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    England move UP in latest Fifa world rankings despite uninspiring international break as fans say ‘lol what?’

    ENGLAND will leap back to third in the Fifa world rankings next month – despite only drawing in North Macedonia.Gareth Southgate’s side are now back to equalling the Three Lions’ highest place in the rankings since they were introduced by Fifa in 1992.
    England have moved up to third in the world despite an unconvincing NovemberCredit: Alamy
    Gareth Southgate has challenged his side to reach the No1 spot in the rankingsCredit: Getty
    England were fourth going into this month’s final Euro 2024 qualifier but jumped over Brazil – who dropped to fifth after losing to both Colombia and Argentina in their World Cup qualifying games.
    Lionel Messi’s world champions retain top spot ahead of France but England are now within 45 ranking points of Les Bleus and a further 10 adrift of Argentina.
    Southgate has publicly targeted top spot for the first time as a signal of England’s stature in the game.
    England briefly reached third off the back of the delayed Euro 2020 final in the September 2021 ranking.
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    They also reached that position for two months in 2012 under Roy Hodgson before dropping as low as 20th within two years.
    Southgate inherited a side which stood 12th in 2016 but England have been a permanent presence in the top six since the 2018 World Cup run to the semi-finals.
    However, fans were left baffled by their return to third place after an uninspiring 2-0 win over Malta and a 1-1 draw with North Macedonia.
    One said: “This ranking is literally pointless. Pointless in the sense it makes no sense. At all.”
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    The top 10 teams in the Fifa world rankings have moved around
    While another simply replied: “Lol what?!”
    Brazil and Belgium, who moved above the South Americans into fourth and just two points behind England, will be the next opponents for Southgate’s men in back-to-back Wembley friendlies in March.
    Of the other Home Nations, Wales drop one place to 29th, Scotland are down two to 36th and Northern Ireland up three to 72nd. More

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    Premier League clubs lost huge £255m in wages from first winter World Cup… and it will soon happen all over again

    THE first winter World Cup cost Premier League clubs a whopping £255MILLION in “lost” wages.Players were out for five extra days per injury on average once the top flight resumed on Boxing Day following the halt caused by the dash to the desert.
    Premier League clubs suffered injury woes after the Qatar World CupCredit: EPA
    The study by insurance group Howden shows the impact on Europe’s leading leagues of the Qatar tournament which caused a six-week disruption to the domestic calendar.
    While Fifa’s insurance policy covered injuries sustained during the World Cup, issues sustained after the tournament were surveyed.
    Back-to-back major tournaments at club and international level from this summer are likely to have an even bigger impact in coming years.
    And it will only increase the pressure for Uefa and Fifa to think again about their seemingly endless expansion drive.
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    Remarkably, despite sending 16 players to the World Cup — a total only exceeded by Spanish giants Barcelona — Manchester City suffered less than their rivals.
    Pep Guardiola’s men had only 40 player absences across the campaign — 27 fewer than the previous season — which may have been a significant factor in their relentless late-season drive to the title as Arsenal paid the price for crucial injuries.
    City also have a deeper squad, allowing more rotation without performances being impacted.
    According to Howden’s European Football Injury Index, Premier League clubs were the worst hit in the two months after the tournament, with 49 players ruled out.
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    That included costly injuries for Spurs’ Uruguay midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, the then-Chelsea and England midfielder Mason Mount and Arsenal’s Brazil striker Gabriel Jesus.
    It suggests the sheer demands of the English top flight took its toll, with clubs in Germany’s Bundesliga — the closest league to England in terms of physicality — picking up 46 injuries despite an extended post-World Cup break.
    After Euro 2024 and South America’s Copa America in June, the next two seasons will see the demands on players cranked up even further.
    June 2025 sees the first edition of Fifa’s expanded 32-team Club World Cup in the USA.
    That is certain to include Chelsea, Manchester City, Jude Bellingham’s Real Madrid and England captain Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, with Liverpool also on course to be involved.
    Then 12 months later the United States, Canada and Mexico will host the first 48-nation World Cup, a tournament in which the winners play eight games.
    The 2034 World Cup looks likely to be a winter tournament in Saudi Arabia and that is also going to have a knock-on effect regarding injuries for Premier League sides.
    PFA chief executive Maheta Molongo has already warned that the growing amount of matches are asking infeasible demands of the game’s top stars.
    He told SunSport: “It is mad, ridiculous. There should be a maximum number of games that any player can play to ensure a sufficient level of quality — and a minimum amount of rest each year.
    “We believe no player should play more than 60 games a season. No human being should be expected to play any more games at the highest level and they also need a minimum three-week vacation every summer with no competition at all.”
    Rodrigo Bentancur was among the Prem stars to suffer a long-term injuryCredit: Rex More

