Cup

The picture for the FIFA World Cup 2026 became a lot clearer on Tuesday when a number of top teams across the continents booked their place at football’s global showpiece.

The number of confirmed teams has now risen to 28 following the latest round of qualifiers, with another 20 still to be filled by various confederational playoffs, intercontinental playoffs, and – in Europe’s case – the main qualifying stage, which still needs to be completed.

England, South Africa and Qatar were among the headline names to book their place at the tournament on Tuesday.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at the tournament that the nations around the world are all vying to reach.

When and where is the FIFA World Cup 2026?

The tournament is being staged across the United States, Canada and Mexico. The first match will be played in Mexico City on June 11, while the final will be staged in New Jersey, US, on July 19.

Due to the expansion of the tournament – from 32 teams to 48 – the 39-day event is the longest in its history.

When will we know all the teams for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

FIFA’s intercontinental playoffs will be the last chance saloon for teams around the world to reach next summer’s event. The finale of that route will be on March 31, 2026, less than three months before the World Cup kicks off. The European qualification process runs until March, but most of the remaining confederations will have finished their continental qualification processes long before then.

What are the FIFA intercontinental playoffs?

Once the respective confederations finish their qualification process, FIFA offers two final spots to be contested by the best-placed team from each of the six continental routes that have not already qualified.

When is the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Although we will not know the full list of teams for the event until the end of March 2026, the draw will take place on December 5, 2025.

28/48 ✅@Aramco | #WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/eaksBnrBYM

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 14, 2025

Where will the draw be held for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

The draw will take place in the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. US President Donald Trump confirmed the location while speaking in the Oval Office at the White House, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino. He did not rule out overseeing the draw itself.

What will the format be for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

With the expansion to 48 teams, the World Cup will now feature 12 four-team groups. That in turn will lead to a round of 32, an extra knockout round to previous editions.

Indeed, the tournament has doubled in size since it was staged in the US in 1994, when only 24 teams competed.

Can Trump move games at the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Trump has been quite clear and consistent on the staging of games within the US, saying he will move the games from any cities that he deems to be unsafe.

On September 26, when Trump was asked about games being moved, he warned: “Well, that’s an interesting question … but we’re going to make sure they’re safe. [Seattle and San Francisco are] run by radical left lunatics who don’t know what they’re doing.”

How will the FIFA World Cup 2026 game staging be split between the hosts?

The US will stage games in 11 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New Jersey/New York (joint host region), Philadelphia, San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.

Canada will host 13 games in total, split between Toronto and Vancouver. Mexico will also get 13 games, which will be played in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

Where will the FIFA World Cup 2026 final be staged?

The US will stage the final, which will be played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Who are the defending FIFA World Cup champions?

Argentina won the last edition of the FIFA World Cup, beating France in the final of Qatar 2022.

With the game level at 3-3 after extra time, Argentina won the penalty shootout 4-2.

Will the weather affect games at the FIFA World Cup 2026?

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup was staged in the US, and the heat and resulting thunderstorms proved to be a huge problem for the tournament.

Three stadiums – in Arlington, Atlanta and Houston – have retractable roofs that are expected to be closed due to the summer heat, while Inglewood and Vancouver have fixed roofs.

Which teams have already qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

After the latest round of qualifying matches, here is a breakdown of the confirmed contenders from each of the six regions:

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, USA

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Europe: England

Oceania: New Zealand

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

Which teams can still qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Africa: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Nigeria will play off for the final intercontinental spot from the continent. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has announced November 13 for the first matches, followed by a deciding match three days later.

Asia: UAE and Iraq will vie for one intercontinental playoffs spot when they compete over two legs in the final stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers on November 13 and 18.

Europe: 53 of the 54 European teams vying for 16 qualification spots can still confirm their berths, alongside England, as their first-round matches will run until November 18. European qualification will run until March, just before the intercontinental playoffs begin.

North, Central America and the Caribbean: Three spots remain up for grabs, given the World Cup hosts take up three spots already. Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curacao, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago have all advanced to the third round, with the winners to be decided by November 18. The three second-placed teams from each group will then fight for the intercontinental playoffs spot.

