MEN’S FOOTBALL: England lost on penalties to Italy in the under 17s Euros quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw on Thursday. The Italians will meet Denmark in the semis after the Danes also needed penalties to see off Czechia.

Portugal edged past Poland 2-1 and will take on Serbia, who saw off Austria 3-2 for a place in the final. Serbia will be making their second semi-final appearance in the last three years.

MEN’S CRICKET: The Twenty20 World Cup gets underway in Dallas on Sunday morning with co-hosts the USA taking on Canada in Group A.

The West Indies play tournament debutants Papua New Guinea in Guyana to kick-start Group C later in the day. England play Scotland in group B next Tuesday.

Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane is set to miss the tournament after being denied a visa by the US embassy in Kathmandu

SPEEDWAY: Substitute Scott Nicholls scored 17 points as cup-holders Ipswich overcame Leicester 47-43 for a 95-85 aggregate win in their Premiership Knockout quarter-final on Thursday.

In league action, reigning champions Sheffield led from heat two to seal a 54-36 win over Birmingham, with Chris Holder top-scoring on 14 points.

Sheffield also gained the aggregate victory and are now one point behind Ipswich with a game in hand.

MEN’S BASKETBALL: Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving both hit 36 points as Dallas beat Minnesota 124-103 to win the NBA’s Western Conference play-off final 4-1.

They will face Boston Celtics in the grand final, starting the seven match series in Boston next Thursday.

Dallas have only won the title once before while the Celtics are chasing a record-breaking 18^th title after becoming the first team to reach the play-offs for a tenth consecutive season.