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Kelly: What does a typical day off look like for you, if you’re having a day away from football?

Reece: If it’s pre-season I’m not leaving the house, because I’m tired. I’d literally be in bed all day. If it’s in season, I’d probably go into London with my friends, see what they’re up to.

Kelly: How do you escape, because football is so intense?

Reece: When I get home, I just try not to think too much, take things in my stride.

Kelly: Fashion is a big thing for you, you like a fashion show?

Reece: I like a fashion show, yeah, depending on the time of year. Fashion is good – it’s something I am interested in and enjoy.

Kelly: How would you describe your fashion sense?

Reece: Now it’s a lot more chilled. A few years ago, it was a bit more edgy.

Kelly: Is that down to maturing?

Reece: Maybe boredom!

Kelly: How would your friends describe you? You come across super laid back. Would they say the same?

Reece: Most of the time, yeah. I have a sharper side as well. Not everything goes my way. Sometimes I’m not in the mood, and they see that more than other people.

Kelly: Has your personality changed as you’ve got older and everything you’ve gone through?

Reece: Yeah, a lot. I’ve had a lot of disappointment, setbacks. That changes the way you think and view things.

Kelly: Do you think becoming a captain has changed you as well?

Reece: Yeah, it’s benefited me – it’s helped me grow as a person. I need to help the younger team-mates and try and improve them as players and as people.

Kelly: How would team-mates describe you?

Reece: Why don’t we pull one of them in! That would be slightly easier. They’d probably say I’m chilled as well.

Kelly: But you’re not chilled on the pitch, I’ve seen you play. It seems like there is a very different Reece James sitting here to Reece James the captain.

Reece: I’m not sure what happens. It’s all or nothing on the pitch, and then off the pitch it’s like whatever happens, happens.

Kelly: Your friendship with Lewis Hamilton… he posted congratulations to you. It wasn’t sent from someone just observing, it was from someone that clearly knows you. Talk to me about that relationship with him.

Reece: We’re reasonably close. He’s probably the greatest F1 driver to have lived. I know we play different sports, but there are many similarities. He tries to help me where he can, when I’m going through difficult spells, because he has been at a high level for longer, and he’s been through more.

Kelly: How did you get to know each other?

Reece: Through a mutual friend, and then we have been in contact since.

Kelly: What are you most proud of?

Reece: Probably the trophies I have won for the club.

Kelly: Any one in particular?

Reece: I wouldn’t pick, they all play a huge part together.

Kelly: Tell me something that people get wrong about you the most.

Reece: I don’t know, to be honest. A lot of people say a lot of stuff. Everyone has their opinion, but it doesn’t really bother me. I don’t know if I see anything, I’m not really paying attention anyway.

Kelly: If you could only achieve one more thing for the rest of your career, what would it be?

Reece: To win the World Cup.

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  Jeff KassoufOct 23, 2025, 11:29 PM ET

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  Jeff Kassouf covers women’s soccer for ESPN, focusing on the USWNT and NWSL. In 2009, he founded The Equalizer, a women’s soccer news outlet, and he previously won a Sports Emmy at NBC Sports and Olympics.

CHESTER, Pa. — U.S. women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes slapped the table repeatedly at Subaru Park on Thursday as she described how she felt watching her team lose to Portugal 2-1 moments earlier.

“I was frustrated this evening because I felt like a game of a Whac-A-Mole,” Hayes said, hitting different parts of the table to illustrate the point. “I felt like if I put something out then I was whacking that. That’s how the game felt for me as a coach, and I’ve been doing this for so long — I hate them games.”

Portugal scored both goals on corner kicks — “no coach likes conceding on f—ing set pieces ever,” Hayes eventually said with a smile as she walked away from the news conference, drawing a laugh from the room — and the U.S. struggled to connect with and without the ball against a well-organized Portuguese team.

“It felt really individual out there,” said midfielder Rose Lavelle, who scored 35 seconds into the match. “I think everyone was trying to fix it on their own.” Captain Lindsey Heaps added that “sometimes it felt a little bit like we were on islands.”

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The tepid performance evoked at least passing memories of the 2023 World Cup, where the USWNT held on for a draw with Portugal by mere inches — with the help of the goalpost in stoppage time — and avoided their first group-stage exit in World Cup history. Alarm bells were literally ringing around Eden Park that day in Auckland, New Zealand due to a malfunctioning sprinkler — a scene that portended the team’s worst World Cup finish a few days later at the hands of Sweden.

But Hayes wasn’t the coach then, and though she was palpably disappointed with Thursday’s “rushed” performance from her team, she isn’t alarmed.

