Soccer (FIFA)

Soccer (FIFA)

"I learnt a lot when I was at City - it's a completely different world to anything most footballers experience," he told BBC Look East. "People think it's a bit easier being in the lower leagues. But when you've come through an academy, even the best academy in the world, you're not accustomed to how hard men's football actually is."

Let's start by asking you to name every Everton player to go to a major tournament with England since 2000 and every West Ham United player to go to the World Cup or European Championship with England since 1966? We also want you to name all of these players who share three of the same clubs and every manager of Newcastle United since 1992 including caretakers and interim bosses.

The 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) will take place in June and July next year, the Confederation of African Football (Caf) president Patrice Motsepe has announced. The South African said reports that the tournament, co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, would be delayed or moved were "totally unfounded". Doubts have been raised over whether the necessary infrastructure in the three East African countries will be ready in time to stage the finals.

He is back! After missing Al Nassr's last two league matches in protest against the lack of investment from PIF for his team during the transfer window, Cristiano Ronaldo has decided to end his "strike" and will be back on the pitch on Saturday to face 10th-place Al Fateh. While the mood will surely be lifted thanks to his return, his side did pretty well without him, picking up a pair of wins against Al Riyadh (1-0, thanks to a Sadio Mane9 goal) and Al Ittihad (2-0, thanks to Mane9 and Gabriel).

Chelsea have kept two clean sheets in 10 games since appointing Liam Rosenior as head coach last month. Repeated doziness at the back has cost them. They have held commanding advantages against Charlton, Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leeds, only to give away silly goals. It is a bad habit and proved costly when a 2-0 lead was squandered during Tuesday's draw with Leeds.

For me, preparation for any game always started two hours after the one I had just managed. My drive home to the south coast on a Saturday night after a game could take three hours or more, and much of that would be spent on the phone while I had precious quiet time. When I was at Stoke City, my chairman Peter Coates would always speak to me then if we lost. If we'd won, he never bothered, knowing I wouldn't need comforting.

Northern Ireland face Italy in a World Cup play-off semi-final in March and then either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina in a final or friendly, depending on the result in Bergamo. O'Neill is expected to be involved for both matches and, if Northern Ireland qualify against the odds, for the World Cup finals. The 56-year-old could then take over as manager at Blackburn, who are in the Championship's relegation zone, on a permanent basis.

The first legs of the playoffs to reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Women's Champions League did not disappoint, with 16 goals scored across four matches this week. Defending champions Arsenal appear to have one foot in the last eight after their 4-0 win at Oud-Heverlee Leuven, as do their fellow Women's Super League side Manchester United following their 3-0 victory at Atlético Madrid. Things are much tighter in the other two ties, however: Real Madrid won 3-2 at Paris FC but conceded late to give their French opponents hope of overturning the deficit, while two-time European champions VfL Wolfsburg and Juventus battled to a 2-2 draw in Germany.

The pearly whites on display pitchside at Ashton Gate during the 5-0 win betrayed the "emotion-free" public persona the 46-year-old has curated in a year during which he has transformed the Rams from relegation battlers to promotion contenders. "It was a fantastic win. We've gone to a top team and won so I'm not going to be grumpy about that," Eustace told BBC Sport about the shot of emotion he afforded himself that late January night.

Aspire Media Group has decided not to proceed with the proposed acquisition of Colchester United by Sports Alpha Capital (SAC), the investment consortium managed by Joao Xavier and including Alexandre Pato. Accordingly, discussions have concluded. SAC will continue to explore future opportunities within English football while maintaining a lasting respect and affection for Colchester United and its supporters. Colchester United remains focused on the remainder of the season and its ongoing ambitions for progress and success.

The Serbia international has caught the eye in the Champions League this season with goals to help Brugge win each of their last two games of the league phase and secure a place in the playoffs to reach the knockout rounds, Stankovic is reportedly keen on a return to Inter Milan, who included a clause in his transfer to Brugge that gives them the chance to re-sign over the next two years, but the Serbia international has a growing list of suitors across Europe.

Starting with the hosts, springing a famous upset last season as they clinched an eighth-place finish among Spain's elite, Rayo Vallecano have come crashing back down to earth in an infamous fashion. Opening this weekend's fixtures sat firmly in the drop zone, the Little Thunderbolts have a major job on his hands in the race to maintain their La Liga status over the coming months.

"In these cases, and it's the same for every player, especially when you've had a career like Manu has, that you don't talk about next season," Kompany said ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga clash with Werder Bremen. "You talk and enjoy what you've got. At the moment, I have the best goalkeeper in Germany. "We're still in three competitions and don't want to waste too much energy talking about next season. For me, it's about enjoying what Manu's doing and that he's part of our team."

Watford appointing a new head coach is not really new news. Watford having a third head coach in the same season is not really new news either, but Watford appointing Ed Still is definitely news. Having watched his brother Will succeed on the continent but then fail with Southampton in the Championship this season, it has not deterred the older sibling from stepping into the chaotic world of Vicarage Road.

"You always miss good football players," Slot began (via X account @iMiaSanMia). "He was so important for us last season, but he wasn't the only one. There were more players that were influential in our results. But I think we have replaced them with very good players as well."

It's rare that defenders are valued at 3m in the third tier of English football, but Stockport County's Ethan Pye fits that bill. The 23-year-old has already racked up over 125 appearances for the Hatters, and has frequently been eyed by clubs in higher divisions. Never heard of him? Not to worry: here's your quick scout report on the centre-back.

With Tottenham having won just two of their past 17 league matches, Frank himself acknowledged he understood the frustration of fans in one of his final interviews. "I understand the frustration, I also understand the easiest thing is to point at me." Frank is not alone. Arne Slot and his players have had similar treatment at times this season, albeit from a much smaller number of the Liverpool faithful.