international

There was a sense of inevitability that England captain Kane would be the star turn in Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Czech Republic as he celebrated equalling Peter Shilton’s record of 125 England caps.

Kane, still irreplaceable at 33, added to his goals tally as England’s all-time record scorer, his total of 91 now 38 ahead of Wayne Rooney, who is in second place in the listings with 53 goals in 120 games.

And, with Kane still looking in his prime and fully fit, it now seems only a matter of time before he makes history as the first player to score 100 goals for England.

This alone will have delighted Tuchel, but even more satisfying for the German is that he now presides over an attacking quartet that can pose a threat to any side in world football.

Kane is the peerless spearhead, but Anthony Gordon – on target in the three Nations League games against Spain, the Czech Republic and Croatia before being rested here at Wembley – has moved his game on to another level since joining Barcelona from Newcastle.

Gordon is a creator with burning pace, while on the right flank Bukayo Saka has looked rejuvenated after a World Cup during which he was hampered by an Achilles injury, as he proved with two goals in Croatia.

And, just behind them all, with everything he does stamped with world class, is Jude Bellingham, England’s player of the year and the golden future of his country at only 23.

This may be bad news for Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, whose withdrawal from England’s squad has allowed others to cement their place in front of him, with Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White proving his commitment by cutting short a family holiday to join the squad after being excluded initially.

England’s front four looks a natural fit, augmented by Chelsea’s Morgan Rogers, while Liverpool’s 18-year-old Rio Ngumoha will be an international contender for years to come.

If Tuchel can keep his fab four fit and firing, England will be a danger to any opponents.

Who will be the next president of the largest Latin American economy? We’ll know for sure with the run-off on October 25, but after the first-round results in Brazil’s general election, it seems it won’t be Lula da Silva. The 80-year-old socialist who was close friends with Hugo Chávez and failed to pressure Nicolás Maduro after he stole the 2024 election would need a miracle to stop Flávio Bolsonaro. The ultra-conservative populism of the candidate’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro —currently in jail for the coup attempt of 2023—, surpassed Lula in the presidential vote and grabbed the majority of states and seats in Congress.

Unless the Workers Party has a secret weapon against Bolsonaro and recruits enough voters in extremis, Lula will end his career defeated by a family closely associated with attacks to democracy, misinformation, open dismissal of environmental concerns, militarism, and sexism. 

We’ll see what millions of Brazilian voters, who are fed up with inflation and crime, will decide. But from a Venezuelan point of view, the idea of having Flávio Bolsonaro ruling over our big neighbor to the south sounds like bad news for chavismo, especially if the rest of Venezuela’s land borders touch Guyana, a rising oil producer closely protected by the US, and Colombia, where Abelardo de la Espriella, a leader who resembles Bolsonaro, is already president.

Donald Trump is not Ronald Reagan. He’s not fighting socialism and trying to spread capitalist democracy.

If we add that Panama, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, Chile, and Argentina have conservative presidents who declared a new war on drugs and are even joining the Trump administration’s Shield of the Americas initiative, we’ll see a map turning dark-blue hostile to the heirs of 21st-century socialism. No more silence about chavismo’s abuse. No more anti-imperialist performance in global arenas. Finally, the pendulum swung away from chavismo’s old circle. This right-wing storm on the continent is bad for Delcy Rodríguez and good for María Corina Machado. Right?

Not necessarily.

Before and after Trump

Before Trump, things were simpler. Conservative governments in Latin America were like Álvaro Uribe’s in Colombia or Felipe Calderón’s in Mexico: they tried to get along with Chávez but ended up as enemies, cutting commercial and diplomatic ties, fighting chavista diplomats in the UN and accusing their local adversaries of trying to export chavismo. Predicting a vote involving Venezuela in the OAS was easy: you just had to count how many representatives were on the right and how many on the left or the Chávez payroll, like Petrocaribe’s members. 

After Trump, on the contrary, those old categories no longer matter. Ideology is not important. Not even cultural wars, which are so good for social media and for recruiting powerful allies like evangelical churches; a government can allow abortion and same sex marriage and be considered a friend by Trump, as long as this government connects with the priorities of the president’s political and corporate circles.

Hugo Chávez would be worried about the Bolsonaros’ apparent return to Brasília. Delcy Rodríguez, not so much.