“As Ben Northey, the [Australian] conductor would say, ‘Let it go,'” Hayes said motioning her hand back past her face.

It sounds like an easy out for Hayes, but Thursday’s loss comes 113 days after the U.S. last played — “it looked like a team in preseason to me,” Hayes said. More importantly, it was 609 days ahead of the 2027 World Cup.

The loss on Thursday is the team’s third of the calendar year, which has happened only four other times in the program’s 40-year history. Never has the U.S. team lost four matches in a calendar year.

Portugal’s diamond shape in the midfield allowed it to keep 60% possession in the first half and find the open spaces between the three-player midfield of the U.S. Portugal played around the Americans frequently, although Portugal was generally wasteful in front of goal during open play.

The problems for the U.S. compounded across every line. Hayes lamented mistimed defensive challenges and lost duels. And then there were the set pieces, of course. Diana Gomes outjumped three defenders on the six-yard line to score Portugal’s equalizer just before halftime, and Fátima Pinto added the second after the Americans failed to clear a corner kick..

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“I think there was stuff that didn’t work out all over the field,” midfielder Sam Coffey said.

“There’s a million excuses you could make — and we’re not going to. To say that we haven’t been together or we’re young or whatever is a cop-out. The standard of this team is to own when you are not good enough and you’re not playing up to the standard of the crest. There is a standard of winning, and it exceeds all of those things.”

Thursday’s loss is only the third in program history for the USWNT against an opponent outside of the top 20 in FIFA’s rankings. It is a hard lesson for a young American team that Hayes warned not to underestimate Portugal.

The biggest concern wasn’t the result — it was the flat, disjointed performance, and the individual ways in which players tried to solve those problems in real time. The lack of problem-solving and creativity ultimately were the team’s undoing. That description feels like the 2023 World Cup meeting between the U.S. and Portugal.

“Don’t bring me back to that game,” Heaps said with a slight laugh Thursday.

But the good news for the USWNT — at least for now — is that the poor showing is an anomaly in the Hayes era. Hayes took over as coach a few months before the 2024 Olympics and led the team to a gold medal, then proceeded to overhaul the program and win while experimenting to unprecedented levels as she handed out 24 first caps in her first 24 games.

The Hayes era has been off to a flying start in the first 18 months, which is partly why a relatively cheerful Heaps said repeatedly Thursday after the match that her team can’t be too negative. Thursday wasn’t a World Cup, but rather the first game for this core group on the journey to qualifying next year.

Yes, it was ugly. It was disjointed. But it wasn’t entirely discouraging or alarming.

“It’s a game of football, no one died,” Hayes said. “We’ve got to be better, and I promise you we will be better — we better be.”

A rematch Sunday against Portugal in East Hartford, Connecticut, might at least partly explain that optimism. Goalkeeper Phallon Tullis-Joyce said simply about what is on her mind for Sunday: “Revenge, for sure.”

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West Ham’s miserable Premier League campaign continued with a defeat at Leeds on Friday which ensured their worst start to a season for 52 years.

The result was their third consecuitve defeat under new manager Nuno Espirito Santo, who remains winless since replacing Graham Potter in September.

The Hammers, who sit 19th in the table, have recorded just one win this season and ironically it arrived against Nottingham Forest, when Nuno was in charge at the City Ground.

A dismal return of just four points in total represents West Ham’s joint-worst at this stage of a league campaign, with the club replicating that tally in the second tier in 1932-33 and 1973-74, when they finished bottom.

Having been appointed with the task of making sure West Ham don’t suffer a relegation that would leave them outside the top flight for the first time since 2011-12, Nuno, who took a point in his first match against Everton, is struggling to find answers.

“There is many problems in our club unfortunately. It is not up to us to hide ourselves behind the problems. Everyone has to be alive and to do much more and be in the right position,” said the Portuguese.

“We were not dealing with our defensive situations and I felt like we needed a striker to hold the ball, so maybe that’s not the greatest from me.

“These kind of mistakes are unacceptable in the Premier League.”

Nuno, also the first West Ham boss to fail to record a win from any of his first four Premier League games since Manuel Pellegrini in September 2018, added: “There is quality there, there is time, but nothing will happen if we don’t change.

“We must change our attitude, we must change the way we approach things, we must commit ourselves better, prepare better, work harder.

“All the things – that is the reality. We don’t expect things to change by themselves. Realising we have time can be a mistake if we don’t change things around quickly.”

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Ruben Amorim has insisted that he does not care about Arne Slotâ€s apparent criticism of Manchester Unitedâ€s style of play in their 2-1 victory against Liverpool last Sunday.

