Ireland all-rounder Curtis Campher will see his dream become a reality when he steps out to play in this week’s Test at Lord’s.
Campher has already played three Tests for Ireland this year and made a century against Sri Lanka in April but is desperate to feature at the ‘Home of Cricket’ against England.
The prestige of the four-day fixture has been scrutinised since it was revealed the visitors’ star bowler Josh Little would not be involved, while Cricket Ireland’s high performance director Richard Holdsworth labelled the second red-ball meeting between the nations as “a special occasion” but not a “pinnacle event”.
But Campher told the PA news agency: “Anyone that has played cricket would be lying if they say they don’t dream of playing at Lord’s.
“It will be an amazing thing to play England in a Test match at Lord’s. It is massive and a real historic venue, with all the history behind it.
“To be a part of that is really, really cool and just to be a Test-playing cricketer is a massive thing. To be part of history, no-one can take that away from you.
“Everyone is buzzing for the week of Test cricket.”
The journey of Johannesburg-born Campher to this point has been recounted many times with an exchange with his now agent Niall O’Brien during a match in 2018 able to speed up the process of the 24-year-old going on to represent Ireland.
Campher always held an Irish passport, due to his grandmother being from Northern Ireland, and had ambitions to play club cricket during the South African winter months once his studies stopped.
Yet in the summer of 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, he found himself fast-tracked into the senior international set-up and handed his debut in an ODI series against England.
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“I was happy to just carry water but before I knew it I was playing the first game versus England, so it has been an amazing three years,” Campher said.
Back-to-back fifties in losing causes provided a glimpse of what was to come from the all-rounder before Ireland ended the three-match series with victory over the world champions after Kevin O’Brien hit the winning runs.
O’Brien has since followed brother Niall into retirement after a stellar career and, while Campher is too modest to acknowledge any type of passing of the baton, he has taken plenty from one of Ireland’s all-time greats.
Campher added: “It was nice to rub shoulders with Kev for the few years I played with him.
“He has done so much for Irish cricket, the contributions he made were immense so if you can have half the career Kev has had, you’ve had a flipping good career!
“Kev is very calm, very relaxed and tries to simplify things. I have tried to take on that approach myself.”
O’Brien memorably crunched a remarkable 63-ball innings of 113 against England at the 2011 World Cup that propelled Ireland to a first ever victory over their rivals.
While Campher may be in the infancy of his own international career, he already appears to have the same panache as the previous all-rounder in the XI.
After arriving on the scene with scores of 59 not out and 68 against England, he has continued to save his best for the big occasion with four wickets in four balls during a T20 clash with Netherlands at the 2021 World Cup and last year’s tournament saw an unbeaten 72 down Scotland.
Campher also followed in O’Brien’s footsteps by scoring a Test century for Ireland earlier this year and knows what any notable achievements this week would mean.
“England are a class act but if I can contribute and help the team in any way, that would be a bonus,” he said.
“Everyone does look to want to be up on the honours board but that is too far to look.
“If it does happen, it happens, but if not life will still go on.”
A key feature of Campher’s strong form over the past 12 months has been enjoyment being at the forefront of his mind, but that should not take away from his determination.
So high is the belief of the Munster Reds player that he had privately targeted reaching three figures for Ireland long before he reached the milestone.
He is also acutely aware he has won two of his four meetings with England, most recently at the T20 World Cup in October.
Campher said: “A few of the lads have joked about how, since some of us made our debuts (in 2020), we’ve played England four times and won two and lost two.
“They said if we can keep that record going, we’ll have a pretty good careers!”
Tee Ritson admits he has “loved every minute” of playing with St Helens as he continues to embrace the challenge of playing in Super League.
The winger joined Saints on a season-long loan in November from Championship side Barrow after scoring 33 tries in 31 appearances with Raiders in 2022.
Ritson marked his debut in style for the defending Super League champions with a try against Castleford in the opening round of league fixtures and has continued to impress.
His performances have seen him start their last four Super League games and he feels he has adapted well to the league’s standards.
