bbc

Flamengo were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool in the 2019 final

Flamengo boss Filipe Luis says a team from South America can win the Fifa Club World Cup after an impressive start to the tournament by clubs from Brazil and Argentina.

After Botafogo defeated Champions League winnersParis St-Germain1-0, fellow Brazilian sideFlamengocame from behind to beat Uefa Conference League winners Chelsea 3-1.

There are six teams from South America taking part in the new 32-team format – Palmeiras, Botafogo, Flamengo and Fluminense from Brazil, while Boca Juniors and River Plate are representing Argentina.

All six were unbeaten after nine matches – with Palmeiras, Botafogo, Flamengo and River Plate topping their respective groups.

However, that run ended whenBoca Juniors lost 2-1 to Bayern Munichin the early hours of Saturday.

No team from Brazil has won the Club World Cup since Corinthians beat Chelsea in the final of the 2012 edition.

Since then all the winners have come from Europe.

Meanwhile, no team from Argentina has won the tournament since it was founded in 2000.

"Anybody can win. That's football. It wouldn't surprise me [if a South American team won it]," said Flamengo boss Luis after masterminding a win over his former club Chelsea.

Could the fact that it is mid-season in South America have anything to do with their good results so far?

European teams went into the Club World Cup on the back of long seasons.

Palmeiras top Group A with four points from two games, while Botafogo have won both their games in Group B.

Flamengo top Group D with six points from two games after wins over ES Tunis of Tunisia and Chelsea.

Meanwhile, River Plate's only game so far ended in a 3-1 win over Japan's Urawa Red Diamonds, while Fluminense held Borussia Dortmund to a 0-0 draw.

Boca Juniors' defeat by Bayern Munich leaves them third in Group C – and while they can still qualify they need results to go their way in the final group fixtures and a seven-goal swing.

"I'm surprised at these results," added Luis.

"Sometimes the weather, they're not used to this, but the South American clubs are very competitive and not always the best win the Copa Libertadores.

"There's different grass, altitudes, so we have a lot of adaptations and are used to that."

Danilo and Bruno Henrique celebrate Flamengo's second goal against Chelsea in their Club World Cup group game

Flamengo overturned a first-half deficit to defeat Chelsea 3-1, with second-half goals from Bruno Henrique, Danilo, and Wallace Yan securing their second win in the tournament.

Their cause was helped by Nicolas Jackson's straight red card soon after the Chelsea substitute came on.

Thousands of Flamengo fans, who have travelled to the United States to cheer on their side, celebrated wildly after the final whistle at Lincoln Financial Field.

"The players are waiting to show 'I can compete against European players'," former Flamengo midfielder Kleberson told DAZN.

Flamengo's team included former Chelsea midfielder Jorginho.

"We were really confident and we know in these big games the details make the difference," he told DAZN.

"Overall we were really good in the first half so we said at half-time, 'let's keep pushing'.

"We found the little spots that could hurt them."

Bruno Henrique falls to his knees after the full time whistle against Chelsea in their Club World Cup group game

Botafogo, the 2024 winners of the Copa Libertadores, produced one of the eye-catching results of the tournament so far with a 1-0 victory over European champions Paris St-Germain.

"One team was the champion of the Champions League, the other team was the champion of South America," said goalscorer Igor Jesus, who had been strongly linked with a move to Nottingham Forest earlier this year before opting to stay with the Brazilians to play in the Club World Cup.

"I think I made the right choice to stay in Botafogo," he added.

Igor Jesus celebrates his winning Club World Cup goal against Paris St-Germain with the fans

Botafogo defended superbly to keep out Luis Enrique's side.

"This PSG side is a lesson to everybody in football and I told my guys to just be a team, enjoy, play together, attack together, defend together," added Botafogo boss Renato Paiva.

"We showed the quality of Brazilian players and the coaches.

"This is a victory of all the coaches that are working in Brazil, working with great players and Brazil will always be in world football."

Botafogo players huddle together at the final whistle after beating Paris St-Germain

Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast

Get football news sent straight to your phone

Alfie Davis has won 19 of his 25 professional fights

Britain's Alfie Davis reached the final of the PFL lightweight tournament with a unanimous decision win against Brent Primus in Wichita, Kansas.

