Socceroos stars are wrapping up their commitments ahead of the World Cup to varying degrees of joy and despair, while one made a stunning backflip after his daughter tugged on his heart strings.
While Maty Ryan was outstanding in his team’s relegation battle, Cammy Devlin was left distraught by a chaotic finale in Scotland, and Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe were relegated in Germany, it was Martin Boyle who had the most dramatic final days of the season.
Watch the biggest Aussie sports & the best from overseas LIVE on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
The Socceroos winger had announced he was quitting Hibernian ahead of the Scottish team’s last match against Motherwell, fighting back tears in an emotional farewell press conference.
But an hour before kick-off in what was expected to be his farewell game, Hibs revealed Boyle had signed a one-year extension.
The announcement stunned fans, teammates and even members of Boyle’s family, who had gone to the game expecting it was his last for the club at Easter Road.
Afterwards, Boyle, 33, explained the role his daughter played in his U-turn.
“I just took her to bed and she was like, ‘Are you sad you’re leaving Hibs?’ and I went, ‘Yeah’,” Boyle said. “Something flicked in the back of my brain. I can’t let the place go, if I’m honest with you.
“I love the place. Pulling on this shirt. I’m in a position where thousands and thousands of people would trade with me. I get that opportunity to put on that shirt and give my all every week. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
He didn’t tell his nearest and dearest that he’d had a change of heart.
“I didn’t even tell my mum and dad that it was going to get announced,” Boyle said. “A lot of people thought it was my farewell, but I thought I’d just keep it a secret.”
Boyle is a cult hero at the Edinburgh club after scoring 110 goals in 11 seasons.
He had been tipped for a potential stint in the A-League and said he had “another three or four years in me,” adding, “I know people think he’s in his 30s, he’s lost a yard and all that, but that motivates me to prove people wrong.”
Across town, Cammy Devlin was reduced to tears for a whole other reason.
Having played a key role for Hearts in their push for a first title in 66 years, the Socceroo was crushed by a final-day loss to Celtic, which saw the Scottish giants pip the Edinburgh underdogs at the post.
Hearts were level at 1-1 with 86 minutes gone, knowing a draw would be enough to win the league, only for Celtic to snatch two late goals and for the game to end amidst a crowd invasion that left the visiting players in fear for their safety.
FIXTURES & DATES: FIFA World Cup 2026 schedule with AEST start times and dates
SQUADS: Brazil bombshell as icon recalled from three-year exile — Every FIFA World Cup squad
Ryan fighting, Irvine succumbs to relegation
Maty Ryan is doing his best to keep Levante in La Liga, making a series of big saves in the club’s 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Mallorca on the weekend to register a fourth clean sheet in six matches and his 10th of the season. The result moved Levante out of the relegation zone for the first time in months, and they face Champions League-qualified Real Betis this weekend.
While Ryan’s fight continues, two of his national team mates, Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe, suffered relegation on the weekend with St Pauli in the German Bundesliga.
Irvine, who captained St Pauli this season, has pledged his future to the hipster club, confirming he’ll stick with them in the second tier next year.
St Pauli, with Irvine and Metcalfe both starting, needed a win to have a chance to survive the drop, and went to a 1-0 lead before losing 3-1 to Wolfsburg.
“I’m devastated that our Bundesliga journey is over,” said Irvine, who had led the club up from the second division after joining in 2021. “If you finish where we did after 34 games, you deserve to go down. We weren’t able to deliver in the key moments and the players have to take responsibility for that.”
As for his plans next year, he added: “All the players who stay will work hard to get back to the level we’ve worked hard to reach.
“My contract runs for another year and I’m staying. This is my home, this club is so special to me.”
Meanwhile, Socceroos Massimo Luongo and Callum Elder are on the lookout for new clubs after being released by their Championship sides following injury-hit seasons.
Luongo will leave Millwall after just nine appearances, with an ACL injury ending any hopes of him making the World Cup squad.
Elder, who played two friendlies in the November 2025 window, departs Derby County after 76 games with the club.
‘We kill ourselves’: How Messi is prepping for back-to-back bid
Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup last time around, but the 38-year-old superstar appears hell-bent on going back-to-back in his adopted home of the United States.
His international and Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul has revealed the Argentines have been undergoing an intense double-training regime in a bid to be at peak fitness for the World Cup.
“Between two and three months ago, we have had a training plan beyond what we do at the club and the two of us kill ourselves to reach the best physical shape,” De Paul said in an interview with Lo del Pollo.
“We proposed a double shift for ourselves and we have our trainer there and we give it our all.”
The workload appears to be paying off for Messi, who has scored 12 goals and registered five assists in 13 MLS appearances for Inter Miami CF this season.
