The Cincinnati Reds won Day 1 of the MLB Draft, where they were able to take three prospects that filled their farm systems biggest needs.The Cincinnati Reds farm system has huge strengths and a few glaring weaknesses. Their strength is in their position player maturity. They have a ton of high ...

Gunnar Henderson homered to start a two-run seventh-inning for Baltimore, and the Orioles rallied from an early four-run deficit to win their seventh straight game, 6-5 over the Miami Marlins

Manchester United have unveiled their new adidas home kit for the 2023/24 season inspired by the red rose and the bridge over the River Irwell highlighting the city's industrial heritage.

Sprinters celebrated double dominance at the Southeast Asian Games on Friday as both men's and women's 100m golds went to athletes who already...

Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine retained his world heavyweight titles with a ninth-round knockout of Britain's Daniel Dubois in...

After a summer where the Miami Heat were hoping to land Damian Lillard, the reigning Eastern Conference champions reported for training camp on Monday with a familiar refrain in mind

If England are to win this World Cup, they will scarcely endure a game as testing or as tense as this. A positive spin on this penalty shoot-out victory over Nigeria is that it could again be the making of them, adding to their resolve, with Chloe Kelly once more offering a decisive kick. A negative is that this should bring a reconsideration about what is possible, especially with the likelihood that Lauren James will miss two games if not all three potential ties left. Her teammates did her a huge favour here. This World Cup still remains as hard to work out as James’ decision to stand on Michelle Alozie in the second half, receiving a red card. England came very close to another surprise elimination as Nigeria proved to be their equals throughout the match. England should have been their superiors, really. The great irony is that the red card almost served England better – at least in this situation. Before then, the system and the set-up had been all wrong, as it clearly didn’t suit the returning Keira Walsh. She picked up another injury during this arduous evening in Brisbane. This strategic misstep meant Nigeria did all the attacking and had all the play. After the red, though, it was as if Randy Waldrum’s side didn’t know how to play against 10 women. Both sides looked like they’d forgotten how to attack. That continued into the shootout as the first two were missed. It was only Bethany England that set things right. For all the criticisms and questions that could come with this game, one element should be noted. It would have been very easy for England to wilt here, especially given the very feel of this World Cup with the United States going out the night before. Instead, there was a mental resolve there, that was clearly set by last summer. It was visible in the penalties too. It does give Sarina Wiegman even more to think about, though. She must reshuffle this team again, accommodating the absence of James – maybe until the final, if England even get that far. Jamaica or Colombia will give Wiegman’s side as tough a test in the quarter-final in Sydney. It is England’s attack – and in fact their very attacking mentality – that now requires the most consideration. England had specifically prepared for Nigeria’s physicality in the tackle, seeking to step off so as not to play that game, but it quickly became apparent this was almost too meek. They were giving up too much space and too many chances. Nigeria had more shots in the first half than any team that Wiegman’s England have faced. One of them was Ashleigh Plumptre’s thunderous strike off the bar, before the former English underage international then forced a scrambled save from Mary Earps. England were looking for that spell of control, but it was almost too methodical, lacking real energy. The strangeness around the penalty decision only added to this. Even if it wasn’t a penalty in the first place, despite the fact there didn’t look to be enough obvious evidence to see it overturned. The referee made the call just as Georgia Stanway was motioning to shoot, making it all the more frustrating for England. This was the story of almost every move forward. It was also the story of Stanway’s penalty later on. James, admittedly, was being superbly shuttled out of the game by Nigeria. That surely led to the frustration she took out later. In the moment, it meant that any time England got forward there were vast differences between their attackers. On the one occasion in the first half when Nigeria’s occasional sloppiness brought a defensive error, Alessia Russo opted to smash the ball when she should have gone with more subtlety. Goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, well off her line, was just waiting to be chipped. She instead got down well to save an effort that should have made it much more difficult for her. Space was so difficult to find for James, however, that she increasingly had to drop back and get the ball. England did gradually solve one issue, mind. For the first half, and going into the second, Nigeria were creating panic every time they got into the box. There was one desperate and defiant block from Jess Carter. There were more than a few moments when the ball could have gone anywhere. That did come with a cost, though. It almost seemed like England were so concerned with Nigeria breaking – especially when the half-fit Asisat Oshoala came on – that they were too reluctant to commit players forward. The wing-backs rarely crossed the halfway line. There were no real chances created. It said much that the best of normal time was a corner, Rachel Daly’s thunderous header just a little too central. Nnadozie still reacted superbly, though. The same, alas, could not be said of James. Alozie’s own reaction said enough. It was almost one of disbelief. She was far from the only person thinking that. The oddity was that the situation served England better. It was as if Nigeria weren’t able to capitalise against 10, especially with the onus now on them. From then, penalties seemed inevitable. England going through certainly didn’t look as inevitable as many would have thought. Read More Lauren James sent off for stamping on opponent during England’s World Cup clash England vs Nigeria LIVE: Score and updates as Women’s World Cup game goes to penalty shootout How ‘arrogance’ and ‘complacency’ led to United States’ decline A timeline of Donald Trump’s spat with Megan Rapinoe How many games will Lauren James miss at Women’s World Cup after red card? Keira Walsh: England’s deep-lying playmaker in profile

