Championship playoff drama awaits, Scottish Cup and WCL finals buildup – matchday live

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DRC Squad ordered to isolate after Ebola outbreak

The real world has slammed into football as Congo’s World Cup squad has been ordered to isolate for 21 days before entering the US.

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, told ESPN that US officials had informed Fifa, the Congolese national team and the government in Kinshasa that the squad was to remain in a “bubble” in Belgium where players are currently in training.

“We’ve been very clear to Congo that they should maintain the integrity of their bubble for 21 days before they can then come to Houston on June 11th,” Giuliani told ESPN. “We’ve made it very clear to the Congo government as well, that they need to maintain that bubble or they risk not being able to travel to the United States. We cannot be any clearer.

“We want to make sure that there is nothing that’s going to come in or near our borders here on this.”

Pep Guardiola signs off tomorrow having made “a lot” of decisions.

Any regrets? Well, one actually. The he handled Joe Hart’s departure. Guardiola, who will take charge of City for the final time against Aston Villa on Sunday, moved Hart on soon after arriving in 2016, sending him to Torino on loan before bringing in Claudio Bravo and, a year later, Ederson.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Guardiola said he still feels he should have given the England goalkeeper a proper opportunity to work under him and show what he could do. He accepted that managers make mistakes when taking so many decisions and said, with hindsight, he could have told Hart they would try to make it work together before making a change if necessary. “I regret it from that time,” Guardiola said, adding that he had not always been “fair enough” in the moment.

Penny for Joe’s thoughts…

Back to the Women’s Champions League final.

Aitana Bonmati, holder of the three most recent Ballon d’Or Féminin trophies, has only just returned to Barca’s team and is still being managed.

She made her comeback after five months out in the 4-2 win over Bayern Munich in the semi-final second leg on 3 May when she came on as a 68th minute sub.

She had not played 90 minutes for Barcelona since November and managed only 18 minutes in the Copa de la Reina final. Romeu said she was “feeling better every day”.

Brilliant comment below the line from ‘TheVinyJunkie’:

“Spygate at this point isn’t even a scandal, it’s a full Championship documentary narrated by a man who’s had 6 espressos and misplaced his clipboard.”

Women's Champions League final

Let’s turn our attention to the biggest prize in women’s club football.

This is the fourth Barca-Lyon Champions League final in seven years. Lyon won the first two, 4-1 in 2019 and 3-1 in 2022; Barcelona finally beat them 2-0 in 2024.

The trophy count is lopsided, but the momentum has shifted. Lyon have claimed eight titles – including a run of five in a row between 2016 and 2020 – but haven’t won one since 2022. Since then it’s been Barca hands on the trophy as the Blaugrana have claimed the last two.

The big talking point has focussed on what Suzanne Wrack calls a “a clash of styles”.

Another narrative worth picking at is the delicious coaching subplot. Jonatan Giráldez, in charge of Lyon, knows Barcelona from the inside. He was part of Barca’s rise, coaching there when they won their first UWCL, then managing them to their second and third. His former assistant Pere Romeu replaced him at Barcelona, making this a master-apprentice final.

I loved this comment below the line.

Spying on training, or fretting about being spied on, is hardly new.

The obvious precedent is Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds in 2019, when a member of his staff was spotted outside Derby County’s training ground before a Championship match. Bielsa did not so much deny it as turn the whole thing into performance art, calling an extraordinary press conference in which he admitted Leeds had “observed all the rivals” they had played and then essentially delivered a tactical lecture with slides – truly one of the great moments in English football history. Leeds were eventually fined £200,000 and the EFL tightened its rules – which might exxplain why they’ve thrown the book at Southampton.

There was also Sweden v South Korea at the 2018 World Cup, when Sweden’s manager Janne Andersson had to apologise after a member of staff attended a closed South Korea training session. South Korea responded by swapping players’ shirt numbers in training to confuse the snooper, which remains one of the great low-budget counter-intelligence operations.

Herbert Chapman – the legendary manager of Arsenal in the 1930s – was perhaps football’s first sleuth as he frequently utilised ‘spies’ (today we’d call them scouts) to watch opponents. Yes, I know it’s not exactly the same thing. But funny how lines are so easily blurred.

Timeline of Spygate

It just occurred to me that perhaps a few of you – those just blinking into the light of the weekend from a deep slumber under a rock – might not be across THE BEST STORY OF THE SEASON.

That, of course, is the Spygate fiasco involving an intern, a pair of binoculars and players threatening to sue their own club.

Here’s the gist: Southampton were found to have spied on Middlesbrough training sessions, including before their play-off semi-final. The EFL’s independent commission said there was a “contrived and determined” plan to gain a competitive advantage, and Southampton manager Tonda Eckert accepted responsibility for authorising observations

Southampton were expelled from the Championship play-offs, Middlesbrough were reinstated, and Boro set to face Hull in the Wembley final today. Southampton also received a four-point deduction for next season.

The FA has also opened its own investigation, which could lead to charges against individuals rather than just the club.

England will play Ghana, Panama and Croatia in the World Cup’s group stage.