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    Saudi Arabia set to host World Cup 2034 after Australia pull out of the bidding leaving no competition

    SAUDI ARABIA is set to host the World Cup in 2034.That’s after rival bidders Australia pulled out of the running on deadline day, leaving no competition for the Middle Eastern nation.
    Saudi Arabia looks set to host the 2034 World Cup after Australia dropped out of the raceCredit: EPA
    Saudi Arabia launched their bid to host the 2034 World Cup in September.
    Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is looking to transform his country in a project called Vision 2030.
    And that includes building a brand new £1TRILLION mega-city — which could end up hosting the entire World Cup.
    SunSport exclusively revealed this month that Saudi Arabia, a strict Muslim country, is even ready to suspend its ban on alcohol to attract football supporters from around the globe.
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    But there was a fly in the ointment when we also told you that Australia had launched a last-ditch bid to host the 2034 World Cup.
    Having impressed at the Qatar tournament before crashing out in the last-16 to eventual winners Argentina, the Aussies were hoping to succeed with an 11th-hour proposal.
    A joint four-way bid including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore had even been mooted ahead of today’s deadline.
    But Football Australia have now announced they are out of the running to host the World Cup in 2034, paving the way for sole bidders Saudi Arabia to win.
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    Instead, the Aussies hope to host the 2026 Women’s Asian Cup AND the 2029 Club World Cup.
    A lengthy statement read: “We have explored the opportunity to host the FIFA World Cup and — having taken all factors into consideration — we have reached the conclusion not to do so for the 2034 competition.
    “We wish FIFA and the eventual hosts of the FIFA World Cup 2034 the greatest success for the good of the game and for everyone who loves our sport.” More

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    Man Utd to miss out on biggest tournament in history worth £1BILLION-plus unless they WIN Champions League

    SCOTTISH giants Rangers are clinging on to a golden ticket to the biggest-ever club tournament.Fifa’s new expanded, 32-team Club World Cup, expected to have a huge prize fund worth up to £50m-plus per team, will kick off in the USA in 2025.
    Man Utd will struggle to qualify for the biggest-ever Club World CupCredit: Reuters
    Liverpool are on course to make Fifa’s lucrative new tournamentCredit: PA
    Rangers can’t celebrate too much as they might have to qualify for the Europa League KO stage to maintain hopes of entering the mega eventCredit: Getty
    The Champions League winners from 2021 to this season will gain entry, alongside eight clubs from the four-year ‘coefficient’ list, based on European results.
    Fifa want only one club per country to qualify from the performance-based list.
    It means Manchester United, Barcelona, Inter Milan or Borussia Dortmund would have to win the Champions League this term to enter.
    On current standings, Chelsea, Manchester City, Real Madrid and this season’s Champions League winners would be joined by Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Roma, Villarreal, Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica, Ajax and the Gers.
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    But the Ibrox side are only just ahead of Salzburg,  Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk and  Slavia Prague — meaning they probably need to reach the Europa League knockout stage to stay in contention.
    United’s struggle to qualify comes after they finally picked up Champions League group games on Tuesday night at the third time of asking.
    Harry Maguire, who headed the only goal, and Andre Onana, with a stoppage-time penalty save, were the unlikely heroes of a 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen.
    And it’s also on the eve of what should be the toughest Prem match of their Old Trafford campaign.
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    The Red Devils host neighbours and champions City on Sunday.
    And summer signing Rasmus Hojlund is dreaming of breaking his top-flight duck in the derby by matching what he considers the greatest ever United vs City goal.
    Asked for his verdict on the best strike, the Danish striker went back 12 years: “The bicycle kick from Wayne Rooney, of course! Everybody remembers that, don’t they?”
    Hojlund added: “It would be a big experience, so I am looking forward to it.
    “It is always special to play a rival and if we win the game, we can get closer to the top.”
    But he added: “I am only 20 and not the finished article yet. I still have a lot to improve and I am getting there slowly.” More

