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Christian Pulisic interview: 'I want to show the world what the U.S. can do'
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Christian Pulisic is perched on a bar stool in the old clubhouse overlooking the first-team training pitch at Milanello, AC Milan’s training ground.
He makes a hand gesture, one he didn’t need the past six months living in Italy to learn. Pulisic is talking about himself as one of the “older guys” on the USMNT and, as he does so, he is sure to put air quotes around it.
Nearby is a portrait of Milan legend Paolo Maldini lifting a trophy, a player who retired in his forties. Pulisic isn’t that age yet. He turned 25 shortly after joining Milan from Chelsea in August. But as the United States get ready to host the Copa America as a guest competing nation this summer, the first newly-expanded 32-team Club World Cup the following year and then the biggest men’s World Cup finals yet, with 48 countries taking part, in 2026, he is already beginning to think about his legacy.
“I remember watching World Cups as a kid and watching (Clint) Dempsey scoring goals in the World Cup,” he says, “(Landon) Donovan scoring the winning goal (against Algeria in South Africa in 2010). It’s moments like that, that stick in kids’ minds and can really inspire a generation, which is what those moments did for me.”
Pulisic, though, is hoping to provide some of his own.
There’s a monotone zeal when he speaks. For all the curiosity about his hobbies outside of football, notably golf and chess — the board game with which Italy’s top-flight Serie A, a league renowned for its tactics and strategy, often gets compared — his focus on his own game is unflinching; his self-awareness of his influence acute.
“Watching someone that’s from where you’re from and playing at the highest level and showing the world we can compete and be the best; you know, compete with the best,” he explains. “For me, that’s what it’s all about. If I can inspire kids, especially back home in the U.S. but hopefully all over the world. There’s nothing… there’s no greater prize for me.”
Pulisic recognises he has a platform. He is the most expensive American player of all time. He captained his country for the first time at 20 and was the first American to play in the Champions League final. A decade since he moved to Europe, he has only played for big clubs — Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and now Milan. This is what, relatively speaking, makes him a veteran in football terms. Through the experience he has accumulated he hopes to emerge as a leader who is authentic to himself.
Pulisic celebrates winning the Champions League with Chelsea, alongside father Mark and mother Kelley in 2021 (Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)Publicly, he lacks the loquaciousness and affability of current national-team skipper Tyler Adams — “I’m not the most vocal person,” Pulisic concedes — but there are other ways to affect a group and a country.
To Pulisic, that means action as much as words and being an example “in just doing what I do every day”. It means “when I’m with the (national) team, when I’m at club level, I’m just continuing to show people, like, ‘OK, he’s pushing the boundaries. He’s performing to a high level.’ Hopefully, I can lead that way as well.”
The player who, in a meme, was framed as the LeBron James of soccer, is quite the introvert. He is the polar opposite, for instance, of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the transcendent Milan icon, who has returned to Milanello very quickly after his retirement as a player to take up a new role created by Milan’s owners RedBird Capital Partners as an operating partner for the group’s media and entertainment portfolio and as a senior adviser to Milan’s ownership and senior management. How then does Pulisic square his self-effacing character with the expectation his profile and ability generates?
“I’ve had my difficulties with it,” he accepts. “It’s not something that affects my day-to-day life. I think I’m quite a simple guy. I’m not out in public all the time, so it doesn’t affect me. I’m in training every day. I come home and I can relax and speak to the people close to me and the people that I love, so it’s not something that bothers me in any way. It’s just some getting used to and I’m really grateful I have the platform to do what I want to do.”
(Sportinfoto/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)Our interview takes place by the exit of the clubhouse at Milanello, where a member of Milan’s backroom team sits at a desk waiting to catch the players as they leave training to sign jerseys for one of the club’s commercial partners. Pulisic’s shirt instantly became the best seller following his move from Chelsea for €20million (now $21.9m, £17.2m).
There was a 75 per cent increase in the number of Milan jerseys sold compared to a standard equivalent period. In the U.S. the sales uplift was 713 per cent, and Milan shirt sales in the U.S. increased from nine per cent of the total sold to 43 per cent. Personalised Pulisic jerseys represented 45 per cent of all match jerseys sold in his first month with them, according to the club.
Americans are flocking to San Siro, the iconic stadium Milan share with city rivals Inter, like never before. The number is up 148 per cent on this stage last season.
Pulisic is performing well in Milan (Alessandro Belussi and Pietro Vai)A commercial phenomenon, Pulisic is helping Milan, and Serie A, build their profiles in North America.
The club’s new fourth jersey, about to be launched in ivory and black, is inspired by the city of Milan’s most famous landmark, the gothic cathedral in Piazza del Duomo. Unsurprisingly, it is a collaboration with a U.S. brand, a streetwear label from Los Angeles — which was a stop on Milan’s 2023 pre-season tour. The club made sure to sign Pulisic in time to participate to make full use of his pull and draw fans to games against Real Madrid at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and Juventus at MLS side LA Galaxy’s Dignity Health Sports Park.
“I think that’s just a win-win. That’s an extra thing,” Pulisic says of his impact off the pitch. “That’s not what I focus on. I focus on the sporting aspect, performing and winning games.”
The old clubhouse at Milanello, arguably the most bucolic training facility in European football, was, in harder financial times, rented out as a wedding venue. Pulisic and his new team are still in the honeymoon stage. “I’m enjoying it a lot,” he smiles. “I’ve been given a great opportunity here.” That’s all he was looking for after Chelsea, where he became surplus to requirements: “A fair opportunity.”
Did he feel he was no longer getting one at the London club? “I’m not here to talk about whether it was fair or not back then. I’m just happy to be where I am now, for sure. The first couple of years (at Chelsea) were fantastic,” he reflects. Pulisic was a member of their Champions League-winning squad in May 2021. “The last couple of years… I think a lot of things in the club changed. A lot of people also left this summer, got new opportunities and have done well.”
Some of them are now at Milan, too. Pulisic followed Ruben Loftus-Cheek to San Siro and the pair of them have reconnected with former Chelsea team-mates Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud, who had already made the move. “That made it a lot easier,” Pulisic says.
His debut goal against Bologna in August, a screamer from outside of the box, came from a neat one-two with striker Giroud. “I know a lot of his tendencies, he knows mine. It’s been great to play off him. Things like that are only going to help with the chemistry within the team and get me accustomed to a new team, a new league.”
The same goes for Yunus Musah, the USMNT midfielder, whom Milan signed from Spain’s Valencia in the same transfer window they acquired Pulisic.
Pulisic and Musah at the 2022 World Cup (Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)Musah was born in New York City but raised in Castelfranco Veneto near Venice and speaks fluent Italian. “He’s an incredible kid,” Pulisic beams. “I love playing with him in the national team. It’s great now to see him day-to-day. If I don’t understand something, he’s there to help me out. He’s teaching me a bit of everything. Mostly the footballing stuff I need to know.”
GO DEEPER
Why Christian Pulisic’s dream move to Chelsea took a turn for the worse
Pulisic’s debut away to Bologna could not have gone better. In addition to scoring himself, he was instrumental to the other goal in a 2-0 Milan win, picking out Tijjani Reijnders at the far post to cut the ball back for a Giroud tap-in. A week later, in his first appearance at San Siro, he scored again. Milan won seven of their first eight games in the league.
Playing in a different position from the one he tends to occupy for the USMNT, Pulisic believes the experience of playing on the right rather than the left has made him a better player.
“I’ve learned a lot, especially playing off the right side. I’ve learned a lot about finding the right times to come inside. I’ve improved with my weaker foot as well and in finding the right solutions, the right times to run in behind, when to show to feet. I’ve really improved tactically about the game in that sense.
“From a defensive point of view as well, I think I’ve improved and I feel good about helping the team defensively whether it’s pressing or covering the right spaces. Some things I’ve definitely seen a change in in coming to Italy.”
It gives Gregg Berhalter, the USMNT coach and a frequent visitor to Italy this season, a more complete player ahead of the Copa America, where the hosts face group games against Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay.
Pulisic finished 2023 strongly. He is already in double figures for combined goals and assists and is set to have the most prolific campaign of his career.
Before Sunday’s 3-1 home win against Roma, Pulisic was presented with the Serie A Player of the Month award for December. A quiet confidence simmers within.
