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The NFL is unique in that its short schedule and relatively short careers allow for parity each season. That gives us the confidence to say that in some universe, any team can win if everything goes right.The NFL is unique in that it only takes one hot streak to win a Super Bowl. Other sports ca...

Olga Carmona’s stunning late winner fired Spain into the World Cup final with a 2-1 win against Sweden. In a cagey contest with few chances for either side, the game suddenly sprung into life in the final stages with three goals in the final 10 minutes of normal time. Barcelona winger Salma Paralluelo, 19, gave Spain the lead in the 81st minute, but her goal was soon cancelled out by Rebecka Blomqvist. But Carmona responded in emphatic fashion just one minute later, sealing a final clash against either Australia or England on Sunday. Spain kept possession well in the opening stages and had a chance when a looping cross found Alba Redondo at the back post, but her header was cleared by Sweden. They struck again minutes later with some good build-up around the box allowing Carmona to shoot from the edge of the area, but it just whistled past the bottom corner. Sweden then had a half-chance at the other end when Johanna Rytting Kaneryd headed wide before Aitana Bonmati looped a cross in for Jennifer Hermoso but goalkeeper Zecira Musovic comfortably collected. Another attack came from a Spanish free-kick which went as far as Alexia Putellas, who whipped the ball into the box and Magdalena Eriksson did well to quickly head the ball away. Sweden had a great opportunity to take the lead just before half-time when Nathalie Bjorn picked out Fridolina Rolfo at the back post, but her half-volley was pushed away by Cata Coll. A slow start to the second half saw Stina Blackstenius try her luck from the right-hand side of the box, but her attempt was easily saved by Coll, who then made an excellent dive to palm Rytting Kaneryd’s cross away. Spain had some tidy build-up play around the box and had a great opportunity when Hermoso found Redondo in the box, but she was unable to cleanly strike it. The match looked destined for extra time with neither side having any real clear-cut chances, but it suddenly burst into life in the final 10 minutes with three goals in eight minutes. After dominating possession, Spain finally found the breakthrough in the 81st minute when Hermoso’s cross was cleared into the path of Paralluelo and the substitute tucked the ball into the bottom corner. Their lead was short-lived though as Sweden hit back in the 88th minute when Lina Hurtig headed down a cross for Blomqvist to smash the ball first time across the goalkeeper and into the top corner. Spain snatched the winner just one minute later when a short corner was played out to Carmona on the edge of the area and she smashed the ball from the outside of the box above Musovic’s head, with the goalkeeper unable to get a strong enough hand to keep it out. Read More England and Australia’s old rivalry has new stage as World Cup arrives at its biggest moment FA ‘disappointed’ after Matildas secure tickets in allocated England section England vs Australia: Kick-off time and how to watch on TV Old rivalry has new stage as World Cup arrives at its biggest moment Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Australia build-up as Spain reach final

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Georgia Stanway has revealed she is leaning on the support of former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick to navigate the highs and lows of England’s World Cup campaign. The Lionesses, who are bidding to reach the final of the competition for the first time, will take on tournament co-hosts Australia on Wednesday in Sydney for the right to face Spain – 2-1 victors over Sweden in Tuesday’s semi-final – in Sunday’s showpiece. Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway was introduced to “mentor” Chadwick through her agency while she was still playing for Manchester City, and speaks to him at least once a week – even from 10,000-plus miles away in New South Wales. Stanway said: “I’m not afraid to say it, I went through a time at City where it was a little bit up and down in terms of my mentality, my position, everything was changing. “(Chadwick) was my go-to in terms of getting clarity on my position, clarity on what I wanted to achieve in that season. “It’s just little things. You rely upon a good luck message before the game and he never fails. Always after the game he’s always the first to say something positive and then says, ‘Let me know when you want to talk’. It’s always on my terms, which is so understanding. “He’s honestly one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and he cares for absolutely everybody. And I think the most important thing is that he removes himself from any equation, and he’s just so focused on making sure that he improves the individual and wants them to be the utmost successful individual as a player and as a person. “I think it’s just (about) finding yourself. I’ve found what works for me, so I’m not going to change that.” Chadwick, now 42, made his senior United debut just months after Red Devils won the treble in 1999, but the joy of seeing his lifelong dream fulfilled was soon overshadowed when the teenager found himself routinely ridiculed for his appearance on the popular BBC panel show They Think It’s All Over. His mental health suffered severely. Chadwick became “obsessed” with what people might be thinking about him every time he left the house, later admitting in an interview on the club website that he “really did suffer in silence”. Chadwick, who also played for England at youth level, was privately haunted by the experience for two decades before opening up in 2020, a revelation that resulted in an apology from presenter Nick Hancock. He has since used his experience of facing adversity as fuel to help players like Stanway reach their full potential, a holistic approach that includes everything from pre-game goal-setting on the eve of matches to ensuring her Munich flat was fitted out with everything she needed. Though still just 24, Stanway has evolved into one of the leaders on Sarina Wiegman’s 23-woman squad, one of seven England players in this tournament who also featured four years ago in France, when the Lionesses were knocked out 2-1 by eventual champions the United States in their semi-final. Her maturing process has resulted in a new appreciation for facts over sometimes-misleading feelings when it comes to evaluating her own performances. Stanway said: “I am big on numbers. I could come away from the game feeling on top of the world and then my mentor could bring me back down to Earth, and say, ‘Oh, no, your passing was shocking today’. “So it’s vice-versa and it’s just kind of (about) staying level and staying consistent and being consistent in the way that I am as a person and the way that I am on the field.” England have been embraced by locals since they arrived in Australia nearly six weeks ago, but Stanway appreciates the semi-final match-up might have cooled down the warm welcome. She added: “Everyone we speak to, they always say, ‘Good luck until you play Australia’, so we’re kind of feeling that a little bit now.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live We can do beautiful things – Micky van de Ven excited by Tottenham prospects Millie Bright confident England can cope with hostile atmosphere in Sydney Ben Stokes tipped to make U-turn and feature for England at World Cup

