List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

England has routed North Macedonia 7-0 with a stunning Bukayo Saka hat trick at Old Trafford in European Championship qualifying

Kylian Mbappe set another record as France stretched their 100 per cent start in European Championship qualifying Group B with a 1-0 win over Greece in Paris. Mbappe’s 55th-minute penalty was his 54th goal of the season and took him clear of Just Fontaine to become the top French scorer in a single club and international campaign. But there was an air of fortune about his winner after Odysseas Vlachodimos palmed away his initial penalty only for the referee to spot an infringement and order the kick to be retaken. Kolo Muani and Jules Kounde also had good chances for France while Greece’s task became harder after Konstantinos Mavropanos was sent off for a foul on Muani in the 69th minute. In the same group Ireland took 52 minutes to break through Gibraltar’s defence before goals from Mikey Johnston, Evan Ferguson and Adam Idah secured a 3-0 win in Dublin. In Group C, Ukraine could count themselves lucky to strengthen their hold on second place behind free-scoring England, who brushed aside North Macedonia 7-0. The Ukrainians laboured against bottom side Malta in Trnava, and it took a fortuitous 72nd-minute penalty from Viktor Tsygankov to eke out a 1-0 win. In Group D, Armenia also had a stroke of fortune as it took an injury-time penalty from Tigran Barseghyan to claim a 2-1 win over Latvia and build on the weekend’s stunning win over Wales in Cardiff. There was more misery for the Welsh, who had Joe Morrell sent off and fell to a 2-0 defeat to top-placed Turkey, for whom Umut Nayir and Arda Guler scored second-half goals. Daniel Hakans scored a hat-trick as Group H leaders Finland made it four wins out of five with a comfortable 6-0 win over San Marino. Slovenia and Denmark shared a 1-1 draw in Ljubljana, meaning Kazakhstan jumped into second place courtesy of Abat Aymbetov’s 88th-minute strike that gave them a shock 1-0 win over Northern Ireland in Belfast. Switzerland lost their 100 per cent record in Group I after they were pegged back by two late goals at home to Romania. The Swiss looked set to be coasting to a fourth straight win after two first-half goals from Mohamed Amdouni. But Romania hit back, reducing the deficit through Valentin Mihaila in the 89th minute before the same player struck again to snatch a point two minutes into injury time. Israel retained their push for a qualifying place after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Andorra while Belarus earned their first points of the campaign with a 2-1 win over Kosovo. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Northern Ireland stunned as Kazakhstan substitute Abat Aimbetov nets late winner Mikey Johnston helps Republic of Ireland to much-needed win over Gibraltar Ten-man Wales’ Euro 2024 qualification hopes further dented by defeat in Turkey

Bukayo Saka scored a jaw-dropping first career hat-trick as rampant England roared to a 7-0 victory against North Macedonia in Monday’s memorable Euro 2024 qualifier. Gareth Southgate’s side are all but assured of making it to Germany having reached the halfway point of qualification with four wins from their four Group C games. Harry Kane struck twice in an Old Trafford annihilation that also saw Marcus Rashford and Kalvin Phillips get in on the act, but ever-improving talent Saka was the star of the show with his tremendous treble. The 21-year-old is at the heart of a catchy new chant about England going to Berlin and showed just why he is considered one of the world’s best young talents. Saka slammed home from a tight angle after Kane’s opener – the sixth straight game he has scored in – and before Rashford’s goal at his home ground. The young forward left the 70,708 in attendance stunned immediately after the break when scoring a sensational left-footed strike from a similarly impressive pass by Trent Alexander-Arnold. Saka soon completed the first hat-trick of his senior career with a cool finish that was complemented by substitute Phillips’ tap-in and a Kane spot-kick. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Mat Ishbia’s five-month tenure as the new owner of the Phoenix Suns has produced a whirlwind of change

Americans flocked to Formula One at the height of the pandemic, when a Netflix docuseries showcased the series as the sexiest thing in sports

Victor Wembanyama has arrived in the U.S. for the NBA draft

The Golden State Warriors want to keep Draymond Green, yet the team is prepared for him to formally decline his $27.5 million player option for the final year of his contract next season and become an unrestricted free agent seeking a long-term deal

