Keyword – Global
Trefwoorden – Society, Carers, UK news, London, Schools, Education, School attendance and absence, Social care, Documentary films, Documentary, Film
Title – Aiden’s story of life as a young carer | Is Mum OK? Documentary | Society | The Guardian
Author –
Link – Aiden’s story of life as a young carer | Is Mum OK? Documentary | Society | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-09T09:31:31.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/global/ng-interactive/2026/jun/09/how-do-you-give-britains-hidden-army-a-break-is-mum-ok-documentary

Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – Rory McIlroy, Golf, LIV Golf Series, Sport, Sport politics, Saudi Arabia and sport, US Open, PGA Tour, European Tour, US sports
Title – McIlroy fears ‘false economy’ created by LIV Golf could put PGA Tour events at risk | Rory McIlroy | The Guardian
Author – PA Media
Link – McIlroy fears ‘false economy’ created by LIV Golf could put PGA Tour events at risk | Rory McIlroy | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T17:48:55.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/16/rory-mcilroy-liv-golf-pga-tour-us-open-golf-shinnecock-hills

Rory McIlroy believes the “false economy” created by the threat of LIV Golf may now be putting some well-established PGA Tour events at risk. The world No 2 and current Masters champion said he felt people had lost sight of how good the tour was before it too had a huge cash injection.

When the Saudi breakaway started luring away some of the top talent on multimillion-dollar contracts ­during the early years the PGA Tour’s response was to restructure, ­creating eight signature events each with smaller field and prize funds of $20m (£15m), plus generating a number of associated financial benefits.

The threat of LIV has now subsided with its future in doubt after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – which had pumped $5bn into the venture – announced it would stop financing it at the end of the year. But further changes were already in the pipeline on the PGA Tour, including the contentious two-tier system of tournament rankings which McIlroy is not a fan of.

“It’s funny as they’ve done all this work [and] you start to realise that the way the tour was before LIV came along was actually pretty good,” said the Northern Irishman ahead of the US Open at Shinnecock Hills in Long Island, New York.

“It was a pretty good structure, and everything sort of worked pretty well. LIV created this false economy where we had to up prize funds and had to cut fields and try to support the top players.

“ I think it needed to ­happen because that was the only way to retain talent at the time, but now that LIV looks like it’s less of a threat, I think, as I said, the old ways of the PGA Tour weren’t actually that bad.”

“An event like last week, the Canadian Open, potentially going to one of these Track 2s. Track 2 is a glorified Korn Ferry [second-tier] event. I don’t think the Canadian Open should be one of those.

“I just think there’s going to be certain events that might lose their stature if a sponsor doesn’t pony up $30m, so that’s the tough thing.”

McIlroy will begin his bid for a ­second US Open title alongside Ryder Cup teammates Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Åberg at 7.52am local time (12.52pm BST) on Thursday. Nine months ago the trio were part of the European side which won overseas for the first time in 13 years, 60 miles west of Shinnecock Hills at Bethpage.

They will tee off at 7.52am local time (12.52pm BST), just after Brooks Koepka – a two-time US Open winner who was champion last time Shinnecock hosted in 2018 – goes out with compatriots Cameron Young and Chris Gotterup.

The event provides the world number one Scottie Scheffler with his first shot at completing the career grand slam and he tees off at 8.14am (1.14pm BST) with defending champion JJ Spaun and 2025 US amateur winner Mason Howell.

Golf’s newest major champion, Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai, is off at 1.14pm (6.14pm BST) with Collin Morikawa and Jason Day, both major winners themselves.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, Harry Kane, England, World Cup, Football, Sport
Title – Harry Kane’s American dream begins: ‘I’m coming into this in the best way possible’ | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/davidhytner
Link – Harry Kane’s American dream begins: ‘I’m coming into this in the best way possible’ | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T00:30:16.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/17/harry-kane-american-dream-dallas-world-cup-england

T here has long been something about the mentality of US sports stars that has appealed to Harry Kane . The England captain sees it as something specific to them: a unique brand of never-say-die spirit. It leans into a broader notion – that anyone can achieve success if they want it badly enough, if they pursue it with all their heart. It is known as the American dream.

