Dutch, Swedes tie at European Championships

With thousands of visiting fans to impress, the Netherlands left coach Mark Parsons disappointed after conceding against Sweden at the start of the Women’s European Championship title defense.

It took Jill Roord’s goal on the turn in the 52nd minute to cancel out Jonna Andersson’s goal — only the third in 51 appearances for the Sweden wing back — to recover a 1-1 draw for the Netherlands in Group C on Saturday in Sheffield, England.

“It was tough but we got some good moments when we played some possession football,” Parsons said. “It wasn’t enough, the spaces were big, so it meant Viv [Miedema] and others had to make too much running. I was pretty disappointed with the goal.”

Improvement will be needed quickly with a meeting Wednesday with Portugal, which recovered from conceding twice in the opening five minutes against Switzerland before staging a comeback in the second half to draw 2-2.

Portugal’s recovery began in the 58th minute by Diana Gomes, who met the rebound after her initial header from a corner was saved by goalkeeper Gaelle Thalmann. The equalizer was grabbed in the 65th by Jessica Silva

meeting a cross from Tatiana Pinto. The Swiss got goals from Coumba Sow

and Rahel Kiwic.

Group D begins Sunday when France plays Italy in

Rotherham and Belgium faces Iceland.

Elsewhere: Julia Grosso scored in the 64th minute and Canada secured a spot in the 2023 World Cup with a 1-0 victory over Panama at the CONCACAF W Championship on Friday night in Monterrey, Mexico. Earlier, Cristin Granados

scored a pair of goals and Costa Rica edged close to qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup with a 4-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago . ... D.C. United has spoken to former superstar Wayne Rooney

about becoming its head coach, four people familiar with the situation said.

AETC.

NFL: The Raiders hired Sandra Douglass Morgan as team president, making the Las Vegas native and former Nevada Gaming Control Board chairwoman the first Black woman to hold that post in NFL history.

Track and field: Caster Semenya is listed to compete at next week’s world championships in Eugene, Oregon, potentially setting up a surprise return to the big stage for the two-time Olympic champion who is still banned from her favorite race, and still at the heart of one of sport’s most contentious issues: whether women with intersex conditions should be allowed to compete in female events.

Semenya is listed to compete in the women’s 5,000 meters, instead of her preferred 800 meters.

AA