Manchester United faces a difficult dilemma with Andre Onana as his salary would skyrocket if they qualify for the Champions League, complicating plans to offload the Cameroonian goalkeeper by summer 2026.

On April 1, Beijing time, the final intercontinental playoff match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification concluded at the Estadio BBVA in Monterrey, Mexico. Iraq, with goals from captain Hamadi and Ayman Hussein, defeated the South American team Bolivia 2-1, returning to the World Cup stage after 40 years.

Endrick shines, giving Brazil an "early Easter gift" by defeating Croatia 3-1 in a friendly match held at Camping World Stadium (Orlando), thereby ending the opponent's nine-match unbeaten run (8 wins, 1 draw).

Europe concluded its 2026 World Cup qualification campaign after the playoff matches, with the final four spots secured by Turkey, Czech Republic, Sweden, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Notably, Italy once again failed to qualify for the World Cup finals.

Written by Han Bing. Italy lost 1-4 in penalties and 2-5 in aggregate to Bosnia, marking their third consecutive elimination by a lower-ranked team in the World Cup European qualifiers playoffs. The Milan Sports Paper bluntly stated this is another historic failure for Italy; Italian football is facing not just a third nightmare, but a "world-ending" scenario of being unable to enter the World Cup since 2014.

Report by Chen Yong: Thanks to Du Yuezhen's spectacular strike, the U23 national team defeated Vietnam 1-0 in the 2026 CFA China Team · "Silk Road Happy World" Xi'an International Youth Football Championship (hereinafter referred to as the "Xi'an Four Nations Tournament"). Both teams finished with 1 win and 2 draws, but the U23 team placed second due to a lower goal difference.

Reported by Wang Wei: At 17:00 Beijing time on April 1, the first round of the U20 Women's Asian Cup group stage begins. The match between China's U20 women's football team (hereinafter referred to as the women's youth team) and Vietnam will be held at the Nongbuari Province Stadium in Thailand. For this Asian Cup, the women's youth team aims to qualify for the U20 Women's World Cup, which means they must at least reach the semifinals.

Italy's third consecutive failure to qualify for the World Cup is undoubtedly the lowest point in the national team's history.

24 days without football is a very long period for Manchester United fans. However, it will be sufficient for the club's leadership to consider plans for the next season, including the decision on whether to retain Michael Carrick after this season.

According to British media reports, Manchester United has included Rashford, Sancho, Højlund, Malacia, Ugarte, and Zirkzee among others on the summer clearance list, but Dutch striker Zirkzee now desires to stay. The Daily Mail reports that Zirkzee firmly believes he will get more opportunities next season if Carrick remains and United returns to the Champions League.