Tottenham Hotspur legend Glenn Hoddle says he is ready to replace Igor Tudor and co-manage the club alongside another former Spurs star.
The crisis at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium deepened after they were beaten 3-1 by Crystal Palace on Thursday night, leaving them one point above the Premier League relegation zone having played the same number of games as the two teams below them, Nottingham Forest and West Ham United.
The north London outfit took the lead through Dominic Solanke in a positive start to the match for Tudor’s men, but the game turned just minutes later when Micky van de Ven gave away a penalty and was sent off for bringing Ismaila Sarr down in the area.
Sarr duly converted the spot-kick and Spurs then collapsed in the following 10 minutes as goals from Jorgen Strand Larsen and a second for Sarr effectively ended the contest against 10 men.
Tudor has started his Tottenham reign with three straight defeats and the pressure is growing on the Croat.
Hoddle Willing to Take up Tottenham Role
Tottenham need someone on the coaching side of things that can unite a club that has a huge disconnect between every facet of the club and is falling apart.
While the likes of Tim Sherwood and Harry Redknapp have put themselves forward for the job, Hoddle is maybe more well-placed than either of those to really change the atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The 61-year-old is a massive club legend and made just shy of 500 appearances for the north Londoners, scoring more than 100 goals.
He has confirmed again on the ‘Could it be Magic’ FA Cup podcast that Tottenham are ‘his club’ and while he wouldn’t want to be the main man in the dugout, he is happy to share responsibilities with someone like Robbie Keane.
When asked if he would return to Tottenham, he said: “I think I would, actually. Particularly with Tottenham, as that’s my club.
“I’ve supported them since I was eight years of age. So they were a massive part of my life.”
He then backed Keane and said he’d be willing to work in tandem with the 45-year-old to help Tottenham.
“Robbie’s doing great as a young manager. So to have a steady springboard and someone experienced like myself would be a good formula, in many ways.
“I think it’d be a shrewd move to have somebody, whether it was me or somebody experienced with him.”
Keane is a ‘Dark Horse’ to Replace Tudor
GIVEMESPORT senior correspondent Ben Jacobs revealed this week that Keane is a ‘dark horse’ for the Tottenham job in the summer, although the two main favourites for the job are former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino and the currently-available Roberto De Zerbi.
Keane was also linked with replacing Thomas Frank following his sacking last month, although it was suggested at the time he wanted a longer-term agreement than the one Tudor signed at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The Republic of Ireland icon has impressed during his current reign in Hungary with Ferencvaros, who are the reigning champions and are aiming for a second successive title win, as they currently lie three points adrift of leaders Eto Gyor.
Whether he would be willing to take the job from now until the end of the season, if Tudor does leave, remains to be seen, but there are no shortage of Tottenham legends ready to save the club.
Both Senegal and Iraq head into their final World Cup group-stage fixture this week with qualification for the knockout stages still a strong possibility, despite both nations having lost their opening two games. It has been a massively disappointing summer so far, especially for the Lions of Teranga, who arrived in the USA, Canada and Mexico with a dark-horse reputation.
Having proved their credentials by going all the way to win the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year (before a ruling later handed Morocco the title after Sadio Mane’s teammates broke a major rule by protesting the referee’s decisions during the final), many onlookers would have expected more than 3-1 and 3-2 defeats to France and Norway.
Meanwhile, Iraq’s 3-0 and 4-1 losses against the same opposition have cast even more doubt over their ability to mount a comeback.
Despite that, an explanation has emerged as to how both nations can still rescue their campaigns and reach the knockout stages from zero points.
How Senegal and Iraq Can Still Qualify for Knockouts from Zero Points
Given the scale of their defeats, many would assume Senegal and Iraq’s hopes of reaching the round of 32 are already over. In most other World Cup groups, that would be true, with Haiti, Turkey, Tunisia and Jordan all eliminated after losing their opening two matches. However, Group I presents a different scenario.
