Category: Sports

World Cup winner Gianluigi Buffon says play-off semi-final opponents Northern Ireland have been the “only focus” for Italy, and not the wider prize of a spot at the finals this summer.

Italy have not qualified for a World Cup since 2014 after play-off defeats by Sweden and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and they missed out on automatic qualification for the 2026 tournament after finishing second behind group winners Norway.

Gennaro Gattuso’s side could become the first World Cup winners to miss out on three tournaments in a row, but if they can progress against Northern Ireland and then beat either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina, they will be rewarded with a spot in Group B with co-hosts Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.

Buffon, who is Italy’s technical delegate, said it was “an important moment” and the full focus had to be on Thursday’s semi-final in Bergamo.

“We shouldn’t have any doubt, our focus is only on Northern Ireland and the semi-final,” Buffon told BBC Sport.

“Then, if we’re happy, we’ll think about the final against Wales or Bosnia.

“But for the last four months, our only focus has been on Northern Ireland, because that’s the way it is.

“Northern Ireland are the first obstacle, and they are a team that deserves our respect.”

Buffon, who played a key role in appointing World Cup-winning team-mate Gattuso in June, said Italy’s situation was a “situation of stress that has accumulated over the years”.

But he felt the team spirit that Gattuso brought to the job gives Italy the “right confidence to finally get to a World Cup”.

The game will be played at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo, which has a capacity of 25,000, instead of the larger San Siro or Stadio Olimpico.

Italian journalist Daniele Verri had said he felt there was some superstition at play as Gattuso’s first game as manager was a 5-0 win over Estonia at the New Balance Arena, and Italy have not lost in any of their five matches in Bergamo across the span of 62 years.

Buffon said that the home of Atalanta was the “best seat” for the game, and the positivity around the venue made it the logical choice to play Italy’s biggest match in four years.

“When the coach played his first game we had a great win, and that evening we remember it was a great atmosphere and there was great support.

“The first half ended 0–0, but the people understood the effort that the team was giving and they supported us.

“This is something, a detail, that is in the minds of the staff and in the minds of the players, so it is very important.”

Rangers intend to raise £16m of new capital in a share issue to fund investment in the men’s squad, the club chairman Andrew Cavenagh has announced.

As well as revealing adult season ticket prices are going to rise by 6.5%, Cavenagh stated the share offer will be supported by his consortium and existing club shareholders, with the money used to “support player acquisitions and other club needs.”

In a letter to Rangers supporters, Cavenagh pointed out that the total now invested since his consortium took over the club in the summer of 2025 stands at £36m.

He also announced that the club will not appoint a replacement for Kevin Thelwell, the former sporting director, who was removed from office in November along with Patrick Stewart, the ex-chief executive.

“We do not plan to hire a sporting director. The executive team is committed to being smaller, nimbler, and more entrepreneurial,” Cavenagh said.

“We want an executive team willing to get its fingernails dirty. If there is a hole to be dug, we want people fighting over shovels. We want fewer consulting firms and less bureaucracy.”

All shareholders will receive a letter in relation to the share issue and the resolutions to be approved, but there will be a minimum buy-in for the share issue of 1000 shares.

“Increasing the revenue and capital is only part of the path to allocating more resources to the men’s first team,” Cavenagh added.

“If we are going to ask supporters to pay more for tickets, we have an obligation to spend those funds wisely.

“We have shrunk the size and cost of the executive team. We are systematically reviewing every part of the club, looking for ways to be more efficient, thus enabling a greater share of the resources to go to the men’s first team.

“The costs to run the club – player wages, agents’ fees, security, food and beverage – are all rising faster than the overall rate of inflation.

“We either need the club’s revenues to keep pace, or we need to decrease the money spent on the squad. We don’t believe this is the time to decrease the player and football budget; in fact, we think the opposite.”

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) says it will rule on Senegal’s appeal “as swiftly as possible” after they were stripped of the Africa Cup of Nations title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January, but that scoreline was changed to a 3-0 victory to Morocco.

Senegal’s players walked off the pitch in protest when hosts Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty before eventually returning.

Following an appeal by the Moroccan FA (FRMF), the Confederation of African Football (Caf) later ruled that Senegal had forfeited the match, with the “result being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

Senegal have lodged an appeal with Cas and hope to regain the title.

Cas director general Matthieu Reeb added: “We understand that teams and fans are eager to know the final decision, and we will ensure that arbitration proceedings are conducted as swiftly as possible, while respecting the right of all parties to a fair hearing.”

A statement, external added that there is no timeline for a decision at this stage.

Raymond Hack – the former head of Caf’s disciplinary panel – previously told BBC World Service the process could take another six months to conclude, meaning it would be ongoing during the World Cup.

During sleep, hormones are released that support different bodily functions, including our growth, strength, and other aspects of our physical development.

The body uses this time to repair tissue and restores energy levels – improving coordination, boosting reaction times, increasing mental and physical stamina, and even making us faster.

The NHS says good sleep also helps to recover faster from injury, boost our immune system and maintain weight.

Sleep also improves memory and learning, with a lack of sleep making it harder to concentrate and retain information.