Celebrating a goal for Milan against Sassuolo last month (Piero Cruciatti/AFP via Getty Images)Milan are out of this season’s Champions League, finishing third in their group to drop down into the second-tier Europa League’s straight-knockout phase, and were eliminated from the Coppa Italia by Atalanta last week. They are third in Serie A, nine points behind first-placed rivals Inter who beat them four times in 2023, including in both legs of last season’s Champions League semi-final and, infamously, 5-1 in September in Pulisic’s first Derby della Madonnina in the league. But he does not accept Milan are out of the title race. That’s not in his mentality.
“There’s still half a season to go, so that doesn’t seem fair,” he bites back. “We’re still going to push on and do our best. We still have lots to play for. We’re still in the Europa League (they have a two-leg play-off next month against French club Rennes over a place in that competition’s last 16). There are many games left in the league this season, so we’re not at all discouraged by what’s going on. We’re going to continue to push and win games and hopefully make our fans proud.”
Injury-resistant at a club mired in an injury crisis and consistently decisive on the pitch, he has proved some of the Puli-sceptics wrong and hopes to take his form into the Copa America.
Pulisic was still a teenager when he played in the centenary edition of that tournament eight years ago. The U.S., playing then as they will this year as hosts and invited guests in what is the South American championship, made the semi-finals on that occasion before losing to Argentina. Can they do even better this time?
“There’s no measure to say exactly, ‘If we get this far, that’s success’,” Pulisic muses. “We’re going in with the mentality (of) taking it game by game and, of course, the goal is to win the tournament — always when you go into a tournament — so that’s how we look at things. We have a good young team and this is a great opportunity for us to play against the world’s best and hopefully show the world what we can do.”
To win it, the USMNT will have to get past reigning World Cup and Copa America champions Argentina and their captain Lionel Messi, whose impact since joining MLS club Inter Miami last summer has been electric.
“I can’t say it’s not expected,” Pulisic says. “He (Messi) is, of course, the best to really ever do it. After having the (2022) World Cup he did and then obviously being back in MLS, it’s been fantastic for the league. The buzz around the league, around Miami whenever they play… it seems like a big televised game. Players like that are going to bring in fans, new fans to watch the league, and for me it’s only a positive thing.”
Would it bring Pulisic back to the U.S. in the future? An old head on a 25-year-old’s body still feels he has much more to give Milan before then.
“Obviously, I’m not an old player,” he says. “I hopefully have some great years in Europe ahead of me. I’m loving my time here, so of course MLS is not in my head at the moment. But, yeah. At the end of my career? Absolutely.
“I will say, it’s come a long, long way from when I first started even… almost, what, 10 years (ago) when I moved to Europe. Where the game has come in the US from then, even MLS to where it is now, I’ve seen a massive change just as far as the support in the US; you know, getting behind the national team and even the clubs now seeing Messi in Miami, things like that.
“There’s just so much buzz around the sport and I think it’s only going to get better in the next few years.”
(Top photo: Alessandro Belussi and Pietro Vai)
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Remembering the Zambia air disaster – 'The boys would say: 'This plane will kill us''
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“The spirit of the 1993 team will always be there for Zambia.”
Kalusha Bwalya, Zambia’s former football captain, is reflecting on the day that changed his life forever.
On April 27, 1993, a military aircraft taking 18 of his team-mates and their coach to a World Cup qualifier against Senegal crashed shortly after refuelling in Gabon. All 30 people aboard died.
Bwalya would have been on the plane, too, but for the fact that he was playing for PSV Eindhoven at the time. Being based in the Netherlands meant he made his own way to the match from Europe and ultimately saved his life — although it did not spare him from crushing, numbing grief.
“You couldn’t imagine the whole team you play with are not there anymore,” Bwalya tells The Athletic. “It didn’t feel real.”
Zambian football could have been broken by the dreadful events of that day nearly 31 years ago. Instead, in the year that followed, a new national team — captained by Bwalya — came within one match of reaching the 1994 World Cup and also made the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final.
Against all the odds, an unfancied Zambia team went one better and won the 2012 AFCON final in Libreville — the city in Gabon where the doomed flight carrying the 1993 team had crashed minutes after taking off. A tragic story had come full circle.
Now, as the team known as The Copper Bullets prepare for their first game at an AFCON since 2015 tomorrow (Wednesday), this is the story of that plane crash and the team’s enduring legacy in their homeland and beyond.
It has been slightly forgotten now, amid the trauma of how their story ended, but that 1993 Zambia squad was widely hailed as one of the best the country had ever produced.
They harboured genuine hopes of reaching the World Cup finals for the first time and also lifting the AFCON trophy. Just two days before the plane crash, the team had travelled to Mauritius for an AFCON qualifier, thrashing their hosts 3-0 with Kelvin Mutale, a talented young striker, scoring a hat-trick.
Bwalya missed that match but planned to link up with the squad for their next game, an important World Cup qualifier against Senegal in Dakar, that county’s capital city.
That meeting never happened.
The squad had boarded a De Havilland Canada DHC-5D Buffalo twin-engined military aircraft, and the plan was for them to travel to Senegal, in west Africa, via stop-offs in Congo, Gabon and Ivory Coast.
After its second stop to refuel in Libreville, Gabon’s capital, it took off from Leon-Mba International Airport. Two minutes later, it crashed just 2km (a little over a mile) from the coast, killing all five crew and the 25 passengers. According to the accident report, which was finally released in 2003, the right engine caught fire but the pilot shut down the still-functioning left engine, meaning the plane plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.
Gabon scrambled soldiers to lead the search for bodies but only 24 of the 30 were recovered, and just 13 positively identified — a grim task handed to Patrick Kangwa, vice-chairman of the Zambian Football Association’s technical committee.
Gabonese soldiers and rescuers search for bodies in 1993 (AFP via Getty Images)Following the tragedy, Zambia’s President Frederick Chiluba, who was on a state visit to Uganda when he learnt the news, announced a week-long period of national mourning and a state funeral for the players, who were all later buried in ‘Heroes Acre’ close to the Independence Stadium, in capital city Lusaka. It was not until May 2002, after a lengthy court battle, that families were awarded compensation of $4million (£3.1m).
Bwalya was one of four Zambia players with clubs in Europe — along with Charles Musonda, Johnson Bwalya (no relation) and Bennett Mulwanda Simfukwe — who were making their own way to the match in Senegal. He was on a morning jog at PSV’s training ground in Eindhoven when he received a call from the Zambia FA treasurer.
“He told me, ‘You have to delay your flight tomorrow’. I said ‘Why?’. He said, ‘Because there’s been an accident’. He said he thought there were some casualties.”
Bwalya then recalled turning on the news and watching a BBC report saying his Senegal-bound team-mates had all died in a plane crash and that there were no survivors. “In that moment, you don’t think that much,” he said. “You just think it should be a mistake. There was a lot of denial on the first day.”
He spent the rest of that day on the phone frantically trying to piece together what exactly had happened while worried family and friends called to find out if he was on the flight.
Back at PSV’s training ground the following day, he remembered his club colleagues trying to protect him by hiding the newspapers, with stories of the crash.
The next day, a Friday, Bwalya flew to Zambia via the UK. He said: “When we were taking off from London, the pilot said I should go to the front of the plane in the cockpit, so I could see the take-off and landing because he thought I would be very nervous to fly. I was in the cockpit in London when we took off.
“When I got to Zambia, every time people saw you, they would cry. On Saturday, the plane that had gone to Gabon to collect all the bodies returned — the 30 people who died. When that plane came and landed, that was the first time it hit me and I realised I would never see the boys again.”
Musonda was also playing in Europe, for Anderlecht in Belgium’s capital Brussels. He was desperate to play in that World Cup qualifier against Senegal but had a longstanding right knee injury and was told he couldn’t join up with the national team by the club’s owner.
His son, Charles Jnr, who starred for Chelsea’s youth team before a knee injury ruled him out of the game for three years, said: “My dad was furious (he wasn’t allowed play in the game). Two days later, the plane crashed. If he was on the plane, I wouldn’t be here.”
Kalusha Bwalya at the graves of his Zambia team-mates in 1993 (Simon Bruty/Getty Images)Some players had even more fortunate escapes.
Martin Mwamba, the third-choice goalkeeper, had been in the squad for the game against Mauritius only to be dropped for the trip to Senegal. He had eaten breakfast with the Zambia squad before they began the long journey north west. It was his sobbing wife who broke the news.
“I switched on the radio and it was everywhere,” he said. “I was very shocked.” His family had assumed he had died and opened their home to mourners.
