Sport’s famous rivalry began in 1877 and since then 853 men have featured in Australia v England Tests. But who are the very best of the best?

• Barney Ronay on the No 1 | Video: review the top 10

• Check how all the judges voted | Our methodology

• Every ball of the Ashes, no spin. Support us today

âš½ All the latest news from around the football world
âš½ Fixtures | Tables | Get in touch! You can email Luke

Here’s Barney Ronay’s take on last night’s game at Wembley and the big talking point: England’s No 10.

“Tuchel has been very clear. He wants a structure not a group of the coolest guys, a selection by aura. And in many ways it worked here as on 65 minutes, with England already 1-0 up, we finally got it, the shootout of the No 10s. We got energy, mood-shift, a four-man blazing squad entering the field of play: Jude, Phil, Eberechi Eze and, er, Jordan Henderson.�

• Rick Parry will not back proposed changes from clubs

• League One could still opt to go it alone with the plan

The EFL is to oppose radical proposals from League One clubs to introduce a £4.7m salary cap and a luxury tax for clubs that overspend.

Eighteen League One clubs wrote to the EFL chair, Rick Parry, this month advocating a fixed squad salary allowance, which they argue is required to get spending under control in a division where the median loss among 24 clubs last season was £5.2m.

• New Zealander lost high-profile bout in London

• Fight could prove his last one for a lengthy period

Joseph Parker failed a drugs test on the day of his 11th-round stoppage to British heavyweight Fabio Wardley.

Ipswich-born Wardley and New Zealander Parker produced a pulsating encounter in London on 25 October to determine who would become WBO mandatory challenger to undisputed world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

• England’s 2012 Twickenham win frequently referenced

• Jamie George: ‘Why can’t we be next team talked about?’

Maro Itoje’s England have been urged to cement their place in sporting legend by becoming only the nation’s ninth ever side to defeat the All Blacks.

England head into Saturday’s crunch clash as marginal favourites, with meaning a first Twickenham win over New Zealand for 13 years, and George Ford has revealed that the former captain Jamie George has issued a call to arms, imploring his teammates to carve themselves a slice of history.

• Pope makes 100 in England’s 426, 51 ahead of Lions

• Root out for one, Harry Brook for 2; Stokes makes 77

Joe Root’s attempt to lay to rest the ghost of Australian failures past started with the addition of a fresh one, as his fourth Ashes tour started in brief and inglorious style. The world’s No 1 Test batter, the subject of much pre-series chatter because of his poor average on previous such trips, was the most notable failure as many of his teammates inflated their confidence along with their scores across another day of breezy cricket and indeed weather against the Lions at Lilac Hill, which the senior side ended, having been bowled out moments before the close, with 426, a lead of 51.

Zak Crawley described it as “a flat wicket for sure� and with the atmosphere provided by the few dozen spectators similar, but with intense heat expected from the stands and pitch when the real action starts next Friday, it is not clear to what extent anyone is markedly more prepared now than they were a couple of days ago.

Scotland can reach first World Cup since 1998 but the manager had to read riot act after poor performances last month

It appears you can be on the brink of reaching your holy grail without many people paying sufficient attention. Scotland’s opportunity for World Cup qualification is their best since 1998, when they last performed on that scene. Theirs is also a scenario that would have been widely welcomed before a ball was kicked.

On the basis Denmark will defeat Belarus, Scotland must take at least a point from Saturday’s clash in Greece. In that event, a win against Denmark at Hampden Park on Tuesday would propel Scotland towards next summer and international football’s top table. Not since 1982 have Scotland’s men played in a World Cup having topped their qualifying group. The team that earned a crucial win against Sweden in September 1981 could afford to be without Graeme Souness. It included Alan Hansen, Kenny Dalglish and Joe Jordan.

Have you been following the big stories in football, rugby, tennis, darts, boxing, running, cricket and motor sport?

Fifteen of the top 20 seeds were eliminated in first four rounds, including world champion Gukesh Dommaraju

An early cull of the favourites at the Chess World Cup in Goa has resulted in 15 of the top 20 seeds heading for home early. It has also created a lopsided pairing situation where almost all the remaining favourites are concentrated in one half of the draw.

