English and Italian football giants Manchester City, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Juventus will square up for pre-season friendlies in Hong Kong in August, the clubs announced on Tuesday.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, currently arm-wrestling Arsenal for the Premier League title, will take on Inter Milan on Saturday, August 1, spearheaded by their Norwegian goal machine, Erling Haaland.The match will kick off the “Hong Kong Football Festival” at the city’s futuristic 50,000-seat Kai Tak stadium.

The gleaming arena opened a year ago, featuring a roof that can be closed and air-conditioning to combat the fierce summer heat and humidity in Hong Kong.

Chelsea will play Juventus on Wednesday, August 5, to round off the mini-tournament.

Inter, under former Romanian international Cristian Chivu, are eight points clear at the top of Serie A as they look for a 21st title, second only to Juventus, who have won a record 36 Italian top-flight championships.

Juventus are fourth and looking to secure a Champions League spot under Luciano Spalletti.

Chelsea beat PSG to win the Club World Cup in the United States last year but have since parted company with then manager Enzo Maresca.

Liam Rosenior took charge but is under pressure to keep his job after Chelsea lost five of their last six Premier League matches to drop to sixth, seven points adrift of the Champions League places.

It remains to be seen whether Rosenior will still be in charge when Chelsea land in Hong Kong, as they were also drubbed 8-2 on aggregate by PSG in the Champions League last 16.

All the teams will hold open training sessions ahead of the matches, giving Hong Kong fans an extra chance to see star players such as City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, Chelsea’s Cole Palmer, Inter’s Lautaro Martinez, and Juventus’s Dusan Vlahovic.

The action does not stop there for fans in the football-mad southern Chinese city, as Bayern Munich and Aston Villa have already announced they will play a friendly in Hong Kong on Friday, August 7.

During pre-season last year, 50,000 sell-out crowds in Hong Kong watched Liverpool play AC Milan and Tottenham face Arsenal in the first North London derby outside of the UK.

Tens of thousands also turned out to watch the teams’ open training sessions.

AFP

Nigeria’s Super Falcons have risen one place to 36th in the latest FIFA Women’s World Ranking and remain the top-ranked team in Africa.

The ranking, released on Tuesday, shows a modest improvement from the 37th position the team occupied in the December 2025 ranking.

The ranking also reflects two pre-WAFCON friendlies against Cameroon, in which it first lost 1–0 in February, followed by a 3–1 victory in March 2026.

Three days after a narrow 1–0 defeat in the first encounter, the 10-time African champions returned with a sharper, more aggressive display to turn the tie decisively in their favour.


Forward Chinwendu Ihezuo drew Nigeria level in the 32nd minute, heading home a precise cross from Rinsola Babajide.

Just before half-time, Babajide herself struck from close range after a scramble inside the box, giving the Falcons a 2–1 lead.

In the 64th minute, Michelle Alozie sealed the 3–1 victory with a flying header from a teasing cross by captain Rasheedat Ajibade.

The win moved the team up by 3.35 points to 1602 in April, although still five points short of the 1607 recorded in December 2025.

Behind the Falcons in Africa are South Africa, Ghana, and Morocco, which are ranked 58th, 59th, and 62nd globally, respectively.

Globally, Spain maintain first position, followed by the USA, England, Germany, and Japan.

Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus was named Judas on Sunday as he clashed with his former side Manchester City.

The ex-City star is the only Premier League winner in Arsenal’s ranks after several successful years at the club under current manager Pep Guardiola.

During that spell he scored 95 goals in 236 appearances across a five-and-a-half-year spell whilst also lifting 10 trophies under Guardiola, including four Premier League titles, an FA Cup, three Carabao Cups and two Community Shields.

However, despite his success, one City fans shouted “Judas, what’s the score? Judas, Judas” towards the former club favourite as Arsenal and City clashed on Sunday.

After being accused of betrayal, he walked over to the fan and said: “I won 11 titles here” in a clip that went viral on social media.

The striker proceeded to cup his hands to his ears before continuing his warm-up alongside teammate Max Dowman.

Jesus is yet to find success with the Gunners under manager Mikel Arteta whose quadruple ambitions were destroyed this season after being knocked out of the FA Cup and EFL Cup.

In total, he has netted 31 times in 120 matches for the North London outfit, but he is yet to match the success he found in Manchester.

Now, after losing to City, Arsenal must bounce back against Newcastle United at the weekend whilst staying consistent for the rest of the season if they are to keep their title hopes alive.