Former Scotland and Fiji coach Vern Cotter is to be a consultant for Romania during the upcoming Rugby World Cup, the...

Italy's Rugby World Cup squad announcement has been pushed back ten days after a spate of injuries in last...

Roared on by the majority of a 75,784 crowd, co-host Australia reached the Women's World Cup quarterfinals after an impressive 2-0 victory over Denmark in Sydney.

Carson Wentz is a man of many teams

Sam Kerr came off the bench as Australia surged into the Women's World Cup quarter-finals with a 2-0 win over Denmark in front of nearly 76...

There was a tense atmosphere at Boxpark Wembley as England fans watched the Lionesses’ penalty shootout against Nigeria unfold. Sarina Wiegman’s side squeezed past their opposition with a 4-2 win on spot-kicks, after a goalless 120 minutes. Given the nation’s record on penalties, it’s no surprise that atmosphere was tense in Boxpark as the latest shootout unfolded - especially after Georgia Stanway missed England’s first. But Nigeria also failed to score their first two, leaving Chloe Kelly the opportunity to send the Lionesses through, and those watching in Wembley jumped to their feet when she smashed the ball past Chiamaka Nnadozie.

Bayern Munich have drawn up a list of alternative options to Harry Kane in case their club record bid for the striker is rejected. Dusan Vlahovic and Randal Kolo Muani have both been linked.

It was the sort of goal Riyad Mahrez has tended to score for Manchester City, the kind that helped the Algerian strike 39 times in two seasons when he was not even always a first choice. Yet it was not Mahrez: he is gone to Al-Ahli and if a deluxe squad player looked irreplaceable, there came an illustration that City have a potential successor with some similar qualities. But, even though it came in the first game since Mahrez’s departure, perhaps not for this season. Out of the academy, off the bench, Cole Palmer scored City’s first spectacular goal at Wembley since Ilkay Gundogan two months earlier. This time it did not yield silverware: City’s last three competitive games, separated by the summer, have consisted of a trio of finals and they lost the least important, perhaps cruelly for Palmer, who had more reason to pronounce himself “gutted” than most. As Arsenal brought in their £105 million signing, Declan Rice, City brought on the local lad who cost them nothing. As Mahrez used to, he cut in from the right flank and curled in a shot with his left foot. As Mahrez increasingly was, he was a substitute; an impact sub at that. That impact was diminished by Leandro Trossard’s deflected 101st-minute equaliser and a loss in the subsequent shootout. Many a Community Shield can be forgotten; this might not be remembered as Palmer’s day after all. But it was an illustration of ability, it remains to be seen where it will be glimpsed again this season. City have not bought anyone to take over from Mahrez. Yet if there is a vacancy in a squad that, after Raheem Sterling left last year, now looks shorter of wingers, Palmer could still be headed for the exit. He has a queue of suitors and City will consider loaning him out. Brighton are thought to be keen. Burnley were, though they have a stack of wingers. Palmer may not take the path of Phil Foden, the young Mancunian who stayed in Manchester. If his route is into the City side, he may require a long and winding road. “He wanted to play more minutes last season,” Guardiola said. “We have to talk with the club. I don’t know what is going to happen with him to find a solution with him.” Palmer hinted that first-team football elsewhere may be preferable to cameos at the Etihad Stadium. “We’ll have to see what the plan is for next season and hopefully play as many games as possible,” he said. He made the most of a quarter of regulation time at Wembley. It was enough to earn him the player-of-the-match award, albeit before the late drama added a different sheen to proceedings. When he entered proceedings, he seemed the lesser partner in a double act, brought on with Kevin de Bruyne. When they combined, the Belgian’s first assist of the season was rather overshadowed by the finish, curled around Aaron Ramsdale. It was Palmer’s fifth goal for City. A man who scored 52 last season had exited with an expected goals score of 0.00. It was a sign of the lack of service to Erling Haaland. As starting the season by drawing a blank in the Community Shield is now an annual routine, it feels less of a concern than the Norwegian’s underwhelming debut against Liverpool last year. Haaland’s importance is obvious after a campaign that was the most productive of any player’s since Dixie Dean was in his heyday. If there is a reason to argue it is still greater this season it is because City’s two summer departures, Mahrez and Gundogan, had a shared attribute: each could prove prolific, whether from a deeper or wider position. It was most useful in the false-nine years, the interregnum between Sergio Aguero and Haaland. They were the respective top scorers in the two previous seasons. Yet it is a skillset City have yet to import: Mateo Kovacic has come in for Gundogan but rarely finds the net. So far, no winger has joined. Guardiola started with technicians – in Kovacic, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva – who are infrequent scorers. He began with two who got into double figures last season, Julian Alvarez and Haaland, who got half the way to triple figures. He brought on two more, in Foden and De Bruyne. Subdued at the start, City looked brighter with an injection of impetus from the Belgian and a moment of class from Palmer. It was a reminder that they have often prospered by allying their assurance in possession with moments of individual brilliance, often from De Bruyne or Mahrez. But even as Palmer suggested he may be the heir to the Algerian, it was followed by the feeling that it will not be at City just yet. Read More How much added time? Football’s new guidelines and the impact they will have Arsenal ‘obviously paid way too much’ for Declan Rice, says Roy Keane Can Mikel Arteta become Pep Guardiola’s greatest nemesis – or merely the latest? How much added time? Football’s new guidelines and the impact they will have Keira Walsh: England’s deep-lying playmaker in profile Raphael Varane says players’ opinions ignored over ‘damaging’ new guidelines

