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France’s star backs were supposed to lead the tournament favorite past defending champion South Africa and into the Rugby World Cup semifinals

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Republic of Ireland coach Stephen Kenny insists he cannot allow himself to wonder what might have been after his sliding doors moment in Faro. The 51-year-old will send his team into Euro 2024 qualifier battle with European minnows Gibraltar in the Algarve on Monday evening knowing their automatic qualification hopes are already over, and that even the chance of a wild card via the play-offs may be out of their grasp. Just how different things could have been had his last visit to the Estadio Algarve, for a World Cup qualifier against Portugal in September 2021, not ended with a last-gasp Cristiano Ronaldo double which transformed a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory for the hosts – and established Ronaldo as international football’s leading scorer – is something upon which Kenny admits he has reflected since. Kenny said: “You can’t dwell on things, but have I reflected on it? Of course. “We were 1-0 ahead after 89 minutes and the game should be finished out. Cristiano Ronaldo has other ideas and the world record was on the line that night, so he was hugely motivated to break that. “It was a very good performance that night. VAR intervened for an absolute cast-iron penalty to go 2-0 up in the second half, nailed-on penalty. “That’s the way it goes. What ifs… there’s no point in complaining. You move on and that’s it.” If we were to play any game, we'd play to win, any international game Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny Ireland ultimately did not make it to last year’s World Cup finals, and neither will they be in Germany next summer unless their fortunes change markedly and they manage to secure a play-off spot and make it count. There is even a complicated scenario in which they might be better off losing their final qualifier in the Netherlands next month depending on results elsewhere, although Kenny insists he is not even contemplating that. He said: “No, it’s not something that’s really entered our heads. It’s not something that really we’d focus on. If we were to play any game, we’d play to win, any international game. “We would just focus on Gibraltar tomorrow. It’s an international game that we want to win. We have to get a win under our belt tomorrow and I’m not really fixated on that scenario.” Kenny, who confirmed that his contract would cover any play-off, has found himself in the firing line since Friday night’s 2-0 home defeat by Greece, although with World Cup finalists France and the Dutch also in Group B, the alarm bells starting ringing after their 2-1 reverse in Athens in June. However, asked if he would resign should things go from bad to worse in Faro, he said: “I’m not considering resigning. My contact is to the end of the campaign and I will finish it. “We want to finish the campaign strongly and we are very determined to do that. After that, it’s completely out of my control. I have no control over the rest.” Read More Wales defeat Croatia to boost Euro 2024 qualification hopes Steve Borthwick hails ‘written off’ England after reaching World Cup semi-final Stephen Kenny puts speculation to one side for Gibraltar clash Jos Buttler tells England to ‘let it hurt’ after World Cup loss to Afghanistan Baltimore boss John Harbaugh thrilled to end ‘heck of a week’ in London on high Talking Points as Republic of Ireland seek win against minnows Gibraltar

Jordan Henderson insists he will not walk away from international football despite being booed off the Wembley pitch by England fans on Friday night. Eyebrows were raised when Henderson swapped his role as Liverpool skipper for the Saudi Pro League, joining Steven Gerrard’s Al-Ettifaq in a controversial £12million deal. The midfielder had been a high-profile supporter of LGBTQ+ rights during his time at Anfield and last month apologised for any hurt he caused by moving to a country where homosexuality is illegal. There was no noticeable negative reaction towards him during September’s double-header against Ukraine and Scotland, but things were different when he captained England in their first home match since his controversial move. There were murmurs when Henderson’s named was read out before the 1-0 friendly win against Australia but a vocal minority very audibly jeered when he was replaced in the second half. “It’s not nice, your own fans (booing),” he said. “Everybody has got their own opinion. I love playing for England, I have done for many years, that’s why I’m still here. “I still want to play for England for as long as I possibly can and give everything for the team, for my country. “To lead the team out meant an awful lot to me and my family. Another special night and we got the win which is the most important thing. “But listen, people have got their own opinions. Whenever I bump into anyone on the street it’s always been positive stuff and nice things said. “It won’t change who I am and what I do for this team and for my country. I give absolutely everything every time.” England manager Gareth Southgate questioned those supporters who decided to boo his vice-captain, with Henderson admitting he was also unsure why – even if he accepted he would face criticism for his move to Saudi. Asked if he understood the jeers, the 33-year-old replied: “Not really. I don’t know… if people want to boo if I’m playing in a different country, that’s fine. “Like I said, everyone is going to have an opinion over when I’m playing over in Saudi. “I’ve spoken in the past about the reasons for that. Whether people believe us or not is up to them. “Of course it’s disappointing, but it won’t change what I do here. I want to keep playing and keep fighting and help the team become successful. “I haven’t been surprised by that because I can understand the reasons in what they’re saying. I look at it from a different point of view, obviously. “But I can understand it and I’ve got to take that on the chin.” Asked about Southgate’s public support and continued selection, the former Sunderland youngster added: “Yes, the gaffer has been really good as always. It's nice to know that you've got the backing of the manager and your team-mates Jordan Henderson “I’ve always felt support and backing from him and the rest of the lads. “It’s nice to know that you’ve got the backing of the manager and your team-mates but that’s never been in doubt for me. That’s always been the case.” Henderson may have switched Merseyside for the Middle East but he feels enough at home to have already backed Saudi Arabia’s bid to host the 2034 World Cup. The country abandoned a 2030 joint-bid with Greece and Egypt and announced their solo pitch on October 4 – with Henderson involved in the promotional video. “By that time I think they will put on a pretty good World Cup, to be honest,” Henderson said about taking part in the bid. “So I think that’s exciting times for them as a country and I think it will be a special tournament if they ended up getting it. “I’ve been there for two months and there’s been no issues in terms of fans or anything like that. “It is a long waiting time from now, but I think they’ll enjoy the experience there. “When we look at Qatar, the way that they did the job there, it was a good tournament; I think the fans enjoyed the tournament and I think Saudi would be no different.” Read More Wales defeat Croatia to boost Euro 2024 qualification hopes Steve Borthwick hails ‘written off’ England after reaching World Cup semi-final Stephen Kenny puts speculation to one side for Gibraltar clash Jos Buttler tells England to ‘let it hurt’ after World Cup loss to Afghanistan Baltimore boss John Harbaugh thrilled to end ‘heck of a week’ in London on high Talking Points as Republic of Ireland seek win against minnows Gibraltar

Arizona ace Zac Gallen and slugging first baseman Christian Walker were both raised in the Philadelphia area

Antoine Dupont sank to one knee and covered his face with his hand as the disappointment of France’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal loss to South Africa in Paris sank in

Defending champion South Africa has knocked France out of its home Rugby World Cup with a performance of sheer resilience to cling on 29-28 in the quarterfinals in Paris

Trevor Lawrence threw two touchdown passes, Travis Etienne ran for a pair of scores and the Jacksonville Jaguars beat Indianapolis 37-20 for their third consecutive victory

CLEVELAND (AP) — Rookie Jake Moody missed a 41-yard field goal with six seconds left, leaving San Francisco stunned 19-17 by the Cleveland Browns, who ended the 49ers’ regular-season winning streak at 15 on Sunday and handed quarterback Brock Purdy his first loss as an NFL starter.

Jonquel Jones scored 27 points and Breanna Stewart added 20 to help the New York Liberty beat the Las Vegas Aces 87-73 and force a Game 4 of the WNBA Finals