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Nov 11, 2026 - Sports

Plus: more speedy marathons by footballers, headed goals of the season and chairs acting as managersMail us with all of your questions and answers“Which club team has had the most international captains playing together at one time?” asks MH Zahid. “Conversely, which international team has had the most club captains in its starting lineup at one time?”A quick web search finds a fuss being made in various corners of the internet of Chelsea’s 2009-10 squad because it contained six national team captains in Michael Ballack (Germany), Petr Cech (Czech Republic), Didier Drogba (Côte d’Ivoire), Branislav Ivanovic (Serbia), Mikel John Obi (Nigeria) and John Terry (England). These are, indeed, six people who captained their countries, playing together at one time, but crucially they were not all international captains at that time, which because we like to have our hands bound as tight as possible – no questions please – mean they are disqualified from this particular tournament. Ivanovic, you see, was not named Serbia captain until 2012 and Mikel, who was but a whippersnapper at 22 when the 2009-10 season started, was still seven years from getting his hands on the Nigeria armband. Continue reading...

Nov 11, 2026 - Sports

While No 9s still score the most goals and No 1s try to stop them, trends have changed since the introduction of squad numbers in the early 1990sHow much is a shirt number worth? It costs £8 if you want two digits added to the back of Arsenal’s 2026-27 home shirt, whereas Manchester City add on £16 for customisation, whether you want a name as well as a number or not.That is cheap compared to what baseball players decide among themselves. Juan Soto bought Brett Baty a $92,000 (£69,000) car in exchange for getting his preferred number (22) when he joined the New York Mets last year. But that’s baseball, where they allow players to wear ‘0’. Anything goes. Continue reading...

Nov 11, 2026 - Sports

Obsessive attention to detail is helping striker to reach new heights – and a 126th international appearance on ThursdayIt was Harry Kane’s dirty little secret. Something the England captain got up to after matches. He felt he deserved the indulgence. Yes, it can be revealed, Kane loved to reward himself after a gruelling 90 minutes with a bag of sweets. “I do like a Haribo,” he said with a smile after the Nations League win against Czechia in Prague at the end of September.No more. At the beginning of last season, Kane took the decision to cut out the naughty treats. After a while, he noticed a difference. He felt sharper; able to sprint more, make a greater number of accelerations. Was it down to this latest entry on the list of personal sacrifices? Or was it a consequence of his broader health regime, the scope of which is mind-blowing? Continue reading...

Nov 11, 2026 - Sports

Book tour will still go ahead but with changes this week’s schedule Khawaja evasive when questioned on ABC’s 7:30 ReportUsman Khawaja’s promotional book tour has been subject to “adjustments” after the former Australia Test batter was grilled about certain claims on the ABC’s 7.30 Report.Khawaja pulled out of some radio and television spots on Wednesday, with his publisher Penguin saying that while the tour had not been cancelled entirely, changes had been made to his schedule this week. Continue reading...

Nov 11, 2026 - Sports

Mauricio Pochettino is leaving the United States men’s national team for Manchester United.