Manchester City have appointed Enzo Maresca and one of their former greats is excited to see the Italian given the opportunity

Ilkay Gundogan is delighted to see the ‘incredible’ Enzo Maresca taking over from Pep Guardiola as the next Manchester City manager. Former City assistant Maresca has agreed a three-year deal to succeed one of the greatest coaches of all time and will be tasked with continuing a golden era of success for the club.

That would be a daunting task for anybody, but it is one that Maresca has been willing to take on. And from his time working as a No.2 to Guardiola during the 2022/23 season when City won the Treble, the Italian left a big impression on players.

Gundogan was captain that season, and across eight years at the club over two spells became one of the most reliable players for Guardiola. The two saw football in the same way and Gundogan could be trusted to know what his manager wanted in games and transfer that message to teammates.

That connection also drove the midfielder’s passion for coaching, and he is open to a return to City in the future after he has finished his playing career. In the meantime, while Guardiola has warned against anybody trying to copy and paste his methods, Gundogan has seen a lot from Maresca already to believe that the pair have enough similarities for City and their fans to be excited about the new appointment.

“As a coach I think he has amazing qualities,” he said. “Maybe they are now obviously different than he was when he was an assistant – this is something I can’t really judge – but you know that he’s smart and he knows exactly what he does. As a human being he’s unbelievable, honestly.

“In this football world I have not met many other people like him to be honest. I think he will be incredible and, similar to Pep, he has the intelligence to do the right decisions and to do the right tactical things. But then also the human side, to get everyone on board. I’m sure that probably 99% of the people inside the club will also be very happy.”

Serena Williams returns to singles action at Wimbledon at the age of 44 and will play Australia’s Maya Joint in the first round after receiving the final wildcard spot into the draw.

The 23-time grand slam champion had already been confirmed to be playing doubles with her sister Venus at the tournament, having launched her comeback by playing doubles at Queen’s.

Wimbledon had previously revealed seven of the eight recipients of wildcards into the women’s singles draw, leaving the final spot as “to be announced”.

Williams last played singles four years ago at the 2022 US Open, the tournament where she seemingly waved farewell to the sport following a third-round defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic.

The seven-time Wimbledon champion last played at SW19 earlier that season, losing a first-round match to Harmony Tan in her first match in a year.

When is Serena Williams playing singles at Wimbledon?

Williams will play her first-round match against Maya Joint, the world No 53, on Tuesday 30 July. It will be the final match of the day on Centre Court, following the defending champion Iga Swiatek and French Open champion Alexander Zverev’s opener against Alexander Blockx.

Swiatek opened play at 1:30pm and but was taken to a deciding third set by Townsend before surviving a tough test. There will then be a best-of-five set match between Zverev and Blockx. Williams could be therefore be in action on Tuesday evening, at around 6:30pm BST (1:30pm ET).

Wimbledon order of play

Day 2- Tuesday 30 June

🏟️ Centre Court

1:30PM Start

Who is Maya Joint?

The 20-year-old Australian is currently ranked 87th in the world, with a career-high ranking of 28, but has lost has last 11 tour-level matches. A former champion on grass at Eastbourne last year, Joint is making just her second appearance at Wimbledon having yet to make it past the first round, while she has only reached the second round of a grand slam on one occasion. Born in 2006, when Williams was already a seven-time grand slam champion. The American won a further 16 grand slam titles in her lifetime.

What has Serena Williams said ahead of her singles return?

“I thought it’s not every day Wimbledon holds a wild card for someone. I can name probably like a handful of people. I happened to be one of those people. I thought I should really take this opportunity. Who knows if I’ll ever make it here again. This could be it.

“I was like, What’s wrong with me, Serena? What are you thinking? Are you nuts? Like you really should do this. People live to be an athlete. I have this great opportunity to showcase what I do, what I do best. I was like that is pretty cool, so I should do it.

When is Serena Williams playing doubles at Wimbledon with Venus?

The Williams sisters last played doubles together at the 2022 US Open. Venus Williams, who is 46, plays sporadically but still sometimes accepts wildcards into grand slams.

Together, Serena and Venus have won six Wimbledon doubles titles, a record they share with Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan, and their last title came in 2016.

With a combined age of 90, the Williams sisters will play their first-round doubles match on either Thursday 2 July or Friday 3 July at the start of the women’s doubles tournament.

The Williams sisters will play the unseeded South American pair Camila Osorio and Solana Sierra in the first round. Osorio, from Colombia, and Sierra, from Argentina, will be playing as a duo for the first time.