Oceania: New Caledonia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs.

South America: Bolivia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs, having missed out on one of the six automatic qualifying positions.

Europe’s victory at Bethpage Black was McIlroy’s sixth in eight Ryder Cups and second in America after 2012’s memorable triumph at Medinah.

Speaking on Tuesday, Donald – who also led Europe to their 2023 win in Rome – said McIlroy would make a “good captain”, but the world number two does not expect to take the reins until the “mid-2030s”.

“Certainly not 2027 [at Adare Manor in Ireland],” he said.

“I hope I’m still playing at that point. But yeah, I would love to be the European team captain at some point.

“But that will be beyond my playing days, or at least when my playing days are coming to an end and I’m not good enough to make the team, or I make way for the new generation to come along.

“Hopefully that’s not in 2027. Hopefully, I’m still good enough to play and put points on the board for Europe.”

McIlroy is returning to action at the DP World Tour’s India Championship – a new tournament – alongside Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Viktor Hovland.

Grouped with Hovland and US Ryder Cup player Ben Griffin, McIlroy begins Thursday’s first round at Delhi Golf Club at 02:55 BST

Football fans celebrated in Qatar as the country’s football team qualified for next year’s FIFA World Cup, with a 2-1 win over the United Arab Emirates. It’s the first time Qatar has reached a World Cup through competitive qualifiers after hosting the tournament in 2022.

The latest round of qualifiers around the globe for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has seen the number of entrants rise to 28.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a look at some of the best photos from the nations that confirmed their qualification on Wednesday for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Qatar are the headline news in the latest group of confirmed entrants for next year’s FIFA 2026 World Cup following the most recent round of qualifying matches.

The hosts of the 2022 edition of the global showpiece event reached the finals for the first time through the qualification route, when they beat the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.

South Africa also clinched a tight group, with fellow African giants Nigeria pushed to the playoffs, on a tense final day of group stage qualifiers on the continent. This came a day after Cape Verde’s first qualification for the World Cup finals.

The European teams still have some way to go to finish their qualifying groups, but the picture has become far clearer with some progress already made.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a close look at how the qualifying process stands around the globe:

Which teams are in the FIFA World Cup 2026?

After the latest round of qualifying matches, here is a breakdown of the confirmed contenders from each of the six regions:

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Europe: England

Oceania: New Zealand

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

Who can still qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Africa: Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Nigeria will play off for the final intercontinental spot from the continent. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has yet to announce the dates for those matches.

Asia: The UAE and Iraq will vie for one intercontinental playoffs spot when they compete over two legs in the final stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers in November.

Europe: 53 of the 54 European teams vying for 16 qualification spots can still confirm their berths, alongside England, as their first-round matches will run until November 18.

North, Central America and the Caribbean: With the World Cup host nations taking three spots, only three are left up for grabs. They will be decided on November 18. Bermuda, Costa Rica, Curacao, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago have all advanced to the third round. The three second-placed teams from each group will then fight for the intercontinental playoffs spot.

Oceania: New Caledonia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs.

South America: Bolivia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs, having missed out on one of the six automatic qualifying positions.

28/48 ✅@Aramco | #WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/eaksBnrBYM

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 14, 2025

Which major teams have been eliminated from qualification?

Peru and Chile, who were third-place finishers in 1962, were the biggest names to miss out from the South America qualifiers, where Venezuela were also eliminated.

Although not considered a powerhouse in Asia, China will be disappointed not to reach their first finals since 2002.

Angola, Libya, Mali and Namibia will be among those disappointed to be eliminated from the African qualification.

Indonesia were hoping to reach only a second World Cup, and made a valiant run to the fourth round of AFC qualification. But they will be disappointed not to have gone one step further following their Dutch recruitment drive, which included their coach, Patrick Kluivert.

