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Leverkusen in Battle for Top-four Spot as Dortmund Look to Next Season

Bayer Leverkusen's Danish head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks on ahead the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg in Leverkusen on April 4, 2026. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)
Bayer Leverkusen's Danish head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks on ahead the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg in Leverkusen on April 4, 2026. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)
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Leverkusen in Battle for Top-four Spot as Dortmund Look to Next Season

Bayer Leverkusen's Danish head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks on ahead the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg in Leverkusen on April 4, 2026. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)
Bayer Leverkusen's Danish head coach Kasper Hjulmand looks on ahead the German first division Bundesliga football match between Bayer leverkusen and VfL Wolfsburg in Leverkusen on April 4, 2026. (Photo by INA FASSBENDER / AFP)

Bayer Leverkusen will be battling for a top-four spot when they travel to second-placed Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, with the hosts already looking to next season following what is likely to be a trophyless campaign.

Leverkusen, Bundesliga champions in 2024, are currently in sixth place on 49 points, four points off fourth place which brings a Champions League berth next season.

Dortmund are second on 64 points, nine behind leaders Bayern Munich with only six matches remaining. RB Leipzig in third and fourth-placed VfB Stuttgart are both on 53.

Leverkusen will be hoping a 6-3 comeback win over VfL Wolfsburg last week -- their first ⁠league victory in ⁠four matches -- will provide the spark for a strong season run-in that includes their German Cup semi-final against Bayern on April 22.

"This important win can give us a push for the remaining matches," said Leverkusen coach Kasper Hjulmand, who took over from Erik ten Hag after just two matches into the league campaign.

The ⁠Dane knows he has to deliver to have any chance of staying on in the job, and his team have their work cut out with games against fellow Champions League hopefuls Leipzig and Stuttgart to come in May, Reuters reported.

The situation in Dortmund is far less urgent with the club having all but secured second spot following a strong domestic campaign under Niko Kovac.

However, with Bayern nine points clear in the league they are likely to end the season without silverware.

"It is not what we want because with ⁠a club ⁠like Dortmund your standards have to be always high, and you try to play every single game to win and to win titles," said Dortmund's Fabio Silva.

"We are not fully happy because we cannot realistically fight for a title for now, but of course we can improve a lot of things, and we can win a lot more than titles to keep building this team and this club."

Leaders Bayern, buoyed by Tuesday's 2-1 victory at Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final first leg, travel to relegation-threatened St Pauli.

The Bavarians are a goal away from equaling the all-time Bundesliga record of 101 in a season.

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Italiano Appointed Besiktas Coach

Italian Vincenzo Italiano named Besiktas coach. (Reuters)
Italian Vincenzo Italiano named Besiktas coach. (Reuters)
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Italiano Appointed Besiktas Coach

Italian Vincenzo Italiano named Besiktas coach. (Reuters)
Italian Vincenzo Italiano named Besiktas coach. (Reuters)

Vincenzo Italiano has been appointed coach of Turkish side Besiktas, the Istanbul-based club announced on Saturday.

The 48-year-old Italian will coach the club until the end of the 2027-2028 season, Besiktas said in a statement, AFP reported.

The former coach of Serie A clubs Fiorentina and Bologna, becomes the 11th manager at Besiktas in the past five years, following Frenchman Valerien Ismael, Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Crowned Turkish champions for the 16th time in 2021, Besiktas have since struggled to compete with Galatasaray and Fenerbahce, the two other big Istanbul clubs.

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AlUla Designates Scenic Open-Air Venues for 2026 FIFA World Cup Screenings

Fans can watch all Saudi national team matches alongside prominent international, Arab, and Gulf fixtures - SPA
Fans can watch all Saudi national team matches alongside prominent international, Arab, and Gulf fixtures - SPA
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AlUla Designates Scenic Open-Air Venues for 2026 FIFA World Cup Screenings

Fans can watch all Saudi national team matches alongside prominent international, Arab, and Gulf fixtures - SPA
Fans can watch all Saudi national team matches alongside prominent international, Arab, and Gulf fixtures - SPA

AlUla Governorate has prepared several open-air fan zones for residents and tourists to watch 2026 FIFA World Cup matches, blending international football excitement with the region’s renowned natural beauty and unique rock formations while catering to a growing influx of summer visitors.

