The Guardian

Mbappé: Nothing bigger than playing for France Striker defends performance of Ousmane Dembélé Kylian Mbappé is relishing a Golden Boot duel with Lionel Messi, the player he calls the “best of the best”, but has said his personal ambitions would be subordinated to those of the team when France seek to seal qualification from Group C with victory over Iraq on Monday. Mbappé stepped into the full gl…

Chelsea defender has mad scramble for boots and cuts short holiday after belatedly receiving the message of a lifetime from Thomas Tuchel Trevoh Chalobah has always thought he would be part of an England World Cup squad. In July 2018, the Chelsea centre‑half even put it on the record. “One day … believe,” he posted on social media, alongside a picture of the World Cup trophy. He was 19 and had ju…

There was simply no debate over the moment of the match and it is one that Iran will cherish, even more so if they are to progress to the World Cup knockout stage for the first time. Every angle of Alireza Beiranvand’s preposterous save to prevent Belgium taking the lead approaching the hour adds to the miraculous nature of it all. Perhaps the most ludicrous element was that Beiranvand had seesaw…

⚽️ Kick-off: 6pm local time/11pm BST/8am (Mon) AEST ⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Email Beau Paradoxically, this World Cup has been the year of high scores – the average number of goals per game is a little above 3.0, a number not seen since the 1950s – and the year of the goalkeeper. Eloy Room of Curaçao wowed Cup-watchers with 15 saves, the most in a 90-minute match since moder…

Brendon McCullum relied too much on youth in the second Test, while persistence paid dividends for New Zealand In December 2020 Henry Nicholls was a fixture in the New Zealand team, batting at No 5, but he was under pressure. In nine Tests since the end of their series against Bangladesh in early 2019 he averaged only 20.33. But they stuck with him and in his next game, against West Indies in Wel…

Seven-time champion, now 44, continues on-court return She will also compete in doubles with sister Venus American ⁠tennis great Serena Williams will make ⁠a ⁠stunning return ​to singles action at this ⁠year’s Wimbledon after being handed ⁠the final wildcard ​by ‌the All ‌England Club on ‌Sunday. The seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, who has 23 grand slam titles in all, was already assured o…

Luis de la Fuente said he wanted a new jumper for his birthday but this was even better. On the day that the Spain coach turned 65, his players gave him the perfect afternoon in Atlanta, all the doubts from their opener blown away. Unable to find a way through in 97 minutes here against Cape Verde , this time they put three past Saudi Arabia before anyone had even stopped for the first drink. Lif…

Draper builds for Wimbledon using Murray’s expertise Briton confident in fitness after injuries ravage past year Jack Draper believes his “special” relationship with Andy Murray and the faith the Scot has in him will help him to find a way through the toughest period of his career as he returns to the circuit at Eastbourne after an injury-ravaged 11 months. Draper is due to compete for the first …

️ Updates from the final round’s play at Shinnecock Hills ️ Official leaderboard | Follow us on Instagram | Mail Scott Ludvig Åberg birdies the last for a final round of 66. Another major championship of what-ifs for the young Swede, who it’s easy to forget is still only making his 11th major-championship appearance this week. He ends the week at +3 and is the new clubhouse leader. Some more proo…

Attention switches to England’s tour squad announcement as the Northampton and Exeter players patch up and press on Of all the celebratory snapshots of Northampton’s Prem final triumph , perhaps the best was the morning-after picture of Henry Pollock and Fin Smith in bed with the trophy accompanied by backing vocals from Frank Sinatra. “That’s life, that’s what all the people say. You’re riding h…

British 800m record holder pulls out of 400m final ‘I wasn’t feeling 100% – I didn’t want to risk anything’ Keely Hodgkinson’s camp moved swiftly to play down concerns after the Olympic 800m champion withdrew from the 400m start line in tears just seconds before she was due to race at the UK Athletics Championships on Sunday. Using the weekend in Birmingham as a speedwork opportunity, Hodgkinson …

28-year-old is first US player to win at Halle since 1993 Tiafoe will climb to No 19 as Wimbledon nears Frances Tiafoe beat fellow American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 to win the ⁠Halle Open on Sunday, sealing the biggest title of his career and becoming the first American since 1993 to lift the ATP ⁠500 grass-court trophy. Tiafoe ⁠set the ​tone early, breaking serve in the opening set and remaining com…

Midfielder says schedule ‘obscene’ for club and country But adds he is ‘ready and fit’ for England game v Ghana Declan Rice has revealed he has been managing nerve pain in a hamstring since Christmas as he reflected on the “obscene” amount of matches he has played this season. The England midfielder sparked concern when he was forced off in the 72nd minute of the 4-2 World Cup win over Croatia la…

The Blues have not found a saviour but five wins in as many AFL matches under Josh Fraser leaves them with an unusually difficult decision to make Footy can turn quickly. One minute you’re seven goals up at the MCG. The next minute Kozzy Pickett is coming at you with bazookas under both armpits. One minute you’re walking into training with the snout of a microphone in your face, as you apologise …

Hughes family heartbroken at unexpected loss Father of two joined Mariners as recruitment lead in 2025 Grimsby have paid tribute to Alex Hughes after his death at the age of 38. Hughes, the son of the former Manchester United and Wales striker Mark Hughes, was player recruitment lead at the League Two club. The Hughes family said in a statement released via the League Managers Association that th…