List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

Today's USMNT news includes Yunus Musah agreeing to join AC Milan and Bryan Reynolds could join Westerlopermanently.Elsewhere, fixtures have been announced for what will be Gregg Berhalter's first games back in charge of the Stars and Stripes.USMNT news: Yunus Musah to AC MilanYunus Mu...

West Ham have stepped up talks for Leicester winger Harvey Barnes following their relegation to the Championship. The 25-year-old scored a career-best 13 Premier League goals last season.

MLB is about two New York Yankees achieving perfection of late, one on the mound and the other at ... the plate. That is part of what made baseball fun this week, among other things.Making sense of all the nonsense baseball gave us this week through pop culture references!I have tried to avo...

Cardiff have been ordered to make the last two payments to Nantes for Emiliano Sala’s transfer by football’s global governing body FIFA. Sala died when the light aircraft he was travelling in from France crashed into the English Channel in January 2019, two days after Cardiff had announced the signing of the 28-year-old Argentinian forward from Nantes. The French club’s claim for the first six million euros (just over £5m) of the £15million transfer fee was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) last August, and Cardiff announced on Friday they had now been ordered by FIFA to pay the last two instalments of the fee as well. Cardiff have paid the first instalment and it is understood they intend – albeit reluctantly – to now pay the remaining two. Cardiff have lodged a negligence claim in the French courts against Nantes. They maintain Nantes must be held accountable for the accident which led to Sala’s death, saying the flight was organised by Nantes’ agent. The Welsh club’s statement on Friday said Nantes chief executive Franck Kita had been placed in police custody alongside agent Bakari Sanogo, which they said related to an investigation opened in France last June into allegations of illegal exercise of sports agent activity, forgery and use of forgery, misuse of corporate assets and money laundering. The club said their negligence claim has exhibited direct exchanges which they say show Kita informed Sanogo of the proposed transfer fee for Sala. Cardiff said it is not clear why Kita informed Sanogo of the fee. Cardiff said: “In the circumstances, the club considers that it would have been fairer if the requirement to pay FC Nantes had been deferred until the conclusion of the French police investigations and the club’s claim against FC Nantes in the French courts.” A week ago, the EFL announced an independent disciplinary commission had confirmed an agreed position between the league and Cardiff regarding a fee restriction. Under the restriction, Cardiff could not pay fees in respect of transfers or loans for the January transfer window and are under the same restriction in the current summer window. The EFL said the sanction related to Cardiff triggering the EFL’s 30-day rule when it was late in making an initial payment to Nantes for the transfer of Sala, having been ordered to do so following a lengthy legal process involving FIFA, CAS and the Swiss Federal Tribunal. The sanction was reduced in length from three transfer windows to two following an appeal.

Liverpool are to apply for a safe standing licence as they expand rail seating by a further 3,000 to 13,300 at Anfield. The initiative has been trialled for a couple of years, but they are now set to become the seventh Premier League club after Wolves, Tottenham, Manchester City, Manchester United, Brentford and Chelsea to have a licence. As a result, fans in the Kop and the newly-redeveloped Anfield Road end, which will open for next season and take the ground’s capacity to 61,000, will be able to stand throughout matches and not just for significant moments such as goal celebrations. “Following an extensive review of our rail seating trial we’re delighted to confirm it has been successful and is now a permanent feature at Anfield Stadium,” said managing director Andy Hughes. “We also examined how effective rail seating is in terms of the health and safety of our fans and we came to the conclusion that the management of rail seating areas would benefit from safe standing areas. “So that’s why we have taken the decision to apply for a safe standing licence, which will see the introduction of safe standing areas across all stadium sections with rail seating from next season. “The health and safety of our supporters when attending matches at Anfield is, and always will be, paramount.” Enforcement recommendations from the Sports Ground Safety Authority state stadiums with rail seating for more than two years must apply for a licence. A total of 7,800 rail seats were first introduced in two areas at Anfield ahead of the 2020-21 season, with a further 2,500 installed on the Kop during last season’s break for the winter World Cup. The next installation phase this summer will see a further 3,000 rail seats added to the Kop, taking its total to 7,425, meaning just over 55 percent of the famous stand’s capacity will be rail seating, with plans to add more next year. Meanwhile, Liverpool forward Fabio Carvalho has completed a loan move to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig for the 2023-24 campaign. The deal does not include an option to buy, with manager Jurgen Klopp wanting the 20-year-old to gain more experience after making just 21 appearances last season. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

