Sports
Man City’s Pep Guardiola Responds To José Mourinho Jibe
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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he was only joking when he referred to winning twice as many Premier League titles as José Mourinho, after the former Chelsea boss said that he had won his titles fairly.
The Spaniard also said City were innocent until proven guilty, responding to Mourinho’s allusions to their alleged violations of Premier League financial rules from 2009 to 2018, which the club has always denied.
Guardiola, who held up six fingers to Liverpool fans on Sunday, a gesture similar to Mourinho holding up three fingers in 2018 before getting sacked by Manchester United, had made the comment when asked if he could suffer a fate similar to the Portuguese.
“I hope not in my case … He won three, I won six … but we are the same like that,” Guardiola answered.
Mourinho responded to Guardiola’s comment on Friday, ahead of his team Fenerbahce’s clash with Besiktas.
“I won fairly and cleanly … I don’t want to win by dealing with 150 court cases,” Turkish outlet Hurriyet quoted Mourinho as saying.
City did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Mourinho’s statement.
Guardiola, speaking to reporters later on Friday, said he had no bad intentions when making the comment about Mourinho.
“If I have offended him, I am so sorry. But it was a joke. The fact is he has three and I have six, it is a fact. But the intention was completely fine,” he said.
“I think both with our teams – he with Chelsea, myself with Man City – we can sit in the table with Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger right? For the many, many titles we’ve won. I’m pretty sure sooner or later they will congratulate us.”
Guardiola said there were many people around the world who wanted to see City at the bottom.
“We are innocent until proven as guilty. After that we’ll see what happens, but it is what it is,” he added.
Mourinho has taken shots at City before, saying in October that he was hoping he could add a fourth Premier League medal to his cabinet if City are stripped of their titles and United, who finished second in 2017-18, are awarded the Premier League trophy.
Chelsea, where Mourinho won his three English top-flight titles in 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2014-15, are being investigated by the Premier League for potential financial rule breaches between 2012 and 2019.
Sports
England tops Group L as Kane breaks World Cup scoring record in victory over Panama
England booked their place in the World Cup round of 32 as Group L winners after a dominant second-half display earned a 2-0 victory over Panama, with Harry Kane setting a new national scoring record at the tournament.
After a subdued first-half performance that echoed their goalless draw against Ghana earlier in the group stage, England finally found their rhythm after the interval to secure maximum points and top the group standings.
Jude Bellingham broke the deadlock midway through the second half, reacting quickest to convert from a corner and hand England a deserved breakthrough, according to Reuters.
The midfielder turned provider five minutes later, delivering a pinpoint cross for captain Harry Kane, who powered home a header to double England’s advantage.
The goal saw Kane become England’s highest-ever scorer at the FIFA World Cup with 11 goals, surpassing the previous record of 10 held by legendary striker Gary Lineker.
The victory confirmed England’s progress to the round of 32 as Group L champions, where they will face one of the tournament’s third-placed qualifiers in the knockout stage. – June 28, 2026
Sports
2026 World Cup: Cape Verde makes history, first smallest nation to zoom into knockout stage
Cape Verde inscribed their name into FIFA World Cup history on Friday, becoming the smallest nation ever to reach the tournament’s knockout stage after holding Saudi Arabia to a goalless draw in their final Group H clash in Houston.
The island nation, with a population of just over 600,000, secured qualification from Group H after finishing unbeaten, collecting three points from three draws against Spain, Uruguay, and Saudi Arabia.
We are small,” said Vozinha, Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper who embodied the grit of his nation. “But we have big hearts and we are fighters.”
The tournament debutants pulled off one of the World Cup’s biggest surprises by playing pre-tournament favorites Spain to a scoreless draw in its opener.
They followed that up by scoring their first goals of the World Cup in a 2-2 tie against Uruguay.
With Friday’s draw, they finish undefeated on three points and take second place in Group H behind 2010 winners Spain and a point ahead of two-time World Cup champions Uruguay.
Cape Verde will face defending champions Argentina next up in a round-of-32 matchup in Miami Gardens, Florida, on July 3.
Sports
World Cup: France beat Norway 4-1 as Dembélé hits hat-trick
France maintained their perfect start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a commanding 4-1 victory over Norway on Friday, thanks to a first-half hat-trick from Ousmane Dembélé that sealed top spot in Group I.
The French winger struck in the seventh, 20th and 32nd minutes, with two of his goals set up by captain Kylian Mbappé and the third assisted by Aurélien Tchouaméni. Désiré Doué added a fourth deep into stoppage time to complete another dominant display by Didier Deschamps’ side.
Norway briefly threatened a comeback when Thelo Aasgaard pulled one back in the 21st minute after being set up by Andreas Schjelderup. However, the Scandinavians struggled to break down the French defence for the remainder of the contest despite enjoying more possession after the interval.
France, who had already secured qualification before kick-off, completed the group stage with three wins from three, underlining their credentials as one of the favourites for the World Cup title. Mbappé once again played a key role, providing two assists before being substituted late in the game.
The result ensured Norway also progressed to the Round of 32 despite the defeat, having already booked qualification with victories in their opening two matches.
France will now head into the knockout stage with maximum points and growing momentum, while Norway will look to regroup before their Round of 32 clash after suffering their first defeat of the tournament.
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