Jessica Pegula is looking for "revenge" against Aryna Sabalenka in the US Open final after losing out on the title to her in Cincinnati.

Pegula will play in her first-ever grand slam final this weekend, becoming the oldest American to do so in the Open Era at 30 years and 193 days.

She had to do it the hard way though, coming from behind to beat Karolina Muchova 1-6 6-4 6-2 in a semi-final that lasted over two hours.

Pegula lost in straight sets when she faced Sabalenka in the Cincinnati Open final, but she is hopeful she can flip the script this time around.

"Playing Aryna is going to be really tough," Pegula said. 

"She showed how tough she is [in the first semi] and why she's probably the favourite to win this tournament.

"It'll be a rematch of Cincinnati, so hopefully I can get some revenge out here.

"It's kind of crazy that we're playing each other again in the finals, but I think it just shows how much great hard-court tennis we've been playing. She's going to be tough to beat, but that's what the finals are for, so I'm ready."

Sabalenka overcame another American in her semi-final, beating Emma Navarro 6-3 7-6 (7-2).

She has reached a second consecutive US Open final, having missed out on the title to Coco Gauff last year, and has reached each of the last four grand slam finals on hard courts, winning both of those in Australia. 

Having already beaten one of the home favourites, Sabalenka will be expecting another raucous atmosphere when she faces Pegula.

"Well now you're cheering for me, it's a bit too late," a Sabalenka joked after the match. 

"It really means a lot and even though you guys were supporting her, I still had goosebumps for you cheering."

Luis de la Fuente says he is "not worried" by Spain's 0-0 draw with Serbia in their opening Nations League match, comparing it to a pre-season game.

In their first match as European champions, Spain struggled to break down a resolute Serbia side, with Lamine Yamal coming the closest for them as he missed two great chances in the second half.

La Roja had 21 shots throughout the game, creating 1.39 expected goals (xG), but only tested Predrag Rajkovic five times as the goalkeeper resolutely defended his clean sheet.

Despite an underwhelming start to their Nations League defence, having won the tournament in 2022-23, De la Fuente insisted there was no need to be concerned about the result.

"We lacked mostly everything in the first half," Spain coach Luis de la Fuente told reporters.

"In the second half, we were better and much improved but lacked effectively up front. We could have done better, players were a little tired, the heat was excruciating, and we ran out of gas.

"I'm not worried, it's almost a pre-season game for us due to the circumstances, still early in the season and the calendar is busy for the players. It's a process, and we will move forward."

De la Fuente named almost the same team from their Euro 2024 final triumph, with only Rodri and Alvaro Morata missing from Thursday's line-up.

However, the head coach believes their extended tournament may have had some effect on the result, with players not having as much game time before returning to the international fold.

"At this stage of the season, there are players who participate more and others less. In October, when they have accumulated more games, we will talk about other things," De la Fuente added.

"In September there is a lack of rhythm, it's harder to recover. It's a complicated time. We have to value Serbia, who, defensively, had a lot of energy, and we lacked accuracy."

Spain’s next Nations League game in Group A4 is away to Switzerland on Sunday.

England will play their first match without Gareth Southgate in the dugout when they take on the Republic of Ireland.

Southgate quit his post in the wake of England's 2-1 defeat to Spain in the final of Euro 2024 in July.

That ended a hugely successful eight-year stint for Southgate when it came to turning around the fortunes of the Three Lions, and restoring England's pride in the national team.

Yet for all the promise and potential, England could not get over the line when it truly mattered, falling short in two Euros finals, and a World Cup semi-final.

England had endured a miserable Nations League campaign before their exploits in Germany, and in hindsight, it showed that perhaps Southgate's magic was wearing off.

Now in League B, having been relegated from League A, England's first match after Southgate sees them face an old rival, as former Ireland international Lee Carsley aims to prove his credentials to the Football Association (FA).

Having won last year's Under-21 Euros, Carsley will surely be hoping he can follow in Southgate's footsteps in transferring from the youth set up to the senior side.

Here, using Opta data, we delve into the key talking points ahead of Saturday's clash in Dublin.

