List of All Articles with Tag 'b'

Wales Under-21 coach Matty Jones has hailed Luton hero Joe Taylor’s “fight and determination” to rise from the ninth tier of English football to the Premier League. Taylor was sent out on loan by King’s Lynn to Eastern Counties League Premier Division club Wroxham at the start of the 2021-22 season. It proved plain sailing as Taylor scored 21 goals in 13 games for the ninth-tier Yachtsmen, sparking Peterborough’s interest and a move to the English Football League in November 2021. Taylor made just a dozen league appearances for Posh before signing for Luton in January and his season ended in the most dramatic fashion. The 20-year-old forward, on as a substitute, converted a penalty in the Hatters’ Wembley shoot-out victory over Coventry that secured Premier League football next season. “To see Joe come on at Wembley was special,” said Jones, who has included Taylor in the squad for Wales’ opening 2025 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier in Denmark on Tuesday. “I spoke to him before the game and he didn’t expect to be on the bench. Just to be part of it and experience the day was his main goal. “One thing he’s got is fight and determination, not to prove people wrong but to prove to himself that he’s good enough. “It could have gone either way for him at Peterborough, in terms of not getting a huge amount of game time and dropping into the 21s. “He showed frustration at times for that, but then his move to Luton came out of the blue.” Taylor made only one start and four substitute appearances before making the Hatters’ bench at Wembley. Just moments before his sweetly-struck penalty in the shoot-out, Taylor thought he had scored an extra-time winner only for his effort to be ruled out by VAR for a handball in the build-up. “To come off the bench and score the winner would have been a dream come true,” Jones said. “But we couldn’t be happier to see Joe score a penalty which was pivotal to Luton’s success. “Those experiences for lads are gold dust. The pressure he was under with that penalty will only bode well for us. “He will get similar scenarios for his country, how to manage his emotions under extreme pressure.” King’s Lynn-born Taylor, who qualifies for the Dragons through his Welsh grandmother, made his U21 debut in September. Jones said: “Joe’s had a great journey – it’s such a positive story – and he’s come into camp now with both performance and physical momentum.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England expect Ollie Lawrence and Jack Walker to be fit for World Cup selection On this day in 2016: Andy Murray wins record fifth Queen’s Club title The sporting weekend in pictures

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has added to its holdings in Japan's five biggest trading houses, likely underpinning strong momentum propelling the nation's stock market to multi-year highs.

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 19, 2023--

Provides an overview of the Netherlands, including key dates and facts about this European country.

Homesellers in London cut prices more than any UK region in June as surging borrowing costs stretched affordability

The heavyweight division is a bad pantomime now with Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, a chorus of fighters, a few promoters and some hefty backers all trying to work out what part of the dancing horse they are. Moving away from the ugly sisters, there is every chance that the gap between the last championship fight and the next will be the longest in over 50 years. This break is not common, ignore people telling you that. Fury defended his WBC title last December against his old, old friend, Dereck Chisora, and Usyk beat Anthony Joshua for the second time last August in Saudi Arabia to retain his IBF, WBA and WBO titles. Fury has no date, just social media plans, and Usyk is due to defend in Poland in late August against Daniel Dubois. It is hard to find a solitary reason for the break and even more difficult to put the blame on just one single person. There are a lot of people on the stage, and they all have a role to play. And to be honest, during the last six months they have all said too much. Sure, greed, rivalries, stupidity, lies and ego are at the very core of the problem, but boxing at the highest level has always had the same flaws, the same fluid obstacles. The standard excuses are there to overcome - that is how boxing works. Fury and Usyk for all the tarnished marbles was meant to have been signed and sealed last September. It was scheduled for April and is now a plan for December. Both boxers have insulted the other, and the theme of their mutual abuse is simple: greed. Obviously, both deny they are the greedy, money-grabbing party in the sad affair. Actually, the righteous outrage from both sides is comedy gold at times. Fury’s father, the unstoppable “Gypsy John” Fury, has demanded that Usyk apologise for his criticism. He has warned that if there is no apology, there might be a straightener in a field somewhere, man-to-man. There is honour at stake. It is endless mirth, it really is. c. Some of boxing’s wisest, richest and smartest brains have been involved in this ongoing lunacy. The men and women in the Fury camp blame Usyk, and the men and women in the Usyk camp blame Fury. The two main players in the Fury business, Bob Arum and Frank Warren, have a combined total of 98 years of promotion; they are both battling this madness. There is, according to some insiders, a one-off offer on the table from the government of Saudi Arabia for Fury and Usyk to fight there at the end of the year. Usyk has signed his deal. This offer is non-negotiable, and we know this because the media flown out to Saudi by the Saudi government have reported it as fact. As a guide to the way boxing works, there are seldom any facts involved when deals are being made, broken and made again. The real insiders are furious that Usyk and Fury, the biggest fight in boxing, is not yet across the line. The sanctioning bodies, who get paid a fee for fights, have promised to get tough with their heavyweight champions, but have not said a word or done a thing; everyone is holding out for a slice of the Saudi cash pie. ‘Hey, it’s a business,’ they will say, but that little claim is wearing very thin. Fury, meanwhile, has mentioned 10 possible opponents in his social media rants in the last few weeks, including a plan to fight two UFC icons in one night. Usyk and Dubois went to purse bids, which is one of boxing’s ancient rituals, and Usyk’s team won. The fight is scheduled for August. Looking in from the side of the crowded stage is Joshua. His fight with Fury was announced by Fury on 10 June, 2020; it would have been a fight for the ages, for all the belts and all the bragging rights. It never happened and it has come close a couple of times since then. Joshua, meanwhile, will fight in August and it might be Dillian Whyte. There is a rumour that Whyte wants too much for the fight; the flip side of that rumour is that Whyte was offered too little. In America, Deontay Wilder, twice beaten in classics by Fury, has not fought since last October. There is a plan, under the Saudi deal, for Wilder to fight Joshua in Saudi Arabia on the same night as Usyk and Fury fight. There is, so the paid publicists insist, a total purse of $400million on the table for the four boxers to split. It must be a strong table. There are bold plans right now for the deadlock to be broken soon and some concrete dates and fights to finally be announced. The traffic, as they say in the world of espionage, is heavy. Let’s hope for some fights – the old game needs the best heavyweights back in action and out of the back end of that horse suit. Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Tyson Fury claims UFC has offered him ‘hybrid fight’ with Jon Jones Joe Rogan is right: Tyson Fury has ‘no chance in hell’ against Jon Jones Why has Saudi Arabia become big player in world sport and what does future hold? Tyson Fury claims UFC has offered him ‘hybrid fight’ with Jon Jones Tyson Fury promises ‘imminent’ announcement of ‘big fight’ Joe Joyce on knockouts, oil painting, and teaching 60-year-olds to swim