Davis, 33, was the busier striker in a back-and-forth contest, sealing a 29-28 victory on all three judges' scorecards at the Intrust Bank Arena.

Victory sees Davis compete for his first world title and the chance to win £395,000 ($500,000) in prize money.

He will face Russia's Gadzhi Rabadanov in the PFL Finals on 15 August at the Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.

There was disappointment for fellow Briton Jake Hadley, however, who was outclassed by Brazil's Marcirley Alves in the bantamweight semi-finals.

Hadley, 28, was on the back foot throughout as Alves dominated with his striking, landing a number of thudding combinations.

'I couldn't be more prepared' – Elliott ready for Ko

Heavyweights call for Jones to be stripped – what happens next?

The PFL has been a breeding ground for success for Britons in recent years withBrendan Loughnane winning the featherweight titlein 2022 andDakota Ditcheva securing women's flyweight goldlast year.

Davis will have the chance to become Britain's first PFL lightweight champion after delivering the more eye-catching moments in an entertaining contest with Primus.

Primus, who was last year's beaten finalist, edged the first round, controlling the action on the ground but Davis came alive in the second.

Davis unleashed a selection of eye-catching strikes, hurting Primus with knees to the body and catching the American with a couple of spinning back kicks.

With the crowd showing their appreciation, Davis danced in the middle of the cage as the final seconds of the round ticked down.

Davis continued to land in the final round and despite being taken down, reversed the position to end the fight on top, before celebrating victory with his team.

Hadley, who parted ways with the UFC last year after his contract expired, failed to join Davis as he was overpowered by Alves.

Alves started strongly and never looked back, landing a number of combinations to the body with Hadley using his jab in vain to disrupt the momentum.

The Brazilian exerted more control in the second round, dropping Hadley with a straight right and opening a cut below his left eye.

Hadley continued to struggle with Alves' power and the Brazilian stamped his authority on the contest by landing a takedown in the final minutes.

On the prelims, Ireland's Darragh Kelly extended the unbeaten start to his career to eight by submitting American lightweight Mike Hamel in the third round.

Despite some clean shots from Hamel, Kelly was the better striker throughout before securing a rear-naked choke with two minutes remaining to end the contest.

Britain's Fabian Edwards faces American Josh Silveira in the middleweight semi-finals at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois on 27 June.

Fellow Briton Simeon Powell fights Brazil's Antonio Carlos Jr in the light-heavyweight semi-finals on the same card.

Watch every Born to Brawl episode

Notifications, social media and more with BBC Sport

Watch: 'Too many errors' in loss to Pumas – Lions boss Farrell

Head coach Andy Farrell says the British and Irish Lions must learn "a lot of lessons" from a "disconnected" performance inFriday's 28-24 lossto Argentina in Dublin as they prepare to embark on their Australian tour.

The Lions' hopes for victory in their first game on Irish soil were dashed by a slick Pumas side, who scored breakaway tries through Ignacio Mendy, Tomas Albornoz and Santiago Cordero to secure a deserved first win over the hosts at the eighth attempt.

Farrell's side travel on Saturday and must regroup in time for their tour opener against Western Force in Perth on 28 June.

"We made it a tough game," said Farrell, who was taking charge of his first Lions game.

"The first and appropriate thing to say is congratulations to Argentina, they thoroughly deserved to win. They capitalised very well on quite a few errors from us, so congratulations and I'm sure that's a big moment in Argentina's history."

Rugby Union Weekly: Argentina stun the Lions in Dublin

Argentina hold off British and Irish Lions to secure thrilling win – reaction

Bundee Aki and Tadhg Beirne scored tries for the Lions, who were also awarded a penalty try early in the second half, but it was not enough to beat the world's fifth-ranked team.

"You can try and throw it all around and say we had plenty of opportunities and we should have done better, but the story of the game is we compounded too many errors and weren't able to put the pace on the game that we wanted to because of that," added Farrell.

"We won't sugar-coat this. We need to be honest because if we're not honest, how do we gain trust with each other?

"Losing hurts, especially in this jersey. We need to find the solutions pretty quickly and be honest with ourselves because some good has to come from this."

The Lions travelled to Portugal for a week-long training camp before facing Argentina, but when asked if the squad has not had enough time together, Farrell said he "wouldn't give that excuse".

