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Manchester United Plc dismissed reports that the football club has made a decision on whether to bring 21-year-old

Alex Greenwood claimed she “cannot put it into the words”, so she just kept repeating the words that made her feel like that. “We’re in a World Cup final.” “I just keep having to say it,” she laughed. It is a glorious fact worth actually reflecting on, even as thoughts quickly turned to Sunday, what next, who starts, whether Lauren James comes in. If actually winning the World Cup is the great ambition of any career, the final itself is the great stage. Those who step onto the pitch will leave their own mark on history, the very line-ups part of the record that makes football so rich. “We wanted to take England and women’s football to a new level and we have certainly done that over the last 12 months,” Ella Toone said. They’ve taken it all to the highest level for the very first time. That is worth celebrating, as Sarina Wiegman and the players insisted they would be doing. The squad were loving it out on the pitch but, as the Stadium Australia sound system played the Fifa-approved songs, they quickly realised they wanted to get into the dressing room and play their own music. This was the overriding feeling as they then made their way through the mixed zone. “We will celebrate tonight, I’d rather be in the changing room than talking to you lot,” Toone smiled. Everything they said still captured all it means. Some of them might have been cliches, but they’re cliches for a reason. They’re just what comes to mind as you try to make sense of something that goes beyond your imagination; your hopes. “It’s unbelievable, this is what dreams are made of,” Chloe Kelly said. “It is history,” Lucy Bronze added. Toone, meanwhile, graciously spoke a lot despite pleading she was so eager to get away. “This is going to be the biggest game of our careers.” That’s apt, because this - to quote their manager - has been a team that has grown with this World Cup. That is the major theme of, and explanation for, England’s historic run to the final. Performances have gotten better. Key players, and especially the attackers, have found form. Solving so many problems has honed the team. It meant they were supremely primed for what was supposedly their biggest test so far, a semi-final against a fine Australia in front of a fervent home crowd. There was even the shock of Sam Kerr’s thunderbolt, and a brief period where it seemed like it could all turn. Not a bit of it. Weaker sides, or even previous England teams, might well have wilted at that point. England turned it into their second biggest win of the World Cup so far, three of their attackers fittingly scoring again. “We just have this belief, nothing fazes us,” Toone added. “We face a lot of challenges this tournament and we have come through every one of them.” Lucy Bronze echoed that. “This tournament we’ve had so many things go against us, red cards, key players getting injured before the tournament, during the tournament, going a goal down in the last game, going against the host nation, everyone’s throwing everything at us including the kitchen sink. And we’ve just won games.” The variety of ways they have to win was pleasingly followed by the variety of the goals. One was just a straight contender for goal of the tournament, even as it swerved into the top corner, a moment of pure quality. “Honestly, that’s the best shot I’ve hit in my life,” Toone said. The second was a classic piece of opportunism, if from a rudimentary approach. Lauren Hemp had to be there, though, just as she was almost everywhere throughout this semi-final. “She has been like that the last few games,” Toone said. “She is just a nuisance. She runs in behind, she comes to feet, she is fast and she is strong. I think she would be a nightmare to play against and she has shown that today with a goal and an assist too . But it’s a team performance, we all dug deep.” The last from Alessia Russo was a classic striker’s finish, after some deft play from Hemp. It all makes it very difficult for Wiegman to bring Lauren James back in. This has been another irony of the World Cup, that shows how well England have adapted. Wiegman generally doesn’t like to change a team that works, but has been forced to do so at pretty much every step. Now, as the path clears to the grand stage, she will surely keep it as is. James might even be better value as a potential game-changer to come on. Even someone as meticulous and forward-thinking as Wiegman, however, admitted that was something to consider tomorrow. Now was the time to just be happy. Hence there was a joyous response when Greenwood was asked about previous semi-final disappointment in 2015 and 2019, and how England had never previously got this far. “That’s something we don’t have to think about any more.” There was now only hope, ambition, dreams coming true. “I’ve always said the one thing I’ve wanted for England is to get a star above my crest,” Bronze said. “The men have it and we don’t, so finally we can share the same crest.” Read More Sensational England capitalise on Sam Kerr’s missed moment to make World Cup history How England deployed dark arts and cool heads to silence Australian noise Sarina Wiegman: Inside the ‘genius’ mind behind England’s run to the World Cup final Lionesses celebrate reaching World Cup final – Wednesday’s sporting social Lauren Hemp hails ‘special’ England as Ella Toone toasts ‘best shot’ of her life Sarina Wiegman v Jorge Vilda – a look at the coaches in Women’s World Cup final

Winning just three games qualifies as a disappointment at Boston College

Conference realignment has widened the recruiting footprint for Power Five college football programs long before many teams open play in their new league homes

Jurrien Timber admits he is “gutted” that impending knee surgery will rule him out for a lengthy period of time after he suffered a serious injury on his Premier League debut for Arsenal. The Netherlands international moved to the Emirates Stadium from Ajax this summer but was forced off during Saturday’s 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest. He emerged for the second half but lasted just five minutes before going down off the ball and being replaced by Takehiro Tomiyasu and Arsenal confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that Timber is now set to go under the knife. “Further to detailed assessments with consultant specialists since Saturday, we can confirm that Jurrien has sustained an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee,” a statement read. “Jurrien will undergo surgery in the coming days and will be out of action for a period of time. “The support and expertise from our medical team and everyone at the club will now be focussed on Jurrien’s rehabilitation programme, to ensure he recovers well and is back playing as soon as possible.” With recovery times from such injuries differing, Arsenal are unwilling to put a timeframe on a return to action for Timber, who took to Instagram to thank fans for a warm welcome. “Gutted to share my injury is more serious than expected, especially after the warm welcome I’ve received,” he wrote. “I wanted to repay you on the pitch, which will not be possible for the forthcoming period. I’m blessed with a lot of great people around me. Together we will do anything to get back as soon and strong as possible. “For now I’ll be supporting our team from the stands of course. Thanks for making me feel at home in such a short period of time, see you at The Carpet.” Timber was a £38.5million signing for the Gunners and played in the Community Shield penalty shoot-out win over Manchester City before suffering the setback against Forest. Despite losing Timber, Arsenal are still expected to allow Nuno Tavares to leave the club in the coming days, with Forest a potential destination for the former Portugal Under-21s full-back. While signed primarily to play at right-back, Timber had started life at Arsenal on the left side of defence, filling in as Oleksandr Zinchenko recovered from a calf problem. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Lord Coe backs Keely Hodgkinson and Zharnel Hughes for World Championship glory George Ford: England’s players need to step up with World Cup on horizon Lionesses celebrate reaching World Cup final – Wednesday’s sporting social

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Russell Gage and New York Jets cornerbacks coach Tony Oden were both carted off the field after separate injuries during the teams’ joint practice Wednesday

French midfielder Dimitri Payet has been welcomed by 5,000 Vasco da Gama fans upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro ahead of his expected deal with the struggling Brazilian club

Venus Williams will be back in the U.S. Open at age 43, and Caroline Wozniacki will join her in the field for her return to Grand Slam tennis

MLB Prospects Rumors: Cubs Pete Crow-Armstrong continues to dominatePete Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs top prospect according to MLB Pipeline, has been quite dominant all season long, even after his promotion to Triple-A. So far, the top prospect has played just over 10 games and amassed a slash line o...

Sacks Parente Golf Inc.’s shares tumbled as much as 83%, erasing almost all of the big first-day gains

Florida State probably won’t have to wait until December to learn its fate regarding the College Football Playoff

Manchester United is close to making a decision over whether Mason Greenwood has a future at the club