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Returning Leao Boosts Milan's Champions League Mission Impossible Attempt

Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File
Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File
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Returning Leao Boosts Milan's Champions League Mission Impossible Attempt

Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File
Rafael Leao starred in AC Milan's win over Paris Saint-Germain. GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP/File

Rafael Leao returns for AC Milan's last desperate attempt to reach the Champions League knockouts, the seven-time European champions staring at early elimination ahead of their final Group F match at Newcastle on Wednesday.
Portugal attacker Leao has been out of action for the past month with a hamstring injury but Milan are confident their winger will be ready to start at St James' Park and repeat his mesmerizing display against Paris Saint-Germain from a month ago, AFP said.
The 24-year-old is Milan's undoubted star man, the player who when on form is capable of turning a match in his side's favor but whose performances have been erratic in a troubled season for the Italian outfit.
Milan will need the version of Leao which tore PSG to bits if they are to have any chance of progressing to the last 16 as a painful home loss to Borussia Dortmund in their most recent group fixture left qualification out of their hands.
Leao has scored four times and set up three more this season but has been criticized for lackluster performances, his equalizer in the 2-1 home win over PSG his first goal in the best part of two months.
"Criticism spurs me on, keep talking because I'll reply on the pitch," said Leao after the PSG win, which was the last time he found the net as he picked up his hamstring knock a few days later at Lecce.
After the Dortmund defeat which left Milan bottom of the group, Yacine Adli said his team had a "two-to-three percent chance of qualifying", and making it to the next round is indeed a tall order.
Milan must beat Newcastle, not an impossible task judging by the 4-1 thumping Eddie Howe's team took at Tottenham on Sunday, but also need group leaders Dortmund to beat PSG who are two points ahead of Milan in second spot.
A 3-0 thrashing in Paris in October means that Milan have to finish on more points than PSG otherwise it's relegation to the Europa League or -- if they don't win in England -- elimination from all continental competition.
Pioli at risk?
And the team is already at a low ebb after Saturday's last-gasp defeat at Atalanta which left Milan nine points behind Serie A leaders Inter Milan and fans calling for coach Stefano Pioli's head.
Pioli has good relations with the club hierarchy and American owners RedBird, and he has a lot of credit in the bank after leading Milan back to the top echelons of the game.
The 2022 Serie A title and last season's run to the semi-finals of the Champions League have been the high points of the post-Silvio Berlusconi era.
He also gets on well with returning idol Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was key alongside Pioli to re-establishing Milan as a big player.
Ibrahimovic, who called time on his playing career in June, has been brought in as a "senior advisor" by RedBird with a wide mandate which has been met with confusion from fans and pundits alike and led to suspicion that Pioli's job is at risk.
"When he returned to Milan as a player, he was in the dressing room and had an impact there," said Fabio Capello, a four-time Serie A winner with Milan in the 1990s.
"We don't know if he's allowed in the dressing room or if he's allowed to give Pioli hand, nor do we know whether bringing him in will weaken Pioli's authority."
With just three wins from 10 matches since the October international break, Pioli's authority has already been questioned by fans, and he hasn't been helped by a raft of injuries.
Milan are so short in defense that France's buccaneering left-back Theo Hernandez will again have to fill in at center-back alongside Fikayo Tomori, further placing the onus on Leao to be the miracle worker.

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Yamal Scores on Injury Return as Spain Defeat Saudi Arabia

Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates with teammate Rodri, left, after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP)
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates with teammate Rodri, left, after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP)
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Yamal Scores on Injury Return as Spain Defeat Saudi Arabia

Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates with teammate Rodri, left, after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP)
Spain's Lamine Yamal celebrates with teammate Rodri, left, after scoring his side's opening goal during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Saudi Arabia in Atlanta, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP)

Lamine Yamal's return sparked Spain's World Cup into life as the European champions ran riot to beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 in Atlanta.

