List of All Articles with Tag 'all'

MLB Rumors: The New York Mets are more willing to trade Justin Verlander as the deadline approaches. However, a report on 'sticky stuff' from The Athletic could bring everything to a halt.Justin Verlander, now 40, is one of the top starting pitchers on the market. He has another season...

England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton, who has just signed for Chelsea, may only be 22 but she has already packed plenty of unusual experiences into her young life. As a small child in Birmingham, Hampton was diagnosed with a strabismus, an eye condition that affects depth perception and which she underwent three surgeries to correct by the time she turned three. Then, at five, her teacher parents relocated to Spain, where she joined the Villareal youth academy, quickly learning Spanish and playing as a striker over a five-year spell. When the family returned to Britain, she transferred to Stoke City’s junior ranks and began to play in goal. After six years at Stoke, she joined Birmingham City in 2016 where she broke into the first team by proving herself a natural replacement for the German veteran Ann-Katrin Berger, becoming a first-team regular upon the latter’s retirement. Two years followed with another Midlands club, Aston Villa, before her transfer earlier this month to the West London side. She made her England debut last year in the 2022 Arnold Clark Cup draw against Spain, in which she kept a clean sheet, as she would again in her second international appearance: a 10-0 mauling of North Macedonia in April 2022. Get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here A hugely promising keeper, Hampton will nevertheless have a major task on her hands if she hopes to usurp the mighty Mary Earps between the sticks at this World Cup. Read More How to watch England vs Haiti: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup opener Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup? FIFA Women’s World Cup fixtures and full schedule

Aston Villa’s Rachel Daly is one of the most versatile members of Sarina Wiegman’s England squad – and one of its great characters – and comes into the World Cup in the form of her life, having scored 30 goals in 30 games for her club this season in all competitions to take home the Women’s Super League’s Golden Boot. The Harrogate native, 31, started with Killinghall Nomads where she was scouted by Leeds United before making her first league appearances for Lincoln City Ladies, scoring four times across 24 games in 2011 and 2012. But she first really made a name for herself in New York playing for St John’s University Red Storm in Queens, setting the college’s record goals tally of 50 despite playing in just two years out of the three she was enrolled at the institution between 2013 and 2015. Get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here Thereafter relocating to California and turning out for the Los Angeles Strikers, the Los Angeles Blues and SoCal FC, she finally found a home at Houston Dash in Texas, making 118 appearances and scoring 42 goals across a seven-year stretch. A brief loan move to West Ham during the Covid-disrupted 2020/21 season brought a return to the UK that was made permanent when she signed for Villa in the summer of 2022. It was Phil Neville who first brought her into the international fold in 2016 and she has since gone on to make 69 appearances and score 13 goals. She starred at left-back in Wiegman’s victorious Euro 2022 team but more recently played up front during February’s Arnold Clark Cup, when her two headed goals saw England beat Italy 2-1 in game two, setting the Lionesses firmly on the path to another tournament win. She could well stay there in place of Alessia Russo, in which case Alex Greenwood would typically be expected to replace her at left-back, although she may now be needed at centre-back with Leah Williamson out and Millie Bright returning from injury. Read More How to watch England vs Haiti: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup opener Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup? FIFA Women’s World Cup fixtures and full schedule

With the Lionesses’ Euro 2022-winning captain Leah Williamson forced to miss out on the World Cup through injury, coach Sarina Wiegman has entrusted the responsibility for leading the team to experienced Chelsea centre back Millie Bright. Bright has been passed fit for England’s match against Haiti after recovering from knee surgery and the defender will lead the Lionesses in their Group D opener. Now 29, Bright grew up in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, overcoming infant pneumonia and asthma to enjoy a career as a top level athlete, although her first love was equestrianism, not football. Get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here Showing early promise when she did take to the field aged nine, she was soon scouted playing for Killamarsh Dynamos by Sheffield United and joined their academy before moving to Doncaster Rovers Belles aged 16 in 2009. Making her debut that same year and scoring on her first start, Bright spent a year on loan at Leeds Ladies before establishing herself at Doncaster, where she played with future Lionesses Mary Earps and Bethany England. In December 2014, she signed for Chelsea and has remained with the West London club ever since, picking up four Barclays Women’s Super League titles, three FA Women’s Cups and reaching the UEFA Champions League Final, scoring 14 times across 218 appearances. For England, she was an essential part of the side that reached the semi-finals of the last FIFA World Cup in France in 2019 and of last summer’s triumphant Euros team. She has represented her country, to date, 66 times and scored five international goals, striking up solid defensive partnerships with Williamson and Houghton during that time and posing a significant aerial threat from set plays. Read More How to watch England vs Haiti: TV channel and start time for Women’s World Cup opener Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today Women’s football world rankings: Who could take No 1 at the World Cup?