“It was very hard for me to recover from that tragedy. It took me two months to start recovering.”
Others were not so lucky. David ‘Efford’ Chabala, the first-choice goalkeeper, was one of the 30 who perished, leaving behind four children and a wife, Joyce, who was pregnant with twins.
One of his sons, Freeman — who was seven when his father was killed, and subsequently became a professional footballer — told FIFA.com: “I didn’t understand what it was. And anybody that I asked what it meant… I was only told, ‘Your dad is not coming back’. And I kept on wondering why Dad would decide not to come back. It was something I had to wrestle with for a very long time.”
Zambia mourned not just the tragic loss of those young lives taken far too soon, but also of gifted footballers who seemed on the verge of creating history.
The country had occasionally threatened its more powerful regional rivals at the Africa Cup of Nations, getting to the final in 1974 — when they lost to Zaire after a replay — but had never won the tournament or qualified for a World Cup.
This group, however, were seen as special, a blend of exciting young talents such as Mutale, a Manchester United fan who had brought his international tally to 14 goals in 13 games with that hat-trick against Mauritius, and older players who had big tournament experience, having competed together at the 1988 Olympic Games in South Korea.
They were led by their new coach, Godfrey Chitalu, who was widely recognised as one of the country’s greatest-ever players. Chitalu, who had only replaced Samuel ‘Zoom’ Ndhlovu five months earlier, also died in the crash.
“The team was built on strong foundations,” Bwalya said. “David Chabala was a fantastic goalkeeper, one of the best that has ever come out of Zambia and very influential. Wisdom Chansa was a very good friend, another very important player, who played in the No 8 position. We won one of the first tournaments in Zambia with the under-20 team.
“Derby Makinka was a midfielder of the highest calibre: he could defend and shoot with his left and right foot. Eston Mulenga was a very solid centre-half. We had young players that came in, like Patrick Banda and Mutale, who were lethal up front. They didn’t play many games but were brilliant talents.”
Patrick Banda was a highly-rated striker for Zambia (Neal Simpson/EMPICS via Getty Images)A chilling part of the story is that, before the crash, Zambia’s players had frequently raised concerns about the unreliable green-camouflaged Buffalo military planes.
“There was always a problem,” Bwalya said. “The boys would say ‘This plane will kill us’. The association didn’t have a lot of money to fly the team on a commercial flight, so the easiest way was to try and get a plane from the air force.”
For a previous match, a World Cup qualifier they lost 2-0 away to Madagascar in December 1992, they had stopped for refuelling in Malawi. After hours stuck on the runway because of a pay dispute, their plane took off again.
On the four-hour journey over the Indian Ocean from the African mainland, the pilot insisted the players wear life jackets.
If the shattering events of April 1993 seem remarkable three decades on, what happened next truly defied belief: a new Zambia team rallied.
“When I came to Zambia for the funeral and I saw all the bodies, I didn’t think that Zambia would be able to compete at a decent level, because you just feel you can’t lose a generation of players and then start over,” Bwalya said. “But it was credit to the coaches, Roald Poulsen and Ian Porterfield, and everyone else involved. It was incredible when you think about it that the team could start from nowhere.”
To start with, the players met for a six-week training camp in Denmark under Poulsen, a 44-year-old whose main claim to fame had been winning the Danish title with Odense five years before and whose services had been offered to Zambia by the country’s football association.
Zambia played games against teams at different levels of the Danish league system before a World Cup qualifier against Morocco for a place at the 1994 World Cup finals in the United States.
“Approximately three weeks after the disaster, I got calls from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Danish Football Association,” Poulsen said, “to ask if I could help over a period of six weeks in Denmark. I could see this was going to be a big job.”
Bwalya was persuaded to join up with the new squad in Denmark by President Chiluba.
“The president called me and said, ‘Skipper, we have to go on, otherwise the death of our heroes will be in vain. We can’t allow our country to go down like this. You have to be there so you can inspire the guys. If people see you, they will feel inspired to continue’. So I said, ‘OK, I will do my best’.”
Just 67 days after the plane disaster, on July 4, this new Zambia team came from behind to beat Morocco 2-1 in Lusaka, with Bwalya scoring a free kick. Poulsen said afterwards it had been “It was most emotional game I ever experienced.”
However, after a draw and a win in back-to-back matches with Senegal, they missed out on USA ’94 following a 1-0 loss in their final qualifying game, the return fixture away against Morocco in the October.
But, again, this team were not finished: the next year, Zambia reached the AFCON final in Tunisia under Porterfield, a Scottish former manager of clubs including Chelsea, Sheffield United and Aberdeen.
Ian Porterfield talks to his Zambia players (Simon Bruty/Allsport)They scored that final’s opening goal but lost 2-1 to a Nigeria side including the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Sunday Oliseh and Finidi George. Porterfield, who died of cancer in 2007, was subsequently awarded the freedom of Zambia.
Bwalya said: “When you look behind you (at the rest of your team) and you only see new faces, not the ones you have been seeing behind you for 10 years, it’s a difficult feeling. It hits you. But you have to give credit to the guys who stepped into the shoes of the fallen heroes.”
Against the odds, Zambia went one better and were crowned African champions in 2012, under Frenchman Herve Renard.
Fittingly, that final against Ivory Coast was held in Libreville to complete a story, with the squad laying flowers on Sabliere Beach, close to the site of the crash, in memory of those who had died there 19 years before.
In a previous interview with The Athletic, Renard said: “It was maybe the best Zambia team ever that died in that crash in 1993. We wanted to do it for the players Zambia lost, but also for Kalusha Bwalya and for all the Zambian people. It was an obligation to play for the memory of the people.
“Emotionally, it was something very important for us. The spirit of those players was something I don’t think I will find anywhere else. I remember when I went back to Zambia later, people said to me, ‘You put us on the map’. They are so proud of that 2012 team. It was something very special. That’s the right word: special.”
Zambia’s AFCON 2012 players pay tribute to the victims of the 1993 air crash in Libreville (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)Bwalya, who was by then president of the Zambia FA, recalled: “It was a sunny day but the clouds turned dark and there was lightning, so everybody was moved by the whole ceremony.
“It felt like there was an encounter between the old team and the new. You could just feel in the air that Zambia was a different team between visiting Sabliere Beach and going back to the hotel. The old team was with the team in presence when we played (the final) against Ivory Coast. The rest is history.”
There was certainly an air of destiny about the manner of Zambia’s triumph in the final. Chelsea striker Didier Drogba missed a penalty in the second half with the score still 0-0, before the game went to penalties.
After a combined 18 spot kicks, and with a nation’s nerves at breaking point, Zambia prevailed to claim their first AFCON title — one not even their opponents could begrudge.
“In Africa, we are big believers in stuff like this in religion and culture and, for us, it was written in the stars for them,” said Sol Bamba, a member of the Ivorian squad that day who has played in the UK for Leeds United, Cardiff City and others. “After the disappointment and the sadness between ourselves, we talked about it and said, ‘Maybe it’s not a bad thing Zambia won it in the end’.”
Zambia’s players mark their 2012 AFCON triumph (Franck Fife/AFP via Getty Images)It is now over to the 2024 team, who count Leicester City’s Patson Daka as their star player, to write their own script.
They begin their group schedule against DR Congo tomorrow (Wednesday) and while expectations are hardly high, the events of 1993 ensure any Zambia team that takes to the field in a major tournament will not lack motivation.
“We were an exciting team and it was just the beginning,” Musonda Snr said. “The legacy of that team will forever be remembered. I hope the new squad can challenge and bring honours to Zambia again.”
(Top photos: Simon Bruty/Allsport, Neal Simpson/EMPICS, both via Getty Images; design: Eamonn Dalton)
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Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall nets Leicester opener | Bobby Thomas concedes clumsy penalty
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Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall converted a composed spotkick after Bobby Thomas had caught him in the penalty area with a reckless lunge.
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Graeme Swann reminisces on Nasser Hussain’s England captaincy | ‘He was like a Victorian villain!’
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Graeme Swann reflects on his early England days on the revamped Sky Sports Cricket podcast and describes Nasser Hussain as ‘being something from a comic’ when he was England captain!
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‘That’s the way to stoke a semi-final!’ | Hayden Hackney’s calm finish gives Middlesbrough lead
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Hayden Hackney puts Middlesbrough in front in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Chelsea.
