hello this is bbc news. the headlines: theresa may fights back, saying replacing her would not make the brexit negotiations easier, and warning of a crucial week ahead. the next seven days are going to be critical. they are about the future of this country. it's about people's jobs, it's about their livelihoods, it's about the future for their children and grandchildren. at a commemoration event in germany, the french president makes an impassioned plea for a stronger, united europe. the former wales rugby captain gareth thomas speaks out after suffering a homophobic attack in cardiff. president trump visits northern california following the most devastating wildfires in the state's history. now on bbc news, it's time for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday.

from relegation to the finals of the nations league in 12 minutes. england beat croatia at wembley. joe root wants england to "set the trend" after a first series win in sri lanka in 17 years. could there be a shock on the cards at the atp final? thanks forjoining us. they left it late but england got their revenge on the team that knocked them out of the world cup. two goals in the last 12 minutes of the match saw gareth southgate's side comeback against croatia to win 2—1, and with it book their place

in next year's finals. john watson was watching the drama unfold at wembley. it was clear at the start of the day what england had to do a the permutations they had, england had to win to book their place in the semifinals in portugal next summer. blues and they would have been relegated into the second tier of the competition. the margins were just so small, and that would have been a sickener for gareth southgate and his team in light of the way they have played and the benefits this tournament has brought his team. we'll talk about those in a moment, but as you say, it was very nearly not going to be england's day at all with croatia taking the lead in the second half before those two goals from jesse lingard and harry kane sealed the win. southgate said his team would go for it, and they certainly did at wembley. at wembley, reminders of an england of old.

can gareth southgate match their success with the younger generation? for now, the nations league, a win and england would reach the semifinals, a chance to win some silverware, raheem sterling eager to get them there. kane the provider soon provided with an opportunity of his own. he could and perhaps should have done better. with the margin so small, when croatia scored, it was england now facing relegation — a meaningless friendly this wasn't. seeking the win to qualify, southgate sent for reinforcements, harry kane poking the ball forward forjesse lingard to score. but england needed another. while it was heartbreak of the world cup last summer, captain harry kane made sure of a different outcome

this time, getting the ball over the line, and his team, too. it would not have felt as good. we have been thinking about this all the way up to the march camp. they couldn't have gone any better. to grind it out and come back from behind and turn it around is a great feeling. captain harry kane speaking after the game, who arguably was quiet today by his high standards, but popping up with that crucial goal when it mattered. the benefits of this tournament have been plain to see, haven't they? we have once again witnessed a huge win for england over croatia. and over spain as well, one of the world's best. the victory over spain felt like a watershed moment for this england team in their evolution. as we know, a change in tactics and personnel from gareth southgate, this tournament has enabled him to do that, and that has certainly brought about results as well. and you can see just how much playing competitive football has benefited england. we know the nations lee

was about doing away with those seemingly irrelevant friendlies and playing competitive football, and england have benefited from that. so, too, have the younger players gareth southgate has begun bedding into the squad. significant that it is england who go through to the semifinals in portugal next summer, a chance to win the nations league outright, and a chance to contest some silverware. it has been a long time since england have won some silverware. this isn't the world cup, it isn't the european championships but it is an opportunity that gareth southgate will be pleased he has not missed out on. all eyes on portugal next summer, then. meanwhile in belfast there was heartbreak for northern ireland as they were beaten 2—1 by austria, after conceding with the last kick of the game. austria — who had already won the group — scored first but, corry evans hit back soon after with northern ireland's first

goal in four matches. the home side looked like they were heading for a draw but valentino lazaro scored the winner in the 93rd minute. northern ireland were already relegated from group b3, but defeat means they end the campaign without a single point. arsenal have maintained their 100% start to the season in the women's super league. they beat bottom side everton 4—0. it was 1—0 at halftime but vivianne miedema scored twice in the second half to make sure of the win. that's now eight out of eight for arsenal and they are six points clear of manchester city at the top of the table. but there was late concern for them in the match, with captain jordan nobbs stretchered off with a knee injury. elsewhere, birmingham city beat west ham 3—0 but slip to fourth in the table on goal difference. two goals from fara williams helped reading win 4—1 at brighton. and chelsea thrashed 10—woman yeovil town 5—0 to move up to third. england test captainjoe root says

