England manager Sarina Wiegman distinctly remembers the day she and her Netherlands team-mates checked into the White Swan hotel in Guangzhou, China to launch an experiment that would forever change women’s football.

It was 1988, Wiegman was 18, and while men had been participating in World Cups for 58 years, a women’s equivalent existed only as an idea – one FIFA decided first needed to be tested in the form of a proof-of-concept, 12-team tournament at a time when even the now-dominant Americans had played just 22 matches.

Thirty-five years later, Wiegman’s Lionesses are one of the favourites to win the ninth edition of a global championship that has expanded to 32 teams, boasts a $110million (£84.7m) prize pot, has already sold out the 80,000-plus seat Stadium…

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott says he wishes England well at Euro 2016 despite his disappointment at missing out on a place in the squad.

The 27-year-old was left out of Roy Hodgson s 26-man provisional squad ahead of friendly matches with Turkey, Australia and Portugal.

Hodgson handed a surprise call-up to Manchester United teenager Marcus Rashford and Newcastle United winger Andros Townsend, but there was still no room for Walcott, despite the blow of his Gunners team-mate Danny Welbeck being ruled out of the tournament in France with injury.

Walcott says he spoke with the England manager before the announcement on Monday and respects the decision to leave him out.

I am of course disappointed not to make the squad, but I have spoken with Roy and respect …

Milan Skriniar will no longer captain Inter after agreeing to join Paris Saint-Germain, says Simone Inzaghi, but the Nerazzurri boss still expects the defender to start Sunday s derby against Milan.

Skriniar revealed he had reached an agreement with PSG last week, though the move will not occur until the expiration of his contract in June after Inter stood firm on his €20million valuation in the January transfer window.

The Slovakia international sat out Tuesday s Coppa Italia win over Atalanta, but he captained Inter on his last appearance against Empoli on January 23, when he was sent off.

With club captain Samir Handanovic losing his starting spot to Andre Onana, Skriniar has skippered Inter for much of the season, but Inzaghi has now revealed that will no l…

UEFA president Michel Platini will visit Poland and the Ukraine on April 15 and 16 to meet officials organising the troubled 2012 European Championships.

This visit is important because I will bring with me the top UEFA directors so that we can get a precise idea of what s happening in Poland and the Ukraine, explained Platini during a press conference here on Wednesday at the end of UEFA s 33rd Ordinary Congress.

We ll spend one day in each country to listen to the presentations of the local organising committees on stadia, cities and infrastructures, he added.

We re doing this because there s a steering committee that will discuss everything at the beginning of May and I d prefer to have seen the host cities in order to see the progress that is being made o…

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has vowed to not stand still in his ambition to drive further positive change in the area of the club’s stadium.

An in-depth analysis of Spurs’ socio-economic impact from the 2021-22 season by law company EY has found the club now contribute around £900million of gross output to London’s economy, generating an additional £478m of Growth Value Added (GVA) in London.

A total of £296m of this GVA is for the borough of Haringey specifically, which is a vast increase on the £120m GVA per annum being generated in 2015 when the club called 36,284-seater White Hart Lane its home.

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Marcus Rashford could yet become one of the world s best players after scoring his 100th goal for Manchester United, according to his Red Devils team-mate David de Gea.

Rashford became the 22nd player to score 100 goals for United – and the first since Wayne Rooney in 2009 – as Erik ten Hag s men beat West Ham 1-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday.

After powering home a header from Christian Eriksen s cross, the England international has now scored four Premier League goals against the Hammers, including two in 2022.

Only against Leicester City (six) and Liverpool (five) has Rashford been more prolific in the competition.

Having struggled for game-time last season, Rashford has looked a player reborn since Ten Hag took charge, leading De Gea to suggest he sti…

Thomas Tuchel admitted Bayern Munich are out of Bundesliga title contention after a 2-0 defeat in Der Klassiker left them 13 points adrift of league leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

Karim Adeyemi struck early on before Julian Ryerson sealed a 2-0 win for Borussia Dortmund, their first at the Allianz Arena since 2014, as Bayern’s bid for a 12th league title in a row was left hanging by the thinnest of threads.

For Tuchel, who will leave the Bavarian giants at the end of the season, the matter has already been settled. When asked if they were out of the running for the league crown, he told Sky: “Obviously, yes.

“After this game there is no more need to count points. How many is it now? Congratulations to Leverkusen.”

Xabi Alonso, Leverkusen’s head coach…

Noni Madueke believes new Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is one of the best in the business and is looking forward to flourishing under his stewardship.

Madueke, who joined the Blues from PSV Eindhoven in 2023, started the new Premier League campaign in fine form in the early tenure of the Italian.

The 22-year-old has scored four goals in four appearances this season, netting his first professional hat-trick in Chelsea s 6-2 win over Wolves last month.

Madueke managed just 11 goal involvements (eight goals and three assists) across all competitions last term, but feels Maresca s arrival has helped him add another level to his game.

He s a great guy, a good manager, a very good tactician. He s helping me a lot with my game, little details, Madueke told t…

The United States capped their Copa America preparations with a 1-1 draw against Brazil on Wednesday, with Christian Pulisic scoring a fine free-kick.

USA captain Pulisic drilled a low effort beyond Alisson 26 minutes in, after a mazy run ended with him being chopped down by Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes on the edge of the area.

A full-strength Brazil side had gone ahead nine minutes earlier when the lively Raphinha split the hosts defence with a fine pass for Rodrygo, who beat Matt Turner at his near post.

Rodrygo went close with an acrobatic effort shortly after half-time, but neither side was able to find a second-half winner, primarily due to the performances of Alisson and Turner.

The Liverpool goalkeeper made a great stop to deny Pulisic shortly afte…

Virgil van Dijk has confirmed he will not be taking part in Euro 2020 for Netherlands due to injury.

The Dutch captain will miss the tournament and complete his recovery with the aim of being ready to start pre-season training with Liverpool.

Van Dijk, 29, has missed much of the season having suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury against Everton in October, ruling him out ever since.

And Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp recently dented fans hopes of seeing Van Dijk in action again this season by saying he is still quite a way from returning to training despite footage of the player running.

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

Van Dijk has now confirmed he will not risk his recovery by playing at the Euros, though he is disappointed to miss o…