Thiago Almada has a new shirt number at Atlanta United - the third of his career at the club just 18 months after arriving in MLS.

The Toronto Raptors are open to moving Pascal Siakam before the season. These five teams should get involved.Masai Ujiri and the Toronto Raptors front office have not been the most willing trade negotiators in recent years. Despite a torrential downpour of rumors involving Kyle Lowry, OG Anunoby...

One of the Premier League’s most enduring rivalries looks set to be revived as Manchester City and Liverpool lead the way once again

Arsenal forward Beth Mead hopes she did enough in her long-anticipated comeback to show Sarina Wiegman she is fit to play for England this month. The Euro 2022 Golden Boot and Player of the Tournament winner, who ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last November, was greeted with thunderous applause on her return in the 88th minute at the Emirates on Sunday, where two stoppage-time goals completed a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory against Aston Villa. Mead looked sharp from the moment she stepped onto the pitch – observed by England boss Wiegman from the stands – and provided the assist to set up Alessia Russo’s winner, which came moments after Katie McCabe had cancelled out Maz Pacheco’s opener. “I am ready to compete,” said Mead. “If Sarina thinks so or not is a different story, but in my own head I am ready to compete. I’m a hopeful person. Hopefully I get a chance to speak to Sarina at some point in the next few days and we will go from there. Unfortunately I am not a mind reader, I don’t know where her brain is at the moment.” Wiegman will name her squad for this month’s UEFA Nations League home and away legs with Belgium tomorrow at 4.15pm BST. England will first host the Group A1 leaders at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on October 27 before travelling to Leuven for the Halloween return fixture. The new tournament serves as UEFA’s Olympic qualifier and also has implications for teams’ Euro 2025 qualifying campaigns. England, as the nominated home nation to qualify a Team GB for next summer’s Olympics in Paris, are hoping to secure one of two available berths, and would most likely need to reach the tournament final to do so. Third place could be enough if France, automatically qualified as Olympic hosts, reach the final themselves. The Lionesses need to top their League A group to advance but currently sit third after opening their tournament with a 2-1 victory over Scotland before losing away to the Netherlands. Both Mead and fellow European champion Fran Kirby, who also missed the World Cup due to a knee issue and surgery, have now made their club comebacks and will be itching to crack Wiegman’s October squad. For Mead, who also lost her mum June to ovarian cancer in January, Sunday’s return was an emotional one. She added: “(It was) pretty amazing. It’s been a long, long time coming. There have been a lot of hard days, a lot of good days. “I think, ultimately, you want to do your job, you want to do something you love – and that had been taken away for such a long time. So to be able to get out there, with that type of reception from the fans, was pretty incredible.” Read More Mohamed Elneny daring to dream about leading his new club to the Premier League Owen Farrell deserves more credit from England fans – Richard Wigglesworth Biggest game of my life – Danny Care excited for England’s South Africa showdown Harry Wilson fully behind Wales boss Rob Page after ‘noise from the outside’ New sports given go-ahead for Olympic Games in 2028 Lacrosse’s Olympic return hailed as ‘immense’ and ‘watershed moment’ for sport

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Darren Fletcher's twin sons are set to join Manchester United from rivals Manchester City.

Rodri and Pep Guardiola disagree over whether Man City's Champions League semi-final with Real Madrid is about 'revenge'.

Despite hammering Italy last time out, New Zealand have insisted all week they are not taking minnows Uruguay lightly ahead of Thursday's final Rugby...

Pep Guardiola will be absent from the touchline for Manchester City’s next two matches after undergoing an operation to correct his “severe back pain”. According to City, their treble-winning manager has been struggling with the injury for a while and flew out to Barcelona for an “emergency” but “routine” surgery on Tuesday. Guardiola will remain in Barcelona during his convalescence and is expected to miss City’s matches against Sheffield United this Sunday and Fulham on September 2, with assistant manager Juanma Lillo stepping into the breach. City anticipate Guardiola returning to the dugout after the international break for the visit to West Ham on September 16. A Manchester City statement said: “Pep Guardiola has today undergone a routine operation on a back problem. “The Manchester City boss has been suffering with severe back pain for some time lately, and flew out to Barcelona for emergency surgery performed by Dr Mireia Illueca. The surgery was a success, and Pep will now recover and rehabilitate in Barcelona. “In his absence, assistant manager Juanma Lillo will oversee coaching of the first team on the training field and will assume duties on the touchline until Pep’s return. “He is expected to return after the forthcoming international break. Everyone at Manchester City wishes Pep a speedy recovery, and look forward to seeing him back in Manchester soon.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The Philadelphia Phillies have activated left-handed pitcher Ranger Suárez and outfielder Cristian Pache from the injured list

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Jordan Nobbs has insisted England are focused on “growing the women’s game” ahead of their World Cup opener, as a discussion with the Football Association over bonuses has been paused. Asked if the uncertainty ahead of the Lionesses’ push for glory has been difficult, the midfielder replied: “I don’t think it’s difficult. I think we’ve had a lot of these conversations, probably over the last however many years, just not everything’s always seen by the public. “I think together as a team we’re pausing the conversations to obviously focus on the World Cup, but we just want to keep growing the women’s game.”