"We need to be better than that. It is what it is," he added.

"The Lions players are good players coming together. We ask a lot of them and maybe we put too much pressure on the side because it certainly looked like we were a bit disconnected at times.

"We'll review what we said we were going to own and we need to make sure we get something positive from that because it's all about how we move forward."

The Lions begin their Australian tour against Western Force on 28 June

Given that Farrell was without the sizeable portion of his squad who contested domestic finals last weekend – Ronan Kelleher being the sole exception – Friday's game against the Pumas was a chance for some to stake an early claim for Test selection.

And when asked what positives he could draw from the defeat, Farrell said "some people will have done themselves proud" without singling out any players.

"They'll be hurting for the team because they're all team players," he added.

"Some players will be happy, others won't and will be dying to get another chance, but look we know where we're at, we're under way so we need to learn a lot of lessons from that."

The Lions fielded 14 debutants on Friday and a new captain in Maro Itoje, who described his first outing as skipper as a "spectacular occasion" before echoing Farrell's downbeat comments about the performance.

"We gave ourselves numerous opportunities but we weren't accurate enough at times and weren't consistent enough in putting pressure under Argentina," said Itoje.

"As we improve our relationships and spend more time together in training and understanding each other's triggers, it'll come.

"There are no excuses. We should have been better today but as with other areas of the game, we'll learn and get better together."

British and Irish Lions fixtures for tour of Australia

'He's got such an aura' – Farrell's rise to Lions top job

'I was very raw' – Skelton itching for Lions rematch

British and Irish Lions:Marcus Smith; Tommy Freeman, Sione Tuipulotu, Bundee Aki, Duhan van der Merwe; Fin Smith, Alex Mitchell; Ellis Genge, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Finlay Bealham, Maro Itoje (capt), Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jac Morgan, Ben Earl.

Replacements:Ronan Kelleher, Pierre Schoeman, Tadhg Furlong, Scott Cummings, Henry Pollock, Tomos Williams, Elliot Daly, Mack Hansen.

Argentina:Santiago Carreras; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy; Tomas Albornoz, Gonzalo Garcia; Mayco Vivas, Julian Montoya (capt), Joel Sclavi, Franco Molina, Pedro Rubiolo, Pablo Matera, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Joaquin Oviedo

Replacements:Bautista Bernasconi, Boris Wenger, Francisco Coria Marchetti, Santiago Grondona, Joaquin Moro, Simon Benitez Cruz, Matias Moroni, Santiago Cordero

Referee:James Doleman (New Zealand)

Assistant referees:Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) and Andrea Piardi (Italy)

Scotland, the Netherlands and Nepal produced some exciting matches in their T20 and ODI matches in Dundee and Glasgow

Three super overs in one match, five more final-over finishes, and a pitch invasion.

The Netherlands and Nepal's trip to Scotland has been action-packed and record-breaking.

Six ODIs in Dundee and six T20s in Glasgow have delivered some of the most captivating cricket on offer anywhere in the world.

It is not the glitz and glamour of the IPL, nor does it have the history and prestige of Test cricket, but it is further evidence of the high-level cricket played by associate members of the International Cricket Council, despite the financial restraints they face.

Historic three super overs as Netherlands beat Nepal

Record 191 for Munsey – but Scotland still lose to Dutch

Nepal beat Scotland in final-ball thriller

Nepal's passionate fans packed out grounds in Dundee and Glasgow

A major factor in the series' compelling nature has been Nepal's involvement.

After theirremarkable defeat by the Netherlandsfollowing three super overs, Scotland spinner Mark Watt asked on social media: "Do Nepal ever have a normal game of cricket?"

The 'Cardiac Kids' have certainly lived up to their nickname during their three-week stint in Scotland, with match after match going to the wire.

They set out their stall with a dramaticone-wicket winover the hosts and have played with the same intensity and spirit throughout, winning five of their eight matches in foreign conditions.

Passionate supporters have been present in both Dundee and Glasgow, with tens of thousands more watching along from home.

That enthusiasm was no more evident than in a joyous pitch invasion after starting with that one-wicket win over Scotland.

Nepal have made no secret of theirambition to receive full ICC membershipand play Test cricket one day.

