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Germany survived an unsettling evening in Luxembourg as a Nick Woltemade brace proved decisive in a match that will raise far more questions than it answers for Julian Nagelsmann. A 2-0 win was ultimately enough to keep Germany on track in their qualifying campaign for the FIFA 2026 World Cup, but the performance itself was scattered, lethargic and lacking cohesion.

• Woltemade brilliance bails out lacklustre Germany

  Luxembourg pressed with intent to disrupt Germany’s rhythm, and created the better opportunities during a chaotic first half in which the visitors ran out of ideas in the attacking third. Nagelsmann’s players appeared stunned by Luxembourg’s speed and physicality, particularly in midfield, where the home side flew into challenges and repeatedly halted German build-up with tactical fouls high up the pitch. The first warning arrived after just 20 minutes. Augsburg’s Aiman Dardari drifted inside onto his stronger foot and unleashed a low effort that had Oliver Baumann completely beaten. The ball skidded inches past the far post, much to the relief of the German bench. 

  Germany, by contrast, looked passive and disjointed. Their passing was erratic, and their confidence alarmingly fragile when they had the ball at their feet. Baumann was called upon twice more in quick succession as Luxembourg’s front line surged forward with belief. Nagelsmann’s side, meanwhile, struggled to close down space and seemed half a step behind every loose ball. In fact, they were fortunate not to be trailing at the interval. 

  Yet, Germany drew first blood riding on Woltemade's individual brilliance. Aleksandar Pavlovic spotted space in behind and unleashed a superb pass, which was read early by Leroy Sane. He cushioned the ball with a gorgeous first touch before accelerating beyond his marker. Instead of shooting, he squared unselfishly into the path of Woltemade, who swept home first time from close range. It was a move of ruthless efficiency and a stark contrast to everything that preceded it. 

  Germany’s grip on the game improved only after the hour mark, as Luxembourg’s intensity gradually waned. Still, the contest remained precarious until Woltemade delivered the insurance goal in the 69th minute. The young forward, who scored the decisive goal against Northern Ireland in the previous qualifier, found himself in the right place again and made no mistake to double the lead that settled German nerves. 

  Scorelines are sometimes deceptive, and it was one of those occassions. A 2-0 victory might indicate a comfortable evening for the Germans, but it was hardly so. Luxembourg pushed them to their limits, and until Woltemade's second goal, they were firmly in the contest. However, Nagelsmann couldn't care less as Germany remain on course to seal a direct qualification berth for the 2026 World Cup. They are set to host Slovakia next at home on Monday evening, and a win in that fixture will help them seal the top spot in Group A. However, one must note that they were beaten by Slovakia in Bratislava and if they do not improve, the four-time world champions might have to settle for a playoff spot.

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  The MVP

  It was Woltemade's first brace at international level, and on a night when Germany lacked spark almost everywhere else, his composure stood out. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe will be impressed with his performance. Woltemade will now have his sights firmly set on scoring goals at next summer's tournament. 

• The big loser

  While Woltemade impressed, Florian Wirtz, one of Germany’s biggest stars, endured another difficult evening. The playmaker, who is already under scrutiny at Liverpool after a disappointing start to life in the Premier League, did little to silence his critics. Deployed wide on the left, he often drifted inside in search of space but made little impact. Even with David Raum overlapping regularly to support him in attack, Wirtz appeared out of rhythm. It was a match crying out for control and creativity, but the 22-year-old remained on the periphery. With Liverpool facing Nottingham Forest after the international break, Arne Slot may be forced into tough decisions regarding Wirtz’s role in the starting XI if he doesn't show improvements in the final group game against Slovakia.

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  Match rating (out of five): ⭐⭐⭐

Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have been handed a fairly concerning injury update on the condition of Kai Havertz, who was rumoured to be in contention for this weekend’s looming North London derby against Tottenham at the Emirates Stadium.

After losing star defender Gabriel Magalhaes to a thigh injury earlier this week, which cut short his international tour of duty with Brazil, the last thing Arteta needs is another injury setback.

Arsenal, who top the Premier League table after a sensational run of form and haven’t lost a single game since their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in August, have done extraordinarily well to cope without a plethora of key attackers lately — including Martin Odegaard, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, Viktor Gyokeres, Gabriel Jesus and Havertz.

Odegaard, Madueke, Havertz and Jesus have been on the treatment table for extended periods, with the latter last in line to return to action after he ruptured his ACL against Man United at the start of 2025.

Madueke is racing to be fit for this weekend’s clash with Tottenham after impressing Arsenal rehab staff in his recovery from a knee problem, with Odegaard in the same boat according to reliable media sources like Standard Sport.

