Your Guardian sport weekend: Club World Cup last 16, F1 Austrian GP and more

The Guardian

a day ago

The Lions are eager to kickstart their tour after falling 28-24 to Argentina in Dublin as they build towards the Test series against the Wallabies, which begins in Brisbane on 19 July. Captain Maro Itoje has been stood down for the opening fixture on Australian soil, so the Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan takes charge of Andy Farrell's tourists at Perth's Optus Stadium. Henry Pollock makes his first Lions start after being picked at No 8, while Finn Russell, the early favourite to take the playmaking duties against the Wallabies, is given his maiden outing of the tour at fly-half. There are two survivors from the side beaten by the Pumas in Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne, although they have been switched to inside centre and blindside flanker, respectively. Lee Calvert is your liveblog host, while Robert Kitson reports from WA.
Daniel Gallan helms our over-by-over coverage as Sophie Ecclestone returns to England duty after a near-five-month absence. A knee injury meant the spinner missed the recent clean sweep of West Indies under England's new leadership team of head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt. Ecclestone then took a break from playing for Lancashire to manage a sore quad and 'prioritise her wellbeing' but she is in contention for England's opening T20 against India . It would be her first international appearance since the Women's Ashes debacle in early February, with England whitewashed 16-0 in the multi-format series. Raf Nicholson reports from Trent Bridge.
Lando Norris's confidence will have been dented by his crash with Oscar Piastri. The British driver collided with his McLaren teammate as they fought for fourth place in the closing laps of last Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix. Norris accepted full responsibility for a coming together he said made him look foolish and leaves him 22 points behind Piastri in pursuit of the drivers' title. Norris retired from the race while Piastri went on to take the chequered flag. The Briton was already on the back foot after two mistakes in qualifying which left him seventh on the grid. He drove well to bring himself back into contention only to misjudge the move on Piastri which again raises questions over his credentials as a championship contender. Yara El-Shaboury has live updates from qualifying at 3pm while Giles Richards is trackside at Spielberg.
Two years on from winning the competition for the first time since 1984, the Young Lions are preparing for another final having narrowly avoided a shock group stage exit. Slovenia's defeat of the Czech Republic meant England edged through as Group B runners-up despite losing 2-1 to a much-changed Germany, who they will face again in Saturday's Bratislava showpiece. Lee Carsley's side have kicked on since then, with a 3-1 quarter-final win against favourites Spain followed by a 2-1 semi-final triumph against the Netherlands in midweek. England played with a swagger against the Dutch, much like they did in Georgia two years ago, as Carsley seeks to follow Dave Sexton in masterminding a second Under-21 Euros triumph. Emillia Hawkins has minute-by-minute coverage and Ed Aarons is our match reporter.
With fellow forward Nicolas Jackson still suspended, Liam Delap has a chance to cement his place in Enzo Maresca's side. The 22-year-old striker scored a first goal since his £30m move from Ipswich as Chelsea beat Espérance 3-0 in Philadelphia to reach the last 16. It was the striker's second start in succession, having made his debut as a substitute in their opening Group D game against LAFC. The result meant the Blues finished second in Group D behind Flamengo. They face a Benfica side who beat one of the tournament favourites in Bayern Munich to top Group C. Scott Murray helms our minute-by-minute coverage while Jacob Steinberg reports from Charlotte. Earlier Rob Smyth covers the action as Palmeiras meet Botafogo in the 5pm game.
Yorkshire take on Essex at Clifton Park, from where Tanya Aldred will be casting around all the grounds as the County Championship resumes. Nottinghamshire remain top of Division One but their lead is now just two points after the draw with Yorkshire. The pacesetters travel to Taunton to face Somerset, who coasted to a forgettable draw against Warwickshire at Edgbaston in midweek. Surrey, targeting a fourth successive title, wrapped up a dominant nine-wicket win over Worcestershire on Tuesday and host Durham at the Oval. In Division Two, the leaders Leicestershire are unbeaten but Glamorgan denied them a sixth win in eight games last time out. Middlesex offer their next challenge at the County Ground.
Last time out at the Canadian Grand Prix, George Russell won from pole position to claim his first triumph of the year and just the fourth of his career. The British driver has been one of the grid's standout performers this season, and his win in Montreal takes him to 62 points behind the championship leader Piastri. The Mercedes driver is 40 points behind Norris while Max Verstappen is 43 points off the championship pace. Niall McVeigh picks up the baton for our live coverage of the race, with Giles Richards reporting from venue.
Before England head to Euro 2025 with the same goal as three years ago when they conquered Europe, they have one final warmup match for Sarina Wiegman to assess her new-look Lionesses in the buildup to their opener against France. With four of her 2022 mainstays now retired, many of Wiegman's 13 returnees – such as Alessia Russo and Hannah Hampton – have stepped up, and seven major tournament newcomers will be looking to make their mark. Aggie Beever-Jones has enjoyed a breakout season, last month completing a hat-trick on her Wembley debut for England, while the 19-year-old Michelle Agyemang scored 41 seconds into her maiden senior international appearance in April. Jamaica's captain will be familiar to WSL observers, Khadija Shaw, sharing the golden boot this year alongside England's Russo with 12 goals. Helming our live coverage is Rob Smyth from 3.30pm, with Suzanne Wrack our correspondent at Leicester's King Power Stadium.
One of the picks of the last 16 pitches Inter Miami's Lionel Messi against his former side, PSG. Messi's new club beat Porto in the group stage but a late collapse against Palmeiras meant they finished second and now face Luis Enrique's European champions. They may be expected to subdue their MLS opponents, but Botafogo beat them in the group stage to prove they are not invulnerable. Dominic Booth will be at the helm of our MBM blog, while Sid Lowe reports on the game.