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    Fifa set to be forced into enormous payout to Saudi side Al-Hilal following horror injury to Neymar

    NEYMAR’S latest injury agony could cost Fifa £6.5million.Football chiefs face paying Al-Hilal huge compensation after the Saudi club’s new superstar was ruled out for the season.
    The Brazil hero was in tears as he went off against UruguayCredit: AFP
    Neymar reeled in agony from an injury expected to end his seasonCredit: Reuters
    Neymar was taken off in tears with a crocked ACL during Brazil’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying defeat away to Uruguay on Tuesday.
    The striker, 31, joined Al-Hilal from PSG in August on wages of around £2.5million a week.
    Fifa have to fork out an injured player’s salary from 28 days to a year – up to a maximum of £6.5m.
    Yet that sum is small fry compared to Neymar’s overall pay package for the Saudi Pro League leaders.
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    The Barcelona legend’s contract with Al-Hilal could earn him up to £314million over two years.
    Neymar suffered his new injury when he tripped in a shock loss for Brazil.
    And Al-Hilal have all but given up hope he could return this term.
    The club said in a statement: “The medical tests Neymar underwent confirmed the Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Meniscus tear injury in his knee.
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    “He will be going through surgery and then a treatment program that will be determined later. Return stronger Neymar.”
    But Al-Hilal baffled many fans by revealing the unfortunate news via a picture on social media of Neymar in distress.
    One supporter responded: “Possibly the most unhinged graphic I’ve ever seen from a team account.” More

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    Meet Brit battling to set up world’s last national footy team in country where locals play barefoot & pitch is landfill

