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Talking Aston Villa with Prince William… in the pub: Pints, playmakers and burner accounts
“I got this call from Aston Villa asking if I wanted to meet the future King of England at a train station Wetherspoon’s.”
No, this is not a set-up line to a gag, nor a conversation with a large dollop of irony. It happened.
William, Prince of Wales, the next in line to the throne, asked to meet a group of Villa supporters for a midweek pint. It was Steve Jones, the chairman of Chasetown Football Club — a team playing in the Northern Premier League Division One West league, the eighth tier of the English football league system — who was tasked with making it all happen.
Two days after, Jones meets up with The Athletic to recall a Wednesday afternoon like no other. Over a Bulmers cider and for 45 minutes, the prince joined eight other Villa supporters to talk all things Unai Emery, his players and their Champions League run.
Jones shows The Athletic around Chasetown FC (Jacob Tanswell/The Athletic)
Tucking into sausage rolls and drinking coffee, Jones and his friend Darren Johnson, try to reflect on a frantic, disbelieving 72 hours. They are hardened home and away Villa fans, with season tickets in the new ‘Legends Lounge’ at Villa Park, situated between the Trinity Road Stand and Holte End. Jones has sponsored players in the past and before moving seats this season, would sit in lounges where club directors would be.
“I got a call from Villa’s commercial department,” says Jones, 56. “They wanted to know if I was going to the Everton game on Wednesday evening, which I was. They asked if I could meet somebody, but they wouldn’t tell me who at first. ‘Is it the owners?’, I asked. ‘No, it’s royalty and they want you to meet at this place’.
“I knew it could only be one person. Villa asked if I could gather some fans. I decided I would bring my wife, Julie, and son Daniel and the regulars in our lounge. I called each one of them and said, ‘Listen, are you available tomorrow before we go to Everton? I want to meet for a pint. I can’t say why yet, but just trust me’.”
“The dress code was a nightmare,” laughs Johnson, 54. “So we just showed up as if we were going to the football.”
Let’s get the obvious question out of the way — how did all this happen? How did Johnson, Jones and their Villa friends and family end up in the pub with Prince William?
The answer was a combination of fortune and discreet planning. As it happened, the prince’s schedule was fully booked on Wednesday morning. He would be attending the College of Paramedics’ inaugural emergency and critical care conference in Birmingham, making a speech that paid tribute to the country’s paramedics.
Once official duties were over and before returning south, a gap in his diary emerged. William, 42, realised he would have an hour and a half to kill.
An idea came to mind. An understandable one, too — what would be better than a midweek drink talking football?
The prince knew there would be pockets of Villa supporters at the station before heading to Merseyside later that afternoon. His aides contacted Villa, asking if they could arrange a group of supporters to meet him inside Birmingham New Street station and, just tucked round the corner of the entrance, where The London and Northern Western Wetherspoon’s pub was.
Jones, his wife Julie and son Daniel, with Prince William (photo courtesy of Steve Jones)
“He wanted it to be very low-key,” says Jones. “He said, ‘After I’ve done this engagement, I want to meet some Villa fans’.”
Jones was told to arrive at 2.30pm but, with a pet hate for lateness and the small matter of meeting the heir to the throne, he arrived at 1.10pm. No one at the pub, staff or customer, knew about the royal arrival.
“I needed to find a decent table,” he says. “We walked in and it was rammed, but we got to the back where there was space. I started moving tables around so it fitted enough of us. Despite the pub manager saying we couldn’t do it, we put three tables together and with a mish-mash of chairs — like going to your nana’s on Christmas Day. People were asking to use some, but we just put our coats on them.”
Strangely, another group followed Jones and his friends in and began putting tables together. But with the greatest of respect, they were not public house regulars. They chose coffee and tea over beer and dressed smartly, though plain-clothed.
“One of these guys came up to us; they were his protection team,” says Jones. “They were glad we had got there early and chose that table. Every time a customer left, one of them would take over that seat or booth. When William turned up, we had no idea how many plain security people there were. It was very subtle, which was great.
“We asked his team how should we address him. They simply said, ‘He’s off duty, he’s here of his own time, so call him what you want, Will or William’. There was no briefing — we could talk about whatever.”
