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Newcastle Hosts Man City in League Cup. Madrid Looks to Bounce Back against Las Palmas

24 September 2023, United Kingdom, Sheffield: Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates with team-mate Anthony Gordon after scoring his side's seventh goal during the English Premier League match between Sheffield United and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane. (dpa)
24 September 2023, United Kingdom, Sheffield: Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates with team-mate Anthony Gordon after scoring his side's seventh goal during the English Premier League match between Sheffield United and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane. (dpa)
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Newcastle Hosts Man City in League Cup. Madrid Looks to Bounce Back against Las Palmas

24 September 2023, United Kingdom, Sheffield: Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates with team-mate Anthony Gordon after scoring his side's seventh goal during the English Premier League match between Sheffield United and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane. (dpa)
24 September 2023, United Kingdom, Sheffield: Newcastle United's Bruno Guimaraes celebrates with team-mate Anthony Gordon after scoring his side's seventh goal during the English Premier League match between Sheffield United and Newcastle United at Bramall Lane. (dpa)

A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Wednesday:

ENGLAND

Newcastle hosts Manchester City in the third round of the English League Cup on Wednesday. City has made a 100% start to the season, while Newcastle routed Sheffield United 8-0 on Sunday. Newcastle was beaten by Manchester United in last season’s final and is still waiting for its first major trophy since 1969. City won everything but the League Cup last season when it completed a trophy treble of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. Other all-Premier League clashes include Aston Villa vs. Everton, Brentford vs. Arsenal and Chelsea vs. Brighton. Liverpool hosts Leicester.

SPAIN

Real Madrid looks to rebound from its first loss of the season when it hosts promoted Las Palmas in the Spanish league. Madrid had won its first five league games before losing 3-1 at city rival Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Vinícius Júnior is expected to make his return after missing the match against Atletico because of a stomach illness. The Brazil forward had been out before that with a hamstring issue. Las Palmas defeated Granada in the previous round for its first win of the season. Girona, which entered the midweek games tied at the top with Barcelona, visits Villarreal looking for its six straight victory. In other matches, Athletic Bilbao hosts Getafe, Rayo Vallecano visits Cadiz and Real Sociedad is at Valencia.

ITALY

Inter Milan will be looking to continue its perfect start to the Serie A season when it hosts Sassuolo. Inter has won all five of its Italian league matches, conceding just one goal in the process. However, it found it harder than perhaps expected before winning 1-0 at bottom club Empoli at the weekend and faces a Sassuolo team full of confidence after a 4-2 victory over Juventus. AC Milan is just three points behind its city rival and hosts Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari, which is still seeking its first win back in Serie A. Udinese and Salernitana are also winless and play defending champion Napoli and Empoli respectively. Last season’s runner-up Lazio is surprisingly struggling and it hosts Torino, while Atalanta travels to Hellas Verona.

GERMANY

Two-time champion Leipzig begins its German Cup defense at Wehen Wiesbaden, which has lost its last two games and failed to win any of its last four in the second division. Leipzig has made a fine start to season, winning its last four Bundesliga games after an opening defeat at Bayer Leverkusen. Wiesbaden will be hoping the visitors are distracted by their upcoming league game against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

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Wrexham Takes on World Champion Chelsea in the FA Cup

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Championship - Sheffield Wednesday v Wrexham - Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Britain - January 31, 2026 Wrexham's Dominic Hyam and manager Phil Parkinson celebrate after the match Action Images/Andrew Boyers
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Championship - Sheffield Wednesday v Wrexham - Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Britain - January 31, 2026 Wrexham's Dominic Hyam and manager Phil Parkinson celebrate after the match Action Images/Andrew Boyers
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Wrexham Takes on World Champion Chelsea in the FA Cup

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Championship - Sheffield Wednesday v Wrexham - Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Britain - January 31, 2026 Wrexham's Dominic Hyam and manager Phil Parkinson celebrate after the match Action Images/Andrew Boyers
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Championship - Sheffield Wednesday v Wrexham - Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, Britain - January 31, 2026 Wrexham's Dominic Hyam and manager Phil Parkinson celebrate after the match Action Images/Andrew Boyers

Next up for Wrexham is world champion Chelsea.

While a place in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup is at stake when the teams face off at the Racecourse Ground on Saturday, for Wrexham it will be a timely gauge of just how “Premier League-ready” it is.

Speaking to industry experts last week, Wrexham CEO Michael Williamson said the Welsh club — owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac, formerly Rob McElhenney — would be ready for the top flight of English soccer when the time comes. Even as soon as next season, just three years after it was playing non-league.

“What we’ve proven is that with our culture we’re pretty damn good at being ready,” Williamson told the FT Business of Football Summit.

