List of All Articles with Tag 'eppersons'

England Under-21s are in Saturday’s Euro 2023 final against Spain as they look to win the tournament for the first time in 39 years. The Young Lions beat Israel in Wednesday’s semi-final to reach their first final since 2009. Here the PA news agency looks at some of the focal points ahead of the final. History makers It has been 39 years since the Under-21s last won the European Championship. Then, it was back-to-back victories in 1982 and 1984 but the drought has not ended since. A 4-0 final thumping by Germany in 2009 is the closest they have got. Lee Carsley’s side can make history in Batumi on Saturday. Unbeatable England England go into the final having scored 10 and conceded none. They have not been troubled at the back with James Trafford, close to a £15million switch to Burnley from Manchester City, unbeaten. The final is a different matter and Spain will provide a sterner test on Saturday. They have scored 50 goals across qualifying and the tournament after thumping Ukraine 5-1 in their semi-final, but there will be a confidence and belief among the squad they can remain unbroken. A long season For most, including semi-final scorers Morgan Gibbs-White and Cole Palmer, their season started over 330 days ago. The new Premier League campaign is just five weeks away and while the squad did manage to get a break before linking up they will be tired, both mentally and physically. It all adds to the debate about player welfare and how much football players can manage. A balanced squad For a long time now the squad has seemed more than the sum of its parts. Previous Under-21 campaigns have ended with disappointment with teams containing Phil Foden, James Maddison, Jordan Pickford, Tammy Abraham and Harry Kane. This class have gelled and, while they are all talented players, they have arguably gone under the radar compared to their predecessors. Spain’s dangerman England will have to stop Braga’s Abel Ruiz, who will be out for revenge having lost the Under-17 World Cup final to the Young Lions in 2017. The striker has three goals and two assists for Spain in the tournament and scored the Euros’ fastest-ever strike when he netted after 20 seconds against Croatia. The 23-year-old also has two senior caps and came through the ranks at Barcelona before a 2020 move to Braga. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Fiery Mark Wood and Stuart Broad give England flying start to must-win Test Jan Choinski’s Wimbledon run ended by former doubles partner Hubert Hurkacz Mark Wood delivers one of the fastest Test spells recorded in England

British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has said he remains focused on completing a takeover of Manchester United as the battle to buy...

Pakistan are ready to take on any side at any venue in India during this year's World Cup, skipper Babar Azam said Thursday as the team awaited government...

Oleksandr Usyk’s next fight has been made official, as the Ukrainian defends the unified heavyweight titles against Daniel Dubois in Poland in August. Usyk, 36, will put the belts on the line against the 25-year-old Briton at the Tarczynski Arena in Wroclaw on 26 August. The bout came together following the collapse of talks between Usyk and WBC champion Fury, who were expected to clash in London in April. A fight between the undefeated pair, to crown an undisputed champion, is still on the cards, with Saudi Arabia the frontrunner to host the contest this winter. However, many in boxing doubt that the fight will materialise. In any case, Usyk’s focus is now on Dubois, who is the mandatory challenger to the WBA title, which Usyk holds alongside the WBO, IBF and IBO belts. “Ready for my chance!” Dubois wrote on social media. “I hope you are @usykaa.” Usyk simply wrote: “See you 26 august.” Dubois has a professional record of 19-1 with 18 knockout wins, while the sole defeat of his pro career came in 2020, when he suffered a fractured eye socket en route to a TKO loss to Joe Joyce. Last time out, Dubois recovered from multiple knockdowns to stop Kevin Lerena in December. Meanwhile, Usyk is 20-0 as a pro with 13 KO wins. The Olympic gold medalist most recently fought Anthony Joshua in August, outpointing the Briton for the second fight in a row. With that result last summer, the southpaw retained the unified titles that he took from “AJ” in the pair’s first clash. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Tyson Fury’s ‘game-changing’ return to be announced in ‘next week or so’, Frank Warren says Tyson Fury reacts to footage of Anthony Joshua using mattress as heavy bag Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder’s teams meet in London for talks over Saudi Arabia fight

The UFC featherweight titles will be unified this weekend, as Alexander Volkanovski takes on interim champion Yair Rodriguez in a main-event clash. The pair headline UFC 290 in Las Vegas, where Volkanovski will try to maintain his dominance at 145lbs, following a brave but unsuccessful bid to win the lightweight title in February. The Australian lost a narrow decision to 155lbs champion Islam Makhachev in Perth, at the same event where Rodriguez submitted Josh Emmett to win the interim featherweight belt. In the co-main event on Saturday, Brandon Moreno defends his flyweight title against a foe who has beaten him twice: Alexandre Pantoja. Moreno has improved significantly since those losses in 2016 and 2018, but this bout marks a difficult defence to kickstart the Mexican’s second reign as champion. Here’s all you need to know. When is it? UFC 290 will take place on Saturday 8 July, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The early prelims are set to begin at 11pm BST (3pm PT, 5pm CT, 6pm ET), with the regular prelims following at 1am BST on Sunday 9 July (5pm PT, 7pm CT, 8pm ET on Saturday). The main card is then due to begin at 3am BST on Sunday (7pm PT, 9pm CT, 10pm ET on Saturday). How can I watch it? The card will air live on BT Sport in the UK, with the broadcaster’s app and website also streaming the fights. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the action live, as will the UFC’s Fight Pass. Odds Volkanovski – 2/9; Rodriguez – 100/30 Moreno – 1/2; Pantoja – 13/8 Whittaker – 1/4; Du Plessis – 3/1 Full odds via Betway. Full card (subject to change) Alexander Volkanovski (C) vs Yair Rodriguez (IC) (featherweight title) Brandon Moreno (C) vs Alexandre Pantoja (flyweight title) Robert Whittaker vs Dricus Du Plessis (middleweight) Jalin Turner vs Dan Hooker (lightweight) Bo Nickal vs Tresean Gore (middleweight) Prelims Robbie Lawler vs Niko Price (welterweight) Jack Della Maddalena vs TBC (welterweight) Yazmin Jauregui vs Denise Gomes (women’s strawweight) Jimmy Crute vs Alonzo Menifield (light-heavyweight) Early prelims Vitor Petrino vs Marcin Prachnio (light-heavyweight) Cameron Saaiman vs Terrence Mitchell (bantamweight) Shannon Ross vs Jesus Aguilar (flyweight) Kamuela Kirk vs Esteban Ribovics (lightweight) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More UFC rankings: The Independent’s pound-for-pound fighters list UFC schedule 2023: Every major fight happening this year Sean Strickland makes passionate plea for Israel Adesanya fight after dominant win Conor McGregor shoves Michael Chandler in the face amid coaching criticism What time does UFC 290 start in UK and US this weekend? How to watch UFC 290 online and on TV this weekend