Kane was introduced to it all in 2011 at the start of his professional career, when the path was anything but smooth at his boyhood club, Tottenham. He had started to become interested in the NFL and there was something about the New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, that transfixed him.

Kane watched The Brady 6 documentary. It told the story of how nobody wanted Brady in the 2000 NFL draft. Six other quarterbacks were taken before the Patriots made him the 199th pick. When the show came out, Brady had led the team to three Super Bowls. He would do so on a further four occasions, with Kane travelling to Atlanta in 2019 to watch the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams for No 6.

Brady invited Kane to the team party afterwards and there is a lovely photograph of them together, Kane wearing a Patriots replica jersey, Brady’s No 12 across the front. The pair have remained in touch ever since. But it is not just Brady, even if he is the principle inspiration. Kane follows other NFL players and other American sports personalities.

For Kane, it is the US in general. He is at ease in the country. He remembers going there on his first pre-season tour with Spurs in 2012, when the club played a game in New York and Kane was recognised in the streets. There are a lot of Tottenham fans in the Big Apple. Kane has been drawn back time and again, mainly to New York and Florida, where he loves the golf courses.

In New York, he appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show in 2022 and Good Morning America a year later when he talked of wanting to be an NFL kicker after he retired from football. He first mentioned that in 2019 and his words are worth reprinting. “It goes back to that drive to be the best,” he said. “Even if I download a game on my phone, can I be the best in the world? If you play in the Premier League and the World Cup , and you then play in the NFL, would you be considered one of the greatest sportsmen ever?”

Kane has lived his version of the American dream on the other side of the pond. The breakthrough at Spurs in 2014. The inexorable rise to become the face of the England team; the record goalscorer. The big money move to Bayern Munich in 2023. The titles with the Bundesliga club.

“People didn’t expect much from Tom Brady,” Kane says. “Seeing the way he went about his business, his journey from the start … to go on and be the greatest ever player in his sport is maybe reminiscent of me earlier in my career. In that people doubted me and I worked hard to turn that around.

“In terms of the US, it’s how open it is from the athlete and media point of view. Everyone wears their heart on their sleeve and they are maybe more honest in how they talk in the media. I enjoy being here. I’ve had good experiences in pre-season. I come here on holiday a bit to play golf. It’s been good memories.”

Kane’s real American dream will begin at Dallas Stadium on Wednesday when he leads England out for their World Cup opener against Croatia. It feels appropriate that it is an NFL arena, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Albeit not as appropriate as if it were the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. England play their second group game there against Ghana next Tuesday. “That’s probably the one I’m excited to go to being a Patriots fan,” Kane says. “I’ve never been to the Gillette Stadium before.”

There is certainly excitement for Kane and yet it is underpinned by conviction. There is something about the way he carries himself these days. The humility endures; a product of his upbringing, his struggles. But there is an awareness of his place in the global game, especially after the season he has had – 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern and a second Bundesliga title. The DFB-Pokal, too.

Kane had played in five major finals – three for Spurs, including one in the Champions League; two for England, both at the European Championship. He lost all five, failing to score in any of them. In May, he bagged a second-half hat-trick in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Stuttgart.

The 32-year-old has never been so prolific. His previous best for a season at club level was the 44 he got for Bayern in 2023-24. He is getting better with age and there is talk of the Ballon d’Or if the World Cup goes well. Of greatness. After winning nothing at Spurs, Kane knows he is viewed differently. It is a source of strength.

“There’s a different feeling, for sure,” Kane says. “For me to have that weight off my shoulders [having won things at Bayern] is important. Especially this year having the trophies and having the cup final where I scored a hat-trick – my first big moment in a final. The perception around me has probably changed in the last few years.”

Kane will win his 115th cap against Croatia, moving him to joint-third on the all-time England list, level with David Beckham, one of his heroes. Kane went to the same school in Chingford, east London. Only Peter Shilton (125) and Wayne Rooney (120) have played more for England. Of Kane’s 79 goals for his country, nine have come in the knockout rounds of World Cups and Euros. No other player in history has more than eight. Kane, on eight, is closing in on Gary Lineker’s World Cup record of 10 for England.

“I’m coming into this tournament in the best way possible; the best place physically and mentally,” Kane says. “Throughout a career, there aren’t loads of times when all the pieces of the puzzle will come together at the right moment. Talking now, I feel like I’m in that place.