What's expected?

It's always hard to fully gauge what a team will look like under a new manager, especially in international football. 

That being said, while we do not quite know what Carsley's England will look like, we can be sure that they are the favourites for this one, with Opta's supercomputer handing them a 70.4% win probability.

Ireland, on the other hand, have been given just a 13.2% win likelihood, while the threat of a draw is 16.5%.

This is England's first game without Southgate in charge since a 1-0 win over Slovakia in September 2016 in Sam Allardyce's one and only game.

Including caretakers, only four managers have lost their first game in charge of the Three Lions: Alf Ramsey (2-5 vs France in 1963), Howard Wilkinson (0-2 vs France in 1999), Peter Taylor (0-1 vs Italy in 2000) and Stuart Pearce (2-3 vs Netherlands at the 2012 Olympics when coaching Team GB).

It is fair to say Carsley, who played 40 times for Ireland between 1997 and 2008, has history on his side. Will he continue those strong records?

New blood

Carsley, as expected, freshened up his squad with some new faces. Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White, Tino Livramento and Noni Madueke all made the cut.

Gomes, Gibbs-White and Madueke made 50 appearances combined for Carsley in the U21s, so it is not a huge surprise to see the trio given a shot, while Livramento has usurped Kieran Trippier, who has now retired from international football, at Newcastle United this season.

At last year's U21 Euros, Carsley's team scored 11 goals in six games, outperforming their 8.5 expected goals (xG) and, despite not dominating possession, averaging 56.4%, they scored the most build-up goals at the tournament (seven) - a build-up goal is an open play sequence that features 10+ passes and ends in a goal.

Given England performed so poorly, relative to the quality at their disposal, in attack at Euro 2024, perhaps Carsley's approach can help get the best out of that star-studded frontline, albeit Phil Foden, Ollie Watkins and Cole Palmer have all withdrawn from the squad.

Indeed, England have scored just 13 goals in 11 games in 2024, having netted 26 in 10 games in 2023. Their 2024 average of 1.2 goals per game is their lowest in a year since 2000 (exactly one per game, 11 goals in 11 games), so Carsley has a relatively low bar to improve on.

What about the defence, though? Southgate was a pragmatic manager, and in fairness, England only allowed 7.3 xG against through their seven matches at Euro 2024.

However, they have shipped the opening goal in each of their last four matches, all in the knockout stages in Germany (W2 D1 L1). The Three Lions have not conceded the opener in five games in a row since between November 1953 and June 1954.

And going back to that U21 Euros, Carsley's side did not concede a single goal, albeit the xGA metric suggests they should have conceded at least seven.

While the fresh faces in England's squad will be looking to stake a claim, Jack Grealish has been handed a reprieve after missing out on Euro 2024. And, right at the top of the pitch, there is the experience and world-class finishing ability of Harry Kane, who is closing in on his 100th cap - should he play in Dublin, that will be appearance number 99 for his country.

Ireland's new era

It is not just Carsley that is making his bow in the dugout on Saturday. Heimir Hallgrimsson is Ireland's new boss, with the former Jamaica and Iceland coach having been appointed earlier in the summer.

Hallgrimsson has previous with England, of course. He was in joint charge of Iceland when they knocked Roy Hodgson's Three Lions out of Euro 2016.

The only manager to defeat England with two different nations is Bora Milutinovic, in 1985 with Mexico and in 1993 with the United States.

And what better way to start a new era than a big win over a big rival?

This is the first time Ireland will host England since a goalless draw in a friendly in June 2015. In a competitive match, it is the first time since a November 1990 European Championship qualifier, drawn 1-1 with Tony Cascarino cancelling out David Platt's opener for the Three Lions.

England also won their last meeting with Ireland in November 2020 – they have not won consecutive games against them since doing so with wins in 1980 and 1985.

Ireland last beat England in 1995, though the sides have only met each other three times since, with two draws and one win for England: that 3-0 triumph in 2020.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Republic of Ireland - Evan Ferguson

Ferguson could not quite get going last season after a bright start for Brighton, but he is still one of the Premier League's most exciting youngsters.

