Stephen Kenny is confident the foundation is in place for a brighter future for the Republic of Ireland despite seeing their disappointing Euro 2024 campaign fizzle out in the Netherlands. Ireland knew before kick-off at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam that they would not be going to next summer’s finals after their feint hopes of snatching a play-off spot had finally been extinguished. They had hoped to sign off with a famous win over Ronald Koeman’s men, but ultimately slipped to a 1-0 defeat which could and perhaps should have been significantly more substantial. However asked if he remains convinced there is a firm base in place after three and a half years at the helm which have seen a major overhaul of the squad, a defiant Kenny said: “Yes, without doubt there is. “What was the alternative? If you can tell me… Over the years, a lot of our players have moved down the divisions, so absolutely. These are the best players that Ireland have now. “They’ve gone up against a world-class team there, one of the best teams in Europe. It’s a tough game when you come to Holland, for sure, there’s no doubt about that. “The reason no Irish team in its history has beaten a team of Holland’s calibre away from home – and there’s been better teams than us, for sure, a lot of great teams – is because it’s really difficult, really, really difficult to beat a tier one nation like that away from home in a qualifier.” It was a brilliant finish and you would not expect him to score from that angle, but it was a phenomenal finish and we got punished Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny The contest was settled by Wout Weghorst’s 12th-minute strike after he turned Nathan Collins on halfway before surging upfield to blast a shot past goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu. Kenny said: “Ryan Manning and Nathan collided and it opened up for Weghorst to go and score. It was a brilliant finish and you would not expect him to score from that angle, but it was a phenomenal finish and we got punished.” The Hoffenheim frontman’s contribution – he is on loan at the Bundesliga club from Burnley – should have been just a start, and the Dutch were grateful they were not made to pay for their profligacy as chances came and went without the scoreline changing. That said, Ireland produced little of note in reply barring substitute Adam Idah’s 59th-minute effort, which was ruled out for offside to the great relief of keeper Bart Verbruggen, who had allowed the Norwich striker’s shot to squirm between his legs. Kenny’s men finished fourth in Group B with all six of their points coming from victories over Gibraltar, who were trounced 14-0 by France, and most commentators do not expect him to survive a review later this month with his current contract due to expire after Tuesday’s friendly against New Zealand. Asked if he has been able to enjoy his time at the helm, he said: “It’s an absolute privilege to manage Ireland, I’ve always said that and I always would feel that. Yes, it’s been a roller-coaster of emotions, of course, but it’s all been an honour to manage Ireland.” Opposite number Ronald Koeman was measured after securing the win which ensured the Dutch will be at the finals in Germany. He said: “Of course we are happy to have the qualification for the Euros. We did our job. We won twice against Ireland, we won twice against Greece, we lost twice against France – that made the away game against Ireland more difficult. “There was more pressure even against Greece away, but we did the job that we had to do, that everybody was expecting, but you have to do it.” Read More England full-back Kieran Trippier not taking his place at Euro 2024 as a given Gareth Southgate admits he will ‘take far fewer gambles’ in his Euro 2024 squad Wout Weghorst fires Netherlands to Euro 2024 as Ireland end with whimper Saracens overcome injuries to England stars in thrashing of Harlequins Erling Haaland’s injury is not serious – Norway boss Stale Solbakken Rob Page admits Wales’ best chance of making Euro 2024 likely to be in play-offs

Spain's Women's World Cup winners were given a rapturous reception as they played for the first time at home after their triumph, thrashing Switzerland 5-0 in the Nations League on...

This weekend, Dustin Poirier and Justin Gaethje will go head to head in a rematch five years in the making, as they headline UFC 291. When the lightweights clashed in 2018, Poirier stopped his fellow American to win an entertaining bout, and the pair are expected to produce more fireworks this weekend, as they fight to crown a new ‘BMF’ champion. The ‘baddest motherf*****’ title was first – and last – seen in 2019, when the now-retired Jorge Masvidal beat Nate Diaz to become the inaugural champion. Masvidal’s teammmate Poirier will now look to claim that vacant belt in this rematch with Gaethje, who is a former interim lightweight champion like his rival. In the co-main event this weekend, former light-heavyweight champion Jan Blachowicz welcomes Alex Pereira to the division, in the latter’s first fight since losing the middleweight belt in April. Elsewhere, there are plenty of exciting match-ups on the card. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? UFC 291 takes place at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Saturday 29 July. The early prelims are set to begin at 11.30pm on Saturday (3.30pm PT, 5.30pm CT, 6.30pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday 30 July (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET on Saturday). The main card is then due to begin at 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET on Saturday). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Odds Poirier – 10/13; Gaethje – 11/10 Blachowicz – 10/11; Pereira – 10/11 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Main card Dustin Poirier vs Justin Gaethje 2 (lightweight – vacant ‘BMF’ title) Jan Blachowicz vs Alex Pereira (light-heavyweight) Stephen Thompson vs Michel Pereira (welterweight) Tony Ferguson vs Bobby Green (lightweight) Michael Chiesa vs Kevin Holland (welterweight) Prelims Trevin Giles vs Gabriel Bonfim (welterweight) Derrick Lewis vs Marcos Rogerio de Lima (heavyweight) Roman Kopylov vs Claudio Ribeiro (middleweight) Jake Matthews vs Miguel Baeza (welterweight) Early prelims CJ Vergara vs Vinicius Salvador (flyweight) Matthew Semelsberger vs Yohan Lainesse (welterweight) Miranda Maverick vs Priscila Cachoeira (women’s flyweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Tom Aspinall finally banishes ghosts of the past with UFC London triumph UFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this year ‘The Rock’s shoes can go f*** themselves’: UFC fighter hits out at company’s sponsors Conor McGregor pays emotional tribute to Sinead O’Connor after singer’s death Michael Bisping: ‘The challenge of coming back to grapple appeals to me’ What time does UFC 291 start this weekend?

