Harry Kane has given England team-mate Harry Maguire his support as the defender once again comes under intense scrutiny. 

Maguire has been one of Gareth Southgate‘s most consistent selections in his England squads since taking charge of the national team, despite minutes at Manchester United drying up of late. 

Despite a lack of game time, Maguire has been a central figure in each of England’s last three international tournament squads, in which he has reached a final (Euro 2020), semi-final (2018 World Cup), and quarter-final (2022 World Cup). 

After his latest high-profile error – an own goal against Scotland after coming off the bench in a 3-1 win for the Three Lions – the call for Maguire to no longer be called up has only increased.  

As such, with the England skipper in front of the media ahead of Bayern Munich‘s clash with Man United in the Champions League, Kane was asked about the treatment of his international team-mate and ‘friend’ Maguire.

‘I think H has come under some really unnecessary scrutiny, probably been scapegoated a little bit in terms of the way the team has gone over recent time,’ the England captain said.

‘He’s a really good friend of mine.

‘From an England point of view, being one of our best defenders over the history of our country in an England shirt… it’s part of football, but knowing him all he’ll want to do is try and improve.

‘We’re fully behind him as a national team.’

Kane will potentially face off against the embattled Maguire on Wednesday, when the Red Devils travel to Bavaria for the Champions League Group Stage clash.

Kane was himself close to joining Man United this summer, before his staggering £100million move to the Bundesliga giants. 

Mail Sport’s Manchester United Confidential revealed that the player was prepared to join the Red Devils next summer at the end of his Tottenham contract, had he received assurances over the Premier League side’s interest. 

With his deal in north London set to expire in the summer of 2024, a move came this summer with Spurs ultimately understanding that losing such a player for free would be worse in the long term than parting with him earlier than needed.  

Maguire, too, was close to a move over the summer, with West Ham agreeing a £30m fee for the defender with Man United, only for a deal to fall through after the player decided he wished to stay at Old Trafford.

A horror challenge in the Honduran top flight has gone viral after it left two opponents injured. 

The two-footed lunge by Marathon’s Andre Orellana came in the closing stages of his side’s 1-0 defeat to Liga Nacional leaders Olimpia.

The visitors had taken the lead just moments beforehand, and Orellana clearly allowed his frustration to get the better of him. 

The defender went flying into a tackle with opponents Carlos Pineda and German Mejia, leaving the ground before clattering into the pair with his studs showing. 

But perhaps the most shocking aspect of the incident was that Orellana is currently on loan at Marathon from Olimpia, and shared a dressing room with Pineda and Mejia last season. 

The referee was left with little option but to show the 21-year-old a red card, with the ferocity of the tackle undeniably dangerous.

Pineda and Mejia were left strewn on the turf as Orellana received his marching orders. 

The commentators on Deportes TVC’s broadcast of the game were initially speechless before admonishing Orellana upon seeing a replay of the incident. 

The defender may now have some apologising to do when he return to his parent club at the end of the year.

Orellana told DIEZ: ‘The truth is I was wrong and I apologise to everyone, you are human and you learn from mistakes.

‘I think it was a play where the momentum and courage for the game overcame me, it is not correct at all. Germán Mejía told me that nothing was happening, that he loves me and that I was part of the game, that I should not lose my DNA and that I should continue working, that I have a lot to continue growing.

‘This is part of football, all that remains for me is to correct and know how to control each impulse. I have to know how to have a balance. I tell you that this will not happen again.’

England lost their winning record in Euro 2024 qualifying after a 1-1 draw to Ukraine on Saturday evening. 

Oleksandr Zinchenko got the hosts off to a flying start in the first half before his former Man City teammate Kyle Walker netted an equaliser for England.

The goal was Walker’s first for his country, and it came in his 77th appearance for the national team.

With Gareth Southgate facing controversy when deciding to call up Harry Maguire, who has struggled for game time at Manchester United this season, and Jordan Henderson, the pair had a point to prove.

However, a fairly underwhelming performance followed as Mail Sport’s Sami Mokbel gives their player ratings from the showpiece.

England (4-3-3) 

Jordan Pickford (Everton) 6

Had very little to do apart from pick the ball out of the net. His distribution was solid, as ever.

Kyle Walker (Man City) 7  

Landmark night for the defender as he scored his first international goal on his 77th appearance. Recovery pace was key feature in defence.

Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace) 7

Looks comfortable at this level and was the pick of England’s centre-backs. Deserves more opportunities. 

Harry Maguire (Manchester United) 5.5

Continues to be a key player for England but he is under big pressure to keep his place now. Looked rusty. Booked.

Ben Chilwell (Chelsea) 5.5

A more than willing runner going forward but Ukraine exploited the space behind him to good effect.

Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) 7 

An off night for the wonderkid. Tried to overdo it at times when he should have kept things simple. Substituted. 

Declan Rice (Arsenal) 7

 Composed and driven in England’s engine room. No doubting his place now as one of England’s most important players. 

Jordan Henderson (Al-Ettifaq) 5.5

Appeared to be a yard off the pace, especially in the first half. Would have been relieved that the threat of protest against him didn’t happen. 

Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) 6.5

A quiet opening 45 minutes when his movement appeared restricted following a heavy challenge but burst into life after the break. 

Harry Kane (Bayern Munich) 7 

What. A. Pass. Ukraine just stood off the England captain – and he took full advantage with an unerring ball to set-up Walker’s leveller. 

James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur) 6

Another start for the Tottenham attacker but couldn’t fully grasp his opportunity before being substituted. Booked. 

Gareth Southgate (England) 6 

His team stuttered here but he’ll have been encouraged by the character after falling behind. England won’t win the Euros by playing like this, though. 

Substitutes

 Marcus Rashford 6.5 

 Phil Foden 6 

 Conor Gallagher N/A 

Ukrane (4-2-3-1)

Heorhiy Bushchan 6.5

Yukhym Konoplya 7

Illia Zabarnyi 7

Mykola Matviyenko 6 

Vitalii Mykolenko  6

Oleksandr Zinchenko  7 

Taras Stepanenko  6.5

Viktor Tsyhankov 6.5

Sudakov 6.5 

 Mudryk 5.5 

 Yaremchuk 6 

Substitutes:

Serhiy Kryvtsov 6

Serhiy Sydorchuk 6.5 

Vitaliy Buyalskyi N/A

Yehor Nazaryna  N/A  

Artem Dovbyk N/A 

Serhiy Rebrov: 6.5

Referee: Georgi Kabakov 6

Panama international defender Gilberto Hernandez has been shot dead at the age of 26.

The Panama football league confirmed the news in a statement. The incident happened in the city of Colon but it is unclear if Hernandez was the target of the attack.

Seven others were injured in the incident.

Hernandez played twice for his country and one appearance came in the 2-0 loss to Argentina, where Lionel Messi scored, in March of this year. It was Argentina’s first game in front of home fans since winning the World Cup in Qatar last year.

The player’s stricken father has urged the youth of Colon ‘to stop the violence’ and called on the authorities to ‘launch projects to save the youth from this violence’.

He was also quoted by the BBC as urging his son’s killers to hand themselves in. According to The Guardian, there has been one arrest so far by police.

The Panama federation also issued a statement, saying it ‘regrets the sad passing of Gilberto Hernandez.

‘[We] extend condolences to his family and loved ones, as well as to the entire CAI and Panamanian football family.’

Hernandez played for Panamanian team Independiente at the time of his death.

In April 2017, another Panama player – Amilcar Henriquez – was shot and killed in Colon.

Henriquez had played 85 times for his country and was an active part of the team trying to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. 

Lionel Messi became the most decorated player in soccer history Saturday following Inter Miami’s Leagues Cup victory. 

By spearheading the MLS side’s quest for its first-ever trophy, the World Cup winner made history of his own, 

The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner clinched the 44th title of glittering career, stretching from 2004 to 2023. 

The Leagues Cup is his first trophy on American soil and comes just over a month since his arrival in South Florida. 

It joins an almost over-flowing trophy cabinet, including 10 La Liga titles, four Champions League wins, seven Copa Del Reys, eight Spanish Super Cups, three FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, the FIFA World Cup, the Finalissima, the Copa America, an Olympic Gold, a U20 World Cup, two Ligue 1 titles and one Trophée de Champions.

The new piece of silverware sees him break the deadlock with former Barcelona teammate Dani Alves, who had claimed 43 trophies throughout his career.  

Messi scored early in regulation and converted the first shot in penalty kicks as Inter Miami beat Nashville SC 10-9 on penalties in the Leagues Cup final on Saturday night.

Messi scored for the 10th time in seven games since joining Inter Miami, converting in the 23rd minutes.

The ball landed at Messi´s feet after a pass from teammate Robert Taylor was blocked. 

Messi dribbled past Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman and unleashed a bending shot from just outside the penalty box into the top left corner of the goal. Diving goalkeeper Elliot Panicco had no chance at playing the ball.

Nashville fans had booed Messi on his previous touches of the ball, but the stadium erupted in cheers when the seven-time Ballon d´Or winner who led Argentina to the World Cup crown last year scored.

Messi had a shot from a similar position in the 71st minute, but hit the post as the teams played to a 1-1 draw in regulation.

Messi calmly converted the first shot in penalties as Miami claimed its first trophy – and his 44th. 

Gary Lineker is unconcerned that Saudi Arabia will rival the Premier League, despite the Middle East’s clamour to bring household names to the Kingdom.