PARIS A French government spending review has identified 10 billion euros in budget savings that will be targetted

By Takaya Yamaguchi, Makiko Yamazaki and Paritosh Bansal TOKYO Japan's financial regulator has sounded out top domestic banks

Recently, Joe Rogan tweeted about offering $100K to Peter Hotes to debate RFK Jr on his podcast show

WWE CEO Nick Khan spoke about the value of Logan Paul and Bad Bunny to the company

The potential absence of Bukayo Saka and the availability of Manchester City’s treble-winners from the start of the game could determine Gareth Southgate’s selection as England face North Macedonia on Monday night. Another intriguing wrinkle comes in whether he opts to play Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield one more after his stand-out showing in the win over Malta - while several Manchester United players will hope to start, with the game on home soil at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford will be one, but he’s vying against Jack Grealish and James Maddison, with the latter starting the victory on Friday. A fourth straight win in Euro 2024 qualifying is the expectation here for the Three Lions, with the finals in Germany then very close given the top two will automatically progress. Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the game. When is the match? England play North Macedonia on Monday 19 June with kick-off set for 7:45pm BST. Where can I watch? All England senior men’s games are now shown live on Channel 4. Viewers can stream the match via the Channel 4 website and app. You can also follow the live blog right here on the Independent, starting from around 6pm BST. What is the England team news? Bukayo Saka was subbed off against Malta with a knock so might not feature, while Eberechi Eze will hope for a second cap after making his debut off the bench. Gareth Southgate’s big decisions will be over how many Man City stars to bring into the lineup, with John Stones most likely but Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Kalvin Phillips all hoping to feature too. Phil Foden is the fifth member and he might replace Saka from the start, having done so in the last match. Trent Alexander-Arnold continuing in midfield against an opponent which represents a slight step-up is also another possibility. Predicted lineups ENG - Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw, Alexander-Arnold, Rice, Henderson, Foden, Kane, Rashford MKD - Dimitrievski, Ristovski, Zajkov, Velkovski, Ashkovski, Ademi, Bardhi, Alioski, Elmas, Nestorovski, Trajkovski Odds England 1/10 Draw 12/1 North Macedonia 28/1 Prediction England to take another step towards the finals in Germany next summer with a straight-forward victory by at least a couple of goals. England 3-0 North Macedonia. Read More How to watch England vs North Macedonia online and on TV tonight Marcus Rashford’s complicated England relationship could be at turning point England stars must ignore transfer talk, says Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate sees a tougher test for his team at Old Trafford England take the show on the road as Eze pushes for a start – talking points Gareth Southgate wants England to retain winning mentality on road to Euro 2024

A huge firefight erupted between Israeli military forces and Palestinian militants in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin Monday, leaving at least three Palestinians dead, authorities said.