Leeds Win Championship Title on Goal Difference, Luton Relegated

Football - Championship - Plymouth Argyle v Leeds United - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - May 3, 2025 Leeds United's Ethan Ampadu lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the Championship. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Championship - Plymouth Argyle v Leeds United - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - May 3, 2025 Leeds United's Ethan Ampadu lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the Championship. (Action Images via Reuters)
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Leeds Win Championship Title on Goal Difference, Luton Relegated

Football - Championship - Plymouth Argyle v Leeds United - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - May 3, 2025 Leeds United's Ethan Ampadu lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the Championship. (Action Images via Reuters)
Football - Championship - Plymouth Argyle v Leeds United - Home Park, Plymouth, Britain - May 3, 2025 Leeds United's Ethan Ampadu lifts the trophy as he celebrates with his teammates after winning the Championship. (Action Images via Reuters)

Leeds United edged out Burnley to win the second-tier Championship title on goal difference after both teams finished the season with 100 points as Luton Town suffered a second straight relegation on Saturday.

On a frantic final day, Daniel Farke's Leeds trailed at Plymouth Argyle early in the game through a Sam Byram own goal but Wilfried Gnonto levelled eight minutes into the second half.

With Burnley leading Millwall, Leeds desperately needed a winner and it was Tottenham Hotspur loanee Manor Solomon who popped up with a goal in added time to give Leeds a 2-1 victory that also relegated Plymouth.

Burnley beat Millwall 3-1 but lost out on the title due to Leeds' superior goal difference.

"I can't put into words what I'm feeling right now. It is a dream come true to score the winning goal and take this Championship," Solomon told BBC Radio.

"Throughout the season we've shown we deserve this trophy and to finish in the first spot... We all knew what was happening at Burnley and we knew we needed to score. It paid off and the ball went into the net."

Both Leeds and Burnley had sealed promotion to the Premier League last month with a guaranteed top-two finish.

COVENTRY MAKE PLAYOFFS

Sheffield United finished third with 90 points after a 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers, who ended seventh and missed out on the last playoff spot by two points.

In the playoffs, Sheffield United will take on Bristol City, who finished sixth with 68 points while fourth-placed Sunderland (76 points) take on Frank Lampard's Coventry City (fifth with 69 points), who beat Middlesbrough 2-0 to secure a playoff spot.

It was redemption for Lampard who had aimed to prove his doubters wrong when he took over in November with Coventry 17th in the Championship.

"I loved it, it's so tense for everyone involved," Lampard told Sky Sports.

"The players deserve so much credit for getting over the line after where we've come from. We got what we deserved."

The two-legged playoffs will be held between May 8-13 and the final is on May 24.

LUTON RELEGATED

At the bottom of the table, Luton became only the fourth club in history to suffer back-to-back relegations from the Premier League.

They were playing in the top flight only a year ago but will start next season in League One, with their fans chanting "You're not fit to wear the shirt" at the players after Luton lost 5-3 to West Bromwich Albion in the final game.

"You've got to face the music. Ultimately, we've put ourselves in this situation and we need to take accountability," Luton captain Carlton Morris said.

"It's tough to put into words. I feel sorry for the fans and also for the lads with the effort they've put in recently. We gave ourselves too much of a mountain to climb."

Luton will be joined in the third tier by Cardiff City, who finished bottom after a 4-2 defeat by Norwich City.

Norwich and Cardiff were being managed by former Arsenal team mates Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey after both took interim charge of their respective clubs last month.



Jordan Dream of Morocco-Style Run as World Cup Debut Nears

Football - International Friendly - Jordan Training - Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Türkiye - March 26, 2026 Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami speaks to the media during training. (Reuters)
Football - International Friendly - Jordan Training - Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Türkiye - March 26, 2026 Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami speaks to the media during training. (Reuters)
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Jordan Dream of Morocco-Style Run as World Cup Debut Nears

Football - International Friendly - Jordan Training - Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Türkiye - March 26, 2026 Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami speaks to the media during training. (Reuters)
Football - International Friendly - Jordan Training - Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Türkiye - March 26, 2026 Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami speaks to the media during training. (Reuters)

Jordan head coach Jamal Sellami has called on his players to emulate Morocco's shock run to the World Cup semi-finals four years ago as they prepare for their first appearance at the global football showpiece in North America.

Jordan will face Austria, Algeria and Argentina in Group J at the June 11 to July 19 World Cup and are holding their final training camp in Antalya this week.

Media access to training sessions has been tightly restricted as the team fine-tuned tactics.

Some players say they can barely sleep in anticipation of the tournament, but Sellami wants them ‌to draw confidence ‌from Morocco's achievement at the last World Cup, where ‌they ⁠lost 2-0 to ⁠France in the last four.

"In big competitions, many teams can surprise. My country Morocco reached the semi-finals in the last World Cup," he said. "That gives us belief."

Jordan will play Costa Rica later on Friday and Nigeria on Tuesday as part of a four-team regional tournament that also includes Iran and was relocated from Jordan to Türkiye due to the war in the Middle ⁠East.

"Of course we feel sad about what is happening. ‌I hope there will be peace," midfielder ‌Noor Al-Rawabdeh said at the camp.

"But this is football — we moved here and ‌we need to adapt. In the World Cup you face the unknown, ‌so we must be ready for everything."

Despite their underdog status, the players say they are not going to the World Cup just to make up the numbers. "For us, we are not going just for participation," Al-Rawabdeh added. "We are aiming to go ‌as far as we can in the tournament.