After winning the European Championships on home soil last summer, England travel to Australia and New Zealand as one of the favourites to win the Women’s World Cup. The Lionesses defeated Germany at a sold-out Wembley last year and have since continued their unbeaten run under manager Sarina Wiegman to position themselves as one of the strongest teams in the world ahead of the tournament. The United States have won the past two World Cups and are the defending champions after beating the Netherlands - who were coached by Wiegman - at the 2019 World Cup in France. The Lionesses reached the semi-finals for the second World Cup in a row, only to lose to the USA, but will be looking to go a step further this time. Ireland will be making their debut appearance at the Women’s World Cup, while Germany, Spain, France and Sweden will all be contenders from Europe. The USA have been the dominant force in women’s football with four World Cup titles overall - while Japan, Canada and hosts Australia carry the threat from the rest of the world. Here’s everything you need to know. When is the Women’s World Cup? The tournament will kick off on 20 July 2023 with the opening match between hosts New Zealand and Norway. Australia will kick off against Ireland later that day. England play their first match of the World Cup against Haiti in Group D on 22 July. The knockout stages begin on 5 August, with the World Cup final taking place in Sydney on 20 August. What are the groups? Group A: New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Switzerland Group B: Australia, Republic of Ireland, Nigeria, Canada Group C: Spain, Costa Rica, Zambia, Japan Group D: England, Haiti, Denmark, China Group E: United States, Vietnam, Netherlands, Portugal Group F: France, Jamaica, Brazil, Panama Group G: Sweden, South Africa, Italy, Argentina Group H: Germany, Morocco, Colombia, South Korea Match schedule (All kick-off times BST ) Group stage: Thursday 20 July Group A: New Zealand vs Norway (08:00, Auckland) Group B: Australia vs Republic of Ireland (11:00, Sydney) Friday 21 July Group B: Nigeria vs Canada (03:30, Melbourne) Group A: Philippines vs Switzerland (06:00, Dunedin) Group C: Spain vs Costa Rica (08:30, Wellington) Saturday 22 July Group E: USA vs Vietnam (02:00, Auckland) Group C: Zambia vs Japan (08:00 Hamilton) Group D: England vs Haiti (10:30, Brisbane) Group D: Denmark vs China (13:00, Perth) Sunday 23 July Group G: Sweden vs South Africa (06:00, Wellington) Group E: Netherlands vs Portugal (08:30, Dunedin) Group F: France vs Jamaica (11:00, Sydney) Monday 24 July Group G: Italy vs Argentina (07:00, Auckland) Group H: Germany vs Morocco (09:30, Melbourne) Group F: Brazil vs Panama (12:00, Adelaide) Tuesday 25 July Group H: Colombia vs Korea Republic (03:00, Sydney) Group A: New Zealand vs Philippines (06:30, Dunedin) Group A: Switzerland vs Norway (09:00, Hamilton) Wednesday 26 July Group C: Japan vs Costa Rica (06:00, Dunedin) Group C: Spain vs Zambia (08:30, Auckland) Group B: Canada vs Republic of Ireland (13:00, Perth) Thursday 27 July Group E: USA vs Netherlands (02:00, Wellington) Group E: Portugal vs Vietnam (08:30, Hamilton) Group B: Australia vs Nigeria (11:00, Brisbane) Friday 28 July Group G: Argentina vs South Africa (01:00, Dunedin) Group D: England vs Denmark (09:30, Sydney) Group D: China vs Haiti (12:00, Adelaide) Saturday 29 July Group G: Sweden vs Italy (08:30, Wellington) Group F: France vs Brazil (11:00, Brisbane) Group F: Panama vs Jamaica (13:30, Perth) Sunday 30 July Group H: Korea Republic vs Morocco (05:30, Adelaide) Group A: Norway vs Philippines (08:00, Auckland) Group A: Switzerland vs New Zealand (08:00, Dunedin) Group H: Germany vs Colombia (10:30, Sydney) Monday 31 July Group C: Costa Rica vs Zambia (08:00, Hamilton) Group C: Japan vs Spain (08:00, Wellington) Group B: Ireland vs Nigeria (11:00, Brisbane) Group B: Canada vs Australia (11:00, Melbourne) Tuesday 1 August Group E: Vietnam vs Netherlands (08:00, Dunedin) Group E: Portugal vs USA (08:00, Auckland) Group D: Haiti vs Denmark (12:00, Perth) Group D: China vs England (12:00, Adelaide) Wednesday 2 August Group G: South Africa vs Italy (08:00, Wellington) Group G: Argentina vs Sweden (08:00, Hamilton) Group F: Jamaica vs Brazil (11:00, Melbourne) Group F: Panama vs France (11:00, Sydney) Thursday 3 August Group H: Korea Republic vs Germany (11:00, Brisbane) Group H: Morocco vs Colombia (11:00, Perth) Knockout stages Saturday 5 August Match 49: Winners Group A vs Runners-up Group C (06:00, Auckland) Match 50: Winners Group C vs Runners-up A (09:00, Wellington) Sunday 6 August Match 51: Winners Group E vs Runners-up Group G (03:00, Sydney) Match 52: Winners Group G vs Runners-up Group E (10:00, Melbourne) Monday 7 August Match 54: Winners Group D vs Runners-up Group B (08:30, Brisbane) Match 53: Winners Group B vs Runners-up Group D (11:30, Sydney) Tuesday 8 August Match 56: Winners Group H vs Runners-up Group F (09:00, Melbourne) Match 55: Winners Group F vs Runners-up Group H (12:00, Adelaide) Friday 11 August QF1: Winner Match 49 vs Winner Match 51 (02:00, Wellington) QF2: Winner Match 50 vs Winner Match 52 (08:30, Auckland) Saturday 12 August QF3: Winner Match 53 vs Winner Match 55 (08:00, Brisbane) QF4: Winner Match 54 vs Winner Match 56 (11:30, Sydney) Tuesday 15 August SF1: Winner QF1 vs Winner QF 2 (09:00, Auckland) Wednesday 16 August SF2: Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4 (11:00, Sydney) Saturday 19 August 3rd place play-off: Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2 (09:00, Brisbane) Sunday 20 August Final: Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2 (11:00, Sydney) Match venues Australia Sydney (Stadium Australia, 83,500) Sydney (Sydney Football Stadium, 42,512) Brisbane (Lang Park, 52,263) Melbourne (Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, 30,000) Perth (Perth Rectangular Stadium, 22,225) Adelaide (Hindmarsh Stadium, 16,500) New Zealand Auckland (Eden Park, 48,276) Wellington (Wellington Regional Stadium, 39,000) Dunedin (Forsyth Barr Stadium, 28,744) Hamilton (Waikato Stadium, 25,111) Read More ‘Very high’ expectations on England’s Lionesses at World Cup, Georgia Stanway says Alessia Russo fully focused on England after ‘tough’ summer of transfer talk Millie Bright offers injury update ahead of Women’s World Cup Staniforth added to England’s World Cup standby list amid injury worry On this day in 2015: England reach Women’s World Cup semi-finals for first time Premier 15s chief Belinda Moore hails ‘stand-alone’ appeal of women’s sport

