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Euros final beckons for one of imperfect England or the Netherlands | The Express Tribune

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GERMANY:

England have a first ever major tournament final on foreign soil in their sights in Wednesday’s Euro 2024 semi-final when they face a Netherlands side hitting their stride in Dortmund.

The Three Lions are aiming to match their run to the Euro 2020 final, when they lost in heartbreaking fashion on penalties to Italy at Wembley.

England’s only ever major tournament triumph also came on home soil at the 1966 World Cup.

Gareth Southgate’s men are out to end 58 years of hurt and have shown remarkable resilience, if not the quality expected of one of the pre-tournament favourites, in Germany.

Twice England have stared down a humiliating early exit to fight back against Slovakia and Switzerland to reach the last four.

Individual moments of brilliance from Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka have kept them alive with late equalisers before beating Slovakia in extra-time and Switzerland on penalties.

Those were flickers of the individual talent at Southgate’s disposal and the England boss has defiantly defended his record, even though his side had failed to hit top gear at the tournament so far.

Under Southgate, England are now in a third semi-final in four major tournaments – matching the three semi-finals they had reached in their history prior to his appointment eight years ago.

That has not sheltered the 53-year-old from criticism. Southgate was pelted with beer cups after a 0-0 draw against Slovenia in the group stages and has faced a backlash for his perceived negative tactics with a richly-talented squad.

“I can’t deny then when things get as personal as it has that does hurt. I don’t think it’s normal to have beer thrown at you,” said Southgate of his detractors.

“But we’re in a third semi-final in four tournaments, and I think we continue to give people fantastic memories. So we’ll keep grinding, we’ll keep fighting, and we’ll keep enjoying this journey.”

A change of formation for the 1-1 draw against Switzerland did result in a marginally improved display from the dramatic win over a Slovakia side ranked 45th in the world.

Southgate is expected to stick by that 3-4-2-1 system with Marc Guehi returning from suspension to replace Ezri Konsa.

The England boss has bristled at suggestions his side ended up on the kind side of the draw, away from France, Spain, Germany and Portugal.

Yet, the Dutch can count themselves even more fortunate for their path to the final after finishing third in Group D behind France and Austria.

Ronald Koeman’s men produced their best display of the tournament in sweeping aside Romania 3-0 in the last 16 before battling back from a goal down to beat Turkey 2-1 in front of a hostile crowd in Berlin.

Coming up against a raft of Premier League stars will hold little fear for the Netherlands, who boast their own impressive crop of talent plying their trade in England’s top flight.

“If you see the quality of players from both teams, you can expect the rhythm and level of the game will be really high,” said Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven.

Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo has arguably been the form attacker at the tournament and is the only player to have scored three goals still alive in the competition.

The Dutch have had to wait 36 years since their own sole major tournament triumph, the last time the Euros were held in Germany.

That is also the only time they have ever made a European Championship final.

But they will fancy their chances of being in Berlin on Sunday unless England suddenly click into gear.

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Liberty rebound vs. Mystics, lock up No. 1 seed

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The New York Liberty clinched the top seed in the WNBA playoffs with an 87-71 victory at Washington on Tuesday night.

At 32-7, the Liberty are guaranteed the league’s best record with one game to go.

This marks the second time the Liberty, an original WNBA franchise dating to 1997, will have the best record in a season. The other came in 2015, when the WNBA played a 34-game schedule and New York was 23-11.

Minnesota, which defeated Connecticut 78-76 on Tuesday, moved to 30-9 and will be the No. 2 seed. Connecticut is 27-12 and currently in third place. Las Vegas, 26-13 after winning at Seattle, is in fourth.

Coach Sandy Brondello said it was one of the Liberty’s goals to get the No. 1 seed. Last year, New York was the No. 2 seed and lost in the WNBA Finals to top-seeded Las Vegas.

After losing 88-79 at home to Minnesota on Sunday, Brondello said she wanted her team to be angry at how it played and it responded.

“We started talking about it after Minnesota … they were playing playoff basketball and we weren’t,” Brondello said. “So we have to learn from that. We put the emphasis tonight on, ‘OK, it’s playoff basketball now.’

“These games are very meaningful; it was clinching the No. 1. [In the playoffs] it goes to another level. That’s our focus, just that mentality. The extra physicality, we have to play better. Also continue to trust what’s got us here and make sure we’re playing in the right way.”

Breanna Stewart led New York with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Liberty don’t know who they will face in the first round of the playoffs, which begin Sunday. Atlanta holds the eighth and final playoff spot after its 86-70 victory over injury-riddled Chicago on Tuesday.

Atlanta is 14-25, while Washington and Chicago are 13-26. That means the last playoff team won’t be decided until the final night of the regular season Thursday, when all 12 teams play. Atlanta will face New York, Washington will play Indiana and Chicago will meet Connecticut.