Making his first start in two months after a hamstring injury, Yamal ended La Roja's long wait for a World Cup goal just 10 minutes in.

Mikel Oyarzabal then struck twice to put Luis de la Fuente's men 3-0 up inside 24 minutes.

De la Fuente's careful management of Yamal's minutes continued as the Barcelona superstar was replaced at half-time before Hassan al-Tambakti's own goal rounded off the scoring.

Victory propels Spain to the top of Group H ahead of Uruguay's meeting with Cape Verde later on Sunday.

Billed as one of the pre-tournament favorites, Spain got off to a slow start in a 0-0 draw against debutants Cape Verde.

A pedestrian performance despite dominating possession only highlighted the importance of Yamal to their quest to be world champions for a second time.

De la Fuente also warned his players had been "stung" by the criticism they faced following their opening result and they responded emphatically.

Yamal's return was one of four changes in total with Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also coming into the starting line-up.

After over 2,500 passes and 50 attempts at goal since their last World Cup goal, Spain finally found the net and fittingly Yamal made the breakthrough.

- Pressure rises on Saudis -

Oyarzabal found space in behind the Saudi defense and his low cross picked out the 18-year-old to slot in at the back post.

Coach Georgios Donis looked particularly irked that two of Spain's goals came from corners.

Oyarzabal pounced on Aymeric Laporte's flick on to give the 2010 winners the breathing space they craved.

Just three minutes later, the Real Sociedad forward volleyed home from Dani Olmo's header for his 14th international goal in his last 13 caps.

Oyarzabal was inches away from a first half hat-trick when his audacious effort with the outside of his foot from a narrow angle came back off the crossbar.

But with the job done by half-time, De la Fuente could afford the luxury of replacing Yamal and Oyarzabal at the break.

The changes did not disrupt the waves of Spanish attack towards the Saudi goal, but the fourth also came via a corner.

Cucurella was afforded acres of space to shoot and although his effort was repelled by Mohammed al-Owais, the rebound deflected in off the unfortunate Tambakti.

To round off an ideal afternoon for De la Fuente on his 65th birthday, Nico Williams and Mikel Merino were afforded valuable minutes off the bench in the second period as they too get up to match speed after lengthy absences due to injury.

By contrast, the pressure is now on Donis to deliver in Saudi Arabia's final group game against Cape Verde in Houston.

Victory will likely take the Arabian Falcons into the knockout stages for the first time since the World Cup was last in the United States 32 years ago.

Spain travel to Guadalajara next for the final group game against two-time winners Uruguay on Friday.

Sports

Key Netherlands Duo Hopeful of Facing Tunisia in Final Pool Game

Netherlands' defender #04 Virgil van Dijk (C) is helped up by Netherlands' defender #15 Micky Van de Ven (L) and Netherlands' midfielder #20 Teun Koopmeiners (R) during the 2026 World Cup Group F football match between the Netherlands and Sweden at the Houston Stadium in Houston on June 20, 2026. (AFP)
Netherlands' defender #04 Virgil van Dijk (C) is helped up by Netherlands' defender #15 Micky Van de Ven (L) and Netherlands' midfielder #20 Teun Koopmeiners (R) during the 2026 World Cup Group F football match between the Netherlands and Sweden at the Houston Stadium in Houston on June 20, 2026. (AFP)
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Key Netherlands Duo Hopeful of Facing Tunisia in Final Pool Game

Netherlands' defender #04 Virgil van Dijk (C) is helped up by Netherlands' defender #15 Micky Van de Ven (L) and Netherlands' midfielder #20 Teun Koopmeiners (R) during the 2026 World Cup Group F football match between the Netherlands and Sweden at the Houston Stadium in Houston on June 20, 2026. (AFP)
Netherlands' defender #04 Virgil van Dijk (C) is helped up by Netherlands' defender #15 Micky Van de Ven (L) and Netherlands' midfielder #20 Teun Koopmeiners (R) during the 2026 World Cup Group F football match between the Netherlands and Sweden at the Houston Stadium in Houston on June 20, 2026. (AFP)

Netherlands captain Virgil van ‌Dijk is feeling discomfort after taking a knock in Saturday’s 5-1World Cup demolition of Sweden, but is hopeful the injury is not serious enough to keep him out of the team’s final pool game against Tunisia.