“He came in and he wasn’t surrounded by loads of security, just one of his aides,” says Johnson. “Bold as brass, he introduced himself, shook everyone’s hand and said, ‘Right, shall we have a round?’.”
Jones, right, and Johnson meet The Athletic two days later (Jacob Tanswell/The Athletic)
Although Prince William only attended his first match at Villa Park in November 2013 — in former owner Randy Lerner’s private box — he has followed the club since his childhood, with his earliest experience as a fan being the FA Cup semi-final win over Bolton Wanderers on penalties at Wembley in 2000.
The Prince makes an effort to watch every game and whenever his schedule permits, will attend in person. On a handful of occasions last season, he and his dignitaries entered the dressing room to wish Emery’s squad well. He is known to most of the players and has been to Bodymoor Heath, Villa’s training campus, to watch practice sessions.
“The first question was why he got involved in Villa,” says Johnson. “He told us that one of the people who looked after him and would take him to school was a Villa fan. They took him to his first game against Bolton. Will said none of the Royals are into football apart from him and his son, George.
“There was never a dull moment or awkward silence throughout. None of his entourage sat with him or tried to listen in. His eyes were always on us, just talking to the table like a normal bloke talking about Villa.
Jones and his son Daniel, talking to the prince (Steve Jones)
“I asked him if he was going to watch the game against Everton later. He said, ‘Yeah, me and George are watching’. I made a joke about whether he would get the remote or whether Kate (his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales) would have the TV that night.
“George is a Villa fan and we asked about the rest of the children. He said he wouldn’t force a football team onto them as long as it wasn’t Chelsea because all the people around him are Chelsea fans.”
The prince once asked for Jack Grealish’s No 10 shirt, received Christian Benteke’s boots and became close friends with another former Villa forward, John Carew. When Grealish was punched in the second city derby against Birmingham City in 2019, William hand-wrote a supportive letter, addressed to the player’s home. More profoundly, when Stiliyan Petrov, another former Villa captain, had acute leukaemia, The Prince acted similarly.
“He had a vast knowledge of Villa,” says Jones. “We brought up a couple of topics and he was very eloquent. He didn’t have to look up to his aides, he knew everything. We spoke about the recent West Ham game and the changes Emery made in the second half. He started talking about double pivots and how Emery moved Youri Tielemans’ position. We were like ‘What?’.
“He was talking about possible transfers, who might leave and who might come. We spoke about PSR (profit and sustainability rules) and Chelsea selling their women’s team. He admitted he would love to have more opinions on certain things within the game but he can’t in his role as president of the FA.”
Prince William at Villa’s win over Bayern Munich this season (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
As the subject of Villa spindled one way and the other, from PSR to Tielemans’ playmaking abilities, Prince William disclosed one of the more royally guarded secrets: in his spare time, he is a regular contributor to online fan forums.
“He said he keeps abreast of Villa gossip because he is on all the fans’ forums,” says Jones. “He goes under different names and he posts on there because that’s how he gets the feeling of what’s going on and what’s the opinion.”
The prince finished his pint and after three-quarters of an hour, an aide, who had been sitting, as Jones puts it, “quite far back” from the Villa huddle, reminded him that his train would be leaving shortly.
He was in no rush, however. Such was the lack of urgency to move and being immersed in conversation, he had to be reminded twice more that his train was swiftly approaching.
“It was a release into normality,” says Johnson. “At the end, he just said, ‘OK, shall we get some photos done?’. Everyone had one on their own before a couple of group photos. Once he left, we had another pint. It was a once-in-a-million lifetimes thing.”
(Top photo: Steve Jones)
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Croatia thought their FIFA World Cup hopes were still alive when they scored the game-tying goal just before the end of stoppage time in the second half.
But a VAR review said Mario Pasalic was offside, and it was Portugal moving on instead.
Gonçalo Ramos’ goal just minutes earlier — a beautiful header into the back of the net in the 94th minute — was the decider in this 2-1 victory for Portugal. And it was only the second time in Portuguese World Cup history the nation needed to come from behind to win, underscoring its resilience on the sport’s biggest stage.