“If you want to push the mind, you need to detoxify your mind. How do you detoxify? You can only detoxify with a good sleep,” said Menon.

“Sleep makes all the difference. When they get onto the pitch or the training, we can see the decision-making scale, clarity, and even the way they breathe – everything changes.

“The timing, the sense, the teamwork – everything comes with this deep state of clarity. That is the mental detoxification. The proper brain detoxification only can come through sleep.”

Sleep specialists, like Menon, say they can identify players who have not slept well or not recovered properly simply by their appearance.

At an elite level where marginal gains can make the difference between winning and losing, wellness coaches are being brought in to educate players and find an edge.

The NHS says adults require between seven and nine hours of sleep per night, but Menon and other coaches say duration alone is not the most important part of sleep hygiene.

“Sleep, it’s not about the time, [it is about] the quality. The day you are not sleeping well, your creativity is missing,” Menon says.

“Football is all about creativity and [the] uncertainty is so high because the lifespan of the footballer is very short. Even the manager. Because if [the manager] is not performing, he is out. If the team is not performing, [the manager] is out.

“If one player is getting injured, all the stress is coming to the medical team and the manager is also getting the stress because my specific player is not available.”

Azpilicueta knows all too well about the importance of sleep, saying: “It’s a big part in performance and now you try to get every detail and the competitive advantage on the highest level. The margins are very thin and it’s very tight, so every club wants to make the most of it.”

It is common for footballers to play late at night and also travel back home after away matches. Azpilicueta cites one game in particular as an example, when he thought he’d scored the winner in a 4-4 draw against Ajax in 2019.

“Really bad,” Azpilicueta said of his sleep that night. “Because it was my first time I scored two goals in a Champions League game.

“The comeback, after all the emotions and the red cards and more than the goal, you have the emotion and that emotion doesn’t go away from you.

“And then just being disallowed by VAR, that gives you a bit of the momentum. But [after] that, it’s harder to sleep at night.”

Like Rangers, Glasgow City are through to the Scottish Cup semi-finals, meaning Sunday’s cup final could be the first part of a treble.

The road to Fir Park began with a 5-0 defeat of Hamilton before Aberdeen were beaten 2-0. City ended Hibs’ cup ambitions with a 2-1 win in the semi-finals.

City are seeking to end their longest run without winning the SWPL Cup trophy, with their last triumph coming in 2015. Former Scotland defender Ross was a player in Glasgow’s previous six final wins in the competition.

“It’s not about me, it’s about me giving the opportunity for the players to then go and be successful on their own merit,” said Ross, who was assisted by Crichton last season.

“It’s now up to them to go and write their part in the club’s history and achieve that success for themselves individually and collectively now.

“We’ve had a great start to the season in terms of the way that we’ve played, the results that we’ve had. We’re sitting at the top of the league at the moment, we’ve got ourselves into the League Cup final so it’s the first opportunity to get their hands on silverware and the players are hungry for it.

“There’s a hunger to lift every trophy that’s available to us. When you’ve got a chance to go and lift a trophy its a wee bit extra motivation.”

Liverpool icon Toshack previously spent two weeks on a ventilator in a Barcelona hospital after contracting Covid-19 and pneumonia.

In November 2022 he said he had been “seriously ill”, adding: “When I think back on it now, it’s frightening.”

Despite the dementia diagnosis, Cameron says he still regularly receives great coaching advice from his father.

“I’ll talk to him about what we’re doing in Thailand and he still gives great advice,” he said.

“As a manager, he could always see two or three moves ahead, and it was always in the genes for me, really.”

John Toshack began his playing career with hometown club Cardiff City before joining Liverpool in 1970.

He formed a lethal strike partnership with Kevin Keegan and won three league titles, two Uefa Cups, one FA Cup, one European Cup, a Charity Shield and a Uefa Super Cup during a glittering eight-year spell with the Reds.

The Welshman joined Swansea City as player-manager in 1978 and famously led the club from the Fourth Division to the First with successive promotions, as well as three Welsh Cup titles.

He won trophies in five of the eight different countries in which he managed – including two spells with real Madrid – with his most recent role coming with Tractor in Azerbaijan in 2018.

Toshack was also pivotal in the development of Welsh stars including Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen during his second stint in charge of Wales.

To mark forward Mohamed Salah announcing he will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, we thought we would test your knowledge with this quiz.

Only the brightest will get 100% from seven questions dedicated to the Egyptian’s time at Anfield. Good luck!

Eilidh Adams and Amy Muir have been recalled to the Scotland squad for next month’s Women’s World Cup qualifying double-header with Belgium.

Three-times capped Hibernian forward Adams, 21, and 26-year-old Glasgow City full-back Muir, who has two caps, missed out on this month’s wins over Luxembourg as Melissa Andreatta’s side opened their campaign with a 5-0 away win and 7-0 home victory.

Rangers defender Leah Eddie, 25, who won her fourth cap in the second meeting with Luxembourg after being a late call-up to the squad, retains her place while 27-year-old Birmingham City midfielder Cornet, who also has three caps, is named again after having to withdraw from the previous camp.