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The Premier League title race may be all but over, but the battle for European places is heating up, with as many as 13 teams still in contention. The Champions League and Europa League have expanded, and the introduction of the Conference League has added another layer of complexity to the qualification process.Currently, just seven points separate Liverpool in fifth place and Bournemouth in 13th, making it the smallest gap between fifth and 13th at the start of April since the 1992-93 season. This close competition means that several teams have a realistic chance of qualifying for Europe.Nine English teams played in Europe this season, with six in the Champions League, two in the Europa League, and one in the Conference League. The Premier League is likely to earn at least one extra Champions League spot due to its teams' strong performance in Europe. Arsenal and Liverpool are still in the Champions League, while Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa are in the Europa League, and Crystal Palace is in the Conference League.Champions League QualificationThe Premier League is all but certain to earn one of the two extra Champions League spots available for leagues whose teams perform best in Europe. There is also a possibility of two more Champions League spots for English clubs if Liverpool and Aston Villa win their respective European competitions and finish outside the top five.Europa League QualificationThere are at least two spots for English teams in the Europa League. If the top five Premier League sides qualify for the Champions League, the team that finishes sixth and the FA Cup winners will be in the Europa League. However, if a top-six team wins the FA Cup, the spot will go to the next-highest ranked team in the Premier League.Conference League QualificationManchester City earned a place in the Conference League by winning the League Cup, but will finish in the top six, so their spot passes down to the highest-placed team that have not already qualified for Europe. Depending on the FA Cup winner and European results, the team that finishes eighth, ninth, or 10th in the Premier League could qualify for the Conference League.Eleven English Teams Could Play in EuropeIn a highly unlikely scenario, 11 English teams could play in Europe next season if Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Crystal Palace win their respective European competitions while finishing outside the top five or six. This would result in seven teams in the Champions League, three in the Europa League, and one in the Conference League.Realistic ExpectationsMore realistically, five English teams will qualify for the Champions League, and a Europa League spot will go to the team finishing seventh due to a top-six team winning the FA Cup. This would mean the teams finishing in the top eight in the Premier League qualify for Europe.

Iraq's squad features a mix of experienced players, such as Aymen Hussein and Jalal Hassan, and young talents like Ali Jasim, Zidane Iqbal, and Aimar Sher. The team's performance in the World Cup will be closely watched, particularly in their tough group against France, Senegal, and Norway.

Bosnia and Herzegovina secured a dramatic victory over Italy in a FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying match, winning the tie on penalties after regular time ended in a draw. The win knocked Italy out of contention for the upcoming tournament.The original match report has been archived; a concise summary is provided here, with a link to the full Al Jazeera Sport article for readers seeking detailed analysis.For the complete match report, visit Al Jazeera Sport's coverage.

Italy, a four-time World Cup champion, has failed to qualify for three consecutive World Cup finals for the first time. They were reduced to 10 men in the first half of normal time after Alessandro Bastoni saw red for a professional foul. Despite taking the lead through Moise Kean's fine finish, Italy couldn't hold on and were eventually beaten in the shootout.Bosnia and Herzegovina secured their spot in the 2026 World Cup with a dramatic penalty shootout win. Esmir Bajraktarevic hit the winning spot kick in Zenica, sending the home crowd into delirium. This will be Bosnia's second World Cup appearance, and their first since 2014.In another qualifying playoff, Czechia also secured their place in the 2026 World Cup by beating Denmark in a shootout following a 2-2 draw after extra time. Michal Sadilek's penalty was the decisive blow, sending Czechia to their first World Cup since 2006.

Bayern Munich's impressive performance in the Bundesliga has raised questions about their goal difference and points tally. With a goal difference of +72 and 70 points, their average margin of victory is 3.32 goals. Historically, Hearts achieved a goal difference of +103 in the 1957-58 season, which would have earned them 91 points in the modern era.The article explores various instances of teams achieving significant goal differences, including Rangers in 1898-99 with a GDP of +7 and Liverpool in 1895-96 with +6. Additionally, it mentions Ajax in 1966-67 with +6 and Gretna in 2004-05 with +3. Furthermore, the article touches on Sweden's qualification for the World Cup with a minimal number of victories and discusses historical cases of teams qualifying without winning a match, such as Switzerland in 1934 and Belgium in 1934. The article also mentions other interesting football facts, including Kuwait's 20-0 win over Bhutan in 2000 and Roy Hodgson's return as Bristol City's manager.