“I’ve loved every minute of it,” the 27-year-old told the PA news agency. “Obviously it’s been a massive step up for me, the training and everything, I think I’ve adapted really well.
“I’ve just kept my head down, focused on this year, focused on my training, the team and stuff like that then I’m getting a good run of games now so hopefully I can continue that form.
“The team itself, they’re a great set of lads, the club’s really good, all the staff have helped me out – I couldn’t ask for anything more to be honest, I’ve loved my time here.
“This time last year I was playing in the Championship and now I’m playing for the World Club Champions in Super League.
“It’s a massive step up, the training, the intensity and stuff like that. The first couple of weeks I was pretty sore so I wasn’t used to all the training every single day!
“But I’ve adapted to it, there’s a lot of new systems and tactics, things that you need to know within the team that I’ve had to get used to.
“I feel I’ve really settled in now and feel at home at this team.”
Ritson was speaking ahead of the eagerly-anticipated Magic Weekend which takes place in Newcastle at St James’ Park with St Helens facing Huddersfield on Sunday.
The winger has previously played in the Summer Bash, a similar event where a round of Championship fixtures take place over the course of a weekend, but Ritson admits Magic Weekend is on a “different level”.
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He said: “Obviously the stadium that we’re going to be playing in this weekend is massive compared to the stadium we’ve been in at the Bash before!
“I’ve been involved in a few Summer Bashes and they’ve been great, they’re really good for the fans.
“You get a good mixture of fans there, fans who don’t usually watch you play so you can showcase what you can do.
“Obviously this is a different level, a huge stadium, a massive following from all the teams, I’m expecting the place is going to be bouncing so I’m really looking forward to it.
“This is the first time I’ve been in the stadium today, just looking at it now it’s quite impressive, it’s really something.
“I can’t wait to see what it’s like once it’s packed with loads of fans, I’m looking forward to experiencing it.”
Aiden McGeady has left Hibernian at the end of an injury-disrupted season.
The 37-year-old winger moved to Easter Road last summer on a one-year deal but two long lay-offs restricted him to just 14 appearances, the majority of which came between December and February.
Hibs announced on Wednesday that McGeady, who said in January that he had contemplated retirement when he was sidelined in the first half of the season with a knee problem, would not be staying at the club.
“I’ve enjoyed my time at Hibs and wish the lads, supporters and the staff all the best for next season,” he told the Hibs website as news of his departure was confirmed.
The former Celtic, Sunderland and Republic of Ireland winger, who is currently recovering from a torn hamstring, will leave Easter Road along with defender Mikey Devlin – who has already agreed a move to Livingston – and goalkeeper Kevin Dabrowski.
Hibernian director of football Brian McDermott told the club’s website: “I would like to thank Aiden, Kevin and Mikey for their commitment and effort during their time with us. I wish them all the best for the future.”
On-loan quartet CJ Egan-Riley, Will Fish, Matthew Hoppe and Mykola Kuharevich are due to return to their parent clubs for the time being, although Hibs “are exploring the options to retain some of the loans”.
Tom Pidcock is reluctant to call it a target but the opportunity to take the yellow jersey on the opening weekend of this year’s Tour de France has not escaped his notice.
The 23-year-old will race his second Tour this July, and said his goal is to do better than he did on debut last summer.
That might seem a lofty ambition given how Pidcock stormed to a stunning solo stage victory on the Alpe d’Huez, the descending skills with which he escaped his breakaway companions still talked of with awe.
But it would get even more attention if the Ineos Grenadiers rider enjoyed a spell in yellow, and a lumpy opening stage in the Basque Country offers a rider of Pidcock’s talents a chance.
“I think it is (an opportunity), yeah,” he told the PA news agency. “It’s a possibility and something that I am aware is a possibility. I think the first stage of the Tour is one that can be treated like a one-day classic, it’s going to be a super-hard day.”
When told that sounds non-committal, Pidcock quickly adds: “I’m just playing it down.”
