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L’équipe de France féminine gagne une place et devient 6e au classement FIFA
La FIFA a publié, ce mardi, le classement mondial féminin. L’équipe de France féminine remonte à la sixième place de ce classement et gagne un rang par rapport au dernier sorti et qui clôturait la saison 2025-2026. newsindata.org
Les Bleues gagnent une place grâce à leurs deux victoires en Pologne le 5 juin dernier (2-0) et la République d’Irlande (1-0), quatre jours plus tard. Un dernier succès qui a qualifié directement le groupe de Laurent Boandei pour le Mondial 2027 au Brésil. Les Tricolores ne sont pas très loin du top 5 et du Japon, mais encore loin du podium constitué de l’Espagne, premier, suivi des États-Unis et de l’Allemagne, qui a pris la troisième place à l’Angleterre.
Le top 10 du classement mondial féminin :
1.Espagne : 2 105,36 points, 2. États-Unis : 2 057,92, 3. Allemagne : 2 028,99, 4. Angleterre : 2 027,13, 5. Japon : 1 998,83, 6. France : 1 983,84, 7. Brésil : 1 976,73, 8. Suède : 1 937,94, 9. Canada : 1 936,90, 10. Pays-Bas : 1 911,75.
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Coupe du Monde 2026 : l’arbitre espagnol Alejandro Hernández aux commandes du match Brésil – Haïti
Le corps arbitral chargé de diriger la rencontre entre le Brésil et Haïti, comptant pour la deuxième journée du groupe C de la Coupe du Monde 2026 est connu. Pour cette affiche programmée le 19 juin au Philadelphie Stadium, l’instance mondiale a confié les débats à l’expérimenté arbitre espagnol Alejandro Hernández Hernández.
Figure reconnue de l’arbitrage européen, Alejandro Hernández fait partie de l’élite de l’UEFA depuis plusieurs années. Arbitre international FIFA depuis 2014, il s’est illustré sur les plus grandes scènes du football mondial en dirigeant notamment plusieurs Clasicos entre le FC Barcelone et le Real Madrid, ainsi que de nombreuses rencontres de Ligue des champions de l’UEFA impliquant des clubs prestigieux tels que Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, le Paris Saint-Germain ou encore la Juventus.
Pour cette rencontre du Mondial 2026, il sera accompagné de ses compatriotes Jose Enrique Naranjo et Diego Sanchez, respectivement désignés comme arbitres assistants. Le Suisse Sandro Schärer officiera en qualité de quatrième arbitre, tandis que son compatriote Stephane De Almeida occupera le rôle d’arbitre assistant remplaçant.
Une affiche déséquilibrée sur le papier
Grand favori de cette confrontation, le Brésil abordera ce deuxième match avec ambition après un match nul (1-1) contre le Maroc lors de la première journée. Les quintuples champions du monde disposent d’un effectif largement supérieur sur le papier et viseront une victoire convaincante face à une sélection haïtienne déterminée à créer l’exploit.
Un arbitre habitué aux grands rendez-vous
La nomination d’Alejandro Hernández témoigne de l’importance accordée par la FIFA à cette rencontre. Habitué à gérer des matchs sous haute pression, l’Espagnol possède l’expérience nécessaire pour encadrer une opposition mondiale où l’enjeu sera déjà important dans la course à la qualification pour les huitièmes de finale.
Tous les regards seront donc tournés vers Philadelphie, où le Brésil et Haïti jouera leur deuxième rencontre dans cette Coupe du Monde 2026 sous l’autorité d’un arbitre parmi les plus expérimentés du football européen.
Voici les arbitres du match Brésil – Haïti :
Arbitre principal : Alejandro Hernandez (Espagne)
Arbitre assistant 1 : Jose Enrique Naranjo (Espagne)
Arbitre assistant 2 : Diego Sanchez (Espagne)
Quatrième arbitre : Sandro Schärer (Suisse)
Arbitre assistant remplaçant : Stephane De Almeida (Suisse)
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Rassie Erasmus plays his first Boks hand for 2026
Rassie Erasmus has never been shy to rotate in his Springboks match-day selections and just six of the match 23 who walloped Wales 73-0 in Cardiff in the last Test of 2025 will play the Barbarians in Gqeberha on Saturday in the first international match of 2026.
Rassie Erasmus plays his first 2026 Boks hand
There are many factors to Erasmus’s selections. He has a team of players on the injury list and another team unavailable with the Bulls playing the URC Grand Final against Leinster on Friday evening.
At least half the Bulls team is expected to be drafted into the national squad for the July Nations Championship Test matches against England, Wales and Scotland. All the matches are played in South Africa.
What is evident from Erasmus’s selections is how much depth has been built since the 2023 World Cup title win against the All Blacks. With more than 20 Test regulars unavailable, the Boks coach has still selected a match 23 that includes just two uncapped players in Junior Springboks captain Riley Norton (lock) and Vusi Moyo (10/15).