Luka Modric of Croatia and teammates react after the 1-2 loss during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Patrick Smith – FIFA)
It was a controversial ending, though, and one where Croatia tried to argue the ball never hit the head of Igor Matanovic, which made Pasalic offside during VAR review.
It’s also worth noting that a new chip within the ball shows when it is touched, giving more concrete evidence to the referee’s final decision in such a crucial time of the match. This was the 10th goal overruled by VAR thus far in the World Cup.
GABRIEL MARTINELLI’S 96TH-MINUTE GOAL RESCUES BRAZIL FROM JAPAN UPSET IN WORLD CUP ROUND OF 32
So, with the goal annulled, Croatia’s time at the tournament has ended. As a result, Croatian legend Luka Modrić is finishing his fifth World Cup, which will likely be the 40-year-old midfielder’s final one.
But another older legend on the pitch will move on, as Cristiano Ronaldo made some World Cup history during this match.
When No. 7 stepped foot on the pitch and the ball was kicked, he became the oldest player to participate in a knockout stage match at the World Cup at 41 years and 147 days old. He also became the oldest player to score in a knockout stage match when he saw a penalty situation while Portugal was down 1-0 in the match.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Patrick Smith – FIFA)
Ivan Perisic got the first goal of this game and put Portugal’s back against the wall. But after a foul was committed inside Croatia’s box in the 67th minute, it was time for Ronaldo to get his first career knockout goal, and he didn’t disappoint.
Ronaldo was ecstatic, sprinting toward the corner flag and performing his signature “SIU!” celebration, which the crowd bellowed with the score at 1-1. Ronaldo had also seemed to get that first knockout goal just minutes earlier but he was called offside.
Modrić and Ronaldo, two former teammates on Real Madrid, also made history together, as they were the first two players 40 years or older to play in the same match together.
Luka Modric of Croatia congratulates Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal after the 2-1 win during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match between Portugal and Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2, 2026 in Toronto, Ontario. (Buda Mendes/Getty Images)
It was also an emotional moment after the match, as Ronaldo wore the jersey of late Portugal teammate Diogo Jota, who died in a car accident a year ago. A team photo was taken on the pitch, with Ronaldo holding up Jota’s jersey alongside his squad.
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Now that the job is done in the Round of 32 for Portugal, they face a big challenge against a key rival in the Round of 16.
Spain, who dominated Austria with a 3-0 finish earlier on Thursday, awaits Portugal at Dallas Stadium on July 6 at 3 p.m. ET.
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Roki Sasaki’s abysmal appearance faded away in the Dodgers’ 12-7 win over the San Diego Padres on Thursday night, but only after the National League West leaders rose from a catatonic first inning.
The Dodgers roared back from a 6-0 deficit as Andy Pages skirted a tying double down the left-field line, and Mookie Betts and Max Muncy each drove in runs to give them the lead for good in a four-run fourth inning. All of which sent the sold-out Dodger Stadium crowd into jubilant celebrations, some jumping, others breaking out World Cup chants.
“Thankfully, it played out the way I didn’t expect,” manager Dave Roberts said of the team’s ability to turn the game around, “or the way it started.”
By the time the game ended, Sasaki’s three-inning start seemed like a murky nightmare the Dodgers awoke from in a sweat. Except the Dodgers weren’t dreaming, and the team hadn’t done much to assuage the concerns with Sasaki.
The problem with Sasaki isn’t his stuff. On his best nights, when the velocity and command combine, Sasaki blows past batters with a triple-digit fastball and cutting off-speed pitches. The problem has been how to tick the radar without making the strike zone look like a Jackson Pollock painting — and recently, it has.
Sasaki’s June swoon, impervious to the calendar change, continued into Thursday’s series opener against the Padres, in which the right-hander gave up three home runs among seven hits before Roberts called it quits going into the fourth inning.
“They were on everything,” Roberts said. “You could see it.”
One possible concern? Tipping pitches. While Roberts and catcher Dalton Rushing said the team would need to do more research into Sasaki’s start, both left the door open to this answer.
“That would be a big explanation as to how they felt like they were on every pitch,” Rushing said.