Aaron Judge hit a pair of two-run homers, Anthony Volpe broke Joe DiMaggio’s team record for consecutive stolen bases at the start of a career and New York overcame a six-run deficit for a 9-8 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays

A petrolhead OnlyFans model reveals “sexist” men don't take her seriously in the motoring world despite her vast knowledge of cars and garage filled with supercars. Bonnie Locket from Cheshire has spent over £1 million on her obsession throughout her life, with her latest purchase, a Lamborghini Aventador, costing £350,000. The 35-year-old influencer, who shares her passion for fast rides on social media (@bonnielocketdrives), recently hit the headlines after getting steamy with her husband in the backseat to celebrate the purchase. The model, who earns between £150,000-£250,000 per month, started the car-focused Instagram page after deciding it was a necessary aid to boost her OnlyFans page. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But despite her lifelong interest in fast vehicles, Bonnie often has to deal with "sexist comments" from men online who assume she knows nothing. "There are so many people that say 'get her out the car scene',” the model told Nude PR. “It's not very nice and I’m fed up of sexist men. “But I suppose that's what you get from going into a male-dominated niche. "I certainly don't know everything about cars, but I know a lot. "It's nice to be able to educate myself further, as well as get other people involved. “There are trolls out there but I try to ignore them because I know it’s only because I'm a woman that I even get those kinds of comments." In the real world, Bonnie has faced some prejudiced interactions with men too but reveals her enthusiasm for cars wins them over more often than not. She said: “Whenever my husband and I go out in the car or attend car shows, if people don’t know who I am they presume it’s his car, but he always turns around and says ‘actually it’s my wife’s car’ - they’re always shocked! “When I was looking for my first supercar I wasn’t taken seriously at all, I would look round the showrooms and you could tell they were thinking I was either taking the piss or dreaming. ”Now when I walk into a showroom they know I mean business, I bought my last four cars from George at GVE London and I’m a very loyal client of theirs. “I’m always treated impeccably well and they always give me a great reveal, my last reveal of my G wagon and Twin Turbo SY Roadster are on my YouTube channel and it was a wicked party. Despite the lack of support from some men online, Bonnie insists she remains unfazed and has even come up with a cunning trick to use the hate comments to boost her user engagement. @bonnielocketdrives That last pop tho ???? #fyp #bonnielocket #cartok #cars She said: "I pretend to play dumb when writing captions - like saying a car is a ‘beautiful supra when it’s actually an evo' baiting men into leaving comments. “But I think people are catching on, it’s quite obviously a joke.” For Bonnie, her love of cars started at an early age, after her three older brothers would regularly take her along to car shows and the model revealed her parents have even owned supercars throughout their lives. She said: "My brothers have always been well into cars and modding them. “One brother had a Skyline and my mom, who is now 70, has an Evo ten, another brother has a Ferrari and I had my first supercar at 27. "My brothers would always take me out in their cars and drive really fast with me and as a kid I just absolutely loved it. "Cars have been a huge thing in our family, whenever I got a new car, I'd go home to show them. "Brad, my husband, is a petrolhead as well, so every year for our anniversary, he takes us to the car show, Festival of Speed." Being a woman has its advantages in the car world too, as Bonnie finds she is able to create content men would struggle to produce. She said: "I don't know if a guy could get away with doing what I do – like when I go up to people at car shows and get them to rev their engine and things like that. "It is really fun and people at these car shows don't always get to hear what the car sounds like because they're static shows. "My TikTok has really blown up in the last week from when I did my first show, displaying my own car at Petrol Hedonism – I probably had 20 million views this week.” “I’ve attended three car shows in the last few weeks and I’m at car shows most weekends, it’s going to be an amazing summer. “It’s really exciting to show the world my car - it’s the only Twin Turbo SV roadster in the world so I’m really proud to be able to bring the car for everybody to see here in the UK.” Over the years, the car-obsessed model has owned a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Jaguar XKR, Mercedes AMG GTS, a Ferrari California T and now owns an SV Roadster, a Lamborghini, which she Twin Turboed and an AMG G63. But her Lamborghini, at 1400 horsepower, is the fastest car she's ever owned, and now Bonnie is setting her sights to racing. She said: "I would like to do drag racing and I would also like to build a drift car and start doing drifting. "I did a drifting day with girl called Jolene McDonald aka Jojo, she's one of the best in the country at drifting and really respected – that was really fun. "I wanted to do it with a woman, there are so many people who aren’t very nice about women being on the car scene." For Bonnie, showing her interest in cars online is not solely a way to boost her OnlyFans but also to set up a new career, for when she eventually says goodbye to the world of racy content. She added: "One of the main reasons I'm doing it is to be able to get out of OnlyFans. "It's great that it's bringing traction to my page but ultimately that isn't actually why I'm doing it – I'm actually doing it to exit the game and it is a huge passion of mine. "Brad is super proud of me but he cannot wait for me to stop doing OnlyFans, purely because of the comments online. "It really affects him because he doesn't understand how people can be so unbelievably nasty. "Also I want to have a baby and I don't really want to be pregnant while doing it. "Ultimately I can't do this forever and cars are something that I really enjoy.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Freddie Freeman hit his 59th double of the season and scored on a three-run homer by J

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