Harry Kane’s unique talent has been explained by Wes Brown in an exclusive interview with GOAL. The Bayern Munich striker is one of the most fearsome No.9s in world football, with the record books being rewritten in domestic and international competition. Kane is currently waiting to discover who England will face in the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.

• England's GOAT: Kane closing in on more records

  He will, fitness permitting, head into that tournament as captain of the Three Lions. Kane is a talismanic presence for his country, with his historic haul of goals being raised to 78 through 112 games. He is also just 14 caps short of beating Peter Shilton’s all-time appearance record.

  That bar is expected to be raised in the not too distant future, with many suggesting that Kane should now be considered England’s GOAT. If he were to capture a major trophy with the Three Lions – bringing 60 years of pain to a close – then it would be difficult to argue against that standing being enjoyed.

  England will be leaning heavily on their skipper next summer – after seeing him hit eight goals in a faultless qualification campaign – with it seemingly imperative that he is fit and firing when another bid for global glory begins.

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• Talismanic figure: Could England win without Kane?

  Quizzed on whether England could win the World Cup without Kane, ex-Manchester United and Three Lions defender Brown – speaking in association with – told GOAL: “It would be very difficult. Harry Kane has been so good because he knows where to be. It’s the same as [Cristiano] Ronaldo in the sense that ‘we’re not as young now, but’.

  “I marked Harry Kane a few times, it was at Sunderland. Honestly, for the majority of the game you think you are absolutely fine. It sounds really weird but you can ask many people: Who would you rather play against, a really fast young guy who is trying to run everywhere, into corners and doing 800 stepovers, or play against Harry Kane? The weird thing is, you might think Harry Kane. But the problem is that Harry Kane will leave with a goal on that day. How? I don’t know, but he will because he’s clever and he knows what to do and where to be. Is he running all over the place? No, I don’t think he has ever done that. When he gets in the box and you take your eye off him for a second, he’s in the right spot and he will score. Sometimes you go home thinking ‘I don’t know how he scored today’. It’s hard to explain. There are players that can do that. You’re like ‘I’m not that tired, I’ve not been running everywhere, he’s done his job when needed, held it up, turned, and all of a sudden he has scored!’

  “He’s a player that you definitely need in that squad, 100 per cent. With that experience now, doing it in Germany as well. I’m not saying we won’t score without him, but he 100 per cent starts for me and is captain.”

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• Special precautions: England need Kane to be fit & firing

  Another former England star, Kane’s ex-Tottenham team-mate Fraizer Campbell, recently told GOAL when the same question was put to him: “It’s a difficult one. You have got [Ollie] Watkins, who is a quality player but he’s not in the same bracket as Harry Kane yet. It would be an issue.

  “We have got a lot of good, technical 10s who could potentially play higher up the pitch like a false nine. [Marcus] Rashford has played No.9 before and he’s doing well this season. It would be a big miss for us, but we would have to cope somehow. Maybe come the start of next year we just wrap him in cotton wool and tell him not to play too much for Bayern!”

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  World Cup draw: England to discover group stage opponents

  That may be the best solution, with Kane having surged beyond 100 goals for Bayern this season – on the back of breaking his trophy duck in Germany last term when becoming a Bundesliga title winner.

  He is now chasing down more medals with club and country and England will discover their 2026 World Cup group stage opponents when the draw takes place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has said it “strongly refutes” allegations of physical abuse made by fast bowler Jahanara Alam against the current national women’s team captain Nigar Sultana.Alam, who has not played international cricket since December 2024, claimed that Sultana “beat up” her team-mates in an interview with Bangladesh newspaper .”The BCB categorically and strongly refutes these allegations, which are baseless, fabricated and devoid of any truth,” the board said in a statement. “The Board finds it unfortunate that such derogatory and scandalous claims have been made at a time when the Bangladesh Women’s Team is showing commendable progress and unity on the international stage.”The Board believes that the timing and nature of these comments are deliberate, ill-intentioned and seemingly aimed at undermining the spirit and confidence of a team that continues to represent the country with pride. It is deeply disappointing that an individual who currently has no involvement or relevance in the plans of Bangladesh cricket has chosen to make such misleading statements in public.””The BCB wishes to make it clear that it has complete trust and confidence in the Women’s National Team’s leadership, players and management. The Board has found no evidence to support any of the claims made and stands firmly behind the team and its personnel.”Bangladesh had finished seventh out of eight teams in the recent Women’s World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Their only victory came against Pakistan but they ran England, South Africa and Sri Lanka close.

