The Guardian

Updates from 1.30pm (GMT) kick-off at Stamford Bridge Get in touch: email Simon and follow us on BlueSky Team news has landed, and here are the lineups: Chelsea Women: Hampton, Bronze, Buchanan, McCabe, Carpenter, Walsh, Potter, Thompson, Kaptein, Malard, Baltimore. Subs: Peng, Buurman, Nusken, Cuthbert, Bjorn, Las, Hamano, Brown, Beever-Jones. Man City Women: Yamashita, Beney, Rose, Knaak, Wamse…

First race gets under way at 12.35pm (all times GMT) Paddy Power Gold Cup Steeplechase at 2.40pm Share your thoughts with Greg via email Cheltenham 1.10, Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle, Grade Two, 2m 87yd With the two star names in the Arkle Trial at 1.45 both scratched, this is now the main supporting act on Saturday’s card in some respects, as there are a couple of very interesting juvenile pros…

ECB commits in principle to match in Victoria Falls Drawn Test 30 years ago left David Lloyd fuming England are set to play their first Test match in Zimbabwe since the infamous David Lloyd “we flippin’ murdered ’em!” series in 1996 in the next edition of the International Cricket Council’s future tours programme, covering 2027 to 2031. During discussions with Zimbabwe Cricket at the ICC’s quarte…

Head coach hits out at ‘lies’ as suggestions of preferential treatment for young star overshadow preparations for England game in Madrid From the London Palladium to Madrid’s Metropolitano, they’re all here. On Sunday night, the footballers who lifted the game’s biggest awards meet again three weeks later and on the field this time, dinner jackets but not a single man left behind. Harry Kane, the…

The captain, the talisman, the brand: former teammates and experts discuss Portugal entering a new era after 23 years There are days football fans hope will never come. For Portugal, this is one of them. For 23 years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been more than the country’s greatest footballer; he has been its defining sporting figure, a symbol of national pride and constant presence in the lives of su…

Condition is prevalent in rugby and American football Scientists are optimistic of significant breakthrough Scientists have moved a step closer to diagnosing the degenerative brain condition chronic traumatic encephalopathy in living people, after a study found a blood biomarker that identifies an advanced form of the disease. As things stand CTE, which is caused by repeated trauma to the head an…

Nationwide flight shutdown disrupts team travel in US Mississippi v Oklahoma football game moved to Sunday Cavaliers face tight turnaround after Miami travel delay The Federal Aviation Administration’s decision to ground all flights nationwide for several hours on Friday threw the US sports world into disarray, leaving NBA, NHL and college teams scrambling to reach their destinations in time for …

Former batter said Hazlewood, Lyon and Starc not interviewed in 2018 Ex vice-captain claimed Cricket Australia ran ‘shoddy investigation’ David Warner has further fanned the flames on Australian cricket’s civil war as he claimed three of the bowlers who played in the third Test against South Africa in 2018 were not interviewed as part of a “shoddy” investigation into the sandpaper scandal . The f…

Meredith dropped from match-day 23 after defeat to England Valetini named in XV with Australia out to avoid fourth straight loss The Wallabies have restored Carter Gordon and Rob Valetini to their starting crew, convinced the pair will be the difference makers as they seek to right their creaking ship in dangerous Scottish waters. Announcing the team to face Scotland on Sunday (Monday AEDT), coac…

Florian Wirtz on target in Germany’s 3-1 win in Serbia Tijjani Reijnders hat-trick as Netherlands hammer Greece Germany cruised to a 3-1 win against Serbia in Belgrade on Friday, setting up a crunch encounter with the Netherlands in Berlin on Monday to decide who tops Group A2. In teeming rain in an almost empty stadium, the Germans forced Serbia’s Srdan Babic into an early own goal with Florian …

France 21-19 South Africa Scrum-half key in thriller full of twists and turns Friday night at the Stade de France may just be the best show in sport. The French had laid on a full Cecil B DeMille production: fireworks, flamethrowers, floodlights, a multicoloured drone show involving a three-storey-tall cockerel that then reassembled itself into a beating red, blue and white heart before transform…

England dismissed for just 131 in opening ODI in Perth McCullum: ‘KP’s message will be measured but firm’ Brendon McCullum has backed Kevin Pietersen to help educate England’s batting lineup before the “­specialist mentor” he hired in the summer leaves the tour of Australia after Sunday’s second one-day ­international in Adelaide. The collapse to 131 all out for a seven-wicket defeat in Perth on …

A special occasion for Andy Robertson saw Scotland flirt with embarrassment. Collection of his 102nd cap moves Robertson level with Kenny Dalglish in the all-time Scottish list. By Monday night, Robertson will be a record holder. This was, however, John McGinn’s night. A double from McGinn, the second a penalty, spared Scottish blushes against a North Macedonia team who threatened to gatecrash Ro…

Americans set tournament record with 85 shots on goal Harvey and Winn score twice each in 14-0 rout Canada edge Czechs 3-2 to set up Sweden semi-final Defending champions the United States marched into the semi-finals of the women’s ice hockey world championship with a crushing 14-0 victory over hosts Denmark on Friday. The Americans stormed out of the blocks, racing into a 5-0 lead inside eight …

FC Andorra goalkeeper collided with De Miguel Owono: ‘I feel immense pain over the loss of Jesús’ The FC Andorra goalkeeper Jesús Owono was suspended for 12 matches by the Spanish football federation’s disciplinary committee on Friday after his challenge on Jesús de Miguel resulted in the death of the Tenerife striker last week. Owono, an Equatorial Guinea international, was sent off in the secon…