标签： Oceania

Ahead of one of the Australian Football League’s most anticipated annual fixtures, the Dreamtime at the ‘G clash this Friday, Essendon Bombers head coach Brad Scott has moved swiftly to push back against growing off-field speculation, addressing two swirling rumors that have dominated headlines around the club this week.

Currently sitting near the bottom of the AFL ladder with only a single win from their opening 10 rounds, the club and Scott have been under intense public and media scrutiny. Recent unconfirmed reports claimed the Bombers’ senior player core was deeply confused about the timeline and trajectory of the club’s ongoing rebuild, a claim Scott outright rejected during his weekly Thursday press conference.

According to Scott, the reports of internal confusion are nothing more than unsubstantiated “rampant speculation” that does not align with the actual situation inside the club. He emphasized that the club’s leadership has maintained full transparency with every player about the rebuild’s direction, and that every player currently on the Essendon list is included in the club’s long-term plan for future success.

“Every player on our list is well and truly capable from an age perspective and a capability perspective of being part of our next successful era,” Scott explained. “We’ve been very clear with those players: ‘Look, this is where the club is at, this is the direction of the club’. I don’t think we’ll have a player on our list, at least voluntarily, retire in the next two, three, four years. Everyone is part of the plan.”

The coach also noted that it is normal for players to prioritize their individual match-to-match performance rather than long-term organizational strategy, and the coaching staff has actively worked to keep the group focused on competing week in and week out, rather than getting distracted by off-field noise.

In addition to addressing speculation about player unrest, Scott also shut down growing talk about his own future at the club, amid mounting pressure from fans and pundits following the team’s poor start to the season. The 30-year veteran of the sport said discussion about his job security simply does not concern him.

“Quite frankly, it just doesn’t faze me, I don’t live in that space. It’s not and has never been about me,” Scott said. “I’ve been in this game for over 30 years and I understand how things work and what people choose to talk about and what people are interested in. People can be interested in that, it just doesn’t interest me.”

On Friday night, Essendon will take on a Richmond side severely weakened by a lengthy injury list, in the annual Dreamtime at the ‘G match, one of the marquee events on the AFL calendar that celebrates Indigenous contribution to Australian rules football.

A year on from one of the most crushing defeats of his professional career, NSW Blues star halfback Nathan Cleary has opened up about the lingering pain of last year’s State of Origin decider loss, revealing he is turning that devastating disappointment into fuel as his side prepares to kick off the 2025 series on home soil next Wednesday.

The 2024 series came to a humiliating end for the Blues at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, where Queensland Maroons ran riot in the first half to secure a comfortable 12-point victory, wasting NSW’s shot at claiming the championship on home turf. The blow hit the squad hard in the post-game sheds, with Cleary leaving the defeat to process alongside his family, who helped him break down what went wrong on the night.

Reflecting on the loss from Blues training camp this week, Cleary did not sugarcoat the severity of the heartbreak. “It’s never nice losing, but particularly such a big game being a game three Origin at home as well,” he said. “It was devastating, I can’t lie. But you’ve sort of just got to pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, move forward, and get better. There’s no point sort of sulking about it and feeling sorry for yourself. Here we are a year on, and I’m hoping I can use those lessons to play better.”

Cleary explained that the sting of the defeat has become a quiet motivator, pushing him to grow both as an athlete and a person over the past 12 months. “I think you’ve got to grow from it. You can’t live in the past too much, but you can learn from it. That pain is definitely a sort of burning fire there. But I sort of used that last year to try and just get better as a person and as a player.”

The world-class playmaker, who has three State of Origin series wins to his name, has long faced questions over whether he has dominated the iconic representative arena the same way he consistently dominates the NRL for his club side Penrith Panthers. His 2024 decider performance was widely marked as below his usual high standard, leading to renewed public criticism of his Origin form. But Cleary insists that proving external doubters wrong is not what is driving him ahead of the new series.

“It’s not so much doubters (for me) to prove wrong,” he said. “I know what I need from myself, and I’ve been disappointed with my performances in the past. I’d say that I am my own harshest critic. So, it’s not so much about proving doubters wrong, it’s about repaying the faith that Loz (NSW coach Laurie Daley) has shown in me and the Blues have shown in me, but also my family and stuff as well. It’s about repaying that faith and also to myself. I know what I’m capable of and it’s trying to reach those heights.”

Drawing on years of experience in the representative fixture, Cleary noted that State of Origin requires a uniquely sharp focus, given its far higher intensity and fewer chances to seize game-changing moments compared to club football. “I think it’s just you sort of understand Origin is different to club footy, and you just don’t get as many opportunities as you would in regular season games. You’ve got to be prepared to take those and just be willing to put your best foot forward and not step back and just play. It’s the hardest game you’ll play, no doubt. Just the intensity and the physicality of it.”