The striker is Ireland's big hope going forward and will be out to make his mark against one of the best teams in the world.

England - Harry Kane

Kane ranks 10th on the all-time list of England caps and has made 85 starts, playing 7,616 minutes, directly contributing to 83 goals (66 goals – an England record – and 17 assists). He averages 0.78 goals per 90, and 0.98 goal contributions per 90.

Indeed, Kane averages a goal every 115 minutes for his country, and he will surely be the key man for Carsley as the interim manager looks to capitalise on this audition.

Argentina cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Chile in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier, thanks to Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala.

In their first match since winning the Copa America in July, the Albiceleste showed no signs of missing talisman Lionel Messi, still out with an ankle injury, or the now-retired Angel Di Maria, who received a tribute pre-match.

Argentina were on top from the first whistle but struggled to find a breakthrough. However, they received a scare on the stroke of half-time, with Matias Catalan striking the post.

Just three minutes after the break, Mac Allister finally broke the deadlock, finishing off a lovely team move with a low finish.

The hosts' dominance was further rewarded in the 84th minute, with Alvarez rifling a powerful long-range shot in off the underside of the bar, giving Gabriel Arias no chance.

Paulo Dybala added some gloss to the scoreline in stoppage time, marking his return to the national team by beating the goalkeeper at his near post.

Argentina remain top of the qualifying with 18 points, while Chile sit second-from-bottom with just five. 

Data Debrief: Argentina stay on top

Argentina won all seven matches played at the Monumental during Lionel Scaloni's tenure as coach. During that time, the Albiceleste scored 14 goals and conceded none, averaging 17.7 shots per game and 69% possession.

In this game alone, Argentina had 16 shots, their highest total in World Cup qualifying so far, with eight of those on target, while they also had 65% possession.

Jessica Pegula rallied after a difficult first set in an emotional US Open semi-final against Karolina Muchova to reach her maiden grand slam final.

Pegula is the oldest American woman in the Open Era to reach her first major final, where she will play Aryna Sabalenka, but she had to do it the hard way in a 1-6 6-4 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes.

The 30-year-old won her first service game, but Muchova's strength pushed her through the rest of the first set.

Pegula then found herself 2-0 down in the second but dug deep to go on a four-match winning streak and force a decider.

After that, Muchova had no way back, as Pegula got two more breaks in the final set, and she admitted that even she was surprised by the comeback.

"I came out flat, but she was playing unbelievable, she made me look like a beginner," Pegula said.

"I was about to burst into tears because it was embarrassing, she was destroying me.

"I don't know how I turned that around, honestly."

Data Debrief: Pegula's wait is over

It is the second year in a row that an American will play in the women's singles final, with Pegula following Coco Gauff, who won the tournament last time around.

However, by defeating Muchova at the age of 30 years and 193 days, Pegula became the oldest American in the Open Era to reach a maiden grand slam final.

She is also just the third player in the Open Era to win a women's singles semi-final at the US Open after losing the first set 6-1, after Svetlana Kuznetsova (2004) and Victoria Azarenka (2020) – excluding retirements.

Aryna Sabalenka believes her improved calmness was the key to her reaching a second consecutive US Open final.

The Belarusian beat one of the home favourites Emma Navarro in straight sets on Thursday, needing a tie-break to edge past the in-form American.

Sabalenka, who finished as runner-up to Coco Gauff in the tournament last year, won 6-3 7-6 (7-2) in just over 90 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

After a relatively comfortable first set, Sabalenka looked to be cruising in the second too, until Navarro clawed her way in front after being 5-3 down.

However, the number two seed soon regained her footing to win the tie-break, and she credits the work she has put in on her mindset as the game changer.

"I worked really hard on my mindset on the match," Sabalenka said afterwards. "I think I made really huge improvement on that calmness, on those crucial moments.

"Even if things are not working well for me, I still keep doing the right things, and I'm staying in control. I'm really proud, I'm actually really proud of myself that I was able to get to the point when I'm in control of my emotions."

