List of All Articles with Tag 'sports'

England play Spain in the Women’s World Cup final as the Lionesses look to bring home the game’s biggest prize for the first time. The nation is set to come to a halt as England play their first World Cup final, men’s or women’s, in 57 years. Manager Sarina Wiegman has urged her players to block out the “noise” of 1966 as England look to add the World Cup title to last year’s Euros triumph. The Lionesses reached the World Cup final for the first time with their 3-1 win over Australia in the semi-finals, with Wiegman’s side managing to stay cool to defeat the hosts with a clinical display in Sydney. Spain, who are also playing the first Women’s World Cup final, have navigated a player mutiny off the pitch and questions surrounding their manager Jorge Vilda, but ‘La Roja’ remain dangerous opponents and are led by their contingent of Barcelona stars. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the World Cup final and find latest tips for the game itself here. When is England vs Spain? The Women’s World Cup final will kick off at 11:00am BST on Sunday 20 August at Stadium Australia, Sydney. What TV channel is it on? The World Cup final will be shown by both the BBC and ITV. Coverage on BBC One starts at 10am, while ITV’s coverage begins at 10:15am. It will also be available to watch online, on both the BBC iPlayer and on ITV X. What is the England team news? England have no injury concerns and the return of Lauren James means Sarina Wiegman has all 23 players available for the final. Wiegman faces a decision on whether to bring in James from the start, but is likely to stick with the team that performed so impressively against Australia. Mary Earps is a contender for the tournament’s golden glove and will start behind England’s back three of Jess Carter, Millie Bright and Alex Greenwood, with Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly at wing-back. Should Toone start, the midfielder will play alongside Kiera Walsh and Georgia Stanway, with James remaining an excellent option to have on the bench. England’s front two of Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp have struck up a deadly partnership and were both on target in the quarter-finals and semi-finals. Chloe Kelly will be among the other attacking options on the bench. What is the Spain team news? Spain face a big decision of their own, with Salma Paralluelo scoring in both their quarter-final win against the Netherlands and in the semi-final win against Sweden after coming off the bench. Head coach Jorge Vilda may decide to keep the 19-year-old winger as an impact substitute, with Alexia Putellas set to remain in the starting line-up even though she is yet to come to life at the tournament. Predicted line-ups Spain: Coll; Batlle, Parades, Codina, Carmona; Teresa, Bonmati, Putellas; Caldentey, Hermoso, Redondo England: Earps; Carter, Bright, Greenwood; Bronze, Stanway, Walsh, Daly; Toone; Hemp, Russo Read More England stand on the brink of history — and a moment to change the game forever Ella Toone or Lauren James? Sarina Wiegman has already made the biggest decision of England’s World Cup Infighting and rebellion: How Spain overcame themselves to reach edge of Women’s World Cup glory Sarina Wiegman thankful for ‘dream’ support as World Cup final set to unite country England vs Spain team news and predicted line-ups Women’s World Cup LIVE: England set for ‘game of our lives’ in final

As part of their preparations for big tournaments in recent years such as this summer's World Cup, USA Basketball has been taking a few extra players to help in practices and workouts

The Spanish squad is built on a core of Barcelona players who have triumphed with their club

Despite the Angels turning their first triple play in 26 years and Shohei Ohtani hitting his second grand slam in the majors, Los Angeles still found a way to lose