Even with celebrity owners, huge financial backing and a global reach through the fly-on-the-wall documentary series “Welcome to Wrexham,” it cannot be overstated just how remarkable the club's rise has been.

Back-to-back-to-back promotions have taken it from playing non-league games in a crumbling stadium to the second-tier Championship and in contention for the playoffs to the Premier League.

The prospect of playing the likes of Chelsea every week is not just the hope for Wrexham's owners but the mission.

“They said that from day one and everyone laughed at them,” The Associated Press quoted Williamson as saying. “We know what we have to do. It’ll be really difficult but we can do it because we’ve proven that we can, not just survive when we get promoted, but that we can actually thrive.”

Wrexham's meteoric rise has meant it has constantly played catchup to try to keep pace with its on-field success. More than 60 players have been signed since the takeover was completed in 2021, with 16 joining last summer to build a squad capable of competing in a division with former Premier League champion Leicester and a host of clubs with very recent top flight experience.

Even still, the spending is nothing like that of England's top flight. Nathan Broadhead became Wrexham's record signing in August for a reported $10 million. Before him, Sam Smith cost a reported $2.7 million.

Compare that to Chelsea, which has spent close to $2 billion under American owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital since buying the club in 2022.

That money helped Chelsea win the Club World Cup last year — but it has not come close to winning the Premier League and it could miss out on qualification to the Champions League this season.

Strive to survive Wrexham's spending is likely to have to increase significantly again to bridge the widening gap between the Premier League and the Championship, with promoted teams increasingly struggling to make the step up.

Last season, all three promoted teams — Leicester, Ipswich, Southampton — were relegated. The year before, Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton all failed to survive in their first season in the top flight.

“We’d have to look at a squad change and we’re definitely planning that,” Williamson said in the event of Wrexham securing a fourth straight promotion.

While player changes have been frequent, manager Phil Parkinson has been a constant and was recently told by Mac that he has a job for life.

His immediate focus is on an FA Cup upset against Chelsea.

“We’ll be going all out to produce a really good performance, and we’ll see where that takes us on the night,” he told the North Wales Chronicle. “But we know we’ve got to respect Chelsea. What a squad of players they’ve got. They’ve spent billions over the last 10 years.

“They are Club World Cup champions — I don’t think we should forget that — so statistically we are playing the best club in the world.”

Sports

CAF Shift Women’s Africa Cup of Nations to New Dates

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) logo
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) logo
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CAF Shift Women’s Africa Cup of Nations to New Dates

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) logo
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) logo

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has confirmed the postponement of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) to July-August, ending weeks of speculation as to whether it would go ahead as scheduled this month.

The tournament serves as a preliminary for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, where four African sides will gain automatic qualification, and two more will go into the inter-continental qualifiers.

The ⁠WAFCON was originally ⁠scheduled to be played from March 17 to April 3, but hosts Morocco pushed for a change in dates due to what CAF describes as "unforeseen circumstances."

"After discussions between CAF and its ⁠partners, FIFA and other stakeholders, CAF decided to reschedule the dates of the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026, to 25 July – 16 August 2026 to ensure the success of this important women’s competition, in the light of certain unforeseen circumstances," CAF said in a statement on Thursday, without giving further details about the reason for ⁠the ⁠postponement.

"Preparations for the TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON 2026 are underway and all the parties are confident that it will be very successful."

The number of teams competing at the finals has been expanded to 16 for the first time, with Nigeria the defending champions after they lifted the trophy at the 2024 edition, which was played last year having also been postponed.

Sports

Harry Kane Out of Bayern's Next Game with Calf Injury

Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
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Harry Kane Out of Bayern's Next Game with Calf Injury

Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL
Harry Kane of Munich celebrates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Dortmund and FC Bayern Munich in Dortmund, Germany, 28 February 2026. EPA/FRIEDEMANN VOGEL

Harry Kane will miss Bayern Munich's game against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday with a calf injury in a blow to his hopes of breaking the Bundesliga record for most goals in a season.

Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said on Thursday the problem wasn't serious but means Kane will play no part in Friday's game, which could see Bayern open up a 14-point lead at the top of the table.

“He got a knock on his calf and hasn’t recovered yet,” The Associated Press quoted Kompany as saying. "It’s nothing serious for the time being but we’d need maybe another a day for him to be involved. We’re pretty relaxed. Of course we would have liked Harry to be involved but these things happen.”

Kompany didn't express concern Kane would miss Bayern's visit to Atalanta in the Champions League round of 16 next week.

Kane has scored 30 goals in the Bundesliga and is 11 short of Robert Lewandowski's record of 41, with 10 games remaining.