England secured a 3-1 victory over home favourites Australia to reach the Women’s World Cup final.
Having fallen at the semi-final stage in the previous two tournaments, the Lionesses are now beginning preparations for Sunday’s showpiece against Spain.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how Sarina Wiegman’s European champions saw off the Matildas to make history.
Toone on song
Having been criticised for her form earlier in the competition, Manchester United attacking midfielder Toone set England on their way with a fine opening goal.
In doing so, she became the first player in England history – male or female – to score goals in a quarter-final, semi-final and final of amajor tournament after enjoying a fine Euros last year.
Laure…
Best odds: 3/5
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Bayern Munich, the perennial champions of the Bundesliga, will be kicking off their 2023/24 season with a trip to the Weserstadion in Bremen as they aim for a 12th consecutive title. Werder will, on the other hand, be seeking a way to make a strong statement against such a formidable rival in front of their own fans.
Werder Bremen
Werder Bremen s recent struggles in the first game of Bundesliga seasons and their historical record against Bayern Munich certainly highlight the challenging task they face in this upcoming match. The fact that they have not won their opening fixture in the past eight seasons adds an extra layer of pressure to their start.
The slim home loss to Bayern Munich towards the end of the previous season sho…
Pep Guardiola says Erling Haaland is back to business after his four-goal demolition of Wolves that kept Manchester City in touch of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
The Gunner dispatched Bournemouth 3-0 earlier on Saturday but Haaland s first-half hat-trick – including two penalties – started a roaring response from City at Etihad Stadium.
Haaland added his fourth after the interval before Julian Alvarez wrapped up the scoring, with Hwang Hee-Chan s second-half strike a mere consolation in a 5-1 hammering of Wolves.
Victory extended Man City s unbeaten run in the Premier League to 20 games (W16 D4), while they have won each of the last six in a row, netting 4+ goals on five occasions in that run.
Moving just a point with Arsenal and still boasting a g…
Erik ten Hag has hit back at Jose Mourinho after the former Manchester United manager said he did not get the same level of support as the Dutchman.
Mourinho, who spent two and a half years in charge of United, suggested in an interview with the Telegraph that he did not have the same backing in the transfer market, or the same level of trust instilled in him as Ten Hag.
The former Ajax manager recently spoke to Sky Sports about failing to sign stars like Harry Kane, with the club instead choosing to invest in younger players with potential, like Rasmus Hojlund.
Ten Hag is facing an uncertain future at the club with just one year left on his contract following a disappointing second campaign. New co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has given no guarantees that he will keep hi…
Prince Ali bin al-Hussein says FIFA has been decimated by the recent corruption scandal but remains confident of change after criminal proceedings were opened against president Sepp Blatter.
The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland opened proceedings against Blatter on Friday suspicion of criminal mismanagement and misappropriation.
The FIFA president is suspected of signing a contract with the Caribbean Football Union in 2005 that market experts claim handed World Cup television rights for the 2010 event in South Africa and the 2014 showpiece in Brazil to Warner for a fraction of their value.
Blatter, 79, is also alleged to have made a disloyal payment to UEFA president Michel Platini in 2011, relating to work carried out between 1999 and 2002 wh…
Manchester City striker Mario Balotelli has completed his move to AC Milan, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract.
The two clubs agreed a deal on Tuesday afternoon for 20 million pounds that will be spread over five years, while the Italy international is taking a pay cut on his 110,000-pound-per-week salary to join the Serie A side.
The 22-year-old Italy international brings an end to a controversial two-and-a-half-year stay in England with Roberto Mancini s side, during which he scored 20 goals in 54 league appearances before helping the club win both the Premier League title and FA Cup.
A statement from the Serie A club read: AC Milan announces that it has acquired from Manchester City Mario Balotelli, who has signed a contract until 30 June 2017.
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Bayer Leverkusen have announced the signing of Mitchell Weiser from Hertha Berlin on a five-year contract.
The former Germany Under-21 right-back has excelled at Hertha since joining on a free from Bayern Munich in 2015 and will now link up with Leverkusen as they prepare to return to European competition.
The club are all but guaranteed a Europa League place, yet could still qualify for the Champions League, with sporting director Rudi Voller noting the need for transfer activity to boost the squad.
This is absolutely necessary in light of the fact that we have qualified for Europe for the coming season, Voller said.
In order to handle the additional burden of international competition, as well as the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal, and to continue to be suc…
Manchester United star Paul Pogba renewed acquaintances with Carlos Tevez, as he engaged in some shirt-swapping with his former Juventus team-mate.
Tevez left United for Manchester City before he had the chance to play with Pogba at Old Trafford, but linked up with the Frenchman at Juve for two seasons after a switch to Italy in 2013.
Together they helped Juve to two of their six successive Serie A titles and their connection was restored briefly as Pogba met up with the Shanghai Shenhua striker in China.
The pair traded signed jerseys and posed for a picture that Pogba posted to Instagram, with both wearing broad smiles as well as their new memorabilia.
In the post Pogba used the caption: See you again soon brother.
Perhaps a Tevez return to Old…
Ronald Koeman s 14-month spell in charge of Barcelona came to an end on Wednesday following another humbling defeat.
Barca fell 1-0 at Rayo Vallecano, fresh on the back of losing to fierce rivals Real Madrid, and find themselves ninth in LaLiga with 10 games played.
The Dutchman departs Camp Nou with a win percentage of 58.21 across a 67-game tenure that provided more negatives than positives.
Here, Stats Perform picks out a few of the highs and lows from Koeman s reign, which coincided with the most difficult off-field period in the club s history.
MESSI S DEPARTURE
When looking backing on Koeman s time at Barcelona in years to come, it will be best remembered as the period in which the Blaugrana were having to adapt to life without all-time…
Jurgen Klopp s complaint over the Premier League start date is sure to infiltrate the season opener when Liverpool entertain Norwich City on Friday.
A combination of Copa America and Africa Cup of Nations commitments robbed Klopp of several stars for much of pre-season, leading the Reds boss to call for the English football calendar to be pushed back.
As the minutes tick down to that first whistle at Anfield, managers will be monitoring the condition of their players and making calls on fitness.
Do those in charge of globe-trotting squads have reason to fear sluggish starts, or can players push past heavy legs to set the league alight in the early weeks?
To consider the question, we have mined the Opta data to assess how three high-profile stars fared a…