11/01/2026

theSun on Sunday JAN 11, 2026

SPORTS 12

No ordinary year From Man City’s charges and Arsenal’s title challenge to Trump’s World Cup and England’s bid for glory

SHORTS SABALENKA INTO THIRD STRAIGHT BRISBANE FINAL Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. But Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semifinal 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes and will face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times (in the past),” Sabalenka, the defending champion, said of Muchova. “I’m happy that today I was focused from the beginning and I was able to show such great tennis. “And put her under so much pressure and get the win in straight sets. That’s just super great.” The 27 year old Belarusian is aiming to win a third Australian Open in four years. “I definitely feel that com pared to the first match here, I’m playing better and better,” she said. “That’s really important heading to Melbourne, to build that level, and to play some great matches against great opponents. “So I’m super happy with the performance so far and cannot wait to play my final match here.” BENCIC LEADS SWISS PAST BELGIUM Belinda Bencic led Switzerland to their first United Cup final yesterday with a hard-fought victory over Belgium, beating Elise Mertens in the singles before returning alongside Jakub Paul to clinch a doubles win. In the deciding mixed doubles match, the Swiss duo claimed a 6-3 0-6 10-5 win over Belgium’s Mertens and Zizou Bergs in an hour and 17 minutes. Bencic and Paul coasted through the first set but won a total of just 12 points in the second set as the match went into a tiebreak. The Swiss pair did well to shake off their collapse and refocus, taking five points in a row to give themselves a 9-4 lead and then crossing the finish line when Bergs netted a return. “It’s easy to find the energy with this team. It’s just great to play with Belinda”. Paul said. “I mean, just hats off to her to play almost 3 hours and then come out again for the doubles.” Earlier Bergs needed an exhausting two and a half hours on court to beat Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-3.

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Arsenal’s Gabriel (front) and Martin Zubimendi, Man City’s Pep Guardiola, England’s Jude Bellingham and Fifa President Giovanni Infantino . – REUTERSPIC

FOR ONCE, it is not just excit able new year talk to say 2026 has a strong chance of going down as the most momentous in English football history. And, yes, perhaps the best of times and the worst of times. England could win the World Cup, the second in their history and a first men’s trophy since 1966, on its 60th anniversary. The Manchester City case may finally have an outcome. The club insist on their inno cence, but a development would create the biggest con troversy the English game has ever seen – and that’s no matter how it goes. Whatever happens, though, the new Independent Football Regulator is going to have a lot to deal with. The body’s very implementation is another landmark moment in 2026. Of course, it almost sums up the repetitive nature of modern football that we’ve heard much of this before, without any delivery. This is now the third con secutive year where we’re talk ing about the City case poten tially dropping over the ensu ing 12 months – a reality that remains an embarrassment for

change between now and 11 June? People in football are seriously wondering whether Trump might demand the open ing game be changed from Mexico to the US. How Fifa react to anything like that is just as significant a part of the story. Indeed, another reason that the World Cup is being talked about so early is because it’s impossible not to talk about Fifa as they seemingly move to yet another nadir. The beauty of the game is, well, the beauty of the game. Football finds a way to rise above all of this. That will never be truer for England if Tuchel and his team lift the trophy itself. It now looks in such close reach that’s impossible for fans not to at least imagine; to dream. England’s chances may not rest on who is chosen but rather how the manager chooses to play, especially amid variable conditions. As well as the weather, there’s the exhaustive length of the tournament. The year will show whether a 48-team World Cup can actually work prop

the Premier League. And no one needs to hurt England fans by counting up how many times the early hopes of a tournament year have ultimately been dashed. But what is true is City are back, and will be in contention for the Premier League and Champions League as much as Arsenal. What if City narrowly win the title… only to face a points deduction months later? What if they face a deduction during the title race? Meanwhile, England’s form under Thomas Tuchel ensures they are considered one of the three favourites for the World Cup, along with Argentina and Spain. That isn’t just the old excit ability, either. It’s the view of rival managers and figures within football. A lot of people in the game are already starting to think about the World Cup, in a way that is a bit of a throw back. A huge part of the intrigue – in what is almost a tragicomedy – is what Donald Trump is going to do. Will he surpass the appearance at the Club World Cup final? What else might

erly, while the numbers in the stands will probably indicate whether Fifa’s disgraceful pric ing strategy is here to stay. It will have to be worth the watch. All the while, it feels like the game is now waiting for the next great tactical idea. Will something come this year? Will Mohamed Salah leave Liverpool? Will Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal finally win the title or Champions League? Can other “outsider” clubs emulate Crystal Palace and win a major trophy, or has the Premier League clubs’ call to introduce squad-cost ratio without anchoring potentially ended that sense of democracy for an era? Will the league vote through anchoring this year? It needs something similar, or else we may also see a return to some modern version of “the big four”. English football may have its greatest ever crisis, as it enjoys its greatest ever moment, all with its strongest ever regula tion. Whatever happens, 2026 is unlikely to be just another year. – The Independent