Sunday's briefing: Just another game for Greenwood while Gyokeres faces sanction
Arsenal target Viktor Gyokeres is facing disciplinary action for failing to turn up to pre-season training for Sporting Lisbon.
Andy Carroll has completed a surprise move to join Dagenham and Redbridge, while Sweden finished top of Group C at the Euros with a resounding 4-1 defeat of Germany.
Greenwood not fazed by Wales test
🗣️ "What do we have to fear?"
Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson is 'excited' for their clash with England at the Euros 🏴🏴 pic.twitter.com/KGpu7NRStu
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) July 12, 2025
Alex Greenwood admitted the big rivalry billing for England's final Euro 2025 group-stage encounter might hold more weight for their Welsh opponents than it does for her.
A win against Wales – the lowest-ranked team in the tournament – would be enough to book England a place in the quarter-finals. Wales need a victory of four goals or more, as well as France beating the Netherlands, to progress.
Wales captain Angharad James, who was asked if she wanted to knock England out, said: 'Of course you do. It's in our blood. It's in our DNA.'
But quizzed as to whether or not she felt the same sense of rivalry, Greenwood conceded: 'Maybe not as much. I think, for me personally, it's another game.'
Sporting sanction Gyokeres amid Arsenal interest
Arsenal's bid to sign Viktor Gyokeres has taken a fresh twist after Sporting Lisbon confirmed he is facing disciplinary action for failing to turn up to pre-season training.
Gyokeres, who scored 39 league goals to fire Sporting to the Portuguese title last season, is understood to be at the top of Arsenal's wish list. However, the two clubs are yet to agree a transfer fee.
Sporting president Frederico Varandas told Portuguese news agency LUSA: 'If they don't want to pay Viktor's fair market value, we'll be very comfortable with that for the next three years.
'If the geniuses who are devising this strategy think that this puts pressure on me to make it easier for him to leave, not only are they completely wrong, but they are also making it more complicated for the player to leave. No one is above the interests of the club. Whoever they are.'
Carroll completes surprise Dagenham move
It's not every day… ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/wkgK9q1QGG
— Dagenham & Redbridge (@Dag_RedFC) July 12, 2025
Former Liverpool and Newcastle striker Andy Carroll has agreed a deal to join Dagenham and Redbridge.
The 36-year-old, who played nine times for England, has made the switch to the National League South side on a three-year deal. Dagenham announced earlier on Saturday that they had been taken over by a Qatari consortium.
Carroll left Bordeaux last month following one season in the fourth tier of French football.
Sweden humble Germany with four-star triumph
Sweden secured an emphatic 4-1 win over 10-woman Germany to finish top of Group C – and line up a possible quarter-final against England.
Jule Brand fired Germany ahead after just seven minutes before Arsenal's Stina Blackstenius hauled Sweden back on level terms.
Smilla Holmberg then gave Sweden the lead with Carlotta Wamser dismissed for handball and Fridolina Rolfo scoring the resulting penalty.
Lina Hurtig completed the rout with 10 minutes remaining as Sweden claimed their first-ever victory against the eight-time champions at the Euros. It also marked Germany's biggest ever loss in the competition.
Poland beat Denmark 3-2 in the other game in the group.
What's on today?
