'So special' - Kelly honoured with Barbie doll — and more

Arsenal and England forward Chloe Kelly is transformed into a Barbie doll as part of a special series to mark International Women's Day.

Japan will look to record its third championship in as many WBCs in 2026.

Álvaro Arbeloa sent his first messages after Real Madrid's defeat against Getafe. The merengue coach addressed the media before the match against Celta and analyzed both the team's play and the situations of key players like Mbappé, Bellingham, Asencio, or Alaba. 

Arbeloa is not giving up in the fight for the league. "The atmosphere is not the most positive, but inside the locker room we are optimistic," he highlighted and used irony when a journalist asked him about the possibility of a season without titles. "Today we are in optimistic mode... I only think about the match against Celta... and nothing else" 

"Here the important thing is not to explain failure. Here we have to win," he added.

The condition of the injured players

"I talk to him every day and we have everything under control regarding what is happening to him and how he is. It's all good news as of today," he explained about Mbappé, who is in London along with Bellingham "accompanied by club staff," with authorization and under supervision.

Regarding the possible absences of Asencio or Alaba, he acknowledged that the Austrian center-back "won't make it, but Asencio might" 

Arbeloa also wanted to elaborate on the tough times of Huijsen and Mastantuono, two of Real Madrid's young talents. "I remember what was said about Vinicius when he arrived and look now with two Champions and one of the best players in the world. We must have a lot of patience. Playing for Real Madrid is playing for the most demanding club in the world, it's not the same as any other. They have all my trust, a lot of capabilities," he explained.

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Reports on Thursday claim that Federico Chiesa and Marco Verratti are in a chance of featuring for the Italy national team during the World Cup play-off campaign at the end of the month, and that they have both been included on Gennaro Gattuso’s preliminary squad list.

Italy are preparing to take on Northern Ireland in the World Cup play-off semi-final in Bergamo on October 26 and the winner of that tie will go on to face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away from home on March 31: A one-legged decider for a spot at the final tournament.

If they fail to beat Northern Ireland and either Wales or Bosnia, it will be the third consecutive World Cup that Italy have missed out on. The Azzurri last qualified for the World Cup group stages in 2014.

Verratti and Chiesa on Italy preliminary squad list

FLORENCE, ITALY – JUNE 07: Marco Verratti of Italy warms up during training session at Forte Village Resort on June 07, 2023 in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

According to reports from Tuttosport, Gattuso is highly likely to call up Verratti for the first time in almost three years.

The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, currently with Al-Duhail in Qatar, last featured for the national team in the Nations League third place play-off against the Netherlands in June 2023.

Thursday’s report claims that Chiesa, who has not featured for Italy since the miserable Euro 2024 campaign, is also part of Gattuso’s preliminary squad. He was one of the players that Gattuso spoke to over a dinner in London over the last few weeks according to Thursday’s report.

The Chiesa case is an exceptional one, and according to Tuttosport, a final decision on his call-up will be made around 10 days before the squad meets up.

Among the fringe players in with a chance of being called up for the World Cup play-offs at the end of the month are Marco Palestra and Federico Gatti. Nicolo Zaniolo is not expected to be part of the squad.