Havertz was believed to be in contention as well, but an update from Nagelsmann threatens to cast some doubt over his involvement against Spurs on Sunday.

The 26-year-old was sidelined in the opening week of the Premier League campaign and required surgery on a knee issue, having only just returned from a hamstring injury which kept him out for months.

It’s been a frustrating time for Havertz, and while reports suggest he’s been excelling in his Arsenal rehab similar to Madueke, Nagelsmann has actually made a suggestion to the contrary.

Julian Nagelsmann makes Kai Havertz injury claim in worry for Arsenal

Speaking to reporters this week, the Germany boss made an interesting prediction, stating that he expects Havertz to return “towards the end of the year”.

This comes after the £280,000-per-week star also suffered a “minor relapse” of his knee injury, though Nagelsmann has moved to say that Havertz is “doing well” all things considered.

While this doesn’t mean that Havertz is definitively out for this weekend’s all-important derby clash, it doesn’t exactly paint a certain picture of his involvement either, so Arsenal could have another injury worry on their hands here after a few scares over the international break.

Luckily for Arteta, while Gabriel is a major doubt to face Tottenham, Riccardo Calafiori has been given the all-clear to play this weekend, according to Fabrizio Romano.

If Havertz does turn out to be ready for Sunday, with uncertainty surrounding him right now, it would come as an almighty boost.

Gyokeres is another Arsenal player who could miss the derby, so a return for Havertz would undoubtedly do wonders to alleviate the Swede’s absence, otherwise Mikel Merino is in line to start his third successive game as Arteta’s makeshift striker.

The final day of Major League Baseball's regular season has a lot at stake. In the AL East, the Blue Jays and Yankees are playing for the division in their final games.

Toronto holds the tiebreaker, so they simply need a win in their game against the Rays or a New York loss in their finale against the Orioles. The team who comes out on top gets the AL's No. 1 seed, which means home-field advantage and a bye to the AL Division Series. The loser will become the league's top wild-card team and will have to play a best-of-three series against whichever team lands at No. 5.

The Blue Jays control their own destiny, and they came out hungry at Rogers Centre Sunday afternoon. Tampa Bay scored a run in the top of the first, but Toronto's offense made up for it and then some in the bottom half of the inning. They started the inning with an RBI single from Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Center fielder Daulton Varsho loaded the bases two batters later for catcher Alejandro Kirk, who provided a heck of a moment for the home fans. Kirk hit a no-doubter to left field on an 83-mph changeup that made the stadium rock.

Just listen to this crowd pop once he made contact for the grand slam:

The huge moment gave the Blue Jays an early four-run cushion. Tampa Bay trimmed the lead in the third with three runs to make things interesting. The AL East hangs in the balance, but the fans at Rogers Centre are certainly ready for October baseball.

Is Wilfried Nancy going to become the new Celtic manager?

Well, it was reported last week that Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney will remain in interim charge for Saturday night’s short trip to St Mirren, but for how much longer will that remain the case?

Other reports suggest that the Hoops are close to agreeing a £2m compensation package with Nancy’s current club Columbus Crew, with the aim for the Frenchman to take charge for the first time when the Celts visit Easter Road to take on Hibernian at Easter Road on Sunday 30 November.

Should Nancy swap Ohio for Glasgow, he would have plenty of work to do and numerous issues to solve, but ensuring Daizen Maeda stays in Scotland will no doubt be of great importance.

The latest on Daizen Maeda's future

Back in September, after the transfer window had closed, Maeda revealed that he had requested to leave Celtic this summer.

However, with the club struggling to replace Nicolas Kühn and Adam Idah, who were both sold, the Japan international was informed that he would not be allowed to depart.

Well, potentially as a result of this uncertainty, Maeda has not been at his blistering best so far this season, bagging just four goals to date, having netted 33 times across all competitions last season, four of which came in the Champions League.

After adding to his goal tally against Kilmarnock last time out, the 28-year-old started at left-wing-back as Japan beat Bolivia 3-0 in an international friendly on Tuesday, so could he push for a January move to help increase his chances of being included in Hajime Moriyasu’s World Cup squad?

Well, according to Fabrizio Romano, it is a “possibility” that the forward will be on the move in January, with Brentford, Everton, Leeds and two other Premier League clubs purportedly interested.

Considering that, since netting four minutes into his debut against Hibs in January 2022, Maeda has scored 66 goals in 175 appearances in hoops, he would be a massive loss, but could the incoming boss, Nancy, fill this void by bringing with him a star he knows rather well?