Bahrain, who topped their 2023 AFC Asian Cup group stage ahead of South Korea, only to be eliminated by Japan in the round of 16, will be deflated to have missed out on the chance to showcase their skills on the global stage. Palestine were only seconds away from reaching the fourth round of the AFC qualifier and, following their historic run to the knockout stage of the last Asian Cup, will also be disappointed not to have at least gone one step further in their continental qualifiers.

When will all the teams for the FIFA World Cup 2026 be confirmed?

European qualification rounds stretch beyond the current group stages to March, while the intercontinental playoff final is scheduled for the same month, so the final 48 teams for the World Cup will not be known until less than three months before the tournament. March 31, 2026, is when all qualification will come to an end.

When and where is the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026?

The World Cup draw, as revealed by US President Donald Trump in August, will take place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

“It’s the biggest, probably the biggest event in sports, I guess,” said Trump, who made the announcement in an Oval Office event where he was joined by Vice President JD Vance and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Trump also did not rule out overseeing the draw himself.

When is the FIFA World Cup 2026 scheduled?

The tournament begins in Mexico City on June 11, and ends with the final in New Jersey on July 19.

The Ivorians, who return to the World Cup finals for the first time since 2014, went through the entire 10-game group campaign without conceding a goal, one of two nations on the continent to do so alongside Tunisia.

Ivory Coast and Senegal join Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde and South Africa in booking their ticket to next year’s World Cup finals.

One more side – the winners of next month’s continental play-offs – could join that group if they emerge from an inter-confederation tournament in March next year.

Cameroon, DR Congo, Gabon and Nigeria finished as the four best-ranked second-placed sides across the nine groups and one of those sides will have the chance to become Africa’s 10th representative at the expanded 48-team World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The Confederation of African Football is yet to announce a date for the play-off draw.

BOURNEMOUTH goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic was lobbed from near the HALFWAY LINE in Serbia’s crucial World Cup qualifier against Andorra.

The former Chelsea star was caught cold by Andorra forward Guillaume Lopez from inside the CCentre D.

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Serbia midfielder Aleksandar Stankovic’s wayward loose pass was eagerly intercepted by Lopez from 35 yards inside 17 minutes.

Lopez then had the presence of mind to drill a shot over helpless Premier League stopper Petrovic, who was way out of his six-yard box.

Petrovic, 26, flippantly dived backwards, but was unable to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net.

But Serbia hit back instantly through Christian Garcia’s own-goal, before Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic gave them the lead in the 54th minute.

Both teams are in England‘s Group K, with Serbia sitting third outside the play-off spots and Andorra rock bottom.

Since leaving Stamford Bridge for the Vitality Stadium in July, Petrovic has started all seven games for Andoni Iraola‘s side.

Petrovic was left out of Chelsea’s Club World Cup squad in June before securing his £25m exit to the south-west.

He replaced fellow former Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who joined Arsenal in a £5m deal this summer.

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He earned national hero status after saving a penalty in the World Cup qualifier against Albania – a match charged with a lot of tension, because of politics and history.

The Serb, who joined Chelsea from New England Revolution in a £14m deal in 2023, spent last season on loan at French club Strasbourg.

He was named player of the season as Strasbourg secured a Europa Conference League spot by finishing seventh in Ligue 1.

Sri Lanka and New Zealand were forced to settle for a point each after their Women’s World Cup match in Colombo was abandoned because of rain.

Co-hosts Sri Lanka had racked up 258-6 after opting to bat first, thanks to the fastest fifty of the tournament so far, coming up off 26 balls, from Nilakshi de Silva.

The 36-year-old finished unbeaten on 55 from 28 balls after captain Chamari Athapaththu had hit a classy 53 from 72 balls in an opening stand of 101 with Vishmi Gurunaratne, who made 42 from 83 balls.

That left New Zealand needing their highest second-innings total at a World Cup for victory, only for the rain to arrive before the chase could begin.

The umpires officially abandoned the match at 16:45 BST.

While Sri Lanka will be frustrated to be denied a chance to claim a first victory of the tournament, the result leaves New Zealand facing a real battle to reach the semi-finals.

Sophie Devine’s side are a point off the top four and take on Pakistan on Saturday before tough matches against India and England to finish the group stage.