The Netherlands bounced back from a 2-2 draw with Japan to inflict a heavy defeat on the Swedes in Houston, and will fancy their chances of sealing top spot in Group F when they play hapless already-eliminated Tunisia in Kansas City on Thursday.

"I took a hard hit to my hip, and I couldn’t feel my upper ‌leg anymore, so ‌that was a little bit crazy," Van Dijk ‌was ⁠quoted as saying ⁠by NOS. "But it was probably just a pinched nerve. I think it is not too bad, but we will see shortly."

Center-back van Dijk remains a key figure for coach Ronald Koeman and could become the Dutch player with the most World Cup appearances as captain if he features against the Tunisians.

He currently has seven, level with Johan Cruyff, ⁠Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Frank de Boer and Ruud ‌Krol, and if he leads the side ‌again in this World Cup will move clear on the all-time list.

He ‌is not the only injury concern. Midfielder Frenkie de Jong was ‌a doubt coming into the match against Sweden, but played almost an hour before being replaced.

"We had a collision at training, and I was also involved in that," De Jong said. "I had sustained some damage from it, but ‌in the end, it was okay. We’re going to see what the reaction will be, but I ⁠have confidence ⁠in it."

The win extended the Netherlands’ unbeaten run at World Cups to 14 games, not counting penalty shootouts. That took them past Brazil (1958-1966) for the longest unbeaten streak in the tournament’s history.

The last time they lost a game outright was the 2010 final to Spain when they went down 1-0 in Soweto, South Africa.

Netherlands currently top Group F after two rounds with four points, the same number as Japan. Both teams have a +4 goal difference, though the Dutch have scored a goal more.

Japan play Sweden in their final match, where the latter could still top the pool despite their heavy defeat to the Dutch if they win and Tunisia hold the Netherlands to a draw.

Sports

Coach Says Iran Still Being Treated Poorly by US at World Cup ahead of Second Match

Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei speaks to his players during an MD-1 training session at Carson Sports Park in Carson, on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the 2026 World Cup Group G football match between Belgium and Iran. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei speaks to his players during an MD-1 training session at Carson Sports Park in Carson, on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the 2026 World Cup Group G football match between Belgium and Iran. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
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Coach Says Iran Still Being Treated Poorly by US at World Cup ahead of Second Match

Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei speaks to his players during an MD-1 training session at Carson Sports Park in Carson, on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the 2026 World Cup Group G football match between Belgium and Iran. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)
Iran's head coach Amir Ghalenoei speaks to his players during an MD-1 training session at Carson Sports Park in Carson, on June 20, 2026, on the eve of the 2026 World Cup Group G football match between Belgium and Iran. (Photo by Frederic J. Brown / AFP)

Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei says that although his team is still being treated unfairly by the host US at the World Cup through travel restrictions and visa refusals, he is optimistic FIFA will persuade the Americans to lessen some of those strictures next week.

“I am very glad that the Iranian nation is behind us,” Ghalenoei said through an interpreter. “Our martyrs in Iran, we play for them. But I know that this kind of behavior has hurt our people. Even if we spent billions of dollars, we would not be able to have justice for our people. It just shows we are an oppressed country. But nevertheless, I hope we achieve peace, and I hope this kind of behavior does not become institutionalized in the World Cup.”

Iran returned to the Los Angeles area on Saturday for its second match against Belgium on Sunday, but Ghalenoei said he was forced to curtail his team’s training ahead of this difficult meeting with the No. 10 team in FIFA’s world rankings after his request to travel Friday was denied.