As San Diego chugged through its lineup, Sasaki struggled to keep up. With his first pitch, he gave up a double to Fernando Tatis Jr., who scored on Manny Machado’s home run that left center fielder Pages staring at the ball’s path as it plopped down on the other side of the blue outfield fence.
The inning was only a preview of the Padres’ power. Each of the nine San Diego batters got his chance against Sasaki in the second, and the team quickly dug the Dodgers into a six-run hole. He surrendered two home runs in the second inning. Jackson Merrill blasted a ball to left-center field leading off, and, two outs later, Jake Cronenworth drove in two runs with a shot to right-center.
Sasaki said through interpreter Kensuke Okubo that he needed to work on his command, but he felt like his fastball was good.
Roki Sasaki has his head down after giving up a solo homer to Jackson Merrill in the second inning.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I don’t think my stuff was bad today,” Sasaki said. “Overall, it wasn’t great but a lot of things evolved.”
Part of Sasaki’s issue lies with his approach. Roberts said he wants the second-year pitcher to be aggressive, to play the cat-and-mouse game required to beat batters in the box. But when given the opportunity, Sasaki has shrunken in recent outings, struggling with his command and his ability to pitch deep into games.
“We had a great May, so let’s just get back to competing and making pitches,” Roberts said.
When reliever Will Klein walked out to the mound in the fourth to the aggressive, rambunctious clamor of the Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” and collected two scoreless, one-hit innings, the relief was immediate: The Dodgers took the lead.
The lineup already was revving, as Rushing homered in the second inning while Sasaki was still in the game, and both Kyle Tucker and Muncy drove in runs off starter Randy Vasquez in the third, cutting the deficit to two. The Dodgers broke through against the Padres’ bullpen to score six runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
“The bullpen was fantastic tonight, and then the offense came up big,” Roberts said.
A late catch by Pages helped close out the game after he gloved a ball despite ramming into the padding of the center field wall. A combined effort by Paul Gervase and Tanner Scott shut down San Diego’s ninth-inning momentum after it pushed across a run.
“Turned back around, was able to find the ball and make a really good catch right there,” Tucker said of Pages. “That was a huge out.”
The Dodgers (57-31) beat their division rivals for the fifth time in seven games to open a 13-game lead over both San Diego and Arizona. The Padres, meanwhile, have lost six straight and given up 66 runs over the last six days, the most in such a span in franchise history.
But San Diego’s flaws don’t negate the Dodgers’ as they burned through six relievers in their win. So, while the Dodgers crawled out of the hole with a season-high 17 hits, the steep cost heightens the pressure on the rest of the rotation the rest of the series.
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In previous years, the Round of 16 was the first knockout stage match, but with an expanded field of 48 teams— it is now the second.
Let’s check out the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 2 for which countries are favored to make the Round of 16 and emerge from it.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
To Reach Round of 16
Argentina: -2000 (bet $10 to win $10.50 total)
Colombia: -550 (bet $10 to win $11.82 total)
Portugal: -340 (bet $10 to win $12.94 total)
Switzerland: -235 (bet $10 to win $14.26 total)
Egypt: -148 (bet $10 to win $16.76 total)
Australia: +122 (bet $10 to win $22.20 total)
Algeria: +186 (bet $10 to win $28.60 total)
Croatia: +260 (bet $10 to win $36 total)
Ghana: +380 (bet $10 to win $48 total)
Cape Verde: +1160 (bet $10 to win $126 total)
Now let’s check out the odds at FanDuel Sportsbook as of July 2 for the matchups already in place.
SATURDAY, JULY 4
Canada vs. Morocco
To Advance: MAR -300, CAN +225
Moneyline: MAR -130, Draw +240, CAN +420
Paraguay vs. France
To Advance: FRA -1800, PRY +1140
Moneyline: FRA -600, Draw +600, PRY +1800
SUNDAY, JULY 5
Brazil vs. Norway
To Advance: BRA -245, NOR +196
Moneyline: BRA -120, Draw +260, NOR +340
Mexico vs. England
To Advance: ENG -134, MEX +110
Moneyline: ENG +145, Draw +210, MEX +200
MONDAY, JULY 6
USA vs. Belgium
To Advance: USA -110, BEL -110
Moneyline: USA +165, Draw +230, BEL +170
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