skupsi, who was making his 16th Davis Cup appearance.

“It’s been amazing to be back with the team, it’s been a big 18 months and it’s such an honour to play for your county, especially in front of a home crowd like you guys coming out to support – it’s been amazing.”

Great Britain became World Team Cup champions for the fifth time as Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid joined forces to secure a 2-1 victory over Japan in Florida.

Japan were the defending champions of the competition, which is the wheelchair tennis equivalent to the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup.

However, Hewett and Reid ensured Britain got their hands back on the trophy with a 6-1 6-2 win in the deciding doubles match against Tokito Oda and Daisuke Arai.

“We’re really happy to get the title back,” said Reid, who was also part of the World Team Cup-winning squad alongside Hewett in 2015, 2019, 2023 and 2024.

Hewett added: “It’s the first time it’s come down to the deciding doubles for us, so I’m just really happy that we got over the line.

“It’s always a privilege to play for your country and there’s been a great atmosphere and team spirit again this week between all the lads.”

Reid got Britain off to a winning start on Saturday with a commanding 6-2 6-2 victory over world number 21 Arai, who he has now beaten in all five encounters between the pair.

The start of the second singles match was then delayed because of extreme heat in Orlando, with Hewett and Oda returning to court six hours later when temperatures had cooled.

Just a week after beating the world number one in the singles final of the US Open, Hewett was unable to repeat his feat as he fell to a narrow 6-4 7-5 loss.

“I’m a bit disappointed that it wasn’t a 100% day after my loss in the singles, but it was a really high-level match and just came down to a few points in both sets that could have gone either way,” he said.

However, Hewett bounced back in the doubles alongside Reid as Britain, who also had 21-year-old Ben Bartram in the team and were captained by Martyn Whait, backed up their wins against South Korea and the Netherlands earlier this week.