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Stefanie van der Gragt scored on a header in the 13th minute, leading Netherlands to a 1-0 win over Portugal at the Women’s World Cup as the 2019 finalists began their tournament run

Tom Aspinall banished a ghost at the O2 Arena on Saturday, securing a statement victory at UFC London to make a triumphant return, one year after suffering a severe injury in the same building. In July 2022, Aspinall tore his MCL and stretched his ACL just 15 seconds into his main event with Curtis Blaydes, and almost exactly 365 days later, the Wigan heavyweight stopped Marcin Tybura in the first round to get back to winning ways. Aspinall, 30, hurt Tybura early with a head kick but resisted getting carried away, instead biding his time – briefly, at least – before dropping the Pole, 37, with a straight right hand. Aspinall then pounced with hammer fists, forcing the stoppage with 1:13 on the clock, before climbing atop the cage to celebrate. “I wasn’t myself last year, this is a whole new version of me,” Aspinall said in his post-fight interview. “I’m not gonna say that I’m back, because I’m different. My mind’s different, my body’s different. I’m going all the way [to the belt]. “I’ll tell you exactly what I’m gonna do: I’m gonna go to Paris [in September], I’m gonna be sat front row for Ciryl Gane against Sergey Spivak. I’m gonna beat the winner, and then I’m gonna beat [champion] Jon Jones.” The result put the crowd back in jubilant spirits, after “Meatball” Molly McCann suffered a submission loss in the co-main event. The Liverpudlian fan favourite tapped to an armbar in her flyweight contest with Julija Stoliarenko, on what was a night of mixed fortunes for British fighters. Full UFC London results (* denotes British fighter) Main card *Tom Aspinall def. Marcin Tybura via first-round TKO (punches, 1:13) Julija Stoliarenko def. *Molly McCann via first-round submission (armbar, 1:55) *Nathaniel Wood def. Andre Fili via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) *Paul Craig def. Andre Muniz via second-round TKO (punches and elbows, 4:40) Fares Ziam def. *Jai Herbert via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) *Lerone Murphy def. Josh Culibao via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-27) Daniel Marcos def. *Davey Grant via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28) Prelims Jonny Parsons def. *Danny Roberts via second-round TKO (punches, 4:57) Joel Alvarez def. *Marc Diakiese via second-round submission (head-arm choke, 4:26) *Mick Parkin def. Jamal Pogues via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Makhmud Muradov def. Bryan Barberena via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) Ketlen Vieira def. Pannie Kianzad via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) *Chris Duncan def. Yanal Ashmouz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) Bruna Brasil def. Shauna Bannon via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27) Jafel Filho def. Daniel Barez via first-round submission (arm-triangle choke, 1:34) Click here to subscribe to The Independent’s Sport YouTube channel for all the latest sports videos. Read More Tyson Fury seeks UFC star Tom Aspinall’s help ahead of Francis Ngannou fight Makhachev vs Oliveira official for UFC 294 as Khamzat Chimaev returns on undercard ‘The Rock’s shoes can go f*** themselves’: UFC fighter hits out at company’s sponsors Tyson Fury seeks UFC star’s help ahead of Francis Ngannou fight Two major fights announced for UFC 294 in Abu Dhabi ‘The Rock’s shoes can go f*** themselves’: UFC fighter hits out at sponsors

By Horaci Garcia and Guillermo Martinez MADRID (Reuters) -Spaniards began voting on Sunday in a potentially close-run general election that

Brian Harman wants to make the right kind of history in the British Open

Brazil starts its ninth appearance in the Women’s World Cup trying to remain undefeated in opening matches

Amanda Ilestedt scored in the 89th minute to give Sweden a 2-1 win over South Africa in its Group G opener at the Women’s World Cup Sunday

Spanish voters are heading to the ballot boxes in Sunday's snap general election that could see a far-right party enter government for the first time in decades.