“As I said before, it’s those minuscule moments. There’s not many that pop up in a game, so you’ve got to be ready to take them. If you miss them, you might not get one again. It’s definitely something that I’ve learnt over time, but you’ve got to put yourself in the frame to be able to take those moments, too.”

This year’s series opener will see Cleary reunite in the halves with Parramatta Eels star Mitchell Moses, marking just the second time the pair have started together at representative level. The duo steered the Blues to a win in last year’s opening game, but a camp injury ruled Moses out ahead of game two, cutting their partnership short before the decider. Despite ongoing questions over whether two specialist halfbacks can successfully coexist in Origin’s halves combination, Cleary said he is confident the pair can build on their strong 2024 opening.

“I always watch Mitch from afar in admiration of his game,” Cleary said. “I think he’s easily one of the best halfbacks in the game and being able to team up with him again – we only got the one game last year – but I thoroughly enjoyed it and looking to build on that now. I hope we can solidify that partnership and grow it. I think Mitch actually grew up as a six, so it’s obviously there for him and he’s got that X-factor about him as well. I thought game one last year we combined pretty well, and that was only off 10 days of preparation or something. So we’re looking to build on that again. It’s just been fun getting to team up with him in these first few days of training and looking to build on it.”

In a side note on team selection, Cleary also defended Bulldogs captain and former Penrith teammate Stephen Crichton, who returned to training on Thursday after missing a session the prior day with a shoulder injury. Crichton has faced heavy criticism for his club form in 2025, but Cleary said the backlash is unfounded, pointing to his long track record of delivering in high-stakes matches.

“He’s never shied away from a big moment,” Cleary said. “I think the criticism is pretty ridiculous. Every time he’s been asked to do a job in a big game, he’s gone over and above. I absolutely love taking the field with him and just his leadership as well, his presence. Every time I look across and I’m next to him on the field, I feel great so I’m happy he’s there.”

The final matchday of Italy’s Serie A season has arrived with one of the most tense European qualification battles in recent memory, and Juventus faces a make-or-break clash that could see its entire season collapse into disappointment. Hired in October when the club sat seventh in the table, Luciano Spalletti was brought to Turin with one non-negotiable objective: secure a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League. Now, 38 rounds into the campaign, that goal hangs by a thread heading into Sunday’s derby against city rivals Torino.

Juventus haven’t tasted defeat against Torino in 11 years, a run that has made this Turin showdown one of European football’s most one-sided local rivalries. But despite Torino’s comfortable mid-table standing that has left them with nothing significant to play for, their ability to disrupt top title and qualification contenders makes them a dangerous opponent for a Juventus side reeling from a crippling 2-0 home defeat to Fiorentina. That loss dropped Spalletti’s side to sixth in the table, leaving them needing not just three points against Torino, but favorable results from the other contenders fighting for the last two Champions League spots.

The stakes extend far beyond bragging rights and European prestige. Missing out on the Champions League would deliver a massive hit to Juventus’ revenue, dramatically reshaping the club’s transfer plans and squad moves during the upcoming close season.

Just two points separate Juventus from the four teams competing for the two remaining Champions League slots. Third-placed AC Milan host already-relegated Verona at the iconic San Siro, while fourth-placed Roma travel to face similarly relegated Verona. Sitting between Juventus and the top four is fifth-placed Como, who host dropzone side Cremonese in a match that will simultaneously decide both Champions League qualification and the final Serie B relegation spot. Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese hold the last safety spot by just a single point, behind Lecce who welcome Genoa on the final matchday.

AC Milan, the seven-time European champions, looked to be sliding out of the race just two weeks ago, mired in on and off-field crisis. A critical away win against Genoa last weekend has now put Stefano Pioli’s side firmly in pole position to secure qualification, with Cagliari already guaranteed safety ahead of their trip to the San Siro. Over 70,000 fans are expected to pack the famous stadium for the clash, a stark contrast to Milan’s previous home fixture, when thousands of supporters left early in protest after the side fell three goals behind to Atalanta. That defeat saw Milan owner Gerry Cardinale publicly respond to fan criticism accusing him of prioritizing profit over on-field success, with hints of major organizational and coaching changes coming this summer.

