Key events
Middlesbrough had 32 shots apparently. They’ve now taken just three points from their last five home games (three draws and two defeats). Next up, a trip to Swansea.
Full-time: Middlesbrough 1-2 Millwall
Millwall are into the automatic promotion places! They leapfrog Middlesbrough with a dramatic 2-1 victory at the Riverside and go second. Two goals for Josh Coburn against his former club put Alex Neil’s side in dreamland. Middlesbrough were top in mid-February but now they’ve slipped to third. Take a look at this table Millwall fans!
Five minutes of added time at Middlesbrough. We’re into the first of those. As it stands Millwall are going second. Lots of disgruntled home fans heading for the exit. They’ve seen this movie before.
GOAL! Middlesbrough 1-2 Millwall (Coburn, 86 mins)
Crikey. It’s another for Coburn. Millwall have been much better in this second half and Coburn fires a superb finish into the bottom corner to put the visitors ahead.
Still Middlesbrough 1-1 Millwall. Just eight minutes to go. The hosts are winning the xG count 2.33 to 0.72 but, as it stands, this is all working out very well for Coventry. And Ipswich. Here’s the live table which takes into account the Middlesbrough game.
Championship fixtures
Simon has gone off to forage for food so you’ve got me, Dave Tindall, for a little while. Let’s start with a look at the rest of today’s Championship fixture. All these are 3pms apart from leaders Coventry.
Mikel Arteta has held his press conference, ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton. “We’re going to make the strongest lineups we possibly can to win every competition,” he says. “We’re two or three games away in the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is to us.”
GOAL! Middlesbrough 1-1 Millwall (Coburn, 58 mins)
Josh Coburn equalises for Millwall, turning the ball in from close range after a corner is headed into the six-yard box!
Lunchtime brain workout latest: Here’s the sports quiz of the week!
Here’s Reuters’ report on Gattuso’s departure, which adds a statement from the man himself:
Italy parted ways with Gennaro Gattuso on Friday, the country’s football federation (FIGC) said, after the national team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup. Italy lost Tuesday’s playoff final in Bosnia on penalties and the four-time champions have now missed out on three consecutive World Cups.
Gattuso’s departure as head coach came a day after the FIGC’s president, Gabriele Gravina, resigned, with the national team delegation head, Gianluigi Buffon, also stepping down from his role.
“With a heavy heart, having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my time in charge of the national team to be over,” Gattuso said in a statement. “The Azzurri shirt is the most precious asset in football, which is why it is right to facilitate future technical assessments with immediate effect. It has been an honour to lead the national team, and to do so with a group of lads who have shown commitment and loyalty to the shirt.”
Gattuso was appointed in June on a one-year contract, replacing Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked following Italy’s 3-0 defeat by Norway in their opening group game, although he remained in place for the 2-0 win over Moldova the next day.
Italy won their next five group games under Gattuso but, given Norway’s far superior goal difference, they were consigned to another World Cup playoff before the final group game, which Norway won 4-1 at San Siro.
Italy had lost at the playoff stage of the last two World Cups but looked on course to make it this time after a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in their semi-final, before it all fell apart in Bosnia. Gattuso’s 10-man team let slip a 1-0 lead after having a player sent off and crumbled in the penalty shootout.
The FIGC, Italy’s football association, have confirmed that Gennaro Gattuso has left his post as coach of the men’s national team by mutual consent, after their failure to qualify for the World Cup. Italy lost Tuesday’s playoff final in Bosnia on penalties and the four-times champions have now missed out on three consecutive World Cups.
GOAL! Middlesbrough 1-0 Millwall (Fry, 26 mins)
Middlesbrough take the lead against Millwall! And it’s their captain, Dael Fry, who missed an absolute sitter just five minutes into the game, who makes the breakthrough, heading in at the far post after a corner was cleared and re-centred.
