Brooks Koepka blamed himself for "choking" away the Masters last month after entering the final day with a four-stroke lead and...

Nathan Collins has given his backing to under-pressure Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny as speculation over his future mounts. Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for the Euro 2024 finals were dealt a potentially fatal blow on Sunday evening when they were beaten 2-1 by Group B rivals the Netherlands in Dublin on a night when they simply had to win. Kenny, who is contracted until the end of the campaign, remained defiant after the final whistle as his critics sharpened their knives, but Brentford defender Collins is firmly behind the 51-year-old. Asked if he wanted the manager and his staff to stay, he said: “One hundred per cent. “I can’t put into words how much work they put in, every day and every hour, how many hours they watch other teams. Their whole lives have revolved around this week. “He has given me my chance, he has put me in and has had belief in me, he is putting confidence in me and all of them. I can’t speak highly enough.” Kenny replaced Mick McCarthy as manager in April 2020 after stepping up from the Under-21 ranks, and has since blooded a new generation of young players and attempted to play a more progressive brand of football. We can’t just let this now be it. We can’t just let it fade away. Republic of Ireland defender Nathan Collins However, while his team has won plaudits at times, positive results have been hard to come by and a return of five wins from 26 competitive games tells its own story. Defeat by the Dutch left Ireland with just three points from their first five games, 12 adrift of leaders France and six behind both the Netherlands, who have played a match fewer, and Greece. Collins said: “Obviously the table speaks for itself. We need to be proud of ourselves and go into the next game with a bit of pride and make amends for it. “We can’t just let this now be it. We can’t just let it fade away. We put in so much work. We have gotten so close, we might as well carry it on, take that next step to push on and get better and beat teams at home, finish teams off home and away, take our chances, learn from it and build a team who can beat anyone.” This month’s double-header – France in Paris last Thursday evening and the Dutch at the Aviva Stadium – always looked a big ask against teams ranked second and seventh in the world respectively. But where the Republic were beaten comfortably at the Parc des Princes, where they lost 2-0, they led Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands courtesy of Adam Idah’s early penalty and might have increased their advantage before Cody Gakpo levelled from the spot and set the stage for substitute Wout Weghorst to win it after the break. Collins said: “Everyone knows we were close with that performance. Putting in a performance against a top side like that, it’s very frustrating. It’s massively frustrating. “The lads put everything into it, we made them very uncomfortable, but they showed their quality and that is how they got their goal. We should have taken a few more chances in the first half and it would have been a different game. “But honestly, I am proud of that performance. We were good, we were strong, we were set-up well, but we didn’t put our chances away.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Pressure still on Wales despite narrow win over Fiji – Jonathan Humphreys Finn Russell certain Scotland can hit back from opening loss to South Africa Dallas Cowboys send message with dominant 40-0 victory over New York Giants

Australia missed out on a first appearance in a Women’s World Cup final after a 3-1 defeat to England in Sydney. The Matildas fell behind in the first half at Stadium Australia before Sam Kerr levelled with a spectacular finish from distance. But goals from Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo secured victory for the Lionesses late on to take Sarina Wiegman’s side through to a second consecutive major tournament final. Australia had flourished on home soil during the World Cup, even in the injury-enforced absence of star Kerr for much of the campaign, to progress to the last four for the first time. A last-four defeat nonetheless left the nation wondering what might have been, with Tony Gustavsson’s side now heading to Brisbane for the third place play-off against Sweden on Saturday. Domestic media reports took in the defeat and the emotion of the occasion afterwards with a string of headlines and front pages reflecting on their semi-final appearance. The front page of The Australian reflected both the disappointment and how support has swelled behind the Matildas during the tournament, saying: “Dream Kerr-tailed but national love affair’s just begun”. Sydney’sDaily Telegraph similarly played with the star forward’s name, describing the result as a “Heart breakerr”. “Pride and pain,” read the front of Melbourne daily The Age, whileThe Sydney Morning Herald also reflected a similar theme, describing the Matildas as “queens of hearts” over an image showing the Australia squad gathered together in a heart shape after their defeat. In Perth, meanwhile, The West Australian went with “It hurts …but we’re so proud” on the front of Thursday’s edition. Australian television coverage of the semi-final was watched by more than 11 million people on Channel 7 in the country. The broadcast was the most watched TV event in the nation’s history. Read More Women’s World Cup LIVE: Latest news as England reach first final Can England break cycle of World Cup shocks or will underdogs continue to thrive? USA face ‘critical’ decision as Andonovski exits after disastrous World Cup