One of the biggest stories heading into the weekend is the surprise return of Luka Modric. The 40-year-old Croatia captain was expected to miss the remainder of the Serie A season after fracturing his cheekbone in a collision with Juventus’ Manuel Locatelli last month. At the time of the injury, reports indicated Modric would be sidelined until this winter’s World Cup, requiring surgery to repair the damage. But less than four weeks after the operation, Modric has returned to training wearing a protective face mask, and is all but confirmed to start for Milan against Cagliari barring any last-minute setbacks. The veteran midfielder holds an option to extend his stay at San Siro for one additional season following what is widely expected to be his final World Cup appearance.

Elsewhere, Antonio Conte will take charge of Napoli for the final time on Sunday, when already-qualified Napoli host Udinese in one of the weekend’s five dead rubbers, with the visitors having nothing to play for. Conte is widely expected to leave the southern Italian giants to take the vacant Italy national team head coach position, returning to the role for a second spell. The Italian Football Federation will not announce the new national team coach until after the election of a new federation president on June 22, coming two weeks after Italy’s pre-tournament friendlies against Luxembourg and Greece.

Key context heading into the final matchday: just two points separate the four contenders competing for the two remaining Champions League spots, and Roma have not qualified for the competition in seven seasons. The full final matchday fixture list (kickoff times in GMT) is as follows: Fiorentina vs Atalanta (1845, Friday); Bologna vs Inter (1600, Saturday), Lazio vs Pisa (1845, Saturday); Parma vs Sassuolo (1300, Sunday), Napoli vs Udinese (1600, Sunday), Cremonese vs Como, Lecce vs Genoa, AC Milan vs Cagliari, Torino vs Juventus, Verona vs Roma (all 1845, Sunday).

A recent Australian Football League (AFL) encounter has sparked unexpected media attention for Collingwood Magpies head coach Craig McRae, after a brief off-hand exchange with former club star Brodie Grundy — now a leading player with the Sydney Swans — during last week’s match between the two sides became a talking point among football pundits.

During the game, which ended in a loss for Collingwood, McRae was positioned along the team’s interchange boundary when he handed the match ball back to Grundy and shared a short personal comment with the ruckman. The exact content of that exchange has not been released to the public, and Grundy did not respond publicly or visibly to McRae in the moments after the comment was made.

Despite the low-key nature of the interaction, it has reignited long-running discussion around McRae’s choice to coach from the active boundary line, a coaching style that first drew public scrutiny after a similar on-field exchange with Greater Western Sydney tagger Toby Bedford during the opening round of the 2024 season.

Speaking to reporters this week, McRae said he was taken aback by the intense line of questioning from media about the Grundy interaction. While he refused to disclose the specific wording of his comment, he repeatedly emphasized that the exchange was completely harmless. “No, I can’t articulate what I said because it was a personal thing. Seriously, it was just a moment in time, we keep moving on,” McRae told reporters.

The coach noted that he built a close professional relationship with Grundy during his time at Collingwood, and said he holds the current Sydney star in high regard, adding that there was nothing inappropriate about the quick comment on game day. “If you have a strong relationship with someone, I don’t see an issue with it – I coached him… I have a really strong relationship (and) great respect for Brodie,” he said. “It was nothing untoward, at an appropriate time I will be able to tell you what I said.”

McRae also doubled down on his preference for coaching from the boundary line, arguing that the position lets him build a closer connection with his on-field players and generates greater energy for the entire team. Addressing concerns that the comment may have offended Grundy, McRae said he was open to reaching out directly to the Swans star to clear up any misunderstanding, adding that he prioritizes maintaining positive relationships with former players who have moved on to other clubs.

“I constantly try and connect with that part of our footy community, when you’re in the game as long as Pendles and other parts, there’s a lot of people,” McRae said. “Again, I’ve got great respect for Brodie and Brody Mihocek over here (at Melbourne) and Jack Ginnivan at other clubs. You build relationships that you hope, you go your different ways, but at some stage you’re going to come back and connect somewhere. I just want to respect the position I am in and I don’t think I take things for granted on that.”

In addition to addressing the exchange with Grundy, McRae provided an injury and availability update for Collingwood’s upcoming round of matches. The club will receive a significant boost this week, with key starters Darcy Moore, Darcy Cameron, Pat Lipinski and Tim Membrey all cleared to return to selection. However, exciting winger Bobby Hill remains unavailable, as he waits for the birth of his first child.

McRae confirmed that Hill is highly unlikely to feature in this weekend’s match, and said a return later in the season remains the expected outcome. “It’s probably unlikely, we’ve got some news brewing but we can’t say at the moment,” he said. “I will leave that for the appropriate time, it’s probably unlikely Bobby plays this week. That’s a bigger question (if he plays this season), I think at the moment I would hope to think so. We’re just in a position where his partner is expecting a baby really soon.”