They seem to only play absorbing matches. They are superb in the field, have a varied bowling attack and do not seem to know when they are beaten.

"I guess it's the way we have played our cricket for the past 10 years or so," Nepal skipper Rohit Paudel told BBC Sport.

"Every game seems to go down to the wire.

"So I think the name 'cardiac kids' comes because you never know how we can come back from a bad position to win a game. We are always fighting right until the end of a match even when the chance of winning might be small."

With the sport increasingly dominated by franchises, teams are often deprived of talents they have developed and nurtured.

Even at Test level, the likes of New Zealand and world Test champions South Africa do not have access to some of their best players due to more lucrative franchise contracts.

Five-Test series are now the domain of England, Australia and India.

Opportunities are few and far between for teams outside the big three, though part of the ICC's strategy is to "give more nations a global platform".

Cricket Scotland receives approximately £1.3m per year as part of the ICC's revenue share to fund all their programmes, men's and women's, approximately 10% of what a full member such as Ireland receive.

Cricket World Cup League 2 is far from the highest profile ODI cricket in the world, but to these sides it is everything – a potential route to the World Cup and a chance to prove themselves against the big hitters.

Players give their all for their country, not always knowing when the next match will come.

Max O'Dowd's magnificent 158 not out in Dundee helped theDutch chase down Scotland's total of 369, the highest chase in associate history.

The celebrations from O'Dowd and his team-mates were joyous as they ended a four-match losing streak.

And yet, they don't have another ODI scheduled in 2025.

These nations need more fixtures, but with that comes extra cost.

Whether it comes from the ICC, governments, or commercial sponsorships, associate members argue they need more funding to build on the impressive foundations that already exist.

At least in T20, Scotland and the Netherlands have World Cup qualifiers to play in July with the massive carrot of playing at a World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year.

Reaching a stage like that is imperative for smaller nations in the long quest for more exposure.

Get cricket news sent straight to your phone

Nuno Espirito Santo joined Nottingham Forest in December 2023

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has signed a new three-year deal at the City Ground.

The Portuguese guided Forest to seventh in the Premier League last season to qualify for Europe for the first time since 1995-1996.

"I am delighted to be able to continue our journey at this fantastic football club," Nuno said.

"Since we arrived at Forest, we have worked extremely hard to create a special bond between the players, the fans and everyone at the club, which helped us achieve great things last season."

Nuno replaced Steve Cooper in December 2023 and kept Forest up, the club surviving on the final day of the 2023-24 season.

They suffered afour-point deduction for breaching profit and sustainability rulesbut finished 17th.

Forest were last season's surprise package as they challenged for the Champions League spots and sat in the top four for the majority of the campaign.

They dropped out of contention after two wins in their final seven games but qualified for the Europa Conference League play-off stage.

Former Wolves and Tottenham head coach Nuno also took them to the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1991, where theylost 2-0 to Manchester City.

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis said: "Nuno has made a great impact and performed very well during his time with us so far.

"He has demonstrated that he maximises player performance and is an expert at developing players, whilst also embedding our young talent into the first team set-up.

"We enjoy a strong and solid relationship together and, above all, we share the same dream and ambition of writing a new history for Nottingham Forest, competing in the Premier League and in Europe and winning trophies for our great club."

Lennon Miller could be on the move this summer after another standout campaign

With the transfer window open, one of the big stories in Scottish football is the future of Motherwell teenager Lennon Miller.

The 18-year-old midfielder has just one year left on his Fir Park deal, which means it is the club's final chance to get a significant fee for another successful academy player.

Miller has turned heads in the last two seasons in particular after initially making his debut six days after his 16th birthday in August 2022.

Last term he captained Motherwell several times and had another fine campaign, which culminated in his first Scotland cap and start.

His dad Lee, himself a former footballer, joked at an SPFL event marking the release of the new season's fixtures that "there's a different club every day" mentioned online as his son's next move.

However, as yet there have been no bids made. But what might the future hold for Scottish football's brightest young talent?

How undaunted teenager Miller exuded class in Scotland victory

Clearly an 18-year-old who has played 76 first-team games, captained his club, and made his international debut possesses talent which is going to attract attention.

Since his debut Miller's close control, passing range, and vision have caught the eye.

