Sports
Turkish Crescent-Star touch down in US for World Cup return
The Turkish national team arrived in the United States on Tuesday to start the final phase of its preparations for the 2026 tournament, ending a 24-year absence from football’s biggest stage.
A special charter flight carrying head coach Vincenzo Montella’s squad landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida after departing from Istanbul.
Also traveling with the delegation were Turkish Football Federation President Ibrahim Hacıosmanoğlu and members of the federation’s executive board.
The team was welcomed upon arrival by Türkiye’s Ambassador to the United States, Sedat Önal, and Miami Consul General Resul Şahinol before making the short journey to its hotel in the Miami area.
Dozens of Turkish supporters gathered outside the hotel, greeting the players with flags, chants and songs as excitement continued to build ahead of the country’s first World Cup appearance since finishing third at the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.
Hacıosmanoğlu said the transatlantic trip had gone smoothly as the squad settled into its temporary base in South Florida.
Türkiye will complete its final tune-up for the World Cup with a friendly against Venezuela at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on June 6. The match will serve as Montella’s last opportunity to fine-tune his side before the tournament begins.
Following the Venezuela fixture, the team will relocate to Mesa, Arizona, on June 7, where it will establish its official World Cup base camp at the Arizona Athletic Grounds. The sprawling training complex will provide Türkiye with modern facilities, recovery areas and training pitches as the squad prepares for the demands of a tournament spread across North America.
A community event scheduled for June 8 will give local supporters and members of the Turkish-American community an opportunity to meet players and watch portions of training as anticipation continues to grow.
Türkiye enter the World Cup in Group D alongside co-host United States, Australia and Paraguay. The group presents a challenging path, but one many Turkish supporters believe can be navigated by a squad that blends established European stars with one of the country’s most promising generations in years.
Captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Real Madrid playmaker Arda Güler and Juventus forward Kenan Yıldız are expected to lead Türkiye’s bid to reach the knockout rounds under Montella.
The campaign begins against Australia at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver on June 14, a match that could prove decisive in shaping the group’s early standings. Türkiye will then face Paraguay before closing the group stage against the United States.
Serbian international Dusan Vlahovic signed a three-year deal with Turkish club Beşiktaş Thursday, after an injury-marred final year in Italy with Juventus.
The 26-year-old forward, whose contract with the Serie A giants expired this summer, will earn 7.5 million euros ($8.6 million) per season in Istanbul, Beşiktaş said in a statement.
The 41-times capped player was greeted by a crowd of supporters as he touched down in Istanbul on Wednesday night.
“We want to be champions,” the Serb declared on his arrival.
In Türkiye, he will play alongside Belgian forward Leandro Trossard, who joined from Arsenal in mid-July.
Vlahovic began his professional career with Serbian club Partizan before moving to Italian Serie A side Fiorentina in 2018.
He scored 49 goals in 108 appearances across all competitions for Fiorentina before joining Juventus in the summer of 2022. He scored 68 goals in 168 matches for the Turin club.
However, Serie A’s second-highest scorer in the 2023-2024 season with 16 goals subsequently fell down the pecking order of strikers.
After returning last April from a long layoff due to a thigh injury, the Serbian suffered a calf problem, finishing the league season with just seven goals to his name.
Last crowned Turkish champions in 2021, Beşiktaş have since struggled to compete with Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, the city’s other two major clubs.
Beşiktaş advanced to the UEFA Europa League playoff round after defeating Czech side Hradec Kralove in the third qualifying round tie on Thursday.
The Black Eagles, who had won the first leg 1-0 away, sealed qualification with another 1-0 victory at Tüpraş Stadium.
The match’s only goal came from Czech forward Vaclav Cerny.
The result also guarantees Beşiktaş a place in European competition for the 2026-27 season.
If they win their playoff tie, they will qualify for the Europa League league phase. If they are eliminated, they will enter the UEFA Conference League league phase instead.
New signing Leandro Trossard made his Beşiktaş debut after coming on as a substitute in the 66th minute. He joined the club from Arsenal in mid-July.
Another major transfer, Serbian international Dusan Vlahovic, watched the game from the stands.
The 26-year-old forward, whose contract with the Serie A giants Juventus expired this summer, signed a three-year deal with Beşiktaş on Thursday.
Beşiktaş will face Lithuanian club Kauno Zalgiris in the Europa League playoff round.
Xavi Hernandez has been appointed coach of the Netherlands, taking charge of the Dutch national team on a four-year contract that will run through the 2030 World Cup.
The former Barcelona midfielder and coach succeeds Ronald Koeman, who resigned after the Netherlands were eliminated by Morocco on penalties in the round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup. The Dutch lost 3-2 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw in Guadalupe, Mexico, marking their earliest exit in 12 World Cup appearances.