Emile Smith Rowe is feeling fresh, fit and ready to prove his worth at Arsenal after a “really tough”, injury-interrupted season. The academy graduate came through the ranks in north London and, having established himself as an exciting performer under Mikel Arteta, was rewarded with a new long-term deal two years ago. Smith Rowe made his senior England debut later in 2021 but things went awry last term. The 22-year-old underwent groin surgery to rectify an issue that has been plaguing him since a loan spell at RB Leipzig in 2019, restricting him to 14 club appearances and no starts. This was my first time having surgery, so it was a really hard decision to take but I went for it Emile Smith Rowe “I am feeling good, it’s good to be back with the boys, back on the pitch with my team-mates,” the 22-year-old attacking midfielder said. “My ambition is to get some more minutes this season and really push on. “Last year was really hard for me, so I just want to kick on now and prove that I can play for this club. “It was really tough because I had surgery twice, so it was really hard. “But my family, friends and the club helped me a lot to get through it. I’m just really happy to be pain free right now and get fit. “This was my first time having surgery, so it was a really hard decision to take but I went for it. “I’m happy that I don’t feel anything there anymore. I am really happy to be fully fit now.” Smith Rowe, who came on in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Manchester United in New Jersey, is also buoyed by his starting role in England’s Under-21 European Championship final win against Spain. It was, he says, an “amazing experience” to triumph in Georgia – success that will only add to his hunger for silverware as Arsenal look to build on last season’s Premier League runners-up spot. “I am at a big club at Arsenal,” Smith Rowe said. “If I didn’t have competition, there wouldn’t be no point. “I have to push myself every day in training, keep working hard. “It’s tough competition but it’s good at the same time. I need to keep working hard and believing in myself. “We’re very ambitious, we want to win trophies. We’re back in Champions League, which is good for the club so really ambitious for us and I want to push on now. “There’s definitely a lot of confidence going into the new season. “We’re a young team as well, so to get that far last season was really good from us. “But, of course, we want to win trophies, so we are going to definitely try and be stronger this year and take it a step further.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2017: Anya Shrubsole bowls England to Women’s World Cup victory Time to show we are a ‘big team’ says Bruno Fernandes Day five of fourth Ashes Test: England face battle with elements in victory push

Erik ten Hag was pleased by Manchester United’s display in and out of possession as they kicked off their US pre-season tour with a win against fellow title hopefuls Arsenal. Having beaten Leeds in Oslo and Lyon in Edinburgh, the Red Devils kicked off the main stint of 2023-24 preparations at a sold-out MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday. Newly-appointed captain Bruno Fernandes all too easily beat Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale before Jadon Sancho struck following an error by Gabriel in a 2-0 win wrapped up by half-time. “I think it’s very good,” United boss Ten Hag said. “The way we played, I was really pleased, how active we were in and out of possession. “That is the way we want to play and that is the only period of the year you can really work in training and translate it to games without it having consequences. “But still, we want to win, and I think the lads showed we played a good game. “Of course, they are all great games. We have to go and it helps us to progress and especially those opponents, they are good. “Arsenal is a really good opponent. They played incredibly good last season in the Premier League, so yeah, that’s good to match with them, then you will be better.” The main negative was the second half injury to Amad Diallo, who left MetLife Stadium on crutches with his left foot in strapping. There are more youngsters with us now and they’re all doing very good. But I don’t want to rise expectations too high Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag Ten Hag will be hoping the youngster has avoided any kind of significant injury on a night when 18-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo produced a promising performance. “It’s fantastic,” the Dutchman told MUTV. “Manchester United is famous for always bringing young players up and it can be done. But we have to see. “We have confidence, he is playing with confidence and I really like his performance. But this year, he showed it in spring, then he got injured. We are really happy. “There are more youngsters with us now and they’re all doing very good. But I don’t want to rise expectations too high. “We have to see. The Premier League is tough but, definitely, you can see we have some really good young players who can play a role in the squad. But the bar is high.” United continue on to San Diego, where their reserves take on Wrexham before the first team faces Real Madrid in Houston and Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas. Arsenal beat the MLS All-Stars 5-0 in Washington DC on Wednesday night and head to Los Angeles to take on Barcelona looking to bounce back from losing to United. Barca had to cancel their Saturday friendly against Juventus as “a significant part of the Blaugrana squad has a viral gastroenteritis”. An Arsenal spokesperson said they are in close contact with the LaLiga champions and fully confident their match against them will take place as planned on July 26. Mikel Arteta is hoping for a response from his squad, saying after the loss to United: “Yes (this is a good lesson for us). “You asked me yesterday about my thoughts on how difficult or easy the season is going to be. “It’s going to be more challenging, more difficult, the level and preparation of the team is excellent and we knew today, they had already played two games before this one and we knew the test was going to be really demanding, like it’s going to be on Wednesday against one of the best teams in the world. “I don’t like losing and I don’t like the feeling that I have right now. “So, the boys have to train right now, in that space thinking how we are going to be better to win the next match.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Emile Smith Rowe ready to bounce back from injury-plagued season On this day in 2017: Anya Shrubsole bowls England to Women’s World Cup victory Time to show we are a ‘big team’ says Bruno Fernandes