Manager Michael O’Neill felt had Northern Ireland beaten Germany at Windsor Park in World Cup qualifying on Monday night that they would have been in a “strong position to achieve something amazing”.

It was not to be with Nick Woltemade’s somewhat fortuitous goal the difference between the two sides in Belfast.

When the dust settles on a window during which his young side also beat Slovakia 2-0 on Friday, O’Neill will surely feel encouraged that such a possibility remains on the table as he seeks to take the side to the game’s biggest stage for the first time in four decades.

For the second time in five weeks, Northern Ireland’s players left the field against the four-time World Cup winners believing they could and perhaps should have taken something from the game.

In Cologne last month, it took until after the 70th minute before the visitors tired and quick-fire goals from Nadiem Amiri and Florian Wirtz secured an unconvincing 3-1 win.

Back in Belfast on Monday night, it was Northern Ireland who finished the stronger of the sides, but they could not find an equaliser during a final 25 minutes played largely in Germany’s third of the pitch.

The result ends any realistic chance of O’Neill’s side topping Group A, but the performance, allied with wins in their other two matches to date, means they can have real belief that they can both make and then succeed in the play-offs.

A draw in next month’s seemingly crunch fixture in Slovakia followed by a win over Luxembourg, provided as O’Neill put it “Germany take care of business at home when they play Slovakia” in the final matchday, would be enough for second place.

Even should that not come to pass, there remains a likely backdoor into the play-offs as an otherwise unqualified group winner from last year’s Nations League, although that would potentially mean a considerably stronger opponent in an away semi-final.

“We’ve gained some momentum and picked up some good results,” said defender Paddy McNair, one of two players in O’Neill’s current squad who played for Northern Ireland in their last major tournament at Euro 2016.

“If I was the opposition, I would not like to face us in the play-offs.

“It’s pretty hard to finish first now, but I think we have to get to Slovakia and get three points and you just never know what could happen going into the last game.”

Cape Verde beat Eswatini 3-0 to qualify for the football World Cup for the first time. The island nation, with a population of just 600,000, is the second smallest country ever to reach the tournament, finishing ahead of Cameroon to top their group.

THOMAS TUCHEL has ruled Ollie Watkins out of England’s upcoming World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

The 29-year-old suffered a knock during a friendly against Wales on Thursday.

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He collided with a goalpost while sliding in to connect with a cross just six minutes before half-time.

The Aston Villa man was initially able to continue, but made way for Marcus Rashford at half-time.

Now, the striker has been ruled out of Tuesday’s clash with Latvia.

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That it took until Sunday’s three-wicket win over India for them to complete their first ODI chase over 300, taking back their record for the highest in the women’s 50-over format, is, in truth, a compliment to the bowlers that have worn canary yellow (OK, Australia gold) over the past 50 years.

It is hard for their batters to hold a record if never given the chance.

Ultimately, the result of Australia conceding 330 was captain Alyssa Healy being given an opportunity to produce her latest masterpiece.

Then best known as the 19-year-old niece of renowned former Aussie wicketkeeper Ian, she debuted in 2010 after her nation failed to win either of the 20 or 50-over World Cups held the previous year and has seen it all through 15 trophy-laden years since.

A T20 World Cup win came three months after her bow and seven world titles have followed from 10 attempts across formats.

The gritty keeper was also there in Derby in 2017 when a semi-final defeat by India briefly halted the run of success.

That loss “drove us to rethink our standards,” Healy said this week.

At the next 50-over World Cup in New Zealand, Healy made 170 against England in the final and was named player of the tournament. She ensured her country would not fall short again.

Whether this latest epic knock topped that previous effort can be debated.

Some will argue the case for the pressure of a final. Others can counter with the challenge that comes when facing a record target and a raucous India-supporting crowd of 20,000.

What is certain is this century was far harder to see coming.

The Christchurch carnage in 2022 came as she topped the run-scoring charts, but this knock followed six innings in India since the start of last month in which she had failed to pass 30.