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The Verdict: Erik Ten Hag plays down United’s lack of goals as they progress in FA Cup
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Anton Toloui delivers his verdict on Man Utd’s 2-0 win against Wigan in the FA Cup. Erik ten Hag was positive in his post-match press conference and played down any worries that his players are not scoring enough goals.
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The Verdict: Have Arsenal run out of ideas?
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Sky Sports’ Gary Cotterill and Ben Grounds analyse Arsenal’s worrying form under Mikel Arteta as they crashed out of the FA Cup in the third round to Liverpool after a 2-0 defeat.
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‘Don’t question my integrity’ – Ange Postecolgou responds to Eric Dier speculation
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Ange Postecoglou insists Eric Dier’s absence from the Tottenham squad was due to injury and not related to reports of a possible move to Bayern Munich.
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World Darts Championship: Luke Littler’s dreams ended by Luke Humphries in sensational final
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Luke Littler defeated 7-4 by world No 1 Luke Humphries in final; Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday February 1 as Cardiff kicks off the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs on Thursday May 23 at London’s O2
By Raz Mirza at Alexandra Palace, London
Last Updated: 04/01/24 2:31am
Luke Littler’s World Darts Championship dreams were finally ended by world No 1 Luke Humphries in a sensational final at Alexandra Palace on Wednesday night.
Humphries fought back from 4-2 down to win five consecutive sets and claim his maiden world title 7-4 to make it four major victories in a row following his success at the World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts, and Players Championship Finals in recent months.
“I’ll draw a lot from this and this will be a moment that will never be forgotten,” Humphries told Sky Sports. “I don’t want to say that I’ve completed darts but everything that you want on the resume I’ve done now, so now it’s now about motivating yourself to do more and more.
Humphries said he couldn’t ask for more after claiming the World Darts Championship title Humphries said he couldn’t ask for more after claiming the World Darts Championship title
World Darts Championship Final
Luke Humphries 7-4 Luke Littler 
Luke Humphries hits the winning darts to defeat Luke Littler 7-4 in the World Darts Championship final Luke Humphries hits the winning darts to defeat Luke Littler 7-4 in the World Darts Championship final
Littler was pleased with his incredible run to the final, despite defeat to Humphries Littler was pleased with his incredible run to the final, despite defeat to Humphries
Humphries may have been the champion, but Littler received a hero’s reception at the end of the match and he is the story of the tournament.
Life will never be the same for Littler, who now has a global profile, as his exploits have transcended the world of darts.
He may have fallen just short of achieving sporting immortality, but this is just the beginning for Littler and his time will surely come, with many tipping him to become a multiple world champion
The 16-year-old from Warrington said: “It has been unbelievable. The one negative was I lost too many legs with my throw so Luke could break me.
“That was the only negative, I just couldn’t hold my own throw and I didn’t win. Every game has been good but that one has just really annoyed me, especially the three missed to keep it going.
“That’s what the crowd wanted but fair play to Luke, he deserves it.”
Humphries started the better by capitalising on a slow start from Littler to take the opening set 3-1 with a 99.2 average despite eight missed darts at doubles.
It didn’t take ‘The Nuke’ long to discover his best in the second set, coming from 2-1 down by producing two 12-dart legs with the aid of a spectacular 142 checkout and a ‘Shanghai’ 120 finish.
2011-12 – Luke Humphries wins £225 from 16 Development Tour events and soon after stops playing darts.
18 months later, a friend was a player short in his Super League team and Luke steps in to help out.
Wednesday night: Humphries wins the PDC World Championship and is world No 1.
Littler hit checkouts of 142 and 120 checkouts to win the second set Littler hit checkouts of 142 and 120 checkouts to win the second set
The third set also went the distance with ‘Cool Hand’ edging it from 2-0 down to regain the upper hand with a 116 checkout to take it, but the Warrington teenage sensation struck back to secure the fourth set 3-1 and restore parity with a 99 average and an impressive 47 per cent on the doubles.
It was 2-2 in sets and 9-9 in legs with nothing to separate the two players.
Littler took out this amazing 122 checkout to the despair of Humphries Littler took out this amazing 122 checkout to the despair of Humphries
For the first time in the match, the player who started the set won it after nine break of throws in 22 legs, with World Youth Champion Littler going ahead for the first time in the match before wrapping up the fifth set, averaging a ton.
The new world No 1 found himself under pressure here as Littler made it nine legs from the last 11 to open up a two-set advantage at 4-2.
Humphries reeled in his second 170 finish in a matter of days in a seventh set which was full of carnage.
Humphries took out ‘The Big Fish’ in the final Humphries took out ‘The Big Fish’ in the final
Littler responded with a third ton-plus finish of the final – a 122 checkout – which Wayne Mardle described as “spiteful, dirty, nasty!” in the commentary box, before Humphries survived a set dart with Littler missing a crucial double 2 for a 5-2 lead.
The three-time major winner immediately capitalised on double 14 to reduce the deficit.
Could this have been the moment that Littler’s grip on the World Championship title slipped away? Could this have been the moment that Littler’s grip on the World Championship title slipped away?
And Humphries piled in a classy 121 checkout on the bull to make it back-to-back sets to get back on level terms with a 114.17 set average, but it also coincided with Littler dropping off.
The 28-year-old Newbury thrower threw back-to-back 108 checkouts to lead 2-0 in the ninth set and although the teenager battled back to level up, a 180 to start the set and a 36 checkout enabled Humphries to win the leg and set in 11 darts.
Humphries also sunk this 121 checkout in a sensational final Humphries also sunk this 121 checkout in a sensational final
A relentless Humphries made it four sets on the spin as he took full control of the final to go within a set of the title, despite Littler reeling in a ‘Big Fish’ of his own.
However, it was ‘Cool Hand’ who got his hands on the Sid Waddell Trophy to become the 12th different PDC World Champion after pinning double 8 for the match and then sinking to his knees in pure joy.
Humphries pinned back-to-back 108 checkouts Humphries pinned back-to-back 108 checkouts
Talking about Littler, Humphries said: “I’m not just saying this because it will please everyone, but Luke has been an unbelievable talent.
“Not just about the dartboard, he has been fantastic with all the media that has come about with him and he took the defeat so well.
“He said go on and celebrate. You will never see another down-to-earth 16-year-old kid like him who is just something else.
“I really hope he’s in the Premier League because, if he don’t want to play in it fair enough, but I think he’d be a pleasure to play alongside this year.
“He’s one of the best players in the world, there is no doubt about that.”
Humphries’ 103.67 average is the highest ever recorded in a match of 45+ legs
His win included 23 180s and five 100+ checkouts
Littler nailed his own 170 checkout in an incredible final Littler nailed his own 170 checkout in an incredible final
Watch highlights of Humphries’ thrilling win over Littler in the World Championship final Watch highlights of Humphries’ thrilling win over Littler in the World Championship final
How the world of social media reacted to Humphries win…
Premier League Darts returns to Sky Sports on Thursday February 1 as Cardiff kicks off the 17-week extravaganza all the way through to the Play-Offs on Thursday May 23. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW
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Luke Littler admits it’s ‘beyond believable’ he has reached World Darts Championship final
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Luke Littler says he must “stay composed and try and get over that line” when he takes on Luke Humphries in the final; watch the World Darts Championship final at 7.30pm on Wednesday – live on Sky Sports Darts
By Raz Mirza at Alexandra Palace, London
Last Updated: 03/01/24 12:17am
Teenage sensation Luke Littler admits it’s “beyond believable” that he has reached the World Darts Championship final where he will face Luke Humphries.
Littler became the youngest player ever to reach the final when he defeated Rob Cross 6-2 with quite a bit to spare.
The 16-year-old, who is days away from his 17th birthday (Jan 21), now has a shot at claiming an historic place in the sport as he takes aim at the title at Alexandra Palace.
The best moments from Littler’s remarkable semi-final win over Rob Cross The best moments from Littler’s remarkable semi-final win over Rob Cross
Live World Darts Championship
January 3, 2024, 7:30pm
Live on
He is now on the cusp of producing one of the greatest sporting stories of all time, which would rival Emma Raducanu’s US Open win in 2021.
“It’s not even sunk in yet,” said Littler. “I threw big averages on the floor the past year and I’m happy to bring it on to the big stage.
“I’ve got to stay focused, be Luke Littler and relax. It’s beyond believable. I only set a goal of winning one game and coming back after Christmas and I’m still standing.
“I can’t imagine lifting the trophy. I have to just beat whoever is in front of me. I’ve got to stay mature, got to be myself and keep myself to myself.
