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Spain has never before advanced this far into the Women's World Cup and makes its first appearance in the semifinals against powerhouse Sweden

Spain's first Women's World Cup semi-final in their history on Tuesday is reward for years of sacrifice, veteran forward Jennifer Hermoso says, admitting to "goosebumps" at...

It was the finish and not the fight that mattered to Anthony Joshua at the O2 on Saturday night. He got the finish he wanted, after seven rounds that he needed, and then he left the ring, his face covered in blood from his nose, to greet his fans at ringside. Joshua knocked out Robert Helenius with a perfectly-timed right hand, delivered as the third punch in a combination, to end an odd fight a minute and 27 seconds into round seven. At one point in round three, Joshua’s devoted flock had booed as the pair looked for angles, openings and safety. Helenius accepted the fight the previous Saturday and was proving to be tricky; Joshua was not in a hurry to do what everybody expected him to do. There has always been too much expectation in the Joshua game. “He was harder to hit than I thought he would be,” said Joshua. The finish was perfect, two jabs to the chest area to distract Helenius, a slight movement of the feet and then the final right cross. Helenius was out cold before he hit the canvas. It was what the crowd came for and what Joshua prepared for. “I got sloppy, I’m disappointed,” said Helenius, just before 2am, as he left the O2. “I came here to win, not to lose.” He was serious, by the way. It was a win that Joshua needed, the type of knockout his fans have come to expect since his professional debut in 2013. His domination of British boxing started shortly after that with big fights, sold-out venues and wild nights. He has had his critics from inside and outside the boxing business, but jealousy in boxing has always been in conflict with reality. Joshua has retained his dignity against great assaults – on Saturday, he asked once again for a bit of space, some space to breathe. It is hard being Anthony Joshua, just like it is hard being Tyson Fury. However, a few years ago Fury held his hands up and admitted he was struggling with his mental health. Joshua has his own struggles and battles and demons. There is no such thing as vintage Joshua; the great nights at the O2 and other vast indoor arenas, and the many wins out under the stars, have all had different elements. He has been raw, hurt, dropped, vulnerable, vicious and frustrated in fights before. There are a lot of contradictions in the fighting life and times of Anthony Joshua. Joshua now has a fight planned for January next year in Saudi Arabia against Deontay Wilder; the fight is ready to go. It is a massive fight and Saturday night’s win against Helenius should not be used as a measure of Joshua’s chances. Against Wilder, you see, it is all about concentration; fighting and beating Wilder has very little to do with punch resistance. The simple truth is that Wilder has dropped every single one of the 43 men he has beaten, he has knocked out 42 of them, including 21 in the first round. If Wilder connects, you go down – if he connects cleanly you don’t get up. It is fully possible right now, on the very brink of a massive fight worth more than any British boxer has ever received, that Joshua, a veteran of the ring, has to sort out his boxing life. And that includes admitting where he wants to be in life. On Saturday, his footwork was the best I have seen, the final shot the best he has thrown, but he hesitated, and seemed once or twice to be counting time between punches. Obviously, that version of Joshua would be an easy target for Wilder, but a more mobile Joshua can make it a real fight. And, that final right hand, delivered at the end of the jabs, will drop Wilder. It was a win, a heavy knockout and it adds to the journey. Joshua should be celebrated for his role in British boxing’s boom and not mocked because of his behaviour. He is a heavyweight and his job is to knock out opponents and thank his fans. That is exactly what he did on Saturday night. Read More Anthony Joshua shares ringside footage of brutal Robert Helenius knockout Anthony Joshua is back and reveals defiant edge needed to take down Deontay Wilder Anthony Joshua won’t get distracted by ‘hype’ of potential Deontay Wilder clash The sporting weekend in pictures Anthony Joshua won’t get distracted by ‘hype’ of potential Deontay Wilder clash Anthony Joshua eyes Deontay Wilder fight after Helenius knock out