Manchester United will still be without Matheus Cunha, Harry Maguire and Benjamin Sesko for their next game against Crystal Palace as they look to respond to their chastening defeat against 10-man Everton. Cunha sustained a knock in training before the Everton game and Amorim has confirmed that while he will not be back to face Oliver Glasner's side, he could return to face West Ham on Thursday.

Cunha, Maguire and Sesko still out

United missed Cunha and Sesko badly as they failed to break down Everton despite Idrissa Gueye being sent off in the 13th minute at Old Trafford as the Red Devils lost a home game against 10 men for the first time in Premier League history. Sesko was ruled out for up to a month following his injury against Tottenham just before the international break and Amorim has confirmed that the £74m striker is still recovering and has stressed that the club will handle the injury carefully. United are also without Harry Maguire for Sunday's trip to Selhurst Park, where they have not won a game in more than five years.

"Sesko is going to take a little bit more time, Harry the same," Amorim told a press conference. "I expect to have Matheus back in the next one, not this one."

AdvertisementGetty Images'Tough' week after Everton loss

Amorim admitted that spirits have been low after the Everton game and reflected that United should be in a much better position than 10th in the Premier League 12 games into the season.

He said: "In our club it is the same thing because last year we had to win every game all the time and we took a lot of criticism because we are not winning. So in our club there is no excuses. About Europe, I have already talked about Europe and I said the same thing last year when we were in Europe, and I say the same thing this year, the advantage and disadvantage of being in Europe so there is no excuses. Last year or this year it is always to win games.

"If I look at the games we should have more points because we had control of some games, we had the advantage in some games and we lost that control. So if I look at our games we should have more points and that is really disappointing and really frustrating especially in the last game. In our club it is the same thing because last year we had to win every game all the time and we took a lot of criticism because we are not winning. So in our club there is no excuses.

"It [the aim] is to start again and it was really tough the week as it should be. It was hard after this result, this defeat. But the process needs to continue and we need to go for the next game and we have to understand, especially in our league this year, everything can change really fast so let's go again and focus on the next one."

Palace doing better than United with same formation

Palace coach Oliver Glasner uses the same 3-4-3 formation as Amorim but has had more success than the Portuguese since arriving in England in February 2024. He led the Eagles to win the FA Cup last season, their first ever major trophy, while they are fifth in the table heading into Sunday's game. Their spirits could be a little deflated though following defeat to Strasbourg in the Europa Conference League.

Amorim admitted that Palace are in better shape than United but stressed that they are different clubs with different levels of expectation. He said: "We play a different way and you can understand that by data but it is hard to explain everything. It is a different club and they are doing better than us so that is quite simple but you don't say all 3-4-3s play in the same way. We play in a different moment, we defend in different space and we try to attack in a different way and they are just doing things better than us.

"I take inspiration from everyone. When I have two weeks for national teams, I watch all the managers and try to take all the inspiration that I can take. I have six years as a manager and I am always trying to learn to improve my team."

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Getty Images SportAmorim hoping to improve on poor away record

United have won just one of their seven away games this season in all competitions, with champions Liverpool being the only team they have beaten on their travels. That momentous victory looks less impressive now though given the fact that Palace, Nottingham Forest and PSV Eindhoven have all since won at Anfield. 

Amorim could not give a clear answer on why his side have struggled so much away from home and stressed the importance of learning to cling on to their leads after throwing away advanages in their last two outings at Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

"We need to do to show to the players why we lost control of Forest why we lost control against Tottenham. And if you look at those games they were there to win," he said.
"Sometimes a small detail can change everything. Then I felt this year when we play at home the intensity is higher and I felt in this game at home the intensity was not at the same level so I think it is something that we need to work on. It is hard to point at one thing why we are not winning away. There is a lot of issues that we are improving. Like I say, we have advantage in the away games but we need to know how to finish the games in order to win."

Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Spencer Strider returned to the mound Tuesday after a lengthy stay on the injured list, but things didn't go all too well for him in his first start since April 16.

Strider surrendered four earned runs, six hits and one walk while striking out three batters across 4 1/3 innings during the team's 5–3 defeat against the Washington Nationals. He didn't have his best stuff throughout his outing, and he acknowledged as much after the game.

During his postgame media address, Strider candidly reflected on his outing, taking ownership for his lackluster performance and how that impacted his team.