Norton, in the past two seasons, has played 10 matches for the Junior Springboks in the Sanzaar Rugby Championship (6) and World under 20 Championship (4). He will captain the Junior Springboks at next month’s World under 20 Championship in Georgia.
Norton will play for the Springboks before playing for the Stormers.
Siya Kolisi leads a match 23 that includes 10 World Cup winners.
The loose-trio of Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese is the one expected to start against England on the 4th July at Ellis Park. Wingers Cheslin Kolbe, centre Jesse Kriel, scrumhalf Grant Williams, lock Franco Mostert and loosehead prop Ox Nche and hybrid midfielder/loose-forward Andre Esterhuizen should also be in the match 23 for July’s opening Test.
Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick will coach an SA ‘A’ side against 2027 World Cup participants Zimbabwe’s Sables.
Stick and Erasmus have picked several Junior Springboks in the match 23 and balanced the selections with seasoned veterans like Stormers prop Neethling Fouche, 2019 World Cup-winning centre Lukhanyo Am and the Sharks’ Tshituka brothers Vincent and Manuel.
Comparing the latest Springboks 23 selected with the match 23 that played Wales last November:
Still in the Starting XV
| Wales XV | Current XV | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | 12 | André Esterhuizen |
| 8 | 8 | Jasper Wiese |
| 6 | 6 | Siya Kolisi |
| 7 | 5 | Franco Mostert |
Total still starting: 4 players
Position changes
- Franco Mostert has moved from blindside flank (No 7) to lock (No 5).
Still in the Match 23
Current starters who were in the Wales 23
- André Esterhuizen
- Siya Kolisi
- Jasper Wiese
- Franco Mostert
Current replacements who were in the Wales 23
- Zachary Porthen
- Ben-Jason Dixon
Total still in the match 23: 6 players
Players from the Wales 23 not in the latest 23
Starting XV
- Damian Willemse
- Ethan Hooker
- Damian de Allende
- Canan Moodie
- Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
- Morne van den Berg
- Gerhard Steenekamp
- Johan Grobbelaar
- Wilco Louw
- Jean Kleyn
- Ruan Nortje
Replacements
- Bongi Mbonambi
- Asenathi Ntlabakanye
- Eben Etzebeth
- Marco van Staden
- Kwagga Smith
- Cobus Reinach
Continuity Snapshot
| Category | Number |
|---|---|
| Players retained in starting XV | 4 |
| Players retained in match 23 | 6 |
| Players from Wales 23 not in latest squad | 17 |
The latest selection retains four starters and six members of the overall match-day 23 from the team that faced Wales last November, underlining the extent to which Rassie Erasmus has rotated and expanded his player pool ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
SPRINGBOKS LAST MATCH OF 2025 & FIRST MATCH OF 2026 MATCH SQUADS
| No | Latest Springboks 23 | Wales Test 23 (November) |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Aphelele Fassi | Damian Willemse |
| 14 | Cheslin Kolbe | Ethan Hooker |
| 13 | Jesse Kriel | Damian de Allende |
| 12 | André Esterhuizen | André Esterhuizen |
| 11 | Edwill van der Merwe | Canan Moodie |
| 10 | Quan Horn | Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu |
| 9 | Grant Williams | Morne van den Berg |
| 8 | Jasper Wiese | Jasper Wiese |
| 7 | Pieter-Steph du Toit | Franco Mostert |
| 6 | Siya Kolisi (c) | Siya Kolisi |
| 5 | Franco Mostert | Ruan Nortje |
| 4 | Riley Norton | Jean Kleyn |
| 3 | Carlü Sadie | Wilco Louw |
| 2 | André-Hugo Venter | Johan Grobbelaar |
| 1 | Ox Nché | Gerhard Steenekamp |
| 16 | JJ Kotze | Bongi Mbonambi |
| 17 | Ntuthuko Mchunu | Zachary Porthen |
| 18 | Zachary Porthen | Asenathi Ntlabakanye |
| 19 | Ben-Jason Dixon | Eben Etzebeth |
| 20 | Paul de Villiers | Marco van Staden |
| 21 | Evan Roos | Ben-Jason Dixon |
| 22 | Faf de Klerk | Kwagga Smith |
| 23 | Vusi Moyo | Cobus Reinach |
Players Common to Both Match 23s
| Player | Wales Position | Current Position |
|---|---|---|
| André Esterhuizen | 12 | 12 |
| Siya Kolisi | 6 | 6 |
| Jasper Wiese | 8 | 8 |
| Franco Mostert | 7 | 5 |
| Zachary Porthen | 17 | 18 |
| Ben-Jason Dixon | 21 | 19 |
Continuity: 4 of the starting XV remain, while 6 of the overall match 23 are retained.