Gareth Southgate will likely rotate his England squad when they take on North Macedonia in a Euro 2024 qualifier at Old Trafford tonight. England romped to a 4-0 win against Malta on Friday to keep up their 100% winning run in qualifying. They sit top of Group C ahead of North Macedonia’s visit. The Three Lions can now claim a fourth successive win in Euro 2024 qualifying having already beaten Italy and Ukraine too. Questions remain over Bukayo Saka’s fitness, after he left the field at half-time against Malta, and there are a number of squad players hoping to start this evening’s game. Marcus Rashford is one, but he faces competition from Jack Grealish and James Maddison, while Gareth Southgate must decide whether to utilise Trent Alexander-Arnold in midfield once again after his superb performance in Malta last time out. Follow all the action as England take on North Macedonia at Old Trafford: Read More Marcus Rashford’s complicated England relationship could be at turning point Gareth Southgate sees a tougher test for his team at Old Trafford Midfield role my best shot of becoming England regular – Trent Alexander-Arnold

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore has left the club by mutual consent just three weeks after leading the Owls to promotion from League One. Moore, 49, who guided the Owls to the Sky Bet Championship via the play-offs last month, departs Hillsborough after just over two years in the job. His backroom staff have also left, the club have announced. Owls chairman Dejphon Chansiri told the club’s official website: “Both parties believe that now is the right time we go our separate ways. “The journey of Sheffield Wednesday with Darren has been in many ways unique and always as a team. In the football industry, journeys come to an end and now is that time, which we both agree. “The mutual respect we have for each other is immense on a personal and professional basis and I offer my sincere thanks for the dedication and commitment Darren has given to our club. Darren will always be welcome at Hillsborough.” The club said the search for a new manager to lead them in the second tier next season was under way. Former West Brom and Doncaster boss Moore said: “I would like to take this time to acknowledge the chairman, Mr Chansiri, for giving me the opportunity to manage this great football club in Sheffield Wednesday, it’s been a journey in every sense. “Both the chairman and myself have been determined to get this club back into the Championship. “I’m delighted this has been achieved, and I hope the football club continues to develop and will soon fulfil the dream of mine, which was to take them back to the Premier League where they belong.” Moore steered the Owls to a 1-0 win over Barnsley after extra time in the League One play-off final 21 days ago after they had overcome an unprecedented 4-0 first-leg deficit in their semi-final against Peterborough. He said he wanted to thank all Wednesday fans “from the bottom of my heart” for their passion and support. Moore added: “This was most apparent during the second leg of the play-offs at Hillsborough when so many people around the country thought it wasn’t possible, we rallied together to achieve the impossible. “The scenes I witnessed from the technical area at Wembley, especially for the winning goal, will be images I will never forget.” The Owls were in the Championship’s bottom three when Moore replaced the sacked Tony Pulis in March 2021 and were relegated at the end of that season. They lost to Sunderland in the League One play-off semi-finals in 2022 and returned to the Championship via the play-offs last season having set a new club record of 23 league games unbeaten before defeat to Barnsley in March. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Tom Watson calls for answers from PGA Tour commissioner over new partnership England set Australia target of 281 on day four of thrilling first Ashes Test A closer look at Rory McIlroy’s long wait for a fifth major crown

Presumptive No. 1 NHL draft pick Connor Bedard has been honored as the International Ice Hockey Federation's first male player of the year

