With the Lionesses’ Euro 2022-winning captain Leah Williamson forced to miss out on the World Cup through injury, coach Sarina Wiegman has entrusted the responsibility for leading the team to experienced Chelsea centre back Millie Bright. Bright has been passed fit for England’s match against Haiti after recovering from knee surgery and the defender will lead the Lionesses in their Group D opener. Now 29, Bright grew up in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, overcoming infant pneumonia and asthma to enjoy a career as a top level athlete, although her first love was equestrianism, not football. Showing early promise when she did take to the field aged nine, she was soon scouted playing for Killamarsh Dynamos by Sheffield United and joined their academy before moving to Doncaster Rovers Belles aged 16 in 2009. Making her debut that same year and scoring on her first start, Bright spent a year on loan at Leeds Ladies before establishing herself at Doncaster, where she played with future Lionesses Mary Earps and Bethany England. In December 2014, she signed for Chelsea and has remained with the West London club ever since, picking up four Barclays Women’s Super League titles, three FA Women’s Cups and reaching the UEFA Champions League Final, scoring 14 times across 218 appearances. For England, she was an essential part of the side that reached the semi-finals of the last FIFA World Cup in France in 2019 and of last summer’s triumphant Euros team. She has represented her country, to date, 66 times and scored five international goals, striking up solid defensive partnerships with Williamson and Houghton during that time and posing a significant aerial threat from set plays. Read More How to watch England vs Haiti: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup opener Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup?

Name a better activity than kayaking on a lake with your dog. I'll wait. For

Manchester United host Manchester City in the Premier League today for the 191st derby between the two rivals. Erik ten Hag’s side have won three games on the bounce after league victories over Brentford and Sheffield United as well as that dramatic last-gasp victory over Copenhagen in the Champions League in midweek. None of those wins were particularly convincing, however, and United fans might be nervous about the prospect of facing the treble winners after such a shaky start to the season. Then again, City haven’t been quite at their best in recent weeks either, with defeats by Wolves and Arsenal in the Premier League, although they bounced back from that loss at the Emirates earlier this month with wins over Brighton and Swiss side Young Boys. Pep Guardiola has said that the derby is always “special” but played down the significance of this one result on the title race, as City chase early pace-setters Tottenham. Follow all the latest updates from the Manchester derby below, and get all the latest football betting sites offers here. Read More Why is Manchester United vs Man City kicking off at an ‘unusual’ time? Pep Guardiola condemns Man City fans who sang offensive Sir Bobby Charlton chant Erik ten Hag has abandoned his ideals – and it might help United win the Manchester derby

It’s the rubber match between the Seattle Mariners and LA Angels in Anaheim and it’s an important one as they battle to be the third team in a top heavy AL West. Seattle evened the series with a 6-2 win yesterday to get to 31-32 and the Angels are 35-32, third in the division.For the...

The NHL is reportedly asking teams for their thoughts on a prospective change to make the NHL Draft decentralized, akin to the NBA Draft and the NFL Draft.

India is still weighing up whether to play Ravichandran Ashwin as the second spinner while Australia’s lineup is all but confirmed for their World Test Championship final from Wednesday at the Oval

The Asian Tour called it "a massive stride forward" for golf Wednesday after the PGA Tour announced a shock merger with the Saudi-backed LIV circuit...

FanSided spoke with Julie Ertz on behalf of Abbott. Julie has teamed up with Abbott and the Real Madrid Foundation to Beat Malnutrition – they're raising awareness for the issue of childhood malnutrition and the importance of early screening. Real Madrid players and fans will be given a c...

Scott Boras has some awful ideas for how to fix baseball.

Nikola Jokic had 32 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds, Michael Porter Jr. scored a season-high 30 points and the Denver Nuggets rolled past the Houston Rockets 134-124 on Wednesday night in Jamal Murray’s return from a hamstring injury

NEW YORK (AP) — George Springer celebrated his 34th birthday with his 57th career leadoff homer, Bo Bichette hit a two-run drive and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the New York Yankees 7-1 on Tuesday night.

Former world champion Carl Froch believes that current world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury can cement his legacy with wins against Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk. The WBC champion has not fought since his tenth-round TKO victory against Derick Chisora in December 2022. Fury had been set to fight Usyk in April but that fight fell through in March after the pair were unable to agree terms. The 34-year-old claimed to send a draft contract to fellow Brit Joshua in May for a fight in September but promoter Frank Warren has since confirmed that that fight will not be happing next for Fury. For Froch, though, who became just the eighth Brit to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame earlier in June, Fury must fight have fights with both Joshua and Usyk before he retires if he wants to earn his place as the best fighter in modern heavyweight boxing. “I can’t give him a massive legacy,” Froch said, speaking to William Hill. “He’s fought Deontay Wilder three times, and he nearly got done in the first one which was a draw. He nearly got done again in the third, and it was three great fights against a guy who is not a massive heavyweight. “He’s a massive puncher but because he’s not that big and heavy, Tyson Fury can keep him out of the way, lean on him and just control the fight, so it’s quite easy for Fury to do what he does because he’s so big. “If he fights Usyk and he fights Joshua and makes mincemeat of them, then he’ll be the best of a generation.” Joshua appears to be edging closer to a summer rematch with long-time rival Dillion Whyte while Usyk is set to take on Daniel Dubois in August after Usyk’s team won a purse big to hold the fight in Poland against the 19-1 Brit who is the WBA mandatory challenger. For Fury, however, there is no clear opponent for a summer fight with Froch suggesting that the heavyweight champion still wants to fight Usyk but will need to lower his demands to ensure a financial agreement is met in the future. He added: “If Tyson Fury really wants to fight Oleksandr Usyk then why is he demanding a 70/30 split, and then when it gets agreed turning round and saying that the fight isn’t happening? His bluff was called, and he realized he couldn’t get ready in six weeks when he was trying to look like the bigger man. “I do think Tyson Fury wants to fight Usyk. He’s very confident and he’s got every reason to believe that he can beat Usyk because he’s twice the size of him and he’s a great fighter. He’s an unbelievable heavyweight.” Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More ‘Test plans for Champions League final at Wembley to destruction’ says FA chair Behind the scenes, laughter is turning to anger in the Fury vs Usyk saga Tyson Fury claims UFC has offered him ‘hybrid fight’ with Jon Jones Tyson Fury promises ‘imminent’ announcement of ‘big fight’ Joe Joyce on knockouts, oil painting, and teaching 60-year-olds to swim The Independent’s pound-for-pound boxing rankings