“I’ve got to stay composed and try and get over that line.”
Luke Humphries booked his place in the final after whitewashing Scott Williams and he will now face teenager Littler Luke Humphries booked his place in the final after whitewashing Scott Williams and he will now face teenager Littler
Littler has knocked out two former World Champions in Raymond van Barneveld and Cross, and now he has he sights set on holding aloft The Sid Waddell Trophy when he faces the best player on planet darts in Humphries.
“I’ve just got to beat whoever is in front of me tomorrow. It’s not even sunk in yet,” he said. “This World Championship I’ve got nothing to lose, it’s just a free hit and here I am still standing. There’s no pressure, I just take everything in my stride.
“I’ve got to believe in myself, believe in my ability and so far, so good.”
Littler, who revealed he received pre-match messages from footballers Luke Shaw and Rio Ferdinand, only qualified for the tournament by winning the World Youth Championship in November and his fairy tale run has put the PDC under pressure to hand him a place in the forthcoming Premier League.
Humphries was in scary form after he hit six-ton-plus finishes in his semi-final win Humphries was in scary form after he hit six-ton-plus finishes in his semi-final win
Humphries delivered one of the best ever performances at the tournament as he whitewashed Michael van Gerwen’s conqueror Scott Williams 6-0.
“The way he’s played, I’ve seen it many times,” Humphries said of Littler. “When you come up on this stage it can be a lot tougher but he’s just proved he’s got a lot of bottle.
“Nothing is going to faze him. If he plays like he did tonight, tomorrow is not going to faze him at all, so I will probably have to play the game of my life.
“I will probably have to play like that again to stand a chance of beating him.
“I know what’s in front of me and what the task is. I’ve got to play at my best tomorrow but I’m hoping I make him play his best as well and we give the fans hopefully one of the best World finals we have ever seen.”
John Cross from The Mirror and ESPN’s Mark Ogden discuss Littler’s remarkable journey and compare him to various sporting 16-year-olds such Wayne Rooney John Cross from The Mirror and ESPN’s Mark Ogden discuss Littler’s remarkable journey and compare him to various sporting 16-year-olds such Wayne Rooney
Humphries went fishing for ‘The Big Fish’ during his whitewash win in the semi-finals Humphries went fishing for ‘The Big Fish’ during his whitewash win in the semi-finals
Pundit Wayne Mardle admits Littler continues to perform beyond the highest level, calling his performances “magnificent”.
“He averages 106.05 in the biggest match of his life,” Mardle said. “The kid just takes it all in his stride. Absolutely magnificent.
“If you’re sat at home and witnessed that or are here, you’ve witnessed something utterly mind-boggling. A 16-year-old is in the final of the World Championship.”
Watch the World Darts Championship final at 7.30pm on January 3 – live on Sky Sports Darts. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW
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World Darts Championship: Michael van Gerwen suffers shock exit to Scott Williams in quarter-finals
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Michael van Gerwen was stunned by Scott Williams in the World Darts Championship quarter-finals
Michael van Gerwen’s hopes of a fourth World Darts Championship title were dashed in stunning fashion by Scott Williams at the quarter-final stage on New Year’s Day.
Williams pulled off a sensational 5-3 scalp of Van Gerwen at Alexandra Palace, punishing 27 missed darts at doubles from the three-time champion to set up a meeting with Luke Humphries.
World Darts Championship: New Year’s Day Evening Results
Michael van Gerwen 3-5 Scott Williams Luke Humphries 5-1 Dave Chisnall Rob Cross, only former PDC world champion left and in the semi-finals for the first time since winning the title on debut
Luke Littler, 16 years old, in the semi-finals on his debut
Scott Williams in his first major semi-final
Luke Humphries, the pre-tournament favourite, into his first Ally Pally semi-final
Seasonal prize money prior to the World Championship: £32,750
Minimum prize money at the World Championship: £100,000
Scott Williams is in to the semi-finals and the world’s top 32
Scott Williams produced one of the biggest shocks in World Darts Championship history by beating Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals Scott Williams produced one of the biggest shocks in World Darts Championship history by beating Michael van Gerwen in the quarter-finals
Williams came charging out of the blocks by winning the opening set in straight legs, but ‘Mighty Mike’ took out 81 for back-to-back 11-darters to close out the second set 3-1 with a set average of 116.71 despite missing 12 darts at double.
Van Gerwen took out a magnificent 121 checkout before pinning double 16 to seize the initiative in the third set.
Van Gerwen hits this magnificent 121 finish during his quarter-final clash against Williams Van Gerwen hits this magnificent 121 finish during his quarter-final clash against Williams
However, the Dutchman threw in a stinker of a set, averaging just 78, and Williams railroaded it 3-0 to get back on level terms at 2-2.
Van Gerwen appeared to have fallen off a cliff when Lincolnshire showman Williams made it six legs on the spin to lead 3-2, but the three-time World Champion soon restored parity in three consecutive legs to stop the rot.
‘Shaggy’ punished more crucial mistakes from the world No 2 to seal the seventh set 3-1 and go within one of a sensational victory before taking the eighth 3-1 to secure a last-four meeting with either Luke Humphries or Dave Chisnall.
Williams said he probably should have beaten Van Gerwen a bit easier after knocking out the pre-tournament favourite Williams said he probably should have beaten Van Gerwen a bit easier after knocking out the pre-tournament favourite
“I just knocked the best player in the world out,” Williams told Sky Sports.
“He wasn’t the Michael van Gerwen we’ve seen over the last couple of games but that’s not my problem.
“I hit the doubles and probably should have won it a little bit easier. I’m absolutely loving it up there. I love a crowd.”
Wayne Wardle was surprised at how ‘erratic’ Van Gerwen was during his loss Wayne Wardle was surprised at how ‘erratic’ Van Gerwen was during his loss
Wayne Mardle called Williams’ win a “massive shock”, but also admitted he did a “number” on the Dutch ace.
“Michael van Gerwen normally loses to someone who is a big hitter already, a world champion or a major champion,” ‘Hawaii 501’ said.
“Scott Williams did a number on him. He was there to clean up when he had to clean up and he held it together so well.
“Even Luke Littler and Rob Cross are giving it… ‘WHAT!?’ What an opportunity for everyone left in the tournament.”
Michael van Gerwen missed 30 doubles in his first three games. He missed 27 against Scott Williams
52.4 per cent (33/63) – First 3 games
29.0 per cent (11/38) – vs Williams
Luke Humphries made it through to the semi-finals with this magical 117 checkout Luke Humphries made it through to the semi-finals with this magical 117 checkout
Williams will take on Humphries in the semi-finals after ‘Cool Hand’ thrashed Dave Chisnall 5-1 with a 103.50 average, a dozen 180s, 40 per cent on the doubles and a high checkout of 164.
The World Grand Prix, Grand Slam of Darts and Players Championship winner made it 17 victories in a row to break new ground at Ally Pally.
“It felt strange to be the frontrunner for once,” said Humphries. “I have been used to a lot of comebacks for the last few days and it has just been nice to be me.
“It was nice to be in front and keep pushing hard and I didn’t relent. Chizzy played really well, he made it really tough for me.
“I haven’t been myself in the first couple of games. Tonight, we saw the form I have been showing in the last few majors.
“I played as well as I needed to.”
Humphries thinks the Worlds is wide open after Van Gerwen’s exit to Williams Humphries thinks the Worlds is wide open after Van Gerwen’s exit to Williams
How Littler set up Cross semi-final…
A look back the best of the action from the afternoon session of the World Darts Championship quarter-finals A look back the best of the action from the afternoon session of the World Darts Championship quarter-finals
World Darts Championship: New Year’s Day Afternoon Results
Rob Cross 5-4 Chris Dobey Luke Littler 5-1 Brendan Dolan In the afternoon, Luke Littler’s amazing Alexandra Palace journey continued after he became the youngest semi-finalist ever after he beat Brendan Dolan 5-1 in the quarter-final.
‘The History Maker’ Dolan had beaten former World Champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson but could not compete with Littler, who finished with an average of 101.93 to thrill his adoring fans inside Ally Pally.
All the best moments from Luke Littler in his quarter-final clash against Brendon Dolan All the best moments from Luke Littler in his quarter-final clash against Brendon Dolan
“It feels unbelievable. I would never have thought I would have got to the semis on my debut year,” he said.
“Brendan was just another opponent in my way and I have brushed him aside and now I am into the semi-final.
