It says something about England manager Sarina Wiegman that even her own players have to remind themselves that their boss is a mere mortal. One of the most memorable moments of this World Cup came when, on the eve of the Lionesses’ final group stage match against China, midfielder Georgia Stanway relayed an anecdote about meeting members of Wiegman’s family in Australia that concluded with the quip, “Sometimes you don’t realise your head coach is actually human.” It would be easy to look at the 53-year-old’s incredible record and insist she must be some kind of superhero from Planet Football who six years ago arrived on Earth with the mission of conquering as many major competitions as possible, beginning when she steered the Netherlands – her actual place of origin – to the Euro 2017 title. The reality is far more interesting – and relatable. In 2007, the part-time coach and PE teacher was offered a semi-professional role leading ADO Den Hag in the newly-formed Eredivisie Vrouwen, a risky move she resolutely replied she would only make if it was upgraded to a full-time gig. “I never talk about my husband (Marten Glotzbach) that much but then it was about my family,” she told the PA news agency. “I quit my job. We didn’t earn a lot of money by being a professional coach, but I really wanted to do the job. And he said, ‘this is your passion. Go for your passion, and we’ll be alright with the two daughters.’ “And that was for me the most important thing, that we as a family were OK, and I could do this job properly. I said I want to do it full time because I want to focus on football, and if I couldn’t do it full-time I wouldn’t have done it, because then I couldn’t bring the quality that was needed to develop the game.” Under the former Netherlands midfielder, who as a child cut her hair and pretended to be a boy to evade a ban forbidding girls from playing football, ADO Den Haag won the national championship in 2012, and the FA Cup-equivalent KNVB Cup in 2012 and 2013. Wiegman, who earned 104 caps for her country, had witnessed what investment in the women’s game could yield from her time spent playing for the University of North Carolina Tar Heels – also the alma mater of current Lionesses Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Lotte Wubben-Moy – in the late 1980s. The opportunity to play in America came after a chance meeting with then-US women’s national team head coach Anson Dorrance at a 1988 FIFA-sanctioned proof-of-concept tournament in China that would eventually lead to the establishment of the inaugural Women’s World Cup in 1991. Dorrance, who still works at UNC and remains in touch with Wiegman and her playing trio, told the PA news agency: “You could see something in her even incredibly early that set her apart.” Writing in the Coaches’ Voice, Wiegman said: “America was like a soccer paradise for me. There was recognition, the facilities were great and we had good coaches – passionate coaches. The year I spent there changed my life. It changed my mindset.” Seven years after turning full time, Wiegman was back in the national team set up, this time as head coach Roger Reijners’ assistant. She soon upskilled, interning with men’s side Sparta Rotterdam whilst on her pro license course, in the process anointing Wiegman as the first woman to coach with a Dutch men’s professional club. The true pioneer was handed the Netherlands’ top job permanently in 2017, just six months before she would guide the hosts to a maiden Euros victory. Less than a year after leaving the ‘Orange Lionesses’ for the English ones in 2021, Wiegman steered her new side to the same trophy, the first coach to do so with two different countries. When England sealed their trip to a first-ever World Cup final with Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over co-hosts Australia, Wiegman also became the first manager to reach the showpiece’s final hurdle with two different teams. Four years ago in France, the Netherlands finished runners-up to the United States. England – and Wiegman – are determined to do one better this year. The Lionesses have lost just once in 38 games under Wiegman, a record they are aching to extend to 39 on Sunday. Both Wiegman and Dorrance would describe the England boss as “serious”, someone who has imported a sense of Dutch directness to the culture at St George’s Park. That reputation – combined with a reluctance to steal any of the spotlight away from her players – belies a delightful and often self-deprecating sense of humour, impeccable comedic timing, and awareness that she does often have a resting “focused face” until she erupts with emotion after a goal or final whistle. Despite her reputation as a serial winner, who FA chief executive Mark Bullingham said this week “could do any job in football”, Wiegman revealed her biggest motivation and “love”, no matter how full her trophy cabinet gets, “is to work with work with very ambitious, talented people. “Connecting people, trying to help players to support players and help them a little bit in their development, which helps them in life too. “Yes I want to win and I want to be the best too but that gives me the energy.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Tottenham fans stage protest over ticket price increases ahead of Man Utd match Solly March bags brace as Brighton beat Wolves to go top of Premier League Bryan Mbeumo at the double as Brentford ease to victory over 10-man Fulham

Brian Harman faces a career-defining final round at the British Open on Sunday as he tees off in search of his first major with a...

Roma have opened talks with West Ham over a deal for their Italian international striker Gianluca Scamacca.

