The Guardian

Lille midfielder excelled against Brazil but it was no surprise to his national coach after a key role in convincing him to turn down France’s overtures The name Ayyoub Bouaddi was on everyone’s lips after Brazil’s draw against Morocco on Saturday night. Even the army of concerned South American journalists firing questions at Vinícius Júnior at the MetLife Stadium had to acknowledge that the Rea…

Anxious dead-of-night watch parties ended in celebration after 1-0 victory over Haiti in first finals match since 1998 It was around 2.28am in the UK that John McGinn ended 28, arguably 36, years of hurt – and anyone daft enough to be asleep will surely have stirred as chants of “no Scotland, no party” echoed from Boston to Glasgow. The scenes after McGinn’s deflected goal and Scotland’s 1-0 defe…

Shelton fights back to win third title of season Grass specialist Fritz was defending champion American top seed Ben Shelton beat countryman and defending champion Taylor Fritz 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 to win the Stuttgart Open ATP title on Sunday. Grass court specialist Fritz had never previously lost a final on the surface. Shelton broke the second seed once in the opening set and once in the third to cla…

Hamilton leads British top three with Russell and Norris Championship leader Antonelli out after leading the race Lewis Hamilton triumphed for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix with a magnificent drive to seal an emotional maiden win for the Scuderia . The veteran British driver and seven-times world champion ended a run of 40 grands prix without victory and denied his compatriot, sec…

⚽ Kick-off: 12pm local/1pm EDT/6pm BST/3am AEST ⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden boot | Email Daniel There’s a concept in Jewish practice and learning that we call “lishma”; for its own sake. Roughly, it means that, in their purest expression, commandments aren’t fulfilled and texts aren’t studied for performative purposes, nor for any kind of reward or benefit, but in pursuit of truth and …

Vekic defeats British No 1 6-0, 7-6 (6) to take title Raducanu let two set points and 5-2 lead slip in second set Emma Raducanu walked through the storied clubhouse at Queen’s Club and down to the stadium court with a smile plastered across her face. She had arrived at this moment, another noteworthy final in front of a home crowd on a historic court, playing some of the best tennis of her career…

Irankunda and co have not yet earned golden generation status but they can revive Australia’s World Cup aspirations There always was a familiar feeling to this youthful squad of Socceroos. That sense of deja vu. That you had seen something like this before. But it took Nestory Irankunda running to the corner flag to remember what it was. By reviving Tim Cahill’s famous goal celebration, the new f…

For a half century, New York was the center of the universe but the joke of the NBA. In these glamour-filled finals, the franchise finally got its moment The New York Knicks had been here before. As Jalen Brunson and his band of not-so-merry men stood at the top of this year’s NBA finals, they confronted not just the San Antonio Spurs, their foe on the court, but the very idea of what the Knicks …

Two clubs have emerged from the doldrums to reach the grand final in epic fashion thanks to remaining positive It is not every day that two teams who finished second and third bottom of the Prem table only 12 months ago make it to a grand final. Regardless of this Saturday’s outcome Northampton and Exeter have shown every club in the league what is doable, with one big caveat. Squad depth and rec…

3rd ODI: Australia, 9-277, bt Bangladesh, 5-274, by 1 wkt Connolly (149) falls in late collapse; hosts win series 2-1 Cooper Connolly came of age with his maiden international ton as Australia squeaked out a nail-biting one-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the third and final ODI of their series. Connolly defied cramps to play the innings of his life at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Sund…

Updates from Edgbaston; 2.30pm (BST) start Get in touch: email James with your thoughts The players head out for the anthems. We’ll be underway very shortly, India looking to set a sizeable target on what looks like a decent batting track. It’s an official sellout at Edgbaston, there are some Bangladesh and Netherlands fans still in situ after their last over thriller finished a few minutes ago b…

Head coach ‘absolutely delighted’ with World Cup triumph over Haiti ‘Different approach’ needed in games against Morocco and Brazil Steve Clarke suggested expectation weighed heavily on the shoulders of Scotland’s players after they laboured at times during the 1-0 win over Haiti . The game marked Scotland’s first at a World Cup since 1998 and delivered a first win since eight years earlier. The …

Strange things are afoot at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, giving rise to an obvious question: how did we get here? Rising from the South Lawn of the White House is a 92ft-tall skeletal structure known as “the Claw”. Beneath it sits an octagonal cage surrounded by sponsor logos, temporary grandstands and thousands of seats for a mixed martial arts card on Sunday night to celebrate Donald Trump ’s 80th…

Updates from around the grounds after 11am (BST) start Women’s T20 World Cup latest | Mail Tanya or comment BTL Division One Grace Road : Leicestershire 180-9 v Essex 401 Continue reading...

The Real Madrid star was his country’s best player in their World Cup opener on Saturday. They’ll need more of the same if they are to make a deep run Vinícius Júnior is not wearing the famous Brazil No 10 at this World Cup. For now, the hallowed shirt of Pelé, Zico, Rivellino, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and all the rest belongs to Neymar. Or at least it belongs to a man faintly resembling Neymar. Now 3…