Key events
Spurs, who were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Aston Villa, have no game this weekend. That means time on the training ground for their new manager Roberto De Zerbi, who was appointed on Tuesday. De Zerbi has apologised for previous comments about Mason Greenwood when he was the manager of Marseille.
We mentioned the latest Italian football crisis at the top of the show/bottom of the page, but it’s worth another plug for this piece from Nick Ames. It includes a warning from the Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin that Italy could lose the right to host the European Championship in six years’ time.
double quotation mark Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place, of that there is no doubt. I just hope that the infrastructure [in Italy] will be ready. If that’s not the case, the tournament will not be held in Italy. Maybe Italy’s politicians should ask themselves why the football infrastructure is among the worst in Europe.
FA Cup: Southampton v Arsenal (Saturday, 8pm)
Eleven Arsenal players withdrew from their respective international squads. How many will be in action at St Mary’s tomorrow?
Women’s Champions League
Arsenal will face OL Lyonnes in the semi-finals for the second season in a row. OL Lyonnes overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to beat Wolfsburg 4-0 after extra-time in France.
Last season, OL were strong favourites to go through after winning 2-1 at the Emirates, only for Arsenal to run riot in France.
There’s a full EFL programme todaystarting with Middlesbrough v Millwall and Doncaster v Walsall at 12.30pm. I won’t type all the fixtures because that would be an arthritic mistake when I can just direct you to our live scores page. But there are some big games, with Boro v Millwall probably the pick.
The race for the second automatic promotion spot in the Championship is spandex-tight. Fifth-placed Hull go to Oxford, while third-placed Ipswich have the day off. They were due to meet Southampton, who are otherwise engaged in the FA Cup.
In other Championship news, Roy Hodgson, 78, begins his second spell as Bristol City manager with a trip to Charlton.
The FA Cup quarter-finals
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Manchester City v Liverpool (Saturday, 12.45pm)
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Chelsea v Port Vale (Saturday, 5.15pm)
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Southampton v Arsenal (Saturday, 8pm)
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West Ham v Leeds (Sunday, 4.30pm)
Phil Foden made two starts for England over the international break as Thomas Tuchel experimented with how the Manchester City attacking midfielder could be used at the World Cup. He played in a couple of positions but was ineffective in two collectively subpar performances from the Three Lions. It means he has one assist and no goals in his past 22 appearances for club and country in what has been an underwhelming campaign for the 25-year-old. He has dropped below Rayan Cherki in Pep Guardiola’s pecking order and has not completed a full 90 minutes since January. In the Carabao Cup final, Foden was permitted a late cameo, and it feels like this is the time when he should be making a difference in the final stages of the season.
There are still trophies to be played for, even if winning the Premier League title would involve a huge turnaround against Arsenal. This means the FA Cup is the most promising prospect and Foden should be desperate to start and remind everyone of the world-class player he could be, especially against a Liverpool side who often struggle against smart No 10s. The next six weeks could be make or break for Foden’s City and international career, so he must seize every opportunity.
Preamble
Hello, good morning, good Good Friday and welcome to our rolling football news blog. Our attention will soon turn to the weekend’s action, including the FA Cup quarter-finals and a full EFL programme today, but first let’s have a recap of the week in international football.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Turkey, Czech Republic, DR Congo and Iraq completed the 48-team line-up for this summer’s World Cup.
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Italy failed to qualify for the third World Cup in a row, an “unacceptable disgrace” that prompted recriminations and resignations.
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A largely second-string England team lost at home to Japan.
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Ghana, who are in England’s group, sacked their manager Otto Addo.
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Scotland followed a 1-0 defeat to Japan with a 1-0 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire.
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Fifa raised the highest ticket price for the World Cup final from $1,600 in 2022 to $10,990 in 2026.
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And most importantly of all, France moved to the top of our World Cup power rankings.