Instead of the third most expensive footballer in history, Liverpool have unveiled the third most expensive midfielder they have signed this summer and the third they targeted in swift succession. A dizzying week that began with a British record bid for Moises Caicedo ended with Romeo Lavia joining the Ecuadorian at Stamford Bridge and the arrival of Wataru Endo at Anfield, almost £100m cheaper than one of the men who preferred Chelsea to Liverpool and seemingly out of the blue. This, Jurgen Klopp accepted, was not how many supporters hoped their search for a No 6 would go. “It is a transfer that is not in the public eye,” he said. “It’s not ‘Oh my God!’ and probably nobody at this moment is texting a new song for him.” That said, though, Klopp did get a text from an influential figure in German football, congratulating him on the signing of the former VfB Stuttgart captain. If Caicedo can be billed as the new N’Golo Kante, and not merely because of the Ecuadorian’s choice of club, Klopp looked into Liverpool’s recent past for a comparison for his latest buy. He settled on perhaps the most unglamorous figure of their recent glory years, James Milner. He urged fans to look beyond the bare facts about Endo – a 30-year-old relegation firefighter in the Bundesliga – and embrace an unlikely addition. “I know how football fans are, they would prefer to bring in a player who is £110m,” he said. Normally when a manager pleads that a player should not be judged on his price tag, it is because he is costly, not cheap. “But wait: he has something that Liverpool supporters will love, definitely,” added Klopp. “He is already used to red a little bit [from Stuttgart], so that’s good, and when he puts that shirt on he will throw everything on the pitch and the people will love that, I know that. We had this with James Milner a little bit. Obviously a slightly different profile but could you respect James Milner more for playing 15 minutes at the end and just closing a game down?” Milner, Klopp added, was “one of the biggest Liverpool legends of my time and arrived here he was 29”. The German came to Anfield a few months later and since then he had only signed one outfield player in their thirties: defender Ragnar Klavan in 2016, also from a bottom-half Bundesliga club. But if Klopp has to convince the Anfield public Endo is not too near the end, he also had to persuade his employers. “The way our owners see it he was already too old when he joined Stuttgart,” he said. “The owners really want 200 games at 20 years old. That is pretty difficult. I didn’t need any kind of convincing. I know that the best time for a football player is from 27 to 33 in a normal career.” If Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai conform to the usual model for Liverpool signings in the Fenway Sports Group era, Endo is an anomaly. His new manager’s view is that the Japan captain is a young 30. “When you see him, you think ‘is he allowed to drive a car?’” Klopp asked. Certainly, a four-year contract reflects Liverpool’s belief that, like Milner before him, Endo will retain his running power deep into his thirties. His age, he feels, is a reason his new recruit was overlooked; why he is the exception to FSG’s rule. “He is a late bloomer and he improved every year since he was on the proper football screen,” he said. Klopp has always savoured an underdog tale; for him, there is much to enjoy in the way Endo took a long and winding road to Liverpool, via Shonan Bellmare, Urawa Red Diamonds, Sint-Truiden and then Stuttgart. “I am really happy these kind of stories are still possible in this crazy world of football,” he said. “It feels just right.” And Liverpool definitely feels right for Endo. “A dream come true,” said a player for whom such a move would long have seemed utterly unrealistic. After Caicedo and Lavia showed rather less enthusiasm to sign, Klopp grinned as he stressed Liverpool finally reached an agreement with “the club and the player”. There can be no pretence Endo was Liverpool’s first choice but he sought to address the perception that desperation ruled. “He was on my list from the beginning,” he said. He had watched Endo since he joined Stuttgart in 2019. He moved for him after Liverpool had just 35 per cent possession against Chelsea – “crazy,” Klopp said – when, in the absence of a specialist defensive midfielder, Mac Allister had to impersonate one. But it was such a shock that even Endo pronounced himself surprised. He is the £15m man, not the £115m midfielder. “But in the end the pitch is the same size,” Klopp said. “The player will not grow with the money he costs, it’s rather the other way around.” But even Endo has grown into a Liverpool player late in his career, Klopp is hoping he has a Milner-esque impact for a price a fraction of Caicedo’s. Read More Wataru Endo: Liverpool strengthen midfield by signing Bundesliga ‘machine’ Moises Caicedo completes Chelsea’s dream midfield — but £115m deal could haunt them Chelsea and Liverpool serve up entertaining glimpse of football without defensive midfielders

The Miami Marlins snapped the Los Angeles Dodgers' 11-game winning streak with an 11-3 victory

Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn did get a souvenir baseball to take home after recording his first major league hit in his MLB debut

Gunnar Henderson hit a two-run homer in the second and added an RBI single to back Kyle Gibson’s winning start, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics 9-4 on Friday night

Fernando Tatis Jr. capped San Diego’s four-run eighth inning with a two-run homer, and the Padres beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-0

The Los Angeles Angels turned their first triple play in 26 years during the ninth inning of Friday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays

Former defender Kate Markgraf has stepped down after four years as general manager of the U.S. women’s national soccer team

Carlos Santana hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in the seventh inning to lead the Milwaukee Brewers to a 9-8 victory over the Texas Rangers in a matchup of division leaders