Tyson Walker scored 21 points, including 16 in the first half, and A

Adrian Martinez scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 1:51 left to give the Detroit Lions a 21-16 preseason victory over the New York Giants

Beth Mead says she is rediscovering the joy of football after a year shaped by loss and grief. The last time Mead played at Wembley, her mother, June, was still alive to see it. Wembley was the scene of Mead’s greatest triumph, when England won the Euros and she finished as the tournament’s top scorer and best player. What followed was the toughest year of her life, as she ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament and then lost her mum after a long battle with ovarian cancer. But on Friday, Mead has the chance to return to Wembley and make her first appearance for the Lionesses in 385 days. It is another significant milestone, both in the resumption of her career as a footballer, and in her grieving process. While she has required emotional resilience, Mead is proud of her journey and believes her mum would be too. “Growing up I would say I was mentally quite weak,” Mead says. “I’d like to think the things I’ve dealt with have made me a stronger and better person.” Injury not only robbed the 28-year-old of a place at the World Cup, it also took away an outlet in which to process the loss of her mother. Instead of having that focus, Mead was limited to a repetitive cycle of rehabilitation, a routine she got through along with her Arsenal teammate and partner Vivianne Miedema, who was sidelined along with Mead after rupturing her ACL a month after she did. There were dark moments during rehab but Mead says those bad days feel in the past now she is back on the pitch and doing what she loves. On Sunday, Mead scored her first goals since returning to the pitch, in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over West Ham. She dedicated both to her mum, and it was a moment she had waited 11 months for. If that finally provided some closure, returning to Wembley is set to as well, even though it is the place where they shared some of their happiest memories. As with scoring her first goals, it can be a reminder that her mum is not there to see them and that can make it difficult as well. But Mead is back and the Lionesses have been lifted by her presence ahead of a pair of must-win fixtures against the Netherlands and Scotland. England manager Sarina Wiegman didn’t want to rush her return and said the forward needed more time when she named her squad for last month’s double-header against Belgium. But as Mead got minutes off the bench, and then got starts, the confidence returned. “I’ve been feeling more like myself again,” she says. Instead of being in Australia with the Lionesses this summer, she was at home watching the World Cup on TV with captain Leah Williamson, who suffered the same injury four months after Mead. If missing the World Cup was cruel, having to watch as England narrowly lost the final to Spain was just as hard. The match was a tough watch for them both. “We struggled,” Mead admits. “We just want to help the team do the best that they can do. We got that taken away from us.” How England are in need of the return of the Euros golden boot winner. Defeat last month to Belgium left the Lionesses in third place in their Nations League group, with top spot required to secure a place for Great Britain at the Paris Olympics next summer. (England are the country nominated to qualify for the Olympics on behalf of Team GB). But England, who have lacked a spark in games since the World Cup, must now beat both the Netherlands at Wembley and Scotland at Hampden while hoping other results go their way. Mead, who missed out on the 2020 Olympics after she was controversially left out of Hege Riise’s Team GB squad, famously sparking the form that led into the Euros the following summer, is as motivated as anyone to get the job done. Now she returns to the Lionesses with a renewed perspective, taking to each training session with a sense of fresh enthusiasm. “I feel like a kid again,” she says with a smile. After all, the thought of returning to England was Mead’s motivation during rehab. Now Wembley also offers a meeting that perhaps Mead could not have dared to hope for during the dark days: the chance to face Miedema on the pitch when the Lionesses host the Netherlands, now both players have recovered from their ACL injuries. Even thinking about those moments with the people who lived and breathed what Mead went through during rehabilitation is enough to make her emotional. “I think it’s a nice moment for both of us,” Mead says. “It’s a hard journey – who does their ACLs at the same time? We’ve seen the good and bad days from each other. But I’m proud of my journey and I’m very proud and happy to have had the support around me that I’ve had during this time. I feel very lucky and blessed to have had that.” Read More WSL and Women’s Championship poised to break away from FA The sporting weekend in pictures Beth Mead scores first goal in over a year as WSL top three maintain momentum

