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Women's World Cup: England narrowly beat Denmark

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England 1 - 0 Denmark Six minutes into her first World Cup start, Lauren James announced herself on the global stage with a stunning strike from the edge of the box. An apparent injury to Barcelona midfielder Walsh dampened what was a positive, attacking performance from the Lionesses after a scrappy 1-0 win over Haiti. Previous match report:  England start with a win (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Walsh went down under little contact and immediately gestured to the dugout that she was in pain. Over 40,000 people were in attendance in Sydney. A Sydney Football Stadium dominated by Lionesses fans was flattened by the sight of England's most crucial player injured. Despite England's deserved half-time lead, Denmark capitalised on this change of mood and created a chance for former Chelsea striker Pernille Harder, which she scuffed wide. Throughout, James showed she is more than deserving of a regular starting position with England, showing the creativity and unpredictabilit

Women's World Cup: England start with a win

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England  1 - 0 Haiti In their opening Women's World Cup game against Haiti, England did what they needed to do - win. The European champions were lacklustre and wasteful in their 1-0 victory, struggling to put away the chances they created while looking occasionally sloppy in defence. Haiti proved why they are in Australia among the 32 best teams in the world with a fearless performance that tested Sarina Wiegman's side. Georgia Stanway's penalty gave England a crucial three points - and it was just the third time in six World Cup appearances they had won their first match. Women's World Cup: Spain and Switzerland start with a win (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Women's World Cup: Preview (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Their most recent matches were against Portugal and Australia, and they did little to generate momentum against Haiti. There were 44,000 people in attendance, including many ex-pats living in Brisbane, supporting the English team, but Haiti did

Women's World Cup: Spain and Switzerland start with a win

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 The Women's World Cup has started! There has been some great action on display already, let's explore some of the interesting stories that are already developing. Before the tournament started, we published this preview:  Women's World Cup: Preview (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Spain 3 - 0 Costa Rica Spain dominated Costa Rica in their Women's World Cup opener in Wellington. They took the lead through Valeria del Campo's own goal, followed by Aitana Bonmati's second goal two minutes later. After Jennifer Hermoso headed against the crossbar, Esther Gonzalez added a third after Daniela Solera saved a penalty. Spain scored three goals despite several fine saves from Solera and Olga Carmona.Their dominance was evident in the match stats, as they attempted 46 shots at goal, including 12 on target, while Costa Rica, ranked 36th in the world, only attempted one shot. You can find more Spanish football news here Additionally, Spain had 80% possession and 22 corner

Transfer News: Man United have a new keeper

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The £47.2m signing of goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan has been completed by Manchester United. The 27-year-old Cameroon international has agreed to a five-year contract with a 12-month extension option. Picture from  Football Pictures | Flickr The deal is worth an initial £43.8m plus a possible £3.4m in add-ons, and the former Ajax keeper will now join up with the United squad on their pre-season tour of the United States. Why have United signed him? Ten Hag's desire to bring his former Ajax goalkeeper to Manchester United increased after his excellent performance in Inter Milan's Champions League final defeat. A distribution like Onana's isn't risk-free, but it comes from the modern school of goalkeeping, where the last line of defence is now the first line of defence. Goalkeepers are now expected to be comfortable with the ball at their feet, be able to play short and long passes accurately, and provide angles from which sides who dominate possession can a

Transfer News: Rice signs for Arsenal

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 Declan Rice has been an Arsenal player for a few days now. Arsenal announced they had signed Rice from West Ham in club-record £105m deal.  The midfielder's move is a record transfer fee between two British clubs. He becomes Arsenal's third summer signing to take Gunners' spending to £208m; Rice signs five-year deal at Arsenal. What impact will the transfer have on both clubs? Rice celebrating the recent Europa Conference League with West Ham. His last appearance for the club. Photo from  Football Pictures | Flickr The Arsenal fans are happy We spoke with Peter, an Arsenal Season Ticket holder, spoke about the benefits of the signing: "Declan Rice could be a colossus of the modern game even in this age of mega-athletes. With superb timing, an eye for space that opens up the pitch, and the ability to hit long or short killer passes, he has unmatched power combined with superb timing. Arteta and staff will also turn him into a monster scorer in the penalty box."

Transfer Rumours: Where next for Harry Maguire

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 It's time to explore another transfer saga. When Manchester United paid a record £80m to make Harry Maguire the world's most expensive defender in 2019, one of the big attractions was his ability to lead. Maguire had then captained the Old Trafford club within three months of his arrival from Leicester. Less than three months after that, the England man was given the armband permanently following Ashley Young's move to Inter Milan. He is now Erik ten Hag's fifth-choice central defender behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, and even Luke Shaw. As Euro 2024 approaches at the end of this season , England boss Gareth Southgate has told Maguire he needs to play more frequently to remain in the squad. Maguire is no longer United captain Now he's had the club captaincy taken off him. Maguire said he was "personally extremely disappointed" as he revealed it first on social media. He also said: "Since the day I took on the role, three

How England won the European Under-21 Championships

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England U21 1 - 0 Spain U21 England won the European Under-21 Championship for the first time in nearly 40 years. James Trafford's dramatic last-minute penalty save ensured the Young Lions beat Spain. The young goalkeeper, who is set to join Burnley from Manchester City in a deal that could be worth up to £19m, kept out Abel Ruiz's low spot-kick in the 99th minute. The 20-year-old then produced another brilliant stop on the follow-up before being mobbed by his team-mates. More England news from every level can be found here. You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below.  England U21 1-0 Spain U21 | Heroic James Trafford Makes Young Lions European Champions! | Highlights - YouTube England just about had enough to overcome Spain The winning goal came with virtually the last kick of the first half when a Cole Palmer free-kick deflected off team-mate Curtis Jones and wrong-footed goalkeeper Arnau Tenas to find the bottom corner. Spain had a Ruiz goal ruled out f