Liverpoolâ€s head coach cited Unitedâ€s “low block†and “long balls†after Unitedâ€s first win at Anfield since 2016. Slot sought to point out that his comments had been complimentary when speaking on Friday. Speaking himself soon after, Amorim gave his response to the Dutchmanâ€s initial comments. “I donâ€t care what Slot is saying, what people are saying about our team,†he said. “I can watch the game and say we can do better and we need to do better in the future but sometimes you need to adapt to the game. So I donâ€t need anyone to evaluate my team. I can evaluate my team and I am really clear that we should play better with the ball and we are going to try to do that in this game.â€

Bruno Fernandes will make his 300th appearance for United when Brighton visit Old Trafford on Saturday and Amorim was asked who beyond the captain maintains the standards expected at the club. “Harry Maguire. Diogo Dalot tries to do that,†he said. “Luke Shaw can show in some moments by the way he plays, when heâ€s so focused. I think Nous [Mazraoui] has a good impact. Licha [Lisandro Martínez], he is really important in this.â€

Victory over Liverpool means United have finally won two Premier League games in a row under Amorim. “It has to do a lot with attitude,†the Portuguese said when asked how this was achieved. “Iâ€m not saying my players donâ€t want to win or run, but we need to sometimes [when] itâ€s getting harder [in matches] to force ourselves to do the basics. If you look at Brighton and the way they play, every team that pressed a little higher struggled and they won. We need to be prepared – not just against the top teams but against opponents that are [also] really good.â€

Bruno Fernandes holds a commemorative shirt ahead of his 300th appearance for Manchester United. Photograph: Zohaib Alam/MUFC

Fernandes joined United from Sporting for £46.5m in January 2020 and has been one of the few consistently high performers for the club in the intervening years. The 31-year-old considered joining Al-Hilal in the summer after the Saudi Arabian club made a £100m offer for him but decided to remain at Old Trafford after speaking to his family and Amorim. Talking before his landmark game for United, the Portuguese, whose contract expires in June 2028, insisted he will discuss his future again only after next summerâ€s World Cup.

“Iâ€ve seen a lot of people talking that I had an agreement to go already next season. If the club has done that agreement, it wasnâ€t with me,†said Fernandes. “I havenâ€t spoken with anyone. I could tell you that there are still people talking to me and saying that they will be very eager to have me next year, of course. But from my side, thatâ€s not talked about. Because my agent also knows how I work, so if he wants to talk to me, it will be after the World Cup. Because until then, I wonâ€t speak to anyone.â€

Fernandes went on to say that Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who signed for United in the summer, are the type of personalities United require, before going on to to praise their fellow new recruits Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens. “We need big characters because at this club being good players sometimes is not enough because of the pressure,†said the captain. “Cunha has that good arrogance to do the good things. Bryan, the same. Heâ€s not afraid to take the ball, do his play. We brought two players who were aware of the Premier League also. And then we bought a very young goalkeeper [Lammens] and a centre-forward [and] they hit the ground flying [running]. We know Ben will be judged by scoring goals or not. But apart from that, heâ€s been doing great. Heâ€s got his goals already [too].

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“Sometimes I get upset with [Mbeumo] in training because heâ€s like, one touch more, and I say: ‘Bryan, you donâ€t need that. You can one touch and shoot because youâ€re more than able. You did that against us when you were at Brentford. You just have to make it for us now. The shirts have changed, but youâ€re the same player so we need that from you.â€â€

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Jenni Hermoso has described the tearful moment she was recalled to the Spain squad by new manager Sonia Bermudez following a year-long absence.

Spain’s all-time leading scorer with 57 goals last appeared for her country in October 2024, coming off the bench for a 15-minute run-out against Canada.

Since then, she has given evidence in the trial that resulted in the sexual assault conviction of former Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales, who kissed Hermoso on the lips without her consent after Spain’s win in the 2023 World Cup final.

Hermoso was not called up for Euro 2025, despite featuring in all six of Spain’s qualifiers, but appeared as a late substitute during their 4-0 win over Sweden in the first leg of the Women’s Nations League semi-final on Friday.

The 35-year-old replaced Mariona Caldentey in the 88th minute at Malaga’s Estadio la Rosaleda.

In the build-up to the match she had said she was “really excited” to be invited back into the squad.

“I have to admit that I cried,” the striker, who plays for Mexican club Tigres, told Radio Television Espanola.

“It was a moment that I have waited a long time for and I’ve been working for a long time for.

“To continue at this level and to be able to enjoy football with the national team is the reward for all that work.”

Hermoso became a focus of worldwide attention following Spain’s World Cup final victory over England.

Rubiales kissed her as she went to collect her winner’s medal, with Hermoso telling the former RFEF president’s trial in February 2025 that the incident “stained one of the happiest days of my life”.