Fans can watch all Saudi national team matches alongside prominent international, Arab, and Gulf fixtures.

The tournament’s timing in summer boosts AlUla’s appeal, allowing visitors to combine the global sporting event with exploring local heritage sites and participating in outdoor recreational activities during the cooler evening hours, SPA reported.

This viewing experience is fully supported by diverse hospitality options, ranging from luxury resorts and desert accommodations to heritage hotels situated in AlUla Old Town.

These integrated facilities reinforce the region's strategy to expand its tourism and entertainment portfolio, positioning AlUla as a preferred year-round destination.

Sports

Iran World Cup Squad Heads to Mexico as US Visa Row Erupts

Iran's Mehdi Torabi, right, poses for a photo with fans after a friendly soccer match between Iran and Mali, in Antalya, southern Türkiye, Thursday, June 4, 2026, ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Iran's Mehdi Torabi, right, poses for a photo with fans after a friendly soccer match between Iran and Mali, in Antalya, southern Türkiye, Thursday, June 4, 2026, ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
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Iran World Cup Squad Heads to Mexico as US Visa Row Erupts

Iran's Mehdi Torabi, right, poses for a photo with fans after a friendly soccer match between Iran and Mali, in Antalya, southern Türkiye, Thursday, June 4, 2026, ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Iran's Mehdi Torabi, right, poses for a photo with fans after a friendly soccer match between Iran and Mali, in Antalya, southern Türkiye, Thursday, June 4, 2026, ahead of the World Cup soccer tournament. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Iran lashed out at the United States on Saturday for refusing visas to some of its World Cup squad support staff as the players were to leave Türkiye for Mexico.

The row erupted just days before the June 11 start of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

The Iranian players, who have been at a training camp in the southern Turkish resort of Antalya since May 18, received their visas late on Friday, Washington's envoy to Türkiye Tom Barrack said on X, hailing the work of the US embassy in Ankara in "processing visas for Iran's national football team".

But Iran's embassy to Türkiye hit back Saturday with a furious response, saying a "large" number of managerial and executive staff and others had been denied visas.

"You have now escalated the deliberate and discriminatory treatment against Iran's national football team to its highest level," the embassy wrote on X.

"FIFA must hold the US accountable for violations of its rules and for the discriminatory treatment of Iran's national football team."

Iran's Football Federation, whose chief Mehdi Taj was reportedly among those denied a visa, also hit out, describing the decision as "political interference in sport in its worst form".

"By extending its hostile behaviour towards the Iranian nation into the field of sport, the ... US government has deprived Iran's national team of.. the opportunity to compete without discrimination," it said, pledging to pursue the matter with FIFA.

Iranian state TV's correspondent in Antalya said the players and their technical staff had received visas, but 15 others on the administrative and management side had not.

It said the matter would be followed up in Mexico.

In April, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said any problem would not be with the Iranian players but "some of the other people (they) would want to bring with them", suggesting they may have ties to the Revolutionary Guards, a group on the US terror blacklist.

Taj himself is a former Guards member, Iranian media in the diaspora have said.

Team Melli were scheduled to leave Antalya for Mexico on a 3:20 pm (1220 GMT) flight that Taj said earlier this week would include a stopover in Spain before arriving in Mexico early on Sunday.

But Iran's state TV gave a later departure time of 5:30 pm.

The team will be based in the northwestern border city of Tijuana for the duration of the tournament, but all three of their group stage matches are due to be held in the United States.

Iran, who are in Group G, will play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, followed by a game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Ahead of their departure on Saturday, Iran played a final friendly against Mali in Antalya on Thursday which they won 2-0. They played a first match on May 29, beating Gambia 3-1.