Xavi, 46, will oversee the Netherlands through the 2028 European Championship and the 2030 World Cup. His first match is scheduled for Sept. 24, when the Dutch face Germany in the Nations League at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
The appointment gives Xavi an opportunity to apply the football philosophy that defined much of his playing career to a national team with a long history of possession-based, attacking football.
“As someone who received his training at the Barcelona academy, with strong influences from Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels, among others, I feel a special connection to Dutch football,” Xavi said.
“You could say that I am a bit of a son of Dutch football.”
Xavi said Dutch football’s emphasis on possession, creativity and attacking play closely matches his own approach.
“The Netherlands has a rich football culture and a clear vision that also appeals to me enormously: attacking football, based on possession, with creativity, passion, and conviction,” he said.
“Of course, the most important goal is and always will be to win, but I prefer to do so in a way that reflects those characteristics and that people can enjoy.”
Xavi’s appointment also carries a strong historical connection. He was heavily influenced by Dutch football during his development at Barcelona, where coaches such as Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard helped shape his understanding of the game.
He also played a major role in one of the Netherlands’ most painful defeats. Xavi was in Spain’s midfield when the Dutch lost 1-0 after extra time in the 2010 World Cup final in Johannesburg, South Africa. He later helped Spain win the European Championship in 2012, adding to the continental title he won in 2008.
His club career with Barcelona was equally decorated. Xavi won eight La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies and made 767 appearances for the Catalan club, second only to Lionel Messi.
For much of that era, he formed one of football’s most celebrated midfield partnerships with Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets.
His coaching career has been considerably shorter.
Xavi’s first senior coaching job came at Al-Sadd in Qatar, where he spent two years before returning to Barcelona in November 2021. He guided Barcelona to the 2022-23 La Liga title but left the club in 2024 and has not held a head coaching position since.
Now, he inherits a Netherlands team trying to overcome a familiar problem: coming close without winning the biggest prizes.
The Dutch have reached three World Cup finals but lost each time, the most World Cup final defeats by a nation that has never won the tournament. Their only major international trophy remains the 1988 European Championship.
Netherlands football director Nigel de Jong believes Xavi’s playing and coaching background makes him a natural fit for the job.
“As a player alone, Xavi has experienced and won everything, with a World Cup, multiple national titles, and Champions League titles to his name,” de Jong said.
De Jong also pointed to Xavi’s education under coaches whose football philosophy closely resembles the Netherlands’ traditional style.
“As a coach, he has been shaped by years of working with top coaches who espouse a football vision that aligns very well with the way we want to play with the Dutch national team,” de Jong said. “Taking initiative, dominant and attractive football, combined with the flexibility that modern elite football demands.”
Xavi now has the chance to bring those principles to a national team that has often been associated with attractive football but has struggled to turn that style into major international success.
As a player, he was part of the Spain team that transformed from perennial underachievers into one of the dominant sides of his generation, winning three consecutive major international tournaments between 2008 and 2012.
Lionel Messi made an emotional return to action Wednesday following the death of his father, but his comeback was not enough to save Inter Miami from a 3-2 loss to Mexico’s Leon that knocked the club out of the Leagues Cup.
The Miami captain flew back to Florida from Argentina on Tuesday night after attending his father Jorge’s funeral Sunday. He entered at halftime to a huge ovation from the home crowd.
Jorge Messi, who served as his son’s longtime agent and adviser, died last week at age 68.
Earlier Wednesday, Messi paid an emotional tribute to his father on social media, reflecting on his loss and acknowledging uncertainty over whether he wants to continue his football career.
“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on,” Messi wrote.
“I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer.”
Miami led 1-0, but two goals from Colombian Daniel Arcila fueled Leon’s comeback victory, making the Mexican club the first team to qualify for the quarterfinals of the tournament featuring MLS and Liga MX clubs.
Messi made himself available to Miami coach Guillermo Hoyos for the must-win final group-stage match after missing Saturday’s loss to Monterrey.
Yannick Bright, who scored one of Miami’s goals, called Messi’s return “incredible,” adding that he and his teammates simply wanted to support their captain.
“I wasn’t expecting it,” Bright said. “It shows how much he cares. When I saw he was here, all I was thinking about was to give my 150% for him.
“It’s a tough situation. We try to stay close to him and support him as much as we can, but it’s a lot.”
Brazilian teammate Casemiro, who joined Miami after the World Cup, said Messi was “an example for all of us” because of his commitment to playing during such a difficult personal time.
Leon coach Javier Gandolfi echoed those thoughts.
“Today he demonstrated once more what he’s made of,” Gandolfi said of Messi. “He is a human being that is different to the rest.”