Pidcock, who proved his one-day credentials at Strade Bianche in March, is far from alone in eyeing that opening stage, but he has other goals in July too.
He wants to show greater consistency in the general classification, and also to win a stage from the main bunch rather than a break.
“Last year I was going to the Tour two months after being ill in the spring and then getting Covid, it was not the perfect lead in,” he said. “I think this year I’m stronger and I can do better, basically.”
Pidcock is certainly riding high on the back of his recent spell on the mountain bike.
The Olympic champion took two victories from the World Cup round in Novo Mesto, first storming from last to first to win a short track race he only learned he was riding with a couple of hours’ notice, then recovering from a lap-five crash to win the cross-country race.
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It came after he finished second in Liege-Bastogne-Liege and third in the Amstel Gold Race at the end of April.
The run of form is affirmation for the work Pidcock did in the winter, when he chose not to defend his cyclo-cross world title but instead focus on conditioning.
Although a crash at Tirreno-Adriatico in late March punched a hole in some of his ambitions, the core fitness remains.
“Definitely I feel I’m a bit more robust and certainly at a higher level and I have been for longer and I think that’s partly from the extra time spent building a base preparing,” he said. “I think that’s only going to carry into the rest of the season.”
Throughout his young career to date, the Yorkshireman has juggled the demands of road, mountain bike and cross, but always knew there would come a time when something had to give. This season has shown how that might look.
“I think if I want to achieve the goals I do on the road, certainly there are going to have to be sacrifices in other disciplines,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t contribute and help with those ambitions.”
There are likely to be sacrifices too at August’s World Championships in Scotland, where the first combined multi-discipline championships is creating dilemmas for several athletes given the schedule clashes.
Pidcock plans to race his mountain bike, so is strongly leading towards skipping the road race which comes first and could come at a cost.
“I don’t want to do both and go home with nothing,” he said. “I’d want to ride the road race because it’s a home race and it will be a super nice experience and I think the worlds is a very special particular race where you never know what will happen.
“It wouldn’t be a bad thing to ride, I want to ride, but would it be the best thing? I don’t know.”
:: Tom Pidcock is a Red Bull athlete. Watch him appear in ‘Race Tapes‘, the new Red Bull series that delves into the lives of the world’s leading riders across all disciplines.
Carl Froch knocked out George Groves in their rematch at Wembley Stadium on this day in 2014 as the Nottingham fighter retained his WBA and IBF super-middleweight titles.
Froch added to his victory in the initial bout in Manchester the previous November, in which he had recovered from a first-round knockdown and terrible start to stop Groves controversially in the ninth.
This time he finished the contest with a breathtaking eighth-round punch which knocked Groves out in front of a crowd of 80,000.
Froch said afterwards: “I showed tonight why I’m a four-time champion of the world, why I’ve defended my world title 13 times on the spin.
“I am amongst the best fighters in the world – that’s who George Groves was in there with tonight.
“The finish of that (fight) showed why I’ve mixed with the elite for many years and how hard it is to get to that level.”
He added: “I am feeling unbelievably elated. This is the best moment in the history of my boxing career.”
Groves made a solid start to the contest which began cagily, with neither fighter wanting to give anything away. Froch was patient, waiting for his opening and Groves struggled to keep pace as the fight wore on.
“I knew it was only going to take a couple of big right hands to the chin and I timed it perfectly,” Froch said.
Groves said: “It’s boxing and fair play to Carl, he caught me and I went down. Obviously I felt I was doing very well in the fight, I was in my groove and I was boxing well but it’s boxing.
“I’ll come back bigger, better and stronger. Ultimately I feel like I let myself down but congratulations to Carl, fair play, he got the punch.”
It proved the last fight for Froch – aged 36 at the time – before retirement, with him hanging up his gloves with a professional record of 35 bouts, 33 wins and two defeats, 24 of the victories coming by knockout.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin says tournament organisers are “well prepared” to deal with any protests or safety threats at the World Cup in France.
More than 600,000 international visitors – a World Cup record and 50 per cent more than for Japan 2019 – are expected to attend the event in September and October.