“With every tournament, I always feel under pressure being the goalscorer … people expect you to score and help the team and I guess this year is no different. But I’m comfortable having that responsibility. I’m probably even more comfortable going into this year because of the way the season was for me.”

Kane dwelt for a moment on the famous photograph of him as an 11-year-old with Beckham in 2005. It was at the launch of Beckham’s football academy. Also in the picture was Katie Goodland – Kane’s future wife. “Looking back on that with me and him and obviously my wife there, who was just a friend at the time … it’s a pretty crazy picture.”

Kane’s journey with England has taken in five previous tournaments, starting with Euro 2016, and he found himself admitting that he holds on to the low points more tightly. The lowest was his critical penalty miss in the quarter-final loss to France at the 2022 World Cup.

“The downs have almost motivated me [more] to be better, going back to the last World Cup and the disappointment with the way that ended,” he says. “After the time it took me to process it all and move on, it gave me an extra bite, an extra edge to really improve and push on.”

Kane is more about looking ahead. The ultimate dream bubbles. What will be his final words in the dressing room before the team steps out against Croatia? “The messaging will be to go with freedom,” he says. “We have an extremely strong team, a physical team. That’s going to be a big aspect of our game, so go out there and use that. We’re here to go far, that’s our goal.

“The only regrets you can have coming away from tournaments is that you didn’t go for it. You can make mistakes. You can miss penalties like I’ve missed. But I don’t think those are the moments that stop you from sleeping at night.

“It’s the ones where you feel like you could have given more, you could have been a bit more free, you could have just gone for it. When you lose, you lose anyway. I’d rather lose giving it everything, showing my best abilities, whether you make mistakes or not. The message is just to be free and don’t be afraid of any outcome. Then, we’ll have a great chance.”

Keyword – Games
Trefwoorden – Games, Culture, The Simpsons, Animation on TV, Television
Title – Mr Monopoly vs Mr Burns: The Simpsons take over Monopoly Go | Games | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/bex-april-may
Link – Mr Monopoly vs Mr Burns: The Simpsons take over Monopoly Go | Games | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-15T11:00:23.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jun/15/mr-monopoly-vs-mr-burns-the-simpsons-take-over-monopoly-go

E very generation gets its own Simpsons game. Them’s the rule-diddly-ules. For some, it was the arcade cabinets that swallowed pocket money throughout the 1990s. For others, it was The Simpsons: Cartoon Studio. For millennials like myself, it was The Simpsons: Hit & Run. Joe Zanetti, vice-president of operations at Monopoly Go! developer Scopely, traces his Simpsons gaming nostalgia back to Konami’s 1991 brawler, The Simpsons Arcade Game. “That’s the one that made such an impression on me,” he says.

It certainly did, because Springfield has just crash-landed in Monopoly Go! itself through a collaboration involving Simpsons writers, animators and voice talent alongside a new animated short starring Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Harry Shearer and Will Ferrell. While most licensed TV games have faded into obscurity, The Simpsons keeps finding new digital lives .

“It was a true Simpsons little episode,” says Loni Steele Sosthand, a co-executive producer who is in her sixth season writing for The Simpsons. She’s speaking to us from the Fox lot in Los Angeles, where she is currently working on the show’s 2027 Treehouse of Horror episodes – just to give an idea of how long these projects are in the works.

The Simpsons has always felt unusually suited to games. Unlike many sitcoms, Springfield isn’t just a setting but an entire densely populated world with hundreds of characters, dozens of recognisable locations and decades of running jokes waiting to be explored, from the Stonecutters to Mr Sparkle.

That flexibility has allowed the franchise to move effortlessly between genres, from arcade beat-’em-ups to open-world adventures. Monopoly Go! is simply the latest stop on the gaming monorail.

Sosthand thinks the reason is simple. “At heart it’s a family show,” she says.

It’s also a show that has always thrived on mischief, which gives the creators permission to be naughty themselves. “It’s not: ‘This is our box,’” says Zanetti. “It’s more: ‘How can we break the box?’”