The two surviving top seeds, India’s world No 5 Arjun Erigaisi and China’s No 10-ranked Wei Yi, could meet in the quarter-finals, while the headline pairing in Friday afternoon’s fifth round is Levon Aronian, the US star who has already won the World Cup twice, against Erigaisi.

Steve Borthwick deserves credit for taking what was a real weakness of England’s and making it one of their strengths

Rugby union is a sport of trends and of unintended consequences and what I expect to be the two most decisive factors in England’s clash with the All Blacks on Saturday are inextricably linked. Much has been made of England’s firepower on their bench – New Zealand’s isn’t bad either – and when coaches are able to call upon such quality replacements, often en masse, then the kicking battle becomes all the more important.

That's because the international game is not currently as fluid as it has been which isn’t necessarily a criticism, it’s just the way things are at present; a little bit like the Premier League where set pieces and long throws are dominating. Of course we would all love to see flowing, attacking rugby but it’s really difficult. Because all elite sides favour having 13 or 14 men in the line, they all seem to adopt a blitz defence and the sheer level of physicality means it can be hard to have possession. It means that having a good set piece and a good kicking game are paramount and the emerging trend for “bomb squads� accentuates that because less fatigue is taking hold across 80 minutes. That isn’t to say there aren’t some magical moments when teams are on transition – Henry Arundell’s try against Fiji is a great example – but it is clear to me that things are a little old school at the moment.

The broadcaster was once attacked by critics for being too progressive. But that stance appears to have changed for good in Trump’s second term

“What happened to the Redskins, by the way?� Donald Trump asked in an interview on the Pat McAfee Show that notably did not stick to sports. His call-in appearance on Tuesday’s program to mark Veterans Day was meant to be a major coup for ESPN, the first time Trump had been interviewed on the network as a sitting president. But viewers could have just as easily been mistaken into believing they were watching Fox News.

Trump took his usual shots at Joe Biden, claimed credit for the Department for Veteran Affairs’ high approval ratings and declared victory over the Democrats in a government shut down that dragged on for a depressing 43 days. Rather than push back against the political self-promotion, McAfee cheered Trump on before opening the floor to his lackeys to ask him which NFL coach would make a great president. It was all delivered live from South Carolina’s Parris Island, the US’s oldest Marine depot, which gave McAfee further excuse to goad the commander-in-chief into barking “oorah� – a Marine battle cry that the recruits present were duty bound to respond to in kind. The only thing missing from the jingoistic scene was a monument to ESPN’s fallen integrity.

Our editors’ favourite sporting images from the past week, from the spectacular to the powerful, and with a little bit of fun thrown in

The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week’s action reviewed

Every Tuesday, Guardian rugby writer Robert Kitson gives his thoughts on the headlines, scrutinises the latest matches and provides gossip from behind the scenes in his unique and indomitable style. See the latest edition here.

Try our other sports emails: there’s daily football news and gossip in The Fiver, a weekly cricket catch-up in The Spin, and our seven-day round-up of the best of our sports journalism in The Recap.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ thoughts on the biggest stories

Let our team of writers be your guide to the cricketing world, as they analyse the big stories, revisit the week’s matches and other happenings, and look further afield. Sign up below to start receiving The Spin in your inbox. View the latest edition here.

Try our other sports emails: there’s daily football news and gossip in The Fiver, a weekly rugby union catch-up in The Breakdown, and our seven-day round-up of the best of our sports journalism in The Recap.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s action

Subscribe to get our editors’ pick of the Guardian’s award-winning sport coverage. We’ll email you the stand-out features and interviews, insightful analysis and highlights from the archive, plus films, podcasts, galleries and more – all arriving in your inbox at every Friday lunchtime. And we’ll set you up for the weekend and let you know our live coverage plans so you’ll be ahead of the game. Here’s what you can expect from us.

Try our other sports emails: there’s daily football news and gossip in The Fiver, and weekly catch-ups for cricket in The Spin and rugby union in The Breakdown.

Living in Australia? Try the Guardian Australia’s daily sports newsletter

• Yorkshire’s Patel the only ethnically diverse CEO

• Only one woman in leadership role until August this year

The 18 first-class counties have been criticised by the England and Wales Cricket Board for failing to make any progress in increasing the ethnic and gender diversity of their senior leadership.

The State of Equity in Cricket Report published on Thursday, which was first commissioned in the wake of the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal, shows that minority ethnic and female representation among the county chairs and chief executives has not improved since 2019 despite repeated calls for change from the ECB.

