Category Sports News

After missing the game with an injury, Josh Magennis has won 82 caps for Northern Ireland. He will feature in BBC Sport NI’s coverage of Saturday’s friendly against Denmark.

It’s night and day, but the attitude toward summer friendlies has changed since I first started.

During one of these windows, I actually made my debut.

We traveled to America under Nigel Worthington, and in 2010 we played Turkey and Chile. I was called in late because so many people left because of injuries or had other plans.

Although I greatly benefited from it, many people were expressing their lack of availability. Gareth McAuley and Stephen Craigan were the only senior pros, along with everyone else who was a member of the Under-21s or early in their careers. &nbsp,

Senior players like Steven Davis toeing the line then allowed the young stars, like Corry Evans, Oli Norwood, to simply follow suit.

His man management and how he treats other men are what distinguishes Michael from other men. He doesn’t manipulate you in any way, either.

He expects you to give everything you have, while when you’re at work, you’re free.

He gives you the guidelines for how to look after yourself, but he doesn’t specify what to do.

And he has that ruthlessness about him that you won’t be around if you discover that someone has been having an affair.

It’s just respect, in my opinion, not a fear factor. Boys are adept at breaking the rules.

The biggest risk factor is injury, but it can happen anywhere at any time if you don’t know where you’ll play next season.

And when your club’s future is uncertain, I believe playing international football has a selling point.

People will be asking if Michael O’Neill is selecting him for senior international football if he plays in League One or Championship because he must possess some qualities.

Going into the summer, I’ve always thought that way.

I enjoy playing for my country, so there is no gray area for me.

If I could say that I played for Northern Ireland last year and that I would have had no issues, even though I was looking for a club if I would get injured and that was one of my final games.

I don’t believe it’s just me; we’re all one. Nobody believes it to be difficult or a chore.

You never realize how much you miss playing for your country until you stop doing it, which is how I’ve always loved it.

Firstly, when Michael wanted to see other players and then when I wasn’t in the squad for March because he knew what I could do, and then when I was unable to play because of my hip surgery.

You miss the camaraderie from the first night, the first conversation, and talking to boys about the season this week.

Josh Magennis spoke with Jonathan Bradley of BBC Sport NI.

French Open 2025 final for women’s singles

Venue: Roland Garros Time: 14: 00 BST Dates: 25 May-8 June

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff will square off against one another in the French Open for the first time in seven years in a Grand Slam final.

Both Sabalenka and Gauff will be reigning women’s singles champions, with Gauff and Sabalenka competing for second place in the major singles rankings.

Gauff, the 2023 US Open champion, finished in second place three years ago, while Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, will face her in his first Roland Garros final.

In their respective semi-finals, Sabalenka and Gauff fought through two very different difficulties.

Sabalenka, the title favorite, put an impressive three-set win on Iga Swiatek, who had previously defeated her in 26 matches, further cementing her position as title favorite.

Gauff, in contrast, was up against partisans and successfully completed French wildcard Lois Boisson’s fairytale run in straight sets.

With this third major singles final in a row, Sabalenka shows remarkable consistency at the highest level of the sport.

The 27-year-old is the first woman to do so since Serena Williams nine years ago.

Sabalenka leads the WTA Tour with 40 victories in 46 matches, having won seven finals in 10 competitions this year.

Gauff, in contrast, is still a force to reckon with on clay.

The 21-year-old is the youngest woman to reach the finals of Madrid, Rome, and the French Open in the same year while competing for her first title of the season.

In terms of overall head-to-head performance, there is nothing to break between Gauff and Sabalenka.

They each won one major championship, with Sabalenka winning the 2023 US Open final over Gauff, who followed Sabalenka winning the 2024 semi-final against Sabalenka.

Both women have won on clay, with Sabalenka winning the most recent meeting in the Madrid final against Gauff in 2021 while Sabalenka won the Italian Open fourth round.

Given that she has won three of their previous four meetings, Sabalenka might have a slight advantage in Paris.

Sabalenka has always been viewed as a hard-court specialist despite having won all three of her major singles titles on that front.

But she constantly changes her approach. She stifled the clay-court expert’s game with devastating accuracy and kept the key points under control.

When asked how winning the French Open would feel, Sabalenka responded, “It will mean a lot to my team and I.”

I’ve been told [clay] is not my thing almost my entire life, and I didn’t have any confidence at the time.

Gauff is aware of Sabalenka’s expectations, but overcoming them is a different issue.

To withstand Sabalenka’s strength and to entice her into longer rallies, she will need to be at her best defensively.

To maintain pressure on Sabalenka and to provide a platform for developing opportunities based on her tournament-leading tally of converted break points (40), it will be crucial to keep her serve and keep double faults to a minimum.