Norway manager Stale Solbakken joked that if Jack Grealish could train for England then he has no cause to worry about Erling Haaland’s treble celebrations ahead of Saturday’s clash with Scotland. Solbakken understood the need for Haaland to revel in his success with Manchester City after last weekend’s Champions League final. Solbakken has taken it easy with Haaland this week, more concerned with ensuring the striker recharges, and believes a homecoming welcome will lift his star man during the Euro 2024 qualifier in Oslo. City celebrated in Ibiza after their Istanbul success against Inter before continuing the party on a bus parade in Manchester on Monday with Grealish throwing himself wholeheartedly into the fun. When asked what the Norwegian people made of the scenes ahead of a big international, Solbakken said: “I think everyone understands that and I also think it’s a good idea to do that. “Because, no matter how good you are, if you say (Pep) Guardiola is the best manager in the world and he has managed to do this treble once in Spain, once time in England, even when he had the best players representing the biggest clubs with the biggest budgets, you could think this would happen more often. But it doesn’t because it’s so, so difficult. “And I don’t think you can postpone a celebration like that. You can’t say ‘let’s meet up in the summer when these national games are over and we party’. It’s not the same because the excitement is a little bit out of your body and you have to do it then. “When he came here, he didn’t look like he had gone the Grealish way. If Grealish managed to train for England the first time, he should also manage to do it for us.” Only one of Haaland’s 53 goals this season has come on the international stage but the 22-year-old has not played for his country since September and Solbakken believes an excited home crowd will help him overcome his heavy schedule. “The biggest gift in that is the love the crowd will give him because it’s a long time since he has played in Norway and he didn’t participate in the two internationals earlier this year,” the former Wolves and Copenhagen manager said. “Obviously the Norwegian people have seen him on telly for a long time without seeing him live. I think he has had one game here in a year. “So that will probably pump him up and give him the five to 10 per cent he probably lacks due to the programme he has been through and all the feelings and emotions he has been through as well.” Haaland was missed in March as Norway took one point from their opening two Group A games against Spain and Georgia, while Scotland sealed maximum return. On the game, Solbakken said: “It’s more crucial for us than Scotland of course but no matter what, before the group started, this would always have been a key game. “But it’s more that Scotland have had a really great start. I think we played two really good games but what messed it up a little bit, even though we only got one point, is that Scotland beat Spain. “That means it looks much better for us if we can beat you and everyone is beating each other. If we win, also Spain are in trouble, because it’s two teams who can catch them.” Read More City soak it in and Nuggets strike gold – Tuesday’s sporting social Cadan Murley suspends loyalty to Man Utd to analyse Erling Haaland’s finishing Jack Grealish revels as Manchester City parade treble Manchester City’s trophy parade in pictures The sporting weekend in pictures Man City match-winner Rodri named Champions League player of the year

Coco Gauff said critics who doubted her ability to win a major title fuelled her breakthrough Grand Slam victory at...

Indianapolis Colts coach Shane Steichen says running back Jonathan Taylor did not attend Tuesday's practice because he's continuing to rehabilitate from offseason ankle surgery

Dating in the age of the internet can be a nightmare, with people finding out they are being cheated on via Facebook groups to being ghosted out of the blue for being a virgin. For one unlucky woman, it was through a Google search that she discovered the man she had been seeing for a month and a half was actually engaged to be married, after finding his wedding website with the details of his upcoming nuptials. TikToker Ellen Smith (@ellenelizsmith) went viral on the platform after revealing her ordeal after stumbling across the information about the man she was dating. In the video, Smith explained: “If you’re having a bad day, just remember that you could have accidentally found the wedding website of the man that you’ve been seeing for six weeks, on Google." Smith continued: “So, it could always be worse for you, not for me. Stay blessed.” @ellenelizsmith men are trash #zola #weddingfail #datingfail #theaudacity Judging by the comments, it seems that, unfortunately, hers is not a unique experience, as other women shared their stories of discovering their partner was a cheat. One person commented: “I found the wedding website of my then-husband while I was deployed.” “I was talking to a guy who told me he was going home for a wedding… it was HIS wedding,” another said. Someone else wrote: “I did that. Then sent them a gift from their registry.” Another admitted: “Ooof!! I was the fiancé who found his Craigslist ads for casual hookups with men.” The whole ordeal had some in the comments questioning the point of marriage, with one person saying, “I no longer believe in marriage…because men”. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

KISSIMMEE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 23, 2023--

Prosecutors investigating the former president's handling of classified files obtain an audio tape.

By Nick Carey LONDON Porsche has a plan to gradually electrify its car lineup so that electric vehicles

Years after assistant coach Joe Kennedy left a Washington state high school football team over objections to his post-game praying on the field, he has returned to the gridiron thanks to a Supreme Court decision

Brice Oligui Nguema is named transitional leader after the overthrow of President Ali Bongo.