    IN concrete basketball courts on tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean, bare-footed footballers dream of representing their country.Yet few other aspiring soccer stars have so much standing in their way as those on the Marshall Islands.
    The Marshall Islands is the last country without a national football teamCredit: Shutterstock
    Brit Lloyd Owers has been appointed as football technical director of the Marshall IslandsCredit: Paul Tonge
    The first problem is that it is the last country on the planet without a national team.
    Last year the nation — 1,225 islands 8,000 miles from Britain, some sitting atop submerged volcanoes — didn’t even have an amateur league.
    There are no football grounds and in the US-dominated culture there has been little interest in the beautiful game.
    But that is all changing in the country most famous for witnessing nuclear weapon tests on its Bikini atoll in the Forties and Fifties.
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    Three Brits are part of the Marshall Islands Soccer Federation, which is aiming to become a member of football’s governing body Fifa and to take part in World Cup qualifiers.
    They include football coach Lloyd Owers, who led the first training sessions on the islands this summer.
    The Marshall Islands will next year have a stadium with a proper pitch and in the summer intend to field a side against neighbouring islands.
    ‘Playing barefooted’
    They already have a football strip, which has been selling more than 100 replicas a week since it went on sale last month, even though there is not yet a team to cheer on.
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    Lloyd, 34, from Oxfordshire, whose previous jobs include working as a scout for League Two Mansfield Town FC and under 23’s manager at non-league Oxford City, tells The Sun: “When we started in January there was nothing. There were no leagues, no kids sessions, no anything.
    “We want to be confederation members, we want to be part of the international stage qualifiers, Olympic qualifiers.
    “Long term, we want to be Fifa members, World Cup qualifiers, that’s genuinely something we want to do.”
    In many ways, it is surprising that the Marshall Islands, which has a population of 42,000, doesn’t have a national side.
    There are plenty of smaller coun- tries with one.
    The Marshall Islands football strip has been selling more than 100 replicas a week since it went on sale last monthCredit: Marshall Islands Soccer Federation
    Even the neighbouring commonwealth Tuvalu islands, with just 12,000 people, has a team affiliated to the Oceania Football Con- federation, which has 11 members af- filiated with Fifa, including New Zealand.
    And despite having only 760 citizens, Vatican City in Italy has managed to field a team for international friendlies.
    The Marshall Islands, which are named after the British explorer John Marshall, who visited the long-discovered islands in 1788, was fought over by several nations before gaining independence from the US in 1986.
    But America still has a military base on Kwajalein Atoll, with around a thousand personnel, and has a big influence on the isolated nation.
    As a result, basketball and baseball are the most popular sports.
    That, though, has changed since football superstars such as David Beckham and Lionel Messi raised the profile of the game stateside.
    When the son of oil worker Shem Livai, who lives in the capital Majuro, became a fan, the idea of a national side took root.
    Shem formed the federation in early 2020, became its president and, once the Covid pandemic was over, set about kicking off the team’s development.
    Lloyd, whose coaching consultancy work has taken him to the US, Canada and Sweden, wrote a blog which Shem read.
    The pair got into a conversation over the internet “quite randomly”, according to Lloyd, and he found himself taking up the part-time job of technical director for the fledgling football federation.
    By the start of this year Lloyd and his fellow Brits, communications director Justin Whalley and commercial director Matt Webb, set about raising sponsorship and the project’s profile.
    That included a competition in April to design the nation’s football shirt. “When the sales started rolling in, you realised how popular the project is. We sold 400 in three weeks in 40 different countries,” he says. In the summer Lloyd flew to the Marshall Islands for his first coaching sessions.
    It is a 46-hour journey — if there are no delays.
    Lloyd’s connecting flight from Hawaii to the islands was cancelled and he had to wait two days for the next one, although he admits that being stranded in Honolulu was no hardship.
    They are very tough
    When he got there he realised the scale of the task.
    He reveals: “It is an eye-opener, they are playing barefooted.”
    Locals would enjoy a kickabout wherever there was space, which was mainly on basketball courts.
    Lloyd developed a football programme for schoolsCredit: SUPPLIED
    The Marshall Islands has a population of around 40,000 peopleCredit: rmisoccer/instagram
    Lloyd set about organising a league, which now consists of four futsal teams.
    Futsal is a five-a-side game which can be played in smaller spaces and is good for developing skills.
    He continues: “The men’s futsal league takes place on concrete, the majority are still playing barefooted, they are very tough.”
    Lloyd developed a programme for schools and the government has agreed to include football in PE lessons. He also taught 23 locals how to coach the game.
    Playing the traditional 11-a-side game remains a challenge.
    Lloyd explains: “One of the battles is a lack of space. The main island of Majuro is literally a 24-mile drive from one end to the other, one long road with buildings either side and you are surrounded by water.”
    Climate change is only going to make that problem worse. The highest point on Majuro is only ten feet above sea level, and scientists have warned that the oceans could rise by six feet by the end of this century in a worst-case scenario.
    Lloyd says: “It is a real battle. When I visited, I went to one of the ends of the islands and that’s where it is going to be at threat.
    “There is talk that by 2030 that whole area could be submerged.”
    For this reason the country’s first stadium is being built on reclaimed land. The multi-purpose complex, which includes a track and field for athletics and a football pitch, is due to open in July next year.
    “The football stadium used to be part of the ocean, but they have built it in landfill, similar to what they did in Dubai,” explains Lloyd.
    On top of shrinking land, the nation also suffers from a shrinking population, with the Marshallese heading to Australia, New Zealand and the United States to find work.
    Tech billionaire Elon Musk used Kwajalein Atoll for his early SpaceX rocket launches.
    But the logistics of getting supplies to the remote eight-acre Omelek island proved to be so tricky that the staff reportedly mutinied in 2005 when they ran out of food.
    These days SpaceX operates in Texas.
    Fortunately, a free movement agreement with the US means there is a potential pool of players among expats.
    There are an estimated 30,000 Marshall Islanders in the US, with half of them in the state of Arkansas.
    Lloyd says: “We have had a few players contact us that play in the US college system, for example. They will be part of the plans over the next few years.”
    The main aim, though, is to develop a grassroots game on the islands themselves so the team has players with sand between their toes.
    The federation will need to show there is an established, competitive league to apply to membership of either the Oceania Football Confederation or Fifa.
    Lloyd says: “You need football to be regular, you need it to be benefiting every group possible, regular competition.”
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    What gives him so much hope is the way the islanders pull together.
    He concludes: “It is very much a together community feel, everyone helps everyone. I have never been to a place which is so hospitable.”
    Progress is being made on the Marshall Islands’ new stadiumCredit: rmisoccer/instagram
    The Marshall Islands is a small South Pacific Island nationCredit: Shutterstock
    The Marshall Islands and Bikini Atoll on a map
    Nearby Bikini Atoll is known for being the site of breakthrough Atom bomb testsCredit: Getty More

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    Saudi Arabia’s 2034 World Cup bid facing 11th-hour rival with FOUR nations join forces to avoid another winter tourney