The most unusual thing about the new Monopoly Go! collaboration – a two-month Springfield takeover featuring original storylines, animated shorts, themed mini-games and dozens of Simpsons characters – is the level of creative involvement behind the scenes. Rather than licensing characters and applying a yellow coat of paint, Scopely worked directly with Simpsons writers, artists and animators for months. It was less about borrowing Simpsons characters and more about borrowing Simpsons writers.

“We weren’t just providing a homage,” says Zanetti.

The team obsessed over details. Characters such as Rich Texan and Homer’s pet pig Plopper made their way into the game alongside familiar faces. One of Sosthand’s favourite inclusions is Cowboy Carl, a nod to her Writers Guild award-winning episode Carl Carlson Rides Again, which explored the character’s Black cowboy heritage.

“We were trying to come up with a joke for every mechanic,” Zanetti says. “That one really felt very writers’ roomy.”

Veteran animator Eric Keyes, who has worked on the show since the beginning, acted as an unofficial quality controller. “He can just glance at something and see if there’s not the right number of eyelashes,” says Sosthand.

Decades ago, a Simpsons video game typically meant a TV show adapted into interactive form. Today, the relationship runs both ways. “I’ve been impressed with the richness of this world we’re creating,” says Sosthand. “I have a newfound respect for games.”

Live-service games such as Monopoly Go! are places where audiences spend years rather than hours. For a franchise as established as The Simpsons, they can offer something television increasingly struggles to provide: an endlessly expandable world.

Over nearly four decades, the series has survived every major shift in entertainment: broadcast television, DVDs, streaming, social media. Most franchises eventually become trapped by nostalgia; The Simpsons seems to dump it straight back into the Springfield nuclear power plant and convert it into fresh fuel.

Perhaps that’s why the showdown between Mr Burns and Mr Monopoly in the game feels oddly natural. As Zanetti puts it, both occupy “a really important place in the zeitgeist”.

More than three decades after Homer first walked into Moe’s Tavern, Springfield remains woven into the fabric of popular culture. And if the journey from arcade cabinets to Monopoly Go! proves anything, it’s that The Simpsons’ greatest trick was never predicting the future . It was finding new ways to belong in it.

The Simpsons season of Monopoly Go! is running until 29 July as a free download on iOS and Android.

Keyword – Culture
Trefwoorden – Games, Culture
Title – The best games of 2026 so far | Games | The Guardian
Author – Keza MacDonald
Link – The best games of 2026 so far | Games | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-11T09:00:18.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/culture/ng-interactive/2026/jun/11/the-best-games-of-2026-so-far

007 First Light

Bond sets out to earn his licence to kill in IO Interactive’s hugely enjoyable retelling of the agent’s early years. Mixing the stealth and open environments of Hitman with the narrative drive of the Uncharted games, there are fistfights, cool cars and hi-tech gadgets aplenty. Read the full review .

Forza Horizon 6

The grand festival of car racing returns, this time bringing its automotive chaos to Japan, where bamboo forests, winding mountain roads and dense city streets play host to a wealth of driving challenges. With astonishing visuals and more than 500 beautiful vehicles, this is escapist gaming on a whole new level. Read the full review .

Forbidden Solitaire

Trapped in a hellish dungeon surrounded by monsters, your only way out is to play increasingly challenging rounds of solitaire while your sister figures out who the heck made this cursed game in the first place. A brilliant puzzler housed within a clever meta conceit. Read the full review .

Mythmatch

Cast out by the insufferable dudebros of Mount Olympus, aspiring goddess Artemis must prove her worth by helping the mortal inhabitants of a small village. Mixing the dynamics of a match-three puzzler with a warm narrative about kinship and perseverance, this is a multilayered treat. Read the full review .

Titanium Court

A fascinating combination of match-three puzzler, tower defence game and fourth-wall-breaking stage-play, Titanium Court has you crowned queen of a faerie citadel that you must defend from its mysterious enemies, matching tiles to arrange the battlefield to your advantage and exploring the court at night. Confused? You almost certainly will be. But in this spectacularly innovative game, that’s almost the point.

Pragmata

When contact is lost with a lunar research station, space cop Hugh Williams is sent to investigate – only to discover a seemingly abandoned base ruled over by a despotic AI. With the help of a charming android child, he attempts to shut it down, hacking robots and blasting drones as he goes. An engrossing sci-fi romp with a cute parental relationship at its core. Read the full review .

