Michail Antonio was bullish on West Ham's chances of winning the Europa League after the Premier League side progressed past Sevilla to the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Trailing the six-time Europa League winners 1-0 on aggregate after the first leg, Andriy Yarmolenko won the tie in the 22nd minute of extra time following Antonio's assist for Tomas Soucek in the first half of normal time.
This will be West Ham's first European quarter-finals appearance since the 1980-81 Cup Winners' Cup, where they lost to Dinamo Tbilisi.
Nevertheless, Antonio feels the Hammers can go on and take the silverware.
"We fear nobody. We play in the Premier League and it doesn’t matter who we play, we try to get the three points," he told BT Sport post-match. "We're in this to win it. We're not just here to take part. Why can't we win it?"
Antonio became only the second player to notch 10 goals and assists for a Premier League club in all competitions this season, after Liverpool's Mohamed Salah. He is the first to do so for West Ham since Dimitri Payet in 2015-16.
He was taken off injured against Aston Villa but managed to play 120 minutes on Thursday, and the 31-year-old believes the home crowd at London Stadium spurred him on.
"I've been here seven years and the only atmosphere close to this was the last day at the Boleyn Ground. The fans roared all the way through, backing us. They were the 12th man," he said.
"I’ll give the win to them, they were the ones who did it for us.
"This season is like a dream come true. This is the first time in Europe for me. I've become West Ham's Premier League top scorer. We're just here enjoying our football."
In the battle between sixth in the Premier League and second in LaLiga, West Ham were the more aggressive, but had to be patient to find the breakthrough.
That the winner came from Yarmolenko, amid the backdrop of armed conflict in his native Ukraine, provided Antonio some added joy.
"We dominated. We always believed in ourselves. From the first half we were on them, creating chances. [We thought] keep doing what we're doing and we'd get the win," he added.
"Andriy Yarmolenko is such a lovely guy. I can't imagine what he's going through. He's got a finishing touch now. Hopefully he can keep doing it."
Ruud edges into French Open third round after rollercoaster match
Casper Ruud survived a scare after being pushed all the way by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the French Open second round on Thursday.
The Norwegian prevailed 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 in an instant classic that lasted just over four hours on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
Ruud knew he was in for a tough match after winning the tiebreak in the first set, and Davidovich Fokina fought back in brilliant fashion to take the second.
The momentum swung back in Ruud’s favour in the third as he regained the lead in the match, but the Spaniard ensured they could not be separated as he forced a decider after another tight contest.
Despite putting up a good fight, Davidovich Fokina failed to see out what would have been a stunning win, as Ruud edged one step closer to a potential first Roland Garros title.
Next up for Ruud is Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round.
Data Debrief: Ruud holds his nerve
Ruud lost his first-ever Roland Garros second-round match (v Albert Ramos in 2018) but is unbeaten in his six matches at that stage of the French Open since.
The Norwegian has now reached the third round at Roland Garros six times in his career, which is more than he has in all other three Grand Slams combined (two at the Australian Open, two at the US Open, 0 at Wimbledon).
Paqueta to remain in Brazil's Copa America squad despite FA charges
The Brazilian Football Association (CBF) confirmed Lucas Paqueta will remain in Brazil’s Copa America squad despite being charged over alleged breaches of betting rules by the English Football Association (FA).
Last August, it was reported the FA had opened an investigation into suspicious betting activity surrounding Paqueta, who said he was cooperating with the FA’s probe in March.
The West Ham midfielder is accused of intentionally seeking to receive a card in four different Premier League fixtures, three in the 2022-23 season and one on the opening matchday of 2023-24, with the charges brought against him last Thursday.
Paqueta, who has until June 3 to respond to the charges, addressed the situation on social media saying, "I deny the charges in their entirety and will fight with every breath to clear my name."
Now, the CBF has confirmed that Paqueta will be staying in the national squad for the upcoming tournament following discussions between the two football associations.
"Given the facts reported by the English Federation, the CBF, supported by the joint opinion from the Legal and Governance and Compliance Directorates and the Integrity Unit, has decided to maintain the player's call-up," the CBF said in a statement signed by president Ednaldo Rodrigues.
"Based on the information provided by the FA, it is categorically concluded that the player, Lucas Paqueta, despite the behaviour for which he was accused authorising preventive removal [from the squad] ... has not been penalised to date by the prosecuting body authorised to sanction him.
"It is right to say that the player is free to perform his professional job until the present moment, the source of his livelihood and that of his family, in a full and unrestricted manner, whether for his club or his country's national team."
Selecao are nine-time winners of the Copa America and will kick off their campaign against Costa Rica in Group D on June 24.
Djokovic marches into French Open third round after dominant straight-sets win
Novak Djokovic eased through to the French Open third round following another straight-sets victory over Roberto Carballes Baena at Roland-Garros.
The reigning champion, who is seeking a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title, took just over two hours to wrap up a 6-4 6-1 6-2 win and set up a showdown with either Gael Monfils or Lorenzo Musetti in round three.
Not since the 2017 Australian Open has Djokovic failed to progress beyond the second round at a major.
It looked like the Serb would be in for a tough battle as Carballes Baena broke in the opening game, though he did respond immediately before the first set appeared finely poised at 4-4 and deuce.
Djokovic subsequently drew first blood, and it was very much one-way traffic thereon.
Indeed, from 4-4 in that first set, the world number one won 14 of the next 17 games to sail into the last 32.
Data Debrief: Djokovic surpasses Nadal at Roland-Garros
The undisputed 'King of Clay', Nadal's record of 14 French Open titles looks highly unlikely to be under any severe threat in the near future.
However, Djokovic has surpassed the Spaniard by reaching round three at Roland-Garros for a 19th time in his 20 appearances - the most appearances by any player during the Open Era.
The Serb also notched up his 94th match win at the French Open. That is his joint-most at a single ATP event in his career, matching is tally at the Australian Open, where he is a 10-time champion.
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