Premier League winner Danny Drinkwater has announced his retirement from football. The 33-year-old midfielder was one of the stars of Leicester’s shock title triumph in 2016, earning a big-money move to Chelsea the following summer. But he did not manage to establish himself as a first-choice player at Stamford Bridge and unsuccessful loan spells at Burnley and Aston Villa followed along with disciplinary problems. He pleaded guilty to drink-driving after crashing his car in 2019, suffered an ankle injury in an incident outside a nightclub later the same year and head-butted then Villa team-mate Jota on the training ground in March 2020. Drinkwater’s last appearances came on loan at Reading in 2021-22, following which his contract with Chelsea expired. Speaking on The High Performance Podcast, he said: “It’s been a long time coming maybe, especially with the last year, but I think it’s time to officially announce it now. “I think I’ve been in limbo for too long. I’ve been wanting to play but not getting the opportunity to play at a standard or a level where I felt valued. I’m happy not playing football but I’m happy playing football, so do I just shake hands with the sport? It's been a long time coming maybe, especially with the last year, but I think it's time to officially announce it now Danny Drinkwater “It’s all I’ve known. It’s been my life since I was six, seven years old. It was never going to be an easy thing. “If I was playing week in, week out and I had to say I’ve got to stop, maybe through injury or through just age, not being able to get about the pitch like I’d like to, I think it would be trickier.” Drinkwater came through the Manchester United academy but did not make a first-team appearance before joining Leicester in 2012. He was called up for the first time by England in March 2016 and made three appearances but was one of three players cut from the squad for the European Championship. Read More On this day in 2008: David Beckham heads to Milan to boost England hopes The sporting weekend in pictures Joel Embiid scores 35 points in big win for Philadelphia 76ers

Mako Vunipola has urged Saracens to channel their emotions in the English Premiership final against Sale as they try to put last season's defeat by Leicester...

Harry Kane is in Germany to seal his move to Bayern Munich in a deal that could rise to £120million. Tottenham’s record goalscorer landed in Munich on Friday night for a medical ahead of his transfer to the Bundesliga giants. Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou had revealed earlier in the day that the move was “imminent” after a breakthrough in negotiations between the clubs was reached on Wednesday night. It left the ball in Kane’s court and he decided on Thursday to leave his boyhood club for Bayern, who will pay an initial £100m with add-ons potentially taking the deal up to an overall fee of £120m, the PA news agency understands. Reports on Friday morning initially suggested Spurs had refused to give Kane permission to travel to Germany, but they were squashed by Tottenham and hours later he set off for Munich via a private jet from London Stansted airport. Postecoglou, speaking before Spurs’ trip to Brentford on Sunday, said: “Fair to say I don’t have a blow-by-blow account, but my understanding is it has progressed to the point where it looks like it will happen. “From that perspective, at least it gives us some clarity and we move forward without Harry. “From my perspective it is just about understanding where we are at and the information I have at the moment is the deal is imminent but, like with all these things, you leave yourself some leeway. “But moving forward and training today preparing for Brentford, we are doing it without Harry. “It is best Harry speaks for himself in terms of the decision, but no doubt he is one of the greats of this football club and that never changes. “I am only new in the building, but (it is) fairly evident Harry Kane will always be one of the greats for this football club.” It remains to be seen whether the deal will be done in time for Kane to play any part in Bayern’s DFB Super Cup match with RB Leipzig on Saturday night. However, with the clash taking place at Bayern’s Allianz Arena home, the England captain could well be unveiled to supporters before kick-off. Bayern saw bids for Kane, who is in the last 12 months of his contract at Spurs, reportedly turned down in June and July but they made their intentions clear, with honorary president Uli Hoeness and president Herbert Hainer speaking openly in the media about the player’s desire to join the Bundesliga champions. A third bid was submitted last Friday and Spurs spent all weekend deliberating before chairman Daniel Levy rejected the offer on Monday. With noises coming out that Kane, who scored four goals in a friendly win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday, had enjoyed working with Postecoglou, confidence started to grow that he could spend the season with his boyhood team. But Bayern’s latest bid proved enough for an agreement to be reached and, after taking his time to weigh up the decision, Kane decided to end his 19-year stay at Spurs. It means his pursuit of Alan Shearer’s Premier League scoring record will be put on hold, with the Tottenham forward still 47 goals off equalling Shearer’s tally of 260. However, the move will almost guarantee him the first major trophies of his career, as well as giving him a shot at Champions League glory. Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel has been a long-term admirer of Kane but was coy when asked about the forward ahead of Saturday’s match with Leipzig. Tuchel told a press conference: “We are working with full pressure on this deal. “I understand there are a lot of ifs and whens. All options are open. The first is to have him as a player and at the moment he is not yet that. “This is a big deal. We are trying to take the England captain away from the Premier League.”

Tough.

Paris Saint-Germain has added quite the playmakers, as Ousmane Dembele will be joining the team from La Liga's FC Barcelona.

Holger Rune fought from a set and a break down on Saturday to book a place in the Italian Open final with a 6-7 (2/7), 6-4, 6-2 defeat...

Coming of a 10-game suspension after being caught using a copious amount of "sticky stuff", Domingo Germán has promised to use less rosin.On May 16 against the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees starter Domingo Germán was ejected for using too much rosin (#stickystuff)...

Mike Hoffman scored two goals, and the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues 5-1

Jannik Sinner has kept Italy alive by winning his singles match and then successfully teaming up with Lorenzo Sonego in the doubles against the Netherlands to send his nation into the semifinals of the Davis Cup