    SAUDI ARABIA’s smooth procession to being awarded the 2034 World Cup could be hit by an Australian-led roadblock.Fifa chief Gianni Infantino loaded the contest in the Saudis’ favour by giving an October 31 deadline for bids — with government sign-off.
    FIFA President Gianni Infantino has paved the way for Prince Mohammed bin Salman to land the World Cup for Saudi ArabiaCredit: AP
    But a joint bid from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore could change thingsCredit: Getty
    But Indonesian FA boss Erick Thohir, who is also a minister, has announced: “We are discussing a bid with Australia.
    “Both Malaysia and Singapore expressed interest in joining us.”
    Meanwhile, words have been exchanged between the two bodies representing clubs across Europe.
    Lokomotiva Zagreb executive Dennis Gudasic is one of six board members of the Union of European Clubs launched in April to rival the powerful European Club Association.
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    Gudasic has accused the ECA of being undemocratic and blamed it for the failed Super League project.
    He said in Brussels: “ECA claims to be for all but won’t allow all clubs to join or vote.
    “ECA was born out of the G-14 clubs that tried to break European football 25 years ago, the same clubs that parented the Super League. Super League is in ECA’s DNA and it is now trying to hijack the Champions League from Uefa.”
    The UEC, now 120-strong, aims to speak for the 1,400 medium to small clubs in Europe, many of whom are part of the 450-plus clubs aligned to the ECA.
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    It is thought to be funded by LaLiga boss Javier Tebas — one of the speakers in Brussels.
    ECA now has sole recognition to represent clubs from both Uefa and Fifa, and board member and Celtic boss Peter Lawwell said: “UEC is more PR than any substance.
    “From what we are picking up among Scottish clubs, they are not making up any traction.”
    Crystal Palace chairman Steve ­Parish, coincidentally, has launched an assault on Uefa.
    The Eagles chief said: “I’ve looked at Uefa’s mission statement.
    “I can’t find anywhere that it says the mission is to grow the biggest and best football tournament across Europe, garner the most media money and give it to as few clubs as possible.”
    Parish also fears next season’s expansion of the Champions League will be the thin end of a wedge that will eventually force the Premier League to be cut from its current 20 clubs to 18.
    He added: “This will affect every league with 20 clubs.
    “This is the moat we’ve tried to protect.
    “It feels like there’s an intent from Fifa and Uefa to create more competitions that reduce that and we have been disenfranchised from the debate.”
    Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish has slammed UEFACredit: PA
    And finally, the Olympic obsession with ‘youth’ and ‘urban’ sports appears to have ended.
    Breakdancing has been dropped from the Los Angeles Games in 2028 — BEFORE it has made its bow in Paris next year.
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    Instead, T20 cricket and flag football are in, along with top stars from squash.
    Meanwhile, the first Team GB news for Paris was released with the naming of our ten sailors who will compete at Marseille. More

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    England boss Gareth Southgate slams World Cup 2030 plans in six countries and blasts integrity of the competition

    GARETH SOUTHGATE says the  integrity of the  2030 World Cup will be trashed by Fifa’s plan to stage it in SIX countries across THREE continents.In a bonkers first, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are to host a single opening match before the remainder of the centenary tournament is completed in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
    Gareth Southgate has slammed Fifa’s plans for the 2030 World CupCredit: Getty

    And the England boss said: “My big thing is I don’t get the integrity of the competition. I’m not a fan of it.
    “Three matches played in South America, then teams have to travel across the globe, change time zones and pick up the competition with home advantage in one part of the group but not another.
    “Logically, you could play Argentina there and have to travel back.
    “There’s a big difference  between playing Argentina in Buenos Aires and playing them in ­Casablanca.”
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    Euro 2020 was staged across 11 cities in 11 countries, culminating in Italy’s Wembley final win over England in 2021.
    But Southgate added: “We had a little bit with the last Euros but the World Cup plan seems disjointed — a different landscape for different teams in different groups.”
    And England star Jordan Henderson, 33, has hailed Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup.
    Hendo, who quit Liverpool for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq in the summer, posted: “Very excited about the announcement. Go Saudi Arabia 2034.”
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    Fifa’s decision to hand the South American nations a game each is a tribute to the first World Cup in 1930.
    Uruguay hosted the maiden edition of the tournament a century ago, going on to win the first of their two World Cups. More