Already through to the semi-finals, Carlos Alcaraz was far too good for Lorenzo Musetti, a 6-4 6-1 win ensuring he ends the year as world no 1

Of course my wife ordered the shopping to arrive, then went to a work dinner. But it’s in, you’ll be relieved to learn, and they’re still knocking up.

Alcaraz, meantime, looks focused. He’ll not be taking it easy tonight, I’m sure.

• Barrett missed win against Scotland due to cut

• Scott Robertson preparing for aerial contest

Scott Barrett has come back to captain the All Blacks against England at Twickenham this weekend

Barrett had 12 stitches threaded in his leg after he sustained a cut beneath his knee playing against Ireland a fortnight ago, and missed his team’s 25-17 victory against Scotland at Murrayfield last week, but Scott Robertson, the New Zealand head coach, confirmed that he had played a full part in training and will be ready for the England game.

• Storm star faces weeks in hospital but condition stabilised

• NRL investigating why Katoa played after warmup head injury

Melbourne Storm backrower and Tonga star Eli Katoa faces the prospect of further weeks in hospital and possibly time in a rehabilitation centre as he begins his slow recovery from brain surgery after he suffered three head knocks against New Zealand 12 days ago.

The 25-year-old remains in hospital in Auckland, and alarming information provided by his club on Friday indicates there is no guarantee one of the game’s best forwards will play again.

• New York Jets 14–27 New England Patriots

• Pat move to 9-2, guaranteed winning season

Rookie TreVeyon Henderson rushed for two touchdowns and made a TD catch to help Drake Maye and the New England Patriots win their eighth straight game, 27-14 over the New York Jets on Thursday night.

New England (9-2) matched their longest streak since Tom Brady’s final season with the team in 2019. The Patriots’ 3-0 record in AFC East games is their best start in the division since 2019 (5-0).

Harmonious Kiwi teamwork across various sports should fill us with frustrated envy – if only to annoy some Aussies

Do we talk about England and Australia’s sporting rivalry too much? In the past couple of weeks, we haven’t had much choice. The rugby league Kangaroos have been hopping about between London, Liverpool and Leeds, while the Wallabies grazed on the Twickenham turf. In F1, Bristol-born Lando Norris has been getting booed on track during his relentless comeback against his Melburnian McLaren teammate, Oscar Piastri. And that personal battle has reached its climax just in time for the much-hyped men’s Ashes – with England kicking off their tour in Perth to already hysterical headlines.

This weekend brings a pause in hostilities. One Ashes series has ended, another is yet to begin. A gap in the calendar before back-to-back grands prix leaves Lando quietly teetering at the top of the drivers’ table. And into that small air pocket – if the Pom-bashing and Aussie-baiting has left a breath of oxygen – come the Kiwis. On Saturday afternoon, just after three o’clock, New Zealand’s rugby union team will run out against England in west London. And by the time we know the result, the Silver Ferns will be taking to the netball court on the other side of the city, in the first of a three-match series against the Roses.

Morgan Rogers has the shirt but the England head coach has lit a fire under star names by leaving them on the bench

It didn’t exactly feel like a thrilling three-way shootout for the role of England’s top gun No 10. At least, not for the opening hour anyway. Wembley was a sodden place at kick-off, the rain falling in huge slow flakes, the kind of rain that puts a lid on the world. And for long periods this was a strange, bloodless experience, a World Cup qualifier with very little qualification at stake beyond the dwindling hopes of Serbia.

By the end, however, there was at least a sense that something had happened here. You have to hand it to Thomas Tuchel, currently cresting a wave as England’s first master of negging, founding member of the don’t really give a toss school of international management.

The Chelsea defender on Barcelona, the benefits of taking a breather and joining a campaign to tackle winter loneliness

“This will be a for ever thing,� says Millie Bright. “It’s one of the things that gives me purpose. It gives me life outside of football and will give me life after football.�

The Chelsea centre-back is talking about the impact that giving back to society, to fans or to a single individual has on her. She is hugely passionate about it, displaying fresh energy when she discusses her off-pitch work, including Chelsea’s new The Magic of Blue campaign, aimed at highlighting the issue of winter loneliness. The campaign will host collection points for the donation of gifts and warm items at men’s and women’s matches, including at Stamford Bridge next Thursday for the Women’s Champions League game against Barcelona.

