Sports roundup
LAST Sunday, England beat Belgium 21 in their UEFA Nations League Group game, while the Republic of Ireland, minus five key players due to Covid19, drew nilnil with Wales; Scotland defeated Slovakia 10, Northern Ireland were beaten by a single goal by Austria, Poland and Italy drew 00, Germany gained her first win in the tournament by beating Ukraine 21 and Spain defeated Switzerland 10 on Saturday.
Last weekend, there were also full programmes in England’s two lower Divisions. Ipswich beat Blackpool 41 to stay top of League One, while Morecambe defeated Oldham 32 to go top of League Two. And in the Scottish League Cup, Hearts, Hibs, Dundee and St Johnstone, who thrashed Brechin 70, all won their latest group games.
Staying with football, and moneybags Manchester United and Liverpool are set to ask the FA to reduce the Premiership to 18 teams from 20, scrap the League Cup and also cancel the Community Shield game. Already some managers aren’t happy, never mind supporters’ associations and several players.
And Robbie Fowler, the former Liverpool, Leeds and England striker, has been appointed head coach of East Bengal FC while Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has become one the youngestever sportsman to receive the M. B. E.
Switching to tennis and Spain’s Rafael Nadal outplayed world number one Novak Djokovic to win the men’s singles title at the French Open in Paris. This was the Spaniard’s 20th Grand Slam title, his 13th in France and his 999th win on the APT tour. Meanwhile, Polish teenager Iga Swaitek is the new women’s singles champion after beating Sofia Kennin. Aged 19, Swaitek is the lowest ranked women’s singles champion ever.
Onto motor sport, and last Sunday Lewis Hamilton, cruised to victory in the Eifel F1 Grand Prix in Germany; Max Verstappen was second with Danny Ricciardo third.
Hamilton has now equalled
Michael Schumacher’s record of 91 F1 victories and is well on his way to retaining the driver’s championship as he holds a 69 point lead over Valterri Bottas.
In cycling, and Portuguese rider Jaoa Almedo started this week as the leader of the gruelling Giro d’Italia. He was 43 seconds ahead of Spain’s Pello Bilbao.
Wasps will play Exeter Chiefs in this season’s Rugby Union Premiership final next weekend and in golf, Britain’s Tyrrell Hatton won the recent BMW PGA tournament at Wentworth, while South Korea’s superstar Kim Sie Yueng won the women’s equivalent, the KMPG in Pennsylvannia.
Tony’s footy fact of the week: Fullback Sam Wynne scored FOUR times in a Second Division match in October 1923 twice for Oldham and two owngoals for the opposition, Manchester United.