Newspaper headlines: 'Lions of Arabia' and 'soft Brexit warnings'

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By BBC News
Staff
PA Media

England captain Harry Kane trains at the Al Wakrah Sports Club Stadium as the squad prepare for the opening game against Iran

The papers are all dominated by the World Cup in Qatar, which has finally got under way - with the hosts being soundly beaten by Ecuador.

Now the attention turns to the home nations as Wales and England kick off against the USA and Iran respectively. Draped in a St George's flag, England captain Harry Kane is pictured on most of the front pages.

With the headline "Lions of Arabia" the Sun devotes its front page to the tournament - and says England striker Kane has pledged to end 56 years of World Cup hurt. But there are concerns the talisman could have his rainbow armband removed.

It is a similar story in the Daily Star which likens the England striker to Superman; while in the Metro, the lead is an apparent stunt by the comedian Joe Lycett who is pictured seemingly shredding £10,000 in a protest against David Beckham's role as an ambassador for the Qatar World Cup. Beckham has not publicly responded to Lycett.

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Elated Ecuador fans stand out at the top of the i as they are pictured celebrating Enner Valencia's two goals in the opening game of the tournament, but it's main story moves away from the World Cup and centres on Tory MPs warning against reports of a fresh relationship with the European Union similar to the one Switzerland has with the bloc - something the government says is untrue.

Political attention is very much on reported suggestions of a Swiss-style deal with the EU to allow access to the single market. "Don't betray us on Brexit" is the Daily Mail's headline, which says the rumours have alarmed Tories who fear it will cost them leave-supporting voters.

The Daily Express brands the suggestions an "absurd idea" as it quotes former minister and staunch Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg as saying it would render trade deals with other countries "ineffective".

In the Daily Telegraph, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has moved to quell the backlash with No 10 rejecting the suggestions of a Swiss-style deal as "categorically untrue".

According to the Financial Times, the business sector is set to anger Brexiteers by urging Rishi Sunak to "do the deal" with the EU in order to soften the economic effects of Brexit, including opening the door to more immigration to fill holes in the labour market.

"Patients to face long NHS waits for years" is the headline in the Times, as the paper says ministers believe there is little hope of key targets being hit by the next election. It comes as the government plans to remove many national NHS targets in a scaling back that would enable local bosses to set their own priorities.