Sports

Gyökeres brace lifts Arsenal, pressures Manchester City

Arsenal supporters had almost forgotten what it was like to win without their nerves being shredded. They were reacquainted with the feeling on an occasion when everything felt right from the start and got better and better. It was all over by half-time, Arsenal three goals to the good and the Emirates Stadium purring over a virtuoso Bukayo Saka performance.

The England winger had not been himself before he was forced to take time out at the end of March to rest an achilles problem – and one or two others aches. He was back in the starting XI here and the bang he produced could be heard in Manchester. City do not play until Monday night. They will kick off at Everton six points behind Arsenal at the top, albeit having played two games fewer. Arsenal have turned up the heat inexorably.

It looked as though Saka was immune to the pressure on his club, which has been such a feature of the season and the last few months, especially. When did Arsenal last win in the league with a degree of comfort? It was the 4-1 at Tottenham on 21 February.

Pos	Team	P	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	35	41	76
2	Man City	33	37	70
3	Man Utd	34	14	61
4	Liverpool	34	13	58
5	Aston Villa	34	5	58

Saka made the opening goal for Viktor Gyökeres in the ninth minute, he scored the second himself and he was involved at the beginning of the move for No 3, which was headed home by Gyökeres for his 21st goal of the season in all competitions. Saka set the tone, he calmed and inspired everyone in red, teammates and fans alike. He did not reappear for the second half; it was safe to say his work was done. It was the most devastating of cameos.

Arsenal have looked jaded of late; anxious. Short of creativity and goals. This was a game to restore the collective belief and the plus-three in the goal difference column was very welcome, too. The 22-year wait for the title has pushed the boundaries of obsession. Arsenal can feel it edging closer.

The noise at the outset had been really something; the nervous energy of the Arsenal crowd morphing into tremendous encouragement and their team made the dream start. The breakthrough was all about Saka. When Arsenal isolated him against Raúl Jiménez after working a free-kick short and coming over to the right, the alarm bells rang for Fulham.

Viktor Gyökeres rises highest to score Arsenal’s third i

Viktor Gyökeres rises highest to score Arsenal’s third. Photograph: Mark Leech/Offside/Getty Images

Saka went back and then he made his move, jinking up the outside, tying Jiménez in a knot. It was as if the Fulham striker had been freeze-framed; completely taken out of the game. Saka’s low cross was a beauty and Gyökeres, having timed his run, had a tap-in.

Arsenal had gone 1-0 up through Eberechi Eze in exactly the same minute of last Saturday’s game here against Newcastle. It was the prompt for them to sink back, the anxiety to grip. There was a different feel about this occasion. Arsenal were so much more proactive, their tempo was high. They wanted a second goal before the interval and they chased it with conviction. They would get it and then some.

It helped having Saka in this kind of mood. He bristled with assurance on the ball, he was terrifying for everyone in Fulham white. There was a certainty about him when he picked up possession and trained his sights forward. Eze was dangerous in the pockets, Leandro Trossard was very good off the left and it was just an excellent day for Gyökeres.

Arsenal were not disheartened when Gabriel Magalhães was denied at close quarters by Bernd Leno after a Saka corner. Or when the Fulham goalkeeper saved smartly from Gyökeres, Saka dragging the rebound wide. Or when Riccardo Calafiori, who was back after injury, had a goal ruled out for offside in the 27th minute following a Trossard cross. They simply dug deeper, pushed harder. They could feel it was going to be their day. They made it that way.

Saka’s goal for 2-0 was a whipped finish inside Leno’s near post after Gyökeres held up an Eze pass up the inside right and laid it off. Did Leno anticipate a trademark Saka curler for the other corner? Maybe. But this is the thing with Saka. He can hurt you either way.

Arsenal turned the screw and it was 3-0 when Trossard motored up the inside left and hung up a cross for Gyökeres, who looped a fine header home. The move had been sparked when Gabriel stepped up to release Trossard. Before that, it had been Saka retaining the ball with supreme confidence and playing it inside.

Arteta made five changes to the team he sent out at Atlético Madrid on Wednesday in the Champions League semi-final first leg; a high number by his standards. His Atlético counterpart, Diego Simeone, made 11 for his team’s trip to Valencia earlier on Saturday – before Tuesday night’s second leg here. Atlético have little to play for in La Liga. They are fourth and will probably finish there.

Viktor Gyökeres pokes home to open the scoring. Photograph: Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Arteta’s most eye-catching decision was to play Myles Lewis-Skelly in midfield in place of Martín Zubimendi; the 19-year-old has never started an Arsenal game in midfield. He brought plenty of energy and that was the collective theme, really. Arsenal ran all over Fulham, who barely turned up. Marco Silva’s squad have been affected by a virus but they had to be better than this. Fulham have never won away against Arsenal; the run now stands at 33 matches.