"To be honest, sometimes we don't sleep when we think about ⁠it," he ⁠added. "It’s a dream come true for us."

Jordan secured an automatic berth at the World Cup after finishing second behind South Korea in their Asian qualifying group. Defender Mohammad Abu Alnadi said the squad were relishing the opportunity to compete on football's biggest stage.

"It's truly amazing. All of us are excited. It's one of the highest levels any player can play," he said.

"We want to go as far as possible — like any other team — and make history again."

Sellami said the Antalya camp was a key stage in building experience ahead of facing elite opposition.

"We are preparing step by step. We've played against different football cultures," he said.

"We are collecting experience and, Inshallah (God Willing), we will surprise many people."


Kosovo One Game Away from Fairy Tale World Cup Qualification

 Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - Semi-final - Slovakia v Kosovo - National Football Stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia - March 26, 2026 Kosovo's Florent Muslija celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates (Reuters)
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - Semi-final - Slovakia v Kosovo - National Football Stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia - March 26, 2026 Kosovo's Florent Muslija celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates (Reuters)
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Kosovo One Game Away from Fairy Tale World Cup Qualification

 Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - Semi-final - Slovakia v Kosovo - National Football Stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia - March 26, 2026 Kosovo's Florent Muslija celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates (Reuters)
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup - UEFA Qualifiers - Semi-final - Slovakia v Kosovo - National Football Stadium, Bratislava, Slovakia - March 26, 2026 Kosovo's Florent Muslija celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates (Reuters)

It is less than a decade since Kosovo first played a World Cup qualifier, but they stand a single match away from a place at this year's finals in North America.

The small western Balkan republic declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 but was only admitted to the ranks of world football's governing body FIFA in 2016, playing a first competitive international in September of that year.

But if they win Tuesday's playoff at home to Türkiye in Pristina, they will qualify for a first appearance at a major tournament, after ‌a thrilling 4-3 ‌away win at Slovakia in Thursday's playoff semi-final.

It was Kosovo's ‌100th ⁠international and their ⁠most important since home and away success over Sweden in their qualifying group last year saw them finish second behind Switzerland and book a berth in the playoffs.

"I always believe in the team and, despite twice being behind, they all believed in themselves to fight," Kosovo's German coach Franco Foda said after the match.

"I'm very proud of this team and I think after 90 minutes it was a deserved victory," he ⁠added.

Kosovo managed only one point in their first World Cup ‌qualifying campaign, losing nine of 10 games, as ‌they began to build a team which included players who were allowed to switch allegiance after ‌previously playing for other countries, like striker Valon Berisha, formerly a Norwegian international, ‌and Albania goalkeeper Samir Ujkani.

KOSOVO TURNED TO DIASPORA TO STRENGTHEN SQUAD

They then sought to strengthen their squad with players from the extensive diaspora in Germany and Switzerland, and it is on the back of their performances that Kosovo steadily became more competitive.

Thursday's goalscorers were the ‌German-born pair of Fisnik Asllani and Florent Muslija, Swiss-born Kreshnik Hajrizi and Veldin Hodza, born and raised in Croatia, who ⁠only last year changed ⁠his footballing nationality.

But they only broke into the top 100 of the FIFA rankings for the first time in late 2024 and qualifying would be a stunning achievement.

Home advantage on Tuesday could be a decisive factor. At first, Kosovo had to play home matches in neighboring Albania during the 2018 World Cup qualifiers before being allowed to host games at Pristina's small 14,000-capacity Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri.

"We could probably sell 100,000 tickets for Tuesday's game, but with all this euphoria, we must keep our heads about us. The Turks have a very good team with excellent individual quality," Foda said.

The winner of Tuesday's playoff will complete in Group D at the World Cup, playing against Australia in Vancouver on June 13, Paraguay in San Francisco on June 19 and co-hosts United States in Los Angeles six days after that.


Mercedes' Russell Fastest in First Practice for Japan GP

Mercedes' George Russell was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. Philip FONG / AFP
Mercedes' George Russell was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. Philip FONG / AFP
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Mercedes' Russell Fastest in First Practice for Japan GP

Mercedes' George Russell was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. Philip FONG / AFP
Mercedes' George Russell was fastest in the first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. Philip FONG / AFP

George Russell went fastest ahead of team-mate Kimi Antonelli in an eventful first practice for the Japanese Grand Prix on Friday as Mercedes continued their dominant start to the Formula One season.

Mercedes have claimed one-two finishes at both grands prix so far and they were again out in front in dry, sunny conditions at Suzuka, AFP reported.

Early championship leader Russell clocked a fastest lap of 1min 31.666sec to pip 19-year-old Antonelli, who won the first grand prix of his career in China two weeks ago, by 0.026sec.

World champion Lando Norris was third, followed by his McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, and Ferrari pair Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton.

Red Bull's four-time world champion Max Verstappen was seventh, 0.791sec off Russell.

Norris, who along with Piastri did not start the Chinese Grand Prix because of a technical issue with his car, came out early but was then grounded for the first half of the session.

Alex Albon lost the nose of his Williams after crashing into Cadillac's Sergio Perez late in the session.

Albon had earlier skidded off the track and driven deep into the gravel before clipping a barrier on his way back.

Verstappen had a wobble when he tried to accelerate out of a corner.

His Red Bull team-mate Isack Hadjar also struggled, telling his team early in the session that his car was "pulling".

Aston Martin replaced Fernando Alonso with reserve driver Jak Crawford for the session.

Alonso arrived in Japan late following the birth of his first child.