Thursday’s briefing: Phil Foden in danger of missing World Cup squad | OneFootball

Phil Foden could be danger of missing out on a place in England’s World Cup squad, manager Thomas Tuchel has suggested.

Defending champions Arsenal have reached the semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League at the expense of Chelsea but Manchester United have gone out. Chelsea, meanwhile, have reported record losses.

Time running out for Foden

Thomas Tuchel admits Phil Foden is not guaranteed to be in England’s World Cup squad.

The 25-year-old was the only player to start their latest friendlies against Uruguay and Japan but struggled to make an impact.

It comes after a period in which the forward has lacked game time for Manchester City.

“He tried everything,” England manager Tuchel said. “I would say he was excellent in camp but he struggles to show it on the pitch.”

Gunners hold off Blues

Arsenal took a step closer to defending their Women’s Champions League title with a 3-2 aggregate win over Chelsea despite losing the second leg of their quarter-final 1-0.

The Blues will be left to rue missed chances at Stamford Bridge after Sjoeke Nusken’s late consolation was not enough to turn things around.

Nusken twice went close early on, while Alyssa Thompson also threatened and Sam Kerr was denied by a fine save from Daphne van Domselaar.

Arsenal had a Stina Blackstenius header ruled out for offside but Chelsea pushed on with Veerle Buurman hitting the post and Van Domselaar tipping another Nusken header onto the woodwork.

Nusken eventually scored in stoppage time but it was too little late and Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor was sent off as tempers frayed.

United fail to overturn deficit

Manchester United also exited at the quarter-final stage after a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich condemned them to a 5-3 aggregate loss.

Last week’s reverse fixture at Old Trafford saw Bayern claim a 3-2 win but, at the start of Wednesday’s second leg in Munich, Melvine Malard levelled for United.

However, a more confident second-half display saw Bayern take charge as Glodis Viggosdottir and Linda Dallmann both struck in the final 10 minutes to book the German side’s place in the semi-finals.

United manager Marc Skinner said: “We’ve got 45 minutes of really high-level football then the second half it’s just down to fatigue and tiredness.”

Record losses for Chelsea

Chelsea have announced a Premier League-record pre-tax loss of £262.4million for the year ending June 30, 2025.

The loss was attributed by the club to higher operating costs compared to the 2023-24 season, and smashed the previous highest pre-tax loss posted by Manchester City in the 2010-11 season.

The news came on the same day the Football Association revealed the Blues had spent significantly more on agents’ fees – £65.1million – than any other English club this season.

Aston Villa were the next biggest spenders on £38.4million, with English top-flight clubs spending £460.3million in total.

What’s on today?

The two remaining Women’s Champions League quarter-finals are played to a conclusion with Barcelona starting their second leg against Real Madrid with a 6-2 aggregate advantage and Wolfsburg taking a 1-0 lead to Lyon.

There is also EFL action with Wigan taking on Leyton Orient in a relegation battle and promotion-chasing Cambridge and Swindon clashing in League Two.