Sports
Del Castillo’s rise fuels Spain’s push for Euro 2025 title
From being a bit-part player in the team that won the Women’s World Cup two years ago, Athenea del Castillo has performed a key role in Spain’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2025, in which they will face Germany on Wednesday.
The Real Madrid attacker, 24, was brought into Spain’s starting line-up for their last group game against Italy and scored an early equalizer before her team went on to win 3-1.
She was then relegated back to the bench for the last-eight tie against hosts Switzerland in Bern but the game changed after her introduction as a substitute just past the hour mark.
Del Castillo replaced Mariona Caldentey and broke the deadlock four minutes later, setting Spain up for a 2-0 victory – and surely giving coach Montse Tome a selection headache for the clash with Germany in Zurich.
“I have to just focus on the things that I can influence. Luckily I am managing to help the team whatever my role is, whether I am starting or not,” Del Castillo told AFP at the Spanish team’s base in Lausanne.
A win for Spain against Germany will keep them on track to add a first ever European crown to the World Cup they won in 2023, when they defeated England in the final.
“We are full of hope, we are so excited. We dream of being European champions but to do that we need to win on Wednesday so all our energy is going into that game,” Del Castillo said.
“We know all about the potential in the Germany team. They are a great side who have been European champions eight times after all.”
Spain still lean heavily on the players who won them the World Cup, notably Ballon d’Or Aitana Bonmati as well as her fellow Barcelona stars Alexia Putellas and Irene Paredes.
But Del Castillo, while not yet a guaranteed starter, has become a more important player than during that tournament in Australia and New Zealand.
Then, under previous coach Jorge Vilda, she started the team’s first match before gradually disappearing from circulation.
She then featured in the side that participated in the 2024 Olympics and lost to Germany in the bronze medal match – a defeat they will seek to avenge on Wednesday.
Infectious
“We have been through so much together and that has helped us mature as a team,” she said on the margins of a training session by Lake Geneva.
“I still see myself as one of the youngsters even though there are players much younger than me like Vicky (Lopez) and Maite (Zubieta), and then there are older players like Irene and Alexia who have been around longer and been to so many more tournaments.
“We have that mix of youth and experience, of joy but also maturity.”
Del Castillo is known for her glowing smile and infectious personality, and she has no intention of changing even as she becomes more and more recognizable thanks to her exploits with Spain and Real.
“I have not changed much. I still do the same things, I still try to enjoy life and luckily everything is going well at home, with my family and friends,” said the native of Cantabria in northern Spain.
“I am very happy in Madrid – I prefer the north but I like Madrid as a city. I love to go out for a wander, listen to music, be with my family.
“If I changed what I did off the pitch that would also change me on it and I don’t like that because then I would lose my essence.”
Despite still being at a relatively tender age, the player who idolized Cristiano Ronaldo growing up now has over 60 caps and is conscious of being a leader in the Spain squad.
“I know how to differentiate between moments when you have to work and times when you can give a little bit of joy,” she said, before suggesting that the side has improved since losing to Germany at last year’s Olympics.
“I think we have matured a lot since then. We are better at controlling games in different moments now. I think that will help us, but it will above all be about staying calm and focusing on our objective.”
Türkiye’s national women’s volleyball team will face Japan on Wednesday in the quarterfinals of the 2025 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League (VNL).
The match will be played at Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland, with the first serve set for 5:30 p.m. Turkish time. The game will be broadcast live on TRT 1.
The Turkish team, led by head coach Daniele Santarelli, advanced to the final phase after finishing the preliminary round in sixth place with eight wins and four losses.
Japan, coached by Ferhat Akbaş, placed third in the group stage with a 9-3 record and secured a spot in the quarterfinals.
If Türkiye defeats Japan, it will face the winner of the Brazil-Germany matchup in the semifinals.
Türkiye captured its first-ever VNL title last year after defeating China 3-1 in the final. The team also finished second in 2018, fourth in 2019 and 2022, third in 2021, and sixth in 2024.
This season, Türkiye opened the tournament with seven straight wins, defeating France, Thailand, Poland and China in Beijing, followed by victories over the Dominican Republic, Canada and South Korea in Istanbul.
After a loss to Brazil, the team bounced back with a 3-0 win over the Netherlands to clinch a place in the finals. However, it dropped its final three matches to the Czech Republic, Italy and Serbia.
Türkiye will be looking to return to the semifinals after falling to Poland 3-2 in the quarterfinals last year.
Beşiktaş will begin its 2025-26 European campaign at home Wednesday night against Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.
Kickoff at Tüpraş Stadium is set for 9 p.m. local time. The match will be officiated by Bulgarian referee Georgi Kabakov.
