Ireland 100% believe they can beat France
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Glasgow Times
18 minutes ago
- Glasgow Times
Leah Williamson relieved to let go of anxiety ahead of England's Euro opener
The Arsenal defender was forced to miss England's first run to a Women's World Cup final two summers ago in Australia after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury and she is now relishing the opportunity to lead the Lionesses in another major tournament after captaining them to European glory in 2022. England boss Sarina Wiegman, meanwhile, hinted Chelsea forward Lauren James could be more involved against France after marking her comeback from a long hamstring-related absence with an assist in her 30-minute second-half cameo in their Jamaica send-off friendly. 'I've probably held some anxiety, I suppose, up until this moment,' said Williamson, when asked if missing the World Cup and her recovery had given her a new appreciation for this opportunity. 'Just because I wanted to be here and I wanted to be with the team, I wanted to be here with the team, I wanted to experience another tournament for England, and being away from home is special. 'When you come to another country to represent your country and just take everything in. It's a bit different to England in 2022, so I'm just taking everything in. I'm very excited. Obviously so much has changed, so I'm intrigued to come back and enjoy that tournament football.' Wiegman and her team have embraced the mantra of this being a 'new England', with seven fresh faces in this 23-player squad featuring in their first major tournament and many of her returnees from the 2022 triumph playing much bigger roles. 'It's a new territory, and we're not necessarily looking at it as a defence, but a new challenge and an opportunity to do something new,' added Williamson. Williamson does not take the travelling English fan support, who have come out in big numbers, for granted. She added: 'I think when they look at us they see a team that would give everything for them, and I think they keep coming back for that reason. I hope that continues.' Wiegman said that while the team will 'never forget' the 'lifetime experience' of lifting the trophy at Wembley: 'You have to move on, and you have to be on top of it. Things are changing very quickly, so we have to do it too. 'We came together in February, and we came to this, saying it's a new challenge. The approach was there anyway, but we called it a new England.' Wiegman confirmed James, who scored three goals and added as many assists at the World Cup, was in a 'good place'. The 23-year-old was out of action for three months before making her long-awaited return in the 63rd minute against Jamaica last Sunday. Asked if James was fit to start, Wiegman replied: 'We're not going to give you the line-up, but she played 30 minutes last week, so she can play more than that. I think that will say enough.'
The Guardian
21 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Siegemund plays Keys to perfection while Osaka is ‘upset' by Wimbledon defeat
When it comes to Wimbledon, Madison Keys has not had the best luck. Last year, she was 5-2 up in the final set against Jasmine Paolini in the fourth round only to pull her hamstring, watching on in disappointment as the Italian reached the final. In 2022, she missed Wimbledon altogether due to an abdominal injury. Winning the Australian Open in January for her first grand slam title was meant to free her up, perhaps marking a turn in fortunes, but on Friday she was beaten 6-3, 6-3 by the 37-year-old Laura Siegemund. A couple of hours later, reporters were informed that the American would not be doing her mandatory press conference due to illness. Keys had struggled through her opening two matches and, whatever the reason, she was well below par against Siegemund. The German can get under the skin of her opponents at the best of times, her drop shots outstanding and the strength of her grunting at the louder end of the spectrum, and Keys looked out of sorts from the start. In all, the sixth seed sprayed 31 unforced errors in two sets, threw in four double faults and won just one point from 19 on her second serve. Siegemund took full advantage, becoming the oldest woman in the open era to reach the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time, testament to the longevity and perseverance of a woman who lost 10 times in qualifying at slams before making the main draw here for the first time in 2015. 'You can't not be happy when you beat a great player like Madison,' said Siegemund, who will now play Katie Boulter's conqueror, the lucky loser Solana Sierra from Argentina. 'It was not easy today, it was quite windy and swirly, at times it wasn't the best quality. But I managed and in the end I found solutions and kept my nerves.' Keys was not the only big name to fall. Naomi Osaka had been showing good improvement on grass this year but was worn down 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 by Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Osaka fought back from 3-0 down to level at 3-3 in the decider but could not force it home. 'Right now I'm just really upset,' Osaka said, asked to sum up her thoughts on the short grass-court season. 'I think if I look back on it, I can be happy with how I played. I started getting a lot more comfortable on grass. 'It's because I actually thought I could play well in general. Not saying I didn't play well, but make a deep run here. I wanted to do better than I did before. Also, I felt like I was trying so hard. I low-key busted a vein in my hand.' Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Osaka will now head to the hard courts, a time in the season in which she normally thrives, having won the US Open twice. But having lost in the second round in New York last year, she is wary of making any projections. 'Obviously, I look forward to it,' she said. 'I think last year I put a lot of stress on myself because I know I have a history of playing well there, and then also the Asian Swing. I am looking forward to it, but I don't want to kind of psych myself out.' Amanda Anisimova continued her superb grass-court season with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over Dalma Galfi of Hungary. The American, runner-up at Queen's Club, will play Linda Noskova next.
Reuters
22 minutes ago
- Reuters
Chelsea given huge fine for breach of financial rules
July 4 (Reuters) - Chelsea have been fined 31 million euros ($36.50 million) by UEFA for breaches of its financial rules, while Aston Villa, Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais were also levied with large fines, UEFA announced on Friday. The punishments come with the potential for far harsher fines down the road, with Chelsea risking being hit with a further 60 million euros if they do not get their finances in order. Barcelona must pay a 15 million euro fine, with UEFA fining Lyon 12.5 million and Aston Villa five million. The teams agreed to settlement agreements which cover periods of two, three or four years, with the clubs' final targets to be fully compliant with the football earnings rule by the end of their specific settlement period. Additionally, Lyon agreed on an exclusion from the 2025/26 UEFA club competitions should the French authority (DNCG) confirm the club's relegation to Ligue 2. ($1 = 0.8493 euros)
