Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – Sport, Cricket, County Championship, Essex, Sussex, Hampshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Durham, Nottinghamshire, Glamorgan, Surrey, Leicestershire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Kent, Middlesex, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire
Title – Ben Stokes builds up head of steam for Durham during England exile | Sport | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/tanyaaldred
Link – Ben Stokes builds up head of steam for Durham during England exile | Sport | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-19T19:59:26.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/live/2026/jun/19/ben-stokes-plays-for-durham-sussex-v-hampshire-and-more-county-cricket-live

Stokes looking lean and mean for Durham

At 10am at Chester-le-Street , Ben Stokes was looking lean and mean, shorn and sharp. No one in the Durham team ran faster or stretched lower during the warmup. No one stalked the outfield with quite such an aura.

Exiled from the Oval – where England were busy conceding a 352 run lead to New Zealand – after the curfew-breaking celebrations at the Rex Rooms, England’s resting/sacked/soon-to-be reinstated captain was turning out for Durham for the third time this season, and the first time at the Riverside. The 600 local children who rolled up for arts and crafts sessions had lucked out with a blue riband ticket, though they seemed more than happy with an autograph from Durham’s Graham Clark who patiently signed ribbons of outstretched pieces of paper down on the boundary.

Durham won the toss and chose to field, but on a day when wickets fell like confetti around the country, they were stubbornly sticky at Chester-le-Street. After Ben Raine and Matthew Potts, bowlers made more conventionally of flesh, rather than iron, were unable to break through in their first spells, the ball was handed to Stokes at the Finchale End.

By sheer force of will, Northants were bound to lose a wicket. By sheer force of will Stokes created a wicket off his fourth ball, only for Ben McKinney to drop Ricardo Vasconcelos at leg slip. In and out, midnight sweats. Vasconcelos sent the next ball singing through the covers, and would be unbeaten on 181 at stumps.

Stokes built up a head of steam. A bouncer hit Luke Procter on the helmet and a succession of short balls followed. Then some more. He wasn’t dialling this one in while he waited for the blazers to give him a call. Another over followed, and another, after six you wondered if anyone would be able to take the ball off him, especially after he had an lbw appeal turned down against Procter, please, he pleaded, squatting down on his heels – but no cigar.

During the afternoon rain break, Durham members Christopher Hackworth, Phillip Wright and Simon and Kim Ramsey sheltered under the concourse.

“The media has been over the top, you’d think he’d murdered someone,” said Hackworth. “Build the lad up, then knock him down, there’s got to be a balance. I’ve seen the same with Paul Gascoigne over the years.

“Durham members could tell you all the good things that Ben Stokes has done during his time with us. Last week when he was practising up here, I saw him talk to a dad and his lad for 15 minutes when he’d just finished practising and was looking sweaty. And I’ve never once seen him turn an autograph down.”

And sure enough he didn’t, when, at the end of the day, after 18 overs, and a wicket in his penultimate one (McKinney the catcher), two children presented him with some paper, and a fan asked for a selfie.

After play, Ryan Campbell, Durham’s coach, seemed pretty sure that this game was the last they’d see of Stokes for a while, he’d soon be back with England. “All I have seen is the same old Ben Stokes who loves being the Durham dressing room, who loves being around a cricket ground and who hasn’t missed a beat.

“The first thing he did when he was coming back was text the player group and say don’t be douchebags.”

Gus Atkinson, the other England player to break the curfew and be left out of the Oval Test team, played for Surrey at Sophia Gardens, bowling a miserly opening spell and grabbing two Glamorgan wickets.

Blue skies now at Chester le Street , after an eventful day. That’s all for now – have a lovely evening!

Close of play scores

Division One

Chelmsford: Essex 184 v Nottinghamshire 111-2

Sophia Garden: Glamorgan 244-6 v Surrey

Grace Road : Leicestershire 177-3 v Yorkshire 185

Taunton : Somerset 208 v Warwickshire 92-2

Hove : Sussex 121-3 v Hampshire 191

DIVISION TWO

Chesterfield: Derbyshire 197-5 v Lancashire 161

Chester-le-Street: Durham v Northants 388-6

Canterbury: Kent 356-7 v Middlesex

New Road: Worcestershire v Gloucestershire 258-7

And at Sophia Gardens, where Gus Atkinson grabbed two wickets but Chris Cooke’s hundred kept Glamorgan ticking over – 244-6.

Time for me to rewrite now for second edition, but do keep chatting BTL.

Stumps at Chelmsford, where Liam Patteron-White has grabbed career-best bowling figures of 6-43 against Essex .

Stokes does a little shoulder roll , as if he’s thinking about a go with the second new ball. Vasconcelos now 168 not out, Northants 349 for five. We’ve still got 13 over theoretically left. I think I’m in favour of a sharp cut-off at six o’clock, with runs added/subtracted for slow over rate, taking account of the weather. Most spectators/players have had enough after six hours.

A minute’s applause for Paul Hiscock

I missed that this morning there was a minute’s applause for legendary Essex journalist Paul Hiscock, who has died aged 79. Paul, a friendly fount of knowledge about the club, reported on Essex for more than 50 years. Rest in peace, Paul.

Saif Zaib can barely drag himself off after shovelling the dollydrops of Ben McKinney to Ollie Robinson for 61. Durham 302-4. A first-first-class wicket to McKinney.

Batting second was definitely easier today for reasons we may never discover.

Essex 184- Notts 91-2

Yorkshire 185 – Leicestershire 114-2.

Hampshire 191 all out – Sussex 90-2

Lancashire 161 all out – Derbyshire 129-3

Honours even at Taunton – Somerset 208-Warwicks 68-2

And the runs are (relatively) flowing at Sophia Gardens – Glamorgan 244-6 v Surrey; CLS – Northants 294-3, Canterbury – 268-5 v Middlesex and New Road, Gloucs 236-5.

Good late afternoon from Chester le Street where Durham continue to strain for a wicket, not helping themselves by dropping catches all over the place. Stokes has bowled 15 overs full of effort but with no return. The floodlights are on. Let’s dart about the grounds. Northants 278-3, two for Raine, one for Rhodes. Pretty runs for Vasconcelos ( 140) and Saif Zaib (45).

100 for Vasconcelos!

With six off Ben Stokes and then three through backward point off Ben Raine –a very good century for Ricardo Vasconcelos. Northants 176-0. A 12th century for Northants brings Vasconcelos level with Usman Afzaal – a name to bring back memories, three Tests during an England broken-finger crisis in 2001.

They’re taking an early tea here at CLS , and I’m going to have to write up for Friday deadlines. I will be back but apologies for being not very present.