Gauff predicted that “she’s going to come out swinging and aggressive.”

“I believe I just have to anticipate that and try my best to at least partially counteract that,” she said.

On Saturday, “everything can happen.” I’m anticipating it, and I’m pleased to compete with a world number one as well.

either short or tall. Left or right-arm. Dan Mousley’s darts, off-spin, or leg-spin.

Between Liam Dawson’s 20th and 21st international caps, there were 11 men who bowled in spin for England.

Since Dawson’s last Test, Seam bowler Ollie Robinson has even slammed his arm against him with some offies in Adelaide’s miserable defeat.

However, Dawson gave an indication of what England had been lacking by taking the hosts’ 21-run victory over West Indies 4-20.

The 35-year-old told BBC Test Match Special, “I haven’t played international cricket in three and a half years.”

Even that sentence provides some information.

Dawson would be forgiven for thinking that his most recent appearance in the United Kingdom had been longer, even though it had been two years and six months since then.

When an England squad was named or lost a test, Dawson’s absence was a contentious subject.

County fans were initially offended by the fact that the leading English spinner in the County Championship in 2023 and 2024 were frequently overlooked, giving the county a culture-war status.

After excluding him from a Test squad, England’s managing director Rob Key famously declared that Dawson was not “a person who wants to travel around India as the 15th or 16th man.”

Dawson had since agreed that England would never make another call.

When questioned about whether he anticipated this global revival, he responded, “Probably not,” on Friday.

“For a while, I didn’t anticipate playing.”

Who I am playing for wants me to go out and enjoy my cricket. I’m very proud and pleased to return and do well.

Dawson has demonstrated his reliability when he is not playing international cricket, from Lord’s to Lahore, Dubai to Durban. He has won numerous franchise awards in the past, and he was named April’s Wisden Cricketer of the Year.

England finally realized that dependable was no longer a criticism but a strength as a new era under captain Harry Brook, who was in need of victories to stop an 18-month slide.

“I have played a lot of Daws,” said Brook. I had a few games with him in England.

“He’s a really good bowler,” he said. He also has a good body, which is advantageous.

Although it is significant that the Yorkshireman’s first T20 series came back, Brook’s decision to recall Dawson was significant.

Dawson, on the other hand, acknowledges that he doesn’t try to “flash” anything.

Dawson is a throwback, the old-fashioned magician who can deceive you with two hands and a pack of cards without the need for saws, fire, or flashing lights, while Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir have their high release points and Rehan Ahmed have their googly.

With that understated trick routine, he outwitted West Indies in Chester-le-Street.

Dawson scored in his second over after giving up only four runs in the opening.

He found the match’s sharpest turn by dropping 10 mph from his previous delivery with an extra loop. Johnson Charles hurriedly and unprepared before stranding him.

After two opening overs that only cost seven, Dawson rested and West Indies rebuilt.

The dangerous Sherfane Rutherford hit the left-hander as the left-hander hit long-on, and Dawson made a comeback.

Two balls later, Dawson’s next scalp had another pace drop and, crucially, a wider line, if that one was given credit.

Roston Chase made England once more a major favorite after giving Ben Duckett another catch from the deep.

Dawson was not hit the rope until his fourth over as boundaries drew nearer to him (young men Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, and Matthew Potts were some of the punished).

Rovman Powell, a dangerous player, struck him four times before changing his ball once more.

Dawson had his best T20 international performances, Powell was bowled, and he moved quicker and flatter.

A left-arm spinner for England’s format, his 4-20, also, was their best. Key could not have asked for more.

The T20 World Cup that will take place next year serves as the backdrop for England’s victory. Before traveling to India and Sri Lanka, where spin is expected to be crucial, they have only 12 matches in this format.

When asked if he had any intention of making that World Cup squad, Dawson replied, “That’s not even come into my mind.”

“I’m just happy to be back playing this,” he said, “play one game at a time and enjoy every second.”

When England won the 50-over World Cup in 2019, Dawson didn’t play for the team.

Six minutes and 37 seconds into Scotland’s friendly against Iceland to replace injured starter Angus Gunn, Cieran Slicker flashed a quick smile at head coach Steve Clarke.

The debutant panickedly slashes a Kieran Tierney pass back just 64 seconds later, and Andri Gudjohnsen arcs a fine finish high over the stranded goalkeeper.

Slicker was hardly able to adjust to international football.

One mistake, and one that is a relatively small one, is the goal. Bang .

He rushed his next few kicks before unconvincingly holding onto a shot from Jon Dagur Thorsteinsson at the second attempt, where his confidence was clearly shattered. His only nightly saving was this.