Despite their difficult starts, both Senegal and Iraq still have a pathway to the knockout stages heading into Friday night’s final round of fixtures. The reason is simple: the two sides face each other in their final group-stage match, creating what could effectively become a knockout game depending on results elsewhere in the tournament.
Under the expanded 2026 World Cup format, eight of the 12 teams that finish third in their groups will advance to the round of 32. According to FIFA, those teams are ranked first by points earned during the group stage. If teams are level on points, goal difference is used as the first tiebreaker, followed by goals scored if necessary.
As a result, both Senegal and Iraq remain firmly in contention. Victory in their final group match – particularly by a convincing margin – would improve their goal difference and strengthen their chances of claiming one of the tournament’s eight best third-placed spots.
Who They Could Face in Last 32
REUTERS/Mike Segar
As things stand, Senegal are the clear favourites to beat Iraq in their final Group I fixture, keeping alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Should they secure progression to the round of 32, their potential opponents are not yet confirmed.
However, based on the tournament bracket, a third-placed Senegal side would face one of the teams that finishes top of Groups A, B, D, G, K or L. At present, the leaders of those groups are Mexico (Group A), Canada (Group B), the United States (Group D), Egypt (Group G), Colombia (Group K) and England (Group L).
Just days before the knockout rounds of the 2026 World Cup, FIFA have launched a mission to change a significant rule for penalty shootouts.
The first post-group-stage matches will take place on Sunday, so a final decision will need to be made before then. It’s a significant development considering the 2022 version of the tournament was decided by spot kicks.
Argentina defeated France in that Qatar showdown, with Lionel Messi’s side also similarly getting past the Netherlands.
FIFA’s Proposed Penalty Shootout Change
It seems a rather simple alteration to the current rules, but could prove to make things fairer. FIFA have asked the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to change the pre-penalty routine according to The Times.
The governing body of world football want to remove one of the two coin tosses that currently take place. These are used to decide which goal is used for the shootout, and which team takes the first spot kick.
Under the new rule, there would only be one. The winner would choose whether they want to take the first kick or decide the goal.
Police have issued a statement after a crowd crush at a World Cup watch party left one person dead and eight others injured on Monday night.
The incident took place during Jordan’s 2-1 loss to Algeria, a result that saw the Middle Eastern nation bow out of the competition following their 3-1 defeat to Austria a week earlier.
With their final group-stage match coming against Argentina – the reigning world champions, who now boast the competition’s all-time leading goalscorer after Lionel Messi scored five goals in his first two outings this summer – the FIFA-ranked No. 64 nation needed a positive result this week to keep their hopes alive.
Local Authorities Issue Statement After World Cup Watch Party Incident
Kai Pfaffenbach via Reuters
Thousands had gathered at Hashemite Square, next to the Roman Theatre in central Amman, the country’s capital, to watch the national team’s second match of the tournament on giant screens, hoping they could produce a result in their World Cup debut.
Sadly, the venue became overcrowded, as per the Guardian, leading to a crowd crush. The open-air site can host around 6,000 people but, according to a ministerial source, 15,000 turned up. A spokesperson for Jordan’s public safety directorate said:
“Nine people were taken to hospital at dawn on Tuesday after being injured in a crowd movement in Hashemite Square. One of the injured died shortly after being admitted.”
The others undergoing treatment have various injuries and their conditions are described as being from stable to moderate, with no life-threatening injuries.
Social media snippets from around the world of sport.
Jordan’s World Cup Fate Sealed
Darren Yamashita / IMAGN Images via Reuters
Jordan have dispatched teams with greater pedigree in the past few years to reach both the Asian and Arab Cup finals. But allowing opponents to dictate possession ultimately proved counterproductive when taking on sides with far more experience overseas than themselves, with both Austria and Algeria finding victory against them pretty smooth-sailing.
Still, the fact they made it this far means they will head home as heroes, regardless of what happens against Argentina next week. What’s more, they still managed to score goals in each of their defeats, meaning they never went out without a fight, while leaving the dressing room in pristine condition on both occasions earnt them a reputation as respected opponents in the USA.
