Latest news with #EuropeanChampionships
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Gary Naysmith on his two big Scotland regrets as Tartan Army hero recalls his strike that downed Iceland
Everton and Hearts icon scored his one and only international goal against this Friday's opponents. One of the proudest moments of Gary Naysmith's career arrived for Scotland against Iceland. He might not have known it at the time but the Nordic nation also played a part in one of his major regrets. The former Everton and Hearts ace boasts a perfect four wins from four against the Icelanders and scored his one and only goal for Scotland in a 2-0 Euro qualifying success in Reykjavik in 2002. But his 46th and final appearance arrived back at Hampden in a 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory against Eidur Gudjohnsen and co seven years later. And as the two nations prepare to lock horns for the first time since that April 2009 evening, Naysmith admits his biggest disappointment from a 20-year playing career was falling just short of 50 caps and entry to the Hampden roll of honour. That and a failure to qualify for a major tournament with his country. It's a different story now with the latest squad having reached the last two European Championships. And given the number of hall of famers at Steve Clarke 's disposal, Naysmith reckons reaching a first World Cup for 28 years is also now a real possibility. The latest quest begins with Friday's friendly clash against Iceland in Glasgow before Clarke finalises his squad for the World Cup qualifiers starting in September. And Naysmith, now manager at Stenhousemuir, said: 'Every game is big for Scotland and these players seem to appreciate that. I loved playing for my country. 'My only Scotland goal was against Iceland - with my right foot as well! I was playing centre midfield which was an unusual position for me but the goal is something I will always cherish. 'I remember the cross coming in, taking a decent touch and then.. listen when I swing with my right foot the first thing I was just trying to concentrate on was making sure I actually hit the ball! 'I caught it well and it was one of those ones you know is going in straight away. The feeling of scoring for Scotland is incredible. 'Playing for your country's a big thing but then actually scoring for your country's something else. It was one of the highlights of my career, no doubt about it. 'I crossed for Christian Dailly's opener as well so it was a good trip all round. 'Four games against them and four wins isn't bad. My wife also booked us a weekend in Iceland for my 40th birthday so there's been quite a significant link with Iceland. 'But the 2-1 win in 2009 turned out to be my last appearance. I was only 30 so my international career ended quite suddenly.' A hamstring injury picked up with Sheffield United two weeks after that game refused to go away and Naysmith missed an entire year. But never would he pull on a Scotland jersey again. He said: 'I was very lucky to get 46 caps - 45 of them starts. I've not got too many regrets in my career. But the two I do have are both with Scotland - not getting to a major tournament and not getting 50 caps and into the Hall of Fame. 'The second one is probably the bigger regret. It would have been a nice thing to show the grandkids to take them and see the Hall of Fame at Hampden. 'I'd have really loved to be able to say I got 50 caps for Scotland. And I should have got that. I missed too many squads through injury.' Now managing Stenhousemuir, Naysmith will be backing Clarke's side as a fan on Friday night. With newly crowned Serie A champions Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour in the ranks beside Coppa Italia winner Lewis Ferguson, Torino's Che Adams and Premier League big guns John McGinn, Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney there's no shortage of top level quality. And it's a gathering of experience Naysmith hopes can help Clarke's troops get over the line when the World Cup qualifiers begin. He said: 'We have a lot of players who are doing really well in the big leagues. Our teams also had that. Players who were playing sporadically in England or at Rangers or Celtic, big clubs. 'But these lads going abroad and doing well helps the national team. Hopefully this can be their year. 'The choices we have in midfield especially is very strong. 'You wonder if we have a definite centre half pairing. And striker is a bit of an issue - we don't seem to have an out and out first pick. 'But midfield is so strong and it's interesting to see how Steve will fit them all in.' Former Hearts man Andy Irving is the newcomer to the engine room. The West Ham star has his chance to impress Clarke. And although Naysmith never worked with the 25-year-old playmaker at Hearts he came up against him plenty as manager of Queen of the South. He said: 'Technically Andy is superb. He was on loan at Falkirk and one thing you know is that his passing ability is exceptional. 'You had to make sure he never got a lot of time on the ball or he would hurt you. There's parts of his game he has obviously worked hard on in various different countries. 'It's an unbelievable story. It shows you, you have to go and play. You get to a certain age and you need games. 'That's why I left Everton at 28. I had an another three-year deal on the table but I knew in my heart of hearts that I probably wasn't going to be starting in the big games. 'I just wanted to play so I moved on. That's what these boys are doing and they will benefit for that.'
The Irish Sun
17 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Fintan McCarthy and Konan Pazzaia win bronze for Ireland at European Rowing Championships in Bulgaria
IRELAND have claimed their first medal at the European Rowing Championships in Plovdiv. Advertisement 2 Konan Pazzaia and Fintan McCarthy claimed bronze on Saturday in Plovid at the European Championships 2 Konan Pazzaia nd Fintan McCarthy of Ireland celebrate after winning bronze in the Men's Double Sculls Final at the 2025 European Rowing Championships at Plovdiv Canoe and Rowing Centre The Irish pair crossed the line in 6:05.48, finishing third behind Romania. Polish duo of Miroslaw Zietarski and Mateusz Biskup claimed gold. It marks a significant milestone for Skibbereen's McCarthy, as it is his first medal in the heavyweight division. The medal for Queen's University Belfast rower Pazzaia is his first major medal of his senior career. Advertisement read more on sport Pazzaia was a late stand-in for Paul O'Donovan, who was absent from the event. Earlier, Mags Cremin and Zoe Hyde narrowly missed out on the podium in the women's double sculls. They came home fourth in 6:55.73 as Dutch pair Roos de Jong and Tessa Dullemans took gold. There was further disappointment for Ireland in the lightweight categories as Izzy Clements, making her senior international debut, finished just outside the medals in the women's lightweight single sculls with a battling fourth-place finish. Advertisement Most read in Other Sports Jake McCarthy, brother of Fintan, also fell agonisingly short in the lightweight men's single sculls, clocking 7:01.45 to place fourth. Germany's Fabio Kress edged out Turkey's Halil Kaan Koroglu to take the gold. Inter Milan fans INVADE Munich ahead of Champions League final vs PSG Ireland's final shot at silverware in Plovdiv comes on Sunday, when Olympic bronze medallist Fiona Murtagh competes in the women's single sculls final.