Ticket sales currently stand at almost 2.5million as the biggest Rugby World Cup tournament in its 36-year history prepares to take centre stage.
Protests across France over pension reforms earlier this month saw almost 300 people arrested and more than 100 police officers injured.
Football’s European governing body UEFA, meanwhile, brought in new measures to improve safeguards for fans attending finals in the wake of last season’s Champions League fiasco.
UEFA drew on recommendations from an independent review panel into chaotic scenes at the Stade de France in Paris which saw Liverpool supporters suffer serious congestion problems and over-zealous policing.
And Just Stop Oil protestors invaded the pitch during Saturday’s Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham, throwing orange paint powder on to the field.
The World Cup kicks off at the Stade de France on September 8 with a blockbuster opener between France and New Zealand, launching a 48-match schedule involving 20 countries.
“Like every major event, we are planning all the time for such a wide range of different scenarios, and protests of any nature are certainly part of that,” said Gilpin, speaking with 100 days to go before the tournament starts.
“Of course, it is an area of challenging concern, but it is an area we are planning for, and like all of those scenarios we are working incredibly closely with the authorities in the various host cities.
“While I am sure, as there is in every major event and every RWC, there will be incidents we need to deal with, I think we will be well prepared for that.
“There are lessons to learn, clearly, from incidents like at the Stade de France and the Champions League final last year. There has been an enormous amount of debate around that.
“We are confident in those plans, but like any time we are talking about safety, we are not complacent and there is a huge amount of work that has been done and that will continue throughout the next 100 days and the tournament.
“A Rugby World Cup over seven weekends, 48 matches in nine cities is a big undertaking, so we are pretty relentless about the planning from a safety perspective.
“We can reassure rugby fans that are travelling to France, or that will be in France for the tournament, that their safety along with the teams and the players are our top priority. The French government, the cities are all part of that effort.”
Events to mark the 100 days landmark include the Webb Ellis Cup being delivered to France by 2019 South Africa World Cup winner Tendai Mtawarira, an unveiling of tournament medals made from recycled phones donated by fans and community rugby clubs and a spectacular light show set to transform the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.
And Gilpin believes the World Cup’s 10th staging promises to be the most open tournament yet.
“We have seen in the (world) rankings, it has never been so competitive,” he added.
“On any given day, there are six or seven teams that can beat each other. We’ve got more uncertainty about our World Cup champions than ever before. That all leads into the excitement we are seeing.
“Our message is that we are in great shape. From our perspective, never has a country been so excited to host a Rugby World Cup – the levels of engagement are fantastic – and never has a country been so ready to host a Rugby World Cup.
“We know from ticket purchasing that more than 600,000 international fans will be welcomed to France, which is a record for any rugby event.
“The organisers have achieved, and will achieve, record ticket sales for RWC, selling out 2.5million tickets. It has been the hottest ticket for any rugby event to date.”
Jamaica’s young Reggae Girlz gave head coach Hugh Bradford something to smile about, as they concluded their failed Concacaf Women’s Under-20 Championship campaign on a high with a 4-1 beating of Panama, at the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
Natoya Atkinson (16th), Davia Richards (32nd), Maya Raghunandanan (37th) and Amelia Van Zanten (74th) were on target for the Bradford’s side, while Meredith Rosas, got Panama’s consolation in the 79th minute.
With the win, the Girlz ended Group A in third on three points scoring four goals and conceding nine, behind United States and Canada, to whom they suffered identical 0-4 defeats. Panama finished at the foot of the standing without a point.
It was a dominant performance by the Girlz, who for the first time in the tournament played with some degree of freedom and bossed possession throughout.
In fact, they were so fluent in attack, particularly in the first half, to the point where they held a high line, got significant numbers forward and camped out in Panama's quarters.
After firing a few warning shots, the Girlz inevitably broke the deadlock when Atkinson fired home from close range, after Destiny Powell’s initial effort came back off the crossbar.
