Alonso's already got Chelsea's pre-season locked in tighter than his tactical system will be come August—early mover advantage, or overthinking before a ball's even kicked. • Spending £34m on a goalkeeper when your defence needs life support is pure Chelsea, the same club that forgot defending exists somewhere between Stamford Bridge and the training ground. • Jayden Adams' death is a tragedy that demands respect, not column inches—our condolences to his family and South African football. • Muharemovic to Leeds for €40m is a decent bit of business if he can stay fit, which is admittedly a bigger ask than asking Leeds to stay in the Championship. • Spain have the players to dethrone France, but semi-finals aren't won on paper—they're won by sides that want it more, and right now that's anyone's to lose. Alonso's already got Chelsea's pre-season locked in tighter than his tactical system will be come August—early mover advantage, or overthinking before a ball's even kicked. • Spending £34m on a goalkeeper when your defence needs life support is pure Chelsea, the same club that forgot defending exists somewhere between Stamford Bridge and the training ground. • Jayden Adams' death is a tragedy that demands respect, not column inches—our condolences to his family and South African football. • Muharemovic to Leeds for €40m is a decent bit of business if he can stay fit, which is admittedly a bigger ask than asking Leeds to stay in the Championship. • Spain have the players to dethrone France, but semi-finals aren't won on paper—they're won by sides that want it more, and right now that's anyone's to lose.

World Cup

How Spain can knock France off their 'World Cup favourites' perch

July 14, 2026 1 min read

And so there were four. As it happens, the four still standing at this World Cup are the same quartet who sit atop FIFA’s international food chain. A semi-final line-up for the ages. Aren’t we lucky?

Read Full Story at Sky Sports Football