Christian Eriksen says Denmark captain Simon Kjaer will defy FIFA and wear a OneLove armband at the World Cup regardless of the consequences.

Captains of 10 European sides are expected to wear a distinctive heart-adorned armband in Qatar, promoting diversity and inclusion in a country where same-sex relationships are prohibited.

On Saturday, FIFA announced its own armbands will feature a different social campaign, including Save the Planet and Bring the Moves , throughout each round of the tournament in the Middle East.

Eriksen confirmed Denmark will stick with the OneLove initiative as Kasper Hjulmand s side prepare for Tuesday s Group D opener against Tunisia.

I think we as a country are wearing it, our captain will be wearing the OneLove armband and t…

England defender Lucy Bronze is helping the “shy” and “misinterpreted” Lauren James navigate the increasingly bright spotlight shining on the 21-year-old after her historic turn at the World Cup.

The Chelsea forward became the first England player to be involved in five or more goals in a match at either a men’s or women’s World Cup when she scored twice and added three assists in the Lionesses’ 6-1 win over China on Tuesday.

Bronze, one of just two England players to have featured in the last three World Cups, has found a kindred spirit in inquisitive debutant James who is a decade her junior.

Group stage

New focus. Same energy.

We move forward – together

— Lionesses (@Lionesses)

She said: “When she came int…

France earned a deserved 1-0 extra-time victory over the Netherlands on Saturday to eliminate the reigning champions and reach the semi-finals of the Women s Euros for the first time.

The Netherlands had won eight of their past nine games in the competition, a run that took them all the way to glory five years ago, but they were outclassed by France at the New York Stadium in Rotherham.

Dutch keeper Daphne van Domselaar produced a number of fine saves to frustrate Les Bleues, the best of which saw her deny Wendie Renard from the final act in normal time.

But France found a breakthrough in the 102nd minute through an Eve Perisset penalty, awarded following a VAR check after Dominique Janssen clearly brought down Kadidiatou Diani.

Van Domselaar got fingert…

Champions League football returns this week with delicately poised ties in the quest to reach the quarter-finals.

Eyes will firmly be fixed upon Bayern Munich s hosting of Paris Saint-Germain, where the Bundesliga giants hold a narrow 1-0 lead from the first leg in the French capital and are aiming to inflict further continental disappointment upon their visitors.

Meanwhile, Tottenham welcome Milan to north London on the back of a disappointing defeat to Wolves in the Premier League and a surprise exit from the FA Cup at Sheffield United, now needing to come back from a 1-0 first-leg defeat in Italy to retain any hope of avoiding another season without a trophy.

Using Opta data, we ve taken a close look at some of the key facts and stats for both fixtures.

<…

Cristian Stellini declared himself responsible as Tottenham s hopes of a top-four Premier League finish were left hanging by a thread after a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Newcastle United.

Spurs found themselves 5-0 down after 21 minutes during a stunning start at St James Park, with Jacob Murphy and Alexander Isak scoring two apiece and Joelinton also netting for the rampant hosts.

Only once in Premier League history had a team gone 5-0 up at an earlier stage of a game, with Manchester City doing so inside 18 minutes in an 8-0 win over Watford in 2019.

Though Harry Kane pulled one back after the break, Callum Wilson tapped in a sixth as Newcastle moved six points clear of Spurs in the race for a top-four finish – still with a game in hand.

The latest humi…

Brighton and Liverpool both saw their long scoring streaks ended on Sunday, leaving Tottenham to chase the Premier League’s records.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the trio compare to the best of the Premier League era.

Brighton’s wings finally clipped

A remarkable scoring streak comes to an end

A run to be proud of,

— Premier League (@premierleague)

The Seagulls’ 2-0 defeat to Arsenal ended a 32-game scoring run and a Premier League record 20 consecutively in which they had both scored and conceded.

The latter sequence covered every fixture this season and the final four of last term, since their clean sheet in May’s 3-0 win over the Gunners.

The last time they had failed to score was way back in February, a …

France missed a chance to take control of Euro 2012 qualifying Group D after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Belarus on Friday.

Laurent Blanc s France came into the match in Minsk top of the group, four points ahead of second-placed Belarus.

Victory at Dynamo Stadium would have blown the lead out to eight points and with four matches of the qualification remaining put France within touching distance of a place in next year s finals.

But they made hard work of the match from start to finish and proved unable to avenge a 1-0 home defeat in the first meeting between the teams in September last year.

It has been an inspiring end to the season for Eric Abidal, who overcame a cancer scare to be given the honour of lifting the Champions League trophy for Barcel…

While Serbia are on track to qualify for next year s World Cup in Russia, there are problems beneath the surface.

As former midfielder and the country s most-capped player Dejan Stankovic puts it, Serbia are well on the way to the World Cup under head coach Slavoljub Muslin, who has the Balkan nation top of Group D after five games. 

But, domestically, Serbian football is struggling.

Once the home of European champions Red Star Belgrade in 1991 the SuperLiga provides little on the continental stage as finances cripple the titleholders and city rivals Partizan in their attempts to challenge abroad, despite maintaining a reputation as a production line for some of Europe s finest players.

Still recovering from the tumultuous breakup of Yugoslavia, Red Star…

The third-round draw for the FA Cup was made on Sunday, with Premier League and Championship clubs entering the competition.

All fixtures will be played over the weekend of January 6/7 and include an all-Premier League meeting between Arsenal and Liverpool, Wear-Tyne derby clash between Sunderland and Newcastle, while reigning holders Manchester City face Huddersfield.

Here the PA news agency looks at some of the best ties to watch in the third round.

Sunderland v Newcastle

The third round will bring the first Tyne-Wear derby since 2016

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)

One of the biggest draws of the third round sees fierce rivals Sunderland and Newcastle go head-to-head for the first time since 2016.

The last meeting between both …

Los Angeles FC coach Steve Cherundolo labelled Denis Bouanga as unstoppable when the forward is at his best.

Bouanga came off the bench to score the winner as LAFC beat FC Cincinnati 2-1 over the weekend.

That victory saw LAFC, fresh from winning the US Open Cup, clinch their spot in the playoffs.

Bouanga, who has scored 18 goals and set up a further eight in MLS this season, was not impressed with having to settle for a super-sub role, but Cherundolo cares not.

Denis always wants to play; he never wants to rest, Cherundolo said.

He was quite upset with me for not starting. And that s okay. Everybody can hate me, that s fine.

But I think freshness and also making sure he s getting enough rest makes him also better.

Obviously, h…