Sports – Page 39 – viralpique.com

England will be ‘underdogs’ at World Cup – Thomas Tuchel

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He was handed an 18-month contract, with the primary goal of leading England to World Cup glory."If you've never won Wimbledon, you may be one of the favourites but you are not the favourite," Tuchel said."You can go and if you come close, OK, you are within the pool, but you are not the favourite. It is just how it is."There is Brazil, there is Argentina, Spain, France and they just did it recently."It doesn't mean we have no chance and we know very well. First we will qualify and then we will know exactly why we go there."Tuchel gets…

Cole Palmer: Chelsea forward expected to be out until November with persistent groin injury

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Chelsea forward Cole Palmer is expected to be out of action until November following a club meeting about his persistent groin injury.The 23-year-old has faced recurring issues since the injury emerged during a shortened two-week pre-season that followed his starring role in Chelsea's Club World Cup victory in July.It has limited him to just four appearances across all competitions this season.Palmer was substituted after 21 minutes in Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at Manchester United on 20 September, and afterwards manager Enzo Maresca said the club would "protect" the England international with a period of rest to ensure his recovery after the…

Harry Kane injury: England captain to miss Wales friendly

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With Thursday night's game a friendly and World Cup qualification looking likely, Kane's injury is not a major issue for Tuchel.But England's reliance on Kane is obvious. The captain has scored a record 74 goals in his 109 caps, with the rest of the current squad scoring 53 between them.Kane has scored 26.4% of all England goals since his debut in 2015, with Raheem Sterling - last capped during the 2022 World Cup - the only other player to score 20 goals in that time.In Tuchel's squad the most obvious candidate to step up on Thursday is Aston Villa's Ollie…

World Cup qualifiers: Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill would swap milestone for points in ‘heartbeat’

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Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill says he would swap his upcoming personal landmark for World Cup qualifying points "in a heartbeat". O'Neill will take charge of his 99th and 100th games as Northern Ireland manager against Slovakia and Germany at Windsor Park over the next five days. Hosting the four-time world champions - who won last month's fixture 3-1 in Cologne - in Belfast will be a glamorous way to mark his century, but O'Neill insists he is only interested in results as his team push to reach next year's finals. "It's a nice personal thing for me, but I…

Ruben Amorim: Manchester United boss needs three years to prove himself a ‘great’ coach, says co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe

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Last month, United announced they had cut losses from £113.2m to £33m for the year to June 2025. This followed two rounds of redundancies, during which more than 400 people lost their jobs, including many long-term staff members. Scouting is among the areas where numbers have been slashed.Ratcliffe has been criticised for the job losses and also scrapping long-standing perks such as free lunches for staff."The costs were just too high," he said. "There are some fantastic people at Manchester United but there was also a level of mediocrity and it had become bloated. "I got a lot of flak…

Financial help offered to tennis players involved in doping investigations by ITIA

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The Professional Tennis Players' Association, which was co-founded by Djokovic to increase player power, introduced a scheme in January which offers free support from two prominent law firms.The number of legal hours provided is limited, and there will be restraints too on what the ITIA will be able to offer.There is already pro-bono legal support offered to players who test positive by Sport Resolutions - an independent dispute resolution company.This will now be open to players from the moment they test positive, rather than when they are charged, but long-term support is dependent on finding lawyers who are prepared to…

European clubs as Uefa looks to streaming services

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Europe's top clubs could cash in on streaming rights as Uefa looks to raise over £4bn per year from its next TV deals.Officials from the governing body believe the next broadcast rights sale for Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League games could bring in a minimum of €5bn (£4.3bn) annually.The current rights, sold in 2024, are worth about £2.9bn per year and new deals will come into effect from 2027.Rights are due to be put out to tender this month and are likely to involve a six-year commitment - double the current length.One first-pick game per round could…

Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025: Beth Mooney rescues Australia from shock defeat by Pakistan

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Beth Mooney's masterful century rescued Australia from one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history and set up an ultimately resounding 107-run victory over Pakistan.The defending champions were floundering at 76-7 against Pakistan's spinners but the unflappable Mooney hit 109 to drag her side to 221-9, turning a day that could have been about exposed Australian frailties into a clear example of why they are huge favourites to secure an eighth title. The left-hander was the latest member of Australia's vaunted batting line-up to step up, repelling Pakistan as they sensed the most significant victory in their history. Mooney…

Judd Trump suffers surprise second-round defeat by Matthew Stevens in China

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World number one Judd Trump suffered a surprise defeat in the second round of the Xi'an Grand Prix as he fell 5-4 to Matthew Stevens in China.From 3-1 behind against 2019 world champion Trump, Welshman Stevens won the next three frames to take a 4-3 lead.Trump was trailing by 38 points with 27 left on the table in the eighth frame but earned a decider by forcing a foul on the blue and then on the pink before clearing up and sinking the respotted black.Both players had opportunities to win the decider, but 47-year-old former Masters and UK Championship winner…

NFL: Keenan Allen – why coaches love record-breaker over star receivers

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Allen was selected by the Chargers - then based in San Diego - in the third round of the 2013 draft, but he has outlasted many of the wide receivers that were drafted after him."This record basically speaks to his consistency and his availability," said McGeoghan, who was the Chargers' wide receivers coach from 2018-2020."But his intelligence and his sophistication are what has allowed him to catch that number of passes over time. He's great on third down, he's one of the best chain movers in the history of the game."Allen currently has 11,563 receiving yards - fifth among current…