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New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley included veteran defender Tommy Smith in his World Cup squad in a throwback ​to the 2010 finals in South Africa, while naming Australia-based rookie midfielder Lachlan Bayliss, Reuters reported. 

Currently playing for Braintree Town in the English fifth tier, centre back Smith has not featured for the All Whites since 2024 but joins captain and fellow 2010 alumni Chris Wood in the 26-man roster for the June 11-July 19 finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Manchester City kept ​the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comfortable 3-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday, trimming the gap at the top of the table to two points as the title race sprints towards its conclusion, Reuters reported. 

Goals from Antoine Semenyo, Omar Marmoush and Savinho ensured Pep Guardiola's side did all they could on a night when City played with authority and control to lift them onto 77 points, while Arsenal have 79, with two ​games remaining for each.

Football's global players' union renewed concerns on Thursday about ​heat at the 2026 World Cup after scientists warned the likelihood of dangerous temperatures for players and fans has sharply increased, Reuters reported. 

An analysis by climate research group World Weather Attribution found that roughly a quarter of the 104 matches at the expanded tournament across the United States, Mexico and Canada are likely to be played in conditions exceeding safety limits recommended by FIFPRO, almost twice the risk seen at the 1994 World Cup in the U.S.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is holding talks with his US counterpart, Donald Trump, in Beijing following a pomp-filled welcome ceremony, Aljazeera reported. 

Xi said that China’s and the US’s “common interests outweigh” their differences and expressed hope that the two countries can work together at a time of historic turbulence.