US consumer sentiment rose in July to the highest since October 2021 as inflation continued to ease. The

Wage growth is slowing down in the US economy as a whole — but not everywhere. The gap

Key measures of US inflation and labor costs cooled significantly in recent months, adding to growing optimism that

The Kansas City Chiefs and defensive end Chris Jones have yet to agree to a contract extension, and training camp is here.The gap between what the Chiefs prefer to pay Chris Jones and what the All-Pro believe he deserves is wide. Jones wants to be the second-highest paid defensive player in foot...

Uncertainty over the end point for the European Central Bank’s unprecedented bout of interest-rate hiking will hang over

Key US inflation measures continued to cool and consumer spending picked up in June, adding to momentum in

You could say England rode their luck, except that’s only because it keeps going against them. It feels the fate of this entire campaign is that just as Sarina Wiegman solves one problem - in this case through the genius of Lauren James - a bigger one presents itself. The European champions, at last, looked exactly that as well as potential world champions as the England manager got her system right to secure this 1-0 win over Denmark, only to quickly lose their one irreplaceable player. It had such a huge effect, not least on poor Keira Walsh herself. Wiegman and the rest of England will now wait for news of what this injury is, as she clearly motioned to her knee. Until then, the question will weigh there over whether you can win a World Cup without Walsh, Leah Williamson and Beth Mead. Wiegman at least has the burgeoning James, who gave one of those vintage landmark performances a young talent does in winning a World Cup game with a moment of brilliance. Her early goal was sumptuous. It is surely almost certain now to put England into the last 16, as they otherwise battled to a second successive win. That isn’t to be overlooked but it’s been a grind so far. The other side to that is that this can be good for campaigns. It’s how Spain, as an example, got through the men’s World Cup in 2010. There can be that sense of a side just learning to graft through, to answer questions. The main issue, though, is that Wiegman possibly faces the biggest question of all. How many times can she keep refitting this team in the face of absences to keep it at champion level? Until there is actually confirmation of Walsh’s injury, it is almost futile to speculate, beyond the discussion of the facts. The 26-year-old immediately knew something was wrong, as she could be seen signaling that she had to come off as she motioned to her knee. It didn’t look good. The great frustration, that is almost always the case in these situations, was that it happened from something so innocuous. Walsh reached for a ball near the centre circle. That did point to one of the only weaknesses in England’s game up to that point. As against Haiti, they had been that bit looser at the back. The other frustration was that it had been the only issue with England up to then. They looked so much better than in that first match. The first 25 minutes were a hugely convincing period of football. There was obviously the benefit of finally having 90 minutes of competitive football to hone them, something that has been a factor in a lot of this World Cup. The better squads have felt the effects of not playing proper games for two months. There was more to it than that, though. With Wiegman going for the typically innovative move of putting the Women’s Super League top scorer at left-back, and with James on the left, there was so much more balance to the side. It looked like it fit again. In her more natural position, James knew exactly where to go, what areas to create real danger in. That was illustrated within minutes, as she got the ball just outside the box and curled the most divine strike around Lene Christensen. It was no less than England deserved. The mood was right. The approach was forceful. They looked a threat in every move forward. It seemed like a statement victory - like that which Spain, Germany and Brazil have offered - could be on. The only slight concern was how those issues remained at the back. There’s just that greater laxness. It didn’t help the confidence around this that Rikke Marie Madsen almost scored with Denmark’s first meaningful attack. The turn to create the chance was admittedly supreme, and it required something so mercurial to make it happen. It was more how fragile the lead seemed, as against Haiti. The mood soon changed entirely, as Walsh went down. It became a different game. Denmark sensed some opportunity. England just sought to get through it. This was entirely understandable. They’d lost their one tactically essentially player and felt her anguish. They’d lost their system. It asked a lot of the players. By the end, they were trudging through, Denmark doing all the running. One overlap produced the cross that almost undermined all of England’s efforts. The ball was flighted so invitingly for Amalie Vangsgaard, whose header bounced off the other side of the post. It was a let-off. It was also another test passed, if just about. It could be said England were lucky. The squad might point to everything else happening around them. They can also, almost certainly, point to a last-16 place top of the group. Read More England vs Denmark LIVE: Women’s World Cup latest score as Lauren James curls in Lionesses opener BBC pundit slams Women’s World Cup pitches after Keira Walsh injury – ‘It’s not good enough’ England lose the one player who is impossible to replace England manager Sarina Wiegman reacts to ‘serious’ Keira Walsh injury Why Keira Walsh is irreplaceable for England Bethany England: The Lionesses’ overlooked attacking threat in profile