“If you’ve been watching me in the nets, it’s been a frustrating experience because I feel like I’ve had no rhythm whatsoever,” said Healy.

“But once you step out on the field, your competitive instincts kick in and you just lock into the contest.”

Scotland and Denmark are both on 10 points.

The Danes have a handsome goal difference advantage of six goals, and that is the first deciding factor if teams are level on points – not head-to-head.

However, Scotland will be hoping they can get the job done without the need for such messiness.

We can probably assume Denmark will beat point-less Belarus at home in November – having thrashed them 6-0 last week – which would move them to 13 points.

If Scotland beat an already-out Greece in Athens, they would match that tally, setting up an high-anxiety decider at Hampden.

A draw in that one on 18 November would almost certainly favour the Danes, given the goal difference disparity.

Should the Scots draw in Athens, victory over Denmark would still be enough to win the group.

However, defeat for Scotland in Greece, coupled with a Denmark win over Belarus, would mean an extraordinary victory is required in that final game to give Clarke’s side any chance of automatic qualification.

Ghana are the 21st team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup – and at least six more of the 48 places will be decided this week.

Asia and Africa are where all of the latest guaranteed spots will come from, with two from Asia and four more from Africa up for grabs.

Ghana booked their spot thanks to a 1-0 win over Comoros with Tottenham’s Mohammed Kudus claiming the only goal.

Mohamed Salah scored twice on Wednesday as Egypt beat Djibouti 3-0 to seal their place at a fourth World Cup.

Algeria joined them on Thursday with Riyad Mahrez scoring in a 3-0 Group G win over bottom side Somalia.

While no countries in North and Central America or Europe are guaranteed to qualify this month, it is mathematically possible for some countries to do so.

Four European nations could book their place this week – England, Portugal, Switzerland and France.

Thomas Tuchel’s men will qualify with victory over Latvia on Tuesday, while the other three must rely on other results too.

Croatia are all but there, sitting three points above the Czech Republic with a far superior goal difference.

Joint-hosts Canada, Mexico and the United States were all granted automatic qualification for the World Cup.

Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea and Uzbekistan have already qualified from Asia.

Oceania’s one direct qualification spot has been taken by New Zealand.

Tunisia and Morocco were the first two African sides to go through, before three more joined them this week.

Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay and Colombia are the South American nations currently guaranteed a place.

Uzbekistan and Jordan will also be playing at a World Cup finals for the first time.

While they have not qualified for the tournament in full, Bolivia and New Caledonia are two of the six nations confirmed to take part in the inter-confederation play-offs in March 2026.

Teams through to 2026 World Cup

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States.

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, Uzbekistan.

Oceania: New Zealand.

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay.

Africa: Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia.

FRANK LAMPARD has told England’s players that silence is golden if they want to earn a World Cup spot.

The former Three Lions great is advising Thomas Tuchel’s latest squad that mum’s the word when it comes to the German’s team selection.

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The Three Lions’ chief has an array of attacking talent at his disposal and Lampard, who spent the majority of his 106-cap international career being shoehorned into a midfield with Steven Gerrard and Paul Scholes, knows all about compromise.

And he suggested that keeping schtum worked for him — as he went on to score 29 international goals and played in three World Cups and one European Championship as part of the ‘golden generation’.

He said: “I just got on with it. You’re a professional, you get on with it — you are playing different ways, you respect the manager and you crack on. You can have your own opinions — but I tended to keep mine to myself and think about what could I do best if I was asked to play.

“The truth is, I never really played for England much like I played for Chelsea.

“There were times, like in 2004, when Sven-Goran Eriksson was there when I played at the top of a diamond — that wasn’t my ideal, either — but if you are representing your country and the manager’s got an idea, you just go with it.

“That was my story and it’s been documented and people talk about it many years later with a different view to how it felt at the time,

“They just sort of say, ‘It did work or it didn’t work’. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn’t. But I’m not interested in that conversation.

“Personally, I got on with it, as did Stevie and Scholesy.”

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Lampard is in a unique position to comment now he has crossed over to frontline management.