Rain at Chester le Street

On come the covers. It isn’t heavy. But it is dark. The players trail off. Northants 163-0, Vaconcelos 88, Procter 56.

Lots of wickets everywhere, but here.

Lancs have ‘recovered’ from 74 for six, to 152 for nine – thanks to George Balderson’s 37. Three wickets to Abbas and Dal.

Essex 134-8 against Notts – Tom Westley’s 44 the only real scores. Four for Patterson-White.

Glamorgan 99-6 – two wickets for ATkinson, two for Abbott.

Yorkshire 139 for six on the Grace Road pitch with a Ben Stokes haircut.

Four wickets for Warwickshire’s Beau Webster in Somerset’s 144-7, Goldsworthy 50 not out.

And Hampshire 113-6 at Hove, a half century for Gubbins

Here, the lights are on. Stokes has his hands on the back of his head after a caught behind appeal is turned down.

Sorry all, slightly distracted there for a bit. Stokes now bowling again, but Northants’ top two are still together. Time to go around the grounds.

Back on at Chester le Street, where the clouds are settling greyly and heavily after lunch. Northants 104-0.

Lunchtime scores

Division One

Chelmsford: Essex 87-3 v Nottinghamshire

Sophia Garden: Glamorgan 71-4 v Surrey

Grace Road : Leicestershie v Yorkshire 89-5

Taunton : Somerset 94-5 v Warwickshire

Hove : Sussex v Hampshire 83-3

DIVISION TWO

Chesterfield: Derbyshire v Lancashire 106-6

Chester-le-Street: Durham v Northants 91-0

Canterbury: Kent 69-0 v Middlesex

New Road: Worcestershire v Gloucestershire 78-2

Just seen the score at Chesterfield. Oh Lancs. 81-6. Two for Abbas, two for Aitchison. Marcus Harris the highest scorer with 17.

And that is Stokes done and dusted for now: 6-2-16-0.

Over number six – but who is going to take the ball off him? A nice crowd in, like the man who got on the train at Durham and told the conductor he was hoping to see Stokes. A huge lbw appeal against a walking Procter, Stokes pleads, squats down on his heels but no cigar. Looked pretty out. Another maiden.

Stokes finishes his fifth over, a maiden, takes his cap and sunglasses from the umpires and marches to mid-off. Probably that’s it for now.

In and out of the wings , Graham Clark is signing more autographs than he’s ever signed in his life to enthusiastic school children. Northants 64-0.

Stokes polishes off his fourth over with one that lifts with feeling from a length past Procter’s nose.

Stokes building up a head of steam. A bouncer hits Procter on the helmet, who has to get a concussion check. A succession of short balls followed, which Procter ducks stoutly under. Vasconcelos fullstops the over with a pull for six.

Stokes gets through over number two, which unfolded without incident, apart from tumbling over in his follow-through second ball. And relax.

Vasconcelos dropped from Stokes’s fourth ball.

And now from the Finchale end , Ben Stokes… the first ball is a dot, the second flies down to fine leg off the thigh pad of Vasconcelos for four. Ball three: nothing. Ball four – ooops, a drop by Ben McKinney at leg slip. In and out, midnight sweats. Ball five: four through the covers in front of the watching groundsmen sitting on plastic chairs. Ball six – off the ankles to long leg for a couple. Ten from the over.

The Grace Road groundstaff have gone for a weird striped pitch today – beige ends and a grassy middle. It has been largely successful – Luxton and Whiteman both out, Yorkshire 40-2.

Stokes watch: the man warms up.

A dismal start for Somerset , as Etham Bamber rocks out Thomas and Kohler-Cadmore in his second over; and now Jordan Hermann is caught off Nathan Gilchrist. Somerset 21-3.

Atkinson watch

England’s other naughty curfew-breaker has taken the new ball for Surrey at Sophia Gardens, where Joe’s brother Billy Root is opening the batting with Asa Tribe. Glamorgan 7-0.

And good morning to Mike Daniels, in his scoreboard perch at Grace Road. “Yorkshire win toss and bat here. Looking forward to seeing if Will Luxton can build on his 100 against Warks last game.

“He’s looked very good when I’ve seen him and surely he might get a look in for the Lions soon?”

Ben Raine, with an old fashioned fast-bowler’s build runs in from the end, Ben Stokes stalks at midwicket. And Matthew Potts takes the ball at the Lumley end.

Fixtures

Division One

Chelmsford: Essex v Nottinghamshire

Sophia Garden: Glamorgan v Surrey

Grace Road : Leicestershie v Yorkshire

Taunton : Somerset v Warwickshire

Hove : Sussex v Hampshire

DIVISION TWO

Chesterfield: Derbyshire v Lancashire

Chester-le-Street: Durham v Northants

Canterbury: Kent v Middlesex

New Road: Worcestershire v Gloucestershire

Durham won the toss and will field

And, when the time comes, Stokes to bat at No. 5.

Stokes is now stalking over to some rubber stumps and bowling with vigour. Today is also schools day at the ground, so 600 lucky north east kids are getting a blue riband ticket.

Preamble

Good morning from Chester le Street , where Ben Stokes, lean and freshly shorn, is warming up with his teammates on a muggy Chester le Street Friday 250 long miles from The Oval. We’ll be keeping an eye on him, and around the grounds, where play starts at 11am. Do join us!

Keyword – Environment
Trefwoorden – Extreme weather, Environment, Hong Kong, World news, Slovenia, Croatia, France, Extreme heat, Europe, Asia Pacific
Title – Weather tracker: Severe thunderstorms sweep Europe and east Asia | Extreme weather | The Guardian
Author – Ed Walton for MetDesk
Link – Weather tracker: Severe thunderstorms sweep Europe and east Asia | Extreme weather | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-19T08:34:27.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/19/weather-tracker-severe-thunderstorms-europe-east-asia-heatwave-france

Severe thunderstorms swept across the Balkans last week, bringing widespread destruction to parts of the region. The storms developed as unstable hot air lingered over the Adriatic Sea while a cold front plunged south-eastward.

The front began its journey on 10 June in Slovenia , where the Slovenian Environment Agency recorded 65mph gusts at Ljubljana airport. Heavy rain also fell widely across the region with 23mm reported in Kranj.

Alongside heavy rain, hail the size of golf balls plummeted from the sky as the front edged south-eastwards towards Croatia . One of the worst affected areas was the Komenda municipality, where the local fire department reported damage to more than 100 buildings. Some homes lost their roofs in the violent winds.

In the early hours of 11 June, the storm edged south-eastwards into Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina before reaching Greece on 12 June.