Ranking Lionel Messi's seven goals in his first four Inter Miami outings.

Each time Lionel Messi lined up for a free-kick in his first away game for Inter Miami, thousands of fans packed into a stadium in the searing Texas heat stood and held up their cell phones, ready to record. They all successfully captured footage of history repeating itself. Messi scored another mesmerising free-kick in his third consecutive two-goal game, drawing Inter Miami level before they snatched victory over FC Dallas on penalties to move into the Leagues Cup quarter-final. Messi’s goal in the 85th minute to square things at 4-4 was reminiscent of the game-winner from his Inter Miami debut, both free-kicks from just outside the area in the waning moments, both sneaking past the goalkeeper into the upper corner of the net. This time, the left-footed superstar was stationed to the right of the goal and beat FC Dallas’ Maarten Paes at his near post in the same manner he did from out on the left in a 2-1 win over Mexican club Cruz Azul. “I think there’s not much to say. I think everyone can see,” FC Dallas coach Nico Estevez said. “It’s obvious that for him a free-kick around there is like a penalty for another player. You have to pray that the ball goes out of bounds or he falls in the run-up to kick the ball.” The victory in the round of 16 sent Inter Miami into the Leagues Cup quarter-finals against the winner of Monday night’s contest between Charlotte FC and Houston. The second of Messi’s three consecutive two-goal games came in the first Leagues Cup elimination game, a 3-1 Miami victory over Orlando City that was delayed by an hour and a half because of a torrential rainstorm in Florida. The fifth match in Texas of Messi’s illustrious career had a kick-off temperature of 100 degrees (38 degrees Celsius) on the 14th consecutive day of triple-digit heat in the Dallas area and, because of the high temperatures, teams took a heat break midway through each half. Messi’s first goal outside of Florida for his new U.S. club was another left-footed strike from outside the penalty area in the sixth minute, after a pass from former FC Barcelona teammate Jordi Alba. It was initially disallowed for offside, although this was overturned following a VAR review. The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and World Cup winner for Argentina has scored seven goals in four matches for Inter Miami — all in the Leagues Cup — with every game ending in victory after Inter went winless in nine consecutive MLS matches before the 36-year-old arrived. “We are very glad to be moving on and these types of games help us to continue to develop as a team and fix our mistakes,” Miami coach Gerardo Martino said through an interpreter. “We still have a long way to go to be at the level we want but in the end, I am glad that we obtained the victory.” Come the shootout, Messi converted the first penalty with a leisurely run-up before blasting his effort into the right corner. The difference was Paxton Pomykal firing over the crossbar with FC Dallas’s second spot-kick before Benjamin Cremaschi, who had also scored in the 65th minute, scored the winning penalty as Miami triumphed 5-3 in the shootout. Dallas had gone 4-2 up when Robert Taylor scored an own goal in the 68th minute but Dallas netted an own goal of their own in the 80th minute when Marco Farfan put a header into his net from a Messi cross. Soon after, Taylor had a moment of redemption when he was fouled by Eugene Ansah, setting up Messi for that stunning free-kick that sent the crowd of 19,096 into a frenzy. Miami co-owner David Beckham saw the first one at home 17 days ago. He was here for this one, too, in a stadium where tickets that normally go for about $40 were selling for hundreds of dollars, and in some cases listed for more than $1,000. “To have players like him here will make our players better,” Estevez said of Messi. “When you have to face this kind of level, you have to do better. And you can see FC Dallas today, how some of our players raised their level.” Associated Press Read More Argentina star defends Cristiano Ronaldo tattoo: ‘It’s not anti-Messi’ New Jersey Governor keen to host Premier League and Champions League matches Cole Palmer shows why he become Man City’s missing piece Cole Palmer shows why he become Man City’s missing piece England scrape into Women’s World Cup quarter-finals after penalty shootout drama England stars vow to rally round Lauren James after World Cup sending off

Barcelona trying hard to secure deal for Manchester City's Bernardo Silva.

The US women’s national team recorded its earliest ever World Cup exit after losing 5-4 to Sweden in penalties.