Albert Riera [Former Eintracht Frankfurt coach]: "To be honest, the level of the Bundesliga was somewhat disappointing. Bayern Munich are of course in a league of their own and cannot be reached. Borussia Dortmund can keep up reasonably well with their budget. Then there are surprises like Stuttgart, but the rest was disappointing for me. The teams in the bottom third of the table all play exactly the same way. When you analyze them, you get the feeling you're playing against the same opponent every week. If you look at the sums of money spent in Germany – 20, 30, even 40 million euros – compared to the amounts in the Slovenian league, it's not a different world at all. That's reality. If Celje were to play against Frankfurt, they could hold their own. I'm not saying they're better, but they can compete. The difference is smaller than it appears from the outside" [@Sport_Klub_Slo via @BILD]
🚨 Thierry Henry on Japan beating Tunisia 4-0
🗣️ After watching them against Netherlands, I said no team in the World Cup should underestimate Japan. They may not have one of the greatest squad in the world,but they have team and a good coach in Hajime Moriyasu.
Herve Renard isn't a bad coach,he defeated Argentina in the last World Cup but today you see him looking so confused because of how smart this Japanese team is.
Ito, Itakura and Tomiyasu were Solid that Suzuki never had anything to worry about because Tunisia got Zero shot on target.
Nakamura,Tanaka and Sano handled their midfield quite well, Nakamura and Sano got an assist each,while their attacking players were excellent as well.
Ayase Ueda got a brace, with Kamada and Ito also on the score shit. Right now I don't see anything stopping Japan from reaching the world cup Round of 32 and probably going very far in the tournament.
Football is a game of intelligence,one team can have a scary squad and still don't have a team. The other can have average players with a beautiful team.
At the end of the day football is all about team performance and not individual brilliance without getting the results.
Marc Cucurella has completed a permanent transfer to Spanish La Liga side Real Madrid.
Everyone at Chelsea FC would like to thank Marc for his efforts during his time at the club and for the role he played in our recent achievements.
Netherlands and Japan share the spoils in their Group F opener in Dallas.
Ronald Koeman's side twice led – through Virgil van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville – but Japan fought back through Keito Nakamura and Daichi Kamada's late goal, though the latter didn't know much about it.
The best game of the 2026 World Cup so far?
50' → Netherlands 1-0 Japan
57' → Netherlands 1-1 Japan
64' → Netherlands 2-1 Japan
89' → Netherlands 2-2 Japan
JAPAN EQUALIZE AT THE DEATH TO SECURE A POINT AGAINST NETHERLANDS! 🍿🔥