Serena Williams’ comeback so far

When asked during an appearance at the Berlin Open whether she would have been interested in the last remaining Wimbledon wildcard earlier this month, Williams sounded coy.

“Oh my gosh, there’s some left?” she asked. “Well I better get to practice! You think I’m ready for singles? I need to get to work.”

Williams made her long-awaited return to tennis for the first time since 2022 when she played doubles with Victoria Mboko at Queen’s in London.

The pair won their first-round match against third seeds Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Erin Routliffe, but injury for Mboko prevented a second.

The Canadian teenager slipped on the grass during her singles match the following day, suffering a left knee injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon.

Williams then headed to Berlin and played a further doubles match with Karolina Muchova, but they lost to Giuliana Olmos and Routliffe in the first round.

She has been practicing at Wimbledon since the beginning of the week, with two doubles matches under her belt before facing Maya Joint in her first singles match in four years.

Boulter was among the British hopes to fall at the first hurdle on day two as she lost 6-2 6-4 to Italian teenager Tyra Caterina Grant.

It is the first time since 2017 that Boulter has lost in the opening round at Wimbledon in what is her first loss to a qualifier at a Grand Slam tournament.

It comes just 18 days after she achieved the biggest win of her career by ranking, when she defeated world number two Elena Rybakina in a stunning performance at Queen’s.

Seeking to push back against unwanted British history on court three, Boulter got off to the worst possible start as the 18-year-old Grant, who had never contested a singles match on grass at any level prior to Wimbledon qualifying this year, went an early break up.

Boulter could not respond as the opening set slipped away and she was unable to recover from another setback early in the second.

The Briton did not force a single break point in the match, with Grant, making her Grand Slam main-draw debut, dropping just three points across her final four service games as she comfortably served out victory.

Last year, 13 British players went out in round one. Not since 1994 have as many as 14 fallen at the first hurdle.

Pinnington Jones played just five games after returning to complete his match against American 28th seed Brandon Nakashima, losing 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 after trailing 4-3 in the third set when play was suspended late on Monday.

Wendelken, ranked 202nd in the world, took the first set against French world number 75 Valentin Royer but eventually lost 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3.

Nine British players are in action in total on Tuesday, with Eastbourne semi-finalist Toby Samuel still to face 15th seed Jakub Mensik while British number two Jan Choinski will take on Vit Kopriva.

Jacob Fearnley meets American Alex Michelsen while Billy Harris is up against 19th seed Karen Khachanov.

Taijul Islam and Mitchell Starc (Image credit: Agencies)

NEW DELHI: Bangladesh spinner Taijul Islam achieved a major personal milestone despite his team’s heavy defeat to Zimbabwe in the one-off Test at Harare.The left-arm spinner claimed 7 for 138 from 40.2 overs in Zimbabwe’s first innings to register the 19th five-wicket haul of his Test career. The performance helped him move into the top five among left-arm bowlers with the most five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.

Taijul equals Shakib, moves past Starc

Taijul’s latest five-for saw him draw level with former Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan, with both bowlers now having 19 five-wicket hauls in Test cricket.He also moved ahead of Australia’s Mitchell Starc, who has 18 five-wicket hauls.The Bangladesh spinner reached the milestone in just 107 Test innings, making him quicker than both Shakib and Starc. Shakib took 121 innings to reach 19 five-fors, while Starc needed 202 innings to register his 18.

Only three left-arm bowlers are ahead

Sri Lanka great Rangana Herath remains well clear at the top of the list with 34 five-wicket hauls in 93 Tests, along with 433 wickets.Former Pakistan fast bowler Wasim Akram is second with 25 five-fors and 414 wickets, while New Zealand legend Daniel Vettori occupies third place with 20 five-wicket hauls and 362 wickets.Taijul and Shakib now share fourth place with 19 five-fors each. Mitchell Starc has slipped to sixth with 18, followed by England’s Derek Underwood (17) and India’s Ravindra Jadeja (15).Taijul has now taken 270 wickets in 60 Tests, underlining his importance to Bangladesh’s bowling attack.

Zimbabwe register biggest Test win

While Taijul shone with the ball, Zimbabwe dominated the match to record the biggest Test victory in their history, beating Bangladesh by an innings and 85 runs at the Harare Sports Club.After winning the toss and choosing to bowl, Zimbabwe’s pacers ripped through the Bangladesh batting line-up, dismissing the visitors for just 140 in the first innings.Mominul Haque was the only batter to offer resistance with 60 runs off 81 balls.Newman Nyamhuri starred with the ball by taking four wickets, while captain Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans picked up two wickets each.