Resident Evil: Requiem

Rookie FBI operative Grace Ashcroft sets out to investigate a series of mysterious deaths tied to the destruction of Raccoon City many years before. Soon, she’s being stalked, spooked and kidnapped, while series hero Leon Kennedy closes in. Combining tense stealth and barnstorming action sequences, Requiem gets to have its zombie and kill it too. Read the full review .

Saros

Colonists have gone missing on a distant planet and as part of the team sent in to find them, you must battle cybernetic creatures, explore weird fractured environments and die over and over again. Saros is an action game with style and vision, placing truly uncompromising demands on brave (foolhardy) space farers. Read the full review .

Cairn

Aava is not a normal person; she is one of those fascinating maniacs obsessed with scaling places that no human ought to reach. On her trip up this forbidding mountain, you control her individual limbs, searching for hand and footholds in the rock. The higher you get, the more urgent the question becomes: why is she doing this, and what kind of person do you need to be to follow this kind of obsession? Read the full review

Pokémon Pokopia

The latest spin-off from the Pokémon series is a delightful life simulation in which you must restore a ruined planet by building, planting and exploring – all with the help of various Pokémon pals with distinct personalities. Combining elements of Minecraft, Stardew Valley and Viva Piñata, this is a cosy yet complex adventure that brings new dimensions to Pikachu and co. Read the full review .

Honourable mentions

Mario Tennis Fever

Mewgenics

TR-49

Marathon

Pieced Together

Life Is Strange: Reunion

Keyword – Global
Trefwoorden – Newsletter sign-up
Title – Sign up for the First Edition newsletter: our free daily news email | Newsletter sign-up | The Guardian
Author – Guardian Staff
Link – Sign up for the First Edition newsletter: our free daily news email | Newsletter sign-up | The Guardian
Publish date – 2022-09-20T10:16:38.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/global/2022/sep/20/sign-up-for-the-first-edition-newsletter-our-free-news-email

Keyword – Politics
Trefwoorden – Makerfield byelection, Politics, UK news
Title – Makerfield: how one small area could decide the UK's next prime minister – video | Makerfield byelection | The Guardian
Author – Sarah Ann Harris
Link – Makerfield: how one small area could decide the UK's next prime minister – video | Makerfield byelection | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T17:22:58.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/politics/video/2026/jun/17/makerfield-how-one-small-area-could-decide-the-uks-next-prime-minister-video

Keyword – The Filter
Trefwoorden – Celebrity, Life and style, Models, Interiors, Fashion, Homes
Title – How I Shop with David Gandy: ‘It gets into the male psyche’ | Celebrity | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/hannahbooth
Link – How I Shop with David Gandy: ‘It gets into the male psyche’ | Celebrity | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T14:00:01.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/thefilter/2026/jun/16/how-i-shop-with-david-gandy

D avid Gandy is one of the most recognisable faces in fashion, starring in hundreds of campaigns for brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Hugo Boss and many more. He was the first man nominated for model of the year by the British Fashion Council.

From 2014 to 2019 he designed a bestselling range for Marks & Spencer featuring underwear, sleepwear and more, and in 2021, he launched his own fashion and lifestyle brand, David Gandy Wellwear. A committed philanthropist, he has worked with several charities, from Save the Children to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, and backed the Centre for Social Justice’s Lost Boys report on the crisis facing boys and young men in the UK today. The David Gandy Wellwear summer collection is available now.

What was the last treat you bought yourself?

A very fancy electric Cobra Fortis lawnmower last summer. I now have three lawnmowers as I am slightly obsessed with my garden, especially the lawn.

Cobra Fortis 25FTE cordless fine turf cylinder mower 63cm

Where do you buy your food from?

I mix M&S food with daily shopping at Waitrose , as the staff at my East Sheen store are amazing. Next door is Valentina Deli , which I love as I am obsessed with anything Italian when it comes to food, probably a hangover from the many campaigns I have shot in Italy over the years.

What’s the best present you’ve given?

You would have to ask the people I gave them to. There’s a brilliant artist I have worked with called Daisy Simpson who has hand-drawn pencil portraits of my children and pets, and my family love them. I prefer giving gifts that are well thought through and highly personal. I love giving presents, whereas I feel very awkward receiving anything.

