CK Updates
World Cup 2026: Scotland’s Boston love affair one for the ages
But the love affair here has gone way beyond baseball, this has been a glorious embracing of two cultures. A point underlined by the news Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has declared a sister city application with Glasgow.
Fittingly, she did so in a Scottish pub wearing a Scotland football jersey.
Tens of thousands of football fans swarming to a city for a major tournament is nothing new, but it is the manner of the revelry here that has set it apart.
At the time of writing, there has not been one arrest of a Scotland fan either in Boston or Providence, another nearby stronghold of the Tartan Army.
The ground work for this Boston bash was laid two years ago in Bavaria. At the last European Championships, Marienplatz felt like it held more Scots within it than Motherwell.
Again, Scotland fans were lauded for their behaviour, generosity and patter.
Alas, the football did its best to ruin the party.
That is perhaps one key difference to this shindig, apart from the obvious step up in excitement from a Euros to their first World Cup in 28 years.
What mood the Tartan Army would have been in if the opener against Haiti had turned into a disaster we will never know. Although, I would say it would not have made a dent.
The team on the pitch have done their bit to keep the party in full swing and a point against Morocco on Friday could trigger a tidal wave of celebration flooding back into Boston that night the likes they have never seen.
The best way to describe it is this has been the trip of a lifetime for people who are still in their 20s. There is a genuine appreciation from Scotland fans that they have waited this long to see their team at a World Cup, that it may be another three decades before it happens again.
And, even if it did, nothing could rival the week in Boston they’ve just had, regardless of what Miami holds.
For near enough a week, Scotland had the city to itself. Now it has become a tapestry of nations settling into one of the warmest, most welcoming place on the Charles River they could have hoped to visit.
Who knows, they may be back here if they are one of the best third-placed teams.
What will be the Tartan Army’s Boston legacy as the sporrans are soon to get packed away and the online check-ins start for flights to Miami?
Their generosity? Their good spirit? Their ability to alert some locals to the fact the World Cup is even happening?
Perhaps all of the above. Just not a haggis supper.
Former West Ham, QPR and Czech Republic goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko has died at the age of 64.
Miklosko made almost 400 appearances for the Hammers from 1990 to 1998 and was much loved by supporters, who regularly sang his name long after he left the club.
He later returned as a goalkeeping coach.
Miklosko withdrew from cancer treatment in December 2024, three years after his diagnosis.
Days later he returned to West Ham’s London Stadium for a Premier League match against Liverpool to a hero’s reception.
A West Ham statement read: “It is with deep and profound sadness that West Ham United announces the passing of legendary former goalkeeper and coach, Luděk Miklosko.
“Rest in peace Ludek, our beloved, inspirational goalkeeper and gentle giant of a man.”
More to follow.
Going into the 2026 season, few people would have backed Zverev to win two Grand Slam tournaments, with the German having already lost three major finals in a career which looked in danger of not living up to expectation.
But injuries to his biggest rivals – Alcaraz missing the French Open and Wimbledon, with Sinner ruled out of the US Open – opened the door for Zverev.
A below-par Zverev scraped through the opening rounds at Flushing Meadows in a series of early-morning finishes, but he gradually improved over a fortnight where he did not play a top-20 opponent until Shelton.
Zverev had not lost to Shelton in their five previous meetings and immediately capitalised on a nervy start by his opponent.
Shelton double-faulted on break point in the first game of the match, handing over the type of initiative that opponents often struggle to wrestle back from Zverev.
Through the strength of his first serve, and his ability to unpick Shelton’s weaker backhand in the baseline exchanges, Zverev rolled through the opening set and clinched it when Shelton hit another double fault on set point.
Zverev continued to patiently draw mistakes from Shelton in the second set, but without being gifted a break when his only opportunity arrived in the fourth game.
He instead showed why he has a strong tie-break record with another nerveless display and, unlike in the 2020 US Open final when he lost from a two-set lead, kept his composure in the pressure moments to secure a commanding victory.
Addressing his team which is led by his father Alexander senior and brother Mischa, Zverev said: “We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now won two in the span of three months.
“I think God has seen how hard we have worked, how hard we have suffered and how much pain we went through.
“I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”
With Haaland’s goal settling the match, United were unsurprisingly disappointed by the decision.
“I think it was offside,” said Martinez. “And what I can’t understand is the rules. I want to be calm now, I want to control myself.
“It’s so hard because you lose a derby, you lose three points at home, and every season they’re [referees] coming to our club, they explain for one hour the rules, and they look so confident with that, and then after [there are] five or six people doing these kind of mistakes in the Premier League – it’s unacceptable.
“It’s the best league in the world, you have the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and now we have to go home with this injustice.”
United boss Carrick also expressed his confusion.
“We put things in place in the game now, we have people in offices with all the screens for this decision,” he said.
“It’s more worrying about if that’s the interpretation of football now. If that’s the interpretation of not interfering in the game now, that’s really worrying for me. It’s a staggering explanation.
“The decision isn’t going to change the season, but it’s had a major impact on the game.”
Wayne Rooney, part of the BBC’s MOTD2 team, said: “Surely it’s offside. Martinez is impacted by Fernandez’s movement, and he is offside.”
Gary Neville said on Sky Sports: “I think we’ll see some sort of apology from the referee’s association, there’s no doubt Fernandez is playing that ball and is trying to put off Martinez. I think it’s one they’ll recognising they got wrong.”
Micah Richards added: “I think it’s been a bad day for referees. They got the Foden decision wrong and the Fernandez decision wrong. I think they got it so wrong but I don’t think it takes anything away from City’s performance.”
Meanwhile, City boss Maresca said: “I think it was onside clearly so it’s good.”
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