Barcelona defender Mapi Leon, who last featured for her country in 2022, played the full 90 minutes against Sweden.

The second leg between Sweden and Spain will be played in Gothenburg on 28 October.

Former Spain Under-23 coach Bermudez succeeded Montse Tome in the top job when Tome’s contract with the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) was not renewed in August.

Hermoso is eyeing a fresh start, saying: “For me it’s been tireless, I haven’t stopped staying strong because I did have some pretty tough moments.

“Maybe at some point in my life, it would have been difficult for me to come back and I feel very proud of myself.”

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The next edition You Ask The Questions will put your questions to Mary Earps.

As regularly seen in our print editions, we put questions from readers to someone from the world of football in You Ask The Questions, our recurring FourFourTwo feature that puts your queries to some of the biggest names in football

This time around, it’s Mary Earps, with the former Manchester United and England international enjoying a decorated career at the very top of the game.

That tournament also led to a merchandise revolution after complaints that Nike had not made a replica goalkeeper shirt available for purchase, disappointing Earps’ legions of fans.

As ever, we’re across social, too, if you’d like to ask Earps a question via X (formerly Twitter), Facebook or Instagram.

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Oct 24, 2025, 04:00 AM ET

Manchester United are considering a January move for Atlético Madrid’s Conor Gallagher, while AFC Bournemouth have set a transfer fee for Chelsea and Liverpool tagret Antoine Semenyo. Join us for the latest transfer news and rumors from around the globe.

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Atlético Madrid’s Conor Gallagher and Chelsea’s Andrey Santos are among the midfielders Manchester United could target in January. Diego Souto/Getty Images

TRENDING RUMORS

– Atlético Madrid’s Conor Gallagher is on Manchester United shortlist of midfielders to sign in the January transfer window, according to talkSPORT. The 25-year-old has made more than 60 appearances for the LaLiga club since joining them last year. since signing from Chelsea in 2024 for €40 million. However, while the Old Trafford hierarchy would prefer to secure a loan deal, talkSPORT reports that Atlético want to move him on permanently for a fee similar to the €40 million they paid Chelsea for him. Meanwhile, Diario AS that Gallagher is being “more questioned all the time” at Atlético. The newspaper says the England midfielder “isn’t in his best moment” after the team’s performance dropped when Gallagher came off the bench in the 4-0 loss at Arsenal in midweek.

– An offer worth in excess of £75m will be required to sign Bournemouth winger Antoine Semenyo, reports the Daily Mail. Interest is continuing to grow in the 25-year-old, with Chelsea believed to be keen on a move, while Liverpool as well as clubs in Europe’s top leagues would also be ready to compete to sign him. The Cherries are expected to resist offers for Semenyo in January as they look to turn down all approaches before next summer, following an impressive season which has seen him directly contribute to nine goals in eight Premier League matches.

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– Bayern Munich have made Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi and Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck the top options in their search for a center-back, Florian Plettenberg reports. The Bundesliga champions are “fully involved in the race” for Guéhi, 25, with plans to challenge Real Madrid and Liverpool for his signature. They could also look to 25-year-old Schlotterbeck as a second reinforcement if both Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae leave the Allianz Arena, with Upamecano yet to agree to terms on a new contract. Meanwhile, Bild reports that AC Milan and Internazionale are keen on Bayern defender Kim. Both clubs are looking at a potential January move for the 28-year-old South Korea international, who has made just one start in the Bundesliga so far this season.

– Everton are keen on reuniting with Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison, according to TEAMtalk. The Toffees are believed to be prioritising a move to reinforce their forward line in the next transfer window, with hopes of landing an experienced Premier League forward. Richarlison has scored three goals in eight league games so far this season, but it is reported that Spurs would be open to letting the 28-year-old leave in 2026, with belief that both Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani would be ahead of him in the pecking order.

– Clubs in MLS are attentive to the situation of RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner, according to Florian Plettenberg. Werner, 29, has played just one minute so far this season when coming on as a substitute in the 1-0 league win over Wolfsburg in September, and it looks as though the Bundesliga will look to part ways with him in January. Philipp Hinze reports that Werner is open to calling time on his spell in Germany, with Leipzig willing to accept an offer worth less than €1m.

EXPERT TAKE

ESPN’s Alex Kirkland looks at what the future might hold for Conor Gallagher at Atlético Madrid:

Conor Gallagher has never quite found his place at Atlético Madrid. Even if some of his qualities — above all his work-rate and energy — look tailor-made for a Diego Simeone team, the coach hasn’t appeared convinced by the midfielder, signed for €42m in 2024.