Jude Bellingham says his career arc is evidence of the mindset that anything is possible as the England teenager looks to win it all. From homegrown hero with Birmingham to teenage star at German giants Borussia Dortmund, the 19-year-old midfielder’s inexorable rise shows few signs of abating. There are few more exciting prospects in world football than Bellingham, who has already established himself as a key component for trophy-hungry England and was named Bundesliga Player of the Year after just missing out on the league title. “The goal has always been winning,” Bellingham told the PA news agency. “When you ask me what my biggest ambitions are in the game, it’s to win everything. And I’m not afraid to say that. “You know, everyone should have that goal I feel like as professional footballers. “I’ll do my best to try and make it happen and if it doesn’t then it won’t be because I haven’t worked hard for it. “But, yeah, I’d say records and stuff and individual records don’t excite me like trophies do, so I think that’s the goal for me.” Bellingham, who was speaking before the Bundesliga finale, knows individual honours and records may well come along the years, with England team-mates often suggesting he could break Peter Shilton’s 125-cap record given he has made 24 appearances already. But accomplishments like that are at the back of his mind as he looks to maximise his ability and opportunities. “Football’s my life, really,” said Bellingham, who hopes to inspire the next generation in his role as ambassador for the McDonald’s Fun Football programme – a programme that provides free, inclusive football coaching for children aged five to 11 across more than 1,500 locations in the UK. “I think I’ve put too much into it so far just to stop and accept that I’m going to play at a certain level and only going to win so much. “So, I feel like the mentality that my parents and friends around me have always put into me is go after everything.” That mindset and his whirlwind journey to date means he has little chance to take stock on his career – something he hopes to do with family and friends this summer. “There are things I had to deal with as part of German life,” Bellingham said of the move to Dortmund in 2020. “I probably dealt with that more behind the scenes than in front of cameras and stuff like that, so I’m really grateful that I had such good people around me. “I had good club staff at the time, obviously I had Jadon (Sancho) who was here before me from England and he kind of showed me the ropes and made me feel comfortable. As soon as I was comfortable, really, I just let my football do the talking.” Bellingham has certainly done that, thriving in BVB’s famous black and yellow shirt with his leadership qualities helping him to become the youngest ever player to captain the side. “I think the key to that has been availability,” Bellingham said in a self-deprecating manner. “I think because I’m available a lot of the time it means that I’m on the pitch and I can show what I do every game. Whilst the team around me gets rotated, I’m more of a mainstay. “I think you gain respect from that, in all honesty, and obviously my performance has been good enough to warrant that. “The coach must have seen other things that he likes to give me that responsibility and whenever I’ve played, I don’t think the armband changes me. “So, yeah, you’re taking a little bit more responsibility, but I enjoy it. It’s a beautiful pressure that you want on you that I wanted since I started playing football. “Especially in the Champions League games – it’s the biggest stage, for me – and to have that pressure is really enjoyable.” Bellingham takes a lot of pride in his path from St Andrew’s to Signal Iduna Park. Life in Germany has been eye-opening and his success there has silenced those that attempted to dissuade him from fulfilling his lofty aspirations. When put to Bellingham that he seems to have the mentality that anything is possible, he said: “Well, I think that I am kind evidence of that, really. “I think if I didn’t have that mentality I wouldn’t have been able to get from the Championship to where I’m at now, thankfully, in the space of two or three years. “When you’re saying it three years ago everyone’s calling you naive and telling you that you need to slow down a little bit. “But when you put your mind to it and you work hard at it, it doesn’t seem so crazy when it actually happens. So that’s the goal for me to try and continue to chase my dreams.” :: Jude Bellingham was speaking at a McDonald’s Fun Football session to announce his role as an ambassador for the UK’s largest grassroots participation programme for 5-11 year-olds. Find your nearest free session at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Jude Bellingham determined to inspire the next generation of footballers Leeds confirm Sam Allardyce will not be staying on as manager De Bruyne v Casemiro and Haaland v Varane – The key FA Cup final battles

Tanner Houck threw six innings of one-hit ball and the last-place Boston Red Sox earned a split in the four-game series against the AL East champion Baltimore Orioles with a 6-1 victory in the regular-season finale

Juventus have been docked 10 points by the Italian football federation for irregularities in the club’s accounting. The Serie A side were initially hit with a 15-point sanction in January, but the penalty was rescinded after an appeal. The federation has now moved to issue a new punishment after the federal court of appeal intervened, meaning the club could miss out on European football next season. The sanctions relate to the club having artificially inflated the value of players in their accounts using capital gains. The appeal court, whilst upholding the charges against the club, acquitted officials Pavel Nedved, Paolo Garimberti, Assia Grazioli Venier, Caitlin Mary Hughes, Daniela Marilungo, Francesco Roncaglio and Enrico Vellano of wrongdoing. Former Tottenham sporting director Fabio Paratici, who performed the same role at Juventus from 2018-21, received a two-year global ban from football from FIFA in April over his part in the matter, forcing him to resign from his position at Spurs. The club said in a statement that they had taken note of the ruling and reserved “the right to read the reasons to evaluate a possible appeal”. They added that the decision “arouses great bitterness in the club and in its millions of supporters” who have found themselves “penalised by the application of sanctions that do not seem to take into account the principle of proportionality”. The points deduction sees the club drop to seventh in the Serie A table, a point outside the European qualification places. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Dodgers star Mookie Betts had a controversial take on exiled MLB player Trevor Bauer.

The United States has overcame defending champion Finland 4-1 to open the ice hockey world championship in Tampere

Australia captain Pat Cummins said Tuesday that cricketers were "not robots", with his country's Twenty20 team struggling in India straight after...

It's time to stop talking about who won't be at the FIBA World Cup and start talking about who will. Plenty of NBA stars will be on display in the Philippines this summer.There's no need to lie, there is currently not a single country capable of winning the FIBA World Cup that is ...

Haynes King threw a pair of long touchdown passes in the first half to help Georgia Tech beat Wake Forest 30-16 on Saturday night

Lionel Messi will skip Inter Miami's game at Atalanta United on Saturday having not travelled with the team due to fatigue, a...