Data Debrief: Back-to-back

Sabalenka has dropped just one set throughout the US Open this year, and has put herself in the best position to win the competition for the first time. 

The 26-year-old is the first woman to reach back-to-back US Open finals since Serena Williams in 2018 and 2019. She has now reached all four hard court grand slam finals in the last two years.

Since the Australian Open's switch from grass in 1988, Sabalenka is just the fifth player to reach the women's singles final at the Australian and US Open in consecutive seasons after Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Martina Hingis and Victoria Azarenka.

The San Diego Padres were one strike away from padding their lead atop the NL wild-card standings.

The Detroit Tigers' Parker Meadows changed that with one swing of the bat.

Down 3-0 with two outs and two strikes in the top of the ninth inning, Meadows hit a grand slam to stun the Padres and send the Tigers to a thrilling 4-3 win on Thursday.

Parker hit a 101 mph four-seam fastball off Robert Suarez that travelled 361 feet and landed just over the short left-field fence in San Diego.

San Diego (80-62) lost for the first time in four games and its lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks shrunk to just one-half game for the NL's top wild-card spot.

Jurickson Profar and Xander Bogaerts each homered for the Padres, who end the regular season with a three-game series at Arizona.

Meadows' homer was just his sixth of the season and lifted the Tigers (71-70) back over .500 and within five games of the Royals for the AL's final wild-card spot.

Braves lose, now tied for final NL wild card spot

The Atlanta Braves suffered a 3-1 loss to the last-place Colorado Rockies to drop into a tie for the league's final wild-card berth with the idle New York Mets.

Atlanta and New York have identical 76-64 records with 22 games remaining.

The Braves, who got their lone run on Ramón Laureano's RBI single in the first inning, managed just five hits with Orlando Arcia's second inning-double the only one going for extra bases in the finale with the Rockies (52-89).

Colorado's Michael Toglia and Ezequiel Tovar each hit solo homers off Atlanta starting pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, who gave up three other hits while striking out 11 without a walk in his six innings of work.

Rockies starter Austin Gomber went eight innings, yielding a run and five hits without issuing a walk while striking out six.

Phillies push winning streak to five

The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Miami Marlins 5-2 to extend their winning streak to five games and increase their lead atop the NL East to eight games.

Bryson Stott hit an RBI single in the first inning and a long solo homer during Philadelphia's four-run sixth inning.

Kody Clemens knocked in a pair of runs with a double in the sixth and later came around to score on a wild pitch.

Ranger Suarez gave up three hits over five scoreless innings for the Phillies (84-56), who have won 10 of 12.

The Marlins (52-88) scored their first run in the seventh on an RBI single by Jesús Sánchez and plated their final run an inning later on a throwing error by Clemens.

The two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs opened the 2024 NFL season with an exhilarating 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday.

The Chiefs' first step toward an unprecedented three-peat came down to a toe.

On the game's final play, Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson threw a 10-yard pass to Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone that was initially ruled a touchdown to make the score 27-26 and bring the Ravens within a point.

The touchdown was reviewed, and it was determined Likely's toe was out of bounds, making it an incomplete pass and ending the game.

The Chiefs took a 27-17 lead on Patrick Mahomes' 35-yard touchdown pass to rookie Xavier Worthy in the early minutes of the fourth quarter.

The Ravens then pulled within seven points on Justin Tucker's 32-yard field goal with 4:54 to go and Baltimore later got the ball back at its own 13-yard line with 1:50 remaining.

Jackson drove the Ravens down to the Kansas City 10-yard line in the closing seconds, but after missing open receivers on first and second down, it appeared the reigning league MVP connected with Likely to make it a one-point game. Replay then clearly showed Likely's toe crossing the endline.

Jackson finished with 273 passing yards and another 122 yards rushing. He had 49-yard TD pass to Likely, who finished with 111 receiving yards.

Derrick Henry rushed for 46 yards in his Baltimore debut and scored the first touchdown of the season on the Ravens' first drive.

Worthy had Kansas City's first TD, scoring on a 21-yard run in the first quarter, and Isiah Pacheco later scored on a one-yard TD run.

