The home opener for the New England Patriots will be a memorable contest as the franchise honors its greatest player and NFL GOAT, Tom Brady.He's back, folks. Tom Brady is back. For a reunion and celebration. The Hall of Famer will be honored at the Patriots' home opener this season....

Gareth Southgate wants England’s players to be mentally “spot on” and grab their opportunity to impress as he experiments against old sporting rivals Australia. The Euro 2020 runners-up can seal their place at next summer’s edition in Germany when they host holders Italy at Wembley in Tuesday’s Group C encounter. But first comes just England’s second friendly since March 2022 after a run of 16 consecutive competitive matches came to an end with last month’s 3-1 victory at Scotland. Southgate avoided over-experimenting in Glasgow but still managed to try new things, just as he will in Friday’s sold-out encounter under the arch against the Socceroos. “It’s one of the great sporting rivalries and if Australia have any sniff that we’re not taking the game seriously, then we will be in trouble,” the England boss said. “Our mindset has got to be spot on. Equally, we’ve still got a bit of work to do to qualify for a European Championship, but we are potentially six games away from that. “We have good players and we need to give people opportunities to show what they can do. “That is part of our bond as a team, making sure people get chances to play and feel part of the group and important within that, so we have to get that right balance. “Most importantly, we have got good players and we need to have them in positions on the field where they can do their best work and feel comfortable, positions they play with their clubs, so that the transfer is as smooth as possible.” Jarrod Bowen will be hoping to make a dream Wembley debut after the West Ham star returned to the England set-up for the first time since September 2022. Chelsea defender Levi Colwill could make his debut, while uncapped Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah and in-form Aston Villa frontman Ollie Watkins will hope to prove a worthy back-up to skipper Harry Kane. Southgate would not confirm who will captain England on Friday, but it appears unlikely that Bayern Munich sharpshooter Kane will be leading the line from the start. Asked if the Australia game is a chance for players to make their mark, the England boss said: “Yeah, I mean, I think one of the things we always want to do is to make playing for England enjoyable. “It’s to take the tension out of playing for England, we want the lads to express themselves. “Equally, when you play for England there is a pressure and you know that you’re not going to get 10 opportunities unless you play well. “Every player that comes into the squad experiences that, has always done. “So, you can’t relieve that. No matter what I say to a player, he’s going to know that, so players coming in they are opportunities and you have to grasp them. “But they’ve had to do that at every stage of their career as well, when they first got into a club as a young player or when they first got in the first team at the club. “They are used to that and all of them are more than capable of going and playing incredibly well, and they’ll also be very excited about a full house at Wembley and the opportunity to play there.” Friday will only be England’s second match at Wembley this year and one that Harry Maguire would love to be involved in having found playing time hard to come by at Manchester United. The under-fire defender was hounded by Scotland fans at Hampden Park on his last England appearance, which he this week revealed led former skipper David Beckham to get in contact with him. “I was not aware (of the call from Beckham), but I can see from Harry’s comments how much it meant to him,” the England boss said. “David has played at United, he has played for England, so he knows the world Harry is living in and it will have meant the world to him to get that support. “(Maguire) is a very strong character, but nonetheless he is a human being and I am sure a call like that would have meant a huge amount to him.” Read More Graham Arnold urging Australia to claim England scalp for ‘kids and nation’ England ready for challenge of knocking India ‘off their perch’ – Chris Woakes Ciaran McGuckin header hands 10-man Northern Ireland under-21s victory Ashes revenge or a famous Socceroos win? – England v Australia talking points FA criticised for ‘weak response’ to Israel and Palestine conflict Sebastian Korda defeats Ben Shelton to book first ATP 1000 semi-final in Shanghai