BBC News
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Britain's Jarman wins European vault silver
Briton Jake Jarman won a silver medal in the men's vault on the final day of the European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Leipzig, 23-year-old, who won European vault gold in 2022 and 2024, had an almost-perfect first vault, but his second was less precise and gave him an average score of Artur Davtyan took gold, pipping Jarman by less than a point with a 14.799 score, while Ukraine's Nazar Chepurnyi claimed the bronze with 14.583."Mixed emotions, I am more frustrated at myself to be honest," Jarman told the BBC."I did the best first vault, I went into my second vault shaking because I was so nervous. Overall I am really happy."Jarman's first vault scored a 15.2, the first time at these championships any male athlete had gone over 15 on the the execution of the second vault let him down and resulted in a 14.266 score which reduced his Harry Hepworth, who won bronze in the men's vault at the 2024 Paris Olympics, just missed out on a medal in fourth place with a score of 14.350.
Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Chelsea identify second striker target after Delap as two stars head for exit
Chelsea are in the process of finalising the £30million signing of Liam Delap but the Blues are also chasing a left-winger and there could yet be further arrivals in attack Chelsea will explore the signing of a second striker - despite already pulling off a major early coup by agreeing terms with £30million Liam Delap. The UEFA Conference League winners are continuing to monitor the forward market for opportunities, although they're now prioritising the capture of a left-winger. The Blues are expected to hold talks with Eintracht Frankfurt centre-forward Hugo Ekitike's agent Karl Mwalako Buchmann over the course of the next week. Chelsea are also long-term admirers of Arsenal target Benjamin Sesko and have tracked Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres with Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku both expected to depart west London this summer. There is also optimism Delap could yet feature for Chelsea at the Club World Cup over the U21 European Championships with England. The 22-year-old is poised to undergo his medical on Monday after snubbing interest from the likes of Manchester United, Newcastle, Everton and Nottingham Forest and should there be no late hitches, he would technically be available for this summer's tournament in the United States because Chelsea are not obliged to release him for the U21 Euros as per FIFA rules. Nicolas Jackson remains a firm part of Enzo Maresca's plans, however, the Senegal international now has a fight on his hands to remain the club's first-choice No.9 next season. Various suitors from Europe have made exploratory checks on Jackson's availability in recent months via his reps but currently, he's expected to stay put after penning a new two-year contract last September. Maresca has previously stated that he also believes Jackson has the tools to play from the left flank if required but Chelsea are keen to continue building a competitive squad after securing Champions League qualification. Ekitike is viewed as an interesting prospect with huge potential by both Chelsea and Liverpool but Eintracht Frankfurt are currently commanding a bumper package worth up to £84m (€100m) and it's currently unlikely any club will reach that figure. Brighton's Joao Pedro is not thought to be a name of serious interest at this stage despite being linked with a move to Stamford Bridge while Ipswich are showing loan interest in Marc Guiu, who is rated very highly internally at Chelsea. Meanwhile, the Blues are currently negotiating with Jadon Sancho as they would be open to triggering his £25m buy-out clause following his loan spell from Manchester United. Chelsea would have to pay a £5m penalty clause to send him back to Old Trafford, however, Sancho would likely be required to take a pay-cut if he is to seal a permanent switch to Stamford Bridge. The Chelsea hierarchy plan to recruit a left-winger regardless of Sancho's situation as Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended. Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Bynoe-Gittens is among the key names of interest but Chelsea are also long-term admirers of Athletic Club's Nico Williams and have other targets on their radar having previously looked at Manchester United's Alejandro Garnacho in January.
BBC News
a day ago
- General
- BBC News
Pritchard wins Euros gold with another world record
Great Britain's Benjamin Pritchard set a world record for the second time in three days as he became European champion on Paralympic champion broke the record in the PR1 men's single sculls on day one of the European Rowing posted a time of eight minutes 47.88 seconds to book his place in the final in Plovdiv, 33-year-old Welshman then topped that two days later, winning in a time of 8:40.38 to claim his first European was enough to beat the previous world-record holder, Ukraine's Roman Polianskyi, who was second in 8:51.93, while Italy's Giacomo Perini was third (8:55.96). Samuel Murray and Annabel Caddick then finished second in the PR3 mixed double sculls British pair finished in 7:03.54, while Germany's Valentin Luz and Kathrin Marchand won it in 6: Eleanor Brinkhoff and Megan Slabbert also claimed a podium finish in the women's pair were third in 6:55.47, with the Romanian pair of Maria Magdalena Rusu and Simona Radis (6:49.18) winning ahead of Laura Meriano and Alice Codato from Italy (6:52.64).
