LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 10, 2023--

Teenager Yamine Lamal has helped Barcelona fight back to win a 4-3 thriller at Villarreal in the Spanish league

By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS The European Commission will shortly propose that the EU give more cash to countries

Aston Villa bounced back from their heavy opening-day Premier League defeat by cantering to a 4-0 home win against Everton. Captain John McGinn and Douglas Luiz’s penalty gave Villa a 2-0 lead at the break and after second-half efforts from Leon Bailey and substitute John Duran, Unai Emery’s side put last week’s 5-1 loss at Newcastle behind them. It was all too easy for Villa as they cashed in on some wayward Everton defending, which prompted half of their fans to leave Villa Park long before the final whistle. Everton have lost their opening two games for the second successive season and their cause was not helped by the first-half withdrawal of the luckless Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The England striker, who scored only two goals last season after being dogged by injury, failed to recover from an early clash of heads with Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez and was eventually forced off in the 38th minute. Villa were without key players Tyrone Mings, Emi Buendia (both knee) and Jacob Ramsey (foot) due to long-term injury, but midway through the first half they had established a comfortable lead. McGinn fired them in front in the 18th minute, volleying home Bailey’s cut-back after the latter had wriggled his way to the byline. Villa doubled their lead from the penalty spot in the 24th minute after VAR ruled Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had taken out Ollie Watkins with a flailing arm. Watkins’ had moments earlier seen his shot cleared off the goal-line, while Pickford, making his 250th Premier League appearance, was booked for delaying the spot-kick, which was coolly dispatched by Douglas Luiz. England’s number one went some way to redeeming himself soon after when turning Moussa Diaby’s goal-bound volley on to a post. Everton troubled Martinez for the only time before the interval when a low, angled shot from Calvert-Lewin’s replacement, summer signing Arnaut Danjuma, forced the Argentinian into a near-post save. The visitors were forced into another change soon after the restart when Alex Iwobi hobbled off and was replaced by Neal Mapauy. It got worse for Everton in the 51st minute when Villa put the result beyond doubt. Bailey pounced after Everton defender Michael Keane had miscontrolled a throw-in into the box and fired home a low shot under Pickford. Watkins went close to adding a fourth when his angled effort rolled inches wide before Martinez superbly blocked Maupay’s close-range effort at the other end following a corner. Keane was caught out again in the build-up to Villa’s fourth, miskicking from former Villa defender Ashley Young’s throw-in and Duran ran clear to bury his first goal for the club, less than a minute after stepping off the bench to replace Watkins. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live We gave everything – Sarina Wiegman so proud despite ‘hard to take’ final defeat World Cup final in pictures: England fall to agonising defeat against Spain Katarina Johnson-Thompson on course for world championship gold

Australia are facing England in the Women's World Cup semi-final today, with both teams trying to get into their first-ever World Cup final. Playing in the host nation's Stadium Australia in Sydney, from 11am BST, the Matildas (as they are known) will face England's Lionesses and it is expected to be an exciting match given how well both teams have been playing in the tournament. But those developing an interest in women's football for the first time may be confused as to why Australia's team are called the Matildas as they watch the action unfold. The history behind the nickname is pretty interesting. When Australia qualified for their first Women’s World Cup in 1995 they were known as “the Female Socceroos”, referencing the men’s team, a portmanteau of “soccer” and “kangaroos”. But before the tournament started, the Australian Women’s Soccer Association ran a viewer competition to find a better nickname, with the shortlist including the “Soccertoos”, “Blue Flyers”, “Waratahs”, “Lorikeets” and “Matildas”. The Matildas, which comes from popular Australian song “Waltzing Matilda”, which is seen as an unofficial national anthem, won the poll and the name stuck. The song “Waltzing Matilda” tells the story of a person who steals a sheep and is chased by police, and jumps into a pond to escape, but drowns. Former Australia player Moya Dodd once told The Sydney Morning Herald why she thought the nickname was so fitting for the team. “I think it did capture a sense of rebelliousness, if you like, which is women’s football,” she said. “It was banned for a long time. To be a woman playing football was a social transgression. In a way, it identifies well with a song about a guy who’s defying authority by stealing things, and then making sure he doesn’t get caught.” So there you have it. Regardless of the team's nicknames, the countdown to the semi-final is getting increasingly exciting, with an Australian newspaper accused of spying on England's latest training session, showing just how intense the long-running rivalry between the two countries is getting. European champions England defeated Colombia 2-1 in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the Matildas’ dramatic penalty shootout victory against France in their winning quarter-finals became the most-watched sporting event in the country since the 2000 Olympic Games. The winner will play Spain in Sydney, after La Roja defeated Sweden 2-1 in the other semi-final and then we will know who has won the World Cup. It's all to play for. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Dunne's growing popularity has sparked significant interest in her private life

The Honda Pilot has become a byword for the affordable midsize SUV

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov 1, 2023--

Scarlett Johansson recounted that Matt Damon's terrified response to snakes spread around the set was the scariest part of filming 'We Bought a Zoo'

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has emphasized his administration’s resolve to defend the country’s territory through diplomacy in a key speech but did not mention China, with which it has had an escalating series of conflicts in the disputed South China Sea

The Dallas Stars were facing an 0-3 deficit in the Western Conference Final, and now they're all of a sudden one home win away from forcing a winner-take-all Game 7 back in Vegas.The Stars won Game 4 in overtime and then followed it up with a convincing 4-2 win in Game 5. Now, they're ...

We debunk one myth about each state in the U.S., from the Rocky Mountain not-so-high of Colorado to New Mexico. That’s right, New Mexico.