Graham Potter arrived in Stockholm with a bruised résumé – dismissed from Chelsea and West Ham – only to inherit a Swedish side that had languished at the bottom of their qualifying group.Against the odds, the duo have now clinched a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, thanks to a dramatic playoff victory over Poland that Potter described as “the best night I’ve had in football”.The story reads like a script: a manager dismissed twice in quick succession, a national team rescued by the repechage mechanism of the Nations League, and a last‑minute strike from striker Viktor Gyökeres that sealed the win.Sweden’s qualifying record was bleak – two draws and four defeats in six matches, leaving them behind Switzerland, Kosovo and Slovenia. The team’s fortunes changed only after the Nations League granted a second‑chance pathway for the four best group winners who had not qualified directly.The system, designed to give emerging nations a shortcut past the coefficient hurdle, unintentionally benefited Sweden. After being relegated to League C in 2022‑23, they topped their 2024‑25 group ahead of Slovakia, Estonia and Azerbaijan, earning a spot in the World Cup playoffs.Potter acknowledged the luck of the draw but emphasized that Sweden made the most of the opportunity, turning a “darkest hour” into a dawn of redemption.When Potter took over, the squad was plagued by injuries and a three‑game winless streak. His own career had stalled after a brief, high‑profile stint at Chelsea – highlighted by a Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund – and an unfulfilling spell at West Ham.Sweden’s early results under Potter were mixed: a 4‑1 loss to Switzerland and a 1‑1 draw with Slovenia. However, decisive victories over Ukraine and then Poland in the playoffs propelled them to Qatar.Fans in Stockholm now regard Potter with near‑heroic reverence, recalling his earlier triumphs with Östersund, where he guided the modest club from a 50,000‑person town to three promotions and a Swedish Cup win.During the post‑match press conference, Potter brought his children – decked in Swedish kits – to the front row, describing Gyökeres’s late winner as an “out‑of‑body experience”. Yet he remained modest, crediting the staff and the collective effort of the squad.“We stripped everything back to the basics, got the team together and let the talent speak,” Potter said. “It’s a team game – individual brilliance only shines when the whole unit clicks.”Poland may question how two playoff wins outweigh six qualifying matches, but the narrative underscores the power of redemption in sport. Potter summed it up: “My career has had amazing nights, but reaching the World Cup – wow, this is incredible.”

Italy’s national team endured a 4‑1 penalty‑shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup 2026 qualifying playoff, confirming a third consecutive failure to reach the finals. The loss, described by Italian media as a “World Cup curse” and a “Third apocalypse,” has reverberated far beyond the stadium. Valentino del Duca, a restaurant worker in Rome, summed up the mood: “We are a population of failures. End of story.” His sentiment echoed across the capital, where fans like Gabriele Alfano lamented the missed opportunity after a hopeful win over Northern Ireland the week before. Alfano pointed to a deeper issue: “Italian football is no longer producing young talent. I remember streets full of kids playing ball; now they’re more into tennis,” he said, referencing Jannik Sinner’s recent Miami Masters triumph. The sporting disaster quickly became a political flashpoint. The League party, part of Giorgia Meloni’s governing coalition, called the outcome “an unacceptable disgrace” and demanded the resignation of federation president Gabriele Gravina. Former prime minister Matteo Renzi added that the repeated eliminations signal a systemic failure, noting that football is “part of our culture and national identity.” Long‑time resident Gustavo Sosa, originally from Argentina, observed that Italy’s loss of composure after being reduced to ten men highlighted a loss of “rigour” and “hunger” that mirrors concerns in his native country. Sports minister Andrea Abodi warned that the sport must be “rebuilt,” expressing sorrow for a generation of children who may never experience a World Cup. Some Italians, like Lucia Severi, suggested shifting attention to other disciplines, citing the country’s success in tennis and athletics. The defeat starkly contrasts with the euphoria of July 2021, when Italy won the Euro 2020 final on penalties—a moment once seen as a reversal of fortunes after missing the 2018 World Cup. Yet that optimism proved fleeting, as the Azzurri also failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament. As the nation grapples with this latest setback, the debate intensifies over how to revive Italian football, nurture grassroots participation, and restore the pride once associated with the Azzurri’s international successes.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is facing criticism from parents of learning‑disability cricketers who say the board has permitted non‑disabled players to compete in the Disability Premier League (DPL), jeopardising the league’s role as the top feeder for England’s mixed‑disability side.Parents of former England internationals Jai Charan and Alex Jervis claim their sons were replaced by players who do not meet the ECB’s learning‑disability (LD) criteria. An anonymous parent estimates that 12 of the 64 players drafted in December were not disabled, a figure that, if accurate, would represent a significant breach of the league’s purpose.The DPL is intended to be the pinnacle of the pathway to the England Mixed‑Disability team. Under the ECB’s affiliation with Virtus – the global federation for athletes with intellectual impairments – any cricketer seeking an LD spot must demonstrate an IQ of 75 or below, as assessed by an educational psychologist.Owen Jervis, volunteer manager of Yorkshire’s disability team, alleges that several neurodiverse athletes have been fielded despite failing the LD assessment. He notes that most neurodiverse players would not satisfy the eligibility thresholds, citing professional bowler Em Arlott, diagnosed with ADHD and autism in 2023, as an example of a mainstream player with a neurodiverse profile.While the ECB is not legally bound to apply Virtus rules to a domestic competition, critics argue that the inclusion of non‑disabled players undermines the league’s integrity. “You can’t call it a Disability Premier League if the players aren’t disabled,” said Tracey Jervis.Another parent highlighted that his son, a learning‑disability cricketer, is now confined to county disability cricket rather than mainstream county cricket, where many England‑qualified players develop. He warned that the DPL has become an “old‑boys’ club” where selection is driven by personal connections rather than merit.The shift to a mixed‑disability format – combining learning, physical and deaf impairments in the same squads – has further reduced available spots. Parents claim that players without a qualifying LD are occupying key batting and bowling positions, relegating genuine LD athletes to peripheral roles such as fielding or carrying equipment.Owen Jervis raised these concerns with Richard Hill, the ECB’s events and competition manager for disability cricket, in September 2024. Hill acknowledged “several challenges” linked to high‑functioning conditions and said the ECB was drafting an action plan, though Jervis says the situation has worsened.Jai Charan, who debuted for the England LD team in 2023 and holds the DPL’s best bowling average and strike‑rate, and Alex Jervis, a decade‑long LD representative and three‑time LD Ashes winner, were reduced to non‑playing roles in the 2025 season. Charan’s father, Shanial Charan, expressed his disappointment: “My son has the best stats in the league yet he isn’t selected – it feels like discrimination within disability cricket.”The ECB responded that the DPL offers top‑level competition for 60 mixed‑disability players annually, with a strict quota for physical, learning and deaf impairments, making selection highly competitive. It acknowledged ongoing debates about eligibility and indicated a review slated for 2027 to potentially adjust criteria.

