A fiendish stage through the mountains of the Massif Central at the Tour de France bore witness to yet another mano-a-mano classic between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. After Pogacar had distanced the Dane – and everyone else – with a rasping attack on the Puy Mary, Vingegaard dug deep into his well of reserves to claw his way back on terms, before beating the Slovenian on the line.
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Heimir Hallgrimsson has been appointed as the new head coach of the Republic of Ireland. He replaces interim manager John O’Shea, who has been in charge since Stephen Kenny’s departure in November last year. The 57 year old guided Iceland to Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Russia before a stint in Qatar. He most recently managed the Jamaican national team at the Copa America.
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Lamine Yamal became the youngest goalscorer in European Championship history as Spain beat France in an absorbing contest to reach the final of Euro 2024. After Randal Kolo Muani headed in Kylian Mbappe’s cross to give France an early lead, Yamal curled home a stunning strike from outside the box and Spain were ahead just four minutes later as Dani Olmo’s shot was turned home by France defender Jules Kounde.
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A hotly-contested sprint saw Jasper Philipsen charge to victory on Stage 10 of the Tour de France. It’s been a difficult, winless Tour to date for the Belgian, but he found his best to down the in-form Biniam Girmay, while Mark Cavendish finished down the field. With the rest of the bunch crossing the line together, the GC standings remained the same heading into Wednesday’s Massif Central test.
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Thiago Alcantara has retired from football after leaving Liverpool at the end of his contract. The former Spain midfielder, 33, was restricted to just one appearance during the 2023-24 season because of injury. Thiago had hip surgery towards the end of the 2022-23 season but was unable to return until February 2024, when he came on as a late substitute in a defeat at Arsenal and suffered another injury.
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