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali has accepted a ten-month ban for gambling breaches.

Time to talk about should be No. 1

Saturday's roundup of transfer rumours includes news on Mohamed Salah's potential move to Saudi Arabia, how Liverpool would replace him, who exactly at Chelsea sanctioned their Cole Palmer deal and more.

Fly-half Dan Biggar said on Friday Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric's shock Test retirements are a...

Gareth Southgate wants England to go into next summer’s Euros with momentum and is targeting an unbeaten run all the way through to Germany. Having wrapped up progress to next year’s finals with two games to spare, Friday’s forgettable 2-0 victory against Malta all-but assured their place among the top seeds at the December 2 draw. England cruised to qualification from what had looked to be a potentially tricky pool and Southgate wants his side to end 2023 with a bang as they round off Group C away to North Macedonia on Monday. But with Euro 2024 glory their stated ambition, the former defender wants his players to keep their foot on the gas. “We’ve had a really good calendar year and we want to finish it well,” the England manager said ahead of the trip to Skopje. “Simple as that. “We should be aiming to go, if we can, into the tournament unbeaten. We’ve got some tough games coming ahead. “I mean, I’m a bit loathed to say that because then you start looking for draws when you want to go and win matches as well, so I want to get the messaging right on that. “But, you know, it’s good for us to be away from Wembley again, a challenging environment because that’s what we’re going to be in next summer.” England have not lost a match since last December’s galling 2-1 defeat to eventual runners-up France in their World Cup quarter-final clash in Qatar. Les Bleus are among their main rivals for silverware next summer, with Southgate’s side stepping up preparations for the Euros with challenging March friendlies against Brazil and Belgium at Wembley. Both opponents will provide stern tests for a team that Southgate says cannot afford to fall short of the level “they need to be at” like they were against Mediterranean minnows Malta. “The teams we’ve got in March, we wouldn’t get away with it,” Southgate said. “And the players just would have a different level of motivation (compared to against Malta). “This week was always going to be difficult. We’ve already qualified, the players are in the middle of a load of matches. “We’re trying to look after a few physically with the team selection, so you’re making changes that, had we needed to win tonight to qualify, might be different. “So, yeah, the whole week has been a little bit like that – couldn’t really get the players on the pitch until Wednesday and as a consequence we were flat. I accept that. “That’s where we were but I’m not going to get into the players about that. I know why and they’ve won another game of football. “It could have been by more. Not quite sure why the third (from Declan Rice) was disallowed, but there we are.” As frustrating as Friday night was at Wembley, England remain well placed for silverware in Southgate’s fourth – and quite possibly final – major tournament at the helm. There is no time to waste with chances to work together limited, plus the fact Monday’s trip to Skopje looks likely to be their final match on foreign soil until the Euros get under way in June. North Macedonia are expected to be far better than in June’s 7-0 Old Trafford annihilation and Southgate has a number of things to consider before settling on his side for the Group C finale. “A lot of our decision-making is physical as much as anything at the moment, so it’s a strange thing,” he said. “Probably if you’ve still got to qualify there’s a different focus on the games and everybody’s happy and understands their players have got to play. “You’re not subconsciously thinking about ‘should we be pushing players out for another game?’ “So, we need to look at where we are after this game in terms of any knocks and bumps. “We’ve got some fresh players to come in. We want to get the balance of the team right and then assess whether there are certain things we want to see and learn from Monday night’s game as well.” Read More Pat Cummins urges Australia to ’embrace’ World Cup final pressure against India Liverpool fly Luis Diaz’s parents to UK for Christmas with son after kidnapping On this day in 2013 – Elena Baltacha announces retirement from tennis England display against Malta ‘not a worry’ ahead of Euros, Gareth Southgate insists Stephen Kenny insists ‘no pressure’ on Evan Ferguson against Netherlands England continue unbeaten Euro 2024 qualifying run with victory over Malta