Cesar Azpilicueta is in Madrid for medical tests ahead of his move to Atletico Madrid.

Netherlands midfielder Jill Roord has returned to the Women’s Super League with a move to Manchester City, the club have announced. The 26-year-old, who was with Arsenal from 2019 to 2021, joins City from Champions League runners-up Wolfsburg on a three-year deal. The PA news agency understands City have paid a club-record fee in excess of £300,000 to sign Roord, scorer of 31 goals in 69 appearances across all competitions for Wolfsburg. She has played 86 times for her country, helping them win Euro 2017 on home soil and finish as runners-up at the 2019 World Cup in France. Roord, part of the Netherlands squad for this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, said in a statement from City: “I’m very happy and it’s a very proud feeling for me to sign for Manchester City. “I have always thought that this was a fantastic club with lots of quality, and I’m super excited to start here. “I really like the way that they play, and I feel that it suits me perfectly. There’s a lot of quality in the team, and it’s a young side with plenty of potential which is very important to me. “I’ve always thought that the Women’s Super League is very competitive, so playing in England again is like a dream – I feel like I have developed a lot as a player during my time in Germany. “In my conversations with Gareth (Taylor, the City manager), I heard everything that I wanted to hear – we think the same way about football which is important, and where he sees me in the team was ideal – it is the perfect fit. “If you play for City, you compete for everything you are involved in and that is what we will be aiming to do – with the quality we have here, anything is possible so I hope that we will be very successful together.” Taylor said: “We’re really pleased to have been able to secure Jill’s signature and bring her to the club. “She has proven her worth in both England and Europe during her career so far, alongside on the international stage with the Netherlands – she is no stranger to success. “She is a player whose calibre speaks for itself with what she has achieved, and we believe she will be a fantastic addition to our squad here at City. “We’re looking forward to welcoming her aboard and working with her over the next three years.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live David Warner’s frustration at the hands of Stuart Broad continues at Headingley Mason Mount says it was clear ‘several months ago’ he was not in Chelsea’s plans Ellen White tips ‘proven winner’ Sarina Wiegman to lead England to further glory

Slovakia captain Milan Skriniar became Paris Saint Germain's first signing of the summer on Thursday, joining on a free transfer a year after the French champions declined to pay Inter...

Gabriel Jesus has admitted that William Saliba's injury hindered Arsenal's title challenge a the tail-end of the 2022/23 season.

Mason Mount, who has joined Manchester United in a deal that could be worth £60m, says it became clear that he had no long-term future at Chelsea.

All eyes are on the nation’s new number one tennis player Katie Boulter. The 26-year-old — who plays right-handed and is about 180cm tall — has been in British Vogue, on the cover of Tatler, and had deals with Nike, Wilson and Jaguar, and Airbnb. She won the International Tennis Federation (ITF) doubles title in 2013, was supported by the NTC Pro Access Programme, which offers the highest level of support to developing players between 16 and 24, with the best chance of reaching the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) or The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) top 100 singles players, and claimed her first WTA title at the Rothesay Open Nottingham, this year. The Leicester-born star is now into the second round at Wimbledon after beating Daria Saville, despite the interruption by a Just Stop Oil protestor, who scattered pieces of jigsaw orange confetti on the court. Boulter is in a relationship with Australian Alex De Minaur — also a Tennis player ranked No 17 in the world — and the pair will play mixed doubles at Wimbledon. Here are some of her best looks on the court. Boulter celebrated her victory over Daria Saville on day three of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, in a layered white snug-fitting Nike tennis dress made with a mix of mesh fabrics, leaving the two-layer skirt to flow and flare as she moved. Whilst playing against France’s Caroline Garcia at the Rothesay Classic Birmingham at the Edgbaston Priory Club, Boulter wore a one sleeved patch-worked tennis dress in a yellow and green palette. She paired it with a white Nike sports visor and sweat bands. This web-patterned Nike tennis dress may be one of Boulter’s favourite on-court looks. The two-layers take the traditional tennis skirt in a new direction. She first wore the lilac and black version at the French Open tournament at Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, France. And then repeated the outfit in another colour at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham. Boulter celebrated her victory over Clara Burel on day two of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships in a white Nike tennis dress with a mesh detailing around the collarbone, and exaggerated pleated sides. She paired it with another white Nike sports visor, but no sweat bands this time. This royal blue Nike vest top and white tennis skirt combo was perfect for when Boulter represented Great Britain at the Billie Jean King Cup in Glasgow singles tournament, last year. She played against Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

New Manchester United signing Mason Mount reveals his admiration for David Beckham and says he was in awe of his technique when growing up. The 24-year-old has joined the club on a five-year deal from Chelsea.