Trump’s foreign relations favor those governments who are in sync with the specific matters his administration is about, like pushing China out of the region, securing markets for American companies, and, more particularly, supporting Trump’s narratives. If you lose an election, as he did with Biden, you blame socialism and try to reverse the results; if Trump says fentanyl and cocaine are coming from your country, you help the Americans to attack boats and produce viral clips on social media; if Trump says your migrants are poisoning his country, you help him to stop them before they approach the US, and even accept that your own citizens are sent to prisons in third, remote countries.

Donald Trump is not Ronald Reagan. He’s not fighting socialism and spreading capitalist democracy. He’s not even treating China as a geopolitical adversary, but a corporate competitor with a CEO you can visit and have at home, as Trump just did with Xi Jinping. Trump is in worse terms with a fully democratic, pro-market government like Mark Carney’s in Canada, which did not bend to his demands, than with President Claudia Sheinbaum in Mexico, a hardcore leftist, who is more cooperative with the White House. And, in fact, Trump is allowing the existence of three socialist autocracies on the continent: Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela. 

Trump can coexist with socialists, as long as they do what he wants. In practice, this means that our old premises about the impact of having left- or right-leaning governments around are not as valid as they were when Chávez was alive.

New friendz n the hood

We Venezuelans can easily see how things changed in the region’s geopolitical play, and how ideology lost relevance, in the evidently comfortable relationship between Donald Trump and Delcy Rodríguez, or in the aftermath of the earthquakes in June. Many governments sent help to La Guaira, but one of the first and most spectacular rescue missions came from El Salvador, where the government is a very public enemy of chavismo. The Salvadorans’ equipment and efforts in the rubble were highlighted on President Nayib Bukele’s social media. El Salvador’s fast response helped the dictatorship to manage the disaster, not the Venezuelan opposition, which is currently led by a pro-market politician, Machado, who courted the Republican Party for years.

We have also seen how Paraguay, Argentina and Chile, all of them with right-wing leaders very close to Trump, started to restore relationships with Miraflores Palace, even if it is still in the hands of the people who perpetrated the 2024 fraud and besieged the Argentine embassy in Caracas. 

Hugo Chávez would be worried about the Bolsonaros’ apparent return to Brasília. Delcy Rodríguez, not so much. She can invite big Brazilian companies in energy, retail and agribusiness, which would get deregulation and diplomatic support in a Bolsonaro government, to join the investment frenzy in the Caracas Marriott. Yes, Machado and Bolsonaro met in Chile, during Kast’s inauguration in March, and she congratulated him on social media last Sunday, but Venezuela’s democratic renewal is not an urgent priority for Flávio Bolsonaro.

A critical difference between Abelardo and Flávio is that the new Colombian government needs to put pressure on Colombian guerrillas in Venezuela.

A good proxy to estimate how Bolsonaro Jr. would behave with chavismo and Machado is Abelardo de la Espriella. The Colombian president, who used a similar mix of conspiracy theories and a macho persona to defeat the Pacto Histórico leftist coalition, has so far been as passive about Venezuela’s suspension of democratic rights as Gustavo Petro. De la Espriella has been pushing Venezuelan migrants to go home, like Trump. As experts see it from Colombia, he is just following Trump’s lead regarding his neighbor. One critical difference between De la Espriella and Bolsonaro is that the new Colombian government needs to put pressure on Colombian guerrillas in Venezuela (with American support and, probably, even Delcy’s help), a variable absent in the Brazilian case.  

I’m not saying that the Bolsonaros and the rest of the Trumpian Right will support Delcy forever. My point is that we can’t see their spread over South America as a force meant to crush socialists. We must observe what Trump and their allies do, instead of just believing what they say. Trump said a lot of things about Maduro and chavismo, but at the time of writing, Venezuelan citizens remain deprived of influence, just like when Maduro stole their votes, and Maduro’s former vice president is having the time of her life.

Reports have indicated in recent months that Derry attempted to terminate McClean’s contract because of persistent injuries, a matter alluded to in Tuesday’s statement by the PFAI.

The statement says that Derry had attempted to invoke Section 18 of the Standard Players Contract, which permits them to terminate a contract with six months’ notice when a player is deemed to have a “permanent incapacity”, as confirmed by an independent physician.

“For any club to feel it is OK to attempt to terminate a player’s contract without any due process or just cause is incomprehensible, and it sets a dangerous precedent for every player in this league,” said McClean.

“I am not permanently incapacitated, or anything even remotely close to that. I am capable of contributing and doing well in the League of Ireland. I train as hard and give as much as anyone.