"I don't enjoy failing, and certainly not at the expense of the team. We sent a pretty good guy [Bryce Elder] down [to Triple A] that was supposed to pitch in my spot. That's not lost on me. It's kind of the nature of the game. I think it's important to have that perspective when the goal is to win. That takes 26 guys. The guy who's starting on the mound is a big component in coming out and winning every day, so if I can't be better, I don't need to be out there. I think everybody has that mentality at any position. I'm going to have to work to be better," Strider said, via Justin Toscano of

"I certainly want to play, but I take no joy in not giving us a chance. If I don't feel like I can provide for the team, then I don't take much pleasure in losing games for us," he added.

Strider enjoyed a sensational 2023 season, during which he finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting and made the All-Star team. That season, he struck out a league-best 281 batters and owned a 3.86 ERA. Injuries have derailed him a bit of late, however, keeping him sidelined for all but nine innings of the 2024 season and again impacting him at the start of the '25 campaign.

Considering his dominance in previous years, Strider knows he's not living up to expectations on the mound, and offered some rather harsh self-assessment of his performance.

Strider's next scheduled start is slated for Sunday, May 25 against the San Diego Padres.

Shohei Ohtani was back on the mound for his first pitching appearance in a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform on Monday, and while it wasn't his best outing, it marked a huge step forward as Ohtani looks to return to his remarkable two-way dominance.

The Dodgers star allowed one run on two hits in one inning in his first ever start for L.A. in Monday night's 6–3 win over the San Diego Padres at Dodgers Stadium. Of his 28 pitches, 16 were strikes and one four-seam fastball clocked in at 100.2 mph, tied for the team's second-fastest pitch of the season. At the plate, Ohtani went 2-for-4 with two RBIs as the designated hitter.

Ohtani celebrated his return to a big league mound by sharing a series of photos from Monday's win. He added a simple message in the caption: "I'm back."

The three-time MVP also shared his honest thoughts on his Dodgers pitching debut after the game:

"I did hit 100 today, so I want to see first where my body feels and how it reacts," Ohtani said. "But the expectation is for me to go once a week, hopefully to be able to go a little longer every time I'm out there so that the bullpen won't be so taxed."

Ohtani's return to pitching comes after a grueling years-long recovery journey following his second Tommy John surgery on his right elbow in September 2023. His last big league start came roughly a month before that in August, when he was still a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

Ohtani owns a career 3.02 ERA as a pitcher. In his second season with the Dodgers, Ohtani currently leads the National League with 25 homers and a 1.039 OPS.

Manchester United are now seriously considering a move for a “lightning quick” Paris Saint-Germain star, with a surprise Marcus Rashford swap deal on the cards.

Rashford tearing it up on loan at Barcelona

Rashford has really managed to kick on since joining Barcelona on loan in the summer, amassing six goals and ten assists in all competitions, but it has recently emerged that the forward isn’t expected to make his stay at the Camp Nou permanent.

The Englishman is likely to have plenty of options to choose from next summer, however, with it being revealed Chelsea have held talks over a potential deal, while Tottenham Hotspur are determined to win the race for the 28-year-old’s signature and give him a leading role.

It is difficult to envisage a way back for the United academy graduate at Old Trafford, given his sour relationship with Ruben Amorim, and it has now been revealed the manager could get him off the books in a different way at the end of the season.

According to a report from Spain, Man United are now seriously considering signing PSG forward Bradley Barcola, and a surprise swap deal is possible, with Rashford potentially set to be sent in the opposite direction.

Barcola’s negotiations with the French club over a new contract have now stalled, which could open the door for a move to Old Trafford, although his current employers are very reluctant to sanction a departure.

With a market value of around €70m (£61m), a deal for the Frenchman would be on the expensive side, but there are indications he could be worth every penny…

"Lightning quick" Barcola impressing in Ligue 1 and Europe

Hailed as “lightning quick” by journalist Raj Chohan, the PSG star has put in some top performances in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League this season, regularly contributing with goals and assists.

The 23-year-old also played a major role in the French side winning the Champions League for the first time last season, chipping in with three goals and four assists in 17 appearances.

Man United appear to have recruited well in the summer, with new forward Matheus Cunha grabbing an assist in the 4-1 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out, while Bryan Mbeumo already has six Premier League goals to his name.

Beckham loves him: Man Utd submit £100m+ offer to sign England superstar

INEOS are chasing their biggest deal yet…

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However, with the Red Devils looking to return to Europe next season, they may need more depth in attacking areas, and Barcola could be a brilliant addition to Amorim’s squad, so they should definitely try to negotiate a swap deal involving Rashford.