Similar conditions have been observed on the opposite side of Eurasia. The Hong Kong Observatory issued a black rainstorm warning on Thursday. When a black warning is issued, outdoor workers are expected to take shelter until it is safe and schools are closed.

Hourly rainfall totals exceeded 70mm, only 10 days after the first black warning was issued on 8 June, bringing widespread flooding to the area. Rain is not the only hazard that struck the region as wind speeds of 50mph were recorded in the district of Tai O.

France has experienced heatwave conditions recently, with temperatures in the mid-to high-30s degrees celsius, affecting a large swathe of the country. The heat is expected to intensify further in the coming days, with temperatures forecast to reach 41C.

The heatwave has been particularly unusual because the most intense heat has been concentrated in northern and western France. These regions are typically cooler than areas such as the Rhône valley, which more commonly experiences the highest temperatures during heatwaves.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, Football, Sport
Title – I don’t like the World Cup hydration breaks but trust me – they help the coaches | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/emma-hayes
Link – I don’t like the World Cup hydration breaks but trust me – they help the coaches | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T04:00:53.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/20/i-dont-like-the-world-cup-hydration-breaks-but-trust-me-they-help-the-coaches

I n the NFL or NBA, a head coach can sometimes affect momentum in the game during a timeout. Even as a head coach in American football you get three timeouts per half. In most cases in soccer, players have to problem-solve and think on their feet.

I’m not a fan of the hydration breaks that have been introduced at this World Cup , but they’re here for now and it is fascinating from a coaching perspective because the momentum has swung straight after several hydration breaks. That could suggest coach involvement has helped teams to tweak things.

Turning the game into four quarters – it felt inevitable it was going to head in that direction, and I hope it doesn’t carry on going in that direction. I don’t like it, but let me also be clear – when it’s hot, you really need it, for health and safety. So put yourself in Fifa’s shoes. If you only have drinks breaks in the hot cities you could be accused of giving certain teams an advantage with a chance for a tactical discussion over, say, a team playing in Seattle, where it’s cooler. Imagine turning around and saying: “We’ll only have VAR in some of the stadiums, not all.” You’re either going to have it or you’re not going to have it.

So I get why they have brought this in at every venue. It’s got to be fair across the board. And trust me, this helps coaches. The Netherlands coach, Ronald Koeman, said: “You can use it in different ways to your advantage and this is what we will be doing”. All the coaches will be utilising it.

I agree with Arsène Wenger; I want the ball in play more. I want goal-kicks taken quicker, I want throw-ins taken quicker. I want the ball in play for at least 60 minutes a game, so I like some of the new rule changes that have been introduced. The average ball-in-play time has been about 40 seconds down compared with 2022 at 57 minutes and 22 seconds, but when you factor in the hydration breaks and remove the time it takes for those breaks from the total match-time, the ball-in-play percentage has risen slightly.

There are already enough stoppages in games, so the last thing we want is more . But, for now, it’s there. On ITV, we used it by broadcasting tactical analysis, which was an idea of one of the producers and I felt I was doing what I do every day as coach; trying to simplify complex ideas in a concise way.

Viewers at home have a varying degree of knowledge around the game; some will be very knowledgable, while others may only watch football when the World Cup comes around, so I enjoy trying to be mindful of that.

The speed at which VAR has worked has also been noticeable; how quickly they’re making decisions and moving on. I don’t think it’s been disruptive in a way we’ve been accustomed to and has irritated us all in other tournaments or leagues. And being able to change key moments for reasons like mistaken identity and whether it is a corner or not are welcome changes.

The new rules making it harder for teams to get tactical information while a goalkeeper is receiving treatment is also a welcome change, even though somebody could still pass on information from further away. There’s still a lot of work to be done in these areas to make the game better, but in general they’ve made steps in the right direction.

The most significant change compared with 2022 has been the increase to 48 teams, up from 32. When you expand the number of teams in a tournament there’s always that conversation around a dilution of quality. The answer is clearly far from it. From Cape Verde to DR Congo, it has been great that so many nations started strongly. This is what opportunity provides: competition. You can’t develop until you are in situations where you can grow and get better. It’s great for the global nature of the game.

I loved Cape Verde’s performance in their draw against Spain . What struck me was how brave they were and not just out of possession. As Ange Postecoglou quite rightly said on ITV, Cape Verde weren’t passive. They didn’t just sit in and get picked off. They were stepping out in the right moments. They wanted to get on the ball. They wanted to go forward. They committed numbers going forward. They created chances. Even if they’re half-chances, I was impressed with how well coached they were. And their goalkeeper was heroic .

What has stood out has been the quality of the stadiums, the fans showing up and the real sense of “only the World Cup can do this”, namely bringing people together. The atmosphere in New York has been palpable. There are people wearing shirts for every team. Unlike 1994, you don’t have to walk into a bar or a restaurant and ask them to put the match on the TV. It’s already on.

The country is much more equipped to grow the game beyond this than in 1994 and you’re starting to really feel that. You expect to sense this fervour for the game in the more traditional football nations so, to witness that across the United States, has been wonderful to see.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Czechia, Czechoslovakia, European Championship, Football, Sport
Title – ‘That penalty changed my life’: Panenka’s pride 50 years on from special spot-kick | Czechia | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/gavinnewsham
Link – ‘That penalty changed my life’: Panenka’s pride 50 years on from special spot-kick | Czechia | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T04:00:53.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/20/antonin-panenka-penalty-50-years-on-czechoslovakia-west-germany-1976

A ntonin Panenka laughs like a bear might, a low rumble, suggesting mischief among the memories. He is sat in an office at Bohemians football club in Prague, recounting the story of his impudent, revolutionary penalty that not only won the 1976 European Championship for Czechoslovakia against West Germany but soured his relationship with the goalkeeper his spot-kick humiliated, Sepp Maier. “He went 35 years without uttering a single word to me,” he smiles.

But the feud went much deeper. “I read some articles that he even had a shooting target in his garage with my face on it that he used to fire darts at. We get on well enough now though.”

Saturday marks 50 years since that moment in Belgrade’s Red Star Stadium slipped into football folklore. With the final locked at 2-2 after extra time, Czechoslovakia and the reigning world champions found themselves in uncharted territory: the first penalty shootout to decide a major international tournament.

It nearly didn’t happen at all. The plan had been for a replay, until a request from the German FA pushed organisers towards penalties, a decision influenced, Panenka believes, by the fact Die Mannschaft had already booked their holidays.

By the time Bayern Munich’s Uli Hoeness blazed Germany’s fourth kick over the bar, the stage was set. Panenka stepped forward with the chance to win it. Then it happened. A brisk run-up, a momentary pause and the most delicate of stabbed touches. The ball floated, dead centre, as Maier hurled himself aside. For a heartbeat, it seemed to hang in the Belgrade air before dropping into the net. The Panenka was born.

