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Netball World Cup qualifier: Scotland beat Northern Ireland to boost qualification hopes

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Scotland beat Northern Ireland 67-43 to make it two wins from two in the Netball World Cup 2027 qualifying competition at the Playsport Arena in East Kilbride.

The Scots racked up their highest ever score against NI as they boosted their hopes of making next year’s tournament in Sydney.

In Saturday’s other game, Wales overcame the Republic of Ireland 76-33 to keep alive their hopes of qualification.

The two teams to join England as Europe Regional Qualifiers will be decided on Sunday, with Wales facing Scotland in a key encounter and Northern Ireland playing the Republic of Ireland, with goal average of the matches possibly coming into play.

Friday’s opening matches ended with Northern Ireland edging out Wales 50-49 and tournament hosts Scotland getting the better of the Republic of Ireland 84-29.

World-ranked 15 Northern Ireland trailed Scotland 17-13 after the first quarter of what was a feisty, physical encounter on Saturday.

By half-time Scotland had extended their advantage to 35-20 following a second quarter which saw Fionnuala Toner ordered off.

Northern Ireland reduced their deficit by only one goal in the third quarter as the Scots led 47-33 after the third 15 minute period of the match.

Scotland pulled clear in the final quarter to secure victory.

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Nations League: Craig Bellamy eyes more history against wounded Denmark

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A decade later, Bellamy inflicted maximum damage on Denmark once again.

Approximately 15 miles southwest of Parken Stadium, Wales took on Denmark in November 2008, a game in which Aaron Ramsey made his senior international debut.

Bellamy drilled beyond goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen from around 20 yards out in the 77th minute to earn John Toshack’s side a surprise friendly victory.

“I asked him to play deeper and go behind, and he still got his chances in the first half and scored the winning goal as well,” boss Toshack said after the contest.

Now leading Wales from the sidelines rather than on the pitch, Bellamy has the tough task of toppling Denmark as a coach.

Like Wales, Brian Riemer’s side lost their opening Nations League A game on Thursday night as they were beaten 3-2 by Norway in Oslo.

Denmark also failed to qualify for this year’s World Cup, as did Bellamy’s men, after suffering penalty shootout heartache in the play-offs against Czechia.

With Wales winless since beating North Macedonia in November last year and Denmark without a victory since overcoming the same opponents in the World Cup play-off semi-finals in March, both sides are bidding to end long waits to register a tick in the win column.

Denmark boss Riemer said the fixture with Wales is a “must-win”, with Bellamy going on to add that he could “understand the frustrations” of the Danish supporters.

The Wales head coach felt it was wise not to “poke the bear” when it comes to making any predictions about the contest with the somewhat wounded Danes.

But he will be quietly confident that his side have a chance of creating yet more positive headlines against Denmark as they bid to prove they have what it takes to do the business in the top tier of the Nations League.

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What did Saturday's Texas win mean for Colin Simmons', Arch Manning's NFL Draft stock?

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The performance no doubt will boost Simmons’ standing, but Manning couldn’t sustain his hot start.

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Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe expected to be sidelined for around two weeks

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Mbappe, the France captain, was forced off just before the hour mark of his country’s win over Turkey on Friday.

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