With the season more than halfway done, we look at the outstanding figures from the 2025 campaign so far

Sam Darnold, QB, Seahawks. With apologies to Jonathan Taylor, we know how this story goes. MVP doesn’t stand for Most Valuable Player anymore. It stands for Most Valuable Quarterback on a 12-win team with a nice storyline. That gives us three frontrunners: Matthew Stafford, Drake Maye and Darnold.

England quick is happy to let his cricket do the talking after coming back stronger from long-term injuries but says being part of this Ashes squad in Australia is incredible

There are times when Josh Tongue talks about the situation he finds himself in with genuine incredulity, as if he has not so much earned a place in England’s dressing room as snuck in while nobody was looking and hid inside a laundry basket.

“I said that to myself when I first got picked in ’23: ‘Just being here, around this group of people, in the Ashes squad, is just an amazing … what’s the word? Accomplishment?’� he says. “Like, it’s amazing. Being a part of this England squad at the minute is amazing and I couldn’t wish for anything else, really. And now to be a part of an Ashes squad, going to Australia’s own backyard and playing against them … I just can’t wait for the next couple of months.�

The Black Ferns pair arrive at Harlequins eager to put semi-final defeat behind them and ‘to see how this side of the world plays’

There’s a certain aura that surrounds New Zealand rugby players. Liana Mikaele-Tu’u and Layla Sae have all the athleticism, talent and professionalism that come with being a Black Fern but during a joint interview at Harlequins’ training ground in Surrey, what stands out most is their humility, refreshing honesty and wicked sense of humour.

The duo have signed for the Premiership Women’s Rugby (PWR) club until March. Sae, fresh off the plane from New Zealand, could make her debut against Exeter Chiefs on Sunday, while Mikaele-Tu’u already has a few appearances under her belt after joining a few weeks earlier.

Olivier Giroud’s selflessness helped France reach the last two finals. They are yet to work out a succession plan

By Get French Football News

It was a “heavy and oppressive� night, said Didier Deschamps. The “joy� of beating Ukraine 4-0 in Paris and qualifying for the World Cup was “contained� by the context of the match, taking place 10 years to the day after the attacks of 13 November, which began at the Stade de France. “It would have been good if we could have avoided playing on this day,� said the France manager before the match.

It was a poignant night for the city, the country, for those in the stadium, and also for Deschamps, for more reasons than one. He will step down as manager after next summer’s World Cup, bringing an end to what will have been a historic 14-year spell, regardless of what happens in North America.

• Former Spanish federation president struck by three eggs

• Rubiales claims the assailant ‘was my own uncle’

The disgraced former Spanish football federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales had eggs flung at him, allegedly by his uncle, during the presentation of his new book on Thursday in Madrid.

Rubiales, convicted of sexual assault for a forced kiss on the player Jenni Hermoso after Spain won the Women’s World Cup, appeared to be struck on the back by an egg as the man Rubiales claimed was his uncle threw three in the direction of the 48-year-old.

• Forward led chant after Leeds won promotion in April

• Wilder signs him to help struggling Championship club

Patrick Bamford has joined Sheffield United seven months after leading derogatory chants about their manager, Chris Wilder.

The 32-year-old striker, a free agent since leaving Leeds, has signed a ­contract with the Championship strugglers until January. His seven-year career at Elland Road was ended by mutual consent in August.

Arsenal needed a performance and a result against a European powerhouse, their form in the Women’s Super League letting them down, but Renée Slegers’s side collapsed, relinquishing a 2-0 advantage and all three points to Bayern Munich far too easily to plunge their Champions League defence into tricky waters.

Slegers called the defeat a “big hit�. The head coach said: “We’re not happy, it’s not good enough, we can’t concede three goals so late in a game against Bayern when we have a 2-0 lead.�

On the bench in Madrid and out of the England squad, the full-back has no one to fight his corner – so will have to do it himself

“He chose to start from zero. To keep showing up, day by day. It was about respect, courage and a genuine desire to belong. What I saw was a person growing beyond himself. In football, words can build trust, connection, identity. That is what true professionalism really looks like.� Well, at least someone is pleased with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s progress at Real Madrid. Unfortunately, it happens to be Sara Duque, his language teacher.

