Goalkeeper: Matz Sels (Nottingham Forest) Perhaps the most difficult decision in the XI. David Raya has been excellent at Arsenal and Mark Flekken quietly impressive behind a loose Brentford defence. But that Sels has been the third-busiest keeper in the league (89 saves) behind Flekken and Southampton’s Aaron Ramsdale, yet has conceded the fourth-fewest goals … Read more
One of the problems of international football is that everybody is always asking the wrong question, which to an extent is built into the form. Qualifiers matter only in as much as they have to be negotiated. Friday’s win by England over Albania fell into a very familiar pattern. The brave new world of Thomas … Read more
Name the League Two club with wealthy, fully committed, American owners, a famous name in the home dugout and a squad boosted by 11 January signings? If the answer – Carlisle – is easy, the reasons why they are stuck to the bottom of England’s Football League with nine games to go remains rather harder … Read more
Two red cards, six tries, a nip-and-tuck scoreboard and a traditional Scottish deluge falling from the sky. This had pretty much everything and Scotland were the team left standing with a win, but only just, at the end of a pulsating encounter. These sides meet again in August, in Pool B of the Women’s Rugby … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Preamble One of the top-30 sides in the world host the team ranked 110th, a collective which has lost ten of its last 11 competitive matches, drawing the other 0-0. On paper, this is as close as it gets to a … Read more
Thomas Tuchel believes Jude Bellingham tried to do too much at Euro 2024 and must save his energy for key moments by being more disciplined. England’s new head coach has been honest about where his side can improve and he clearly is not afraid to follow the same path with Bellingham. The Real Madrid midfielder … Read more
Who needs Marcus Smith, England fly-half? Who, for that matter, needs Jarrod Evans, Wales fly-half? Jamie Benson is a 22-year-old who made his Premiership debut in November. On Saturday he came on at half-time for Evans and kicked three long-range penalties in the last 10 minutes to set up Harlequins for their first Premiership away … Read more
Remember Super League’s historic trip to Las Vegas? The hype, the excitement and the feeling that after years of trying, perhaps British rugby league had finally broken a glass ceiling and could be set for a bright future? That all unfolded only three weeks ago, but given what has happened since, it feels like a … Read more
The weekends between the Cheltenham festival and Aintree’s Grand National meeting will never be an obvious target for the elite jumping horses but the £550,000 Go North weekend, which is now in its fifth year, offers decent money for horses just below the top rung and the £100,000 Ladbrokes Herring Queen Series Final at Kelso … Read more
Major League Baseball removed references to “diversity” from its MLB Careers home page following an executive order by US president Donald Trump that could lead to possible federal action against organizations using DEI programs in violation of his administration’s interpretation of civil rights law. “Our values on diversity remain unchanged,” MLB said in a statement … Read more