“We needed to have 24 hours (in Los Angeles), but they gave us less than 16 hours, and that is why we had to leave our training halfway,” Ghalenoei said. “These constraints have made it very difficult for us.”

Ghalenoei also appealed to the World Cup’s other teams and coaches to speak out against the treatment of the Iranian team.

“I ask the other 47 coaches a question, and none of them have responded to me,” he said. “We are here for football, not politics, and we are saying that again. Our grievances are to the way they’ve behaved with us. I haven’t heard anything from other coaches (at the World Cup), and I’m sure they’re busy and preparing their own teams and we never expect them to have a reaction. But if I had seen another team being treated the way we are being treated, I would say something.”

The Iranian team is operating under travel restrictions set by the US, which began a war against Iran on Feb. 28. Team Melli has been directed to fly to its matches in the US on the day before the game and to return immediately afterward to its training base in Tijuana, Mexico.

While that schedule is not considered onerous by other teams who voluntarily travel in the same window, it’s not what Ghalenoei wants. Iran worked out at the LA Galaxy’s home stadium in suburban Carson on Saturday afternoon after the short flight from Tijuana.

“You cannot deny that our situation hasn’t been the same as all the other teams,” Iran midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi said. “All the other teams have managed to focus on our planning, whereas we have had to spend so much time just commuting.”

Ghalenoei repeatedly praised FIFA President Gianni Infantino for his attempts to loosen the Americans’ restrictions, and he is optimistic that the US will allow Team Melli to travel to Seattle next week two days in advance of its final group stage match against Egypt.

“For the third game, they said, ‘In Seattle, you can do what you want,’” Ghalenoei said. “'You can act the way you want to, and you can come earlier.' But my problem is, why didn’t they let us come earlier for the first two games as well? I just know for the last game, they’ve allowed us to make our own decisions with planning the travel. But unfortunately for the first two games, others made these timing decisions for us.”

The coach said FIFA spent much of Friday attempting to persuade the American government to allow Iran to fly to Los Angeles that day. Ghalenoei waited by the phone for the approval to head for the airport, but the negotiations were unsuccessful.

“They said, ‘Sorry, we weren’t able to do that,’” Ghalenoei said. “And that’s going to affect us mentally, especially because as a head coach, I want to focus on technical things. I thank FIFA for that, but it doesn’t mean it’s succeeded. I just hope problems won’t occur in future World Cups.”

Iran also played its opening match of the World Cup at SoFi Stadium on Monday, drawing 2-2 with underdog New Zealand one day after a five-hour commute that included customs delays.

Ghaleneoi said after the game that he was surprised and upset to be ordered out of the country immediately instead of taking another day in the US to optimize his team's recovery period, while US officials claimed Iran already knew about its restrictions.

Ghalenoei acknowledged Saturday that the Iranians cleared customs and reached their Los Angeles hotel much more quickly this time following their short flight from Tijuana, giving credit to US officials for ironing out some of the bureaucratic wrinkles.

But he also renewed his complaints about the members of the team’s traveling party who had been denied visas, including the head of Iran’s football federation, coaching support personnel and media relations staffers.

“Such kind of behavior is not suitable for a World Cup,” Ghalenoei said. “You invite a team, but you don’t let in their support staff, their backroom staff?”

Ghalenoei said Iran’s soccer federation hasn’t formally lodged a complaint with FIFA about its treatment, but is only airing its grievances publicly.

Belgian right back Thomas Meunier expressed his team’s empathy with the Iranians’ situation, which reminded him of facing Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

“We usually don’t mix football with politics, but it’s quite challenging to separate the two, admittedly,” Meunier said through an interpreter. “This period should push the Iranian team to do better, in my opinion. When we played Ukraine in Nations League, there was very high motivation, more energy. They want to make their people proud and defend their nation. For us, it’s an added challenge. I would imagine some Iranian players have a family that’s directly impacted by the war, and we obviously feel for these people.”