The Istanbul club, led by head coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, aims to secure an advantage ahead of the return leg, which will be played on July 31 at Reymana Stadium in Krakow, Poland.
The clash will also mark Beşiktaş’s first official match of the new season. The Black Eagles are eager to get off to a strong start in front of their home supporters, who last saw their team in action 59 days ago during the penultimate round of the 2024-25 Turkish Süper Lig season against Çaykur Rizespor.
In preparation for the new season, Beşiktaş held a training camp in Austria, playing four friendly matches. The team defeated St. Pölten 2-0, drew 1-1 with Admira Wacker, and suffered back-to-back losses to Wolfsberger (3-2) and Slovakian side Petrzalka 1898 (2-1). Across the four matches, Beşiktaş scored six goals and conceded six.
Beşiktaş submitted its Europa League squad list to UEFA ahead of the tie, with four players excluded from the roster: Emrecan Uzunhan, Bahtiyar Zaynutdinov, Jean Onana and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Shakhtar Donetsk is managed by former Turkish international Arda Turan, who took over the Ukrainian club this summer. The 38-year-old previously coached Eyüpspor in Türkiye, guiding the team to a sixth-place finish in the second division last season.
Under Turan, Shakhtar advanced to the second qualifying round by eliminating Finnish club Ilves. The Ukrainian side cruised to a 6-0 home victory in the first leg and held on for a goalless draw in Finland. In his first two competitive matches with Shakhtar, Turan’s side has yet to concede a goal.
The club also impressed during preseason, scoring eight goals and allowing just one across four friendlies.
Three of Beşiktaş’s summer signings could make their official debuts Wednesday, pending selection by Solskjaer. Midfielders David Jurasek and Orkun Kökçü, both on loan from Benfica and striker Tammy Abraham, acquired on loan from Roma, are expected to feature.
The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has updated its policy to align with an executive order signed earlier this year by U.S. President Donald Trump barring transgender women from competing in women’s sports.
“The USOPC will continue to collaborate with various stakeholders with oversight responsibilities, e.g., IOC, IPC, NGBs, to ensure that women have a fair and safe competition environment consistent with Executive Order 14201 and the Ted Stevens Olympic & Amateur Sports Act,” the USOPC said in an update to its Athlete Safety Policy.
The USOPC did not respond to a request for comment on the change.
USOPC President Gene Sykes and CEO Sarah Hirshland referenced Trump’s executive order in a memo to the Team USA community sent out this week, ABC News reported, which said, “As a federally chartered organization, we have an obligation to comply with federal expectations.”
Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” order in February in a bid to exclude transgender girls and women from female sports, a directive that supporters said will restore fairness but critics argue it infringes on the rights of a tiny minority of athletes.
The order directs the Department of Justice to make sure all government agencies enforce a ban on transgender girls and women from participating in female school sports under Trump’s interpretation of Title IX, a law against sex discrimination in education.
Trump’s order goes beyond high school and college sports, calling for the U.S. government to deny visas for transgender females seeking to compete in the United States.
Trump also said he would not allow transgender athletes to compete in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
The executive order instructed the State Department to pressure the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to change its policy, which allows trans athletes to compete under general guidance preventing any athlete from gaining an unfair advantage.
The order is expected to affect only a small number of athletes.
The president of the National Collegiate Athletics Association told a Senate panel in December he was aware of fewer than 10 transgender athletes among the 530,000 competing at 1,100 member schools.
Venus Williams wanted to send a message – to herself and others – about coming back from a long layoff, about competing in a sport at age 45, about never giving up. Yes, there was something special about just being back on a tennis court Tuesday night.
There also was this: She wanted to win.
And Williams did just that, becoming the second-oldest woman to win a tour-level singles match in professional tennis, delivering some of her familiar big serves and groundstrokes at age 45 while beating Peyton Stearns – 22 years her junior – by a 6-3, 6-4 score at the DC Open.
“Each week that I was training, I was, like, ‘Oh, my God, I don’t know if I’m good enough yet.’ And then there would be weeks where I would leap forward. And there would be two weeks where I was, like, ‘Oh, God, it’s not happening.’ Even the week leading up, (I thought), ‘Oh, my gosh, I need to improve so much more.’ So it’s all a head game,” Williams said after her first singles match in more than a year and first singles victory in nearly two.
The only older woman to win a tour-level singles match was Martina Navratilova, whose last triumph came at 47 in 2004.
The former No. 1-ranked Williams had not played singles in an official match since March 2024 in Miami, missing time while having surgery to remove uterine fibroids. She hadn’t won in singles since August 2023 in Cincinnati. Until this week, she was listed by the WTA Tour as “inactive.”