SA ‘A’ TO PLAY ZIMBABWE SABLES
SOUTH AFRICA A – 15 Luan Giliomee, 14 Jaco Williams, 13 Markus Muller, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Zekhethelo Siyaya, 10 Yaqeen Ahmed, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Emmanuel Tshituka, 5 Ruben van Heerden, 4 Vincent Tshituka (c), 3 Neethling Fouché, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Boan Venter.
Bench: 16 Liam van Wyk, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Hanro Jacobs, 19 Adré Smith, 20 Siba Mahashe, 21 Nico Steyn, 22 Imad Khan, 23 Jurenzo Julius.
The Pokémon NAIC is moving to Chicago in 2027, but maybe it should move to Canada instead
New Orleans apparently isn’t big enough to accommodate Pokémon‘s rapid growth. After a wild three-year run of filling the Big Easy with thousands of cardboard-slinging, video-game-battling trainers, the tournament is packing up its bags. Starting in 2027, NAIC is officially moving to McCormick Place in Chicago.
According to Pokémon’s Director of Global Esports and Events, Chris Brown, the North American International Championship grew 150% faster than anyone anticipated. There is no denying that Pokémon has grown, but the company’s decisions regarding this rise in popularity have remained questionable.
Is Chicago the right choice? While Chicago is a lock for 2027, the move has reignited a massive, long-simmering debate across the fandom. If this event is supposed to represent all of North America, why does it feel like the United States has a permanent monopoly on hosting duties?
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The Pokémon Community Debates United States For NAIC
For years, international players have dropped subtle — and not-so-subtle — hints that they would love to see NAIC head north of the border. Canada has a massive, dedicated Pokémon community, great venues, and cities like Toronto and Vancouver that could easily host a major international tournament.
So why hasn’t it happened yet?
The argument for keeping it local usually boils down to pure logistics. Over on X, one fan laid out the reality check quite bluntly, saying that expecting NAIC to be anywhere besides the US is kind of nuts.
They pointed out that the vast majority of North America’s player base lives in the US, and expecting thousands of people to have the money to travel to Canada or suddenly go buy a passport is completely unrealistic. In their eyes, moving the tournament out of the States would cause record-low attendance, which is the exact opposite of what a growing esport wants to do.
There are some good points here, of course. If you want to keep events accessible to the highest number of local players, you put the event where the dense clusters of those players actually live.
On the other hand, the counter-argument is just as compelling, and it points out a pretty massive blind spot in the “keep it in America” logic. Another fan quickly fired back on X, reminding everyone that getting a passport is easy (I’d say this depends). Plus, flying to San Francisco for the Worlds locale is a much farther trip for many Americans than a quick hop over to Toronto would be.
It sounds funny, but for a player living in New York, Michigan, or Ohio, Toronto is practically a neighbor compared to a cross-country flight to California or a trek down to New Orleans.
The Bigger Problem With U.S. Esports Tournaments
But is this really just about convenience? I think not, personally. Right now, a lot of esports scenes are fighting against hosting massive tournaments in the United States.
Head of League of Legends Esports, Chris Greeley, faced a lot of backlash after announcing that the First Stand would be in the United States. After witnessing so many visa issues at previous events, many demanded answers as to why another big tournament was being held in a country run by a xenophobic administration that was making entry quite difficult.
“Six out of eight rosters are struggling with visa issues,” said Tanner “Damonte” Damonte, coach for Shopify Rebels, in an interview with Sheep Esports at the beginning of 2026.
But a lot of fans questioned if pros should even enter the country due to ongoing ICE raids and anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric plaguing the United States. Was it even a place fans would want to risk traveling to for an esports event?
Then, Evo Vegas — once the most prestigious and important fighting game event of the year — had record-low registration in 2026. This was largely due to the skyrocketing costs of flights and hotels in the United States. Many fighting game pros couldn’t afford it.
Or simply didn’t want to. There’s really no point spending all that money to fly to Las Vegas when there are now 230584230489 Evo tournaments popping up all around the world.
The same issues are present for the Pokémon community. There are players from all over the world hoping to qualify for Worlds, and NAIC is one of the most important stops on their journey. But shelling out all that dough for a plane ticket, risking travel complications, and feeling unwelcome and unsafe have to be taken into consideration.
If The Pokémon Company truly wants to live up to the “International” part of the North American International Championships, they eventually have to reckon with the rest of the continent.
Chicago will be an incredible host city for 2027. It is a massive airline hub, it has the space to accommodate the explosive growth Chris Brown talked about, and it keeps things central for the core US audience. But as the community continues to globalize, the pressure to look beyond American borders will only grow.
Meanwhile, at least we won’t have to compete in the extreme humidity of New Orleans. But I’ll definitely miss the live band opening ceremony and great restaurants. But this was bound to happen. Pokémon just isn’t the same anymore. Might as well stuff us into Chicago.
The post The Pokémon NAIC is moving to Chicago in 2027, but maybe it should move to Canada instead appeared first on Esports Insider.