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Australia and New Zealand are scrambling to come up with solutions to name the 14 stadiums necessary for a World Cup 2034 bid in time for the 31 October deadline, potentially clearing the way for Saudi Arabia even more. Fifa's requirements state that all of the stadiums must have a capacity of at least 40,000 seats, but there are currently only 11 that fit that profile across the two countries. What's more, some of the Australian stadiums that meet the criteria are cricket ovals, with sightlines that aren't really suitable for football. The bidding documents do state that only four of the named venues need to be "existing stadiums" but it is naturally asking a lot to secure construction commitments in the 26 days between the bidding process opening and closing. The circumstances have brought further commentary within the game that the 2034 bidding has almost been set up as a fait accompli for Saudi Arabia, and they had their potential bid ready to go once the process was announced. With Jordan Henderson and Saudi Pro League players backing the bid. The country is currently undergoing a huge sporting expansion, and staging the World Cup is seen as a huge part of Mohammed Bin Salman's 'Vision 2030'. Although the 2030 event had initially been the target, Saudi Arabia was politically outmanoeuvred by the initial Portugal-Spain bid, as Morocco was brought in to split the African vote. The fact it was the centenary of the competition only strengthened the idea of a cross-continental event, with Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay subsequently brought in for the opening games. Saudi Arabia instead decided to shift all energy to a 2034 bid, in which the rules behind continental rotation mean that World Cup can only be held in Asia or Oceania. It makes Australia-New Zealand the only likely competitor for 2034, although with increasing complications. A statement from Football Australia CEO James Johnson read: “As stated previously, Football Australia is exploring the possibility of bidding for the 2029 Fifa Club World Cup and/or the Fifa World Cup 2034. We acknowledge Fifa’s communication regarding the Fifa World Cup 2034 and we are encouraged that after the hugely successful Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 and Fifa Women’s World Cup Australia and New Zealand 2023, the football family of Asia and Oceania will once again have the opportunity to showcase their ability to welcome the world and host the best Fifa tournaments.” The reference to the Asia football family has been interpreted as instructive by involved figures. Another complicated solution for Australia and New Zealand is to potentially bring in a third partner, but that would inevitably have to be a country from thousands of miles away in the Asian Football Confederation. It is understood that the body have made it clear Saudi Arabia is their preferred choice, putting off any bid from Japan and Korea. The prohibitive circumstances also illustrate how limiting a 48-team competition is going to be in finding hosts in the future. Read More 2030 World Cup will be hosted by six countries across three continents, Fifa announces FIFA set to approve letting Russian youth soccer national teams return to competition Gareth Southgate questions ‘integrity’ of 2030 World Cup format Fifa clears the way for Saudi Arabia to host 2034 World Cup Jordan Henderson plays the tool on road to Saudi Arabia’s inevitable World Cup Gareth Southgate positive about UK and Ireland bid for Euro 2028

Tesla Inc.’s top-selling electric vehicles now compete directly with gasoline cars on price after the latest round of

Rescue efforts are hampered by flooding, forcing locals to pull out bodies with their bare hands.

Villagers are searching through what is left of their homes with shovels and bare hands.

By Aditya Soni and Roshan Abraham (Reuters) -Several Wall Street brokerages started coverage of Arm Holdings with their top ratings

Pharmacy staff at some Walgreens stores across the country say they will lock their gates and walk out Monday, citing harsh working conditions that make it difficult to safely fill prescriptions.

Relatives desperately try to find information on loved ones thought to be taken hostage by Hamas.

The military clears areas seized by Hamas two days ago, but it says gunmen may still be at large.

A big-name star is set to square off with his old team for the first time on Monday Night Football in Week 5.