Zimbabwe batters pile on the runs

Zimbabwe then responded with a commanding 410 in their first innings to take a huge 270-run lead.Innocent Kaia led the way with a brilliant 140, while Craig Ervine, Brian Bennett and Wessly Madhevere all scored half-centuries.Despite Taijul’s seven-wicket haul, Bangladesh struggled to stop the hosts from building a match-winning total.

Bangladesh collapse again

Needing a huge effort to avoid defeat, Bangladesh were bowled out for 185 in their second innings.Zimbabwe’s pace attack once again shared the wickets, with Ngarava, Muzarabani, Evans and Nyamhuri all making important contributions as none of them went wicketless in either innings.

Historic moment for Zimbabwe

The victory was Zimbabwe’s largest-ever win in Test cricket, surpassing all their previous margins of victory.It also marked the first time in more than 25 years that Zimbabwe have won back-to-back Test matches.Their previous Test victory came against Afghanistan in October, when they won by an innings and 73 runs.

Ireland coach Simon Easterby says he expects Australia to try and “impose themselves” in Saturday’s Nations Championship opener in Sydney (11:00 BST).

Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies host Ireland in the first of three summer matches in the new competition, before Andy Farrell’s side take on Japan and New Zealand.

Farrell led the British and Irish Lions’ successful tour of Australia last year and Ireland ran out 46-19 winners when the sides met in Dublin in November.

Easterby, who said all 36 players were in training in Sydney, said it was “exciting” to face Australia, who will host the Rugby World Cup next year.

“We’re expecting a side who have probably got a chance to go and lay down a bit of a marker leading into a World Cup year, playing at home for the first time in a while,” Easterby said.

“They are a physical team who will look to try and impose themselves on the opposition.

“It’s something that we’re well aware of, their threats and attack and their ability to attack in a way that can create opportunities.”

Easterby believes the battle for selection against Australia will be hard-fought with the 36 players who have travelled to the Southern Hemisphere, and he says there is a “great mix” between youth and experience in the squad.

“It’s going to be an interesting few weeks in terms of selection because some of the more experienced players are training well but also some of the younger guys have made their mark as well.

“I think it’s a testament to the group that we’ve had no one drop out of training. We haven’t looked after them, they’ve worked hard and they’ve hit the ground running.”

What to do with one more World Cup group stage game when you’ve already won the group? The answer is score 2 minutes into the game and don’t look back. Germany did the first part, but then faded as momentum was replaced by a messy loss that exposes this team’s limitations.

There is a way to spin this as a defeat that can sharpen the minds, that can blow away any complacency ahead of the knockouts.Germany captain Joshua Kimmich was certainly bullish in defeat.

“We keep inviting the opponent to attack by turning the ball over, which makes them stronger,” Kimmich said on MagentaTV “Fortunately, this doesn’t change much. But we can’t afford any more losses. That much is clear. We can’t let in one or two goals every game. We have to minimize the number of turnovers, and then we can beat anyone.”

But that’s not how it felt in East Rutherford at the final whistle. It felt like Germany had gone from a team in form, exceeding the expectations of their fans, riding the waves of joy that come with big wins and last-minute wins, to one stopped short in its tracks.

The song that has accompanied this team at the tournament so far has been “The train has no brakes.” On Thursday, not only were the brakes on, but the team appeared to derail.

Another game endured rather than enjoyed

David Raum started in place of the injured Nathaniel Brown (who is expected to return for Germany’s knockout game) and had a game to forget. Antonio Rüdiger replaced the injured Nico Schlotterbeck and was slow to start, before improving. But they were not alone. Felix Nmecha, who has been Germany’s standout at the tournament so far, struggled. Aleksandar Pavlovic played himself out of the second half, having also been booked.

It was also tough on Leroy Sane, who scored Germany’s opener and would have been the story of the day after weeks of strong media criticism. In the end, even his performance fell away in the face of Germany’s collective disappointment.

The result was made worse by the fact Germany’s opening goal shouldn’t have stood — American referee Tori Penso bizarrely decided not to penalize Pavlovic in the buildup after the Bayern player’s boot ended up in the face of an opponent. Add to that the penalty that Germany never got because of a foul by Sane in the buildup, and it was a day where so much that could go wrong did go wrong.

Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz worked hard off the ball, but are struggling to impose themselves on it. Rüdiger’s comments last week calling on Germany’s attacking players feel even more telling after this defeat: “No pressure, but we will need you.” 

Depending on which of Germany’s leaders you listened to, desire was also an issue. Or not.

“The difference today was that the opponent wanted to win more than us,” Kimmich said afterwards. 

“Ecuador wanted it more than us? That’s nonsense,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, in stark contrast.

Disjointed and dismantled

Germany’s need is now greater than ever. Perhaps Deniz Undav will be unleashed from the start. Here in the New York-New Jersey stadium, the crowd again called for the striker, and once again Nagelsmann responded. But this time, despite his best efforts, there were to be no heroics from the Stuttgart man, who had three goals and two assists from two substitute appearances before this.

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A raft of changes were made, perhaps most notably Malick Thiaw on for Kimmich at right back as Germany swapped to a back three. As one Germany fan remarked afterwards, it felt like a friendly game.

“Of course, we made substitutions differently than we would have otherwise — perhaps at moments when we absolutely needed another goal. But I can’t say to any player now that he didn’t give it his all. That’s far too simplistic for me,” Nagelsmann told MagentaTV afterwards.

Ecuador’s Gonzalo Plata nipping in to poke the ball into the goal just before it landed in Manuel Neuer’s hands felt like a natural consequence of all that had come before. For Neuer, so far this has been a strange comeback. He had no chance of stopping Nilson Angulo’s thunderbolt and for Plata’s winner, he didn’t see the winger coming. Ecuador ended the game with two goals from just three shots on target.

No stopping the yellow wave

The scenes at full time were not for Germany. They were for Ecuador. A sea of yellow, rippling joy at booking their spot in the knockout rounds with an historic win against the four-time World Cup winners. Tears, children on shoulders, lung-bursting songs down the concourse — Ecuador’s fans knew what they had done and made sure everyone knew about it.

Germany left the field swiftly, briefly waving at their fans, but keen to disappear from the concrete cauldron of New York New Jersey Stadium that exposed their own heaviness. Was recalling Neuer the right decision? Is this group just not as good as it thought it was two weeks ago? Will Paraguay or Australia be a stumbling block? The questions will swirl. In the meantime, Nagelsmann wants time.

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“The most important lesson we can take is patience,” said Nagelsmann. “When you start so well, we have to focus more on patience. If we get the lead we have to be more calm in certain situations.”

It won’t be long before we find out how calm Germany and Nagelsmann really are. More importantly, we’ll find out whether something more than just a game was lost here in East Rutherford.

Edited by: Matt Pearson

Former France centre-back Frank Lebouef has snubbed Lionel Messi as he picked his compatriot Kylian Mbappe and England’s Harry Kane to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot.

Messi, 39, is the Golden Boot leader, scoring in each of holders Argentina’s opening three games as they sealed their passage to the knockouts without much fuss. Following a hat-trick in the campaign opener against Algeria, the Inter Miami forward bagged a brace against Austria and came off the bench to score in the win over Jordan.

Meanwhile, Mbappe has scored four times in three matches and is right behind Messi, alongside his compatriot Ousmane Dembele, Brazil’s Vinicius Junior and Norway’s Erling Haaland, with Kane a goal behind the second-placed quartet.

“The increased number of teams changes things,” Lebouef told BOYLE Sports (via Tribal Football). “I don’t want to be overly harsh on nations like Curacao, Haiti, or Cape Verde, but the Golden Boot could easily be decided by someone scoring six or seven goals against those teams.

“In a perfect world, matches would be tight, but realistically, we will see some lopsided scores. For the Golden Boot, the favorites have to be Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe. If England and France both go deep in the tournament, I think it will be a contest between the two of them.”

Kane’s England are on the same side of the knockout bracket as Messi’s Argentina, with the duo slated to meet in the semis, while Mbappe’s France cnnot meet either team before the final.

Lionel Messi enjoying a record-breaking campaign at 2026 FIFA World Cup

Lionel Messi is enjoying a historic campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, his sixth appearance at the quadrennial event since his debut at Germany 2006 two decades ago.

With his hat-trick against Algeria, Messi became the oldest hat-trick scorer in competition history and moved level with all-time top scorer Miroslav Klose. The brace against Austria and the goal against Jordan put him three clear of Klose and Kylian Mbappe.

The first player to score in seven consecutive games at the World Cup, Lionel Messi also has the most wins (19) in the competition and most goals outside the box (6) as he seeks to win his maiden FIFA World Cup Golden Boot.