Celtic's potential Maeda replacement

When Ange Postecoglou arrived from Yokohama F. Marinos, he utilised his knowledge of the J League, an undervalued market, to sign gems for a cut-price, bringing in Kyōgo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate and Maeda himself.

Well, with Major League Soccer in a similar position, could Nancy follow this blueprint?

According to a report by the Daily Record, should Nancy arrive, his number one transfer target would be Columbus Crew star Diego Rossi, who has previously hinted that he would like to return to European football.

After beginning his career at Peñarol, Rossi really burst onto the scene at LAFC, scoring 59 goals in 121 appearances for the Black and Gold, picking up the 2020 MLS Golden Boot, form that earned him a £4.5m move to Fenerbahçe.

However, after a pretty underwhelming stint in İstanbul, he returned to Major League Soccer in the summer of 2023, and has taken his game to a whole new level under Nancy in Columbus.

To date, the Uruguayan international has scored 45 goals in 101 appearances for the Crew, bagging 16 MLS goals in 2025, comparing favourably to other players across the league.

Worth reiterating that MLS is a gigantic league with 30 teams, while 882 players made an appearance in the competition this year, so to be in the top ten or even top 20 for the attacking metrics included is impressive.

His tally of 16 goals is noteworthy, albeit it could’ve been even better had he not missed 13 Opta-defined big chances, something that has also been a tendency of Maeda’s game, so perhaps he would be a ready-made replacement.

According to Football Transfers, Rossi’s estimated market value is around £7m, having increased again in recent months after it plateaued in 2024, following his exploits in, according to Global Football Rankings, the tenth-strongest league in the world, a humongous 23 places above the Scottish Premiership.

Speaking ahead of MLS Cup Final in 2023, Carlos Vela, who was Rossi’s teammate in California, labelled the Uruguayan a “really good finisher”, adding that he’s “fast” and “technically good”, while Bob Bradley, his coach at LAFC, adds that the forward is “deceptive” and “such a good player to have” as part of your attack.

Now 27, in a similar way to Maeda, now may well be the time for Rossi to take the next step in his career, aiming to get into Uruguay’s World Cup squad, having not featured for los Charrúas since June 2023.

Unlike in European leagues, MLS’ primary transfer window is in the winter, something that will change in 2027, meaning January moves are a lot more common.

Thus, with Rossi into the final year of his contract in Columbus, he appears to be the perfect fit for a Celtic side lacking attacking firepower, irrespective of whether Maeda departs or not.

Palma 2.0: Celtic's £5m star is going to be on borrowed time under Nancy

With Wilfried Nancy poised to become the new Celtic manager, which “terrific talent” could be on borrowed time and may well become the new Luis Palma?

By
Ben Gray

Nov 17, 2025

West Indies batters couldn’t support their bowlers’ efforts, while Starc had a fairytale 100th Test

Shubh Agarwal15-Jul-2025

Scott Boland takes the plaudits after sealing his hat-trick•AFP/Getty Images

Well, that finished quickly. It took only ten days of play for Australia to seal the 2025 Frank Worrell Trophy 3-0, continuing their unbeaten run against West Indies since 1995-96.When West Indies set out to chase 204 in the third Test, their lowest target in the series, Ian Bishop in the commentary box pleaded for the West Indian batters to support their bowlers’ efforts. But what unfolded was a quick submission.Mitchell Starc, in his 100th Test, started with a triple-wicket maiden over and the hosts were soon shot down for 27 in 14.3 overs, their lowest Test total and the least number of balls they have faced in a completed innings.Related

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• Australia's Ashes questions: Open season, two allrounders, four quicks?

• Stats – WI post second-lowest Test total; Starc takes five in 15 balls

• Chase laments WI batting woes

• CWI calls for emergency meeting with legends after 'deeply hurting' loss

In 14 Tests since 2024, West Indies have gone past the 200-run mark in their second innings only three times. Australia, on the other hand, came to the Caribbean with a few questions to answer in the batting department, especially around their top three.The batters from both sides averaged only 17.68 runs per wicket. It is the lowest batting average in a series of three Tests or more in the 21st century.They averaged a mere 14.13 in the series, again the lowest in a three-Test series. Their previous worst was 16.10 against England back in 1928, which was also their first Test series ever. West Indies’ highest run-scorer in this series, Brandon King, averaged only 21.50.Konstas, in his second series, had a tour to forget. He managed only 50 runs across the three Tests, averaging 8.33, the lowest by an Australian opener in a series in the 21st century (minimum three Tests played). Overall, he averages 16.30 in the five Tests of his brief career thus far.!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r,i=0;r=e[i];i++)if(r.contentWindow===a.source){var d=a.data[“datawrapper-height”][t]+”px”;r.style.height=d}}})}();