When Alexander-Arnold filmed a video in hesitant but really very good Spanish for Duque’s Instagram page, it’s fair to say it wasn’t received entirely in the spirit of pride and achievement it was intended. Very quickly, internet auditors started to do the maths. Alexander-Arnold claimed to have been learning Spanish for five months, which meant he must have started in May, when – gasp – he was still under contract at Liverpool. Rat, scum, traitor, etc. Perhaps, judging by how well he spoke at his unveiling in June, he had been under Duque’s tutelage even earlier. All of which brought to mind the old Frank Skinner joke (although others have claimed it) about John Lennon airport. A fitting tribute, seeing as it was the first place he went after making a bit of cash.

Mohamed Salah has drifted from crucial to peripheral in big games, and Arne Slot’s decision to keep picking him is strange

There must be blame. We need heads on the battlements. We need entrails, horses, chains, a public quartering. Basically we just need to feel something. We need, above all, to feel that this is all someone’s fault.

This is how elite football must function now. The Dalai Lama once said that instead of looking to blame others we should look for answers within ourselves, which just goes to show how wrong you can be and is, frankly, very disappointing from the Dalai Lama.

It is a test of Steve Borthwick’s coaching credentials to develop speedster Henry Arundell into the player he so obviously can become

Some things never change. Twickenham can always make a hash of the pre-match festivities, Fiji will always take the breath away and there is no substitute for pace in the elite game. If there is one thing that Steve Borthwick takes from this helter-skelter victory over Fiji, it must be Henry Arundell’s 70th-minute try on his first England appearance since the 2023 World Cup. Some way to celebrate his 23rd birthday.

Chasing down Marcus Smith’s grubber kick, Arundell gave Fiji’s outside-centre Kalaveti Ravouvou an enormous head start yet still won the foot race. Suffice it to say he does not lose many and at a stroke, the Pacific Islanders were finally put out of sight. There are plenty of caveats, those who will consider hyping up Arundell’s cameo as getting carried away. He was fresh, having just come off the bench whereas Ravouvou was not. One swallow does not make a summer.

As Wales prepare to face the Pumas, the only thing uniting anyone is a lack of trust in the WRU to sort the game out

It’s a wet Wednesday afternoon and Wales are holding an open training session at the Principality Stadium. Admission is free, apart from the £1 booking fee, and the 6,000 seats they’ve made available are filled with raucous kids and weary parents looking for something new to do during a rainy half-term day. The announcer keeps reminding everyone that tickets are still available for all four of Wales’ autumn internationals, against Argentina on Sunday, Japan, New Zealand and South Africa. No one in the media seats can quite remember the last time there were spare tickets for a Test match against the All Blacks.

I join a couple of old boys loitering in the back rows. They’re Mervyn and Steve, down from Pontypridd. The previous Friday the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) had announced its grand plan to revitalise the sport, which included – almost an hour into the press conference – the revelation that it is going to scrap one of the four regional teams. Everyone agrees that the four regions are overstretched and underfunded. A Welsh team has not finished in the top seven of the United Rugby Championship (URC) since before the pandemic. The decision to make a cut was easy enough. The harder part is figuring out who, why and when, and the hardest is persuading everyone to go along with it.

Our cartoonist on how the US president’s actions in office may have put him in line for an award

• Buy a Squires cartoon in our Print Shop

• David’s latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now

Head of F1 Academy explains how close she came to a grand prix debut, her quest to produce female drivers, and a frightening knock on her hotel room door by a powerful man in the sport

“There was a deep loneliness to karting, and then definitely in single‑seaters, because no one else was going through the same thing as me,� says Susie Wolff as she remembers her long struggle in motor sport, from racing as a teenager against Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg to her determined, but unfulfilled, quest to become a Formula One driver.

“After the whole #MeToo movement, we forget what it was like before. But the way I heard boys talking about girls in the paddock made me think: ‘I never want to be spoken about in that way.’ I realised I’d have to be whiter than white to get through it unscathed.�

All hell broke loose at what became known as the SCG when a couple of thousand people, including a teenage Banjo Paterson, stormed the pitch

Test cricket gets described as a gentleman’s game but this is a lie. Rashes of gentility break out here and there but it’s still a game birthed by rascals, popularised by crooks and sustained by the patronage of louts. This story is one of the finest examples, just after the third Test ever played. It was Melbourne 1879 when Fred Spofforth lived up to his nickname of “The Demon�: he rissoled England with 6 for 48 in the first innings and 7 for 62 in the second, taking the first Test hat-trick along the way. In a timeless match, Australia won in three days.