His Coventry side are sitting top of the Championship this season, having scored an impressive 27 goals this season as he attempts to orchestrate a return to the Premier League.

He believes that times may have changed and that Tuchel might  operate a more relaxed policy.

The German has plenty of options up front — all of whom will make a claim to start alongside skipper Harry Kane.

Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Eberechi Eze, Jarrod Bowen, Marcus Rashford and Ollie Watkins were all in the squad for the double header against Wales and Latvia.

But the likes of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish will all be wanting to board the plane to North America for the World Cup next summer.

There are only so many places in Tuchel’s starting XI — and Lampard added: “Now I’m a manager, I understand selection difficulties.

“I’ve had big squads at Chelsea. When I was first there, I went back and they had the 29 players — of which some were disgruntled — that’s another story.

“But in terms of trying to fit players in, you have to make tough decisions as a manager — you have  ideas, you have to work with the squad you’ve got and think, ‘What is the best?’ So that’s why I never really comment on what decisions other managers take because I don’t know the context, what they’re thinking and who and how they want to play.

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“However, I do think it’s more common in the modern day for a conversation to be more open between player and manager.

“It goes manager by manager – some don’t want to talk and say, “This is the team, I’m the boss, you get on with it.’

“There are those who will have individual conversations, and then other people will open up to the group. That all depends on who’s in charge. And players react differently.

“I think there’s a balance to it. I think the players have to feel your authority and believe in what you’re doing.

“It’s not always an open conversation. Our job is to get that bit right. And our job is to be like that.

“But as a manager also, you want to have constant communication in that players feel that they can speak to you because you might find something that you didn’t know.

‘A DIFFERENT ANIMAL’

“England’s a bit of a different animal because you only turn up every now and again.

“At Chelsea, sometimes you’re playing at the weekend and through the week, and you’re training every day and the conversations are there throughout the year much more.” One chat with a great former Chelsea manager sticks in Lampard’s mind.

He added: “I remember once having a conversation with  Carlo Ancelotti about my position at Chelsea when he played a diamond formation.

“It didn’t feel really fluid, not just for me, but for the team.

“That was one of the beauties of Carlo, he would be very open with that chat and I’m not saying he changed his mind, but he was taking on information and then adapting around it.

“That’s why he’s one of the greatest managers, that’s his style — I think those things should be authentic.

“If you want to do your thing and you stick to your guns, you may  succeed or you may fail, that’s what you do. That’s one person’s approach.

“I am more open with my players to try to speak to them, because I want to get better. So every conversation I have with a player may help me, whether I agree with it or not.”

“In the end, the decision is mine — and then hopefully it works.”

It was a run chase set up by an Alyssa Healy century and sealed with an Ellyse Perry six as Australia beat India by three wickets to remain undefeated in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.

Facing a record run-chase target of 331, Australia’s captain took on the Indian bowlers from the start to build the perfect foundation for her team, and an injured Perry returned to bat to complete the task against the hosts at the YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Sunday.

Healy, who opened the innings alongside Phoebe Litchfield, took on the role of the aggressor as she hit three sixes and 21 fours in her 107-ball epic innings of 142.

Litchfield and her captain shared a partnership of 85 before the left-handed batter was dismissed for 40 off 39 balls in the 12th over by slow left-arm bowler Shree Charani.

Healy kept going, though, and built another partnership with experienced all-rounder Ellyse Perry. The pair took Australia to 154 in the 25th over, when Perry retired hurt after suffering an undisclosed injury.

India pounced on the opportunity and were quick to dismiss in-form Beth Mooney for four, followed by Annabel Sutherland for zero in successive overs of spin bowling by Deepti Sharma and Charani.

The fall of wickets did little to slow down Healy, who ensured Australia kept up with the required run rate as she found gaps with little problem and caused several issues for India’s captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

She completed her century off 84 balls in the 31st over and went on to add 56 runs before falling to a soft dismissal off Charani’s bowling. She sliced a ball to point, where a diving Sneh Rana took a catch that had to be double-checked with the television umpire.