… and the best present you’ve received?

A pedal go-kart when I was six years old.

What’s your favourite online store?

I love interiors and am a big fan of anything Andrew Martin does, so I spend a lot of time on his website sourcing things for the house. The wallpaper in our daughters’ playroom is his ark animal motif, and we have a lot of his chairs too.

Andrew Martin ark wallpaper

What’s your favourite bricks-and-mortar shop?

Thom Sweeney on Old Burlington Street in London. It’s more than a menswear store; it’s a townhouse (which recently expanded into the art gallery next door) designed as somewhere its clients can hang out, play pool and have a coffee – rather than just shop. It gets into the male psyche, which is something I love about brands – when they become more than the product itself.

What’s the gadget you use most often?

The SmartLife app on my phone, which allows me to control most things in my home while out and about.

SmartLife app

What’s the purchase you regret the most?

Probably the Fortis lawnmower … I should have gone for one of Allett’s petrol mowers.

What’s the thing(s) you get delivered?

Since we finished renovating our home in London, my attention has turned to the garden, which is my new obsession. So at the moment, flowers, plants and topsoil are the most frequent deliveries to our front door.

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Incrediball’ (Strong Annabelle)

Where do you buy your underwear?

Obviously I wear my own brand’s pants, but I also like Sunspel .

What would you buy with £20 – and £200?

For £20, I would buy my rescue dog Dora some of her favourite fresh lamb chews . With £200, I’d probably treat myself to a plate of spaghetti alle vongole in Italy, and spend some of my British Airways air miles to help get me there.

Perrito lamb dog chews, 100g

What’s your ‘saved search’ on eBay/Vinted?

I don’t have an account for either. But on the Collecting Cars app, there’s a Jaguar XKR-S that’s saved, and I’m following it closely …

What item do you buy on repeat?

Nespresso coffee pods.

Nespresso original coffee pods

How do you make your coffee at home?

With a Nespresso coffee maker.

Nespresso Vertuo Plus

What’s your biggest splurge?

Classic cars. I have bought and restored quite a few now – my favourite being my Jaguar XK120, which I have since raced in the Mille Miglia [a 1,000-mile endurance race through Italy] several times. My career has enabled me to splurge on this particular hobby.

And what everyday item do you scrimp on?

Posh bottles of hand soap that I then refill with cheaper alternatives.

Aesop Resurrection Aromatique hand wash, 500ml

What’s your greatest vintage find?

When I was living in New York about 20 years ago, I loved shopping in vintage stores. One of the best pieces I ever bought was a shearling Burberry aviator jacket – I still have it today.

For more, read How I Shop with Kim Cattrall and Banjo Beale

Don’t buy anything until you’ve read the Filter, the Guardian’s home for truly independent product reviews and recommendations. Whether you’re after rigorous tests or shopping inspo, affordable gifts or advice on how to make your belongings last longer, we’re here to help you make smarter, more sustainable choices.

The Filter is packed with trustworthy buying advice on everything from coffee machines to hiking boots, mascara to secateurs. So visit us today and start buying better and smarter, and wasting less.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Thomas Tuchel, World Cup 2026, World Cup, England, Football, Sport
Title – Tuchel may be unburdened by English baggage but he is no longer an outsider | Thomas Tuchel | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jacob-steinberg
Link – Tuchel may be unburdened by English baggage but he is no longer an outsider | Thomas Tuchel | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T00:30:17.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/17/england-manager-tuchel-no-longer-an-outsider-world-cup

I dentity lies at the heart of the World Cup. Who are we and how do we play? Does our academy system work better than yours? What do your coaching pathways look like compared with ours? And do you still get a bit emotional every time you watch that BBC montage of England’s penalty shootout win over Colombia at the 2018 World Cup ?

Maybe not if you happen to be Thomas Tuchel . This is not a man weighed down by the ghosts of England tournaments past. There is no missed penalty haunting this gangly German intellectual in his sleep, no costly red card in a knockout tie stalking his nightmares. For Tuchel, meaning is found merely in the pursuit of victory. At first glance there is no deeper cultural connection here and, for all the breezy talk of putting a second star on the shirt, there are times when it is hard to understand why Tuchel wants to bring an end to England men’s 60 years of hurt this summer.