The entire Scotland defense did dreadful work to give up the second Iceland goal, culminating with Slicker failing to clear the ball off his line after it ricocheted toward goal off Lewis Ferguson.

The third concession was perhaps the most egregious of all the half-time adjustments and resets.

Victor Palsson had a direct header for Slicker, but the ball slammed into the back of the net through his arms.

Slicker was eligible through his Scottish father when he was acquired by Manchester City’s then-league Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2023 on a three-year deal.

Pep Guardiola, the city manager, didn’t use the 22-year-old in any of his first-team games during the 2021-22 season. Before moving to Ipswich, he also spent some time on loan at Rochdale, but he never made a league appearance.

He made a few appearances in domestic cup competitions while playing as the back-up keeper on occasion, and he was a part of the Tractor Boys’ squad that won back-to-back titles to the Premier League.

Slicker made his senior league debut last year for Ipswich, but he only played 10 minutes in the FA Cup.

The Scotland head coach told BBC Sport Scotland, “I really feel for Cieran.

He was thrown into a situation where he wasn’t quite ready, including Zander Clark’s injury, Liam Kelly’s injury, and Craig Gordon’s.

The only positive aspect of it was that it was a friendly game. [Angus Gunn] probably won’t play the following game.

Robby McCrorie went down in the warm-up, not to mention Gordon, Kelly, and Clark are currently out. He is most likely the one who would have faced Iceland.

Will Clarke turn to someone else now that Gunn and McCrorie are likely to miss Monday’s friendly against Liechtenstein and Slicker is likely to lose?

Former Scotland defender Willie Miller said of Slicker, “You have to find out what’s in the player’s mind as well as how he’s feeling about it.”

“Truth from him is what you’re looking for,” he said. Does he feel prepared to accept the challenge in the following game or does he not?

Does the manager want to remove him from the firing line?

McKenna, 18, has a smaller amount of senior experience than Slicker. Before making a 2024 switch to Bournemouth, he played nine games for Queen’s Park in the Scottish Championship.

He has spent the past week training with the Scotland group and has since joined their development squad.

Jon McLaughlin might be Clarke’s first contact because of his limited options.

The 37-year-old former Scotland cap has only played one FA Cup game for Swansea City this year and is currently out of contract. He was a regular player for the squad, had experience, and was likely viewed as one of the safest choices.

While Jon McCracken was a member of Scotland’s squad during the just-expected season, Trevor Carson took his place halfway through the term.

Scott Bain, who recently joined Celtic, and Ross Doohan, who recently signed for Celtic, would be other options for Scotland-based companies.

More openly about Slicker’s night than many people had assumed, Clarke.

He claimed that he was unsure about it because it was too soon. The young man has obviously been put in a position where he is suffering.

It also seems like he was always going to be the second choice before McCrorie’s injury in the warm-up, which meant he was always going to have more experience than game time. It takes a harsh line.

Second-round leaderboard for the Canadian Open

-12 C Champ (US), -10 A Putnam (US), -9 T Olesen (Den), R Lee (Can), N Taylor (Can), V Perez (Fra)

Selected others: -8 S Lowry (Ire), -7 D Willett (Eng), R Hojgaard (Den), -4 H Hall (Eng), L Aberg (Swe), -3 R MacIntyre (Sco), P Waring (Eng), -1 J Rose (Eng), + 9 R McIlroy (NI)

Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the Canadian Open by carding an awful eight-over-par 78.

The Northern Irishman hasn’t missed a weekend tournament since the Open Championship in July for the first time.

The Masters champion finished his second round at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley nine over par overall and 149th overall, 22 shots clear of leader Cameron Champ, who won this event in 2019 and 2022.

Before making his first birdie of the day on the 15th, McIlroy, who had already started the day on par, dropped further shots on the eighth, 10th, 11th, and 13th holes after making a quadruple-bogey eight on the par-fourth hole.

At the 17th hole, McIlroy made another bogey, leaving him three under the cut line despite making a birdie on the final hole.

After playing the eighth alternate last weekend, Champ, who only arrived on Wednesday morning, shot an opening 62 under the four-under par 66 to take the lead over fellow American Andrew Putnam.

Shane Lowry, who is from Ireland, shot two under par 68 to finish one shot adrift of Champ, who was also on a good day.

At nine under, Thorbjorn Olesen, Richard Lee, Nick Taylor, and Victor Perez, France’s top player, are just ahead of Lowry.

Justin Rose, who McIlroy defeated in a play-off at the Augusta National in April, also experienced disappointment.

The Englishman will not be around for the weekend, having missed out on one under par.

The 2013 US Open champion accidentally caused his ball to move while shifting a loose impediment off the seventh tee and was given a two-stroke penalty for failing to restore the ball to its original position after finding the rough.