Gallagher has started just two of Atlético’s nine LaLiga games so far this season, with seven substitute appearances. Last year, in his debut campaign, he started 19 league games, and was introduced as a sub 13 times.

Simeone doesn’t often pick Gallagher in central midfield, in theory his best position. When he does play, he tends to feature out wide in a midfield four, often on the left. The coach prefers Pablo Barrios and Koke — both more creative, reliable passers, with better technique — in the middle, and now has options like Giuliano Simeone, Thiago Almada, Alex Baena and Nico González on the flanks.

Gallagher’s attitude is excellent, he’s popular with teammates and fans, and he is a useful impact player off the bench. But you wonder how long he’ll be happy with that role. A move back to the Premier League seems inevitable at some point. The only question is when it happens.

OTHER RUMORS

– AC Milan recently made an enquiry regarding Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski (Diario Sport)

– Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee plans to ask the club to let him leave in January. He has previously been linked with West Ham, as well as clubs in the Serie A. (Daily Mirror)

– An agreement has been reached between Arsenal and midfielder Max Dowman over scholarship terms. (The Athletic)

– Paris Saint-Germain center-back Willian Pacho has agreed terms regarding a new contract at the Parc des Princes until the summer of 2030. (Nicolò Schira)

– Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade remains open to a switch to Bayern Munich. (Bild)

– Two clubs in the Serie A have been offered the opportunity to sign Real Madrid Endrick on loan. (Nicolò Schira)

– Borussia Dortmund are “optimistic” that forward Karim Adeyemi will sign a new contract, with talks currently ongoing. (Florian Plettenberg)

– LAFC, Vancouver Whitecaps, and Montreal are set to challenge Chelsea in the race for Randers FC forward Mohamed Toure. (TEAMtalk)

– Clubs in Europe could look to tempt Sao Paulo forward Lucca away in January. A release clause in his contract allows clubs from outside of Brazil to sign him for €80m. (Ekrem Konur)

– Al-Hilal defender Kalidou Koulibaly is set to extend his stay with the club until the summer of 2027. (NIcolo Schira)

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After being placed on gardening leave by previous club QPR, Cifuentes took the Leicester hot seat in July following the departure of Ruud van Nistelrooy.

The Spaniard was given less than four weeks of pre-season to work with his new side before the season kicked-off, and was limited to adding to his squad with free transfers and loan deals.

Long-standing strikers have also stuttered.

While the iconic Jamie Vardy departed for Italy, Patson Daka has failed to step up. He has not scored for the club this calendar year, and has netted just once in 45 league games since February 2024.

Daka, Jordan Ayew and Argentine loanee Julian Carranza have scored one goal in 27 league appearances between them this season.

“Life for Leicester City back in the Championship hasn’t kicked off the way they would have liked,” said BBC Radio Leicester’s Owynn Palmer-Atkin.

“Firstly, it’s important to recognise that this is a completely different scenario to the beginning of the 2023-24 campaign.

“The Foxes had a better squad, a successful transfer window, and a manager [Enzo Maresca] who had an entire pre-season to work with his players on his very detailed style of play.

“This time around, there was a delay before proceedings could even get going. Ruud van Nistelrooy probably knew his time was up at the end of May, but he was still in post until days before the new pre-season campaign was due to begin.

“A couple of weeks later, and Marti Cifuentes arrives. I do believe that this has had a significant impact on his ability to work with the players enough to instill the gameplan, the tactics, the philosophy ready for the beginning of the season.

“Alongside the manager, the Foxes started the season with no new outfield signings and had to wait until much later in the window for the new faces to arrive. Put that alongside first-team players, at the time, lobbying for moves away – it created a feeling of uncertainty.

“On the pitch though, this season, is the season no Foxes fan wanted to see – a Leicester squad without Jamie Vardy in it.

“For so long, even when things weren’t going well, he was the man to be relied on. The man to dig Leicester out of trouble. To score the goals. To lead the team. To be the all-encompassing legend.

“There’s no doubt, the hole in which he’s left, could never be truly filled.”

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Watch Leeds United vs West Ham United, as Friday Night Football returns to our screens under the lights at Elland Road, with all the details here on live streams and TV coverage globally.

It all looks pretty drab and down for Leeds United at present, with the Whites having most recently suffered a 2-0 defeat to relegation rivals Burnley last weekend.

You can watch the game online via Sling,Fubo, YouTube TVor another cord-cutting cable service that carries USA Network.

YouTube TV, which carries USA Network in the States, is currently offering a seven-day free trial. You can sign up, watch the game, and cancel if you don’t think you’ll get any lasting value from the offering.