McDonnell returns to Wimbledon on two-year deal
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The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Spain may dominate final but England's name could be written on the trophy
England-Spain is the final everyone predicted before the tournament and it is a great match-up. An England victory would be an even bigger achievement than when they won Euro 2022, because this is a harder final than the one against Germany at Wembley. England should be the favourites purely because they are the holders and have had the experience of winning it. Their belief that they can always get back into a game, no matter how indifferent they've been, is the one thing that stands out about England. Sometimes it pays to be lucky rather than good, but we shouldn't dismiss that or talk it down. Their resilience is their superpower, and although they haven't always been free-flowing, they've found ways to win, which is down to the character of the players and, most importantly, the 'finishers' from the bench demonstrating that England have a lot of quality and depth. That does not mean Sarina Wiegman should necessarily change her starting team because, as good as Michelle's Agyemang's impact has been with her three goals in four caps, it is another jump up to do it from the start. There is so much a starting centre-forward has to do other than score goals, including to set the press, and Alessia Russo knows that role inside out. I cannot see Sarina changing that, and the strategy of players coming from the bench is working, even if the time for them to make an impact is getting shorter and shorter. We sometimes say 'your name's written on something' when things go in your favour: a bounce of the ball, a referee's decision, that little rub of the green. England are scraping over the line and that may take them all the way, but this is their biggest test yet. Although Italy were good, they're not at Spain's level. Spain 2-1 England, 3 June 2025, Barcelona England were knocked out of the Nations League after going ahead through Alessia Russo in the 21st minute. In the second half, Spain's Clàudia Pina made an instant impact from the bench, scoring two minutes after coming on, then doubling her tally 10 minutes later as Spain secured victory. The Lionesses would have qualified for the semi-finals at Spain's expense with a win. England 1-0 Spain, 26 Feb 2025, London A Wembley crowd of 46,550 watched England defeat Spain in the teams' first meeting since the World Cup final, in Nations League A Group 3. Jess Park's 33rd-minute goal secured victory for the Lionesses. Lucía García's first-half attempt that rattled the crossbar and second-half chances for the winger Salma Paralluelo were the highlights of Spain's attacking play but England held on. Spain 1-0 England, 20 August 2023, Sydney Spain became world champions with a dominant performance. Lauren Hemp hit the bar from outside of the box early on but that was the pinnacle of England's first-half chances and Olga Carmona ensured Spain went into the break ahead with a clinical finish past Mary Earps. Earps produced a fantastic 70th-minute penalty save from Jenni Hermoso and made further stops to keep England in the game but Spain deserved their win. Eze Obasi Spain's route to the final has been relatively uneventful compared with England's. The world champions have controlled the vast majority of possession. Teams do get big chances against them, though, because they commit such numbers going forward. They leave space behind them because of their playing style, and that's where their vulnerabilities are, down the sides of their centre-backs, as Germany's chances in their semi-final showed. Belgium scored twice against Spain and could have scored more, Italy scored against them and there's a vulnerability to Spain that did not exist a few years ago, so the opportunity to score against them is greater. Sunday's contest depends on who Spain start with, because when they play Clàudia Pina and Mariona Caldentey, they're not pacey players who are going to get in behind. Is Montse Tomé going to start with a team that will dominate the ball but won't stretch England in behind? Or will she start with the pace of a Salma Paralluelo? That is interesting, because Spain have often been kept at bay for quite a while – their knockout matches were both 0-0 at half-time – but when games become more stretched, their chances grow. There have been distinct differences watching Spain this year. I've never seen Aitana Bonmatí so wide, and that's because of having Alexia Putellas in the 10 position. But it means you get situations such as Bonmatí's winning goal in the semi-final, which was 100% a shot. Ann-Katrin Berger has demonstrated throughout the tournament she's a world-class goalkeeper, but she has a tendency to step forward and leave a small gap at the near post, and I don't think many players can score that goal. Aitana scores it because she's Aitana. That was genius play and crucial because Berger is the best goalkeeper in the world at saving penalties, so the smart money would have been on Germany in a shootout. In terms of Spain's threats, what I find fascinating is they are very good at set pieces. They're well rehearsed. We always talk about Spain's quality in possession but their quality out of possession is the best in the world. They're the best counter-pressers. Oh my God, they're unbelievable. And because they have a system and shape that puts bodies in such close proximity, it means if you can't break out of the sides of their press, they just swarm you again and again and again. They don't get the credit they deserve for the amount of defensive effort they put in. Their total team game is exceptional. And I've studied them, trust me. There has been up and down in England's results over the past 18 months but Sarina is a smart woman, a world-class manager who's been there before. The team's resilience is key. They were 90 seconds from going out against Italy and it looked as if the luck had run out, but it hadn't. Sign up to Moving the Goalposts No topic is too small or too big for us to cover as we deliver a twice-weekly roundup of the wonderful world of women's football after newsletter promotion I coached a Chelsea team that always had resilience so I've been in those situations thinking: 'How did we do that, how did we keep on winning?' You have to talk about the mentality of all the players, to be able to keep finding a way even when they haven't been at their best. In my last year when we shouldn't have won the title because Manchester City should have, you can sit there and say: 'Oh, is that because Man City blew it?' Well, we still had to go and win it. If you score one more goal than your opponent, you're the winner. This isn't a game of fairness and England simply scored more goals than Italy. Spain are prolific but I expect a close game. There may be moments for England and then complete Spanish dominance, but that doesn't mean Spain will win. Just because you're not the most dominant team doesn't mean you cannot win. England must use all their experience. Overall, this has been a tournament about goalkeepers and the rise of so many good ones. Berger, Italy's Laura Giuliani and England's Hannah Hampton have stood out. This has also been a tournament about the strength of teams' benches, because there has been much more quality from substitutes for so many teams. It is going to be a great final in Basel and a great showcase for the sport.