In the decades since, many have tried it and succeeded. Zinedine Zidane clipped his against the crossbar and in at the 2006 World Cup final while Andrea Pirlo embarrassed a gurning Joe Hart at Euro 2012. Others have been less successful.

In 1992, Gary Lineker, one goal away from equalling Bobby Charlton’s record of 49 goals for England, duffed his against Brazil at Wembley. More recently, Morocco’s Brahim Díaz dinked his penalty into the waiting arms of the Senegal keeper Édouard Mendy in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Panenka watches them all with pride and amusement. “It’s pure happiness to see these players using my penalty,” he says. “The only disadvantage is that I don’t get any royalties from it.”

It’s not for want of trying. “I used to think that every time someone takes one, they should have to pay me. Actually, back during the Communist days in Czechoslovakia, I spoke to some friends who worked at a patent office and tried to get it registered but they said it wasn’t possible which was a shame.”

Panenka’s penalty in the final wasn’t the first time he tried it. Two years before Belgrade, Panenka, a creative midfielder with Bohemians 1905, had started a friendly penalty competition with club goalkeeper, Zdenek Hruska.

Each day, the pair would stay behind after training and practise penalties. Ever the competitor, Panenka suggested a bet. He would take penalties and if he scored all five then Hruska would have to buy him some beers or some chocolate. If the keeper saved just one then Panenka would return the favour. But Panenka found himself losing badly and increasingly out of pocket.

Then came his brainwave. “I started to think about how the goalies always tend to dive towards one post or the other and I came up with the idea of just chipping the ball right down the middle instead. And it worked immediately,” he recalls.

Soon, the competition with Hruska tilted in Panenka’s favour. “I started winning our bets all the time which meant that I got all the beers and the chocolate. But that also meant I started to get fat.”

While Panenka attempted his penalty occasionally in friendlies and domestic games, it was still unknown outside Czechoslovakia as they headed into the European Championship in Yugoslavia , and that convinced Panenka to take it on to the international stage.

“I always knew that there was only one way I was ever going to take it, purely because nobody had done it before and nobody would ever think I would do it, especially in a final,” he says. “But I wasn’t 100% confident I would score – I was 1,000% confident.”

For Panenka, his penalty is more than just another opportunity to score. On one hand, he says, you have to have the personality to come up with the original idea itself but energy and work ethic is also needed to ensure having the right technique when the time arrives to take the penalty. “You can’t have one without the other,” he says.

Watch footage of Panenka’s penalty now and it’s unlike many of the versions you might see today. There is no theatrical meandering run-up and no staring down of the goalkeeper. It’s just a straight, aggressive run-up that persuades Maier that what is about to come is a shot struck with pace. Only at the last moment does Panenka kill his run-up, floating the ball into the air and leaving Maier diving helplessly to his left as the ball takes an eternity to drift and dive into the net.

It is, says Panenka, a thing of rare beauty. “I have seen it described as the ‘falling leaf’ penalty and I like that,” he reflects. “It works so beautifully.”

After the final, Panenka and his Czech teammates returned home to anything but a heroes’ welcome. “We expected at least some celebration or recognition but there was very little,” he recalls. “We said: ‘We are European champions!’ And they said: ‘So what? The league starts again tomorrow, so get back to work.’”

As Panenka returned to domestic football with Bohemians, however, his pioneering penalty had now become a weapon to employ sparingly. After Belgrade, he estimates he took another 15 penalties in his playing career, but used the Panenka only three more times, most notably in a European Championship qualifying victory over France in Bratislava in April 1979.

“The only time I ever missed was in a friendly against a small club in southern Bohemia. There had been a lot of heavy rain and the goalie was just stood in a big puddle so I don’t think he actually wanted to dive anyway,” he recalls. “He just stood there and caught it.”

Today, the 77-year-old Panenka and his penalty are known across the world, the result, he believes, of parents passing on this unique piece of footballing vocabulary – noun and verb – through YouTube and social media. But his popularity still surprises him.

Recently, he was on a plane in Madrid waiting to take off when another passenger recognised him. “Suddenly there was this long chain of people all wanting a selfie with me,” he smiles. “Our flight was even delayed.”

It’s possible to count on one hand those players whose names have become shorthand for invention, for a moment that bends the logic of the game itself. Some labels flatter, others fade, but the Panenka endures alongside the Cruyff Turn as something both daring and definitive.

Panenka shrugs at the idea of an ordinary alternative. Yes, a more conventional spot-kick might still have delivered a European title for Czechoslovakia, but it would not have rewritten his life, nor carved his name into football history.

Half a century on, what lingers is not just his medal or the trophy, but that choice – a split-second show of nerve that turned risk into immortality, and a footballer into folklore.

“The penalty I took really changed my life and the fact I’m still here 50 years later talking about it is absolutely amazing,” he adds. “I’m so happy I did it.”

Keyword – Fashion
Trefwoorden – Fashion, Life and style, Women, Women’s trousers
Title – Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: elegant but practical, capri pants are a perfect summer look | Fashion | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jesscartnermorley
Link – Jess Cartner-Morley on fashion: elegant but practical, capri pants are a perfect summer look | Fashion | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T13:00:33.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2026/jun/17/jess-cartner-morley-fashion-capri-pants-audrey-hepburn-vibes

I think we can probably agree that Audrey Hepburn would not have been seen dead in jorts. The baggy, grunge-adjacent knee-length denims that were everywhere last summer and are creeping back around are definitely cool. Totally a vibe. But elegant they are not.

The capri pant is an undeniably elegant solution to the problem of what to wear when jeans or tailored trousers are too hot and cumbersome, but you don’t want to wear shorts. For instance, when it is sunny while you are getting dressed, but you are going to be out all day and the forecast looks dodgy later on. Or when there is a heatwave but you still have to go to the office, so Daisy Dukes are not going to work.

Capri pants were invented in Munich in the late 1940s. Diminutive German designer Sonja de Lennart was frustrated that the Katharine Hepburn style of blousy trouser didn’t flatter her shape. She came up with a below-the-knee crop, ending with a little kicker of a slit at the hem and elongated at the top with a high waist. Presumably because she recognised that Munich pants was not the most alluring moniker for her new style, particularly in postwar Europe, she named them instead after the Italian island, to capture their sunny sprezzatura . American film costume designer Edith Head was an immediate fan, and dressed Audrey Hepburn in de Lennart’s capris for the 1954 film Sabrina.

