Sports

Northern Ireland 2-0 Slovakia: Was World Cup qualifying win NI’s best under Michael O’Neill?

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O'Neill admired the performance of his young side, who have made a superb start to qualifying.A win in Luxembourg was followed by an hour of matching European heavyweights Germany, who eventually prevailed to win 3-1.Friday's win was superb from first minute to last. A Patrik Hrosovsky own goal broke the deadlock before Hume's superb effort with just under 10 minutes left made sure - but was it the best under O'Neill?"I don't really look at games like that because teams evolve," O'Neill said when asked if it was the most complete performance since his return in 2023 for a second…

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Gregor Townsend: ‘Red Bull link can help me and Scotland’

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There's no doubt that if Scotland have a poor autumn series, a disappointing Six Nations and a bad summer then Townsend will be in trouble. The new gig will be used as a stick to beat him with. It could get deeply uncomfortable."If we have a poor autumn, poor Six Nations, poor summer tour, then they're going to criticise me as a head coach anyway and I don't think they need to say it's anything to do with Red Bull," he says."My time, my focus, my connection with the players will be the same as it was before. The intention…

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Football gossip: Schade, Guehi, Konate, Upamecano, Murillo, Lukeba, Sulueiman, Phillips, Wilson, Tonali, Wharton

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Brentford forward Kevin Schade is a target for Tottenham, Real Madrid prefer Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi to Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate, while the Reds want Bayern Munich defender Dayot Upamecano.Tottenham are among the teams closely monitoring Brentford's 23-year-old German forward Kevin Schade. (Sky Germany via Sky Sports), externalCrystal Palace and England defender Marc Guehi, 25, has overtaken Liverpool and France centre-back Ibrahima Konate, 26, as Real Madrid's first-choice free-transfer signing next summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish), externalLiverpool are interested in Bayern Munich and France centre-back Dayot Upamecano, 26, in addition to Crystal Palace's Guehi. (Florian Plettenberg), externalJuventus will make…

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Women’s World Cup 2025: New Zealand beat Bangladesh for first win

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New Zealand's Devine cut a resigned figure as she walked out to bat in the ninth over.Although her side had narrowly avoided losing a wicket in the opening over for the third time in three matches, thanks to Suzie Bates overturning an lbw decision when on nought, two wickets in three balls derailed their promising start.Bates' run-out, caught on her heels as Melie Kerr darted for a single, was inexcusable and marked the fifth powerplay wicket lost by New Zealand at the tournament.Fortunately, Devine is the tournament's in-form batter, scoring 112 and 85 in her previous two innings, and after…

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Thousands line streets for Ricky Hatton’s funeral in Manchester

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PA MediaThe funeral was held at Manchester Cathedral after a long procession around the cityThe great and the good of the boxing world were among thousands of mourners who said an emotional farewell to world champion Ricky Hatton at his funeral earlier.Hatton, whose passion, personality and skills drew huge crowds throughout his career, was found dead at his home in Hyde, Greater Manchester, on 14 September at the age of 46.The boxer's son Campbell, who followed his father into the boxing ring, paid tribute during the service at Manchester Cathedral."I can't explain how much I'm going to miss you, dad,…

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Women’s World Cup 2025: England aim to build momentum with win over Sri Lanka

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Although fixtures against Sri Lanka and Pakistan should be straightforward for England as they look to continue their winning streak, they could prove decisive with back-to-back matches against India and Australia to come.England thrashed South Africa in what could have been a tricky opener, avoided a scare against Bangladesh and now have a golden opportunity to make sure they go into those games against the pre-tournament favourites unbeaten.But they will have to contend with more spin-friendly conditions in Colombo on Saturday, with opener Tammy Beaumont saying the nature of the pitches is reducing the gulf between teams."Every game in this…

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Edgar Davids’ time at Barnet: Captain, player, manager, number one

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Things were unravelling.Davids used to miss some away games that involved more travel - a deal which had been agreed with Kleanthous.There were rumours he would attend parties or go shopping instead - but Landvreugd said that was not true."He was in Amsterdam with people working for his clothing company," said Landvreugd, who currently manages Den Bosch. "It took a lot of time off him. He flew over one day or two days mostly doing that and nothing else."Landvreugd and Schreuder, both popular figures around the club, would take charge of games Davids missed.Fairclough explained: "The players didn't know what…

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Willie Peters: Hull KR revived by coach as treble opportunity looms

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At around 5ft 5in (1.65m) tall, Willie Peters was a crafty, skilful "larrikin" half-back as a player who made the grade in Australia's National Rugby League with South Sydney, but then switched to the other side of the world to join new Super League franchise Gateshead Thunder in 1999.Wigan came calling in 2000, and he featured in that season's Grand Final against St Helens before heading back to Australia to play for St George Illawarra and then Souths again before a short stint at Widnes brought his career to an end.It was those opportunities that prompted Peters to move from…

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The Wayne Rooney Show: ‘We tried’ – Rooney defends his England team

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He continued: "What you have now is [rival teams'] players training [together] before they go back to pre-season together - Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford for instance. "It's a different generation. The big thing is the media coverage of it is much better. The players get on better with the media. From the outside that gives a better feeling."Gerrard, speaking as a guest on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast, said several former Manchester United and Liverpool players get on better now as pundits than they ever did as England team-mates."I didn't feel part of a team. I didn't feel connected…

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Craig Bellamy: Harsh lesson in England defeat before Belgium clash

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Bellamy was on something of a charm offensive when he faced the media before this fixture. There was to be a new and bigger English audience to see what the Welsh public had already witnessed: his evolution from a combustible, confrontational player to a controlled, deep-thinking coach.This was the sternest examination so far of that new image.He simmered on the Wembley touchline as he watched his team fold obligingly in the face of torrential English pressure.Bellamy kept his cool on the surface but did he manage such calm in the changing room too?"I quite enjoyed half-time," he said."I was like,…

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