Arteta was sufficiently relaxed to withdraw not only Saka but Declan Rice and Gyökeres in the 64th minute and the only question in a more pedestrian second half concerned whether Arsenal could score again. Gyökeres was denied by Leno in a one-on-one while Calafiori watched a header hit the Fulham goalkeeper on the head and come off the crossbar. Leno knew nothing about that. Arsenal know this was a serious statement.

The Guardian

Sports

Harry Kane breaks Ronaldo’s record

Harry Kane produced another captain’s performance as England came from a goal down to beat DR Congo and book their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

After falling behind, Thomas Tuchel’s side responded through their skipper, who struck twice to complete the turnaround.

Kane’s first goal came from a superb Anthony Gordon cross, with the England captain powering a header into the net. His second was even better. Gordon, who had replaced Marcus Rashford in the second half, slipped a pass into Kane’s path, and the striker unleashed a thunderous first time strike that gave the goalkeeper no chance.

The brace took Kane to 12 goals in FIFA World Cup finals, further cementing his place among the tournament’s greatest goalscorers.

It also marked another remarkable milestone in what has become one of the greatest individual goalscoring seasons in football history.

Kane has now scored 72 goals for club and country during the 2025 and 26 season, overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s best ever goalscoring campaign.

Only Lionel Messi has ever produced a better goalscoring season among football’s modern greats.

The highest scoring campaigns are now:

Lionel Messi (2011 and 12): 82 goals in 69 games
Harry Kane (2025 and 26): 72 goals in 62 games
Lionel Messi (2012 and 13): 69 goals in 62 games
Cristiano Ronaldo (2011 and 12): 69 goals in 69 games

England will now face Mexico in the Round of 16 as they continue their quest for World Cup glory. With Kane in the form of his life and rewriting the record books almost every game, the Three Lions will be confident of going even deeper into the tournament.

Sports

Can Morocco win the World Cup?

Just past midnight in Monterrey, Achraf Hakimi had already missed his penalty, and Morocco’s World Cup looked like it might be sliding into another so-near-yet-so-far story. Then goalkeeper Yassine Bounou flung himself to his right, Crysencio Summerville’s spot-kick was gone, and Ismael Saibari stepped up to thump in the winner.

Morocco had beaten the Netherlands on penalties. Another major European side undone from 12 yards, and across Africa and the Arab world, the same question grew louder. Can Morocco actually win the World Cup?

It is not a fanciful question anymore. No African nation has ever won the tournament, and before Morocco’s run in 2022 none had even reached the semi-finals. Yet here they are again, deep into the knockouts and refusing to play the underdog.

A shootout to remember

A quick note on the format, because 2026 is different. This is the first World Cup with 48 teams rather than 32, which adds an extra knockout round, the last 32, before the competition reaches its more familiar stages.

After finishing second in Group C behind Brazil, drawing with the Brazilians and beating Scotland and Haiti, Morocco met the Netherlands in that last-32 tie. It looked to be slipping away when Cody Gakpo put the Dutch ahead on 72 minutes. It was an emotional goal for Gakpo, who had taken to the pitch just days after he and his partner shared the news that they had lost their unborn son.

Morocco refused to fold. In the first minute of stoppage time, defender Issa Diop climbed highest to glance in an equaliser and drag the tie to extra time. Soufiane Rahimi nearly settled it there and then, only for Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to produce a stunning save at point-blank range.

So it went to penalties, and penalties have quietly become Morocco’s speciality. They even missed two of their own, Neil El Aynaoui clipping the bar and Hakimi failing to convert, but Bounou’s save from Summerville handed Saibari the chance to win it. He took it, 3-2. The whole thing echoed Qatar four years ago, when Morocco knocked out Spain in exactly the same nerveless fashion, with Bounou the hero then too.

How they finished fourth in Qatar

To understand why belief runs so high, you have to go back to 2022. That run remains the proudest chapter in African and Arab football history.

Under coach Walid Regragui, Morocco topped a tough group that included former finalists Croatia and a strong Belgium side. They drew 0-0 with Croatia, then beat Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1 to go through.

The knockouts turned them into a phenomenon. They beat Spain on penalties, then edged Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0 thanks to a towering Youssef En-Nesyri header, becoming the first African or Arab team ever to reach a World Cup semi-final. France, the defending champions, ended the dream 2-0, and Croatia won the third-place play-off 2-1. Morocco finished fourth, and back home the scenes did not look like those of a beaten team.