Indiana already has secured the No. 6 seed and Phoenix the No. 7 seed.

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Mohsin Naqvi assures ICC delegation of stadiums’ timely upgradation

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Islamabad: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi assured the delegation of the International Cricket Council (ICC), who visited Pakistan in connection with the Champions Trophy, for the timely completion of the stadiums’ upgradation.

According to the details released by the PCB spokesperson, the ICC met the Chairman PCB Naqvi in ​​Islamabad, in which a detailed discussion was held regarding the preparations for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament.

In the meeting, security arrangements for the ICC Champions Trophy tournament were also discussed, while the delegation expressed satisfaction over the arrangements for the Champions Trophy in Karachi and Rawalpindi.

Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has assured world-class arrangements for the ICC Champions Trophy and that the upgrade work of all stadiums will be completed before the Champions Trophy.

Mohsin Naqvi stated that foolproof security arrangements will be made for all the teams. After the upgradation, the stadiums will have international standard facilities and the fans will enjoy cricket matches more. Pakistani people love the game of cricket and support all the teams.

The delegation included ICC Senior Manager Events Sarah Edgar, Event Manager and Champions Trophy Event Lead Aoun Muhammad Zaidi, General Manager Cricket Wasim Khan, Security Manager David Musker and Broadcast Consultant Mansoor Manj.

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2nd Women’s T20 International: Pakistan beat South Africa by 13 runs

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Multan: Pakistan defeated South Africa by 13 runs in the second Women’s T20 International.

Pakistan Women posted their highest score of 181 in the history of T20 Internationals and defeated South Africa Women by 13 runs in the second match of the T20 series.

Earlier, Pakistan’s highest score in a Women’s T20 International was 177 for five against Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur in June 2018.

With this win, Pakistan also leveled the three-match series, the third and deciding match of the series will be played on Friday.

In the second match played at the Multan Cricket Stadium, South Africa won the toss and allowed Pakistan to bat first, scoring 181 runs for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs.

The South African team could only score 168 runs for four wickets in reply.

Muniba Ali and Gul Feroza gave Pakistan a 25-run start. Gul Feroza got out for 10 runs with the help of four fours. Muniba Ali batted positively and aggressively but Derrickson ended her brilliant innings of 45 off 34 balls which included six fours and two sixes.

Sidra Amin scored 28 runs with the help of three fours and a six and was bowled by Soane Lease. Nida Dar and captain Fatima Sana managed to add 60 valuable runs in the fourth wicket partnership, Dar scored 29 runs of which four fours were included.

Fatima Sana scored 37 runs with the help of three fours and two sixes while Alia Riaz scored 17 runs with the help of a six and two fours while facing seven balls and remained not out.

In South Africa’s innings, Soane Lees was the top scorer with 53 runs not out with the help of six fours and a six, Chloe Troun scored 30 runs and she also remained not out. Captain Laura Woolwart played an innings of 36 runs.

Sadia Iqbal and Nashera Sindhu took two wickets each.

Fast bowler Tasmiya Rabab replaced skipper Fatima Sana as a connection player.

It is pertinent to note that Fatima Sana was hit in the face by a ball while fielding, Muniba Ali took the lead in her absence.

Muniba Ali also won the player of the match award.

Pakistani team

Muniba Ali, Gul Feroza, Sidra Amin, Nida Dar, Fatima Sana, Alia Riaz, Sadaf Shams, Sadia Iqbal, Nashra Sandhu, Diana Baig, Tobiah and Tooba Hassan Shama.

South Africa

Laura Wollward, Zamin Burts, Anneke Bosch, Nadine De Clerk, Sun Luce, Sinaloa Jafta, Henri Derrickson, Sessions Naidoo, Tami Sukhone, Ayanda Halbi.

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Kings revive iconic look with 2024-25 Classic Edition uniform

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The Sacramento Kings unveiled their Classic Edition jerseys on Monday in celebration of their 40th year in California.

The uniform is a return to their popular purple jersey worn from 2002 to 2008, one of the more successful eras in franchise history. Sacramento had four playoff appearances and three 50-win seasons during that span.

The uniform marked the first time “Sacramento” ran across the chest. It also included the secondary “SK” logo, which was introduced in 1994, but that didn’t feature on a uniform until appearing on the right side of the shorts on this design in 2002.

The Kings had former stars Doug Christie — who is an assistant on coach Mike Brown’s staff — and Mike Bibby help with the unveiling, which came on 916 Day, a nod to Sacramento’s area code. Christie and Bibby appeared in the video posted on social media doing a mock photoshoot and hooping around outside while wearing the uniform set.

“This 2024-25 Classic Edition is more than just a jersey — it’s a tribute to our city and the game we love,” the Kings said in a news release. “It represents our proud history and the unforgettable moments shared on the court.”

Sacramento will wear the uniform eight times at home next season. It will debut against the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 24.

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