Gennaro Gattuso departs as Italy coach
Gennaro Gattuso has stepped down as coach of Italy following their failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup, with Reuters reporting a mutual agreement with the Italian FA. More to follow on this. Here’s Nick Ames on the chaos engulfing the Italian football association:
No repercussions for Rodri for Real Madrid talk
Like Enzo Fernández, Rodri also spoke during the international break about the possibility of moving to Real Madrid: “For me, you can’t turn down the best clubs in the world,” he said. But unlike Fernández, he hasn’t got in trouble for it. Pep Guardiola has just held his pre-match press conference, ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool, and made it clear there would be no repercussions. This is what Pep said about Liverpool:
So many times, Liverpool have been the biggest rival. They made an incredible investment to be there for many, many years. We have to perform to the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step.
And this is what he thought about Mo Salah:
One of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency. What a player. An incredible human being. An absolute legend, of course for Liverpool but for the Premier League, for all he has done. I think it’s a good moment to say goodbye to him tomorrow. He deserves incredible recognition for what he has given to world football, and especially in this country.
A bit more here on Enzo Fernández’s two-match suspension:
Chelsea have dropped their vice-captain Enzo Fernández for the next two games after he appeared to flirt with Real Madrid during the international break.
The midfielder, who has been linked with a move to Real, offered his thoughts on the Spanish capital while on international duty with Argentina. He said: “I’d like to live in Madrid. It’s a beautiful city, reminds me of Buenos Aires.”
The Chelsea head coach, Liam Rosenior, said the comments had “crossed a line” and he had informed the 25-year-old of the ban on Friday morning.
Much more here:
We’ve already reported on Liam Rosenior’s reaction to Enzo Fernandes’s comments about Chelsea’s squad. But he also spoke about Marc Cucurella:
I had a fantastic conversation with Marc yesterday, half an hour in my office. I’ve told the players from day one that if they have any issues on how we do things, speak to me or sporting directors. My disappointment in Marc’s interview was where it went to. I think he should’ve spoken to us first about how he was feeling. I want players to know they can speak openly and honestly for the benefit of the football club. As a football club, we know we need to improve. We know what we’re going to do in the summer to achieve those objectives.
A reminder of what Cucurella had to say about his teammates and the club’s transfer policy:
You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level. I understand this is part of the club’s policy, and that they want to take this direction – signing young players and looking to the future. But for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this [being thrashed by PSG] make you feel discouraged.
We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players might only complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that. You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones that will have the experience in the future. But you need to find the balance between both worlds.
Arne Slot has held his pre-match press conference. He says Alexander Isak is back in training – he took part in his second training session today – and could return to first-team consideration soon, but it’ll be a while before he’s ready to start. Elsewhere, he’s asked about the reaction to the announcement that Mo Salah will be leaving at the end of the season:
What has happened is what he completely deserved. Everyone who was asked about his legacy said the words that needed to be said. The impact on this club. Winning the trophies. I can only hope that he can add two extra trophies to it towards the end of the season.
For Mo, it doesn’t matter if he’s going to leave or if he’s going to stay. He’s always available in his best possible state and that doesn’t change. Mo has always given everything he’s got for this club. I would hope he could give maybe even more but that’s not realistic, because he’s always given everything. If we have a Mo in the form he’s had for so many years it will be beneficial for us.
And on the next few weeks, which Liverpool start with an FA Cup tie against Manchester City tomorrow and a Champions League quarter-final first leg at PSG next Wednesday.
It’s up to us to show that we are ready for this tough fixture lists. Tough in the opponents, and tough in the sense that it’s a lot of games with hardly any rest in between. But I think more players are ready for this schedule than they were for large parts of the first half of the season.
Who’s going to be in the USA’s World Cup squad, I hear you ask? We’ve had a go at trying to work out some answers:
A full 24 matches into the Mauricio Pochettino era, we have arrived at the moment of truth. The US men’s national team’s 2026 World Cup roster will be named on 26 May, and the team’s two recent friendlies have given Pochettino plenty to think about as he makes his selection.
We here at the Guardian have made our picks as well – based a little on our own preference, but still within the realm of what Pochettino may do. Separately three of our writers made our 26-man rosters. Any player who all three agreed on got the “on the squad” designation. Anyone they differed on is listed as “up for debate”, with other notable exclusions listed as “out of the picture”.