“I’m just constantly praying for good health, so that way I could have an opportunity to play with good health,” Williams said. “A lot of this for me is being able to come back and try to play at a level (and) to play healthy.”
Backed by a crowd that was there to see, and support, her at the hard-court tournament in the nation’s capital, Williams showed glimpses of the talent she possesses and the skills she displayed while earning all of her Grand Slam titles: seven in singles, 14 in women’s doubles – all alongside younger sister Serena – and two in mixed doubles.
“I wanted to play a good match,” Williams told the fans, then added a phrase that drew appreciative roars: “and win the match.”
In Tuesday’s second game, Williams smacked a return winner to get things started, then delivered a couple of other big responses to break Stearns, a 23-year-old who won singles and team NCAA titles at the University of Texas and is currently ranked 35th.
In the next game, Williams sprinted forward to reach a drop shot and replied with a forehand winner.
The first chorus of cheers arrived when Williams walked out into the main stadium at the DC Open, a 7,000-seat arena that’s more than twice as large as where she was for her doubles victory a day earlier. Another came when she strode from the sideline to the center of the court for the coin toss. The noise reached a crescendo when Williams began hitting aces – at 110 mph and faster – the way she used to.
Keep in mind: Williams won four Grand Slam trophies before Stearns was born.
“She played some ball tonight,” Stearns said. “She was moving really well, which I wasn’t expecting too much, honestly. Her serves were just on fire.”
There also were moments where Williams – whose fiance was in the stands – looked as if it had been just as long as it actually has since she competed, including in the opening game, when she got broken at love this way: forehand wide, forehand into the net, forehand long, backhand long.
At the end, it took Williams a bit of extra effort to close things out. She kept holding match points but failed to convert them. But eventually, on her sixth chance, Williams powered in a 112 mph serve that Stearns returned into the net. That was it: Williams smiled wide as can be, raised a fist and jogged to the net to shake hands, then performed her customary post-win pirouette-and-wave.
“It’s not easy. It won’t be easy. It’s not easy for anyone out here,” said Williams, who next faces No. 5 seed Magdalena Frech, who’s 27. “So I know I’ll have to fight for every match. But I’m up for that.”
England’s Lionesses are back in another major final – this time with grit, guts, and a pair of fearless finishers.
Down a goal, running out of time, and shadowed by off-field noise, Sarina Wiegman’s side staged a heart-thumping 2-1 extra-time comeback win over Italy in Tuesday’s UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 semifinal in Geneva.
Michelle Agyemang’s stoppage-time equalizer and Chloe Kelly’s rebound goal in the 119th minute sealed a place in the July 27 final in Basel, where England will face either Spain or Germany.
It’s the Lionesses’ third straight major tournament final and another chapter in their growing legend.
First-half blues, second-half belief
Italy struck first. In the 33rd minute, veteran forward Barbara Bonansea punished a lapse from Lucy Bronze and lashed a shot past Hannah Hampton.
England – flat and unconvincing in the first half – were urged to “wake up” by an agitated Wiegman at halftime.
They did.
England dictated possession but couldn’t break through until the sixth minute of stoppage time, when Agyemang, 19 and fearless, pounced on a loose ball after Laura Giuliani fumbled a cross. Her low finish forced extra time.
Minutes later, Agyemang nearly won it with a bold lob off the crossbar.
But in the 118th minute, Beth Mead drew a foul in the box. Kelly’s penalty was saved, but she buried the rebound – echoes of her 2022 heroics – triggering wild celebrations.
Bench brilliance
The win was scripted from the bench. Agyemang, on loan at Brighton from Arsenal, has now scored clutch goals in back-to-back knockout matches.
Her poise in pressure moments has made her an instant fan favorite.
Kelly, now fully at Arsenal after her move from Manchester City, extended her reputation as England’s go-to closer. Her sixth chance created in just 126 tournament minutes speaks to her impact.
Mead’s savvy drew the game-winning penalty. Though no longer a starter, the 2022 Golden Boot winner has embraced her “finisher” role, contributing both a goal and an assist from the bench in Switzerland.
This trio of Kelly, Agyemang and Aggie Beever-Jones are Wiegman’s secret weapons. Their finger-clicking celebration says it all: unity, chemistry, and timing.
Wiegman’s fifth final and counting
Sarina Wiegman is doing what she does best: winning. The Dutch tactician has now reached five consecutive major finals as head coach – two with the Netherlands, three with England.
Her substitutions turned the tide again. After a sluggish start, her reshuffle injected pace, purpose, and power. Despite scrutiny over England’s defensive frailties – especially the call to bench Jess Carter – Wiegman’s tactical instincts proved right.
England’s ability to claw back from deficits – against Sweden and now Italy – reinforces Wiegman’s philosophy: resilience, belief, and squad depth.