England boss Sarina Wiegman remains “concerned” about injured Keira Walsh after the midfielder was stretchered off in the Lionesses’ 1-0 World Cup Group D victory over Denmark in Sydney. Walsh, a 2023 Champions League winner with Barcelona, started every game of England’s triumphant Euro 2022 campaign and could clearly be seen telling the team’s medical staff “I’ve done my knee” after sliding to collect the ball late in the first half. The worrying scene dampened the elated atmosphere that followed Lauren James’ sixth-minute opener, a maiden World Cup goal for the 21-year-old Chelsea forward. Wiegman said: “Of course I’m concerned because she couldn’t walk off the pitch, but we don’t know yet, so we can’t take any assumptions. Let’s just wait until we really have a diagnosis and then we can tell you. “You saw what we did, (Georgia) Stanway dropped back and Laura (Coombs) came in. Yes, of course we had to find our feet a little bit. “You saw different stages. We really dominated the first half. Then Keira went out and we had to adapt to the situation. “In the second half, Denmark also had such a direct style of play. We also showed we can fight. The team showed real resilience. We kept it to 1-0 so it was really good and I’m really proud of the team.” Walsh later appeared on crutches, with ex-England striker-turned-pundit Ellen White telling the BBC: “(At the 2022 Euros) Everything came through Keira. There wasn’t a plan B. “I dreaded to think of the idea of us ever losing her because she was one of our best players. Beth Mead was scoring all the goals but all of our play came through Keira. She was the key cog, everything moved through her. “I just don’t know who England are going to have now in that six (defensive midfield position), or even potential double six, role.” Asked about White’s comments, Wiegman simply restated: “You saw the plan B. Georgia Stanway drops back and Laura Coombs comes in.” An update on Walsh is not expected until Saturday at the earliest. Wiegman fielded the same starting XI for every match of the Euros, but made two changes for the world number-four Lionesses’ second World Cup encounter against 13th-ranked Denmark. James replaced Lauren Hemp on the left wing while Rachel Daly returned to the familiar left-back role she occupied for every match of the European Championship, and Alex Greenwood shifted to centre-back. Wiegman’s decisions were almost instantly justified when Daly slipped the ball to James, who curled past Denmark goalkeeper Lene Christensen for what ultimately proved enough to settle the result after Amalie Vangsgaard’s header for a last-gasp equaliser clipped the post. Wiegman likes to stress football is a full-squad endeavour, but did say of James, younger sister of fellow England international Reece James: “She has done really well but it is a team effort too and we were very careful with her. “She is a very young, talented player. And yes, we were happy with the performance and she was ready today, so that was really good. “Of course the approach of this game, we know that Denmark was dropping a little deeper, that they have a very tight, defensive block and we really thought we needed to play it in the pockets. “That’s where she came a lot together also with Stanway and (Ella) Toone, and that worked really well. They really struggled with that, and yes, she made indeed a very nice goal.” Denmark boss Lars Sondergaard extended his condolences to Walsh, and felt that while her absence perhaps led to a second-half surge from his side as England adjusted, the threat from players like James highlights how difficult it is to come up against the Lionesses. He said: “After Keira Walsh, that’s always if you have to close one down, there’s another player. I think England has such a good team, they have always players that if you give too much notice on one player, other players will come up.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Stonewall hopes Jordan Henderson speaks out about LGBTQ+ rights after Saudi move Joe Root takes stunning catch but Australia stifle England in fifth Ashes Test Riyad Mahrez becomes latest Premier League star to complete Saudi Arabia move