Six sporting highlights of 2023 including Kane and Bellingham’s huge transfers to put England in Euro 2024 driving seat

IT was a year of ‘oh so nears’ for England in two World Cups and an epic Ashes series.

A year when Manchester City’s dominance of club football reached a peak with Pep Guardiola’s Treble — but when their Abu Dhabi-funded rise to the summit of the world game was scrutinised as never before.

PAThe Lionesses lost the final of the Women’s World Cup[/caption]

GettyEngland drew the Ashes series against Asutralia[/caption]

GettyThe rugby stars fell at the semi-final stage at the World Cup[/caption]

It was a year when England’s two finest footballers excelled after moving to two of Europe’s mightiest clubs, sparking genuine belief that 2024 really might be the year when the Three Lions win a major tournament.

There was glory, and fury, as Europe seized back the Ryder Cup.

There was a charismatic new young men’s singles champion at Wimbledon, as Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz dethroned the great Novak Djokovic.

And there were two British gold medals at the World Athletics Championships — for heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and 1500 metres runner Josh Kerr — to raise spirits ahead of next year’s Paris Olympics.

There were also unlikely successes for Luton Town, the first club to rise from non-league to the Premier League, and for West Ham, the self-styled ‘massive’ champions of Europe after winning the Europa Conference League.

And let’s not forget plucky little Scotland, who defeated Spain en route to automatic qualification for what will surely be another group-stage elimination at the Euros.

So here are six of the best highlights of another dramatic sporting year . . .

THE ASHES

IT was one of the greatest, and stormiest, Ashes series and, but for a weekend washout in the Fourth Test at Old Trafford, it would have been one of the most remarkable comebacks in sporting history.

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PAStuart Broad retired from cricket after the Ashes[/caption]

The Sunday of the  Second Test at Lord’s was a day of extraordinary rancour and drama which ignited the series — when Aussie keeper Alex ‘Pariah’ Carey threw down Jonny Bairstow’s stumps as he wandered out of his crease at the end of the over and skipper Pat Cummins refused to withdraw an appeal.

The Home of Cricket erupted in rage, the hallowed Long Room transformed into Cold Blow Lane, Millwall, as Australia’s ‘cheats’ were booed and harangued by a baying mob of posh blokes Pimmsed up to the eyeballs.

Ben Stokes almost salvaged victory with a defiant hundred but, after going 2-0 down, an England side hell-bent on revenge won a tense thriller at Headingley.

Then they dominated at Manchester, with highlights including an explosive century from Zak  Crawley and a 99 from Bairstow, only for torrential rain to ensure the Aussies retained the urn.

Yet the drama wasn’t over. In the final Test at The Oval (another classic), Stuart Broad announced his retirement on the Saturday night then took Australia’s final two wickets — having hit a six with his final ball as a batsman — to ensure a drawn series and a Broadway ending to a truly great career.

RYDER CUP

GettyTeam Europe won the 2023 Ryder Cup[/caption]

HAMMERED at Whistling Straits two years earlier, and having lost an entire generation of future captains to the Saudi-backed sportswashing, sport-wrecking LIV Tour, Europe’s Ryder Cup team were in need of heroes.

Step forward Rory McIlroy, who led from the front at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club on the fairways, greens and even in the car park, where he angrily confronted the Yanks for their lack of sportsmanship on  the 18th green at the end of the second day.

And then there was Luke Donald, the  accidental skipper who was so assured in the role that he became the first man to retain a Ryder Cup captaincy this century.

On the outskirts of Rome’s Eternal City, Zach Johnson’s Americans were treated as latter-day Christians in the Colosseum — savagely whitewashed on the opening morning and never able to claw back their deficit as all 12 European players made significant contributions.

None more so than the young Scandinavian duo of Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, who recorded a record 9&7 humiliation of world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and five-time Major winner Brooks Koepka.

Donald, who only took over when original skipper Henrik Stenson defected to LIV, now has the chance to retain the trophy at Bethpage, New York, in 2025.

RUGBY WORLD CUP

GettyThe Red Roses surprised many at the Rugby World Cup[/caption]

ENGLAND’S rugby men crossed the Channel for their World Cup campaign as a humiliated rabble, with expectation levels hovering around zero.

Within three minutes of their opening group match against Argentina, Steve Borthwick’s side had been reduced to 14 men following Tom Curry’s controversial red card — and those minimal hopes threatened to crash through the floor.

