Sweden claim narrow victory over Denmark to open Euro 2025
Real Madrid's Angeldahl, who scored in friendlies against Denmark and Norway last month, played a one-two with Kosovare Asllani as she entered the box from the right and netted a right-footed shot near the far post in the 55th minute after a tight first half.
"There's so much nerves when you start a tournament so it was a wonderful feeling to score that first goal," player of the match Angeldahl said. "It's really important to win the first match and give you a platform for the rest of the finals."
Denmark had fought hard to stay in the game as Sweden dominated possession, with Katrine Veje's tackle denying Stina Blackstenius in the 17th minute and keeper Maja Bay Ostergaard tipping over Angeldahl's free kick near the top corner just before the break.
Blackstenius almost scored Sweden's second goal shortly after the hour mark but her shot from close range was saved on the line by Frederikke Thogersen, leading to a groan from the more than 17,000 spectators in attendance.
Denmark, who had only 10 attempts in the game, almost half of Sweden's, came dramatically close to equalising in the 81st minute when Thogersen found Pernille Harder with a quick pass on the right, but the Danish captain's thundering drive hit the crossbar.
"It's hard that we didn't get a point from here today but we can take how we played today, how good we were, how good (we defended)... into the next game against Germany," Denmark defender Stine Ballisager said.
Denmark face eight-time champions Germany on Tuesday, while Sweden play Poland.
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Telegraph
29 minutes ago
- Telegraph
This is the last Tour de France on free-to-air and cycling will never be the same
When the peloton rolls out of Lille on Saturday for the start of the 112th edition of the Tour de France, it will mark the beginning of the end of one of British sport's great institutions. Nearly 40 years after Channel 4 first screened the highlights of the Tour de France in 1986 – played in by that iconic Pete Shelley theme music – ITV will this year broadcast coverage of cycling's biggest race on free-to-air for the final time. As of next year, the Tour will be behind a paywall in the UK, on TNT Sports. It is the end of an era. 'It's going to be emotional,' admits commentator Ned Boulting who has been part of ITV's coverage since 2003, and who will reprise his role this year alongside David Millar, continuing a line going back to Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggett. 'That's very nearly 40 years of continuity. So that's almost three generations of viewers within families. You know, that's grandparents, parents, and children, all of whom have come through the same very familiar routine. The same faces and voices, the same look and feel, the same style. It's unique in broadcasting.' 'A hammer blow for cycling' Once the emotion dies down, the question is: what does it mean for cycling in the UK, both in terms of viewing figures and participation? Will the sport wither on the vine, stuck behind a paywall where no one will watch it? Will the next generation of potential Geraint Thomases and Tom Pidcocks be starved of inspiration? Or might cycling benefit from being lumped in with bigger sports in the TNT Sports portfolio such as football and rugby, attracting new, crossover fans? It is fair to say fan reaction when the initial announcement was made last autumn that Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns TNT Sports, had bought the exclusive UK rights to the Tour, was not positive. There was sadness at the demise of the much-loved ITV coverage, particularly the daily highlights show. But public opinion really nosedived when WBD announced in January that it was axing Eurosport UK and cycling fans would have to shell out for the full TNT Sports subscription to access bike races in the UK. Not just the Tour, but the Giro d'Italia, the Vuelta a España, the spring classics, the whole caboodle. From £6.99 a month for Eurosport to £30.99 a month for TNT Sports – a price hike of some 400 per cent. Outraged fans – who, a couple of years ago were so spoilt they could get every obscure race under the sun for £5 a month on the GCN+ app, before it was bought and shuttered by WBD – threatened to boycott the channel, while others claimed WBD would get more people into piracy than they would cycling. The debate even reached the Houses of Parliament with Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP, securing a debate on the merits of free-to-air coverage of professional cycling in Westminster Hall on March 5. In an impassioned speech, Obese-Jecty told of how he had been inspired as a child by the exploits of British mountain bike rider Jason McRoy, whose races were occasionally shown on Eurosport. Describing the channel's demise as 'a hammer blow for coverage of cycling in the UK' he argued that cycling going behind a paywall would have a number of unintended consequences. It would mean children in the UK were not exposed to a sport which was patently good for their health. It would impact on the next generation of wannabe Bradley Wigginses. 'To be popular, a sport must be visible,' he said. 'To be visible, a sport must have a television presence. The Government would never allow the Fifa World Cup, the Olympics or Wimbledon to be put behind a paywall. With an estimated 12 million spectators attending the race each year, the Tour de France is easily the most attended sporting event in the world. 