However, even as Healy walked off, Australia seemed in control of the run chase. Then three quick wickets in the next six overs brought India back into the match.

When Australia went seven wickets down, Perry walked back onto the field, although with hindered mobility.

The veteran all-rounder combined with Kim Garth to keep the target within reach and finally sealed the win with a trademark six over the bowler’s head to ensure the seven-time champions remain unbeaten in the tournament.

Unsurprisingly, Healy was named player of the match and credited the team for chasing the record total.

“To chase down 330 in a 50-over game is new territory for us,” she said in her post-match comments. “Hopefully, we don’t have to do it again.”

Kaur blames poor end-of-innings batting

India suffered their second consecutive defeat in three days, leaving plenty to ponder for captain Kaur, who blamed the loss on India’s poor batting in the last few overs.

“We knew it was a good batting wicket, but not batting well in the last six overs cost us,” she said after the match.

“The openers have been outstanding, but in the last three games, we were not able to bat in the middle overs.”

The result helped the defending champions return to the top of the points table with seven from their four matches, while India remain unmoved in third despite losing their second match of the tournament.

England are second with six points, and South Africa fourth with four.

The top four teams in the eight-nation tournament will qualify for the semifinals.

Mandhana breaks more records

Earlier, India’s star batter Smriti Mandhana brushed off her low-scoring start to the tournament by hitting a 66-ball 80 in a 155-run opening partnership with Pratika Rawal, who contributed with 75 runs off 96 balls.

Mandhana, who had not gone past 23 in her previous three innings in the World Cup, broke the shackles as she hit three sixes and nine fours in her dominant innings. In the process, she became the fastest player to 5,000 runs in women’s ODIs, having achieved the feat in 112 innings.

It was an attempted slog that became her undoing in the 25th over, when she was caught in deep off the bowling of left-arm spin bowler Sophie Molineux.

Despite the vice-captain’s loss, India continued in their swift-scoring ways as Harleen Deol joined Rawal and resumed the big shots where Mandhana had left off.

However, Rawal was dismissed in the 31st over by Sutherland, and once again, it was an attempted big shot that led to the dismissal at fine leg. India’s captain Kaur, who has also been in search of runs in the tournament, attacked the bowling straight away but was soon dismissed for 22 by Megan Schutt.

The rest of India’s middle and lower-middle order kept the scoring rate up as Jemimah Rodrigues (33), Richa Ghosh (32) and Amanjot Kaur (16) helped India cross the 300-run mark.

Sutherland caused some late damage to help bowl out the hosts for 330 in 48.5 overs and finished with a five-wicket haul.

Molineux finished with 3-75 in her comeback game.

Australia face Bangladesh at the same venue on Thursday, while India resume their campaign after a week-long break when they host England in Indore on Sunday.

WIMBLEDON legends are thrilled to see Thomas Tuchel go full Crazy Gang in England’s bid for World Cup glory.

The England boss is taking a leaf out of the Dons playbook by telling his Three Lions to use long throws and big goal-kicks to secure their first major trophy since 1966.

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Wimbledon were renowned for their direct and physical style of play both during the 1980s and 1990s.

As well as climbing from non-league to the top tier, they also pulled off one of football’s biggest shocks to beat Liverpool in the 1988 FA Cup final at Wembley.

Former Dons manager Dave Bassett told Sun Sport: “I think Tuchel’s on the right lines.

“The purists have been living in fantasy land. Even Manchester City use the long ball more. Our old ways are catching on.

“If you can get the ball forward — not aimlessly — and get players running in behind, it unsettles defences.

“People panic more with long throws than they ever do with corners — they become frightened to death.

“Going sideways and backwards doesn’t get you goals.

“We didn’t hang around. The ­players knew it was one-touch and going into the box. But we did not get the credit because people called it anti-football.”

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Bassett backs Tuchel’s decision to leave Jude Bellingham out of his latest squad — raising the ­possibility the Real Madrid superstar may not even feature in the USA, Canada and Mexico next summer.