Former Israeli footballer Lior Asulin is among those killed by Hamas militants at the Supernova music festival. Early on Saturday morning, Hamas targeted the festival, a techno rave in the desert near the Gaza border, with videos shared on social media and by Israeli news outlets showing dozens of festival-goers running through an open field as gunshots rang out. The Israeli rescue service Zaka later said its paramedics removed more than 260 bodies from the festival following the militant attack. The total figure of bodies found is expected to be higher, as other paramedic teams were also working in the area and Zaka added that the bodies “haven’t all been collected yet”. It has now been confirmed that among those dead was ex-footballer Asulin, who had a 20-year professional career from 1997 to 2017. He played in the Israeli Premier League for teams such as Hapoel Tel Aviv, Beitar Jerusalem and Maccabi Herzliya, while also having a spell on loan in Cyprus with Apollon Limassol. And Hapoel Tel Aviv confirmed his death with a post on Twitter/X expressing their condolences to Asulin’s family. “With great sadness, after many hours when he was declared missing, we have been informed that our former player Lior Asulin was murdered by terrorists at the party in Re’im,” Hapoel announced. “The Hapoel Tel Aviv club bows its head and sends condolences and strength to Lior’s family at this difficult time.” The striker scored more than 175 goals during his career and, while on loan at Bnei Sakhnin during the 2003-04 season, helped them become the first Arab team to win the Israel State Cup after beating Hapoel Haifa 4-1 in the final. Off the field, Asulin reportedly spent time in prison, being released in August 2022, and he was celebrating his 43rd birthday at the Supernova festival before his untimely death. Eyal Lachman, who managed Asulin during his trophy-winning loan spell at Bnei Sakhnin, also expressed his condolences after the news. Lachman said: “A guy with a heart of gold, that was his most outstanding characteristic, they always said that his most outstanding characteristic was to give back, I saw that the most outstanding characteristic was to give his friends his soul. “I heard yesterday that he was missing, the first thought that came to my mind was what a beautiful life he could have had and what a different life he spent at the end. Very sad, all the time he simply suffered.” Read More Israel-Hamas war – live: IDF orders ‘complete siege’ on Gaza as Supernova festival death toll rises Timeline of Supernova festival attack that left hundreds dead in Israel Heartbreaking final texts from American man who went missing in Hamas festival attack Robbie Keane forced to flee Israel amid Hamas attacks Pep Guardiola coy on Kyle Walker bust-up with Arsenal coach Pep Guardiola’s career record as Man City suffer rare back-to-back league losses

Pep Guardiola refused to discuss the incident between Kyle Walker and Arsenal set-piece coach Nicolas Jover after Manchester City’s 1-0 loss to the north London side. Following City’s second consecutive Premier League loss for the first time since 2018, the defender was involved in a confrontation with Jover, who previously worked for City. In the footage, it appeared that Jover held out his hand to Walker, who declined the handshake. It is unclear whether words were exchanged in the interim, but an agitated Walker threw his hands up before turning around to talk to the coach. Walker squared up to Jover before teammate Erling Haaland joined them. Multiple members of staff and players from the two teams got involved to try and diffuse the situation. “I know what happened, but I don’t want to say anything, They [Arsenal] know it,” Guardiola said. Bukayo Saka was also seen leading Jover away, while Walker’s emotions didn’t appear to subside as he was led down the tunnel by teammates while still engaging in a heated conversation. Gabriel Martinelli's goal in the 86th minute of the match at The Emirates gave the home side the narrow victory that moved the unbeaten Arsenal into the second place in the table. In addition to last week’s 2-1 loss to Wolves, City move to third. While Guardiola didn’t shed much light on the incident with Walker, he spoke about what City need to do to put themselves back to winning ways. "No team has ever won four in a row," he said. "Defeats can happen, but we are in October. Sometimes it is good going behind. It is not the first time going behind for the contenders. Last season we were much, much behind, but the season is long. It has happened. "In Wolves, it was a difficult game. Congratulations to Arsenal. We know exactly what we have to do and we do it. We recover people coming back and try to break immediately as soon as possible against tough opponents like Brighton and United." Read More Mikel Arteta hails ‘fantastic’ young Arsenal side as they break Man City hex How Arsenal finally ended their winless streak against Manchester City Why Manchester City’s struggles might have only just begun

'Angels' hitmaker Robbie Williams says being famous is like being a "yeti" because fans don't think he's real when he sees them in public.