The disconsolate trudge is becoming a disconcertingly familiar sight. Kevin De Bruyne has limped out of grander games than the curtain raiser to a Premier League. He has made an early exit from bigger occasions this summer. His Champions League final, like his evening in Burnley, came to a premature conclusion. A focus on De Bruyne’s body can concentrate on the remarkable right foot he uses to unlock defences, to pass and cross with an ability most can only envy. It may switch to his increasingly fragile hamstrings. For De Bruyne, Inter Milan may be bracketed alongside Burnley in the memory. His last two starts, two months apart, ended with him hamstrung. “He was injured again, unfortunately. A problem in the same position, he said to me as in the final of the Champions League,” rued Pep Guardiola. “It depends on the magnitude of the injury but it will be a few weeks out.” There will be no De Bruyne against Sevilla in the European Super Cup or against Newcastle in the first major test of Manchester City’s defence of their Premier League title. He could sit out the start of their Champions League campaign. A summer sandwiched by injuries suggests De Bruyne was rushed back. He had said after the Community Shield he was way ahead of schedule; he had targeted the Super Cup for his comeback. “It’s a pity because he had recovered well,” Guardiola said. “Maybe it was my mistake [to pick him] but if he is injured after 15-20 minutes it is not something wrong, when it is 65 or 70 it is the fatigue of the muscle. We have to talk with the doctors and him.” His plan, he had said, was to give the Belgian 50 or 55 minutes, rather than the cameo he had at Wembley. Which, as that culminated in the penalty he slammed against the underside of the bar in the shootout, has completed an ill-fated start to the season. “He is disappointed but he is strong and will be back,” added Guardiola. Yet for how long? De Bruyne may be increasingly injury prone. For a player who has never looked like a natural athlete, a red-faced figure who can seem a throwback to earlier eras, he has shown great durability. He has won 99 caps for Belgium – he would have brought up a century in the summer but for injury – and this was the 587th game of his club career. His 32nd birthday only came in June but to play almost 700 matches by that stage means he has plenty of miles on the clock. Or miles on the hamstring. He revealed after the Champions League final he had played for two months with the risk it could snap. By the time he is fit again, he will have spent the vast majority of six months with a hamstring problem of some description. It has prompted fears it will be a constant for the rest of his career. A reunion with City’s other talismanic Belgian could illustrate it. Vincent Kompany, a colleague for club and country, still made huge contributions in the latter years of his time at the Etihad Stadium but did not make 30 appearances in any of the last four campaigns. He played his final game at 33. De Bruyne should show greater longevity but his appearances will have to be rationed. All of which could create a problem, even in a squad as gifted as City’s. De Bruyne is a unique talent – “what a player he is,” gushed Kompany – and, as his total of 29 assists last season shows, reaches extraordinary levels of creativity. He is Erling Haaland’s supplier-in-chief and the shifting dynamics in the City squad has rendered his qualities perhaps still more significant. The departures of Riyad Mahrez and Ilkay Gundogan have stripped them of two of the likeliest providers of goals and assists amid the band of attacking midfielders and wingers. Mateo Kovacic won’t deliver as many as the German; should Lucas Paqueta arrive, another able technician won’t replicate Mahrez’s contribution in the final third. De Bruyne is irreplaceable in various respects: no one is a like-for-like alternative and, as he ventures further into his thirties, City will have to ponder the question of who his long-term successor is. In the short term, they can console themselves with memories of Phil Foden’s impact when he came on for De Bruyne in the Champions League final and that, when he was sidelined for much of the 2018-19 campaign, they did a domestic treble. But now each injury comes with the sense that it will not be the last, but that De Bruyne is nearer the end. A man who has illuminated many a game may miss more and more. Read More Kevin De Bruyne faces ‘a few weeks out’ after suffering another hamstring injury Pep Guardiola reveals extent of Kevin De Bruyne’s hamstring injury Erling Haaland at the double as Manchester City kick off new campaign in style