“I will decide when I retire. Nobody else will make that decision for me. When that time comes, my body will tell me. This is my life and my career. I deserve the same duty of care and fairness given to the majority of other players at Derry City FC.”

The PFAI gave further information on the nature and extent of the player’s injury.

“In short, James has had a hip injury which had been causing intermittent issues for him. This has caused him to miss some games and occasional training sessions,” the statement read.

“He has sought medical treatment for this and is currently fit and well.

“He has trained fully for the last nine weeks and has made himself available for selection. He recently played in an internal match arranged by the club. He believes he can help the team and has not been provided with a satisfactory reason for being left out of the squad.”

BBC Sport NI contacted Derry City for comment but a spokesperson said that the club were presently “solely focused on this weekend’s FAI Cup semi-final against Galway United (Saturday, 15:00 BST kick-off).

Cacan Sullivan’s goal came after teenager Julian Hall, 18, had given Mauricio Pochettino’s side the lead in Mexico friendly.

Cavan Sullivan became the youngest US international goalscorer in history as the United States defeated archrivals Mexico 3-0 in a friendly international in Arizona on Saturday.

Sullivan, who is poised to join English Premier League side Manchester City next year, netted a superbly taken goal in the 62nd minute to double the USA lead at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

At 17 years and five days, Sullivan beat Mathis Albert’s five-day-old record as the youngest US goalscorer.

Albert, aged 17 and 31 days, scored during Tuesday’s 4-2 defeat of Chile.

“These are the moments you dream of when you’re three, four, five or six-years-old,” Sullivan said.

“I manifested this moment, not just these past couple of hours when I found out I was starting, but my whole life,” he added.

Sullivan’s strike came after another teenager — 18-year-old Julian Hall — had given Mauricio Pochettino’s side the lead in the 28th minute.

Hall’s goal was his third in as many games since being handed his international debut by US coach Pochettino in last week’s defeat of Peru. Hall also scored in the victory over Chile.

The loss puts more pressure on Mexico coach Rafael Marquez, who is still seeking his first win since taking over following the World Cup.

Mexico dominated possession and territory early on but were unable to find a way through a well-organised United States defence.

Instead, it was the hosts who took the lead just before the half-hour mark with a superbly worked goal from Hall.

Gio Reyna surged into the penalty area to collect a pass from Alex Freeman and ghosted past Mexico midfielder Erik Lira to reach the byline.

Reyna’s low cross was parried away by Mexico goalkeeper Raul Rangel, but only as far as Hall, who lashed in from close range to make it 1-0.

Mexico’s best chance came early in the second half when Roberto Alvarado’s rasping shot from the edge of the area was tipped over the bar by US goalkeeper Diego Kochen.

Pochettino’s side doubled their lead on 62 minutes when Sullivan’s persistence in chasing down a long ball was rewarded after Rangel mishit a pass to the American outside his area.

Sullivan coolly took his time and chipped home from long range to make it 2-0.

“I just remember chipping the ball, hoping it didn’t hit the crossbar or go over,” Sullivan said of his strike. “I was getting nervous when it was in the air and then everything was a blur.”

A miserable night for Mexico got worse shortly afterwards when substitute Luis Chavez was shown a red card for shoving a hand into the face of Sebastian Berhalter in the 68th minute.

The United States completed the scoring in the 84th minute when Malik Tillman latched onto a poor Mexico backpass and smashed a shot into the top corner for 3-0.

AN international megastar is being lined up to headline Brighton and Hove Pride.

The Sun can exclusively reveal how Jennifer Lopez is deep in discussions to take to the stage for her first full-length UK gig in 15 years.

The Jenny From The Block hitmaker, 57,  has been approached by organisers to perform at the event, which takes place next summer.

It comes after the high profile bash, which raises funds for LGBTQ+ charities, has previously welcomed a series of superstars onto its stage, including Diana Ross, Paris Hilton, Raye, Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera, Kylie Minogue and Britney Spears.

A source said: “The event gets bigger and bigger every year and organisers are in the planning stages of booking talent and have reached out to JLo’s team, everyone is really excited to pull it off.

“She’d be a perfect headliner, they’re just working out schedules.”

YES SIR

Jennifer Lopez takes inspiration from Maya Jama in The Gentleman with new look

GOING FOR GOLD

J-Lo & Jennifer Lawrence stun in sheer gowns as they lead Golden Globes glam

After headlining World Pride in Washington, D.C. in 2025, Lopez revealed her priorities in her life changed.

