Belgium finish third by beating England in play-off
England's World Cup campaign in Russia ended with a 2-0 defeat by Belgium in St Petersburg that meant the Three Lions finished in fourth place.
Gareth Southgate's team were unable to bounce back from the despair of Wednesday's extra-time loss against Croatia in the semi-final in Moscow - but this still represents a highly creditable tournament for England.
Thomas Meunier put Belgium ahead after just four minutes when he slid in ahead of Danny Rose to divert Nacer Chadli's cross past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
England had chances to level in the second half as Toby Alderweireld cleared off the line from Eric Dier, while Harry Maguire also headed wide from a good position.
Eden Hazard wrapped it up for Belgium with eight minutes left when he got the better of Phil Jones to beat Pickford, who had just saved magnificently from Meunier, with a powerful finish.
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku missed two chances and was substituted without scoring, leaving England captain Harry Kane in pole position to win the World Cup's Golden Boot with six goals.
Kane will collect the award barring remarkable deeds from France duo Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe, who are on three goals apiece, in Sunday's final against Croatia in Moscow.
Sarri replaces Conte as Chelsea manager
The 59-year-old replaces fellow Italian Antonio Conte, who was sacked on Friday after two years at Stamford Bridge.
Sarri led Napoli to two second-place finishes in his three seasons in charge of the Serie A side, who named Carlo Ancelotti as his successor in May.
"It is an exciting new period in my career," said Sarri.
"I hope we can provide some entertaining football for our fans and that we will be competing for trophies at the end of the season, which is what this club deserves."
He is the 13th managerial appointment by Blues owner Roman Abramovich since his takeover of the club in 2003, including Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink on two occasions.
Sarri's appointment had been widely expected, with Chelsea agreeing compensation to bring him to Stamford Bridge because he had two years left on his Napoli deal and had remained on the Italian club's payroll after Ancelotti's arrival.
Kerber wins maiden Wimbledon title
The American, who was bidding to equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24 major singles titles and an eighth title at the All England Club, was outclassed in a delayed final by a determined Kerber 6-3 6-3 on Saturday.
"I knew I had to play my best tennis against Serena. It's my second chance (in the final). I'm the next German after Steffi to win, it's amazing," said Kerber, who snapped Williams' 20-match winning run at Wimbledon.
More than two hours later than originally scheduled following the conclusion of the men's semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal , Williams and Kerber walked out on Centre Court to a standing ovation from spectators and royalty, including Serena's good friend Meghan Markle.
Williams defeated Kerber the last time the pair met, in the 2016 title clash, and the German 11th seed was out for revenge.
Nigeria’s Ekundayo wins Euro IBF Title
Ekundayo was adjudged the IBF champion with all three judges scoring him as the winner of the prestigious European belt at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, the home of British boxing.
The victory over Thain has made Ekundayo the highest ranked Nigerian boxer in the world and also positioned him for a world title shot.
In a fight that lasted 12 rounds, Ekundayo showed outclassed Thain who got a bloodied nose and was left bleeding for about six rounds.
Khomeini Bukhari, Director of Africa, Peel Aston Global and a member of Team Ekundayo, in a statement on Saturday, commended the pugilist for doing his country proud.
Among supporters at the ringside was the Nigerian High Commissioner to United Kingdom, Amb. George Oguntade and members of ‘Team Ekundayo.’
“Larry Ekundayo did fantastic, I am so proud of him and so should Nigeria be. Larry worked so hard for this day, we his team have seen his struggles paying off. We have worked very hard to help get Larry to this opportunity, it hasn’t been easy, we are happy that he has made Nigeria very proud,” he stated.
The new IBF champion had before the fight promised to defend the title in Nigeria saying, “After the heartbreak of the World Cup, I hope to win the IBF title this week, so as to bring to Nigeria the international sporting success that we can all cheer about. Once I win, I would love to defend it on Nigerian soil.”
Ben Gray, Ekundayo’s commercial agent had also disclosed that the boxer would visit the country to thank his supporters.
from Bola Esho's Blog
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