News Story

England have arrived in the United States to begin their final preparations for this summer’s World Cup.

More details of Southampton’s ‘Spygate’ scandal have been laid bare after the League Arbitration Panel which expelled the Saints from the Championship play-off published its written reasons.

England have landed in Miami ahead of the World Cup, with a portion of Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad arriving in Florida for their pre-tournament warm-up camp after taking off from Birmingham airport on Monday morning.

Monday’s flight marks the start of a journey that England hope finishes in glory on July 19 by ending 60 years of hurt and winning the World Cup for the first time since 1966.

Tuchel has vowed to add a second star to the shirt this summer, but this will be one of the toughest assignments yet, given the conditions and logistics involved in a tournament spanning three countries and four time zones.

Five days of acclimatisation to the stifling heat temperatures at their Palm Beach training camp are expected to be north of 30C will be followed by a pre-tournament friendly against New Zealand in Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Tuchel’s men then head to Orlando for a final warm-up game with Costa Rica on Tuesday week before a few days of rest and family time ahead of moving to their tournament base in Kansas City.

Those that did not fly will later join up with the group in the ‘Sunshine State’, including Arsenal’s Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke following Saturday’s Champions League final defeat to Paris St Germain.

Southampton and their head coach Tonda Eckert have fresh questions to answer after more details of the Spygate scandal which has rocked the Sky Bet Championship emerged in the League Arbitration Panel’s written reasons for kicking them out of the play-offs last month.

A junior analyst claimed he “didn’t really have an option” but to spy on the club’s Championship rivals, with the panel stating that junior staff felt “pressurised to do the observations that Mr Eckert and the senior coaches wished them to do”.

The 39 pages of written reasons detailed why Southampton spied on Oxford, Ipswich and Middlesbrough, along with what type of information was discovered, and laid bare the influence of Eckert in what was described as “a contrived and determined plan from top down to gain a competitive advantage”.

In one WhatsApp exchange, an analyst messaged an intern: “Try and make out as much as you can please. You legend. Manager loved it.”

It was also revealed that an analyst at Southampton was provided with Eastleigh kit in order to watch Ipswich train at Eastleigh’s ground before a 2-2 draw on April 28 at St Mary’s.

Saints were last month thrown out of the play-off final for spying on semi-final opponents Middlesbrough, as well as being docked four points from the start of next season for spying on other Championship rivals.

The London City Lionesses are set to make another statement of their ambition in the Women’s Super League as they close in on a deal to sign former England goalkeeper Mary Earps.

Earps, who was instrumental in England’s Euro 2022 triumph and their run to the final of the 2023 World Cup, has spent the last two seasons at Paris St Germain after leaving Manchester United in July 2024.

But the 33-year-old is set to leave the French giants this summer when her contract expires and the Press Association understands she has agreed personal terms on a deal to join London City.

The capital club, owned by American billionaire Michele Kang, have also been linked with a move for two-time Ballon d’Or winner Alexia Putellas, who confirmed last week she would be leaving Barcelona after 14 years.

London City completing the signing of Earps would be a statement of intent, not least because of the profile she has in the UK she has twice collected FIFA’s Best Goalkeeper of the Year award.

In a summer of change at Manchester City following the depature of Pep Guardiola, midfield stalwart Rodri has refused to be drawn on his futre amid links with a switch to Real Madrid.

The 29-year-old has 12 months left to run on his contract at City, but had recently been earmarked as a possible transfer target by Real presidential candidate Enrique Riquelme, who challenges Florentino Perez in this weekend’s election.

As he linked up with his Spain team-mates for a pre-World Cup training camp in Madrid, Rodri deflected questions about his future.

“We’re here to talk about the World Cup,” he said. “Everything that concerns my future, I’ll wait until the end of the World Cup.

“When a player is nearing the end of his contract, it’s normal for names to come up but I am very calm, I know where I stand and if there hadn’t been a World Cup, perhaps things might be different now.”

Rodri has made nearly 300 appearances since joining City, who paid a then club record £62.8million to Atletico Madrid to sign the midfielder seven years ago, winning four Premier League titles and scoring the winning goal in the 2023 Champions League final.

However, he has had a spate of injuries since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in September 2024 and struggled for consistency.

Wales face Ghana in a friendly at Cardiff City Stadium to mark the FAW’s 150th anniversary the first time they have hosted an African team.