The Guardian

41-year-old claims his 106th grand prix victory ‘I’ve rebuilt my mind to get back to where I was’ Lewis Hamilton said he feared he had lost the ability to win in Formula One after ending a long wait for success with Ferrari in Spain on Sunday. The 41-year-old Briton, a seven-time world champion, charged to his 106th grand prix victory at the ­Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona with a flawless driv…

The net rippled and Curaçao’s bench exploded in every conceivable ­direction, their giddiness underpinned by a lucid awareness of the goal’s place in history. Livano Comenencia had just equalised against Germany and an island of 158,000 inhabitants, represented here by an accomplished group born almost entirely in the Netherlands, could revel disbelievingly in the moment it had dreamed of. Realit…

Squad has evolved since 2024 but the European champions are happy to embrace the tag of tournament favourites Spain knew, now everyone else does too. It was almost 1.30am on 15 July 2024 when Álvaro Morata, the captain who had lifted the Henry Delaunay trophy, headed down the slope and towards the team bus parked beneath the Olympic Stadium in Berlin. A European champion now, he came with a big b…

⚽️ Kick-off time: 3pm local/4pm EDT/9pm BST/6am AEST ⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Wallchart By Takashi Ogami Japan are no longer at a stage where speaking openly about “winning the World Cup” invites ridicule. Their historic victories over Germany and Spain in 2022 proved that they are capable of producing much more than just a one-off upset. Over nearly eight years in charge th…

The bar may have been busy for the football but it was nothing compared with the crowd that surged in as team ended 53-year wait for the NBA title At John Doe’s bar on 28th and 5th in Manhattan, the crowd was already heaving energetically by early evening, as a multitude of TV screens beamed Vinícius Júnior ’s equaliser for Brazil, responding to Ismael Saibari’s opener for Morocco. With competing…

Eze dismisses idea of changing spot-kick technique ‘If there is a penalty to take I’ll be there again’ Eberechi Eze says he will not let his missed penalty in the Champions League final stop him from stepping up in a shootout for England in the World Cup. The attacking midfielder sent his kick wide when Arsenal lost on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest last month but he is determi…

Group 1: India, 170-6, beat Pakistan, 106, by 64 runs Deepti Sharma takes 5-10 after Mandhana half-century This was a familiar World Cup story: India met Pakistan and for all the talk of history, handshakes and millions of eyeballs, the contest was settled with little drama by the team in blue. Smriti Mandhana started with 68 off 44 balls before Deepti Sharma cleaned up in the second half, taking…

Spain left-back will complete transfer after World Cup Cucurella had spoken out against Chelsea hierarchy Real Madrid have reached a verbal agreement to sign Marc Cucurella from Chelsea in a package worth up to €60m (£52m). The Spain left-back, who is preparing to face Cape Verde in the World Cup, threw his future into doubt when he criticised the Chelsea hierarchy during the March international …

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…

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…