It was the first time Miami had been knocked out in the opening phase since the Leagues Cup was expanded in 2023.
Miami lifted the trophy that year with Messi, shortly after he arrived at the Florida franchise alongside Spaniards Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
Miami reached the 2025 final but was beaten 3-0 by the Seattle Sounders, a match marked by a brawl after the final whistle that led to Luis Suarez being suspended for all of this year’s tournament.
The 2027 Spanish Super Cup will be played in Istanbul, bringing four of Spain’s biggest clubs to Türkiye for a six-day tournament in February.
The Spanish Football Federation announced Thursday that the competition will be held at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium from Feb. 2-7, 2027. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid will compete for the trophy in the four-team format.
Real Sociedad will face Real Madrid in one semifinal, while defending champion Barcelona will meet Atletico Madrid in the other. The two semifinal winners will advance to the final.
The move to Istanbul represents a temporary change of venue for a competition that has been staged in Saudi Arabia in recent years.
The 2027 tournament could not be held in Saudi Arabia because of a scheduling conflict with the Asian Cup, which the country is due to host in January and February 2027.
The Spanish federation, working with SELA, evaluated several bids before selecting Istanbul. Reports said locations including Miami and Qatar were among those considered.
Istanbul will become only the third country outside Spain to host the Spanish Super Cup, after Morocco and Saudi Arabia. The competition is expected to return to Saudi Arabia in 2028.
A major European venue
The Atatürk Olympic Stadium, in Istanbul’s Başakşehir district, has a capacity of about 77,500 and is one of Türkiye’s most prominent football venues.
The stadium has hosted two Champions League finals, including Liverpool’s dramatic comeback against AC Milan in 2005 and Manchester City’s victory over Inter Milan in 2023.
Its selection gives the Spanish Super Cup a high-profile European setting after several years in the Middle East.
The competition has been played as a four-team Final Four tournament since the 2019-20 season, bringing together the winners and runners-up of La Liga and the Copa del Rey.
The format has helped turn the Super Cup into a major international event, with the tournament broadcast in more than 150 countries.
Barcelona return as defending champions
Barcelona will arrive in Istanbul as the defending champions after beating Real Madrid 3-2 in the 2026 final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Raphinha scored twice and Robert Lewandowski also found the net for Barcelona, while Vinicius Junior and Gonzalo Garcia scored for Madrid.
The victory gave Barcelona a record-extending 16th Spanish Super Cup title and a second consecutive championship.
Barcelona now face Atletico Madrid in the 2027 semifinals, while Real Madrid will meet Real Sociedad.
A Barcelona-Real Madrid final would set up another El Clasico on Turkish soil, although both teams must first win their respective semifinal matches.
A boost for Spanish football
The Spanish federation has highlighted the Super Cup’s growing international reach and its financial importance to Spanish football.
Revenue generated by the competition contributes to the wider football structure in Spain, supporting clubs across the men’s and women’s game at different levels.
Taking the 2027 edition to Istanbul allows the federation to maintain that international reach while working around the crowded 2027 football calendar.
For Istanbul, the tournament adds another major international football event to a city that has established itself as a regular host of elite European competition.
Second-seeded Elena Rybakina rallied from a set and a break down to defeat Naomi Osaka 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in their Canadian Open quarterfinal in Toronto on Tuesday.
The 2022 Wimbledon and 2026 Australian Open champion will face fourth-seeded Coco Gauff in the semifinals after the American advanced when Belinda Bencic withdrew with a hip injury.
In the first tour-level meeting between Osaka and Rybakina, the Japanese star made a fast start, breaking in the opening game and maintaining her advantage to take the first set.
The four-time Grand Slam champion then surged to a 4-2 lead in the second set, but Rybakina rallied and prevailed in a tiebreaker to force a deciding set.
In the third set, Rybakina saved four break points before breaking Osaka’s serve in back-to-back games to seize control and seal the victory in 2 hours, 33 minutes.
“This first game of the match was really tough because it cost me the set,” Rybakina said. “In the second I was just trying to stay closer to the score, even if I’m losing.
“It’s rare when you don’t play some players for so many years you’re on tour. She’s a great champion. She’s a fighter. I knew it would be a tough match.”
Earlier Tuesday, Gauff advanced without striking a ball after Bencic withdrew from their quarterfinal, giving the American more time to fine-tune her game ahead of the U.S. Open.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion is into the 16th WTA 1000 semifinal of her career as the 22-year-old chases her first title of the year.
Gauff finished runner-up in Miami and Rome before her Wimbledon campaign ended in a tight semifinal defeat. She has introduced new tactical elements to her game and has looked strong in Toronto, where she has not dropped a set.
The only previous meeting between Gauff and Rybakina also came in Toronto, where the American won in three sets in 2022.
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