The Saudi Pro League has ramped up their recruitment efforts since Cristiano Ronaldo cut ties with Manchester United and became their most high-profile name in December last year.

Since then, Saudi Arabia’s biggest clubs have began delving deeper into their bounty of riches with a host of Premier League talents ditching the English top-flight for the huge wages on offer.

Jordan Henderson gave up the Liverpool captaincy to seal a £700-000-per-week deal to join Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq, Ruben Neves left Wolves, while N’Golo Kante and Edouard Mendy were some of the names to swap Stamford Bridge for life in the desert.

However, while club chiefs in the form of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp warn of the growing attraction from Saudi Arabia, Lineker feels that any imminent threat to the Premier League is minimal.

While Ronaldo and current Ballon d’Or holder Karim Benzema now ply their trade scoring goals in Saudi Arabia, the league has been unable to attract a world class player in their prime years.

They attempted to do so by offering Paris Saint-Germain’s hero-turned-villain Kylian Mbappe an outrageous deal worth over £600m-per-year, but the French superstar refused to even hold conversations over a move.

And until they are unable to do so, Lineker is largely unconcerned by the threat posed by Saudi Arabia’s football ambitions, as he explained writing in his column for the Sun.

The 62-year-old Englishman said: ‘But until they sign Kylian Mbappe, or another genuine world star in his prime, then the major European clubs will remain relaxed about it.

‘Right now, it’s just the latest league where older players go to die their footballing deaths — like Karim Benzema joining Al-Ittihad — for one last earner.

‘It’s the same with Major League Soccer in America, it was the same with China for a while, and I did it myself in Japan at the end of my playing career.’

Lineker is no stranger when it comes to swapping England for opportunities elsewhere as he did when he left Everton to move to Barcelona in 1986, but the lure of the Camp Nou has always been about more than just money, unlike Saudi Arabia.

The iconic presenter’s admission that the Middle East is the same case as America’s rise to become a late-career resting home for stars is reinforced by Lionel Messi’s decision to leave Europe for Miami.

There is belief in the Premier League that Saudi Arabia is capable of continuing with their splash-cash approach for the next decade, but according to Lineker, the Middle East’s offering shouldn’t prompt irrational fear amongst European ranks. 

England surprised everyone at Edgbaston as they executed the earliest first-innings declaration in Ashes history.

Joe Root‘s scored an unbeaten 118 that helped to pull England from 176-5 to 393-8 before Ben Stokes called his players in to leave Australia facing 20 minutes of bowling to end the day.

The Aussies survived, finishing on 14-0, on a first day that lived up to the hype. 

Mail Sport’s LAWRENCE BOOTH provides the big stats from the opening day. 

This was Joe Root’s first Ashes century since his 130 at Trent Bridge in 2015. In between, 31 innings against Australia had brought him 12 half-centuries, but nothing greater than 89 at Brisbane in December 2021.

Root has now scored 2,134 Test runs against Australia, and during the course of his unbeaten 118 moved past Virat Kohli, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ken Barrington in that list.

Root became the second England player, after Alastair Cook, to reach 30 Test centuries, drawing level on the all-time list with Matthew Hayden and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

His Test record at Edgbaston now reads 787 at 71. Only Cook has more runs at the venue, with 869 at almost 58.

His four sixes were his joint-most in a Test innings. He also hit four during his unbeaten 182 against West Indies at St George’s, Grenada, in April 2015.

Root and Jonny Bairstow put on 121 for England’s sixth wicket, their 11th century stand in Tests. Only three England partnerships have managed more: Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe (15), Cook and Andrew Strauss (14), and Cook and Kevin Pietersen (13).

Only once have England scored more quickly in the first innings of an Ashes Test than their run-rate of 5.03 here. That was in 2005, also at Edgbaston, when they managed 407 runs on the opening day at 5.13 an over.

England scored 54 singles in the morning session – three times the normal average for the first session of a Test match.

The last time Jimmy Anderson did not take the new ball in a home Test was in 2009 against West Indies at Lord’s, where Andrew Strauss opened the bowling with Stuart Broad and off-spinner Graeme Swann. 

Bairstow and Moeen Ali became the first pair of batsmen to be out stumped on the first day of a Test in this country since Godfrey Evans stumped West Indians Clyde Walcott and Gerry Gomez off Roly Jenkins at Lord’s in 1950.

Australia selected Scott Boland ahead of Mitchell Starc partly over concern about how quickly England would score off Starc. Instead, Boland went at 6.14 an over – easily the most expensive innings of his Test career. Before yesterday, he had gone at just 2.31 an over in his eight Tests.

Amador City is so small that ‘you can put your arms around it’, says Kevin Carter, who owns its bar. At just 0.3 square miles, it is California’s most bijou incorporated city, but it has a big history: it’s where modern California began.