She said: “I played Pride last year and I felt like it was the beginning of the new chapter of my life.

“The LGBTQ+ community, for me, has always been a loyal and big part of my fanbase.”

J.Lo last headlined a gig in the country on her Dance Again World Tour when she played London’s O2 Arena in 2012.

This year, Raye and superstar Diana Ross headlined the festivities which are held every year at Preston Park in Brighton in August.

The year before, Girls Aloud played their only UK festival appearance as part of their 2024 reunion at the event.

Cricket Ireland has named former international Ed Joyce as its new high performance batting coach, with a focus on the the men’s senior squad and male talent pathway.

Joyce played 151 times for Ireland, scoring 5,552 runs at an average of 40.82 with 10 centuries and 29 half-centuries.

In 2019, one year after his playing retirement, Joyce became head coach of Ireland women and stayed in the role until stepping down last year.

“The head coach role with Ireland women was a great experience and I enjoyed the day-to-day aspect of working with players on developing and improving their techniques and mindset,” he said.

“Despite the power game coming to the fore, having a sound technique and a positive mindset are still crucial aspects for any batter at this level.

“When I look at the Ireland men’s side over recent years, it’s obvious to see the amount of hard work that has gone on behind the scenes in preparing our players to be competitive on the international stage.

“I look forward to getting involved in this work and perhaps adding some insights and knowledge to push the batting group forward. The talent is there, the goal is now consistency.”

Joyce also played for England on 19 occasions.

The United States and China have unveiled a list of goods recommended for reduced tariffs following last week’s summit between Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

The release of the list on Sunday comes after Trump and Xi agreed to work towards lowering tariffs on $60bn worth of trade.

The agreement, which covers $30bn of each side’s imports, identifies 77 Chinese goods and more than 1,600 US products to be considered for more favourable tariff treatment.

Chinese goods on the list include microwave ovens, fish hooks, artificial flowers and weighing scales.

US exports identified for lower tariffs include poultry, dairy products, noodles, eggs, peanuts, canned tomatoes, pure-breed breeding horses, and silk.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the agreement would improve market access for about 30 percent of US exports to China and also benefit US consumers.

“The Trump Administration will continue to pursue fair, balanced, and reciprocal trade with China by ensuring compliance with commitments on agricultural and energy purchases, pursuing balanced trade in non-sensitive goods, and securing market access for American farmers, manufacturers, businesses, and workers,” Greer said in a statement.

China’s Ministry of Commerce, which confirmed the list on Monday, shortly after the White House announcement, said the sides would discuss “a reciprocal tariff reduction framework of $30 billion for $30 billion, aiming to reach a consensus”.

“This arrangement will help stabilize China-US trade, create better conditions for Chinese exports of relevant products to the US, meet domestic market demand, and strengthen trade cooperation in agricultural products, energy, manufactured goods, and consumer goods,” the ministry said in a statement.

While Trump and Xi’s summit was heavy on pomp and ceremony, their talks wrapped up on Friday with few concrete announcements on the myriad divisions between the superpower rivals, which span everything from trade to artificial intelligence and Taiwan.

Trump and Xi, who have held three face-to-face summits since last October, are expected to meet again at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Shenzhen, China, in November, and the Group of 20 gathering in Miami, Florida, in December.

Trade between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies, has declined substantially since Trump, a longtime critic of free trade policies, returned to the White House in January last year.

Two-way trade totalled $495bn in 2025, down 25 percent from the previous year, according to the US Trade Representative.

Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Hinrich Foundation in Singapore, said the latest announcement did not point to a major shift in US-China trade.

“Instead, both sides have largely listed goods that do not move the needle on overall trade flows,” Elms told Al Jazeera.

“They may reduce some prices in the US for consumers, but none is going to make a dramatic difference in inflation figures or result in meaningful sighs of relief by most US buyers,” Elms added.

“The same is broadly true with the Chinese list. Although there are many different agricultural products on the list, most are not actually exported to China or not exported in meaningful quantities.”

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.

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.

Geneva: The United Nations called Tuesday for international investigators to be granted to access to all of Gaza “to assist with evidence-gathering” as hundreds of bodies are pulled from the rubble.

“The discovery of extensive remains under the rubble in Gaza City resurfaces these concerns of war crimes and other atrocity crimes,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.