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[ad_1] LONDON: Gareth Southgate says he is driven to make England the world's top-ranked team, stressing there is no room for "sloppiness" as they seek to end their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on a high. England, who face North Macedonia in Skopje on Monday, are all but assured of being among the top seeds in next month's draw for the finals in Germany. But they were disappointing in Friday's 2-0 victory against Malta at Wembley and will be keen to improve against lowly North Macedonia, whom they hammered 7-0 at Old Trafford in June. "Qualification's done," the England boss told British media ahead of the Group C finale. "With the games at the weekend, we might be ranked third in the world at the minute (England are fourth in the latest published FIFA rankings), but we're two places off where we need to be so we can't waste games. "Some of the players have got three games to get into a squad, some have got maybe thre...

[ad_1] England have won the toss and elected to field first against Afghanistan in the thirteenth match of the ICC World Cup 2023 at Arun Jaitley Stadium. PLAYING XIs Afghanistan Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi England Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler (c)(wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley   [ad_2] Source link https://worldnews2023.com/stports/world-cup-england-opt-to-field-first-against-afghanistan-such-tv/?feed_id=324078&_unique_id=6733fb80befb3

[ad_1] LONDON: Former England Women's rugby captain Sarah Hunter was among a host of British female sports stars recognised in King Charles III's birthday honours list on Friday. Hunter was given a CBE for her services to rugby union after winning a record 141 caps and playing for England in their 2014 Women's World Cup-winning campaign. The 37-year-old also featured in England's 2022 Women's World Cup final loss to New Zealand before retiring in March. "Never in a million years did I ever expect to have the career I've had and for it to be recognised like this," she said. "I'm just an ordinary girl from the north-east of England who has happened to have an incredible time playing rugby." Hunter was one of a number of influential women on the honours list, which also included former England footballer Eniola Aluko, ex-England cricketer Lydia Greenway and darts player Fallon Sherrock. Aluko, who won 102 caps for the England...

[ad_1] SYDNEY: Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo did the damage late on in Sydney as England shattered Australian dreams Wednesday with a clinical 3-1 win to set up a Women's World Cup final against Spain. The Lionesses had stumbled at the same stage twice before but the European champions made no mistake this time to reach the final for the first time. They took the lead nine minutes before the break with Manchester United's Ella Toone unleashing a rocket just inside the box with the outside of her boot. A fit-again Sam Kerr, starting for the first time this tournament, hit back for the home side in the second half with a world-class goal that set the game on fire, picking up the ball and letting fly from 30 yards after a weaving run. It sparked ecstatic scenes from the 75,784-strong partisan crowd. But they were silenced eight minutes later when Hemp muscled her way into the box and stabbed into the corner before Russo put the icing on the cake with four minutes lef...

[ad_1] PARIS: Harry Kane scored again as England made it two wins from two in Euro 2024 qualifying by beating Ukraine 2-0 at Wembley on Sunday, while Cristiano Ronaldo extended his international goals record to 122 with a double as Portugal thrashed Luxembourg. Captain Kane, who broke Wayne Rooney's all-time England goalscoring record in midweek, turned home his 55th international goal from Bukayo Saka's cross in the 37th minute. In-form Arsenal winger Saka all but ended Ukraine's resistance three minutes later, turning from Jordan Henderson's pass and curling a sublime strike from outside the area into the top corner. The victory takes England three points clear at the top of the early Group C table after winning in Italy for the first time since 1961 on Thursday. "Two wins out of two is all we asked for at the start of the camp," midfielder Jude Bellingham told Channel 4. "We've followed up a really good result in Italy with another on...

[ad_1] Najam Sethi, the head of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), recently proposed the idea of hosting the Asia Cup in England. “England could be a possibility as a venue for the Asia Cup,” Najam Sethi said in a interview with an Indian media outlet. However, Salman Butt, a former Pakistani cricketer, expressed his reservations about hosting the Asia Cup in England, stating that it would not make sense to have a neutral venue for a tournament that is meant to represent the Asian continent. “A neutral venue like this [England] is not viable for Asia Cup, it will not make sense as it will mean that there is not a single venue in Asia where it could be held,” Salman Butt said. Butt argued that for the sake of giving options, you can provide as many as possible, but it is important to see if they are feasible or not. “You can include England in it and make it Euro-Asia Cup. You can also give this suggestion. In the past, Austral-Asia Cup used to take place in which Australia...

[ad_1] Former Pakistan pacer, Mohammad Amir, is set to join Derbyshire as a local player next season, reported The Telegraph . This move comes as Amir is set to acquire British citizenship in 2024, thanks to his marriage to Narjis Khan, a British citizen and a lawyer. Having retired from international cricket in 2020, the 31-year-old cricketer is now focused on obtaining British citizenship before finalizing his deal with Derbyshire. Amir brings valuable experience in county cricket, having previously played for Essex and Gloucestershire. He also participated in the first season of the Hundred for London Spirit. Should he become a British citizen, Amir would gain the opportunity to play in the Hundred as a local player. Interestingly, Derbyshire shares an intriguing connection with Pakistan, as their head coach, Mickey Arthur, also holds the position of director of cricket for Pakistan. Arthur was the full-time head coach of Pakistan during the period when Amir was a pivot...

[ad_1] MANCHESTER: Injuries to key players and a dip in form have left England coach Sarina Wiegman with plenty to ponder if the European champions are to win the Women's World Cup for the first time. Barring a massive shock when the tournament begins on July 20, England should cruise through a group featuring China, Denmark and debutants Haiti. But their path through the knockout stages is loaded with danger, with co-hosts Australia or Olympic champions Canada likely opponents in the last 16. Preparations have not been ideal, a year on from England winning the Euros at a packed Wembley for their first major trophy in women's football. In April, England were held 1-1 by Brazil before winning the first-ever women's Finalissima – a clash between the champions of Europe and South America – on penalties. Their 30-game unbeaten run was then ended by the Australians and Wiegman's team failed to break down Portugal in a 0-0 draw in their only warm-up friendly ear...

[ad_1] LONDON: The UK sweltered through its hottest June since records began in 1884, the country's weather agency said on Monday, adding that human-induced global warming means such unusual heat will become more frequent in the next few decades. Describing the latest record as bearing a "fingerprint of climate change", the Met Office said the average temperature for June hit 15.8 Celsius - 0.9C hotter than the joint previous record of 14.9 C in 1940 and 1976. "By the 2050s, the chance of surpassing the previous record of 14.9C could be as high as around 50%, or every other year," said Met's Paul Davies . Large areas of the country, from the Orkney Islands in northern Scotland to Cornwall in southwest England, set regional high temperature records last month, with many experiencing mean temperatures that were 2.5C more than average. Water use restrictions have been imposed in parts of southeastern England amid record demand for drinking water. Scot...