Grundy, who left Collingwood to join Sydney, claimed the best-on-ground medal for his performance during last Friday’s win over his former side.

As the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the first edition expanded to feature 48 participating nations co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, draws near, a heated debate has emerged among African football greats over a historic question: can an African national team finally lift the sport’s most coveted trophy this summer?

The conversation was sparked by Morocco’s historic run at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, where the underdog Atlas Lions pulled off shocking upsets over European heavyweights Spain and Portugal to become the first African men’s team ever to reach the tournament semi-finals. That breakthrough has shifted expectations for the continent’s contenders, but opinions on whether 2026 will bring an historic title remain deeply divided.

Former Senegal international striker El Hadji Diouf, a veteran of multiple World Cup campaigns, is among the most outspoken optimists. Asked by Agence France-Presse if an African captain would lift the trophy at the July 19 final outside New York City, Diouf simply responded: “Why not?”

Pointing to the depth of talent across the continent, he highlighted his own nation’s roster: “We have amazing players like Sadio (Mane), Idrissa (Gueye) and Edouard (Mendy). They can match stars from any country. The 2026 World Cup — Africa is going there to win the tournament.”

Diouf’s bullish outlook is fully shared by Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe, a South African billionaire who rose from leading top South African club Mamelodi Sundowns to the top of African football’s governing body. The 64-year-old administrator has made ending Africa’s World Cup title drought a core priority of his tenure.

“We are confident that the 10 African national teams at the 2026 World Cup will make us proud and that an African nation will be champions,” Motsepe told AFP. “What we lacked in the past was self belief. Morocco changed that in Qatar four years ago. We can match the best in the world. I will work relentlessly until I see the captain of an African nation lifting the greatest football prize.”

But not all African football icons share that confidence. Nigerian midfield legend Jay-Jay Okocha, who featured at the 1994 World Cup held in the United States, offered a more measured perspective, noting that expansion has raised the level of competition across all confederations.

“Regarding the 2026 tournament, I am concerned about the chances of an African team going all the way,” Okocha said. “We talk a lot about the title contenders from Europe and South America, but what about the North Americans and Asians? They are improving rapidly. I will be very happy to be proven wrong. African footballers have shocked the world before. Let us hope it happens again.”

Across the continent’s 10 qualified teams — Algeria, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia — expectations vary widely based on recent form and historical performance. Most analysts and insiders rank Morocco and Senegal as the continent’s strongest contenders for a deep run, though both sides face tough group stage tests.

Morocco, captained by Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi, has been drawn into Group C alongside five-time world champions Brazil, Scotland and Haiti, a draw that most observers expect will see the Atlas Lions advance to the knockout round at minimum. Senegal, meanwhile, will face defending World Cup champions France, Norway and Iraq in Group I, widely labeled one of the toughest groups in the expanded 12-group format.

The two sides recently faced off in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final in Rabat, where Senegal initially claimed a 1-0 win before CAF overturned the result on appeal after Senegal temporarily walked off the pitch over a controversial penalty decision. Senegal has since challenged the ruling at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a final verdict still pending.

For Senegal’s head coach Pape Thiaw, the 2026 World Cup carries extra personal significance: he was an unused substitute in the Teranga Lions’ famous opening-game upset of defending champions France at the 2002 World Cup in Seoul. “That (2002) is history. We know the current French team well. It is going to be a special match and let us hope we win again,” Thiaw said from Dakar.

Not all African coaches are publicly targeting the title, however. For smaller or historically less successful sides, just securing a first knockout round berth or tournament win represents a historic milestone.

Egypt, which has won a record seven AFCON titles but has only qualified for three World Cups total since its first appearance 92 years ago, is still chasing its first ever win at the global tournament. Egyptian head coach Hossam Hassan, himself a former Egyptian star striker, said his side is focused on defying low expectations rather than planning a title run. “Reaching the World Cup is complicated and playing there is even harder. However, I see great ambition in my players. They want to achieve more than what Egypt did in the past,” Hassan said from Cairo.

Tunisia, which has qualified for six World Cups but has never advanced past the group stage, is also keeping expectations grounded. Recently appointed head coach Sabri Lamouchi declined to make bold title promises. “I am not going to tell stories by pretending we will repeat what Morocco did in 2022. But who knows, maybe one day,” Lamouchi told Tunisian media.

As the countdown to kickoff continues, the debate over Africa’s first World Cup title will only intensify, uniting fans across the continent in the shared hope that 2026 will finally be the year Africa writes football history.