“One month before the fight, we were so happy; it was a dream,” Ciryl Gane reminisces. Then comes a laugh. “One minute after the fight, it was a nightmare.” It is easy to forget, but the hype around Gane’s title fight with Jon Jones in March was not based on the latter’s long-awaited return alone. There was genuine anticipation for what could have been an intriguing contest between a light-heavyweight great, in Jones, and a heavyweight contender who moves like a welterweight, in Gane. Once the fight started, however, that intrigue was extinguished within moments. Gane, failing to do himself justice – as he would tell you – was taken down early and submitted as the clock ticked past the two-minute mark. “My coach told me every day, every time, every training [session]: ‘Don’t throw the backhand,’” Gane tells The Independent. “‘If you want, [throw] the jab – maybe the uppercut – but not the backhand.’ I threw the backhand, he caught me.” Indeed, Jones dipped his head off the centre line as Gane overcommitted to a left cross, then engulfed the 33-year-old, hauling him to the canvas – weighing down on Gane with every ounce of his new, 248lbs heavyweight frame. Once Gane had been forced to the fence, there was no escape. Jones locked in a guillotine choke, and before the fans in Las Vegas had time to comprehend what had happened, the American had forced his opponent to tap. The vacant heavyweight title was vacant no longer. To many onlookers, Jones’s status as the greatest ever was confirmed within those 124 seconds. And what of Gane, the former interim champion who was sitting with his back against the cage, staring up at his victorious opponent, and coming to terms with a second loss in an undisputed-title fight? The Frenchman was, suddenly, no longer an example of the ‘modern’ heavyweight, and instead a kickboxer with a gaping hole in his game – a gap that Jones had exploited mercilessly. “I was confident in this position [on the mat],” Gane insists, “but I did [something] wrong. When we went back to the gym after the fight, we did only wrestling and grappling, every day. I was already confident, but I know it’s really normal to be more confident and have better reflexes when you do something every day. This is gonna help me for sure.” Technical faults can be addressed, of course, but fighters sometimes suffer from intangible issues in bouts of this magnitude – in moments of this magnitude – that can define results and careers, and that are less easily expelled. “It was really difficult to explain,” Gane says. “People asked me if I felt a lot of pressure during the fight, during the press conference, the waiting... Did you see me afraid? No, I was really happy to be there! I wanted to fight against the GOAT and prove that I’m a good fighter. In the cage, in front of the opponent, everybody saw me really confident. But when we started, and during the fight, something switched – I don’t know exactly why. I couldn’t manage the distance, I was not there. I think when you have a bad feeling, it’s harder to be good technically. “I was not ‘here’,” Gane stresses again. “It was not me, it just was not me – everybody knows that. That’s why today, when everybody asks me if I want revenge: Yes, I want revenge, just because I want to prove that I’m better than that and can put Jon Jones through more adversity.” It is unclear whether Jones will still be around by the time Gane earns a prospective third shot at the UFC heavyweight title. The American, 35, was absent from the Octagon for three years before returning to fight Gane, and his plan to face heavyweight ‘GOAT’ Stipe Miocic before the end of the year looks fragile. Jones has also continually exchanged verbal barbs with Francis Ngannou – his predecessor as UFC heavyweight champion, and a former teammate and opponent of Gane. But while Jones’s next step is ambiguous, Gane’s is clear. The Frenchman, a year on from headlining the UFC’s first-ever French card, will once again fight in a main event in Paris this September. Sergey Spivak, the Moldovan heavyweight with three stoppage wins in his last three fights, will be the tormented tourist at the Accor Arena. “This is my mindset: Every time people ask who I want to fight next, it doesn’t matter who,” Gane says. “I just want to fight, do my job, my mission. I’m a competitor, so any opponent you put in front of me is going to be my mission. Spivak is well rounded – good ground game, good wrestler – so yes, it’s gonna be a test. I’m really happy about that. We’re gonna work on [what we need to work on], and I’m gonna do my best.” In undisputed-title fights, Gane has struggled to do his best; in every other bout, his best has been more than enough. That bodes well for “Bon Gamin” – the “Good Kid” – as he wakes from his Jon Jones nightmare and begins to dream of UFC gold again. Ciryl Gane headlines the UFC’s second ever Paris event, against Sergey Spivak, on 2 September. Tickets will go on general sale at 9am BST on Friday 23 June, via Accor Arena. 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 Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori Topuria vs Emmett live stream: How to watch UFC Fight Night online and on TV this weekend Jared Cannonier breaks UFC record in win over Marvin Vettori Topuria vs Emmett and full UFC Fight Night card this weekend What time does Topuria vs Emmett start in UK and US this weekend?

Eight-time major champion Tom Watson is the latest to want answers on the PGA Tour’s new business partnership with Saudi backers of LIV Golf