Notionally amateurs, the tourists were there to make bank from gate receipts at as many games as possible. In true English everyman style they were led by a captain named Lord Harris. After Melbourne they headed to Sydney to play twice against New South Wales. The state team also had Spofforth and won the first game easily, so before the second match the punters backed them off the map. The old Association Ground, which would later become the SCG, packed in 10,000 people.

Books by former champions demonstrate powerfully that we should not accept abuse and suffering as ‘the price of winning’. Sport must do more

Viewed through one end of the lens, the two new autobiographies from the sporting legends Boris Becker and Bradley Wiggins might seem like classic tales of the downfalls of two deeply flawed heroes who then claw their way back to redemption. But viewed through the other end of the lens, we see troubling portrayals of an extremely inhumane and, at times, unsafe world of sport where talent is no saving grace, in fact it’s more of a liability.

There are striking similarities between the stories of two different characters, sports, countries and generations. Both went bankrupt. Both made bad choices and admit their agency in their own demise. Both hit rock bottom and found themselves stripped bare of all dignity, be it in a prison cell or snorting cocaine in a toilet. Becker was convicted by a British court on four counts out of 24 and ended up in prison, surrounded by drug addicts. Wiggins writes that he was abused by his youth cycling coach and after sport became hooked on cocaine on a path that he himself admits could easily have ended behind bars. Both were massively failed by trusted adults around them in positions of authority.

The fact that Latino stars were at the forefront of the victory over the Toronto Blue Jays sits alongside the club’s near silence on the immigration raids roiling the city

For Natalia Molina, a lifelong fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers and a third-generation Mexican American, the crowning moment of baseball’s World Series didn’t come in last Saturday’s nail-biting finale, when her team performed one death-defying escape act after another before prevailing in extra innings over the Toronto Blue Jays.

It came a game earlier, when two of the team’s second-tier players, Kiké Hernández, who is from Puerto Rico, and Miguel Rojas, from Venezuela, pulled off a thrilling, game-winning sequence that simultaneously upended the many negative stereotypes Donald Trump has been touting about Latinos since he first ran for president a decade ago.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

If you haven’t seen the clip of Iliman Ndiaye snatching a soul at Everton’s training ground with some sort of reverse bouncing nutmeg, it’s a good watch. In executing a move so nasty that it would have been better suited to a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill immediately shut down what was meant to be a lighthearted kickabout to end what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview on how amateur players can earn a second chance at making it after being released by professional academies.

Football took me but it never abandoned me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from place to place. The love of football carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the answer� – Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic takes time out from his preparations to kindly get his chat on with Sid Lowe and do a nice set of snaps outside Wembley.

Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister isn’t going to be left home alone by Argentina (yesterday’s Football Daily). Hopefully, if he goes to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll read up on how to get about the host cities – wouldn’t want him to end up lost in New York� – James Humphries.

Big Website reports that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been suspended due to alleged involvement in a betting scandal. It would be fantastic if that number could be bumped up to the same level of typical pedantry associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my math, that’s about 33 more pedants. If I volunteer to be banned from playing professionally in Turkey (not a huge sacrifice at my age and, um, skill level), are there 32 more folks willing to join in my search for symmetry?� – Mike Wilner.

As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I proactively complain about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which highway one uses to get to various locations in your island nation (yesterday’s Football Daily letters)? I mean, I was caught in a traffic jam on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the whole story. There’s no rewarding moral to the tale. (I-4 connects Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have traffic issues at any time)� – Rasteen Nowroozi.

Apropos Wythenshawe FC (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), I recall many years ago playing for a Sunday, very social side, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke introduced as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who brought him along. Apparently he was an actor; he had a useful left foot. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)� – Jason Steger.

Together with some colleagues and friends, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our oldest player is pushing 80, while the youngest are in their late-20s. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a simple rule of thumb regarding the quality of player: you can be fast or skilled, but preferably not both. We occasionally have players who violate this rule, but usually manage to drag them down to our level over time� – Lars Esbjerg.