Micky van de Ven has predicted Tottenham can achieve “beautiful things” under attack-minded Ange Postecoglou. The Dutch defender was thrown into the deep end in Sunday’s Premier League opener at Brentford after only three training sessions with his new team-mates, but impressed in the 2-2 draw. It had been a whirlwind week for Spurs with growing speculation over record goal-scorer Harry Kane eventually resulting in his departure for Bayern Munich on Saturday. A degree of optimism remains rife amongst supporters following a busy summer of transfer activity and with a new bold, front-foot approach set to be adopted by Postecoglou. “It’s an amazing club,” Van de Ven reflected after his debut. “I had a good meeting with the trainer and it was a really good meeting. “He’s a really good trainer. I love the club, I love the players and I think there is so much potential under this trainer so we will see where this season heads. “He has a good view on football, that’s what I think. Attacking football is what I love, playing with a lot of space in the back doesn’t matter for me. “Offensive football is what I like and I think if we play a lot of offensive football and we train, we train, we train then I think we can do some beautiful things.” Spurs had chased Netherlands Under-21 captain Van de Ven all summer and eventually secured his services on August 8 for an initial £34.5million fee, which could rise to £43.1million in add-ons. Despite featuring for Wolfsburg during pre-season, the 22-year-old had not completed 90 minutes all summer, but Postecoglou’s decision to include him in the starting XI was vindicated. Van de Ven admitted: “Everything is harder, it’s going quicker and it’s going up and down, up and down. There is no moment in the game where you feel you can rest a bit, you always have to be sharp and 100 per cent focused. “It is my first game with the team, so of course at the beginning we have to watch a bit how everything is going and afterwards you feel more comfortable. The guys are talking positive to you so that is also helping. “I trained three days with the team but they gave me some confidence and the trainer was talking to me and also gave me some confidence. I didn’t stress at all that I can’t do it. “All the trainers were positive, all the players were positive saying ‘do your job, do what you can do and we will help you’ and I think it went well.” Comparisons to Jan Vertonghen, another left-footed centre-back who started out in Eredivisie, occurred before Van de Ven had even signed his contract at Tottenham. He has a good view on football, that's what I think. Attacking football is what I love, playing with a lot of space in the back doesn't matter for me. Micky van de Ven on Ange Postecoglou The ex-Volendam defender revealed he used to study Vertonghen before the Belgian moved to Spurs, where he went on to make 315 appearances and become a hugely popular figure with the club’s fanbase. “I was always in the stadium when Jan Vertonghen was playing for Ajax so I always saw him play and always said he was a good left-footed, centre-back. I learned some from him as I watched videos of him,” Van de Ven added. “I watched a lot of times Spurs because a lot of players from Ajax also went to Spurs and also players from Holland. “Always when you see a player go to Spurs it is an amazing step if you went from Ajax, AZ, PSV to Spurs. “Of course with the history they didn’t win a prize for a long time but you never know what is going to happen.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Millie Bright confident England can cope with hostile atmosphere in Sydney Ben Stokes tipped to make U-turn and feature for England at World Cup Football rumours: West Ham growing frustrated with Harry Maguire delays

Neymar has picked his shirt number at Al Hilal ahead of his €90m (£77.6m) move from PSG this week.

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Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier could leave before the end of the summer transfer window, with clubs in Europe and Saudi Arabia interested.