We’re still waiting on the squads from Ghana and Panama, but Croatia have picked theirs with 40-year-old Luka Modric still the leading light.

Maybe this will be the year he finally gets tired.

Croatia’s WC squad:

Goalkeepers: Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Dominik Kotarski (Copenhagen), Ivor Pandur (Hull).

Defenders: Josko Gvardiol (Man City), Duje Caleta-Car (Real Sociedad), Josip Sutalo (Ajax), Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich), Marin Pongracic (Fiorentina), Martin Erlic (Midtjylland), Luka Vuskovic (Hamburg).

Midfielders: Luka Modric (AC Milan), Mateo Kovacic (Man City), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Luka Sucic (Real Sociedad), Martin Baturina (Como), Kristijan Jakic (Augsburg), Petar Sucic (Inter Milan), Nikola Moro (Bologna), Toni Fruk (Rijeka).

Forwards: Ivan Perisic (PSV Eindhoven), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Marco Pasalic (Orlando City), Petar Musa (Dallas), Igor Matanovic (Freiburg).

Manager: Zlatko Dalic

I enjoyed this piece from Barry yesterday.

It’s all noise and bluster and guff, innit? I mean, not for the guys who missed our or were selected, but the outrage and hot takes really are a lot.

‘Hard to please’ is a mild way of putting it.

German Cup final

Harry Kane has a shot at more silverware as Bayern Munich take on VfB Stuttgart at 7pm in the German Cup final.

To get you in the mood, Andy Martin has written a delicious piece looking back at a remarkable upset when Bayer 05 Uerdingen beat holders Bayern 2-1.

It’s been dubbed the ‘Miracle of Berlin’ and Stuttgart fans will be hoping some of that magic rubs off on them this evening.

Premier League season ratings

How did your team perform over the course of the season?

Various fans have given their verdict. There are a couple of 10/10s, but one score of 0.

Do you agree with these?

How about some England chat now?

My ten cents, I think it’s a solid squad though I would have taken both Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw. The former as a result of his form and presence, and the latter because there aren’t many bonafide left backs in the group. Young Nico O’Reily has suddenly become the most important player after Harry Kane.

But, as Barney has pretty much said, Tuchel knows what he’s doing and won’t be bothered by the outside noise.

Of course, there’s heartbreak. This piece from Nadeem Badshah shines a light on that. But them’s the breaks, I suppose.

If league position and points accrued are the two key metrics in predicting a winner today, then Middlesbrough, who finished fifth and seven points above Hull, should take all the marbles.

But their last league meeting in Devcember 2025 ending with a 1-0 win for The Tigers. So, you never know.

This is Barca’s sixth consecutive Champions League final appearance. A remarkable, unprecedented run.

They’ve topped their league in Spain and beat Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to get here. Who would bet against them?

Well, Lyon aren’t the most dominant women’s team in the world for nothing. They knocked out defending champions Arsenal in the semis and came from behind to beat Wolfsburg in the quarters. This is their 12th appearance in the showpiece game.

As we’ve said already, there are some huge games on today.

Kicking things at 3pm is the Scottish Cup final between Celtic and Dunfermline. Celtic snatched a remarkable victory on the final day of the league season to break Hearts’ hearts and they’ll back themselves to bag another trophy this afternoon.

Half an hour into that one north of the border, a match I feel duty bound to call ‘the most expensive football game in the world’ gets underway as Hull and Middlesbrough vie for a place in the Premier League. Both will be itching for the opening whistle but one fears the spectre of ‘Spygate’ will loom over the festivities.

Then, the cherry on the icing on the cake, at 5pm, Lyon and Barcelona, two teams with contrasting styles, will compete for the Women’s Champions League. Barce could make it four titles in six years while Lyon will add a ninth star to their crest if they can get over the line.

How about a reminder - for those blinking into the weekend from a long slumber beneath a rock - of the England World Cup side.

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guehi (Manchester City), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona on loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Last night's headlines

Here are a fe standout pieces from last night:

Barney backs Tuchel’s squad:

Pep Guardiola turns on the charm as he waves goodbye to a dynasty:

Spygate looms over Championship play-off:

We’re all set for an epic Champions League final:

Tuchel and Toney ‘clear the air’:

Speaking of spying, the FA want tighter security over in the US:

England’s forgotten men and their families reflect on what could have been:

Premier League talking points ahead of the final round:

Preamble

Good morning everyone! It’s the night after England’s World Cup squad was announced, the day before the final Premier League games of the season, and there are MASSIVE matches taking place in Wembley, Oslo and Hampden Park today.

So plenty to chat about.

I’ll be steering you through all of the headlines and talking points this morning. If you’ve got anything you want to add – from your hot takes to your cold facts – please get in touch.

And if you’re setting some reminders on your phone, here’s what’s taking place later on:

• Scottish Cup final: Celtic v Dunfermline @ Hampden Park @ 15:00

• Championship Play-off: Hull v Middlesbrough @ Wembley @ 15:30

• Women’s Champions League final: Barcelona v Lyon @ Ullevaal Stadium, Oslo @ 17:00