 This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

While there are promising signs of Swiss growth, there is some way to go to cement lasting legacy for the tournament

Switzerland were the toast of the continent this summer as hosts of the Women’s European Championship. The national team reached the quarter-finals for the first time and a total of 623,088 were in attendance at the 31 matches, a tournament record. The hope within Switzerland was for a boost at club level similar to what England experienced three years previously. Those heights have not been reached, but there has been a definite bump.

According to Switzerland’s football association, their Women’s Super League has enjoyed a 62% increase in attendances this season, with an average attendance of 787. While that does not compare with the huge spike England’s Women’s Super League had after Euro 2022 – an average attendance increase of 172% the following season – it is still encouraging.

This is an extract from our free email about women’s football, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.

From Zak Crawley hitting Pat Cummins for four to Rory Burns’ duck, it is seen as a tone-setting prophecy

You always remember the first. Senses heightened, clammy palms, not quite knowing where to look or what to focus on. It is OK to be nervous … but is it normal to be this nervous? Castanet heart and goosebumped skin as the moment gets nearer. Just get this one out of the way, don’t put too much pressure on it. Calm down. This is supposed to be fun.

Your mind wanders to Zak Crawley lacing Pat Cummins across the Edgbaston turf like a pebble skimmed across a glacier. You really can’t help who pops in at these moments. But who is this now? Oh it’s Rory Burns toppling over, Brisbane rug pulled from underneath him, leg stump knocked back and bails sent upwards like a pair of forlorn eyebrows. What to do now, just lie back and think of English turmoil?

The veteran All Black duo both grew up on dairy farms and may not have flourished in English rugby’s rigid system

This week’s column is being compiled slightly differently. It’s not easy to type while looking upwards and smiling warmly at the bookshelf but, hey, that’s the price to be paid for method sportswriting. When you’re putting together a piece on Damian McKenzie, the All Blacks’ so-called “smiling assassin�, it’s important to try to get into character.

The head bandage took time to apply as well, as did the fake-blood drizzle of ketchup down the cheek. Anyone who watched the later stages of New Zealand’s win against Scotland on television on Saturday, however, will appreciate why the extra touches felt appropriate. It is not every day a player preparing to kick the clinching points in a major Test resembles a happy, beaten prizefighter.

Robyn Cowen is joined by Nicky Bandini, Philippe Auclair, Paul Watson and Sid Lowe to wrap up the biggest stories from across Europe including Madrid’s dip in form and the beginnings of an unravelling for Antonio Conte at Napoli

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: in Spain, Barcelona’s high line continues to excite, baffle and frustrate - Sid Lowe joins to discuss how Hansi Flick defends his lack of defence and he also talks about Real Madrid, who have endured a rocky week or so.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Marva Kreel and Tim Stillman to dissect a dramatic WSL weekend and look ahead to the Women’s Champions League

On today’s pod: VAR talk dominates again after Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, with disallowed goals and missed cards prompting calls for more support for referees in the WSL. Should VAR-lite or semi-automated offside be introduced?

Elsewhere, Manchester United suffered their first defeat of the season against a resurgent Aston Villa. Manchester City took full advantage to go top with a hard-fought win over Everton. How long will it be before Marva is allowed to cut her hair?

Have you been following the big stories in football, rugby, baseball, cricket, hockey, boxing, tennis and baseball?

Ian Nepomniachtchi was a world title challenger, Wesley So is ranked No 8, and Hans Niemann has huge ambition, but all lost to unheralded opponents

The $2m (£1.5m), 206-player World Cup taking place in Goa, India, has a brutal format designed to maximise the chance of shock results. Its knockout matches consist of the best of just two classical games, followed by rapid and blitz tie-breaks at increasingly fast speeds, then a final Armageddon game where White has more time but is obliged to win. The major incentive besides the prize money is three places in the 2026 Candidates, the pathway to the world title.

Ian Nepomniachtchi, the Russia No 1 who twice played for the global crown, the USA’s world No 8, Wesley So, and Hans Niemann, who has huge ambitions, were the high-profile casualties in Thursday’s second round of 128, which was the first round for the top 50 seeds. After losing to the little-known Indian Diptayan Ghosh, Nepomniachtchi posted a laconic message: “There’s nothing to say about the chess part. Goa is one of those places you don’t feel sad about leaving.