Of course, winning the World Cup would look good on the CV. The attraction of the job is obvious. The rewards are vast and the players are elite. Yet even if it makes sense on a sporting level, it is still fascinating to consider the wider motivation for Tuchel given it is safe to assume he was not supporting England when they lost those semi-finals to the Germans at Italia 90 and Euro 96.

It comes back to the idea that what separates international football from the club game is playing for something bigger. For some, the aim is to go down as a legend in your own country, but Tuchel is not from England . He will not sing the national anthem when England face Croatia in their opening game in Group L in Dallas on Thursday. Will there be criticism from the usual suspects? Perhaps, but Tuchel is unlikely to care. He knows the words – “It is not so difficult,” he said with a grin – and explained that he still feels too shy to join in when the music strikes up.

Tuchel’s predecessor brought a different energy. Gareth Southgate almost treated the England job as a higher calling. He spoke about politics and behaved like a man trying to heal the nation. Southgate wrote an open letter about society’s divisions and ended up being played by Joseph Fiennes in the stage and television versions of Dear England .

There is none of that with Tuchel. His title is head coach rather than manager. He is not interested in talking about politics and his background means he is never going to become as overwhelmed by the job as Southgate was by the end of his time in charge.

Still, though, there are layers to Tuchel. As a young coach he rose through the German pressing school. He has been described as a “footballaholic” and is bright, engaging and funny. His eccentric streak appeals to England’s love of a maverick, yet the willingness to speak his mind can sometimes feel very un-English. It is hard, for instance, to picture Southgate ever calling one of his players repulsive .

“Thomas is almost Latin in the way he speaks,” the FA’s technical director, John McDermott, said in Inside England, a book about the team’s journey over the past decade. “There’s a warmth and there’s a tactileness. He comes alive when he’s speaking about the team, the players, the games.”

Tuchel did not click with the French media when he managed Paris Saint-Germain and has a reputation for being a hothead in Germany. He fell out with Joshua Kimmich at Bayern Munich and has always sounded ambivalent when talking about German football.

England is where he most comes alive. It felt right for Tuchel when he became Chelsea’s manager in January 2021 and led them to Champions League glory four months later. Lockdown measures were still in place, but the 52-year-old talked enthusiastically about wanting to discover London’s bookshops and best coffee spots. “It’s the country, it’s the humour, it’s the way of life,” Tuchel once said of his love of England as a country.

He is not putting it on. He likes zooming around the capital on Lime bikes. He has found his favourite gastropub and when he was younger he loved to pretend to be Chris Waddle “with the collar up in my garden” after watching the England winger during the 1990 World Cup.

Perhaps Tuchel’s desire to lead England to glory is not such a mystery. Unlike Fabio Capello, he gets the culture. His favourite novel? TC Boyle’s Water Music, a story about a London thief and a Scottish explorer as they seek the source of the Niger River in Africa in the 18th century. The impression is that Tuchel feels a connection with England. Asked if he is an anglophile, he says: “I can’t explain it but it felt like this from the first weeks at Chelsea. It just felt so good to be in the country and a part of the Premier League. Every day was a gift almost.

“What the league brings out of players and what the fans expect from the players, the coach made me feel very comfortable. I liked it from the first day. I cannot say often enough, it’s an honour for me to be England head coach. I feel basically at home when I land. I would say now: ‘I fly home.’ I fly home to my home in London. It feels like home when I land in London and I’m in England.”

This is more than an expensive gun for hire. Tuchel cares. The longer he stays the less he feels like an outsider.

Keyword – Fashion
Trefwoorden – Yves Saint Laurent, Fashion, Life and style, Photography, Art and design, Exhibitions, Museums, New York, Culture, Irving Penn
Title – Fashion goes pop! How Yves Saint Laurent created photography magic – in pictures | Yves Saint Laurent | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/briana-ellis-gibbs
Link – Fashion goes pop! How Yves Saint Laurent created photography magic – in pictures | Yves Saint Laurent | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T09:00:27.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/gallery/2026/jun/17/yves-saint-laurent-created-photography-magic