“It’s going to take a lot to stop me, based on my performances so far. But it is about whatever Luke Littler turns up.
“I have got the ability to go all the way, if it’s not to be tomorrow night, it’s not to be.
“I know I have got a good chance and I have got a good feeling I could go all the way tomorrow.”
Littler believes he is one of the best in the game at board management and he’s thinking about lifting the title Littler believes he is one of the best in the game at board management and he’s thinking about lifting the title
He will meet Rob Cross for a spot in the final after ‘Voltage’ looked dead and buried when he was 4-0 down after barely 45 minutes as Chris Dobey played one of the matches of his life.
However, the off-stage break worked wonders for Cross as the former electrician sparked into life.
He reeled off four sets of his own and then took out 130 to seal a remarkable win but he will have to improve if he is stop the Littler train.
“Everyone loves an underdog story,” he said. “As the public and people looking at the game, everyone loves an underdog story.
“I am not being rude, I am on his side, I love an underdog story.
“It took a bit of pressure off me winning it first time as well.
“He’s fantastic and he deserves all the luck in the world, he is a nice young boy. Tomorrow we play darts, though, and I have to go down to business.”
Cross came back from 4-0 down to Chris Dobey to complete a ‘darting miracle!’ Cross came back from 4-0 down to Chris Dobey to complete a ‘darting miracle!’
The teenager was taking selfies after beating Brendan Dolan The teenager was taking selfies after beating Brendan Dolan
What’s happening on semi-finals night at the World Darts Championship?
Luke Littler returns to the Ally Pally stage when he aims for a spot in the World Championship final
Littler will take on 2018 winner Cross in the first semi-final having already proven he is ready to compete on the biggest stage after taking out UK Open winner Andrew Gilding and his hero Raymond van Barneveld on his way to the last eight and he maintained that form against Dolan on New Year’s Day.
Cross produced one of the most memorable Alexandra Palace comebacks having gone 4-0 to Chris Dobey before reeling off four sets of his own and then taking out 130 to seal a famous win.
Live World Darts Championship
January 1, 2024, 7:00pm
Live on
Luke Humphries will face Scott Williams in the second semi-final on Tuesday
Having knocked out three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen, ‘Shaggy’ Scott Williams will take on ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Humphries as he continues his quest for a maiden Ally Pally title.
Humphries came into the tournament as the favourite after winning three of the last four majors but had endured a bumpy ride to the last eight, surviving a sudden death leg against Joe Cullen in the last round.
But he was back to his best in his quarter-final, dispatching Dave Chisnall 5-1.
The sport’s biggest event sees the remaining players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.
Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. Stream Sky Sports Darts without a contract through NOW
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Sunderland 2-0 Preston | Championship highlights
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Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship match between Sunderland and Preston.
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The Verdict: Concerns build for Arsenal after disappointing Fulham defeat
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Gary Cotterill and Oliver Yew review Arsenal’s second consecutive defeat as they were beaten by Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League.
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Decordova-Reid pounces on loose ball to put Fulham ahead
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Bobby Decordova-Reid gives Fulham a 2-1 lead over Arsenal at Craven Cottage.
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World Darts Championship: Luke Littler hammers Raymond van Barneveld to reach quarter-finals
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Teenager Luke Littler crushed his darting idol Raymond van Barneveld 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace, where he will play Brendan Dolan.
The 16-year-old averaged 105.01, hit nine 180s to record a sensational victory over a legend in five-time World Champion, Van Barneveld.
“Unbelievable! My average has shown it, my double percentage has shown it – I don’t know what to say!”, Littler told Sky Sports.
“He (Van Barneveld) said ‘you can go all the way, I hope you can go all the way’. I said ‘thank you’ – he’s a true gentleman and I respect Raymond.”
“I fancy myself [to win the whole thing], I do fancy myself! Let’s just focus on Brendan [Dolan].”
World Darts Championship: Saturday Evening Results
Brendan Dolan 4-3 Gary Anderson Raymond van Barneveld 1-4 Luke Littler Luke Humphries 4-3 Joe Cullen 
Littler is blown away after beating his idol Van Barneveld and then reveals what he’ll do now to prepare for the quarter finals Littler is blown away after beating his idol Van Barneveld and then reveals what he’ll do now to prepare for the quarter finals
In two of the three sets, that went to a deciding leg, Littler averaged over 110.
There have been only 19 ton-plus set averages in the whole tournament.
Littler booked his place into the quarter finals in style. The 16-year-old declined ‘The Big Fish’ before returning for double 15 to knock out Van Barneveld Littler booked his place into the quarter finals in style. The 16-year-old declined ‘The Big Fish’ before returning for double 15 to knock out Van Barneveld
‘The Nuke’ showed no signs of nerves as he won a rip-roaring first set 3-1 with a 103.8 average and 3/4 on the doubles.
The world youth champion was soon in dreamland after easing through the second set to strengthen his grip on the match for the loss of just two legs.
Littler makes a dominant start against Van Barneveld by winning the first two sets in style Littler makes a dominant start against Van Barneveld by winning the first two sets in style
Van Barneveld squandered two set darts in the next as Littler pounced to make it three without reply, averaging 110.68 in the set and 53 per cent on the doubles.
‘Barney’ held firm on double 6 to get off the mark in the fourth set and keep his hopes alive, but the teen star from Warrington stormed through to set up a meeting with Brendan Dolan by winning the deciding leg of the fifth set with a nerveless 130 set up shot before returning for double 15
Littler hits tops, tops for a magical ton checkout against Van Barneveld Littler hits tops, tops for a magical ton checkout against Van Barneveld
“It’s incredible beating one of my idols on the biggest stage of all, I still can’t believe it,” Littler said. “I think I am daring to dream now, I have seen the draw.
“I am only three wins away now. I’m so young, only 16 and I have got nothing to fear, I have got no one to fear, my game can be better than anyone’s on the day and I have shown it there against one of the greatest to have graced that stage.
“With performances like that I can go all the way.
“I’ve pictured myself winning it. I look at the draw and see Brendan next and then Chris Dobey against Rob Cross in the other quarter.
“I fancy myself. I do fancy myself.”
Dolan made it through to the quarter finals following a hard-fought victory over Anderson Dolan made it through to the quarter finals following a hard-fought victory over Anderson
Dolan followed up his upset win over Gerwyn Price by pulling off another famous scalp by knocking out two-time world champion Gary Anderson 4-3 to reach the quarter-finals for the second time in his career.
After falling 2-0 down, ‘The Flying Scotsman’ turned the match on its head to go in front for the first time but fellow veteran Dolan fired in 14, 14 and 15 dart legs to send a dramatic contest all the way to a final set.
But Anderson crumbled under pressure in the fourth leg of the deciding set, failing with four darts at double to allow Dolan to complete a stunning upset on double 3.
Dolan took out 102 using the bullseye during his sensational win Dolan took out 102 using the bullseye during his sensational win
“That was some game,” said Dolan. “I was wondering what was wrong with Gary but then he kicked into gear and the next thing he’s ahead of me. I’m wondering ‘don’t let this go, make him win it’ – it was in the lap of the gods,” said Dolan.
Watch the moment Humphries won a crazy sudden-death leg to edge Cullen Watch the moment Humphries won a crazy sudden-death leg to edge Cullen
World No 3 Luke Humphries recovered from two sets down and two legs down in the subsequent tie-break set to somehow close out a breathtaking 4-3 victory over Joe Cullen in sudden-death thanks to a 12-dart leg.
‘Cool Hand’ required 10 match-darts to win a seven-set and 36-leg thriller.
“I just think that’s one of the best games I’ve been part of. I feel sorry for Joe,” said Humphries. “I never give up and that somehow allows me to keep going. I’ve survived again.”
Humphries dissects the insane sudden-death leg as he sealed his spot in the quarter-finals Humphries dissects the insane sudden-death leg as he sealed his spot in the quarter-finals
World Darts Championship: Saturday Afternoon Results
Scott Williams 4-1 Damon Heta Daryl Gurney 2-4 Dave Chisnall Rob Cross 4-0 Jonny Clayton 
A look back the best of the action from the evening session of Day 13 of the World Darts Championship A look back the best of the action from the evening session of Day 13 of the World Darts Championship
The afternoon session got under way with a clinical performance by Scott Williams to book his spot in the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Damon Heta.