Clubs across the world are data driven, always looking for young players with positive numbers who can be bought at a relatively low price, developed, and sold on.

A look at some of the numbers for central midfielders in the Scottish Premiership last season demonstrates why Miller would appear in lots of databases.

Already an adept set-piece taker, Miller grabbed eight assists for Motherwell, a tally only bettered by Rangers' Nicolas Raskin among central midfielders in the league.

Mostly a deeper-lying midfielder, he was deployed as one of two number 10s in the early part of the campaign for Motherwell, and ranked third among midfielders for chances created by the end of the season, as well as deliveries into the box.

As for the more physical side of the game, only Celtic captain Callum McGregor won the ball back more times than Miller.

The teenager was also the most fouled central midfielder in the league, a nod to his ability to use his body to protect the ball in tight spaces, and his dribbling prowess too.

His passing accuracy as a whole is further down the charts, which hints at an area for development, but Motherwell's direct style and Miller's tendency to play riskier passes forward could also be behind the lower figure.

Of course individual statistics are not themselves the basis for signing players.

But what has been striking about Miller has been the calmness and confidence with which he has played since his debut.

He has often been keen to take responsibility, for examplescoring an injury-time penalty against Dundee Unitedto send Motherwell to the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Miller was similarly unbothered by his first Scotland start against Liechtenstein,putting in a standout display.

"He makes football look easy regardless of what game he plays in," his Motherwell team-mate Tony Watt posted on X after that game.

Miller and his dad have always maintained playing regularly is the priority.

Moving away from these shores might be his best chance to do that, while others also think itwould be a good fit for his game.

Both Udinese and Union Saint-Gilloise reportedly had bids rejected for Miller in January, and they will unlikely to be the last offers coming in.

Talented young Scottish players have increasingly looked to move abroad in recent seasons.

Whether it is Aaron Hickey and Lewis Ferguson enhancing their careers while playing at Bologna, or Max Johnston tasting title success and Champions League football after leaving Motherwell for Sturm Graz in Austria, the template is there.

Others like recent Scotland debutants Josh Doig and Andy Irving have also progressed in their careers through playing regularly abroad, while there is the influence of more senior players Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour at Napoli.

"Lennon's next move is so important, because a lot of players will get sucked into going to just a massive club and going, right, I've arrived," dad Lee said.

"But there needs to be a lot of thought process, and there has been a lot of thought process of his next move, because it's a development move again.

"This is what we planned out for him, in terms of playing loads of games in the first team, doing really well, and it's on him to do that.

"There was a pathway there at Motherwell, and the next one, for me, is important because he has to play, he has to develop, he has to then kick on again.

"Once he's round about better players, no disrespect to the Motherwell players, but once he's round about top class elite players, he will then kick on again, in my opinion.

"And I think he has that inner belief, and it's not arrogance, it's just a belief. And he wants to play football."

Miller has been capped by Scotland from Under-16 level through to the senior side

Lots of Scottish teenagers have moved to Premier League academies before even playing a first-team game since Brexit, but Miller has chosen a different path.

And given his dad's comments about much he relishes playing regularly, a move to the top level in England seems less likely.

The only Premier League side linked so far isnewly-promoted Sunderland,external.

With the club's owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus employing a strategy focused on young players, plus therecord sale of Jobe Bellingham to Borussia Dortmund, it makes sense they would be interested in Miller.

Whether it materialises into an offer remains to be seen.

The Premiership champions are the only Scottish club talked about when it comes to signing Miller from Motherwell.

A young Scottish player with lots of potential is exactly the type of signing Celtic would hope to make, especially given the lack of academy players making the first team in the last few years.

But with 32-year-old McGregor still the undisputed first pick at the base of Brendan Rodgers' midfield three, it could come down to how much time on the pitch Miller thinks he would get.

That, and whether Celtic can, or want to, meet Motherwell's asking price in a potentially competitive market.

For Miller's part he has stayed as calm as ever about what the future holds.

"I've got a year left on my contract so my focus is to go back into pre-season, work as hard as I can and get ready for the season," he said after his first Scotland start.

"You get these big clubs mentioned, but it is only speculation.

"You just need to try and focus on what you're doing and that will all take care of itself."