This is what we got:
Hello everybody! Coming up, then: Middlesbrough v Millwall, second against fourth in the Championship, has a 12.30pm kick-off after being picked for television coverage. Also starting at 12.30pm, for less obvious reasons, is the League One game between Doncaster Rovers and Mansfield Town, a battle between sides currently 16th and 17th. “The Good Friday contest was originally scheduled to kick-off at 3pm but has now been brought forward after both clubs agreed to an earlier kick-off time,” Mansfield kind-of-explained.
With that dollop of team news, I’m going to hand over to Simon Burnton for coverage of the lunchtime games. Ta-ra.
Middlesbrough v Millwall team news
Middlesbrough (3-4-2-1) Brynn; Ayling, Fry, Malanda; Brittain, McGree, Morris, Targett; Browne, Conway; Strelec.
Subs: Wildsmith, Gilbert, Munroe, Kaly Sene, Bangura, Edmundson, McCabe, Ibeh, Sarmiento.
Millwall (4-2-3-1) Patterson; Crama, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge, De Norre, Mitchell; Azeez, Ivanovic, Neghli; Coburn.
Subs: Crocombe, McNamara, Ballo, Langstaff, Watson, Bryan, Cundle, Mazou-Sacko, Bannan.
Referee Anthony Backhouse (Cumbria).
Fernández dropped by Chelsea after ‘crossing a line’
Chelsea vice-captain Enzo Fernández will be unavailable for their next two games against Port Vale and Manchester City after his much-publicised comments about the departure of Enzo Maresca from the club. Maresca’s replacement Liam Rosenior announced the decision at his morning press conference.
I spoke with Enzo about an hour ago. As a football club, with me as part of the decision, he won’t be available for tomorrow’s game or Manchester City next Sunday.
It’s disappointing for Enzo to speak that way. I have got no bad words to say about him but a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build.
The legendary Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu is in a stable condition after reportedly suffering a heart attack in hospital. Lucescu, 80, coached Romania on their European Championship debut in 1984 and returned to the job in 2024. His side just missed out on qualification, losing to Turkey in the playoffs, and he was taken to hospital last Sunday after falling ill.
In an interview last week, he spoke about his health problems and his determination to take Romania to the World Cup.
Thirty years ago tonight, Liverpool and Newcastle produced a game for the ages at Anfield. Why not relive it with Scott Murray’s retro MBM report?
League Two
The biggest game of the day is probably at the Peninsula Stadium, where Salford City host Notts County. Both clubs are in the playoff places and still have every chance of automatic promotion.
Women’s Football Weekly
And in our women’s football podcast, Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Freddie Cardy and Emma Sanders to discuss the Champions League and Sarina Wiegman’s latest England squad.
League One
The runaway leaders Lincoln City will move closer to automatic promotion if they win at home to Wimbledon this afternoon. Second-placed Cardiff, who have an 11-point cushion with seven games remaining, are not in action until Monday: they were due to meet FA Cup quarter-finalists Port Vale.
Football Weekly
In the latest edition of our flagship podcast, Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nick Ames and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan to preview the weekend’s action.
“Nick Ames’ piece on shenanigans at the top of the Italian football Federation is indeed a great read – and by nice coincidence, there’s a connection with a football book I’m reading, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, a tale of a village team reaching the heights of Serie B,” writes Charles Antaki.
“Lo and behold, Gabriele Gravina, who just resigned as head of the Italian Football Federation, was a top official in that village club all those years ago – and allegedly a fairly dodgy one at that.
“Among other things he was reported to have done was organise a showpiece trial for a Leicester City striker, who proceeded to make a fool of himself, and everyone else, before revealing that he was part of a troop of actors hired as a publicity stunt.
“There’s also a tale about a consignment of, ahem, masculinity-enhancing drugs. And much much more, of a less entertaining kind. A terrific book, maybe one of the best football books ever.”
Friday quiz
The nerdier match-goers among you are going to love this week’s quiz.
It’s just not football…
The county cricket season begins at 11am sharp. You can follow all the action with the brilliant Tanya Aldred.