Capris kicked happily around the south of France for a couple of decades before fading from vogue, but enjoyed a renaissance in the 2000s, when their retro glamour became a signature look for Carrie Bradshaw in Sex and The City, showing that the capri can work as well on city streets as on the beach.

They haven’t been around for a while, so we need to figure out how they fit into our wardrobes. It’s all about balance. You don’t want to go too literal on the 50s nostalgia, or they can get a bit cutesy. On the other hand, they have a specific set of proportions that need to be considered when putting your look together. You want your capri outfit to look intentional, not like you rolled your trousers up to go paddling.

It works kind of like this. Go sparingly on the milkshake-drinking-bombshell stuff. If you want to wear gingham, I would do a boxy short-sleeve gingham shirt but maybe not a gingham lace-up bodice top. Or you could wear a broderie anglaise top with your capris, but then I’d suggest a casual flip flop or thong sandal rather than kitten heels or mules. Just so that it’s not too cherry-on-top pretty, if you know what I mean.

You might consider a silk scarf, but perhaps tie it around the handle of your bag or in your hair, not jauntily at the neck. If you want a simple starter outfit, you won’t go wrong with head-to-toe black: a cap sleeve T-shirt, your little capris, and ballet flats. (Head and Hepburn knew what they were doing.) But if this all feels a little too midcentury and costumey for you, capris also work well with a bomber jacket or a zip-up windbreaker.

The right shoe is crucial. Anything too heavy throws the silhouette off, and showing some skin below the bend of the ankle makes the line much more graceful. The v-shape of a flip flop works well. For a little more coverage, a slender lace-up jazz shoe beats chunky trainers.

The joy of a capri pant is that it feels kind of snazzy, but is practical at heart. This is a piece that understands summer. You can run for a train. You can sit cross-legged on the grass. You can cycle (they are not also known as pedal pushers for nothing, after all). They may not have the ironic cool of a pair of jorts, but they have a founding myth, a film star and a sun-drenched Italian island behind them. They have summer romance in their DNA. They make life feel slightly cinematic. Jorts may have the edge, but capris have the pedigree.

Styling: Melanie Wilkinson . Model: Maria Diaz at Milk. Hair and makeup: Sophie Higginson using Sam McKnight and Dr Sam’s . Styling assistant: Charlotte Gornall. Earrings , £25.99, Pilgrim. Coat , £395, The Fold. Shirt , £110, With Nothing Underneath. Scarf belt , £22 Next. Trousers , £99, and shoes , £99, both Mint Velvet.

Keyword – Life and style
Trefwoorden – Family, Life and style, Quiz and trivia games
Title – Why are pizzas round and pizza slices triangle-shaped? The kids’ quiz | Family | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/molly-oldfield
Link – Why are pizzas round and pizza slices triangle-shaped? The kids’ quiz | Family | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T06:00:02.000Z
Category – Lifestyle
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jun/20/why-are-pizzas-round-and-pizza-slices-triangle-shaped-the-kids-quiz

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun , a podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book , as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World .

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – Scotland, World Cup 2026, Football, World Cup, Morocco football team, Sport, US sports
Title – World Cup defeat offers new US friends a quick lesson and tour of the Scottish psyche | Scotland | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/paulmacinnes
Link – World Cup defeat offers new US friends a quick lesson and tour of the Scottish psyche | Scotland | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T01:58:13.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/20/scotland-world-cup-defeat-morocco-us-friends

I n a disconcerting development, Americans have started wearing kilts. Some of them are even doing it on the TV as they try to wrap themselves around the Tartan Army . On the local Boston news on Thursday night, things were so giddy that people were predicting victory over Morocco and a passage out of the group for the first time. It was only when the camera returned to the news anchor that she reminded everyone; actually Morocco are African champions and World Cup semi-finalists .

The US has a bit to learn about football still and maybe more to understand about the Scots. Yes there’s the party side, the buoyant side, the one that makes friends everywhere it goes. But there’s the other side too, the sceptical one (some call it realist), the one that knows you should party now because things will find a way of going wrong in a minute. The one that spies a challenge like Morocco with foreboding.

So it was that watching this match in the evening sunshine in Foxborough sometimes felt like taking a tour through the Scottish psyche, or at least that psyche as skewed through the prism of the men’s national team. Of course things went wrong almost immediately, with the familiar sight of Grant Hanley’s arm raised in forlorn hope of an offside call as Ismael Saibari steamed past him to slam home 70 seconds into the contest. It got worse quickly after, when Bilal El-Khannouss whipped a low ball right across the Scotland box that eluded two of his teammates by millimetres. A minute later the Atlas Lions should have scored again, but failed to convert a blistering counterattack.

From a Scotland perspective, at this point, they could barely complete a pass. More frustrating than that bare fact were the types of passes being attempted. No safety first balls or, even, anything for Ché Adams to knock down or chase. These were little intricate one-twos in the defensive third, the sort of thing you do regularly in the Premier League, but also the sort of thing that leave you incredibly exposed if, all of a sudden, your touch turns to that of the Pictish Beast.

What, exactly, was going on? Morocco were asserting themselves upon Scotland for sure, but this was to be expected. Instead it seemed that the early concession had cut right through any confidence or even determination Scotland had pulled together coming into this match. They didn’t seem to believe any longer that they could get the better of their opponents, not even in the physical duels, which Morocco were winning, especially when contested by the midfield pair of Ayyoub Bouaddi and Neil El Aynaoui.

Thank goodness, then, for the hydration break. Scotland emerged from the enforced interruption still ragged, but no longer beleaguered. By the time the clock was ticking towards half-time they appeared to have found some kind of muscle memory, started crossing balls in to the box, and had a chance of their own in added time only for John McGinn to slash his back-post volley well over from 10 yards out.

The second half began with another step forward, Scotland actually keeping possession for over a minute. It was a passage that set the tone for an improved display. Steve Clarke’s men were a match for their opponents now, physically at the very least, with Lewis Ferguson the embodiment of this renewed determination. Sitting at the base of Scotland’s five-man midfield he was dropping between the centre-halves to pick up possession and was so often smothered by the Morocco press. But he never shied away from the confrontation and it was he who led Scotland’s first determined counter of the half, wrestling with Bouaddi all the way to the byline before ultimately being dispossessed.

With the introduction of Ben Gannon-Doak on the hour Scotland’s performance went up a level again, perhaps simply through the reassurance of knowing there was a direct option that could release the pressure if needed. The 22-year-old winger, meanwhile, played with the same unwavering confidence as he did against Haiti, and it proved infectious. He linked up with Nathan Patterson on the right, he encouraged the previously anonymous Scott McTominay into the game. The Napoli star quickly teed up Ryan Christie for an effort that was blazed over in the 64th minute, then had a strong penalty claim in the 82nd and saw a fierce drive deflected into the side netting a few minutes later.

Although they could easily have conceded again late on as they sought that point which would likely seal their passage to the knockout stages, Scotland were the better team in the second half. Sadly those endeavours counted for nothing, but if they can begin their fixture against Brazil as they finished this one, then they have a chance yet.

Clarke said before the Morocco game that “sometimes the Scottish psyche – we’re more comfortable when we’re the underdogs”. This was not the case here. In fact it seemed more like the team were struggling to find what their identity was – desirous of asserting themselves upon their opponent, but not entirely sure they were capable. In the end Scotland proved they could compete against the very best. Against Brazil they should remember that, as they might need to get a result too.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, European Union, Emmanuel Macron, Poland
Title – Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy to Belarus – remove Russian relay stations or ‘we’ll do it’ | Russia | The Guardian
Author – Guardian staff and agencies
Link – Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy to Belarus – remove Russian relay stations or ‘we’ll do it’ | Russia | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T02:47:23.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/20/ukraine-war-briefing-zelenskyy-to-belarus-remove-russian-relay-stations-or-well-do-it

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a week should be enough for the Belarusian leader, Alexander Lukashenko, to remove equipment from Belarus used by ⁠Russia in its attacks on ⁠Ukraine . “If he doesn’t do it, we’ll do it,” said the Ukrainian president, without elaborating. Zelenskyy said signal relay stations were located in two Belarusian regions bordering Ukraine that were used by Russian forces to help with attacks on Ukrainian civilians.

Ukraine has been beefing up its defences along its northern border after signs that Vladimir Putin may be trying to make greater use of Belarus in the conflict . Recent exchanges of threatening language between Kyiv and Minsk culminated in Lukashenko apologising to Zelenskyy for past remarks and saying Belarus wanted no part in the war. Zelenskyy said on Friday: “What’s the point of saying he [Lukashenko] doesn’t want to be in the war? Let him remove this equipment, let him switch it off . I think a week will be enough for him to do that.”

Zelenskyy also alluded to Belarus’s oil refining industry , saying it had become a major supplier ​for Moscow and that Lukashenko could put a stop to it. “Today he ‌is the main supplier, or one of ‌the main suppliers, for the Russian army. Specifically, Lukashenko, specifically Belarus,” he said. “Can this be stopped? I’m sure it’s within his power. And he’s the one controlling ‌it.” Ukraine has been intensifying its attacks on the Russian oil sector as part of efforts to put pressure on Russia’s war capability after more than four years of conflict.

EU chief António Costa on Friday defended diplomatic outreach by his office to the Kremlin , saying the bloc needed to “listen” to Moscow, despite pushback from some member states. “It is precisely because we need also to support Ukraine through diplomatic means that we need to have a direct diplomatic channel with Russia,” Costa said after a summit of EU leaders. However, he said there were so far no “credible signs” that Russia wanted to engage.

Russia ⁠said on Friday it was open to dialogue with European countries but would not accept ultimatums. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said common sense dictated the need for such contacts because of the “enormous number” of complex issues on the agenda, but he said the Europeans needed to change their approach to Russia.

Meanwhile, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, told reporters on Friday that Europeans would be at the table when and if there were peace talks about Ukraine , stressing they were not mediators, because they were firmly on Ukraine’s side . But he also said the question was not who would negotiate on behalf of the EU with Russia, but to clarify and define the bloc’s position first.

Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, said he would strip Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the country’s top honour after the Ukrainian president caused outrage by renaming an army unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) – nationalists who ⁠massacred Poles during the second world war. The decision ​could unleash a severe diplomatic crisis between the neighbours a few days ahead of a conference on Ukraine’s reconstruction in the Polish city of Gdansk. The Ukrainian foreign ⁠minister Andrii Sybiha said Poland had committed a “strategic” ⁠error that ‌ “only ​benefits ​Moscow”.

Russian shelling killed ⁠three civilians in Ukraine’s frontline city ⁠of Kramatorsk ⁠in ​the eastern Donetsk region, a local ⁠official said on Friday. Six ‌others had been injured in two attacks on the city, with strikes occurring ‌near a high-rise apartment building and a ​car park, said the governor ⁠of Donetsk region, ​Vadym Filashkin.

French authorities detained and charged a Belarus-born man on suspicion of spying for Russia on a French drone manufacturer, the Paris prosecutor’s office said. The 48-year-old was reportedly arrested on 3 June “while filming a drone prototype belonging to a company that supplies the French and Ukrainian armed forces”. France’s domestic intelligence agency found he “allegedly sent a video to a contact in Russia”.

Keyword – World news
Trefwoorden – Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump administration, US foreign policy, US-Israel war on Iran, Iran, Middle East and north Africa, World news
Title – ‘It’s a big mistake’: Israelis feel betrayed and angry after Iran peace deal | Israel | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jasonburke
Link – ‘It’s a big mistake’: Israelis feel betrayed and angry after Iran peace deal | Israel | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T05:00:55.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/20/israelis-betrayed-angry-after-iran-peace-deal-donald-trump

I n the Tree brasserie off Herzl Street in Rehovot, there was much that almost everyone agreed on. Few contested that the ceasefire deal concluded by Iran and the US a few days earlier was very bad for Israel. “We were betrayed by President Trump,” said Avi Perez, 55.

They believed, too, that Israel , more than ever, was surrounded by danger that it would have to confront alone. “It is strange. One day we were in the [bomb] shelters with our children … The next day, everything is supposed to be normal. But nothing has been resolved,” said Shaham Nowick, 35, as he studied the menu.

Rehovot, 12 miles from Tel Aviv, has long been held up by pollsters as the epitome of “middle Israel”, if such a thing exists in such a diverse and divided country. Rows of Israeli and pride flags flew on major streets, loud rave music blasted on one street corner, Orthodox Jewish men gathered on another, and weekend traffic built up around construction sites for a new bus system.

Some had come to the brasserie for a break from the news, which on Friday morning was dominated by headlines about renewed fighting in Lebanon , where Israeli forces had launched waves of airstrikes, killing 18 people and wounding 33, after Hezbollah, which has close links to Iran, had killed four Israeli soldiers, including a senior officer, in an attack on a tank.

Many Israelis believe the deal negotiated by the US with Iran is a betrayal. Commentators have condemned the deal as a surrender and a humiliation that was “even worse than Israel had feared”.

There widespread concern not only that will Iran be able to rebuild stronger than before the conflict, but also that the agreement imposed in Lebanon will restrict Israel’s ability to combat Hezbollah, which is seen as a major threat to the Israel’s north.

“Israelis believe that the war in Lebanon is a just war,” said Udi Tenne, a political strategic adviser and international campaign manager in Israel. “Everyone living in Israel understands that Iran and Hezbollah are one and the same.”

In Metulla, a northern town metres from Lebanon, there was anger. “Everyone was very pleased with the war [against Iran] but the US agreement is really not good for Israel … It’s a big mistake,” said Daniel Dorfmann, a restaurateur.

Others spoke of the “abject failure” of Israel to achieve its war aims of regime change, the destruction of Iran’s nuclear programme and the elimination of its ballistic missiles.

Worse, after starting the war “shoulder to shoulder” with the US, Israel had ended the conflict marginalised by Washington and dismissed as “a small power” by Donald Trump last week.

Instead of being invited to the White House to advise Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu has received expletive-laden tirades and criticism over the civilian casualties caused by Israel’s relentless offensive in Lebanon, where more than 3,900 people have been killed.

Nadav Eyal, a columnist in the daily newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth, wrote: “The words ‘shock’ and ‘grief’ fail to describe the feeling in certain parts of the establishment in Israel. A lot of salt is being poured into their wounds now.”

Netanyahu, who is 76 and on trial for corruption, now faces the difficult challenge of convincing voters that only he can keep Israelis safe.

Prof Tamar Hermann, a specialist in public opinion at the Israel Democracy Institute , said: “Netanyahu showed a kind of hubris in defining his aims so clearly. When you fail to achieve them, you are thought of as incapable of fulfilling your promises.”

Rehovot, where there are very few Palestinian citizens of Israel, is also a bellwether town for Jewish voters, who comprise three-quarters of the electorate in Israel. National polls are now expected in October. “The coming election will be a major turning point,” said one opposition party senior official last week. “It’s hard to exaggerate how important this will be for the country.”

Faith in Netanyahu was deeply shaken, even among supporters, by the failures that led to the October 2023 attack by Hamas, in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and about 250 abducted. Israel’s relentless and bloody war in Gaza, which killed more than 73,000 people , mostly civilians, brought international isolation. Israel now controls 70% of Gaza but Hamas still rules over most of the 2.3 million population. Successive offensives in Lebanon against Hezbollah have proved inconclusive.

Despite the backlash, there are some who remain loyal to Netanyahu. When undecided voters were asked last week who would best stand up to Iran, 43% said a Netanyahu-led coalition.

At the brasserie, Perez, an engineer, said: “Netanyahu is human, so he makes some mistakes, but he knows how to fix things. He knows what Israel needs. He speaks for his country. Trump speaks for his businesses.”

Such sentiments mean the coming election is likely to be closely fought. Netanyahu, a veteran of such struggles, may still outmanoeuvre all rivals, analysts say. Hermann said: “I think he is in trouble but I’m not sure what he might have up his sleeve. He is a political Houdini.”

Lee Novick, 34, a doctor in Rehovot, said Israelis were more divided on many issues than ever before. “Netanyahu has been trying to divide us and it has worked. This has been going on for years. And in the meantime, no one cares about the basic stuff – house prices, for example, or inflation,” she said.

“I believe Iran when it says it wants to destroy Israel. Why wouldn’t I? But this government is exploiting the war [to get] divisive laws through and just to stay in power.”

Officials in opposition political parties also said Jewish Israelis were more divided than ever before. “Israelis are talking past each other. The common ground isn’t there,” one said.

Harmann disagrees, however, and pointed out there had been other moments of extreme polarisation in recent decades, such as the 1990s. Instead, she said, most Jewish voters share more than divides them: a belief in an economically liberal model but a strong welfare state funded by progressive taxation, a tough line on security, Israel existing as a Jewish state and a belief that any two-state solution to the conflict with Palestinians is unrealistic.

More immediately, most support the war in Lebanon and fiercely oppose laws giving Israel’s orthodox communities exemption from conscription.

“All the talk of polarisation is possibly a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy,” Harmann said.

In Rehovot, Dahlia Perez, 55, said last week’s events had taught her that “peace will never come”.

“I was hoping for an end to wars but I think we are always going to have to live by our swords,” she said. “We understand now that we have no friends and we cannot trust anyone.”

Keyword – News
Trefwoorden – Sport, Fitness, Ageing
Title – Good food, good genes, good luck: how Ronaldo, Serena and other top athletes compete in their 40s | Sport | The Guardian
Author – Linda Geddes
Link – Good food, good genes, good luck: how Ronaldo, Serena and other top athletes compete in their 40s | Sport | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-20T05:00:52.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/20/how-athletes-keep-competing-into-their-40s

When 40-year-old Luka Modrić lined up for Croatia against England on Wednesday evening, he embodied a growing trend in elite sport. A generation ago, a footballer competing at the highest level at 40 would have been a rarity, but the 2026 World Cup features a record eight players aged at least 40 – more than all previous tournaments combined.

It’s not just football. Lewis Hamilton is still competing in Formula One aged 41, while earlier this week Wimbledon granted Serena Williams, 44, and Venus Williams, 46, a wildcard into the women’s doubles draw.

Across sport, careers that once seemed impossibly long are becoming increasingly common.

But are athletes really getting better with age, or have they just become better at managing the ageing process?

According to a report by the Centre of Excellence in Population Ageing Research , elite athletes really are getting older.

Since 1992, the average age of Olympians has increased by about two years, from 25 to 27. In football, the average age of top male players increased from 26 in 1990 to 27 in 2018, while for female players it increased from 23 to 26 over the same period.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean athletes are peaking later. Instead, it could simply be that they are remaining competitive for longer.

“Athletes don’t stop ageing,” said Dr Liam Anderson, an exercise physiologist at the University of Birmingham. “What sports science has done is help them slow the rate of decline and maximise what they have left. When that is combined with decades of experience and tactical understanding, we’re increasingly seeing athletes remain competitive much later into their careers.”

Some sports, and some positions within sports, are more resistant to ageing than others. In football, goalkeepers tend to have the longest careers, followed by defenders and midfielders, while forwards often show the earliest decline.

Ageing affects almost every physiological system, but it doesn’t affect them equally.

“One of the fitness qualities that most deteriorates is our explosiveness, so the ability of a muscle to produce force quickly,” said Dr Paul Hough, a sport and exercise scientist at the University of Westminster.

“When we look at a pure speed sport such as 100 or 200 metres, you won’t see many veteran sprinters competing into their mid- to late thirties, or if you’re a footballer who relies on your speed, then you probably have to either modify the way you play the game or end up retiring sooner.”

Maximal oxygen consumption (VO 2 max), heart rate and cardiac output also gradually fall, along with flexibility, while recovery becomes slower and injuries take longer to heal.

At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the average age of short-distance runners was about 25. For swimmers, who are also heavily reliant on speed, oxygen consumption and flexibility, the average age was between 22 and 23.

Muscle endurance, which relies more heavily on fatigue-resistant slow-twitch muscle fibres, tends to decline more slowly. In Tokyo, marathon runners were among the oldest athletes: the average age was 30 for men and 31 for women, while the oldest competitors were 44 in both races.

Athletic performance is not solely determined by physiology. “Experience, tactical awareness, anticipation, decision-making and emotional control often continue to improve with age,” said Anderson. “In many sports, these qualities can partially compensate for small physical declines.”

In highly technical, low-impact sports, such as sailing, shooting and equestrianism, age can be a virtue. During the Tokyo Olympics, the average age for equestrians was 39 for men and 36 for women.

Successful athletes often adapt as they age. Take Cristiano Ronaldo. “He started out as a winger and used to heavily rely on his speed and explosiveness, but he’s gradually adapted his game, so he’s more just an out-and-out forward now and not having to make those sprints all the time, because he’s reading the game better,” said Hough.

Serena Williams is another example. She has recently returned to play doubles tennis, which is more tactical and relies less on physical prowess.

The increased professionalisation of sport may also have played a role in extending players’ careers. Modern athletes train, recover, eat and sleep with a level of discipline that would have been unusual even a few decades ago. Financial incentives have also changed dramatically. Remaining competitive for an extra two or three years can now be worth millions of pounds.

Dr Alex Ireland at Manchester Metropolitan University argues that athletes are benefiting from improvements across almost every aspect of their environment, from playing surfaces to clothing and equipment.

“If you think about [football] pitches in the 70s and 80s, even the 90s, at Premier League clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal, they were quite poor,” he said. “Now, I go and watch Altrincham occasionally, which is a fifth division side, and it’s like a carpet.”

Better surfaces are less energy-sapping and may reduce the risk of injury. The same is true of advances in boots, balls and other equipment. “Everything around games and sports has improved,” Ireland said.

Growing understanding of injury prevention has also helped. Prof Joseph Baker at the University of Toronto points to improved awareness of concussion and overuse injuries, alongside rule changes in sports such as American football and ice hockey that are designed to reduce players’ exposure to certain types of harm.

If athletes do get injured, sports medicine and rehabilitation have advanced dramatically.

“Things like a cruciate ligament injury would have probably been career-ending, even maybe 25 to 30 years ago,” said Ireland. “Now it’s probably a six- to nine-month injury, and lots of players have come back and had excellent careers after that.”

Advances in sports science have transformed how athletes train, particularly when it comes to managing recovery.

“Recovery is really important because you can maximise adaptation and allow more sustained high-intensity training,” said Dr Tom Brownlee, a sports scientist at the University of Birmingham, who has previously worked with Liverpool FC.

“If you’re not fully recovered then you can’t go again so hard with training the following day.”

A major change has been the ability to monitor training loads in unprecedented detail. Using GPS trackers, sports scientists can measure not just how far a player has run, but how many sprints, accelerations and decelerations they have performed. “It means that if an older athlete has performed a lot of explosive actions, they can identify when it might be better to back off for training, or train more,” said Hough.

Elite athletes also routinely use tools such as ice baths, saunas, compression garments and blood monitoring to try to optimise recovery. Brownlee describes these as marginal gains – small improvements that become worthwhile once the fundamentals of sleep, nutrition, training and recovery have already been mastered.

Yet no single breakthrough appears to explain the increasing longevity of elite athletes. Anderson argues that it is “the accumulation of many small improvements” that has made the difference. “Better recovery strategies, more sophisticated training load management, advances in rehabilitation, improved nutrition and greater understanding of sleep have all helped athletes maintain performance for longer.”

Even these factors are unlikely to tell the whole story. As Baker points out, athletes such as Ronaldo and the Williams sisters are not typical competitors. “They are among the very best to ever play the game,” he said. “That makes the explanation for these age effects hard to decipher.”

Genetics almost certainly play a role, as does access to resources and support that are unavailable to most athletes. Financial incentives may matter too: star performers are enormously valuable to teams, sponsors and promoters, creating strong incentives to prolong their careers wherever possible.

Luck also plays its part. Some athletes remain competitive into their 40s simply because they’ve avoided the serious injuries that derailed the careers of equally talented rivals.

So, what does the increased longevity of these sporting idols mean for the rest of us? While elite athletes may use blood monitoring, ice baths and other gadgets to squeeze the last bit of juice out of the lemon, they have usually already mastered the basics. “For us average Joes, we don’t necessarily need to be placing our focus there because very few of us have got our sleep, nutrition, training and our rest dialled, and that’s where we should be focused,” Brownlee said.

Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, consuming enough protein to support tissue repair, and getting adequate sleep – when much of the body’s recovery and adaptation takes place – may not sound revolutionary, but these are the foundations upon which performance is built.

It is also important to acknowledge that bodies age, whoever you are, and to adapt your training accordingly.

“A common issue I see is that people try to replicate the training they did when they were in their 20s, the same intensity and volume, but the body is not able to recover as quickly as it used to, which means your next training sessions are affected,” said Hough. “Bearing that in mind, training more frequently but less intensively, or with less volume, may be a solution.”

That does not mean shying away from exercise. Ireland said he regularly sees competitors in their 70s, 80s and 90s at masters athletics events – competitions for older athletes. Some took up training only later in life.

“It’s never too late to start, but you just have to be careful and progressive about it,” he said. “Your body will adapt, your muscles and bones will get stronger, it will just take longer, and you have to be a little bit cautious and not do too much, or too high in intensity.”

Dr Lorcan Daly, a physiologist at the Technological University of the Shannon in Ireland, agrees. Although age-related declines in physical performance are ultimately inevitable, he argues that many of the changes commonly attributed to ageing are actually linked to inactivity. “What is often being reversed [through exercise] is not ageing itself, but the consequences of physical inactivity,” Daly said.

He points to the example of the French cyclist Robert Marchand, who improved both his aerobic fitness and his one-hour cycling record between the ages of 101 and 103. The feat did not reverse ageing, Daly said, but it demonstrated how responsive the human body can remain, even in extreme old age.

Mindset may matter as much as physiology. When Baker interviewed older masters athletes about how they maintained their performance, he found that they did not deny or resist ageing. Instead, they accepted that some decline was inevitable while remaining committed to training and competition.

“The most interesting thing for me was the realisation that while they understand that their performance will go down as they get older, they were empowered to try to prevent this as much as they could through continued involvement in training and competition,” he said. “This engagement in hard work and challenging activities is a much better predictor of performance maintenance than age is.”