‘Oh yeah, dude is different’: ‘Beast Mode’s’ take on Mbappe
France striker Kylian Mbappe has had a tough time with Real Madrid in recent months, with fans railing against him in a petition and his stock falling at the club.
But Mbappe has NFL legend Marshawn Lynch in his corner.
“When I’m looking at him, I’m like damn, there’s somebody who actually looks like me,” Lynch told Sports Illustrated. “And then just seeing how fucking fast bro was, I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, dude is different.’”
The former Seattle Seahawks running back, nicknamed “Beast Mode”, said Mbappe is one of the players he is most excited to watch at the World Cup.
“You see all these guys, the Messi, the Mbappes, it’s like, ‘Oh, these guys been doing this shit since forever and putting in the work,’” Lynch said.
Lynch’s appreciation for the sport goes back to his childhood in Oakland, where he says football was “something you couldn’t escape” while reflecting on his early experiences with the game.
He has remained connected to the sport through an ownership stake in Oakland Roots SC and says he can’t wait to experience the atmosphere of the World Cup, adding “soccer fans know how to fucking party.”
‘Sometimes we lose sight of reality’: Spanish fans warned of Yamal pressure
Lamine Yamal is expected to be fit in time for the World Cup despite a recent injury suffered at Barcelona, but a former Spain star has warned his country’s fans not to put too much pressure on the teen sensation.
Fernando Morientes believes expectations on Yamal have become excessive ahead of the tournament.
Yamal has emerged as one of the biggest names in world football after establishing himself as a star for FC Barcelona and Spain, where he was a member of the Euros 2024-winning team.
“Sometimes we lose sight of reality. 18 years is not old enough to lead the Spanish national team,” Morientes told The Mirror.
“He’s a boy, but he’s got a status in the world of football that makes us all look out for him. I think he’s the figurehead of Spain at the moment.
“We have to put a bit of responsibility on him and on the team. I think we have always shown that we are a team that is more governed by the team than by the individual figures.”
Yamal’s status sees him transcend the sports pages, and he was front-page news around the world last week when he waved a Palestinian flag from an open-top bus during Barcelona’s La Liga title-winning celebrations.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz criticised Yamal, saying he chose to “incite hatred” against Israel.
“I hope a great and respected club like Barcelona distances itself from these remarks and makes it unambiguously clear that there is no place for incitement or support for terrorism,” Katz said in a Spanish-language post on X.
Yamal was backed by Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who said the player had made Spain “proud”.
“Those who think that waving the flag of a state is ‘inciting hatred’, they have either lost their minds or they have been blinded by their own disgrace,” he wrote on X.
“Lamine just expressed the solidarity with Palestine that millions of Spaniards feel. Yet another reason to be proud of him.”
Tuchel’s tatts plan for unity
England coach Thomas Tuchel has reportedly told the team’s players and staff they will all get matching tattoos if the Three Lions win the 2026 World Cup. The unusual pledge was revealed by Sporting Kansas City chief operating officer Alan Dietrich, who is helping oversee England’s tournament base in the United States.
Dietrich said the idea emerged during a game of padel with Tuchel last year.
“Coach Tuchel is very good and very competitive,” he said. “It wasn’t a casual game. You could just tell his intensity.”
According to Dietrich, Tuchel made a bold declaration during the match.
“That’s when coach Thomas said to us that they will get tattoos ‘when’ they win the tournament,” he said.
Tuchel then turned to the Sporting Kansas City officials and invited them to join in as part of England’s wider World Cup team. “You’re our partners now, so will you get tattoos too?” the German coach asked.
Dietrich said he and Sporting Kansas City CEO Jake Reid agreed despite neither currently having tattoos.
“Jake and I, while we’re tattoo-less at the moment, immediately said, ‘Yes.’ My kids can’t believe it,” he said.
England will be based in Kansas City throughout the tournament despite not being scheduled to play matches there.
German legend set for one more go
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has refused to clarify whether veteran goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will make a shock return at the tournament ahead of the official team announcement on May 21.
Despite Neuer previously retiring from international football, reports in Germany suggest the FC Bayern Munich captain could reclaim the No.1 role ahead of the tournament in North America.
“The list won’t be published, so I won’t comment on it,” Nagelsmann said in an interview this week.
Mourinho set for return to Real Madrid | 00:22
He added, “It is always our duty to include and evaluate all eligible players who hold a German passport and are healthy,” which intensified speculation surrounding Neuer’s possible comeback.
Nagelsmann had previously appeared to close the door on a return by insisting Neuer retired “of his own free will.”
Reports claim the 40-year-old has been included in Germany’s preliminary 55-man squad and could push past Oliver Baumann into the starting lineup.
Neuer remains one of the most decorated goalkeepers in football history and played a crucial role in Germany’s 2014 World Cup triumph