Though they continued to apply consistent pressure, the Girlz had to wait until minutes past the half-hour mark to double their lead. Richards converted from the 12-yard spot, after Mireilis Rojas was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the 18-yard box on the VAR review.
Panama was not without hope, as they tried to play their game and even stringed a few good build ups together to remind the Jamaicans of their potential but couldn’t get anything on frame.
However, the Jamaicans pushed further ahead through Raghunandanan, who pounced on loose ball and lashed a one-time effort from a distance past Alejandra Garay, in goal for Panama, to make it 3-0 at the break.
Panama was never expected to overturn the deficit, but they were certainly more purposeful on the resumption with Sherline King forcing a fingertip save from Jamaica’s goalkeeper Katie Oakley in the 58th minute.
The Central Americans grew in confidence in the attacking third as the game progressed, especially as the young Reggae Girlz briefly became complacent and overconfident.
When they regained composure, the Jamaicans added a fourth courtesy of Van Zanten from the penalty spot, after the fleet-footed Shaneil Buckley was taken out by Garay inside the danger area.
But Panama responded shortly after with a 12-yard conversion of their own. Substitute Andrene Smith felled Aaliyah Gil in the 18-yard box, shortly after entering the pitch and Rosas was cool, calm and collected in firing past Oakley.
The Jamaicans could have added to their tally in the latter stages, but lacked composure in the final third, while it took some brilliance from Oakley to deny Gil, from a distance, four minutes from time.
Brazilian qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild caused the first big shock of the French Open, knocking out second seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets.
In a now wide open men’s bottom half, there were wins for last year’s finalist Casper Ruud, young Dane Holger Rune and Alexander Zverev.
Defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek pulled away after a tricky start to open her campaign with a 6-4 6-0 win over Cristina Bucsa.
Picture of the dayStat of the dayShot of the dayMatch of the day
A five-hour-10-minute epic played out on Court Eight. To add to the drama, Miomir Kecmanovic demanded to see the supervisor after being given a warning when he hit a ball back that had flown over from another court.
Carrot tops
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There is no missing Jannik Sinner’s fan club at Roland Garros this year. The ‘Carota Boys’ have been inspired by their favourite player’s penchant for a mid-match carrot snack. “I have orange hair, and I used to eat a lot of carrots in Vienna,” said Sinner. “It’s a good nickname.”
Venus returns
Venus Williams turns 43 in a couple of weeks but she is not yet ready to follow sister Serena into retirement. The American will play her first tournament since January on grass in the Netherlands, and watch out for her popping up in Birmingham, too. Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, meanwhile, will play in Eastbourne.
Fallen seeds
Men: Daniil Medvedev (2), Miomir Kecmanovic (31)
Women: Barbora Krejcikova (13), Victoria Azarenka (18), Anhelina Kalinina (25), Sorana Cirstea (30), Marie Bouzkova (31), Shelby Rogers (32)
Who’s up next?
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Cameron Norrie will take on the crowd and a French opponent for the second match in a row on Suzanne Lenglen, this time former top-10 player Lucas Pouille.
Novak Djokovic plays the night match on Philippe Chatrier against Marton Fucsovics, with Carlos Alcaraz facing Taro Daniel in the last contest of the day session.
Caroline Garcia carries French hopes against Anna Blinkova while third seed Jessica Pegula meets the dangerous Camila Giorgi.
The Nashville Predators have suddenly made a change at coach, firing John Hynes on Tuesday and reportedly replacing him with Andrew Brunette.
The Predators announced Hynes' firing, as well as assistant coach Dan Lambert, and multiple media outlets are reporting Brunette will take over.
Hynes, 48, spent part of the last four seasons with the Predators, replacing Peter Laviolette in 2019-20 and helping the team to the playoffs the first three years.
Each of those playoff trips ended with first-round exits, however, and Nashville missed the playoffs this season for the first time since 2013-14.
"John Hynes is a good man and a good hockey coach," incoming general manager Barry Trotz said. "He did an outstanding job after the trade deadline with our team, especially with our young players, and he is a well-prepared, hard-working coach who will continue to grow in the NHL. After our year-end meetings and some additional evaluation, it was time to change the voice and time to go in a different direction."