Mahomes finished with 291 yards passing, while Rashee Rice led the Chiefs with seven receptions for 103 yards, with Travis Kelce adding three catches for 34 yards.

Scotland are falling short in big matches due to the finer details, said Scott McTominay after a "self-inflicted" defeat to Poland.

McTominay scored a 76th-minute equaliser at Hampden Park on Thursday, as Scotland looked all set to take a 2-2 draw from their Nations League opener.

Yet deep in stoppage time, Nicola Zalewski put away Poland's second penalty of the night to condemn Steve Clarke's team to defeat.

Scotland, who crashed out of Euro 2024 with a whimper, are now winless in their last five home games, their longest such run in 16 years.

"It's a difficult one to be honest," McTominay, who has now scored nine in his last 16 appearances for Scotland, told ITV Sport.

"I thought we were good in the game, I felt like at half-time when we were 2-0 down it was unjustified. That's football, it's cruel at times.

"We had a lot of box entries from our sides. It's disappointing but we showed great character to get back into the game and we can take belief from that. We really came back well and didn't give up.

"The goals are self-inflicted from the collective, we all know that. It's those little details that are making us fall short in bigger games. We can go back and look at little tweaks to hopefully improve.

"Every single game of football has mistakes and sometimes you get punished and sometimes you don't. It's something we as a group need to take ownership of.

"You can't do anything but do your best on the pitch and hopefully score the next goal and against Portugal [on Sunday] we can be the ones who come out winning."

Scotland went 2-0 down in the first half, with Robert Lewandowski teeing up Sebastian Szymanski's early opener before netting from the penalty spot.

Lewandowski has been involved in 10 goals in his last 10 starts for Poland (six goals, four assists), while the Barcelona forward has scored each of his last four penalties since failing to do so against Mexico at the 2022 World Cup.

Poland, meanwhile, converted two spot-kicks in a game for the first time since June 2017 in a World Cup qualifier against Romania. Though with Lewandowski off the pitch late on, the responsibility for the second fell to Zalewski.

Billy Gilmour, who, like McTominay, joined Napoli last week, got Scotland back into it just after half-time, though the comeback efforts ultimately proved fruitless.

"We're disappointed. We felt we were the better team," the midfielder said. "In the second half we felt we showed that and went for it.

"Getting two goals back and then to concede another penalty was tough. We'll go back and look at it and make it right.

"There was good stuff there as well, but ultimately the final result wasn't good.

"It's a tough one, we really felt like we should have got the win. We leave it out there all the time, we're a group of boys proud to represent our country."

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 900th career goal, but the Portugal captain claimed he is "haunted" by records.

Ronaldo scored his landmark goal in the 34th minute of Thursday's Nations League contest between Portugal and Croatia in Lisbon.

The 39-year-old's close-range finish, his 131st goal for Portugal, was enough to secure a 2-1 win for Roberto Martinez's team, who went ahead through Diogo Dalot, although the full-back then scored an own goal that dragged Croatia back into proceedings.

Ronaldo was taken off late on to a standing ovation, and speaking to Portuguese media, he said: "It was an exciting goal for me. It's a round number.

"Only I know how hard it is to work every day to score your 900th goal.

"It's a unique milestone in my career. I don't break records… they haunt me!"

Ronaldo let the emotions out after scoring, and seemed to be in tears of joy while celebrating.

"As you know, I'm already 39 and a half years old and so you have to be very focused for things to go well," he explained. "To be at this level requires a lot of dedication.

"So, when these little records happen, small, big, I get emotional because I know and value what I do, and my teammates, because obviously without my team-mates this would be unthinkable."

Ronaldo endured a difficult Euro 2024 campaign, failing to score from 24 shots, including a penalty that was saved by Jan Oblak.

Portugal eventually crashed out to France on penalties, and Ronaldo stressed the importance of getting off to a good start, and complimented Martinez's change in approach.

"After what happened in the European Championship, we had to give a good response and that's what happened," he said.

"We played well. Croatia fought really well and I think it was a spectacular game.