Spain is just one win away from the Women's World Cup final, less than a year after more than a dozen players staged a mutiny and stepped away from the team

Wander Franco was initially present in the dugout during Sunday's game against Cleveland but left during the fifth inning

Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign midfielder Moises Caicedo from Brighton and Hove Albion, with the fee set to be a British transfer record. On Sunday evening, Sky Sports reported that Chelsea will pay £115m for the Ecuador star, eclipsing the previous mark set when they bought Enzo Fernandez from Benfica for £106.8m in January. The report stated that Caicedo would sign an eight-year contract, with the Blues paying £100m plus £15m in add-ons. Chelsea had to increase their bid for Caicedo several times but eventually clinched a deal after Liverpool had also reached an agreement with Brighton at £111m pounds. The 21-year-old Caicedo still had four years to run on his Brighton contract but told the club he wished to leave and made it clear he wanted to go to Stamford Bridge rather than Anfield. He signed for Brighton in February 2021 for a reported fee of £4.5m and was loaned to Belgian club Beerschot in August that year. He was recalled by Brighton in January 2022 after 14 appearances in Belgium and, under coach Roberto De Zerbi, Caicedo blossomed in midfield last season. Chelsea are also looking to strengthen their forward line under new boss Mauricio Pochettino after suffering injuries and key departures including Kai Havertz who signed for Arsenal and Christian Pulisic who left for Serie A side AC Milan. The club’s new French striker Christopher Nkunku, brought in for around £60m, will be out for a “prolonged period” after having surgery on a knee injury, although another new signing Nicolas Jackson impressed in his absence during the Blues’ Premier League opener. Chelsea, who finished 12th last season, began their campaign with a 1-1 draw at home to Liverpool on Sunday. Read More Chelsea and Liverpool serve up entertaining glimpse of football without defensive midfielders Last season is a long time ago – Mauricio Pochettino looks forward with Chelsea Chelsea-Liverpool chaos was the perfect result for one team: Brighton

Chelsea have agreed a British record deal of £115m with Brighton for midfielder Moises Caicedo, sources have confirmed to 90min.

The US Coast Guard is searching for four divers who went missing south of Cape Fear, North Carolina, on Sunday, authorities said.

Erik ten Hag has told Harry Maguire to go to West Ham if he is not confident enough to fight for his place at Old Trafford. Manchester United have accepted a £30m bid from the Hammers for their former captain, who has dropped out of the team as Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez have become the first-choice centre-back partnership. But while Ten Hag insisted he wants to keep Maguire as he hopes to have two players for every spot in the side, he believes the England international should go if he does not believe he can get back into the side. “He has to fight for his place,” the United manager said. “He has the ability to be a top-class centre-back and he is the best for England so why shouldn’t he be the best for us? But he has to prove it. When he is not confident enough to fight then he has to go, then he has to make a decision, but I’m happy with him. “We don’t have a squad with 11 players, and the last year proved definitely we need all the players. That means you need some high-level players who are maybe not starting but that can change so there is an internal competition, everyone has to fight for his place. “Every player when they were good they will get their games but no one can play all the games and finally you find out what is the best team. In the squad now all the positions are double and every player has the perspective to fight for his place. You have to show with your contribution it’s the best team performance. It is up to the players if they have game time or less.” Ten Hag also suggested he could keep Dean Henderson. United have been in talks with Nottingham Forest about the goalkeeper but with third-choice Tom Heaton out for several weeks, United may be reluctant to let Henderson leave. Ten Hag added: “He was always in my mind so I think we have a strong keeper group with Onana, Henderson and Heaton.”

The Agnelli family’s Exor NV bought a minority stake in Dutch medical technology company Koninklijke Philips NV. Exor,

More than any of the previous tournaments, the Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand has leaned into including and showcasing the Indigenous cultures of both nations