England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland will have to qualify the hard way after UEFA ruled that the Euro 2028 co-hosts will not have automatic entry into the tournament. The competition will be held in 10 venues across the United Kingdom but, unlike in previous years, the hosts will have to go through regular qualifying.

Countries staging international football tournaments are often granted unconditional qualification. However, there is little precedent for four nations co-hosting the same event. That would have meant allowing four teams automatic access to a competition that will only feature 24 countries. UEFA have now confirmed that all four host nations will now go through the usual qualifying format, but with two places in the tournaments reserved for the two highest-ranked teams who fail to qualify.

Should the world rankings remain relatively similar over the next three years, that would almost certainly guarantee England a place in Euro 2028. The Three Lions have not failed to qualify for a major tournament since Euro 2008 and are often expected to perform well in their qualifying groups.

However, should they not be eligible for the competition via that route, England will likely be one of the two best-ranked UK nations. They are currently fourth on FIFA’s leaderboard after reaching last year’s Euro 2024 final. Wales are the next best British team in 29th place.

Scotland are third in 44th and Ireland are 60th.

The successful UK bid initially consisted of five nations, with Northern Ireland joining England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. It was the only bid to host the tournament and was granted the rights at a UEFA meeting in Switzerland in October 2023.

Northern Ireland were later dropped from the bid due to a lack of funding for Casement Park, a derelict venue that was set to be redeveloped for the tournament.

Meanwhile, a Welsh politician seems to have claimed that the tournament’s opening ceremony will be staged in Cardiff. Rebecca Evans, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning, was discussing some upcoming major events, including the six matches that will be hosted in 2028.

In response, Conservative Member of the Senedd Samuel Kurtz said: “Six matches of the UEFA Euro 2028, and not just six matches, but the open ceremony as well.”

Cardiff’s Principality Stadium is one of 10 venues across nine cities that will host matches at the tournament.

Bryson DeChambeau might have finished disappointed at the PGA Championship, but one of his young fans was left delighted with the star. DeChambeau finished tied for second at six under par after failing to put pressure on Scottie Scheffler on the final day.

The LIV Golf rebel was right in contention during the third round before a disastrous finish saw him make a bogey at 16 and a double bogey at 17. That left him six shots behind Scheffler when he teed off on Sunday, but a final round of 70 was never going to be enough to trouble his compatriot. However, he left Quail Hollow having delighted a member of the crowd.

As he made his way down one of the fairways, DeChambeau noticed the boy wearing a hat in support of him. The pair shared a brief conversation before the 31-year-old got a marker pen out of his pocket in order to sign the hat.

The fan smiled broadly as DeChambeau completed his amazing gesture. It’s not the first time ‘The Mad Scientist’ has delayed his round to sign something for a spectator, also doing the same at the 2024 US Open.

During the tournament in Pinehurst, where DeChambeau won the major for the second time, he went out of his way to sign an autograph for a young fan wearing a Ben Hogan hat. It was the same hat design that the star, who idolised both Hogan and Payne Stewart, had previously worn himself.

After teeing off at the third hole during his second round, DeChambeau broke US Open protocol by walking over to the fan and signing a flag he was holding up. Indeed, despite his divisive move to LIV, the American has become a popular figure with the golf public, regularly engaging with his followers on social media.

Last year, he posted Instagram videos featuring him attempting to chip a golf ball into a hole on his own putting green from his driveway. He posted about the challenge daily, starting with one shot per day and gradually increasing the number of shots as the days went on, eventually nailing a hole-in-one on the 16th day.

He was also magnanimous in the aftermath of the PGA Championship. DeChambeau was pictured congratulating Scheffler after his win, and also smiling with his rival’s baby son.

A former Grand Slam champion has outlined the task facing Emma Raducanu’s part-time coach Mark Petchey to get the British star back to her best form. Raducanu heads into the French Open having enjoyed a brief resurgence in form this year, last week reaching the last-16 of the Italian Open.

She’s currently at the Strasbourg Open, where she comfortably beat sixth seed Daria Kasatkina in her opening match. It’s her last tournament before Roland Garros, where Petchey will again combine mentoring her with his media duties. Now 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki, who’ll be working in Paris with TNT Sports, has addressed the biggest task facing him – that being to instill belief into Raducanu she can beat anyone.

“She needs people around her to keep reminding her she can beat anyone at her best,” she told Express Sport. “It’s good to see she’s playing better, winning matches, and her body his holding up.

“I think Mark Petchey is a good coach, but most importantly for Emma, she’s shown it’s important that she has someone who she gets along with and brings positive energy to her camp and makes her believe that she can do it.”

The ex-world No.1 also pinpointed the two potential problems that could hinder Raducanu’s form, adding, “Is her body holding up, and how is she mentally? If both are doing well, she’s going to get results.”

TNT colleague Jim Courier, also speaking with Express Sport, praised Petchey’s influence on the 2021 US Open champion, and believes he’s helped put a smile back on the face of the 22-year-old. He said: “No one watches more, or thinks more, about tennis than Mark Petchey.

“I’ve worked alongside him, the guy lives and breathes it, dives deep into the numbers and understands what the modern game looks like. “There’s trust and there’s knowledge, and that’s a great base to work off. Hopefully, now she’ll find consistency because she looks like she’s having fun.”

Raducanu has worked with a string of coaches ever since her incredible win in New York in September 2021. The all-British partnership began following her split from Vladimir Platenik in March, after just 14 days working together.