Endy Rodríguez hit his first major league homer, five Pittsburgh pitchers combined on a five-hitter and the Pirates defeated the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 to snap their four-game winning streak

At least England’s campaign got off to a winning start at the Women's World Cup

Bruno Fernandes is confident Manchester United will prove they are a “big team” as they attempt to kick on from a promising first campaign under Erik ten Hag. This time last year, the Dutchman was sifting through the mess left by a wretched 2021-22 campaign in which embarrassing results compounded incoherent performances. Ten Hag quickly stamped his mark on the team and oversaw United’s first trophy win since 2017, with the Carabao Cup triumph followed by a third-placed Premier League finish. The Old Trafford giants also lost the FA Cup final to Manchester City and newly-appointed captain Fernandes is demanding more this time around. Manchester United have to fight for everything. This club deserves that Bruno Fernandes “We did a really good season,” the skipper said. “It was not successful, but I think that our season was good. “We started in the wrong way. We had two bad results, our away games were not the best. We didn’t get the best results. But I think overall the season was good. “Obviously it was the first season for the manager, first season for many players.” He continued: “Now we know that we have to improve game-wise and we will. We will improve it and we will show that we are a big team. “Manchester United have to fight for everything. This club deserves that. “We know when you come to a club like this that you have to fight for all the trophies that you are included in. That’s what we have to do. “Fight for them, try our best to win every game that we have and that’s it.” It is really good to be captain of Manchester United, it is a big achievement in my career but now there is a lot of work to do Bruno Fernandes United certainly appear on the right track, with Mason Mount brought in from Chelsea and Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana following him to the club this week. The Red Devils are now pushing for a striker to bolster a side that beat fellow title hopefuls Arsenal 2-0 on Saturday in New Jersey thanks to goals from Fernandes and Jadon Sancho. The Portuguese scored as he led the side as permanent skipper for the first time since Ten Hag decided to take the armband off of Harry Maguire. “There was a feeling I would like it to be me but I didn’t hear,” Fernandes said of the decision. “The manager wanted to tell the team together. It is really good to be captain of Manchester United, it is a big achievement in my career but now there is a lot of work to do. “The manager chose me because of what I was doing last season and the way he worked with me. “He liked the way I work, my discipline, everything I give, my passion, everything I give, so I don’t see why I should change. “(The approach) will be the same. I don’t need to change anything. “You have to be as natural as you can because they all know me, they know I am really vocal, that I try to be open with everyone, be clear and try to help in the way I think is the best. “Sometimes I can be wrong and not be the best way, but they know me really very well, so they know I will give everything for them. “Everything I said to them is because I think they can do good things because they are big players in the dressing room.”