Yet six weeks later, with 11 minutes remaining in their semi-final against world champions South Africa, an ultra-professional and dominant England led by nine points.

Their eventual 16-15 defeat at the Stade de France was dramatic and gut-wrenching but the fact that the Red Rose boys managed to get so close to a fourth World Cup final in six attempts was a triumph against the odds.

They hammered the Pumas 27-10, despite the loss of Curry, and after topping their group, they would stave off a quarter-final fightback from Fiji, the underdogs who had humbled them at Twickenham in their final warm-up match to reach the last four.

The Springboks went on to retain their crown, edging out New Zealand in the final — winning all three of their knockout matches against France, England and the All Blacks by a single point.

LIONESSES

PAThe Lionesses missed out on World Cup glory to Spain[/caption]

PAMary Earps won the BBC Sports Personality of the Year for her performances[/caption]

SARINA WIEGMAN’S Lionesses may have been European champions when they headed for their World Cup campaign Down Under but they were ravaged by injuries to key players such as skipper Leah Williamson, Beth Mead and Fran Kirby.

So while glorious failure may be failure all the same, England’s march to the final cemented their place in the nation’s sporting consciousness.

Up until their 2022 Euros triumph at Wembley, Wiegman’s teams were seen as pioneers and trailblazers for the women’s game.

But this time, as millions tuned in to watch them defeat nations from every continent — Haiti, Denmark, China, Nigeria, Colombia and hosts Australia — they were simply an established world-class team of winners.

The aftermath of a narrow final defeat by Spain, the sexism scandal centring on the conduct of Spanish FA president Luis Rubiales, showed that other major footballing nations are light years behind in terms of gender equality and basic dignity.

Lionesses keeper Mary Earps was named BBC Sports Personality of the Year for her heroics Down Under ­— the third woman in a row to earn that prestigious award.

MANCHESTER CITY TREBLE

GettyManchester City won a historic treble this year[/caption]

Sunday TimesRodri scored the Champions League-winning goal[/caption]

IN January, Pep Guardiola called out his own players and supporters for their complacency in his ‘happy flowers’ rant, after Manchester City had roared back from two-down to defeat Tottenham 4-2.

In February, City were clobbered with 115 charges of breaching Premier League financial regulations, sparking a legal fight which will go a long way to determining the future reputation of the Abu Dhabi project.

But by the first weekend in June, City had become only the second team to complete the Treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup — emulating Sir Alex Ferguson’s fabled team of 1999.

Arsenal were overhauled in the title race, by virtue of comprehensive home-and-away victories over Mikel Arteta’s side, as Erling Haaland completed a stunning maiden Premier League campaign with a record haul of 36 goals, and 52 in all competitions.

Then Manchester United were defeated 2-1, courtesy of an Ilkay Gundogan double, in the first all- Mancunian FA Cup final.

Having hammered Bayern Munich and Real Madrid at the Etihad en route, City settled for a scruffy 1-0 win over Inter Milan in Istanbul as they were finally crowned champions of Europe.

City’s football was sublime — the rest is for our learned friends to hammer out.

KANE AND BELLINGHAM

APHarry Kane poses with Bayern Munich shirt after making his transfer from Tottenham[/caption]

GettyJude Bellingham wears Real Madrid colours for the first time after an historic transfer from Borussia Dortmund[/caption]

EARLY in the year, Harry Kane looked destined for a move to Manchester United, while  Liverpool were favourites to sign Jude Bellingham.

Instead, England’s best two players secured transfers to giants of continental football and have enjoyed extraordinary starts to their new careers at clubs where demands are sky-high and the spotlight is intense.

Kane’s switch from Tottenham to Bayern Munich has seen the Three Lions skipper hammer 24 goals in just 21 appearances.

More remarkably still,  Bellingham — never renowned as a goalscorer at Borussia Dortmund — has netted 17 times in 20 matches for Real Madrid, including a brace in his first Clasico in  Barcelona, as he marked himself out as a future Ballon d’Or winner.

Together, Kane and Bellingham spearheaded England’s qualification for next summer’s Euros, including home and away triumphs over champions Italy, as well as a  memorable demolition of a buoyant Scotland in a Hampden Park ‘friendly’.

There will not be a better combination at No 9 and 10 in Germany and England are ready to embrace their status as favourites as they seek to win a first major tournament on foreign soil.