"I felt freer than usual in this game. The coach also gave me that opportunity and we also played, in my opinion, a little differently to how we played in the European Championship.

"We made a lot of changes, the players were freer on the pitch and when that happens, it's better for me, I'll be honest.

"I feel better, I feel more involved in the game and I can enjoy football more. It's not that I didn't enjoy it at the Euros, but I like being a free player, I like to make space for my team-mates too and today was a performance that the team performed very well."

Real Madrid centre-back Eder Militao has left Brazil's training camp ahead of World Cup qualifiers versus Ecuador and Paraguay due to a leg injury.

Brazil have made a dismal start to their 2026 World Cup qualification campaign and sit sixth in the 10-team CONMEBOL group after six games, with two wins, one draw and three defeats.

Dorival Junior's side will have to cope without key defender Militao for the first international break of the season, after the Brazilian FA (CBF) confirmed he had suffered an injury.

"Defender Eder Militao complained of muscle pain in his right thigh after training on Wednesday and after medical exams carried out on Thursday, it was identified a small muscle injury in his right thigh," the CBF said in a statement.

"The player has been ruled out of Brazil's next two qualifying matches and the CBF expresses its solidarity with the player at this time and wishes him a speedy recovery."

Militao, who missed most of last season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, is the latest Madrid player to suffer injury problems at the start of this season.

Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and left-back Ferland Mendy both left France's camp ahead of their Nations League clashes against Italy and Belgium due to injuries sustained in Los Blancos' 2-0 win over Real Betis on Sunday.

Eduardo Camavinga, Dani Ceballos and Jude Bellingham have also suffered from injuries in the last few weeks, while David Alaba is still recovering from an ACL tear suffered last term.

San Marino clinched their first-ever competitive win, and their first victory in over 20 years, by beating Liechtenstein 1-0 in their Nations League opener on Thursday.

San Marino, whose only previous victory came in a friendly against the same opponents in April 2004, sealed the historic result courtesy of Nicko Sensoli's 53rd-minute strike.

Sensoli pounced on a defensive mix-up to prod into an unguarded net and spark wild celebrations in Serravalle, then the hosts held on through seven anxious minutes of second-half stoppage time to go top of Nations League Group D1.

The team, who sit 210th in the FIFA World Rankings, had previously won just one of 205 full internationals, and the full-time whistle sparked joyous celebrations as coach Roberto Cevoli and his staff ran onto the pitch.

San Marino are next in action in a friendly on Tuesday, when they visit Moldova.

Spain were frustrated on their first outing as European Champions as their Nations League Group A4 campaign began with a goalless draw with Serbia in Belgrade.

Luis de la Fuente's side, who also won the last edition of the Nations League in 2022-23, dominated for long spells and twice saw Lamine Yamal go close in the second half, but were unable to find a way past Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

Playing in the top tier of the Nations League for the first time after clinching promotion two years ago, Serbia made a solid start and should have gone ahead after 34 minutes. 

Andrija Zivkovic slipped a delightful ball in behind the Spanish backline for former Real Madrid striker Luka Jovic, but he somehow blasted his effort wide of the left-hand post with only David Raya to beat.

Dani Carvajal volleyed over as Spain upped the ante after the break, but still the Serbian clean sheet remained intact, with Rajkovic called upon to claw Alejandro Grimaldo's dipping free-kick away from the top-right corner.

Yamal curled an effort agonisingly wide just seconds later, and the Barcelona winger would have one final chance to win it with 15 minutes left, jinking into the area and firing goalwards only to see Rajkovic push his effort to safety.

Data Debrief: Serbia stand firm

It was all hands on deck for Serbia at times on Thursday, as every single Spain outfield starter – with the exception of Ayoze Perez – created at least one chance.

Given La Roja racked up 21 shots, however, they will be disappointed with their total expected goals (xG) figure of 1.37, compared to 1.16 from just eight shots for Serbia.

Spain's failure to add penetration to their patient build-up play ensured their nine-match winning run (including one extra-time triumph over Germany at Euro 2024) came to a halt.