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England forward Beth Mead says she is “ahead of schedule” in her ACL injury recovery and still working towards the summer’s World Cup. Mead, who claimed the Golden Boot and player of the tournament award when the Lionesses won the Euros on home soil last year, has been sidelined since sustaining the injury while playing for Arsenal in November. In March, England boss Sarina Wiegman said Mead was at that point “not in our plans” for the World Cup, adding: “If a miracle happens and she goes so fast (in her recovery), then we will reconsider it – but at this moment I don’t expect that.” Speaking on Wednesday as she received an MBE at Windsor Castle for services to football, Mead told Sky Sports: “The injury is OK. “I’m a good five months in now, I am back on the pitch and kicking a ball again, feeling good, ahead of schedule, so that’s all I can do in my control right now.” Asked if she felt confident she was going to be at the World Cup, Mead said: “I wouldn’t say confident because that’s out of my control. “But I am working hard to try to get as close to that as possible, but at the end of the day, it’s probably going to be Sarina’s decision.” The World Cup in Australia and New Zealand gets under way on July 20, with Wiegman set to name her squad for the tournament later this month. Also receiving an MBE on Wednesday was Mead’s England team-mate Lucy Bronze, who has been out of action herself after undergoing knee surgery last month. The Barcelona defender, whose club play Wolfsburg in the Champions League final on June 3, said: “Mine’s very minor. I’m two weeks post-op, and then I’ve got a couple more weeks maximum. “I’m walking around really well. I’ve still got bandages on from the stitches but I’m actually doing really well physically and mentally, and feel really good and positive. “I think I’m in a better place now after the surgery than I was before it. I’ve had six knee surgeries, so I know what I’m doing, it’s pretty straightforward for me.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Sam Allardyce refused to criticise Patrick Bamford after the Leeds striker’s saved penalty proved costly in Saturday’s 2-2 Premier League draw against Newcastle. Bamford had the chance to atone for his glaring miss in last month’s home draw against Leicester and put relegation battlers Leeds 2-0 up at Elland Road. Luke Ayling had given Allardyce’s side an early lead, but after Joelinton had hauled down Junior Firpo, Bamford’s weak spot-kick was comfortably saved by Nick Pope. Allardyce said: “I thought he was good today. He held the ball up, he caused a few problems. He got the cross in for the (opening) goal. We were doing OK with him. “Hopefully, like everybody needs to do when it gets a little bit better next week and better again, he scores goals when he gets a chance. “We need goal-scorers on the pitch and also, we’ve not got that many.” Four minutes after Bamford’s effort, Callum Wilson converted the first of his two penalties following Max Wober’s reckless challenge on Alexander Isak. Wilson then struck his 17th league goal of the season from the spot early in the second half after VAR had referred referee Simon Hooper to the pitch-side monitor to check Firpo’s handball. Rasmus Kristensen’s 79th-minute equaliser rescued a point for Leeds, but some fans were left angry that Bamford, low on confidence, had taken the penalty instead of leading goalscorer Rodrigo. Allardyce added: “Well, I left it how it used to be like before I got here. I mean, I haven’t seen them take many penalties. “It is what it is. I would have thought if Rodrigo really wanted it he’d have gone and snatched it off Patrick and said ‘I’m taking this’. “So you miss it, it can happen to anybody. It happened to us today, but at the worst possible time. And that’s very unfortunate for us.” Newcastle’s point ensured them a top-six finish and they remain on course for Champions League football next season with back-to-back home games against Brighton and Leicester to come before a last-day visit to Chelsea. Magpies boss Eddie Howe said: “We can wait a few more days if we achieve it. It is the toughest league in the world and we knew how difficult it would be today.” Nerves frayed on and off the pitch in a highly-charged clash at Elland Road. Firpo was sent off in the closing stages after his lunge on Anthony Gordon earned him a second yellow card. And before the subsequent free-kick was taken a Leeds fan leapt from the crowd to confront Howe before being dragged clear by match stewards. “I’m struggling to make sense of it all,” Howe added. “We hadn’t created clear-cut chances. I thought we played well at times without hitting our best form and we were rushed around the box.” Leeds issued a statement shortly after the match to confirm the fan who confronted Howe had been arrested and issued with a lifetime ban. West Yorkshire Police added in a statement on Sunday: “Police have charged a man with assault and entering the field of play following an incident at Elland Road football stadium during the Leeds United versus Newcastle United football match yesterday. The man has been bailed to appear before magistrates on July 21.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Chelsea closing in on Mauricio Pochettino as new manager Christian Eriksen pleased to see Man Utd deal with extra pressure against Wolves Police charge Leeds fan with assault over Eddie Howe confrontation

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