Sports

Rayan Cherki Appears to Ignore Didier Deschamps After 3-0 Win vs Sweden

Published

3 hours ago

July 1, 2026

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France further cemented their status as the 2026 World Cup favourites with a comfortable 3-0 win over Sweden in the Round of 32 on Tuesday – but an eyebrow-raising incident between head coach Didier Deschamps and one of his players has gone viral on social media.

Kylian Mbappe produced another inspired performance as Les Bleus booked their place in the last 16, where they will face Paraguay at the Philadelphia Stadium on Saturday.

The Real Madrid superstar scored two more goals and now sits level with Argentina’s Lionel Messi on six goals in the race for the Golden Boot award. He also improved his chances of winning his first ever Ballon d’Or award as he moved two goals clear of Germany legend Miroslav Klose in all-time World Cup top scorer charts.

Only Messi (19 goals) currently has more World Cup goals to his name than Mbappe (18 goals), who has been in scintillating form since the tournament began last month.

Cherki Appears to Blank Deschamps

With so many top players at his disposal, though, Deschamps has a battle on his hands to keep everyone happy – including several stars who haven’t had much playing time.

One of those star players is Manchester City’s Rayan Cherki, the mercurial playmaker who only came on for the final five minutes against Sweden.

Despite the fact the tie had effectively been wrapped up when Mbappe made it 3-0 in the 74th minute, Deschamps waited 11 more minutes before bringing on Cherki and Jean-Philippe Mateta for Michael Olise and Mbappe, respectively.

Post-match footage, recorded from the stands, appears to show Cherki blanking Deschamps as his manager approached him. Watch the clip below:

Why Cherki Might be Frustrated With His Manager

Football fans on social media believe the footage is clear evidence that Cherki is frustrated with his lack of playing time at this summer’s showpiece tournament.

“Damn, Cherki hates Deschamps,” one fan wrote on X (Twitter). “I don’t even blame him, he’s treated him horribly.”

Cherki, 22, played the final 25 minutes in France’s 4-1 win over Norway. In the game before that, against Iraq, the former Lyon star came on in the 68th minute. And in the opening match against Senegal, Cherki replaced Desire Doue in the 87th minute.

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The numbers don’t lie. It’s clear that Cherki is lower down Deschamps’ pecking order than France’s other attacking stars.

However, the Man City ace – who is one of six contenders to win the coveted Men’s Players’ Player of the Year award following an excellent debut campaign in the Premier League – couldn’t hide his frustration after the Sweden game and will be hoping for more minutes in the next game against Paraguay.

Sports

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Names World’s 5 Best Footballers Right Now

Published

7 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic has named the world’s five best footballers right now following France’s 3-0 victory over Sweden in the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.

Kylian Mbappe scored another brace and moves level with Argentina’s Lionel Messi on six goals in the race for the Golden Boot. The Real Madrid superstar now has 18 World Cup goals to his name. Only Messi (19) has more World Cup goals in the tournament’s history.

Bradley Barcola scored France’s other goal. Meanwhile, Michael Olise bagged two assists, and Ousmane Dembele set up Mbappe’s opener.

France are unquestionably the World Cup’s standout team so far and will be the red-hot favourites heading into Saturday’s last 16 tie against Paraguay at the Philadelphia Stadium.

Win that and they’ll then face either Canada or Morocco in the quarter-finals before a potential semi-final against Portugal, Spain, United States or Belgium depending on how results unfold in the previous two rounds.

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Ibrahimovic, the legendary retired Swedish striker who has impressed in his role as a pundit for FOX Sports at this summer’s World Cup, believes three members of the France squad are among the five best players in world football as things stand.

The former Barcelona and Manchester United star said after being wowed by Les Bleus:

“Take the five best players in the world, three of them are in [France’s] attack: Dembele, Olise and Mbappe.”

He explained that Messi doesn’t make his top five because the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner is in a league of his own, and instead opted for two younger superstars.

Zlatan added: “[Lamine] Yamal and [Erling] Haaland, I would say, because Messi is in his own class… but three of the top five are in [France’s] attack. It’s not easy to make that combination. We have an example when PSG had Mbappe, Messi and Neymar. It was not working 100 per cent.

“But with France, they don’t have this ego, who will be the one. They also do their jobs off the ball, which is more important than on the ball because we know what they can do on the ball. They can decide the game by themselves – all of them. So, it’s scary.”

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There was no room in Zlatan’s top five for Bayern Munich and England star Harry Kane, who scored a remarkable 61 goals in 51 games during the 2025-26 season. Arsenal’s Declan Rice, Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr and Paris Saint-Germain’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia also missed the cut, despite being among the leading contenders for the 2026 Ballon d’Or award.

Sports

Rangers Agree Deal to Beat Southampton in Transfer Battle for Dan Neil

Published

27 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

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Rangers look set to complete a hijack after agreeing a deal to beat Southampton to a new signing, according to reports.

The Glasgow club are preparing to enter a new era after appointing former Hearts manager Derek McInnes as their new boss. He replaces Danny Rohl, who made the move to RB Salzburg.

It was a dismal end to the 25-26 season for Rangers, comfortably missing out on the Scottish Premiership title to rivals Celtic.

As a result, they will be looking to bring in reinforcements during the summer transfer window, likely aiming to strengthen in various areas of the pitch.

It could be a busy few weeks and months for Rangers as they look to back new manager McInnes in the transfer market.

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Rangers Beat Southampton to Signing

According to both Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie and GIVEMESPORT correspondent Ben Jacobs, Rangers have agreed a deal to sign former Sunderland midfielder Dan Neil.

Jacobs confirms that Neil is expected to join Rangers as a free agent with an agreement in place and close to being formalised.

Downie confirms that Neil was in talks with Southampton and looked to have opted to join the Championship club, but things have changed significantly over the last 48 hours as Rangers swooped in.

Neil has been having a medical over the last 24 hours at Ibrox, and a deal is expected to be confirmed soon.

Rangers completed the signing of Ivor Pandur from Hull earlier this week in a deal worth £6m, so they are clearly making moves in the transfer market.

Sports

Arsenal Eyeing Former Leeds Goalkeeper Illan Meslier

Published

45 minutes ago

July 1, 2026

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Arsenal are showing interest in signing another French star alongside Bradley Barcola of PSG, according to BBC reporter Sami Mokbel.

The Gunners haven’t rushed into any big signings so far in the summer transfer window, which is no surprise after they lifted the Premier League title last season.

The likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool are all working on multiple deals at a time, but Arsenal can afford to sit back and wait.

The Gunners won’t want to rest on what they built last year, especially considering they lost in the Champions League final against PSG.

There’s no doubt Mikel Arteta will be looking to improve his squad in the summer transfer window, but there’s no need for them to panic after their 25-26 campaign success.

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Arsenal Eyeing French Star

According to BBC reporter Mokbel, Arsenal have a strong interest in signing goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who has now left Leeds United following the expiration of his contract.

Arsenal are potentially in the market for a second-choice goalkeeper with Kepa Arrizabalaga’s future uncertain.

The former Chelsea goalkeeper might be considering heading through the exit door in the coming months in order to go and play more regular first-team football.

Meslier isn’t the only French player that Arsenal are currently looking at, with reports suggesting that they also want Paris Saint-Germain winger Barcola.