The UK’s chancellor, Rachel Reeves, is set to sit down with the chief executives of Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Morrisons on Wednesday. The meeting aims to gauge the scale of possible price hikes and shortages of essential household goods as the nation grapples with a sharp rise in energy, fuel and fertiliser costs triggered by the ongoing Middle East conflict. A Treasury source described the gathering as a "fact‑finding, open discussion" intended to identify any supply squeezes and to forecast the impact on the cost of living over the coming months. Allan Leighton, executive chair of Asda, will not attend but has publicly urged the government to "stand up and start doing stuff" to aid farmers and curb fuel prices, warning that food costs will inevitably climb if the conflict persists. Simon Roberts, chief executive of Sainsbury’s, cautioned that price increases are "unlikely to rise until the summer" thanks to long‑term contracts on energy and fertiliser that currently keep a lid on costs. Nevertheless, UK growers are sounding the alarm. Producers of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and aubergines say higher input costs could force them to pull plants from the ground, creating potential gaps on supermarket shelves. Lee Stiles, secretary of the Lea Valley Growers’ Association – the region often dubbed London’s "salad bowl" – is lobbying for indoor food producers to be classified as "energy‑intensive users" alongside steel, chemicals, cement and glass, thereby qualifying for additional support with surging energy bills. Stiles also called on retailers to renegotiate contracts with growers to reflect the cost surge since the Middle East conflict began. He warned that the upcoming increase in standing charges on 1 April – a fixed daily fee for accessing the gas and electricity network – will further strain producers’ margins. "Growers have already invested in plants and labour for three to four months," Stiles said. "When you do the maths, the numbers don’t add up. They would lose less money by sending workers home, pulling the plants out and turning off the boiler." If domestic growers cut the season short, European glasshouses, which normally supply the UK’s salad market at this time of year, may struggle to fill the void, risking a repeat of the fresh‑produce shortages experienced in early 2023. The British Poultry Council (BPC) echoed these concerns, highlighting pressures on supplies of oil, gas, fertiliser and essential feed components. "These factors are creating sustained upward pressure on the cost of poultry production," the BPC warned, adding that while some cost increases may be absorbed, others will inevitably be passed on to consumers. Richard Griffiths, BPC chief executive, noted that while many farmers have long‑term energy deals, costs such as diesel are rising rapidly, and there are fears that vital medicines could become unavailable at any price. In response, the government has announced a £117 cut to household energy bills, an increase to the legal minimum wage, and the launch of a £1 billion "crisis and resilience" fund aimed at helping vulnerable households with expenses such as heating oil.