Brunette’s only previous head coaching experience came in 2021-22, when he served as interim head coach of the Florida Panthers following the resignation of Joel Quenneville.
The 49-year-old led the Panthers to a 51-18-6 record and the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s top regular-season club, but after the team was swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Tampa Bay Lightning, GM Bill Zito decided to hire Paul Maurice as the full-time coach.
Brunette spent this past season as an associate coach for a New Jersey Devils team that advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 2011-12.
A 16-year NHL veteran as a player, Brunette will be Nashville's fourth coach in franchise history and serve under Trotz, who will take over when longtime GM David Poile retires in July.
Poile has been the only GM in franchise history, while Trotz served as the club’s first coach, working behind the bench from 1998-2014.
Brunette played under Trotz for the 1998-99 expansion Predators, and scored the franchise’s first goal.
Brunette, who made his NHL debut in 1995-96, scored 268 goals and registered 733 points in 1,110 career games before retiring in 2011-12.
Manchester United forward Anthony Martial has been ruled out of Saturday’s FA Cup final against Manchester City due to a hamstring injury.
Martial picked up the problem in United’s final Premier League game of the season after stepping off the bench on Sunday against Fulham and scans have revealed the full extent of the damage.
United said in a statement: “Anthony Martial is out of Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup final against Manchester City due to injury.
“The France international strained his hamstring towards the end of Sunday’s 2-1 win against Fulham at Old Trafford.
“Assessments have since revealed a muscle tear that rules the 27-year-old out of the Wembley showdown.”
Martial missed United’s first two Premier League games this season due to a hamstring problem, while other small injuries since have restricted him to 29 appearances in all competitions in which he has scored nine goals.
Only 11 of his 21 league appearances this season have been in the starting line-up, but he had been hoping to be in contention to start at Wembley against City, who are looking to complete a domestic treble.
The former Lyon winger, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Sevilla, joined United from Monaco for £36million in 2015 and has made almost 200 league appearances for the club in total.
Alun Wyn Jones looks set to clock up a first in his stellar career by featuring for both teams in the same game.
Jones announced his retirement from international rugby earlier this month after making a world record 170 Test match appearances for Wales and the British and Irish Lions.
The former Wales captain skippered the Barbarians to victory against a World XV at Twickenham on Sunday.
And he will again line-up for the Baa-baas on Wednesday in a match to mark Swansea Rugby Club’s 150th anniversary year.
Swansea-born Jones made 35 appearances for his hometown club between 2004 and 2006.
“After 17 years (of Test rugby), he got his first Barbarians call-up and he has got his second one tomorrow,” Barbarians coach John Mulvihill said.
“You will probably see him in an All Whites jersey in the second half. He might lead the Swansea team out at half-time.
“I was still taken aback that he wanted to play. He said ‘it’s in my parish and I want to play against my team’.
“It means a lot to him. I don’t think it’s going to be his sign-off. He has got a few miles to go yet.”
Jones will be joined in the Barbarians team at St Helen’s by the likes of Wales flanker Dan Lydiate and former England centre Billy Twelvetrees.
And Jones’ second-row partner, former Wales forward Bradley Davies, is poised to make his final appearance before retirement.
Davies, 36, won 66 caps for his country and played for Cardiff, Wasps and the Ospreys.
Roma boss Jose Mourinho said Sevilla’s six previous Europa League trophy wins will count for little against his side in Wednesday’s final in Budapest.
Sevilla are bidding for a record-extending seventh triumph at the Puskas Arena, in a match the Hungarian media have dubbed ‘The Specialists against The Special One’.
Mourinho has yet to lose in five major European finals as a manager, while Sevilla have won all six of their Europa League finals.
The Portuguese told a press conference: “History does not play. My colleague (Sevilla head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar) thinks otherwise, I have respect for him.
“He believes that history makes Sevilla favourites, I respect that. We are in the final because we deserve to be.