Carter stands tall despite abuse
The match was not without shadows.
Jess Carter, dropped after a rough showing against Sweden, has endured racist abuse throughout the tournament.
She stepped away from social media and was benched for tactical reasons – but came on in the 121st minute to help close out the win.
Her teammates stood in solidarity. They locked arms pre-match instead of taking the knee, citing the need for action over symbolism. Georgia Stanway called it “the power of the Lionesses.” The Football Association and police are investigating the abuse, which Italy’s coach Andrea Soncin also condemned.
Italy’s brave run ends in agony
Italy, playing in their first major semifinal this century, fought with pride.
Bonansea’s opener and Giuliani’s goalkeeping gave them hope.
Captain Cristiana Girelli and Sofia Cantore threatened throughout, and Soncin’s transformation of Italy’s women’s team – injecting belief and freedom – earned respect.
But in the end, heartbreak. “What a fight,” one fan posted. “Proud to be Italian tonight.”
Basel beckons
The Lionesses now prepare for a final showdown in Basel. Waiting for them: either reigning world champions Spain or eight-time European champs Germany.
Spain edged England 1-0 in the 2023 World Cup final. Germany lost 2-1 to England in the 2022 Euros.
England enter with 13 goals scored and five conceded – dynamic in attack, suspect in defense.
Captain Leah Williamson is racing back from injury, while star forward Lauren James is nursing a foot issue.
Valentin Paret-Peintre conquered the legendary Mont Ventoux on Tuesday, becoming the first Frenchman to win a stage in this year’s Tour de France and the first to triumph on the iconic climb since Richard Virenque in 2002 – a feat that left him nearly speechless.
The AG2R Citroen climber launched from a breakaway with former yellow jersey holder Ben Healy, then outkicked the Irishman in a thrilling sprint atop the “Beast of Provence.”
“Winning any stage at the Tour is special, but doing it on Ventoux – that’s something else entirely,” said an emotional Paret-Peintre. “I’ll need time to fully grasp what just happened.”
Colombian Santiago Buitrago finished third, four seconds back, with Ilan Van Wilder fourth and overall leader Tadej Pogacar fifth. Pogacar fended off repeated attacks from defending champion Jonas Vingegaard to cross the line two seconds ahead of his rival, tightening his grip on the yellow jersey.
After the Tour’s second rest day, Monday, Pogacar stretched his overall lead to 4 minutes, 15 seconds over Vingegaard. The Danish rider, who won the Tour in 2022 and 2023, appears powerless to stop Pogacar from capturing a fourth title when the race finishes Sunday on the Champs-Elysees in Paris.
“I think we’ll race until Paris and we’ll see who will be the winner,” Pogacar said. “Today was a proper hard day after the rest day, also for me.”
Stage 16 took the riders 171.5 kilometers from Montpellier in the south of France along a long, flat course before the brutal climb up Ventoux.
During the 1967 Tour, British rider Tom Simpson died while ascending the 1,910-meter-high mountain after taking a mixture of amphetamines and alcohol. Simpson had been unwell, and the heat was likely another contributing factor. Doping checks were not common at the time.
Mathieu van der Poel, who had been third in the points classification, withdrew before Tuesday’s stage with pneumonia.
Wout van Aert, the last rider to win when the route included Ventoux in 2021, attacked early, prompting responses from Jonathan Milan, Ivan Romeo and others.
Six riders were in the lead by the time they reached Bedoin at the foot of the climb. Only 22 kilometers remained, but they grew increasingly grueling – including 15.7 kilometers at an 8.8% gradient from Saint-Esteve to the summit.
Healy, leading a group of chasers, overtook Julian Alaphilippe while Vingegaard made his initial move. Vingegaard attacked again – and again – but Pogacar clung doggedly to his wheel. The gap was closing on Spanish rider Enric Mas, who had moved into the lead.
Vingegaard received help from Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Victor Campenaerts, but Healy surged ahead and took the lead from Mas with 3.7 kilometers to go. Paret-Peintre followed and, with support from Soudal-Quick-Step teammate Van Wilder, edged Healy at the line.
Vingegaard could not shake off Pogacar, who countered with 2 kilometers to go to deliver another demoralizing blow to his rival.
“There were some points, of course, where I was suffering,” Pogacar said. “But I think today was just one climb, one effort, and it was more or less full gas from the bottom to the finish line. But in the next days, I think it will be just more and more tiring for the body.”
Wednesday brings the last real chance for sprinters on a relatively flat 160.4-kilometer route from Bollène to Valence, where a wide, fast road should offer a high-speed finish – though local winds could add an element of chaos to Stage 17.
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