Kane doubtful for Real Madrid clash
The Champions League quarter-finals begin next week, with Bayern Munich v Real Madrid the pick of a cracking line-up. There’s some worrying news for Bayern, with Harry Kane a doubt for Tuesday’s first leg in Madrid.
“Harry trained well until Sunday, then he felt something in his ankle while with the national team,” said their head coach Vincent Kompany. “That will have an impact on tomorrow’s game [against Freiburg] – he won’t be available. Nevertheless, I’m positive about Tuesday. It’s not great, I’d like him to play against Freiburg, but as things stand today that won’t be possible.”
Kane has scored 53 goals in 45 games for Bayern this season, including 10 in the Champions League.
The Premier League XI
Women’s football
Chelsea’s Sam Kerr, one of the greatest players in WSL history, has been strongly linked with a move to the US club Denver Summit when her Chelsea contract expires in the summer.
Japan won last month’s Women’s Asian Cup in emphatic style: six wins out of six, 29 goals scored, one conceded. But yesterday they effectively sacked Nils Nielsen, the Greenlander who coached them to glory. Vanilla Ice was wrong: in football, it seems, sometimes even the best is a felony.
Nielsen’s contract expired at the end of the tournament and the Japan Football Assocation decided not to offer him a new one. Norio Sasaki, the women’s national team director, said Japan could not win next year’s World Cup if Nielsen remained in charge, describing his coaching as “a little too lax, a little too soft”.
FA Cup: Chelsea v Port Vale (Saturday, 5.15pm)
All things being equal, Chelsea will reach the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend. But a storm is brewing in west London.
Spurs, who were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Aston Villa, have no game this weekend. That means time on the training ground for their new manager Roberto De Zerbi, who was appointed on Tuesday. De Zerbi has apologised for previous comments about Mason Greenwood when he was the manager of Marseille.
We mentioned the latest Italian football crisis at the top of the show/bottom of the page, but it’s worth another plug for this piece from Nick Ames. It includes a warning from the Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin that Italy could lose the right to host the European Championship in six years’ time.
Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place, of that there is no doubt. I just hope that the infrastructure [in Italy] will be ready. If that’s not the case, the tournament will not be held in Italy. Maybe Italy’s politicians should ask themselves why the football infrastructure is among the worst in Europe.
FA Cup: Southampton v Arsenal (Saturday, 8pm)
Eleven Arsenal players withdrew from their respective international squads. How many will be in action at St Mary’s tomorrow?
Women’s Champions League
Arsenal will face OL Lyonnes in the semi-finals for the second season in a row. OL Lyonnes overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to beat Wolfsburg 4-0 after extra-time in France.
Last season, OL were strong favourites to go through after winning 2-1 at the Emirates, only for Arsenal to run riot in France.
There’s a full EFL programme today, starting with Middlesbrough v Millwall and Doncaster v Walsall at 12.30pm. I won’t type all the fixtures because that would be an arthritic mistake when I can just direct you to our live scores page. But there are some big games, with Boro v Millwall probably the pick.
The race for the second automatic promotion spot in the Championship is spandex-tight. Fifth-placed Hull go to Oxford, while third-placed Ipswich have the day off. They were due to meet Southampton, who are otherwise engaged in the FA Cup.
In other Championship news, Roy Hodgson, 78, begins his second spell as Bristol City manager with a trip to Charlton.
The FA Cup quarter-finals
Manchester City v Liverpool (Saturday, 12.45pm)
Chelsea v Port Vale (Saturday, 5.15pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (Saturday, 8pm)
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.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden, Turkey, Czech Republic, DR Congo and Iraq completed the 48-team line-up for this summer’s World Cup.
Italy failed to qualify for the third World Cup in a row, an “unacceptable disgrace” that prompted recriminations and resignations.
A largely second-string England team lost at home to Japan.
Ghana, who are in England’s group, sacked their manager Otto Addo.
Scotland followed a 1-0 defeat to Japan with a 1-0 defeat to Cote d’Ivoire.
Fifa raised the highest ticket price for the World Cup final from $1,600 in 2022 to $10,990 in 2026.
And most importantly of all, France moved to the top of our World Cup power rankings.
