Football/Soccer 8 Hours

Last updated: August 26, 2026, 9:38 PM ET

Transfer Window

Manchester City are confident of signing Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández, with a formal offer expected to arrive before the deadline. Meanwhile, West Ham have accepted a £40m bid from Brentford for Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf, who is now cleared for a medical. Al-Hilal are closing in on a £50m deal for Ollie Watkins, while Chelsea are lining up a move for Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Sunderland have made a loan offer for Jack Grealish, according to Thursday's gossip. Crystal Palace boss Pierre Sage expects Ismaila Sarr to stay despite Liverpool's reported interest. Newcastle have completed the £52m signing of Nico Gonzalez from Manchester City, with the midfielder greeted by a rapturous welcome before their Carabao Cup win. Liverpool are also in fresh talks with PSG over a deal for Bradley Barcola, per Thursday's papers.

Carabao Cup Action

Tottenham cruised past Charlton 5-1 as Sávio stole the show with a goal and assist on his debut, though Roberto De Zerbi has challenged the winger to hit 10-12 goals this season. Jamie Redknapp claimed Sávio lit up the place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Newcastle survived a scare against West Brom, winning 3-2 thanks to a double from Harvey Barnes, who sealed the win for the Magpies. Everton cruised past Preston North End 4-0, with Thierry Barry scoring a hat trick and setting up the other goal in a dominant display at Deepdale. Bradford held Burnley to a goalless draw and then triumphed 4-2 on penalties to advance, ending Burnley's slow start to the season with a shootout victory.

European Football

Kylian Mbappé delivered an "incredible" performance, bagging a hat trick as Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 4-1. José Mourinho celebrated his Bernabéu return in style, watching the French superstar power past the Basques. Barcelona have canceled the tribute they had planned to honor their World Cup-winning players before Thursday's home opener, citing fan tension. At Atlanta United, new striker Breel Embolo acknowledged people in Europe are "shocked" by his move to MLS, but says he's excited about a new start. In the Champions League, the league phase draw is set — here's the full explainer on the format.

UEFA-FIFA Politics

UEFA will formally withdraw its threat to boycott FIFA competitions after receiving assurances that Gianni Infantino's proposed World Cup sell-off plan would not be revived. Despite dropping the boycott threat, UEFA will still move forward with efforts to remove Infantino according to BBC sources. The governing body of European football will end its protest over the failed investor scheme, though its challenge to the FIFA presidency remains on the agenda.

Women's Football & Conference League

Chelsea's new signings showed they remain a threat in the Champions League without a full preseason, as they swept past Real Sociedad in their UWCL qualifier. On the men's side, Hearts came of age under Wouter Vrancken, booking Conference League progress after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Rapid Vienna. Czech goalkeeper Beau Reus was the hero with two penalty saves, while Tomas Magnusson's red card forced Hearts to dig deep in a stunning shootout victory. Vrancken believes his "proud" side are getting their rewards, with the team vanquishing the Austrian opponents on penalties as Hearts progressed.

More Headlines & Darts

First, a tough stretch for Ebbsfleet United: the National League club have settled an outstanding tax debt, but their suspension from the league remains in place, and their future is uncertain. In the darts title race, Luke Humphries won his third Players Championship title of the season after beating Brendan Dolan in the final in Leicester, and he's now set his sights on stopping a possible clean sweep at the hands of Luke Littler. Additionally, a strong boxer-ahead weekend featured a free live stream of the media workouts for the Cameron vs. Mayer world title fight. The Carabao Cup third-round draw confirmed a headline matchup between Liverpool and Tottenham, with the draw made live recently; Spurs raced into a lead against Charlton after a quick-fire double early on. Elsewhere, Cristiano Ronaldo was subbed at halftime in a strange evening, as his Al-Nassr side won 4-3 from two goals down — the former star then watched the dramatic comeback unfold without him.