Sports

Germany 4-0 Finland (1-0) Goals: 1-0 Undav (34'), 2-0 Wirtz (48'), 3-0 Undav (57'), 4:0 Musiala (63') Attendance: 25,122 A day before Germany depart for America, Julian Nagelsmann's team comprehensively beat Finland in Mainz thanks to an outstanding performance by striker Deniz Undav. The Stuttgart forward scored twice and assisted one to help deliver the expected result. "We can keep going like this," Nagelsmann said afterwards. "One of our strengths is that we always look like we can score." There's not a lot to make of these games. Less than two weeks out from a World Cup is not the time to experiment tactically, and most starters are rested. These games are almost always about players avoiding injury and squad players pushing to start. A confidence-boosting win Jamal Musiala ...

Some of the best young talents at the World Cup this summer include Bayer Leverkusen's Ibrahim Maza and Malik Tillman, Eintracht Frankfurt's Can Uzun, and Bayern Munich's domestic-double winner Josip Stanisic. There's also Juventus' Kenan Yıldız and PSV's Paul Wanner. Despite either being born in Germany or having gone through the academy system in the country, none of them will be playing for Germany on the world's biggest stage this summer. They all hold dual citizenship and have opted to take the field for Turkey, Algeria, the USA, Croatia or Austria. Whether for sporting, emotional, or family reasons, or because they hoped doing so would give their own careers a boost, their choice is also a conscious choice against Germany. This development has shaken German FA (DFB) Director Andreas...

1. Three hosts with strained ties This World Cup will be the first to be hosted by three countries – the United States, Canada and Mexico – as opposed to the usual single nation. 2002 was an exception, when Japan and South Korea broke new ground by sharing the hosting duties. This year's cohosts have usually enjoyed good relations, but these have become more difficult since US President Donald Trump began his second term in office. His threats to annex Canada as the "51st" US state and punitive tariffs have soured the mood between two historically close allies. US ties with Mexico have been strained over several issues including their shared border and Trump threatening, tacitly at least, to use military force to combat drug cartels operating in Mexico. 2. More teams, more games Forty-e...

English football legend David Beckham is set to be honored with a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame, organizers announced on Tuesday, as the United States counts down to the FIFA World Cup, which it is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada. The 51-year-old former England captain's plaque on the famous Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles will be unveiled at a ceremony on June 12 ahead of the first game of the tournament on US soil between the United States and Paraguay in nearby Inglewood later that evening. "David Beckham's recognition with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star in the Sports Entertainment category comes at a fitting moment as the United States prepares to host the FIFA World Cup," said Ana Martinez of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. "Beckham's role in elevating soccer's profile in...

US tennis giant Serena Williams confirmed on Monday that she will return to the sport, after it became known that she would compete in doubles at the HSBC Championships at Queen's Club next week. "Guess everybody heard the news," she wrote in an Instagram video post, which showed her walking on the court, racket in hand. Williams won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017. She has not competed in tennis since the 2022 US Open. Since then, she gave birth to two daughters. The tennis legend never actually used the word 'retirement' when she stepped away from tennis, saying instead that she would be "evolving away" from the sport.  Speculation ‌around Williams' return to tennis was fueled by her re-entry in December into the anti-doping program, which is a prerequisite to play on the...

Hassan Seif al-Din never expected that, at the age of 65, he would be teaching martial arts to children in a football stadium in Beirut. But these are not normal times. The coach fled to Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium from Dahiyeh, one of the capital's southern suburbs, along with thousands of others. He now lives in one of the many rows of tents set up in the venue. The Middle East was plunged into fresh fighting on February 28 when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and the conflict spread into Lebanon just days later. In April, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights at the United Nations said that more than a million people in Lebanon had been displaced as Israel has bombed Hezbollah targets in the country. Hassan is just one of them.Hassan Seif al-Din was f...

As Paris Saint-Germain tightened the screws on Arsenal over two absorbing hours, the drums in the crowd behind the goal matched their relentless intensity. It was enough to push PSG past Arsenal 4-3 on penalties after the Champions League final in Budapest ended 1-1 after extra time on Saturday.  Players, crowd and coach — PSG are a club united. "Today, we can say we are the best in Europe. We take pleasure in playing with this group. We're all humble, and that makes you want to give more. But we just want to celebrate with the people of Paris," said Vitinha, PSG's Portuguese midfielder who was named man of the match. Arsenal's own brand of collective will dragged the Qatari-owned Parisians to penalties, but the English side  will carry over their quest for a first Champions League into...

Hip hop blares over speakers, barely eclipsing the thuds of gloves striking focus mitts and bodies dropping onto mats. As the evening wears on and the dozen participants break a serious sweat, condensation builds on the windows.While Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) training at Athletic Sonnenberg resembles many such gyms, members of the Chemnitz sports club see it as a battleground for democracy."This has a clear political element," said Stani, the martial arts coach at Athletic Sonnenberg. "Lots of martial arts gyms in Saxony are run by right-wingers and there are many right-wing structures in the MMA scene generally." Athletic Sonnenberg is focused on diversity and empowerment. Organizers hope it can stand out in a moment when the far right is increasingly instrumentalizing sports — and especia...

At 26 years old, Kai Havertz has more experience than most. The former Leverkusen man has a history of game-winning goals. His most famous is perhaps his Champions League-winning goal for Chelsea against Manchester City in 2021. It was a goal that denied Pep Guardiola and gave Thomas Tuchel glory. For Havertz, it wasn't the only one though. A year later, he scored an extra-time penalty to win the Club World Cup for Chelsea. This season, Havertz scored the injury-time winner for Arsenal in the League Cup semifinal against his former team. His injury-time winner against Sporting in the Champions League quarterfinals was decisive for Arsenal and their run to the final. And against Burnley, although fortunate to avoid red for a poor tackle, his header set up Arsenal's Premier League title th...

Where is Elversberg? Elversberg is a small town northeast of Saarbrücken in the small state of Saarland, in southwestern Germany. As part of Spiesen-Elversberg, the town has a population of around 13,000 but Elversberg alone has just 7,000 people living in it. There is no train station and just three bakeries.  What is Elversberg's back story? The club was formed in 1907, although folded during World War I before reforming in 1918. In 2013, the club reached the third division alongside RB Leipzig, but they were promptly relegated. After two playoff defeats in 2016 and 2017, the club finally returned to the third division in 2022 and slowly began to gain a greater reputation. The club's surge coincided with the appointment of Nils-Ole Book in 2017 and head coach Horst Steffen, a forme...