New coach, same belief

The twist this time is the man in charge. Regragui, the architect of the Qatar miracle, stepped down in March 2026. In his place came Mohamed Ouahbi, previously the head coach of Morocco’s under-23s and stepping into a senior role for the very first time.

The timing, just months before a World Cup, unsettled plenty of fans. The ambition, though, has not dimmed. “We have all the ingredients that we need to become the best nation,” Ouahbi told reporters after the Haiti win, pushing his players to believe in the title itself rather than settle for another respectable run.

It is the same drum Regragui banged in Qatar, when he asked simply, “Why shouldn’t we dream of winning the World Cup?”

The players carrying the dream

Every great run needs a talisman, and Morocco’s is Hakimi. The captain plays his club football for Paris Saint-Germain, with whom he won the Champions League last season, and he is widely rated among the best right-backs on the planet. “I think we are capable of doing it,” he told the talk show ABtalks before the Netherlands game, adding that an African winner would send the country “crazy with joy.”

He is far from alone. Brahim Díaz, a gifted playmaker at Real Madrid who switched his international allegiance from Spain to Morocco, supplies much of the creativity. Saibari, a midfielder in superb form, arrived at the tournament with three group-stage goals and then buried the winning penalty. And in Bounou, Morocco have the shootout specialist that opponents have learned to dread.

A deeper bench this time

Perhaps the most important difference from 2022 is what sits on the bench. Tournaments are long and gruelling, and squads win them as much as starting elevens do.

Where Regragui leaned on a settled core, Ouahbi can summon genuine game-changers. Against the Netherlands it was the substitutes who turned the tie. Rahimi almost won it in extra time, and Chemsdine Talbi coolly scored his penalty in the shootout. Younger midfielders such as Ayyoub Bouaddi and El Aynaoui give the team fresh legs in the closing stages, something Morocco simply did not have last time.

Hakimi puts the team spirit down to something less tactical. “We have fun, dance, laugh, play cards,” he said, describing a dressing room he calls one big family.

Next match

The reward for beating the Dutch is a last-16 meeting with co-hosts Canada in Houston on 4 July, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. Facing one of the host nations means a partisan crowd and a little extra pressure, but it is a tie Morocco will fancy.

Beyond that, the tournament’s heavyweights start to appear. Nobody in the Moroccan camp seems remotely fazed. “We came here for a reason,” Ouahbi said. “We can play against anyone.”

After Spain, after the Netherlands, after a fourth-place finish that once looked like the ceiling, fans are now hoping history will be made.

Sports

Mbappe scores again

Kylian Mbappe continued his dazzling World Cup form with another goal as France defeated Sweden 3-0 on Tuesday to book their place in the knockout stage, extending the defending champions’ unbeaten run with another commanding display.

Mbappe’s sixth goal of the tournament capped a polished French performance that saw Didier Deschamps’ side dominate possession, create the better chances and rarely allow Sweden a route back into the contest.

France controlled the opening exchanges, patiently working the ball through midfield while Sweden sat deep and looked to counterattack.

The breakthrough came midway through the first half after sustained pressure, with France turning possession into a deserved lead through a clinical finish that unsettled the Scandinavian side.

A strong performance sees France through 💪#FIFAWorldCup

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 30, 2026

Sweden responded with greater urgency and briefly threatened from set pieces, but France’s defense remained composed, limiting clear scoring opportunities before halftime.

The French doubled their advantage shortly after the restart as they increased the tempo.

Quick passing

Quick passing in the attacking third opened space for another well-worked finish, leaving Sweden facing an uphill battle against one of the tournament favorites.

With Sweden pushing more players forward in search of a lifeline, France found additional room to attack.

Mbappe then put the match beyond doubt, calmly converting late in the game to score his sixth goal of the tournament and strengthen his position among the World Cup’s leading scorers.

The Paris-born forward repeatedly troubled Sweden’s back line with his pace and movement, while France’s midfield dictated the rhythm throughout the match.

Sweden continued to battle until the final whistle but struggled to create meaningful chances against a disciplined French defense, with goalkeeper Mike Maignan called upon only occasionally.

The victory sends France comfortably into the round of 16 and reinforces its status as one of the leading contenders for the title.

The three-time World Cup finalists have now advanced from the group stage with an attack firing on all cylinders and a defense that has looked increasingly difficult to break down.

For Sweden, the defeat leaves its tournament hopes hanging in the balance, with its progression dependent on results elsewhere and its final group-stage match.

Mbappe netted in the 45th and 74th minutes and Bradley Barcola added a second-half strike to earn France a meeting with Paraguay on Saturday.