Scott Williams reeled in ‘The Big Fish’ after Damon Heta chose an alternative route in their clash Scott Williams reeled in ‘The Big Fish’ after Damon Heta chose an alternative route in their clash
Williams produced some ruthless finishing, while Heta struggled on the doubles, a 170 out the highlight of proceedings.
Williams will now face one of the tournament favourites Michael van Gerwen on New Year’s Day.
Chisnall says that he hasn’t had any practise for months because he’s been getting his front room redecorated Chisnall says that he hasn’t had any practise for months because he’s been getting his front room redecorated
Perennial TV finalist Dave Chisnall held his nerve to grind out a 4-2 win over Daryl Gurney.
Chisnall took a 2-0 lead in the tie but Gurney fought back well, 130 and 151 checkouts enabling him to draw parity.
However, ‘Chizzy’ rallied and nine 180s and a 99 average secured his spot in the last 16.
Gurney dazzled with superb 130 and 151 checkouts during his defeat to Chisnall Gurney dazzled with superb 130 and 151 checkouts during his defeat to Chisnall
The session concluded with a ruthless performance from Rob Cross as he whitewashed ‘The Ferret’ Jonny Clayton 4-0.
The 2018 champion got off to a superb start as he took a 3-0 lead, with a stunning 140 checkout setting the tone.
Cross missed five match darts as Clayton levelled at 2-2 in the fourth set, but ‘Voltage’ held his nerve to seal a clinical win to set up a mouth-watering clash against ‘Hollywood’ Chris Dobey.
Cross hit this clinical 140 checkout against Clayton Cross hit this clinical 140 checkout against Clayton
Former World Champion Cross says he needed a new pair of pants after missing six match darts against Clayton Former World Champion Cross says he needed a new pair of pants after missing six match darts against Clayton
What’s happening on New Year’s Day at the World Darts Championship?
Michael van Gerwen is back in action on New Year’s Day at the World Darts Championship with semi-final spots on the line
Three-time World Champion Michael van Gerwen will take on Scott Williams, with 2018 winner Rob Cross up against Chris Dobey.
World Darts Championship
December 31, 2023, 12:30pm
Live on
World Darts Championship: New Year’s Day Afternoon Fixtures
Chris Dobey vs Rob Cross Luke Littler vs Brendan Dolan Teenage sensation Luke Littler will take on Brendan Dolan, who has already knocked out Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson, with Dave Chisnall facing Luke Humphries or Joe Cullen.
The quarter-finals, semi-finals and final take place from January 1-3.
Live World Darts Championship
January 1, 2024, 7:00pm
Live on
World Darts Championship: New Year’s Day Evening Fixtures
Michael van Gerwen vs Scott Williams Luke Humphries vs Dave Chisnall The sport’s biggest event sees the remaining players compete for the Sid Waddell Trophy and £2.5m in prize money at Alexandra Palace. You can watch all the action live on our dedicated Sky Sports Darts channel.
Watch the World Darts Championship all the way until the final on January 3, 2024 – live on Sky Sports Darts. NOW Sports Month Membership: £21 a month for 6 months
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The football stadiums that never were
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Peter Storrie can remember visiting the London studio of Herzog & de Meuron, the renowned Swiss architects, and being shown a striking vision of Portsmouth’s future.
“It was something else,” he tells The Athletic. “They put it up on the screen for us and it certainly had the wow factor.”
This was 2007 and the ambitious plans were for a new 36,000-capacity stadium on the city’s docks. Storrie, then chief executive, had accepted that Portsmouth would need to leave Fratton Park, the club’s home since 1899, and a proposed relocation could hardly have been more impressive.
Located in between the Spinnaker Tower and the historic naval base, a £600million waterfront project that would include apartments and restaurants promised a transformational impact.
“This will be the most spectacular stadium, set against the backdrop of the harbour and the English Channel befitting the club’s history,“ said Storrie back in 2007, when Portsmouth were a top-half Premier League club.
They would win the FA Cup a year later when beating Cardiff City, too, but by that time plans for a new stadium had been all but scrapped. Opposition had come from local councillors and the British Royal Navy, who had “operational and security concerns” after choosing to base two super aircraft carriers nearby.
Portsmouth pivoted from the dockyards to another waterfront site nearby at Horsea Island, again designed by Herzog & de Meuron with little expense spared. Again it collapsed, this time against the backdrop of the global financial crisis of 2008. As such, Fratton Park, boisterous but limited, remains the club’s home.
Portsmouth’s plans at Horsea Island (Herzog & de Meuron)“The stadium on the docks was a fantastic design, really stunning,” Storrie says. “It would’ve been perfect. It was there on the waterfront. It would’ve been an iconic venue. One of the great stadiums if it had been built.
“Would it ever have got through planning? Probably not — but who knows? It was one of the great designs that never happened.”
And it is a crowded field. For every impressive stadium built by English clubs in the last 30 years, there has been another that failed to get beyond the architects’ drawings or the fantasies of an owner.
Like Chelsea’s vision for Battersea Power Station and the Gothic re-imagining of Stamford Bridge. Or Liverpool’s proposed move to a futuristic new home in Stanley Park. Everton lived out three different projects at Kings Dock, Kirkby and Walton Hall Park before finally planting a spade in the ground at Bramley-Moore Dock, site of their long-awaited new home from the 2025-26 season.
Tottenham Hotspur had their own plans to knock down and rebuild the Olympic Stadium before West Ham United became tenants in 2016, while once upon a time Birmingham City had plans for a 55,000-seater stadium that would form part of the Birmingham Sports Village. Karren Brady, Birmingham’s managing director back in 2006, called it “a once-in-a-lifetime regeneration project.” Or, as it turned out, not-in-this-lifetime.
That is typical of the well-versed big sell, especially when supporters are being asked to leave a historic home. Project what the future might look like in all its animated glory and hope it marks the first step on the journey.
Actions do not always accompany the words. Whether through funding problems or supporter opposition, sometimes both, English football has a long list of projects that have gone to the great drawing board in the sky.
Leeds United were riding the crest of a wave back in the spring of 2001. A run to the Champions League semi-finals, where they were beaten 3-0 by Valencia, had emboldened the belief that Leeds could establish themselves among English football’s elite and part of the grand plan was a move away from Elland Road.
A wasteland site was picked near junction 45 of the A1(M) at Skelton and a new £40million, 50,000-capacity ground was proposed. Elland Road, meanwhile, would be sold to the local council for an estimated £20million to help fund it.
Peter Ridsdale, Leeds’ chairman, had a blunt message as they attempted to keep pace with those at the top of the Premier League. “Doing nothing is not an option,” he warned in a letter to fans.
All supporters were asked if they would back a renovation of Elland Road or a move to a new stadium during a consultation process. “On the one hand there is the history and the memories that we all share, and on the other hand is the need to ensure that we offer future generations a world-class team and a world-class stadium,” said Ridsdale.
Three months later it was announced that 87.6 per cent of the votes cast had been in favour of leaving Elland Road. “An overwhelming endorsement,” concluded Ridsdale, who outlined plans to find sponsorship for the club’s new home.
Elland Road has been largely untouched for years (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)The push to move was not as universally popular as Ridsdale had claimed after less than half of ballot papers were returned but those in opposition, the traditionalists keen to stay at Elland Road, need not have worried.
Leeds’ outlay of £77million on players inside the previous three lavish years caught up with them and within three years of Ridsdale championing a move, it was a Championship club once more. Skelton was quietly brushed under the carpet and two decades later, with no meaningful restoration work completed, Elland Road and its limitations remain a headache for others to inherit.
Funding — or a lack of it — typically becomes the insurmountable obstacle in these grand stadium designs.
Constructing a new home from scratch or rebuilding an existing ground is the biggest possible expenditure any club can face and, as such, is reliant on huge borrowings. The biggest and best are now £1billion projects.
Liverpool did not have to find that much back in 2007 but even the touted £400million needed to build a 60,000-seater stadium in Stanley Park proved beyond former owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.
Leaving Anfield behind had been a key thread to the promises of the U.S. businessmen, with Gillett pledging at his opening press conference that “the shovel needs to be in the ground in the next 60 days.”
The previous five years, before the arrival of Hicks and Gillett, had seen a range of plans put forward, with outline planning permission approved for a Stanley Park stadium as far back as 2003.
Original plans were redesigned by Hicks and Gillett and revised again after a target to begin work in the summer of 2007 was missed, before any tangible hope of a new stadium began to recede in 2008.
Like Portsmouth, the credit crunch and owners with limited resources brought the project to a standstill.