The 81-year-old added: “Tuchel needs to decide what formation he wants and which players best suit his system and share his vision.

“Bellingham is a very good player but if he’s not conducive to the team spirit, then tough luck on Bellingham. One person cannot hold the team to ransom.

“When you go away, Tuchel can’t have moody, selfish people who are not sold on his ideas.

“If players are suspect he won’t take them — even if they may be great players.”

Bobby Gould took the reins after Bassett fell out with Dons owner Sam Hammam — and led them to their most famous win.

His first masterstroke after taking over the Crazy Gang was hiring ex-England coach Don Howe.

And Gould, 79, said: “England’s loss was Wimbledon’s gain with Don.

“We just added a bit more quality rather than ripping it up and starting again. It worked wonders.

“Don was Arsenal through and through and steeped in tradition — but even he got into the mind games.

“In the Wembley dressing room he told every player and staff member to put their watch back ten minutes.

“When the referee came to tell us to get into the tunnel, Don said, ‘no, not yet your watch must be wrong’. So off the ref went, we kept Kenny Dalglish & Co waiting — and that was our first ­victory of the day.”

Tuchel’s England exploits remind Gould of the Dons’ good old days.

He added: “England have scored a couple of goals under Tuchel right out of the Wimbledon playbook.

“But it showed our much-maligned tactics still work because the opposition don’t know what’s hit them when you get forward quickly and slaughter them with crosses or long throws.

“Mentally and physically you’ve got to be in it together and that gets the opposition thinking, ‘what have we got to do to stop them?’”

Wembley goal hero Lawrie Sanchez went on to use his Wimbledon experience as Northern Ireland manager.

And he masterminded a shock 1-0 victory over Sven-Goran Eriksson’s England at Windsor Park 20 years ago.

Sanchez, 65, said: “The thing the Crazy Gang had is we were greater than the sum of our parts.

“Whether you could get away with half the gamesmanship we got up to with 24 cameras focused on games is a different matter.

“But on the football side, the set-plays, strength of the characters, strong team ethic and belief in what we were doing would still stand us in good stead.

“We were stats-based well before stats came into play and our set-plays were the logical development from that stat-based stuff. We did set-plays in training ­boringly for hours on Thursdays and Fridays — but it paid off.

“Whether you can get that in an England team in a short space of time is a different matter.

“But they’ve been doing the same thing for the last 59 years and not won anything.”

Full-back Nigel Winterburn helped Wimbledon to a couple of promotions under Bassett but left for Arsenal a year before the cup glory.

He said: “No one liked us because of the way we played but we were often cast-offs with a determination to prove people wrong.

“Boy-oh-boy we intimidated a lot of teams.”

But the likes of John ­Fashanu and Vinny Jones met their match when they faced the British Army.

Winterburn, 61, said: “Dave Bassett liked to bond everyone in pre-season.

“We’d get a typed itinerary saying which five-star hotel awaited.

“But we would end up in the most basic places — usually with the army.

“Once we had to camp out overnight, attack a mock fort and rescue a so-called prisoner.

“It ended up in chaos with Fash and Vinny fighting soldiers.

“There were weird and wonderful times. It forged a togetherness that made sure we were always there to help team-mates.”

Portugal maintain winning record in qualifying despite Cristiano Ronaldo’s second-half penalty miss against Ireland.

Portugal’s Ruben Neves scored a stoppage-time goal to snatch a 1-0 win over Ireland, which preserved Portugal’s 100 percent record in World Cup qualifying Group F and consolidated the top spot.

Portugal moved to nine points at the halfway stage of the campaign, with a five-point lead over second-placed Hungary, who they host on Tuesday, when they could secure qualification.

Neves headed home a minute into added time on Saturday at the Estadio Jose Alvalade for his first international goal.

It was a poignant tribute to close friend Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident in July and whose No 21 jersey Neves wore in Portugal’s first home game since the Liverpool player’s death.

Cristiano Ronaldo had a penalty saved earlier in the match as Ireland threatened to hold the hosts to a draw, but the late strike kept the Irish at the bottom of the standings with one point.