Times
2 hours ago
- Times
Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley join exclusive century and ten-for club
In claiming a second five-wicket haul in successive days, Tom Hartley not only inspired his side's second victory of the season but also became the first Lancashire player for 31 years to score a hundred and take ten wickets in the same match (Geoffrey Dean writes). The last to do so had been Mike Watkinson against Hampshire at Old Trafford in 1994. This was Hartley's third five-wicket return for his county, and his most important yet as it helped lift Lancashire from a lowly sixth to fourth in Division Two. They remain 21 points behind second-placed Glamorgan, but if they can beat the Welsh county at Old Trafford next week, will be well-placed to push for promotion. Gloucestershire had begun the day 78 adrift with all second-innings wickets in hand, but immediately lost Cameron Bancroft when he fell tamely to James Anderson, being caught at mid-wicket. Gallingly for the home side, his fellow opener Ben Charlesworth was also caught there off George Balderson to end a fine innings of 71. At one point, Lancashire's field placings were so funky they had seven men, and at one point eight, posted on the leg side for the seamers. On a dry pitch without much carry, it was always going to be spin that was the chief threat. Hartley lured Ollie Price into a rash drive that he edged to slip, before Chris Green, the Australian off spinner, deceived Miles Hammond with an arm ball, pinning him leg-before. After James Bracey was caught behind off a loose waft at Jack Blatherwick's medium pace, it was Hartley who took the key wicket of Joe Phillips. The 21-year old Cornishman had underlined his promise with a second fifty of the match, but when his side badly needed him to play a long innings, he was caught at short leg. In his next over, Hartley bowled the ball of the day to find Graeme van Buuren's edge with one that turned sharply. Zaman Akhter's cameo was ended by a superb diving return catch by the athletic Green, before Hartley ended Todd Murphy's stubborn resistance with one that spun out of the rough to bowl him through the gate. Last man Marchant de Lange was caught at silly point to give Hartley outstanding match figures of 11 for 215 from 62.4 overs. Needing 110 from 26 overs to win, Lancashire lost Luke Wells to Murphy in the third over, but even on a turning pitch, Gloucestershire had far too few runs to play with. Keaton Jennings, with a 60-ball fifty, saw his side home with ample time to spare. Rehan Ahmed became only the fourth Englishman this century to score a hundred and take ten wickets in the same match, guiding Division Two leaders Leicestershire to a 189-run victory over Derbyshire and strengthening their push for promotion. Shortly afterwards, Lancashire's Hartley repeated the remarkable feat, becoming the fifth Englishman to achieve the milestone in the 21st century. England all-rounder Ahmed finished the day with seven for 93, and 13 wickets in the match, as the hosts were dismissed for 256. Scarborough (final day of four): Yorkshire (13pts) drew with Surrey (14pts) Yesterday morning there seemed little chance of this game ending in anything but a draw (Paul Edwards writes). A combination of a true pitch, the Kookaburra ball and Wednesday's rain had seen to that. But Surrey are chasing a fourth successive title, so that did not prevent Rory Burns's side from doing their damnedest to pressurise hosts whose own concerns centre on the bottom of the Division One table. Having saved the follow-on inside the first hour of the morning's play, the Surrey batsmen went hell for leather for five bonus points. They reached that initial target of 450 with eight balls to spare and their overall approach was made clear by Ryan Patel, who drove Jack White to Dom Bess in the third over of the day and was dismissed eight runs short of his first century of the season. Patel's colleagues pursued similar tactics and by the time they were dismissed for 537, giving them a lead of 20, Surrey had smashed 199 runs off 33 overs yesterday. Josh Blake made his maiden first-class fifty before being stumped off Adam Lyth for 72 but the chief beneficiary and target of the visitors' aggression was Bess, who returned the eventful analysis of 35-6-162-7. Surrey's aim was to sweep aside a Yorkshire side reduced to ten men by the absence of Jonny Bairstow, whose partner, Megan, was in labour with their second child. The strategy produced an early success when Fin Bean fell to Sai Kishore for a single and a second three overs before tea when Lyth failed to get to the pitch of Dan Lawrence's off spinner, edging to Jamie Overton. Lawrence also took the catch at deepish gully that removed James Wharton just after tea and when the same fielder snaffled Will Luxton off Will Jacks, Yorkshire's lead was just 61 and there was a minimum of 19 overs remaining. In truth, though, it was never quite on. The draw was certain some time before the players shook hands with Yorkshire on 120 for five, giving them a lead of 100, and only 8.3 overs left. Yet Surrey's dynamic cricket preserved their unbeaten record and keeps them one point ahead of Nottinghamshire going into the final four games. Yorkshire, meanwhile, drop into the relegation places following Essex's victory at Hove, although they are only 13 points behind sixth-placed Hampshire.
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Liverpool's mission to dominate the Premier League and why rivals are running scared from the 'bullies': Turning 20 into 21, why Reds can afford Alexander Isak and how they could spend £200MILLION more
Arne Slot made a promise and a statement. In the final press conferences of Liverpool 's historic season where they became champions of England for a 20th time, the Dutchman told fans to expect a 'big summer' and then said the Reds will not stand still but look to find some 'new weapons'.
