Former England striker Gary Lineker has signed a lucrative new deal to take his The Rest is Football podcast to streaming giant Netflix for the 2026 World Cup. The show will run daily throughout the competition in North America, Mexico and Canada and will also feature usual co-hosts Alan Shearer and Micah Richards. It will be filmed in New York but will also feature reports from the England camp and fan zones across the tournament.

New Netflix deal for Lineker and Co.

Lineker has confirmed he will play his part in the 2026 World Cup after agreeing a deal with Netflix to host a daily episode of his popular podcast. The former England captain had been due to cover the tournament for BBC Sport but left the corporation in May amid a row over a controversial social media post. However, he will now be part of the coverage of the World Cup with a daily show that will be produced by Goalhanger Podcasts. The company have promised the podcast will feature "game analysis, special guests, interviews and insights into the world's largest sporting event".

AdvertisementGetty Images EntertainmentLineker tells fans what to expect

Lineker is relishing the new opportunity and has already told fans what they can expect from his daily show. He said: "We can’t wait to bring The Rest Is Football to Netflix for the 2026 World Cup. It’s a fantastic opportunity for the three of us to do what we love — talk football every day — but on a truly global stage. Expect all the usual analysis, honesty and plenty of laughs … just with a few more cameras pointed at us, all from the Big Apple.”

England icon to receive big pay hike

Lineker's new contract with Netflix will see the 65-year-old receive a big hike on his previous salary. According to , Lineker's new "multimillion-pound" deal "will dwarf the £1.35 million salary he earned for hosting on the BBC".

A source told : "It’s a really exciting deal and Gary is thrilled. It means he will be at the World Cup after all. It’s Netflix’s first real foray into football coverage, with a daily show built around the podcast. This will also introduce Gary to a whole new international audience. Netflix first approached his company a few months ago, and his son, Harry, will also be joining Stateside as he’s a producer, so it’ll be a real family affair."

Lineker is also set to host a new game show on ITV next year. 'The Box' will feature celebrities taken to different locations and asked to undertake challenges in giant yellow boxes.

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AFPAll eyes on World Cup draw

Excitement for World Cup 2026 is starting to build, meaning all eyes will be on Friday's draw which will take place at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC at 17:00 GMT (12:00 local time). The glitzy affair will feature performances from legendary group the Village People, British superstar Robbie Williams, former Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger, and Italian maestro Andrea Bocelli and is due to be co-hosted by supermodel Heidi Klum and actor and comedian Kevin Hart.

Actor and producer Danny Ramirez will also be on hand to interview the great and the good at the event. 

A total of 48 nations will feature in the draw and will be divided into four pots containing 12 teams. The competition runs from 11 June to 19 July and is jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Manchester City have now moved into pole position in the race for an “incredible” star, with Pep Guardiola captivated by him.

Man City's January transfer plans taking shape

It is clear that Man City could do with bringing in some additional attacking firepower this January, given that Erling Haaland has scored more than half of their 27 Premier League goals this season, although Phil Foden is showing signs he could be getting back to his best.

City survived a scare to defeat Leeds United 3-2 on Saturday, with their academy graduate bagging a brace, scoring the all-important third goal in stoppage time.

However, with Haaland perhaps still in need of additional support in attack, the Blues are looking to sign a new forward, and they are now exploring a move for AFC Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo.

Semenyo is not the only target though, with Guardiola’s side setting their sights on a new midfielder, amid Rodri being unable to overcome his injury woes, and there has now been a new update on their pursuit of Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson.

According to a report from Spain, Man City are now the clear favourites to sign Anderson, but they will have to shell out one of the highest transfer fees in their history to get a deal done, with a €100m (£88m) asking price being touted.

Guardiola has been left captivated by the midfielder, who has attracted interest from some of the world’s biggest clubs, including Manchester United and Liverpool, but City have now moved into pole position in the race for his signature.

The Blues’ financial resources should also give them the edge, and there is every indication he would be a fantastic addition to Guardiola’s squad…

"Incredible" Anderson has earned move to top club

The central midfielder has been nothing short of a revelation for both club and country this season, most recently putting in a top performance against Brighton & Hove Albion, despite Forest losing 2-0, winning more duels and completing more dribbles than any other player.

Elliot Anderson’s key statistics

Number completed

Dribbles

6

Duels (won)

17 (12)

Accurate passes

62/71 (87%)

Crosses (accurate)

13 (6)

Lauded as “incredible” by journalist Konstantinos Lianos, the Forest star has also received high praise from England manager Thomas Tuchel, who said: “He is an elite player with the right attitude and a lot of talent. He is fulfilling his role in the best way possible so we are very happy with him.”

Related Man City now frontrunners to sign "world-class" £80m star, Pep's a big fan

There has been a new update on City’s pursuit of a new forward, who Pep Guardiola has dubbed “extraordinary”.

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With Rodri still struggling on the injury front, it would be ideal to bring in a new midfielder who could help keep the pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race, and Anderson has proven himself as a top player this season.

Kookaburra had been used instead of the Dukes in selected rounds of the County Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2025The controversial trial which saw the Kookaburra ball used for some rounds of the County Championship season has been scrapped after three seasons.The ECB first proposed the trial as part of Andrew Strauss’ high-performance review three years ago in the hope that using the Kookaburra ball – rather than the Dukes – would encourage the development of spinners and bowlers with “extreme skills”. The pilot initially lasted two rounds of games in the 2023 season, and was criticised by county coaches.Rob Key, the ECB’s managing director of men’s cricket, was a strong advocate for the Kookaburra ball and convinced the counties to expand the trial to four rounds for the 2024 season. Surrey’s Alec Stewart described that as “the worst decision ever” but Key doubled down, saying it had produced “some bloody good cricket” after 17 of the first 18 fixtures ended in draws.Related

English cricket's Kookaburra experiment: 'Fantastic' or 'worst decision ever'?

Batty criticises trial of Kookaburra balls in Championship as 'silly' and 'illogical'

The Kookaburra was used for four further rounds in 2025 but again produced a high proportion of draws, epitomised by Surrey piling on a club-record 820 for 9 declared against Durham at The Oval.It led directors of cricket from the 18 counties to make clear their wish to scrap the trial at a meeting last month, and the decision to revert to using the Dukes ball throughout the 2026 season was confirmed at a meeting of the Cricket Advisory Group – a sub-committee of the ECB Professional Game Committee – earlier this week.Key and the ECB have taken a more hands-off approach to county cricket in recent years, and made a point of leaving discussion over proposed fixture restructures to the clubs earlier this summer. The counties failed to come to an agreement over the future of the Championship, but did agree to a small cut in the number of T20 Blast fixtures for 2026.

Laura Wolvaardt and Deepti Sharma had World Cups to remember, breaking some records and closing in on other ones

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Rapid Fire – moments from the World Cup

A batting boom like never beforeThe 2025 edition produced batting numbers at a scale never seen before in the women’s game.There were 11 275-plus totals, one better than the previous edition. The tournament also saw 15 individual hundreds, surpassing the 14 in 2017. As many as 21 batters crossed 200 runs this tournament, with 20 of them striking at above 75, a big leap in scoring tempo.The previous edition had 15 of the 19 batters with 200-plus runs going at a 75-plus strike rate. Before 2025, just 46 of 131 batters with 200-plus runs in women’s ODI World Cups had done so at that tempo.