Key events
The FA Cup quarter-finals
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Manchester City v Liverpool (Saturday, 12.45pm)
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Chelsea v Port Vale (Saturday, 5.15pm)
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Southampton v Arsenal (Saturday, 8pm)
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West Ham v Leeds (Sunday, 4.30pm)
Phil Foden made two starts for England over the international break as Thomas Tuchel experimented with how the Manchester City attacking midfielder could be used at the World Cup. He played in a couple of positions but was ineffective in two collectively subpar performances from the Three Lions. It means he has one assist and no goals in his past 22 appearances for club and country in what has been an underwhelming campaign for the 25-year-old. He has dropped below Rayan Cherki in Pep Guardiola’s pecking order and has not completed a full 90 minutes since January. In the Carabao Cup final, Foden was permitted a late cameo, and it feels like this is the time when he should be making a difference in the final stages of the season.
There are still trophies to be played for, even if winning the Premier League title would involve a huge turnaround against Arsenal. This means the FA Cup is the most promising prospect and Foden should be desperate to start and remind everyone of the world-class player he could be, especially against a Liverpool side who often struggle against smart No 10s. The next six weeks could be make or break for Foden’s City and international career, so he must seize every opportunity.
Preamble
Hello, good morning, good Good Friday and welcome to our rolling football news blog. Our attention will soon turn to the weekend’s action, including the FA Cup quarter-finals and a full EFL programme today, but first let’s have a recap of the week in international football.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Turkey, Czech Republic, DR Congo and Iraq completed the 48-team line-up for this summer’s World Cup.
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Italy failed to qualify for the third World Cup in a row, an “unacceptable disgrace” that prompted recriminations and resignations.
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A largely second-string England team lost at home to Japan.
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Ghana, who are in England’s group, sacked their manager Otto Addo.
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Scotland followed a 1-0 defeat to Japan with a 1-0 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire.
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Fifa raised the highest ticket price for the World Cup final from $1,600 in 2022 to $10,990 in 2026.
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And most importantly of all, France moved to the top of our World Cup power rankings.
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