Baxter urges Exeter's Pearson to keep on improving — and more

Exeter lock Lewis Pearson has the potential to become one of the side's frontline players according to boss Rob Baxter.

• Fabian Hurzeler says 'I will never be that kind of manager who tries to win in that way' as he accuses Arsenal of time-wasting in their 1-0 win over his Brighton side
• Hurzeler says 'there was only one team who tried to play football' with Arsenal scoring from one of just two shots on target in the match - stats
• It's a result that moves Arsenal seven points clear at the top of the Premier League after Manchester City draw 2-2 at home to Nottingham Forest
• Mikel Arteta responds by saying 'I love my players, we love our players and I love the way we compete'
• Elsewhere, West Ham shake up the relegation picture with a crucial win away at Fulham - they stay in the bottom three but are now level on points with Forest
• Tottenham are now just a point above the bottom three and play Crystal Palace on Thursday night
• Also: Chelsea improve Champions League hopes with big win at Aston Villa | 10-man Newcastle earn hard-fought 2-1 win in Michael Carrick's first defeat as Man Utd interim
• What you've been saying: Sam - 'Incessant time wasting is devaluing the product'| Paul on Brighton's 'time-wasting'| Alex - 'Arsenal are not anti-football'

Hurzeler angry at 'time wasting' Arsenal; West Ham boost survival chances - reaction

The Sporting News brings you the complete locations and venues for the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Reports on Thursday claim that Federico Chiesa and Marco Verratti are in a chance of featuring for the Italy national team during the World Cup play-off campaign at the end of the month, and that they have both been included on Gennaro Gattuso’s preliminary squad list.

Italy are preparing to take on Northern Ireland in the World Cup play-off semi-final in Bergamo on October 26 and the winner of that tie will go on to face either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina away from home on March 31: A one-legged decider for a spot at the final tournament.

If they fail to beat Northern Ireland and either Wales or Bosnia, it will be the third consecutive World Cup that Italy have missed out on. The Azzurri last qualified for the World Cup group stages in 2014.

Verratti and Chiesa on Italy preliminary squad list

FLORENCE, ITALY – JUNE 07: Marco Verratti of Italy warms up during training session at Forte Village Resort on June 07, 2023 in Santa Margherita di Pula, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images)

According to reports from Tuttosport, Gattuso is highly likely to call up Verratti for the first time in almost three years.

The former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, currently with Al-Duhail in Qatar, last featured for the national team in the Nations League third place play-off against the Netherlands in June 2023.

Thursday’s report claims that Chiesa, who has not featured for Italy since the miserable Euro 2024 campaign, is also part of Gattuso’s preliminary squad. He was one of the players that Gattuso spoke to over a dinner in London over the last few weeks according to Thursday’s report.

The Chiesa case is an exceptional one, and according to Tuttosport, a final decision on his call-up will be made around 10 days before the squad meets up.

Among the fringe players in with a chance of being called up for the World Cup play-offs at the end of the month are Marco Palestra and Federico Gatti. Nicolo Zaniolo is not expected to be part of the squad.