Sarina Wiegman would ideally like England to have more warm-up game time ahead of the World Cup but says she is not concerned. Having started their preparation camp at St George’s Park on June 19, the Lionesses have an initial warm-up match on Saturday against Portugal in Milton Keynes. They fly out to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand four days later, and are scheduled to then have a behind-closed-doors game against Canada on July 14, their only other match before opening their Group D fixtures by playing Haiti in Brisbane on July 22. Asked if she was concerned her players will not have enough match practice going into the World Cup with the two warm-up games, England boss Wiegman said: “No, we knew ahead of our preparation that this was the case. “You plan things ahead and this is the best possible preparation we can have, with all the experience, knowledge we have and some feedback from players. “So, yes, of course you want to play more games, but you also want to get your schedule right, and this is the right schedule, and that means we can only have two games in the schedule before we go into the World Cup, also with the travelling to the other side of the world, which takes time, two days, and also takes some adaptation, to beat the jetlag. “I’m satisfied with this preparation. We would have wanted to play a little more but this is the schedule we have, and you want to do what’s best in preparation, but also what fits in the schedule from a physiology point of view. Of course you want to play more games, but you also want to get your schedule right, and this is the right schedule. Sarina Wiegman “So we’re happy with this. We’re ready, and I think also our training sessions make us grow.” Wiegman, who named the same starting line-up throughout last summer’s triumphant Euros campaign, was asked how close she was to knowing her team for the Haiti match, and said: “We’re getting closer, that’s clear. “But we’re still trying out some things, and in some positions I don’t know what the starting line-up will be, there’s still competition going on and that’s why we need those two games too.” Defender Millie Bright, captaining the squad after regular skipper Leah Williamson was ruled out of the World Cup by an ACL injury, is unavailable for Saturday’s match as she continues to build back up after knee surgery. She has been doing individual training work, with the same applying to midfielder Jordan Nobbs, and Wiegman said: “I think they’re in a good place in getting prepared for the World Cup. Millie and Jordan will not be available for tomorrow, (but are) really progressing well.” If Georgia Stanway features, it will be a 50th cap for the Bayern Munich midfielder, and she said regarding that potential milestone: “I think in football, it’s really difficult to become reflective – football doesn’t rest and time doesn’t stand still, so it’s kind of one thing after another. “You can see how fast and how much has changed since the Euros and everything that’s happened since then. So within football, you do something, you put it to bed and move on to the next thing. “Of course I’ll try to enjoy tomorrow, and I’ll enjoy with my family in the stands, being with the girls. But the main focus is the next thing, which is the World Cup.” England face a Portugal side ranked 17 places below them in the world at 21st and who open their own World Cup campaign by playing the Netherlands in Dunedin on July 23 in Group E.

