GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland picked teenager Tyler Fletcher for the World Cup as a surprise injury replacement Sunday despite the midfielder playing less than 20 minutes for Manchester United this season.
The 19-year-old Fletcher was asked by Scotland coach Steve Clarke to gain experience last week practising with the senior squad, then got a shock call-up after Napoli midfielder Billy Gilmour suffered a knee injury Saturday in a 4-1 win over Curacao in a warmup game.
Fletcher made his national-team debut Saturday as a half-time substitute and got the World Cup call ahead of players including 19-year-old Lennon Miller, who had a full season in Serie A with Udinese.
“I just felt Tyler came into the squad this week and showed up really well, did well in the game so that was the thinking,” Clarke said Sunday.
Fletcher got just two brief appearances off the bench in the Premier League for United, where his father Darren was a 13-season veteran who played 80 times for Scotland, though never at a World Cup.
Clarke had put midfielders Miller, Connor Barron and Andy Irving on standby two weeks ago when naming his 26-player squad, yet opted to promote Fletcher.
“For myself, it was a really difficult night, I haven’t slept much,” Clarke said. “I had to disappoint another three players this morning again, to tell them that they had missed out.”
Fletcher joins 19-year-old Findlay Curtis in the squad, plus 20-year-old Ben Gannon-Doak. They were not born when their 43-year-old teammate Craig Gordon first played for Scotland in 2004.
When Gordon made his debut as Scotland goalkeeper 22 years ago, Darren Fletcher was in the lineup and scored in a 4-1 win over Trinidad and Tobago.
Scotland returns to the World Cup after a 28-year wait in a group with Brazil, Morocco and Haiti. Scotland start June 13 against Haiti at the New England Patriots stadium in Foxborough.
Scotland's head coach Steve Clarke watches his players during an international friendly soccer match between Scotland and Curacao in Glasgow, Scotland, Saturday, May 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
PARIS (AP) — A huge crowd of supporters gathered peacefully near the Eiffel Tower on Sunday to celebrate Paris Saint-Germain's second Champions League title victory, which was marred by violent clashes overnight across France and led police to detain hundreds of people.
Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said 780 people were detained in Paris and other cities and 57 officers were wounded, with most suffering minor injuries, as football fans set off fires and vandalized shops overnight.
Nuñez said at a news conference Sunday that “the situation has been largely brought under control."
“Most of the celebrations took place peacefully” across the French capital, he said, noting most incidents happened in the Champs Elysees neighborhood and close to the Parc des Princes stadium, in western Paris, where fans had gathered to watch the match.
Fans began celebrating in Paris after the final whistle on Saturday night in Budapest, Hungary, where Paris Saint-Germain was crowned Champions League winners after beating Arsenal in a dramatic penalty shootout. Fans marched along the avenues near Paris’ Arc de Triomphe monument, with some setting off flares and blaring car horns. Around 20,000 people gathered on the Champs-Elysees, where police worked to contain the crowd.
Planned celebrations for the team’s win on Sunday afternoon at the Champ de Mars, near the Eiffel Tower, went ahead as scheduled. Nunez warned that police would respond with “firmness and determination” to any potential violence.
With the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop, up to 100,000 supporters showed up at the event that was placed under high security measures. Returning from Budapest late, PSG players — led by captain Marquinhos, coach Luis Enrique and club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi — were greeted by cheering crowds as the club anthem blared from loudspeakers. The players took turns lifting the trophy aloft, relishing their heroes’ welcome back home.
The team will later be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee presidential palace.
Nuñez said incidents took place in about 15 cities in France, describing “one to two” shops vandalized in each other than Paris. He said 780 people were detained in all, with 480 of them in the Paris area alone.
Police also intervened five times overnight to prevent people from blocking traffic on the main ring road around Paris, he said. In one accident, a driver lost control of a car that rammed into a restaurant’s terrace, leaving two people wounded including one seriously, Nuñez said.
The Paris prosecutors’ office said 306 people have been formally placed in police custody, including 81 minors, for alleged offences. Most were for assault of police officers while other allegations include theft, vandalism and disturbing the public order. Some 40 police officers were injured.
The Paris police prefecture said smaller groups caused disturbances in various locations, with some vandalizing shops and setting fires to garbage and self-service bicycles in the streets. Cars were also set ablaze. Some who attempted to storm a police station in the posh 8th Arrondissement neighborhood were dispersed, police said.
“The vast majority of Parisians celebrated it with joy, unity, and respect,” Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire said on Sunday in a message on X, while condemning violence “in the strongest possible terms.”
Following PSG’s first Champions League title win in May 2025, 201 people were injured in the French capital and police made more than 500 arrests across France.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
PSG fans celebrate the day after winning the Champions League title, at the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Artists perform ahead of PSG's celebrations the day after winning the Champions League title, at the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Fans cheer as a giant monitor shows PSG's head coach Luis Enrique and team upon landing, during celebrations the day after winning the Champions League title, at the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A car burns and fireworks explode as police watch PSG supporters celebrate in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026 after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal that was played in Budapest. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A car burns as PSG supporters celebrate in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026 after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal that's being played in Budapest., PSG won the game. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A car burns and fireworks explode as police watch PSG supporters celebrate in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026 after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal that's being played in Budapest., PSG won the game. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A car burns and fireworks explode as police watch PSG supporters celebrate in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026 after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal that's being played in Budapest, PSG won the game. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A car burns as PSG supporters celebrate in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026 after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal that's being played in Budapest., PSG won the game. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
A man holds a flare as PSG supporters celebrate in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026 after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal that's being played in Budapest., PSG won the game. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Police try to disperses PSG supporters who left off fireworks as they celebrate in Paris, Saturday, May 30, 2026 after the Champions League final soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal that was played in Budapest, PSG won the game. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