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Spain face Sweden in the first Women’s World Cup semi-final as both nations go in search of their first tournament crown. Sweden produced their best performance of the World Cup to defeat Japan 2-1 in the quarter-finals, knocking out the team of the tournament with a display of high-tempo pressing while continuing to take their chances at set-pieces. Centre-back Amanda Ilestedt is Sweden’s top-scorer with four goals so far, with the defender in the race for the World Cup golden boot. Spain required Salma Paralluelo’s extra-time goal to defeat Netherlands and have navigated a player mutiny under head coach Jorge Vilda to reach their first ever World Cup semi-final. Despite uncertainty off the field, Spain have shone on it, led by Barcelona stars Aitana Bonmati and the returning Alexia Putellas. The winner will play either England or Australia in Sunday’s World Cup final. Follow live updates from Spain vs Sweden as the semi-finals get underway, and get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today The Lionesses will need to beat an entire nation in the grip of World Cup fever Women’s World Cup golden boot: Who’s leading the top-scorer standings?

What the papers say West Ham may yet pull the plug on a deal for Harry Maguire, according to The Telegraph. The Manchester United defender has been rumoured to be on the way to London Stadium for some time, but the paper says the Hammers’ management are growing increasingly fed up with the amount of time it is taking to finalise the deal and may decide to walk away if it continues to drag on. A host of Premier League and Serie A clubs are said to be lining up to sign Lille midfielder Carlos Baleba. The Daily Mail reports Liverpool, Newcastle, AC Milan and Juventus are all interested in the 19-year-old, with Brighton believed to be leading the charge for his signature. The Newcastle Chronicle says the Magpies have reached out to Arsenal over full-back Kieran Tierney. Any deal could be hard to come by for the north-east club however, with the Gunners reportedly likely to refuse to budge on their £30million price tag for the 26-year-old. And the Daily Mirror reports Arsenal defender Gabriel is the latest player to be targeted by the Saudi Pro League. Social media round-up Players to watch Hugo Ekitike: RMC Sport says Everton have opened talks with Paris St Germain over a loan deal for the 21-year-old forward. Nicolo Zaniolo: Aston Villa are on the verge of sealing a loan deal for the Galatasaray midfielder, according to Sport Italia. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana believes referee Simon Hooper and VAR were right not to award Wolves a last-gasp penalty in Monday night’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford. United opened their league account for the season in unconvincing fashion as Raphael Varane’s header 14 minutes from time was enough to earn a 1-0 victory that was barely deserved. Indeed, it looked like Wolves might get the chance to equalise from the penalty spot at the death when debutant Onana appeared to clatter into Sasa Kalajdzic, but the goalkeeper got away with it. Wolves boss Gary O’Neil said Onana tried “to take the centre-forward’s head off” and claimed Premier League referees’ boss Jon Moss apologised to him for the decision after the match. But asked if it was a penalty, Onana said: “No, goalkeepers make decisions, sometimes you are right, sometimes you are not. “I made a decision and I am responsible for everything. For me it was contact between two big guys and nothing happened. But for us, the most important thing was to win and I am happy for the victory. “Of course I was confident (it would not be given).” Onana made his Premier League debut following his summer move from Inter Milan. The Cameroon international, who worked with Erik Ten Hag at Ajax, has big boots to fill following on from David De Gea, and his style differs greatly from the Spaniard as he likes the ball at his feet. But he insists it is a case of him adapting to his new surroundings rather than the United defence changing their game. “Listen, I think I’m playing with some of the best defenders in the world because playing for Manchester United is not something easy,” he said. “I think I’m the one who has to adapt because United is a very big club and I’m proud to be able to perform here and proud to play alongside these defenders and if something has to change, I think we will do it. “At the moment everything is going right and we just have to continue working like this and I think it will be OK by the end of the season.” Few will have seen a performance like this coming from Wolves, whose plans for the season were thrown into disarray last week when boss Julen Lopetegui left, just five days before their opener, with O’Neil coming in. O’Neil, who was sacked at Bournemouth after keeping them in the English top flight last season, will have been thrilled at what he saw as his new side put in a slick counter-attacking display that had United on the run for the majority of the game. But old failings returned as they could not score with any of the 23 shots they had, which will have brought back memories from last season, where they registered just 31 times. “I think we keep doing more like today,” O’Neil said. “My initial thoughts around them not scoring enough goals last year was, we need to arrive in good areas, with good numbers more. “We have enough talent in the group so if we arrive in good numbers, the boys will score goals, no doubt. “I don’t think today was a reoccurrence of the pattern you saw last year. I think if the lads play that game 100 times, they score in 99 of them. “Keep arriving in those areas, keep working with the players to improve understanding and how many times we arrive and the lads will score some goals.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: West Ham growing frustrated with Harry Maguire delays On this day in 2008: Britain beat ‘invincible’ France to Olympic sprint gold Gary O’Neil claims referees’ boss told him Wolves should have had penalty