Defending European champions England will look to avoid an early exit in their clash with Wales.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
30 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Arsenal legend Santi Cazorla, 40, agrees new deal with boyhood club on minimum wage after promotion to LaLiga
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SANTI CAZORLA has signed a new one-year deal with boyhood club Real Oviedo aged 40 — and will earn MINIMUM WAGE in La Liga. The former Arsenal midfielder made an emotional return to Oviedo in 2023, playing a starring role in last season's promotion back to the Spanish top flight for the first time in 24 years. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Santi Cazorla has signed a new one-year deal with Real Oviedo Credit: Getty 5 Cazorla is willing to pay for free but is prevented from doing so by Spanish football rules Credit: Getty 5 Cazorla led the Real Oviedo party after they made it back to La Liga Credit: EPA 5 The players celebrated the occasion with an open-top bus parade Credit: EPA He netted a stunning free-kick in their La Liga 2 play-off semi-final against Almeria. And then scored a penalty in the second leg of the final to beat CD Mirandes in extra time. Cazorla offered to play at Oviedo — where he was in the academy from the age of eight to 16 — for FREE on his return, but league rules forced him to take a minimum wage of £77,000-a-year, or £1,480-per-week. Following Oviedo's promotion, he has signed on for the minimum possible amount again. But, as he steps up a level, he will now pocket a £90k pay-rise - as the LaLiga minimum wage is £168,000-a-year, or £3,230-a-week. That means Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe will be earning THREE TIMES more in a WEEK than Cazorla gets a year, to play in the same league. And even then, the generous star will give 10 per cent of his wage and shirt sales to the club's academy. A club statement read: 'With this renewal, Santi Cazorla, a symbol and emblem of Oviedo, proves that dreams, when pursued with the heart, come true. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK 'Real Oviedo secures the leadership of a footballer who embodies the club's values like few others, both on and off the field.' Cazorla, who turns 41 in December, scored five goals and registered five assists in 35 games last season. Footballer Andy Carroll signing for Dagenham and Redbridge FC 5 Skin from arm had to be put on his ankle after surgery Credit: Offside sports A two-time European champion with Spain, the midfielder spent six years at Arsenal and made 180 appearances before leaving in 2018. He suffered an Achilles injury in October 2016, going on to have 11 operations to cure the problem. One of the operations led to gangrene with doctors telling Cazorla he should be satisfied to walk again, never mind play. It was even suggested he may have to have to lower leg AMPUTATED. But he ignored that doomsday prognosis and after an operation to rebuild his Achilles — including having a skin graft from his arm to his ankle — he returned to playing after a 22-month absence. Oviedo's first La Liga fixture is away at Villarreal — another former club of Cazorla's — on August 15 before hosting Jude Bellingham's Real Madrid.
Times
38 minutes ago
- Times
Mohammed Siraj is pantomime villain… and India's most willing workhorse
If there was going to be any argy-bargy between England and India in this series — and, given the stakes, that was always likely — then Mohammed Siraj was almost bound to be involved. He is someone who thrives on competition and bowls better when sparks are flying. India took the field on Sunday still incensed at England's time-wasting the previous evening, and it was Siraj who led the charge. In his second over, he nipped one back into Zak Crawley's pad; India reviewed, but it was sliding down. In his next over, he resumed a duel with Ben Duckett that had run since the final day in the first Test at Headingley, when Siraj was infuriated by Duckett's good fortune en route to a match-winning 149. Siraj had him playing and missing, edging near to the slips, and dropped on 97 in the deep in Leeds. At one point he went down the pitch and stared intently at his diminutive adversary, while Crawley stood by smirking. This time Duckett's luck was out. He got away with a cheeky scoop for four, but moments later cramped himself for room attempting a pull and cuffed a simple catch to mid-on. Siraj, fully pumped, closed in and shouted into Duckett's face, and the opener, looking dazed by his error, started heading towards the pavilion. Siraj seemed happy enough to let his shoulder collide with Duckett's as they passed, an act that led to the umpires speaking to him before play continued. Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. The match referee may, or may not, be interested in the incident. There is a lot of pantomime in what Siraj gets up to. On Saturday night, shortly after the India players had their say about Crawley's time-wasting, Siraj and Duckett could be seen walking off together in close proximity. They weren't going at it hammer-and-tongs; on the contrary, they exchanged friendly pats on the back. The other thing about Siraj is that his grasp of the English language is so poor that his conversations with opposing batsmen and umpires are something of a mystery. He certainly won't understand what they are saying, and they probably cannot fathom what he is spouting either. Anything other than him venting his spleen is lost in translation. There is, though, more to him than huff and puff. Later in his seven-over spell, he got a ball to cut back into Ollie Pope's pads and convinced his team-mates that it was worth a review, and was proved right. It was the first lbw of the match. He nearly repeated the trick later, too, but his demand for a review against Joe Root transpired to be umpire's call on leg stump. All series, one of Siraj's best weapons has been the ball that darts back into the right-hander. Jasprit Bumrah naturally attracts most attention for the originality of his style and sophistication of his method, but Siraj is his side's leading wicket-taker in this series with 13 and he has comfortably got through the most work, uncomplainingly picking up the overs that Bumrah cannot bowl because his workloads must be carefully managed. At the end of last winter's series in Australia, when Bumrah broke down in Sydney, Siraj put in 11 overs straight either side of lunch as he strove to stave off defeat. He is India's most willing workhorse and the one who sends out the message that, however tough the task, he is willing and able. With Bumrah sitting out the previous Test at Edgbaston, Siraj was the first bowler to put India in the ascendancy in that match, with Crawley's wicket late on the second day, and those of Root and Ben Stokes with successive deliveries the next morning. The ball to the England captain was a ripper. His determination and resilience was instilled at any early age. Growing up in Hyderabad in modest circumstances, his father, who was an auto-rickshaw driver, provided for his sons as best he could and bought them the cricket equipment they needed. Siraj did not bowl with a hard ball until he was 20, but within a year was making his Ranji Trophy debut. Within another 18 months he was playing in the Indian Premier League, his first deal enabling him to buy the family a new home. Siraj's entry into Test cricket in Australia in 2020 was another formative experience. With the touring party still in Covid-19 quarantine after arrival, he learnt that his father had died of a lung condition, and he was persuaded by his mother and Ravi Shastri, the India head coach at the time, to stay with the team as he would have had to undergo another lengthy period of isolation were he to then attempt to rejoin the tour. By the time of the Boxing Day Test, a string of injuries had propelled him into the side. He took five wickets in India's win in Melbourne and another six in their victory in Brisbane to seal a remarkable 2-1 win after being routed for 36 in the opener in Adelaide. He shed emotional tears for his father during the anthems in Sydney. With this pulsating Lord's Test hanging in the balance, it may be that Siraj yet has a role to play with the bat if his side are to creep home. Even his most ardent supporters will hope not. He barely owns more Test runs (142) than he does Test wickets (113) and has reached double-figures on only three occasions in 53 innings. But if he does need to bat, he will give it everything, as he always does.
Times
38 minutes ago
- Times
Viktor Gyokeres deal edges closer after Arsenal renew talks with Sporting
Arsenal have edged closer to signing Viktor Gyokeres before the club leave for a pre-season tour to the Far East on Saturday. Sporting Lisbon have insisted Arsenal must pay £60.5million (€70million) up front for the Sweden striker and refused an offer of £51.9million (€60 million) plus £8.6million (€10 million) in add-ons. Arsenal have now offered to pay a higher overall sum of £63million (€73million) — including £8.6million in add-ons — split into instalments, and further talks took place on Sunday, with Mikel Arteta, the Arsenal manager, keen for his signings to join their Far East tour, which includes matches against AC Milan, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur. The Portuguese club threatened to fine Gyokeres after he did not return to pre-season training on Friday, a day before the team travelled to the Algarve. Gyokeres's agent has been reported in Portugal to have said he will waive an agent fee amounting to 10 per cent of the transfer price. Andrea Berta, who was appointed Arsenal sporting director in March, has trained Arsenal's sights on Gyokeres due to his record of scoring nearly 100 goals over the past two seasons. He struck six goals, including a hat-trick against Manchester City, in the Champions League last season. Arsenal have signed Kepa Arrizabalaga, a goalkeeper, as well as the midfielders Martín Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard. Noni Madueke is in the process of completing a transfer from Chelsea for £48million plus £4million in add-ons. Ethan Nwaneri is expected to follow Myles Lewis-Skelly, his fellow academy graduate, in signing a new long-term deal. The midfielder signed his first professional contract when he turned 17 in 2024 and that expires next summer. Meanwhile, West Ham United have targeted bringing in at least two more players after they agreed a £19million deal to sign El Hadji Malick Diouf, the Slavia Prague left back. He made 41 appearances last season, scoring seven goals and providing three assists, after he started his career with Tromso in Norway. Diouf, 20, has played six times for Senegal, including their 3-1 win over England in June. Crystal Palace had two offers rejected for Diouf in January. West Ham are expected to sell Emerson, 30, while Aaron Creswell, also a left back, has been released after his contract expired.
