Thiago Silva has admitted he asked Paulo Dybala to join Chelsea after reports linked the forward with a move to Stamford Bridge.

Jack Hughes scored two goals, set up two more and had a near fight as the New Jersey Devils began the task of digging out of another hole with a 8-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals Sunday

Manchester United captain Katie Zelem has represented England at all five youth levels, from the under-15s to the under-23s, but has struggled to break into the senior side’s midfield, where competition for places is fierce. Now 27, Zelem grew up in Oldham, where both her father and uncle were former professional footballers. Aged just eight, she was accepted into Manchester United Girls’ Centre of Excellence in 2004 and stayed within the club’s youth setup until 2013, when she departed for Liverpool in search of fresh opportunities to advance. She played 38 times over a four-year period for the Reds, picking up two Women’s Super League titles, scoring 10 and being named the club’s Young Player of the Year for 2014 before spending the 2017/18 season with Juventus in Italy, a dream experience in which she scored four across 18 appearances in what proved to be another championship-winning year. Returning to the UK and rejoining Manchester United, Zelem has since established herself at the centre of the side’s midfield, a position she has gradually settled on after starting out as a winger, modelling herself on Fara Williams and Andres Iniesta. The Red Devils won the FA Women’s Championship in 2018/19 and, the following season, she was named captain following the departure of Alex Greenwood, leading a side that currently features fellow Lionesses Mary Earps and Ella Toone. Zelem’s talent and leadership is not in doubt but she faces a difficult task in attempting to break into Sarina Wiegman’s first team in Australia and New Zealand this summer, given that doing so would require disrupting the central partnership between Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway that proved so effective on home soil a year ago. Get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here A reputation for picking up yellow cards may also not help her case. Read More How to watch England vs Haiti: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup opener Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup? FIFA Women’s World Cup fixtures and full schedule

Suspended Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker says allegations of sexual harassment against him are completely false

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England defender Lucy Bronze is drawing on the experience of her first World Cup eight years ago to allay fears that the Lionesses did not play like favourites in their 1-0 opening victory against Haiti in Brisbane. That win, sealed by Georgia Stanway’s twice-taken penalty against a side 49 places below England in the FIFA rankings, extended the Lionesses’ streak without a goal from open play to three games, including their 0-0 behind-closed-doors pre-tournament training match with Canada. Bronze made her World Cup debut at the 2015 tournament, where England fell to France in their opener but ultimately finished up with the third-place medal for their best-ever finish in a global showpiece. She said: “Well, in my first World Cup we lost the first game and ended finishing third. There’s only so much you can take from the game. The most important thing is it gives us momentum but it’s better than having to chase points and we get to focus on the next two games. “We’re playing against players we’ve never played before. It takes a little while to get into those games. Once we got going you saw England coming back to life again. We need to do that more for longer.” Bronze had no doubt Stanway would step up to the spot twice on Saturday, after her initial penalty was saved by Haiti’s 5ft 4in goalkeeper Kerly Theus. That would have left Stanway with a career record of six penalties scored and two missed, but she was given another chance after the referee ruled Theus had come off her line. Bronze had full faith in Stanway to put the ball in the back of the net with her second opportunity, which the Bayern Munich midfielder did handily. She said: “I don’t think anyone doubted that Georgia would take it. We just picked it up and gave it to her. She doesn’t need any encouragement to do that. Georgia is not the type of player that needs telling what to do or is lacking confidence. We all knew that a second chance was enough for her to bury it.” England, who have now checked into their World Cup base on the New South Wales’ Central Coast, next face world number 13 Denmark on Friday in Sydney before taking on 14th-placed China in Adelaide to conclude the group stage, with the top two teams advancing to the last 16. Bronze’s team-mate Alessia Russo, who on Saturday was favoured for the centre-forward role by Sarina Wiegman over Women’s Super League Golden Boot winner Rachel Daly, was one of the only England players to admit their first half against Haiti looked a bit rusty. She said: “Yeah, I think so. Us as players are the first to recognise that. We’ll be back to training this week and training hard to push on now but tournaments are always about winning and that’s the most important thing. “I don’t think I ever worry about goals and winning with this team. I think we’ve got a very special talented squad and I know that people show up at the right times. “The first game, we’ve been building up to it for a long time. It’s done now, three points under the belt. Now we really push on. Moments were good and we’ll reflect on it, we’ll analyse and we’ll be ready for Denmark.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Spurs forward Son Heung-min says transfer speculation ‘not easy’ for Harry Kane Carlo Ancelotti hails Jude Bellingham as ‘complete midfielder’ after Real debut Football rumours: Tottenham owner tells chairman to sell Harry Kane

Breece Hall bullied his way into the end zone during the second quarter Sunday night, and it appeared the New York Jets’ touchdown drought was over

Chelsea will accelerate their contract talks with Mason Mount after agreeing to hire Mauricio Pochettino as their new manager.

Manchester United have been offered a number of left-backs as they consider whether or not to make a signing in the aftermath of Luke Shaw's injury. Marc Cucurella, Sergio Reguilon and Marcos Alonso among the names put forward to the Red Devils.

Marc Guehi is aiming to be England’s ‘Steady Eddie’ after overcoming doubts during a loan stint at Swansea to become a regular in Gareth Southgate’s squad. The Crystal Palace centre-back, 23, has seven senior caps and has featured in three of the previous four games ahead of the final Euro 2024 qualification double-header against Malta and North Macedonia. Having come through the ranks at Chelsea, where he credits Claude Makelele as a mentor, Guehi never made a Premier League appearance for the Blues but is now a fixture in the division in south London. Guehi was also capped at every England age group from Under-16s upwards until making his senior debut last year. Asked how he has dealt with every step up in his career, Guehi replied: “The trait is, that in my life everything has been quite steady. Growing up I was never pushed on too soon, or left behind. “It was always quite steady and my career has been exactly the same. In the academy, going out on loan, steadily playing game after game and gaining confidence. Getting the move to Palace and finding my feet in the Premier League and now coming here with England. “So when you talk about those steps and progression, everything for me has been quite natural. I just see things how they are and take things how they come. “When I said about the steadiness, along that pathway there is those setbacks. I think it’s your job as an individual to just learn from those as quickly as possible. And not allow them to drag you from behind. “There’s been many setbacks and always will be. It’s about learning from them and using those moments to prove yourself.” The main setback for Guehi was during his time on loan at Swansea, a move which coincided with the start of the coronavirus pandemic that shut down football for over three months during the 2019/20 season. Guehi was away from home and had fallen out of favour in the Swansea team, not featuring in the final four matchday squads before football was halted – although he returned to get back into the side before spending another campaign on loan at the Liberty Stadium. “Not many people know, it was tough for me at Swansea,” he said. Those moments were difficult, you take those moments, learn from them, try to move on and put them right Marc Guehi “I have not spoken about it, everyone thinks it was plain sailing, great. I played the first four games and then I didn’t play up until after lockdown. Being away from home, in Swansea, different country, on your own, there’s going to be challenges, going to be tough. “Those moments were difficult, you take those moments, learn from them, try to move on and put them right. I was just out of favour. Not anything in particular. I came from Chelsea, came with a lot of confidence, and my confidence almost gets knocked. “Thankfully, I did get back home, just in time before (lockdown), it was so strange to say it, for so many people around the world it was horrible, for my family, and so many people around. “For me, it was probably the best moment, I could get away from football, be with my family, and just focus on myself. How can I now if football does come back – thankfully football did come back – if we do get back to playing, how can I get back in this team? “I genuinely enjoyed Swansea. It was good. Swansea was a great place for me to play. I had a great view from an apartment looking out onto the beach although it was not sunny but it was still a decent view.” Guehi, who plays drums at his church when time allows and whose father is a pastor, has used setbacks such as his experiences in south Wales, to build a stronger mentality. “It is like building calluses but in your mind,” he added. “Going through those moments does help you in everyday life, everyday situations. You might have a bad game but you remember what you’ve gone through before, and you almost put that to bed and go I just need to prove myself the next game. Moving steadily.” Read More Anthony Joshua sees Otto Wallin as a stepping stone on his way to a title fight Rohit Sharma glad India ‘could get the job done’ against New Zealand Still plenty to play for – Scotland v Georgia talking points A look at the data behind Virat Kohli’s record 50 ODI centuries Virat Kohli hits record ton as India beat New Zealand to reach World Cup final Francis Ngannou ranked as top-10 heavyweight by WBC after impressive debut

Sad Terrell Davis is the meme no Denver fan wants to see.

Colorado Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen was taken to a hospital for further evaluation after going head-first into the boards in the second period against Seattle on Thursday night