Chelsea changed the landscape of the Premier League and European football as a whole exactly 20 years ago, when Roman Abramovich completed his takeover of the club on 1 July and immediately started spending money on a scale never before seen in the league. While the Russian billionaire eventually was forced to offload the club last year, Todd Boehly and his Clearlake group purchasing the Blues, Abramovich’s spell at the helm was trophy-laden and filled with unrivalled investment in transfers. In that first summer back in 2003, the Stamford Bridge side immediately signed a massive haul of players: Hernan Crespo, Damien Duff, Juan Sebastian Veron, Claude Makelele, Adrian Mutu, Wayne Bridge, Joe Cole, Geremi, Glen Johnson and Aleksey Smertin, along with a clutch of reserve players to boost squad numbers. But the haul could have been even higher, both by volume and very much by reputation, it has been revealed, by those who were at the club at the time - including moves explored for two of Italy’s greatest players at the time. Then-manager Claudio Ranieri has detailed how early meetings after Abramovich bought the club could have seen him lose his own post, had Sven-Goran Eriksson been persuaded to leave the England job - as well as the players who might have been lured to the Premier League had a takeover been concluded earlier. “When I came back for preseason, [chief executive] Trevor Birch told me the club had been sold. I asked who the new owner [weas], he said a Russian person, very rich, he wants to build a big team...that was it,” Ranieri told The Blueprint podcast, in a forthcoming episode heard exclusively by the Independent. “I didn’t know what could happen but of course I thought ‘maybe he wants to change the manager’. Roman wanted to sign Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was the England national team manager. But in the end he told me ‘OK, you worked well last season, try to do your best in this season.’ “He told me, ‘tell me what you want’ [for transfers], but it was difficult to sign [players like Francesco] Totti, [or Alessandro] Nesta when big teams are in preseason. Roman wanted to buy big champions but to bring them you had to work a year, six months. Not when other teams are ready to start the season! “The first meeting he was so happy - he told me he wanted to buy great players and make Chelsea the greatest team in the world. But it was impossible to sign those kind of players he was asking me if I wanted. It was the only time in my life [I was asked about them]!” Meanwhile, the players already at the club were also dealing with the fallout in different ways. Winger Jesper Gronkjaer, who had joined in 2000/01, noted that the squad at the time knew about the club’s financial difficulties and the likelihood of a change in ownership - especially since there were media reports about not getting paid on time. And when the signings started to happen, a natural response for many meant cause over their own futures. “I think we were all aware that the club had financial issues. In springtime there were rumours about not getting salaries, about Ken Bates wanting to sell the club. We did not buy any players the summer before because of the financial situation,” Gronkjaer said. “Nobody could imagine Roman coming in and we have never seen a guy coming in like that, using that much money in such a short time, changing the training facilities. We have never really seen that around in Europe before, so I think we were all a bit sceptical afterwards. All the players were thinking, ‘Are we gonna stay here? How many players is he gonna buy?’ It was quite chaotic. “From day one if you opened all the papers there were rumours about five players for each position. And not just five players, it was five top players from Real Madrid, from Bayern Munich, from Manchester United. “It was the top scorers in Serie A, you know, it was from the top shelf. Then you have got thoughts about, ‘Is there going to be space for me here? Are they trying to get rid of me?’” Gronkjaer’s own departure was sealed 12 months later with a transfer to Birmingham, as the Blues continued to splash the cash and bring in the likes of Arjen Robben and Didier Drogba. The Abramovich era was well and truly under way and Chelsea certainly became a dominant force under his ownership, which very much enforced a new era in the English game. But the revelations of who could have arrived in the earliest days maybe highlight how much faster other clubs would have had to move to keep up, and how determined Abramovich was to see his plans come to fruition quickly. ::‘The Blueprint: How Chelsea FC Changed Football’ podcast is streaming now - listen to every episiode here Read More Harry Kane builds new family home near Chelsea training ground Havertz transfer leaves Chelsea fans conflicted: ‘You won’t be missed’ Arsenal transfer news: Record Rice bid, Timber and Xhaka latest Havertz completes transfer to Arsenal as Chelsea continue clearout Mateo Kovacic completes move from Chelsea to Manchester City Why Jackson possesses tools to make Chelsea a free-scoring Pochettino team

Liverpool are progressing in talks to sign Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig and are hopeful of completing a deal for less than his £60m release clause. Newcastle are no longer in the race for the Hungary midfielder.

Fabio Carvalho has signed for RB Leipzig on loan for the 2023/24 season after a quiet debut campaign at Liverpool.

Hakim Ziyech's move from Chelsea to Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr is in danger due to a contractual issue following his medical.

Nascar is about to hit the road in Chicago for the first-ever street race in its marquee series.