“Our commitment to building a new world-class Liverpool Football Club stadium is undiminished,” said Liverpool in a statement. “Like many other major development projects in the UK and overseas we are affected by global market conditions. We will use this period productively and revisit the plans for the stadium to increase its capacity to 73,000 seats.”
The vision failed to materialise, though. Year after year there was no meaningful progress until Hicks and Gillett were replaced by Fenway Sports Group, who confirmed their intention to instead redevelop Anfield in 2012.
“It could have been brilliant but we have probably set ourselves back several years,” former chief executive Ian Ayre said in 2011. Liverpool will finally get the 60,000-capacity stadium they have spent 20 years waiting for when the new Anfield Road Stand is fully opened by the end of January.
Those years of uncertainty at the start of this century would regularly see a contentious plan proposed. With Everton accepting the need to leave Goodison Park for two decades or more, a ground share between the two Merseyside clubs was touted on more than one occasion.
As much as £30million was promised from public funds in 2003 for a new super-stadium in the city. The North West Development Agency proposed that Liverpool and Everton should share in a bid to regenerate the wider Anfield area and six years later, as England gathered together its push to host the 2018 World Cup. Meetings were even held with the then sports minister Richard Caborn.
Goodison and Anfield is separated by Stanley Park – plans to build one stadium to house them both did not go down well (Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)The plans, though, were consistently met with opposition from the two rivals, both in the boardroom and among fan groups. Everton described it as “utter nonsense” the clubs should groundshare in 2009.
That was because they had other ideas. Big ones. Unperturbed by the failed attempt to build a new 50,000-seater stadium on the King’s Dock, now site of the Liverpool Echo Arena, by 2007 they were pushing ahead with a move to a site in Kirkby, eight miles out of the city centre on Liverpool’s northern edge.
It would form part of an enormous retail park headed up by Tesco and the capacity increases were forecast to generate £6million more per season. Selling the naming rights for the stadium would earn the same amount again.
Not that it ever went to plan. An opposition group, the Keep Everton In Our City Campaign, was formed, while Liverpool City Council, who felt Everton should not leave their boundaries, were strongly against the move. Leader Warren Bradley called the proposed stadium in Kirkby “a cow shed in a small town”. They got their wish by 2009, a period of economic stress that hurt the construction industry, when the UK government blocked the proposed £400million joint development.
Good things are coming to those who have waited, though. After all the false dawns and stadium designs that never were across 20 years, Everton will relocate to Bramley Moore-Dock in 18 months, a wonderful new stadium that will be one of 10 hosts for Euro 2028.
If Everton will soon join Liverpool in having the bigger home they always wanted, others are not so fortunate. Chelsea supporters continue to wait on proposals that would see Stamford Bridge redeveloped or a long association with their home ground ended by a move. The capacity of 40,000 ceased to be sufficient long ago.
History tells us that. Chelsea’s previous owner, Roman Abramovich, was eager to increase matchday revenues as far back as 2012 when the club submitted a formal offer to buy Battersea Power Station on the south bank of the Thames. The site alone was valued at £500million and given the Grade II listed status of the former electricity station, plans were unveiled that would see its four iconic chimneys incorporated into a design.
Chelsea wanted to redevelop Battersea Power Station (Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)Designs were made public after Chelsea had been outbid by Malaysian property developers SP Setia and Sime Darby Property, regarded at the time as a means of applying diplomatic pressure.
“We firmly believe our proposals could address the unique challenges presented by the site,” said Chelsea in a statement. “The design would integrate the stadium with the power station in a sensitive, unique and powerful way, with all significant historical aspects of the Power Station to be retained.”
Not that it made much difference. The impressive restored site is now home to apartments, shops, bars and restaurants.
Chelsea did not stand still and, three years after their failed attempt to buy Battersea Power Station, had revealed stunning designs for a new Stamford Bridge. Like Portsmouth’s docklands plans, Herzog & de Meuron were behind the drawings that would see Chelsea rehoused in a 60,000-capacity stadium by 2020. The striking images were said to be “inspired by the design of Westminster Abbey” and quoted, at the time, as costing anywhere between £500million and £1billion. Cathedrals, as it was likened to, did not come cheap in a heavily populated area of the capital.
There were objections but broad support for the project. Inside a year, though, Abramovich had called a halt to it all. The crux of the problem? A visa.
This was a design for Chelsea’s new home to be opened in 2023 (Herzog & de Meuron)Abramovich, back in the summer of 2018, encountered delays over a UK visa after seeing his previous one expire and a statement released by Chelsea said it was the “current unfavourable investment climate” that had been the trigger to postponing a Stamford Bridge redevelopment that would never be revived. The rest is an inglorious history for Abramovich, who was forced to sell Chelsea in 2021 when sanctioned by the UK government following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The dream of a new home has not died for Chelsea as new owner Todd Boehly prepares to share new plans in 2024 but there will be regrets that a stadium build did not come sooner. Chelsea must make do with a stadium that houses 20,000 fewer supporters than the homes of London rivals, Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham. Matchday revenues have flatlined at Stamford Bridge and, as of last season, meant Tottenham had a £37million annual advantage through the turnstiles.
Another club with sudden regrets are Newcastle United, who are going through their own consultation process on where to go next. St James’ Park, capped at 52,000, has been sold out every week since the takeover led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund was completed in 2021.
Oh for something bigger, like the plans hatched in 1997. A planning application for a £90 million, 55,000-seater stadium on Castle Leazes, half a mile from St James’ Park, was submitted. They included a retractable roof and the option for capacity to be increased to 70,000.
A young fan checks out the new stadium plans in 1997 (Tim McGuinness/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)“St James’ Park simply wasn’t big enough to cope with demand and the site itself had severe limitations,” says Sir John Hall, the former owner of Newcastle. “We needed a world-class stadium to offer us the best chance of sustained success.”
The plans, put on public display, were dubbed the “San Siro of the North” in a nod to the shared home of AC Milan and Inter Milan, and included a plan to convert St James’ Park into an indoor arena.
Fans backed the idea but others did not. A petition included 36,000 names opposed building on the Town Moor and a public inquiry causing lengthy delays became unavoidable once English Heritage took an interest in Newcastle’s plans. By November 1997, the focus had instead been turned to extending the capacity of St James’ Park from 36,000 to its 52,000, as it is today.
Fifteen or so miles to the south, rivals Sunderland had been through their collapsed bid by that point. They had proposed building a “Wembley of the North” close to the Nissan car manufacturing plant in 1992 and even incorporated twin towers in the designs included in a postal referendum. “That was intentional on my part; I wanted it to look like Wembley,” said former chairman Bob Murray.
The complex was due to cost £75million and include a 40,000-capacity stadium, 12,000-seater indoor arena and retail park. Such was their confidence, Sunderland even submitted a bid for it to be one of eight venues for Euro ’96. Then bang… EU funding they had lobbied for in Brussels had been pulled.
“Just before the Euro ’96 venues were announced, I received a phone call, out of the blue, to inform me that Nissan had suddenly turned hostile towards the new stadium,” wrote Murray in his autobiography I’d Do it All Again. “A call was made to 10 Downing Street and everything changed. Suddenly it was made abundantly clear it wasn’t going to happen.”
Sunderland instead went with the Stadium of Light as their next home after Roker Park, moving in 1997. Others have not been so fortunate.
Like Luton Town, who hope to be seeing out their final years at Kenilworth Road. It is almost 30 years since former owner David Kohler shared his wacky plans for a 20,000 indoor arena dubbed the Kohlerdome. Alas, he found neither the funding nor the site, which tends to be a problem.
There are countless others, too. Bristol Rovers have spent 20 years searching for a modern new home, as have Queens Park Rangers, who have hoped to build a new stadium at nearby Wormwood Scrubs. Blackpool (Whyndyke Farm), Carlisle United (Kingmoor Park), Southend United (Fossetts Farm) and Grimsby Town (Peaks Parkway) are among the countless other clubs who have devised ambitious plans yet still have not moved.
Just like Portsmouth. “It was very difficult to convert Fratton Park into a state-of-the-art stadium and that’s something the club needed to progress,” says Storrie, the former chief executive. “We had the fans pretty much onside but sadly it just didn’t happen.”
It was not the first stadium project to remain an architect’s vision and will not be the last.
Top image: Portsmouth’s plans for a new stadium on the waterfront were unveiled in 2007 (Herzog & de Meuron)
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