'Will the Government consider how it can inspire a new generation of Froomes and Cavendishes to take up the mantle and consider what they are doing to restore a sporting jewel, in which we have enjoyed such recent success, to the masses, lest its absence from our screens cause the sport to wither on the vine?' Stephanie Peacock, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, replied to say that she was grateful to the honorary member for bringing the matter to her attention, and that she 'sympathised' with his points, but that it was entirely up to the rights holder to determine whether any coverage will be available to free-to-air television in the future. New coverage, but less viewers TNT, understandably keen not to be painted as the villains here, say that is already happening. There is already a new hour-long programme called The Ultimate Cycling Show, hosted by Orla Chennaoui and Adam Blythe, shown on its free-to-air Quest channel, as well as daily highlights shows on the same channel during the recent Giro. The same is planned for the Vuelta a España in August. Only the Tour will remain fully behind a paywall, although a TNT spokesperson suggested the possibility of free-to-air highlights being shown on Quest next year, or in 2027, when the grand depart is once again scheduled to take place in the UK, was under consideration. What might the impact be on UK cycling by then, though? Again, WBD defend themselves. They claim over half of Eurosport viewers already had access to TNT Sports at the time of Eurosport's closure. They maintain that being part of a package which include Champions League and Premiership Rugby will introduce new fans to the sport. They also point out, rightly, that ITV declined to renew its broadcast rights for the Tour, whereas it is investing millions into cycling. Like football and cricket on Sky Sports, they promise to innovate and raise standards. That may all be true. But it does not change the fact that the Tour is disappearing from free-to-air TV and millions of fans will be left without a show which was appointment viewing for three weeks every year. As Obese-Jecty MP said: 'The reassuring tones of Gary Imlach and the encyclopaedic knowledge of Ned Boulting will no longer be staples of cycling fans' summers.' Boulting smiles at that line. 'The fact it got debated in Parliament is insane,' he says. 'David and my names are in the Hansard register now.' He does find the fans' backlash interesting, though, mainly because of how persistent it has been. 'The level of engagement with the topic just doesn't seem to have died down,' he says. 'In fact, the closer we get to the Tour the more it is ramping up. I think it's because, unlike the Ashes, or the Olympics, the Tour is every summer. It's an annual event, which just anchors its place in the rhythm of the year for so many family lives. That, I think, is the reason why the noise around it is so persistent and so loud.' Like many subscription channels, TNT does not release its viewing figures; or say how many new subscribers have signed up since shutting Eurosport down. Even if it did, it would be difficult to tell how many had signed up for cycling as opposed to its other sports. But Boulting stresses he wants the new landscape to be a success, not least because a bigger fanbase will drive more listeners to the Never Strays Far podcast he co-hosts with Millar. New TMS-style podcast planned The pair have big plans for the podcast next year, which they will confirm on Saturday. But essentially they involve Millar and Boulting driving around France in a camper van, with Lizzie Deignan as their co-host, doing live podcasts from the roadside, only looking away from the race, so the cameras watch them watching the action in the style of Soccer Saturday. 'We're going to call it Never Strays Far: Live in France,' Millar says. 'So we'll be on the race, following the race, watching the race, and just relaying as much of it as we can. We'll put it out as video as well, almost certainly on YouTube, but across as many platforms as we can.' 'Think TMS [ Test Match Special ],' Boulting says. 'It will be whimsical, irreverent. We'll chat to fans. We'll broadcast from random squares or places on the route. We won't be rights holders so we won't be able to show race footage. And we won't have accreditation. That's very important. But we can always go see riders in hotels or wherever. 'The Tour de France has always been about much more than the race,' he adds. 'And I think that's one of the things that our ITV viewers really understand and value. And we want to encourage a big percentage of these suddenly disenfranchised viewers to keep the Tour de France in their lives in this new form, where they can. We are very familiar voices and faces to them. And Lizzie will be an absolutely unbelievable addition to our team.' Will they sleep in the camper? Boulting laughs. 'Funnily enough that was Lizzie's first question. No. We're going to have plastic key cards to get into Campanile hotel rooms.. In fact, we might try and do the whole thing in Campaniles. The dream.' One more emotional lap It remains to be seen how it all shakes out; what exactly the loss of free-to-air will do to cycling in the UK. But in the meantime Imlach, Boulting, Millar, as well as reporters Daniel Friebe and Matt Rendell, are preparing for one final, emotional lap of France. 'I think the producers are definitely going to celebrate the heritage,' Boulting reflects. 'You know, it's tricky for ITV because they don't want to put up on great big billboards: 'We're leaving the sport'. But on the other hand, this is a unique programme, a unique event, and a unique association that has gone on for a long time. So they acknowledge that, and they are going to celebrate, you know, in style I think. 'For sure, we're going to hear the Channel 4 theme tune that so many people are nostalgic about. We're going to drill down into all that history, repeatedly, throughout the three weeks. The Tour de France allows us that. It gives us that time to be reflective and to sort of dredge the seabed of memories that people have.' How will he feel when it's over? 'I find it emotional at the best of times. When we sign off on the show each year, when the sun goes down behind the podium and you get the Arc de Triomphe in the background, I always find that a very emotional moment. Because we're tired, we've been on the race for three weeks, we've made it to Paris, and that's it, we're signing off. Signing off for the final time in three weeks will be a very hard thing to get right.'