In 1849, gold was found in them these hills, and 300,000 dreamers flocked in, creating the stock from which California’s otherworldly population would grow.

Amador City, and its synonymous county, lie two hours’ drive from San Francisco, at the edge of the High Sierra.

Between 1846 and 1852, San Francisco’s population would grow from 200 to 36,000. In the last century Amador City’s fell from highs of 1,000 to 200.

I’d driven from Yosemite, only 90 minutes away, a route that brought me over the High Sierra, dropping down through pine forests. Now, as I sweep past the hamlet of Fiddletown, named for the goldminers’ love of dancing, trees give way to vineyards.

In the past three decades, winemaking has taken hold of Amador County. At Rest, a boutique hotel in the quiet town of Plymouth, I am handed a glass of Zinfandel as I check in. It feels like I’m in Napa or Sonoma, California’s famous wine regions — only 30 years ago.

Almost all the 45 vineyards here survive by selling wine to visitors, who then continue to order for years after heading home. 

The slopes are famous for barbera, a rich red grape variety that needs a lot of time on the vine to overcome its natural acidity, something the best small vineyard owners achieve. 

I could spend the whole day sipping my way through these vineyards — in Napa and Sonoma a single tasting can cost $40 (£32); here it’s $5 (£4) — but instead I head over to Amador City and pull up at the Small Town Wine Bar for a bowl of mushroom soup. 

Ginger Budrick has been running it with her husband Matt for six years. ‘When we first moved in, it was kind of a ghost town. We would joke about how maybe we were ghosts, too, but just didn’t know it.’

Now there is a line of sweetly original shops, such as 3 Fish Studios, where I buy a woodcut of a sequoia.

The biggest change is being forged by Kevin Carter. He has built a brewery, the Break Even, and converted the tavern into its tap room.

His latest move is buying the Imperial Hotel. Kevin walks me down Main Street towards its olde-west facade. Inside is an old miner’s bar. The crystal globe lights that hang from the ceiling would be the perfect target for an old gunslinger. Indeed, Amador should be a target for anyone touring California.

Claude Harmon III – coach of PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka – has ripped into Brandel Chamblee after the Golf Channel studio analyst suggested no player from LIV should feature at the Ryder Cup this fall.

On Sunday, Koepka won at Oak Hill for the third time of his career. His victory made headlines in the aftermath, with the 33-year-old becoming the first player from the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf Tour to win a PGA Tour major championship. 

Speaking on the PGA Championship‘s broadcast, Chamblee and Brad Faxon were involved in a heated exchange when the latter – once ranked as high as No. 11 – said that Koepka may deserve a spot on the USA Ryder Cup team, though Chamblee is strongly against that happening. 

‘The PGA of America runs the Ryder Cup,’ Faxon said, explaining Golf’s governing bodies to his telecast partner. ‘I don’t think this has anything to do with… they’re not playing for money at the Ryder Cup, Brandle. They’re playing for their country. He’s an American.’

Following the point, Chamblee repeated the lines ‘they’re playing for their country’, later adding: ‘There’s a certain sense that the Europeans are playing for their tour.’ Faxon then stated that ‘they’re playing golf’, before an awkward silence emerged on air, with both former pros staring each other down. 

And on Tuesday, two days after Koepka’s major win, Harmon III did not hold back against critics of the LIV Tour, such as Golfweek writer Eamon Lynch and Chamblee. 

The latter previously used the term ‘sportswashing’ abound Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund bankrolling the PGA Tour’s rival.  

‘Brandel is a paid actor by NBC and Golf Channel… And I mean, I love him, I think Eamon is a fantastic writer, but for Eamon Lynch and Brandel Chamblee, who worked for NBC Golf Channel to utter the words ”sportswashing” when the company they work for televised the last two Winter Olympics in Russia and China with the same leaders that they’ve had. It’s not like they were good leaders back then,’ said Harmon III via Golfweek. 

‘It’s not like Putin was a good guy, right?’

After Sunday’s finale at Oak Hill, US Ryder Cup captain, Zach Johnson, made it clear that he wouldn’t rule out LIV players from his 12-man roster. 

‘Yeah, he’s on the team. He’s got direct ownership in that, absolutely,’ said the 47-year-old. ‘Essentially, Koepka could earn a spot via the six automatic spots or, if he were to miss out, via one of the six captain’s picks.’

The Ryder Cup is usually held at the end of September every year, with USA’s qualification wrapped up after the BMW Championship on August 20. 

Whoever finishes among the six-highest ranked players at that point automatically qualify, with Johnson selecting his six captain’s picks after the 2023 Tour Championship. 

This year’s Ryder Cup will be played for the first time in Italy at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.