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Asian Cup Draw Postponed

The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)
The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)
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Asian Cup Draw Postponed

The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)
The draw for January's Asian Cup finals has been postponed (AFC)

The draw for January's Asian Cup finals, which was due to be held in Riyadh on April 11, has been postponed, the Asian Football Confederation announced on Thursday.

Officials have rescheduled the event to a later date "to ensure the undisrupted attendance of all stakeholders at the final draw ceremony," the governing ⁠body said in ⁠a statement.

"The AFC expressed its appreciation to the Local Organizing Committee for the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027™ for their full readiness to host the draw as planned, and it appreciates the understanding and continued cooperation of its Participating Member Associations, fans and stakeholders," the statement added.

Saudi Arabia is due to host the 24-team quadrennial continental championship for the first time with the last remaining round of qualifiers taking place on Tuesday.

Qatar are the defending champions and have already secured their ⁠berth ⁠at the finals alongside four-times winners Japan, plus fellow World Cup qualifiers South Korea, Iran, Jordan, Australia and Uzbekistan.

The AFC announced on Tuesday that the latter stages of the Asian Champions League Elite would go ahead as planned in Jeddah, with matches running from April 13 to 26.

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Ancelotti Shrugs off Neymar Chants After Brazil Lose to France

Carlo Ancelotti, head coach of Brazil, looks on prior to the international friendly match between Brazil and France at Gillette Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Getty Images/AFP)
Carlo Ancelotti, head coach of Brazil, looks on prior to the international friendly match between Brazil and France at Gillette Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Ancelotti Shrugs off Neymar Chants After Brazil Lose to France

Carlo Ancelotti, head coach of Brazil, looks on prior to the international friendly match between Brazil and France at Gillette Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Getty Images/AFP)
Carlo Ancelotti, head coach of Brazil, looks on prior to the international friendly match between Brazil and France at Gillette Stadium on March 26, 2026 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Getty Images/AFP)

Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti ‌played down fans' chants for Neymar, who was not selected for the squad, after their 2-1 defeat to France in a warm-up game in Boston on Thursday, saying the focus should remain on the players involved.

Neymar was left out after the 34-year-old missed a recent Santos FC match with muscle fatigue - a game Ancelotti had planned to watch in person as part of his assessment ahead of naming the ‌squad.

"Right now we ‌have to talk about those who ‌are ⁠here, who played, ⁠who gave everything, who showed character, who worked very hard. And I am satisfied," Ancelotti told reporters.

"I think Raphinha played very well. He had some muscle discomfort at the end of the first half and we had to substitute him, but he had ⁠many opportunities and very good movement ‌off the ball.

"And Vini (Vinicius Jr.) ‌always tries; he always makes the difference. A striker ‌cannot always score, but the work done by ‌both of them was good."

Neymar, Brazil's all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, has not played for the national team since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2023 and ‌has struggled to maintain a consistent run of matches since returning to Santos ⁠last year.

Ancelotti ⁠has repeatedly said the forward will be considered if he is fully fit. Despite the defeat and Neymar's absence, the Italian said the performance reinforced his belief in the squad's potential.

"I think today's game makes it very clear to me that we can compete with the best teams in the world. I have no doubt about that," Ancelotti said.

Brazil will next face Croatia on March 31 in Orlando ahead of the June 11 to July 19 World Cup in North America.

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White Deserves Another Chance with England, Says Tuchel

England's German head coach Thomas Tuchel attends a press conference at Wembley Stadium, west London, on March 26, 2026, ahead of their international friendly football matches against Uruguay and Japan. (AFP)
England's German head coach Thomas Tuchel attends a press conference at Wembley Stadium, west London, on March 26, 2026, ahead of their international friendly football matches against Uruguay and Japan. (AFP)
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White Deserves Another Chance with England, Says Tuchel

England's German head coach Thomas Tuchel attends a press conference at Wembley Stadium, west London, on March 26, 2026, ahead of their international friendly football matches against Uruguay and Japan. (AFP)
England's German head coach Thomas Tuchel attends a press conference at Wembley Stadium, west London, on March 26, 2026, ahead of their international friendly football matches against Uruguay and Japan. (AFP)

England manager Thomas Tuchel ‌said Ben White deserves another chance with the national team after the Arsenal defender returned to the squad for the first time in more than three years for World Cup warm-ups against Uruguay and Japan.

White left the 2022 World Cup camp in Qatar early for personal reasons and later made himself unavailable for the remainder of Gareth Southgate’s tenure, which ended after Euro 2024.

"First of ‌all, I ‌think everyone deserves a second chance," ‌Tuchel ⁠told reporters on ⁠Thursday ahead of the Uruguay match.

"Second, I don't know exactly what happened. I was also not 100% interested because I wanted to open a new page and a new book and a new opportunity.

"Once I asked Ben if he would be ⁠ready to play for me and ‌for England, he straightaway, ‌without hesitation, said he would love to come back ‌and was desperate to come back."

Tuchel said he ‌expects White to be supported by the crowd but noted the defender may still need to smooth things over inside the dressing room.

"I think it's necessary he ‌clears the air with his teammates and I think he will with ⁠players who ⁠come back who were in the World Cup together with him," the German said.

"Then we go from there. Let's see how it goes and let's see how he feels, if he feels as comfortable and as confident as he thought he would."

England host Uruguay at Wembley later on Friday before facing Japan at the same venue four days later as part of their preparations for the June 11 to July 19 World Cup in North America.

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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)
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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."