BBC News
32 minutes ago
- BBC News
Brighton appoint Ten Rouwelaar as goalkeeping coach
Brighton have added Dutch goalkeeping coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar to Fabian Hurzeler's backroom 44-year-old has worked at NAC Breda, Anderlecht, where he worked with Albion keeper Bart Verbruggen, Burnley, Manchester United and Leicester City alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy."Jelle is an outstanding coach, and we're really pleased he is joining us," Hurzeler said. "He has so much experience of European football and the Premier League and will be a strong addition to our coaching staff."During his playing career Jelle made nearly 500 appearances for eight clubs, seven of them in the Netherlands including nearly 400 games for Breda
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Luke Littler appears to try new tactic with World Darts champion, 18, ‘hating' former favourite double
DARTS fans reckon Luke Littler has seemingly abandoned his trademark shot selection. The 18-year-old became famed for routinely nailing Double 10 with ease during his miraculous rise to world title contention. 2 2 But judging from his most recent outings, including at the Poland Open, the 18-year-old has seemingly changed tact and opted not to go for Double 10 as much. The change hasn't gone unnoticed by fans, one of whom wrote on X: " Luke Littler hates Tops and D10 for some reason now. "Going for 6-D8 on 22 is strange of him, but going for the 25 on 57 to leave D16 (On 82, first dart already in the 25) instead of just playing 17 Tops is incredible. "Btw, on the 57 he's hit the BULL to leave 7." Another said: "Littler playing class as always, acted a bit wierd today tho, can only assume he was having a bad day on tops and d10. And another said: "He might try to switch the doubles because tops didn't go so well the last few months." One darts fan theorised: "I wonder if he's trying to get better at D16 ready for the Grand Prix. "Last year he kept going for tops and didn't do great, whereas many others get in on D16." JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS Luke Littler prize money breakdown Here is all the prize money Luke Littler has won so far after being crowned 2025 PDC World Darts Championship winner: World Championship 2025 - £500,000 World Championship 2024 - £200,000 Grand Slam of Darts 2024 - £150,000 European Tour - £91,000 Player Championships events - £71,500 Players Championship final runner-up - £60,000 UK Open 2023 + 2024 - £17,500 World Matchplay - £10,000 World Grand Prix - £7,500 European Championship - £7,500 (Unranked) Premier League Darts - £315,000 TOTAL: £1.43 million Littler began his defence of the Poland Darts Masters title on Friday with a 6-4 win over the Czech Republic's Karel Sedlack. He'll be back in action this evening in an all-English clash against Nathan Aspinall. Littler recently revealed he's still tormented by the pain of letting the Darts Premier League title slip through his grasp. He said: "I'll probably say the Premier League final against Luke [Humphries]. 'Yeah, because I was 5-2 up and I knew we would go off for a break after 10 legs, so we've still got 3 legs to play. 'So, I said to myself, if you go 7-3 up or 6-4 up, then I'm happy, but I went into the break at 5-5. 'I was fuming and then he just went on and won it. 'He definitely did up his game, because I'm pretty sure after the break, I think he went 7-5 up. 'So he came on stage, won the next two legs. I was just thinking what was going on.'
