Tom Holland watched his beloved Tottenham Hotspur win the Europa League whilst filming The Odyssey
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Associated Press
2 minutes ago
- Associated Press
England 40, United States 5
Washington, D.C. Audi Field Saturday England 40 (Curtis Langdon, Luke Northmore, Cadan Murley, Jack van Poortvliet, Harry Randall, Gabriel Oghre tries; George Ford 4 conversions, Charlie Atkinson conversion), United States 5 (Shilo Klein try). HT: 19-0
New York Times
2 minutes ago
- New York Times
Breaking down Ann-Katrin Berger save of the tournament that sent Germany to Euros semi-finals
Ann-Katrin Berger is backpedaling and already going down. Gravity is working against the 34-year-old German goalkeeper. So are basic physics, the general understanding of human limitations, logic. But there is her left arm, extended into another dimension, clawing out a rogue header from German defender Janina Minge millimetres from her goal line in the 105th minute of Germany's quarter-final victory over France like some exquisitely German-engineered time machine. Advertisement Half an hour later, the former Chelsea shot-stopper is dropping to her knees, those same dimension-entering arms outstretched, Christ the Redeemer-style, embracing her stampeding teammates after saving two penalties and converting another. Germany — down a player from the 13th minute of this maelstrom of a quarter-final, after Kathrin Henrich's inane red card for pulling Griedge Mbock's hair in the penalty area — are through to the semi-finals after beating France 6-5 on penalties. That is largely because of Berger. The Gotham FC goalkeeper doesn't so much live for these moments as the moments live for her. In March 2023, Berger denied U.S. women's national team midfielder Lindsey Heaps in Chelsea's Champions League quarter-final penalty shootout against Lyon to advance to the semi-finals. In last summer's Olympic Games, Berger saved two shots from Ashley Lawrence and Adriana Leon in the quarter-final penalty shootout against Canada, before scoring the decisive penalty. She later deflected Alexia Putellas' ninth-minute penalty in Germany's bronze medal match against Spain, defeating the world champions 1-0. On Saturday night, Berger was the perfect analog for a dogged, resilient German performance. She was confident in the air, composed on the ball, quick off her line, racing out to smother any French threat within 25 feet of her area. She plastered her Gatorade bottles with opposition players' preferred penalty angles, wrapped around the plastic exterior like some sort of secret marine expedition. She duly denied France's Amel Majri and Alice Sombath. Berger was defiant in the face of everything: of a red card to one of her team-mates and of the 18 shots France thrashed at her goal. France registered nine shots on target before the penalty shootout. Berger made nine saves. Five were in the box. Another five were what the BBC qualifies as 'diving saves', an absurdly under-qualified description for the goalkeeping Berger produced in the 105th minute. Advertisement 'For me, the most impressive element of it was the fact that she had to reorganise her body,' Karen Bardsley, former England and Manchester City No 1, tells The Athletic. 'She had to readjust her balance to go from right to left really quickly to generate the power to push off her left foot and dive in a really powerful way. 'To produce that sort of power is impressive in that quick instant,' Bardsley continued. 'She was really low, generated a lot of it from probably her glutes and her quads, but the full extension was massive. Then to claw it out of the way at full extension while you're falling onto your shoulder? That is all out AKB, isn't it?' Berger is not always the subject of praise when it comes to her gonzo-style goalkeeping. Her tendency to rush out of her area, to foray to the halfway line and dribble against onrushing strikers has earned her skeptics, including Germany coach Christian Wuck, who, after the opening Euro 2025 match against Poland (which Germany won 2-0), spoke about his goalkeeper's risk-taking in juxtaposition to her match-winning reflexes. Some German reporters and pundits asked whether such a style might be more sabotage than bravery. When asked about these doubts in a pre-match press conference this week, Berger did not mince her words. 'Why should criticism from people who have never even stood in a goal affect me?' For all her obvious abilities between the sticks, there is also the conviction to step up and take a penalty herself. (England goalkeeper Hannah Hampton said after the Lionesses' dramatic penalty shoot-out victory against Sweden that she could not fathom doing so due to the mental expenditure required just to make saves.) Such an unflappable creed is not synthesised with time or practice. 'I'm not really an emotional person,' Berger said in her post-match press conference Saturday, having been named UEFA's Player of the Match. 'I wasn't happy that we had to go to a penalty shootout because I would've liked to have it done in 90 minutes. But I did my part in the game because the team in the 120 minutes worked incredibly hard. All the credit should go to the team and not me. Maybe it's the decisive moment, but everyone here should talk about the performance of the team because that was amazing.' Advertisement The exchange is quintessential Berger. In the minutes before kick-off, Berger walked calmly to her goal in front of the German fans. She raised her arms, geeing them up, her face as expressionless as granite. As she walked to take her place in front of the France fans for the shoot-out, she wore the same expression. But that Berger has this moment is special for myriad reasons. Perhaps none more than because during the previous Euros in England, Berger (then Germany's No 2) discovered that her thyroid cancer, first diagnosed in 2017 when she was playing for Birmingham City, had returned. She underwent therapy again. From there, Berger began curating her legend: Berger as a goalkeeping transcendence beyond 2022. A year later, there was Lyon. A year after that, Canada. Three months later, she was voted the National Women's Soccer League's Goalkeeper of the Year with Gotham FC. And now, there is Basel, 2025. 'For me, I look forward,' she said. 'I live my best life and I'm in a semi-final.'
Associated Press
2 minutes ago
- Associated Press
England dominates US in lightning-delayed rugby match
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) — The United States brought the lightning and England created all the flash as it completed its Americas tour by cruising to a 40-5 win on Saturday. England's first game in the U.S. in 24 years was delayed for an hour by lightning in the area, and for another 40 minutes during the first half. It didn't help the Eagles as England, depleted of its British and Irish Lions touring Australia, racked up six tries and its biggest win over the U.S. in six years. After wins in Argentina by 35-12 and 22-17, England extended its longest winning streak to seven matches under coach Steve Borthwick. While U.S. flyhalf Chris Hilsenbeck was in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-on, England drove hooker Curtis Langdon over the try-line and arrowed center Luke Northmore between the posts. Around the delay in the first half, England had two tries ruled out before wing Cadan Murley cut inside three defenders to score on halftime for 19-0. England's desire to play at pace was hit and miss. Scrumhalf Jack van Poortvliet finished a counterattack from halfway featuring Northmore, and his replacement Harry Randall finished a great break engineered by Ben Curry and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, back after a two-game suspension. Replacement hooker Gabriel Oghre, one of six new caps, scored England's sixth and last try on debut. The U.S. grabbed a late consolation try off a lineout finished by replacement hooker Shilo Klein. ___ AP rugby:
