Weekend Talking Points: Derby shock, England success and Neymar returns
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Coral round up the weekend’s sport
A busy weekend of action brought shocks, hints and a return to the big stage for some of sport’s familiar names.
England celebrated a double victory at Wembley and Headingley, while there was a huge upset in the Derby at Epsom.
The Coral News Team have rounded it all up from the worlds of football, rugby, cricket and horse racing in our weekend talking points…
Southgate decides in England win
England’s World Cup warm-up victory over Nigeria on Saturday came as little surprise to anyone. Harry Kane (16/1 for WC Top Scorer) and Gary Cahill did the damage for the Three Lions before half-time. But what did we learn from the match?
Well, it appears Gareth Southgate has settled on a back-three. Kyle Walker and John Stones look set to fill two of those positions, with Harry Maguire and Gary Cahill vying for the third-spot. Goalkeeper-wise, Jordan Pickford got the nod ahead of Jack Butland and must now be considered favourite to start against Tunisia.
Otherwise, it’s as you were ahead of Thursday’s second friendly against Costa Rica at Elland Road.
Arc next up for Godolphin and Masar?
All the talk ahead of Saturday’s Epsom Derby was about the invincible Saxon Warrior. The unbeaten star was the odds-on favourite to land the Classic for a record-equalling seventh time for Aidan O’Brien.
You need everything to come together perfectly on Derby Day, though. And it didn’t quite fall into place for the son of Deep Impact on Saturday. Instead, it was the Charlie Appleby-trained Masar who took top-honours at odds of 16/1 for Godolphin.
The son of New Approach handled the step up in trip perfectly to land the world’s most famous flat race. He’s now 10/1 from 40s with our traders for October’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Broad and Anderson star with the ball
It’s been a dismal couple of years for England on the test scene. Prior to the second test against Pakistan over the weekend, the Three Lions had failed to win any of their last eight test matches.
However, an inspired performance with the ball from veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad put an end to that nightmare run. The under-fire pair took a combined 11 wickets over the course of the second test to wrap up a convincing three-day success. Next up for England it’s a one-off One Day International Series against Scotland on Sunday.
No Challenge Cup hat-trick for Hull
Hull FC have made the Challenge Cup their own in recent years. The Black and Whites won the tournament in 2016 and then again last year with an 18-14 victory over Leeds Rhinos in the final.
But there will be no repeat success this time around following their narrow 25-23 defeat to St Helens on Sunday. The holders had Danny Houghton and Danny Washbrook sin-binned in the first half as Saints established a 23-12 lead.
Hull couldn’t recover in the second period as the hosts booked their place in the semi-final for the first time since 2015. They’ll now face Catalans Dragons at the Macron Stadium on 5th August for a place in the final.
Neymar returns with a bang
Neymar made his long-awaited return to first-team football yesterday as Brazil began their World Cup preparations with a 2-0 victory over Croatia at Anfield. The Paris Saint-Germain ace came off the bench at half-time and needed just 24 minutes to showcase his quality.
The 26-year-old danced between two defenders on the left-hand side before hammering home a strike off the bar to give the Samba Boys a 1-0 lead. Reds star Roberto Firmino grabbed a second late on as Brazil extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches. Neymar is now 12/1 to be top scorer at the World Cup.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