“They have a history that we do not have. For them to play the final is a normal thing, for us it is an extraordinary event.”
Mourinho is aiming to become the first manager to win the Europa League with three different clubs after previous successes with Porto (2003) and Manchester United (2017).
The 60-year-old former Chelsea boss added: “We are two great teams, with high-level players.
“It’s curious because we talk about coaching experience, but we face a Sevilla side that has very accustomed players.
“They are a bit more experienced in finals, but my team comes here ready. We have played a lot of European games in the last two seasons.”
Mourinho’s latest European trophy triumph came last season when he led Roma to victory over Feyenoord in the inaugural Europa Conference League final.
Roma finished second in this season’s Europa League qualifying group behind Real Betis and overcame RB Salzburg, Real Sociedad and Feyenoord in the knockout rounds before edging past Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 on aggregate in their semi-final.
The Italian side, currently sixth in Serie A with one game remaining, could be boosted by the return of former United defender Chris Smalling (hip), while Argentina’s Paulo Dybala is hoping to play some part despite an ankle injury.
Sevilla head coach Mendilibar, 62, will become the oldest manager to win the Europa League if the Andalusians seal a record-extending seventh tournament win.
He said the side which makes the fewest errors on the night at the Puskas Arena will prevail.
The former Eibar and Alaves boss said: “Mistakes are what you pay for in games like this and it’s about making the fewest mistakes possible.
“We’ve eliminated big teams, but the most difficult one is ahead of us. Whoever makes the fewest mistakes will win.”
Mendilibar has transformed Sevilla since replacing Jorge Sampaoli at the end of March when they were two points above LaLiga’s relegation zone.
They have risen to 11th in the table, 10 points clear of the drop zone with one game left, and won their Europa League quarter-final and semi-final under Mendilibar against United and Juventus respectively.
Bob Myers is reportedly stepping down as president and general manager of the Golden State Warriors after leading the franchise to four NBA titles during his 11 years at the helm.
The news was first reported Tuesday by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The 48-year-old Myers joined the Warriors’ front office in 2011 and was promoted to GM in April 2012.
Since taking over, he hired Steve Kerr as coach, signed Stephen Curry to two supermax contracts, drafted Draymond Green and oversaw the deals for Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and Andrew Wiggins.
Under his direction, he helped build the Warriors into one of the most successful franchises in the NBA with four titles and six total trips to the Finals in the last nine years and was twice named the league’s executive of the year.
Golden State, however, was eliminated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference semi-finals 2 ½ weeks ago – the franchise’s first playoff loss before the Finals under Kerr.
During Myers' 11 seasons as GM, the Warriors compiled a 571-304 regular-season record – the most wins for any team over that span.
Myers’ decision to step down is the first of what could be a number of major changes for the Warriors this offseason.
Green has a player option on his contract for the 2023-24 season and Klay Thompson is entering the final year of his deal and is eligible for an extension.
Rangers have announced the signing of Chelsea right-back Dujon Sterling.
The 23-year-old will join on a four-year contract on July 1 when his Chelsea deal expires.
The versatile player made two substitute outings for Chelsea in cup competitions but has made more than 100 first-team appearances across loan spells with Coventry, Wigan, Blackpool and Stoke. He played 28 times this season with Sky Bet Championship side Stoke.
Rangers manager Michael Beale told his club’s official website: “I am delighted to welcome Dujon to Rangers, he is an exciting young player who, I’m sure, will be a great addition to our squad.
“He is someone I was aware of from my time at Chelsea, and I have always kept an eye on his career as it has progressed.
“He is a very powerful and strong defender, who has fantastic attacking qualities and I look forward to working with him at Rangers.”
Sterling added: “I am really excited to come to such a big club, there’s a lot of history and the supporters are so passionate, so I am thrilled.
“I wasn’t expecting to make my mind up about my future this quickly, but the gaffer came in for me straight away and what he proposed to me was everything that I believe I need.
“We were on the same wavelength, he believes in me and I believe in what he is trying to do as well so it was a no-brainer for me to come.”
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