he wants his team to "set the trend instead of following suit" after winning their first series in sri lanka in 17 years. the lankans had begun day five in pallekele needing 75 runs wih 3 wickets remaining, but england's spinners once again proved too much for them, as they won the second test by 57 runs. patrick gearey reports . england fans had gathered for the kandy crunch — anticipating a short, sweet finish. they needed just three sri lankan wickets to win the series. moeen ali took the first and most significant of them. when niroshan dickwella departed, so did his team's chances of an unlikely victory. the end came quickly. two balls later moeen baffled suranga lakmal, then pushpakumara pushed back a sitter to jack leach. his fifth wicket in the innings, and england's first win in sri lanka for 17 years. to come here and perform as we have done, and manage to soak up

the pressure and played back on the opposition for long periods of time as well, to hold our nerve, shows a lot of maturity for what is quite an inexperienced side in this part of the world. it's a victory that is in sharp contrast to england's recent away form. it is highly significant. sri lanka have a reputation of ambushing visitors here on pitches that suit them. the fact that they have won not just these first two test matches but also the twenty20 series and the one—day international series as well, they've never done that anywhere before. it is a significant achievement.

not for nothing are england's away fans known as the "barmy army". it's taken a mix of optimism and masochism to follow english cricket teams on foreign shores — but maybe nowjoe root has this side travelling on the right course. patrick gearey, bbc news. at the women's world twenty20 england and defending champions west indies have already qualified for the semi—finals. they play each other this evening to determine who they'll face there. the winners will face australia in the last four and the losers will meet india. there are in—play highlights on the bbc sport website and app, test match special commentary on bbc radio 5 live sports extra, the bbc sport website and app from eight o'clock this evening. there has been a shock at the atp finals in london. novak djokovic was bidding to match roger federer‘s

total of six titles. he was playing against alexander zverev in the biggest match of his career after beating roger federer to get to this match. the german took the first set, the first set that djokovic has lost this week. in the last few moments, the upset was complete, zverev winning the match 6—4, 6—3, the biggest result of his young career. before this, he had only taken three masters titles, but has been tipped by many as a future grand slam champion. great stuff. open champion francesco molanari has won golf‘s race to dubai. molanari could only have been beaten to it if tommy fleetwood had won the world tour championship, but the englishman finished a long way down the leaderboard. the tournament was instead won by his compatriot danny willett — this is his brilliant approach on the 17th in dubai. willet finished on 18 uder par, two clear of the pack. it's his first win since the masters two and a half years ago.

it was a tricky old road. it probably won't sink in for a while. with all the ups and downs, injuries and this and that. like i say, the body feels a lot better. there were times i wasn't sure if i would be able to do it again. pretty special. in rugby union, two late tries helped england's women beat canada 27—19 at doncaster. the red roses led at half—time, before tries from kelly smith and then this one from abbie scott sealed the win. it means england stay undefeated this autumn, with a final match against ireland next saturday. champions exeter have gone back to the top of rugby union's premiership with an injury—time win over bristol, in a dramatic match at ashton gate. bristol — who were 11th in the table before kick—off — led 26—12 early in the second half, thanks to this try in

the corner from luke morahan. and they almost held on until the 83rd minute. the chiefs were awarded a penalty try, for illegally bringing down this maul. they won 31—29 to go ahead of saracens on points difference. now let's round up some of today's other news. great britain's women are still without a win at hockey's champions trophy in china. having drawn with the hosts in their opening match they lost 2—0 to six—time champions australia this morning. their next game is against japan on tuesday. ronnie o'sullivan and judd trump are level at four frames all after the first session of the northern ireland open final. it's been high quality snooker so far, with trump making three centuries. they'll play to a finish at seven o'clock tonight in belfast, with the first to nine frames taking the title. it is currently 5—5. and rain in valencia made for a dramatic season finale in motogp.

several riders had big crashes, including maverick vinales, his yamaha team—mate valentino rossi and recent world champion marc marquez. the race was red—flagged and restarted, with ducati's andrea dovizioso going on to take his fourth win of the season. finally, staying with motorsport, formula 3 driver sophia fleursch has fractured her spine in a high—speed crash at the macau grand prix in china. just a warning that some viewers may find the pictures distressing. the 17—year—old lost control going into a bend before flying through the air and crashing backwards into fences. she is conscious and in a stable condition and has since tweeted to say "i'm fine but will be going into surgery tomorrow morning." a japanese driver she first crashed into has been taken to hospital with back pain. two photographers and a marshal are also in hospital. that's all from sportsday. we'll have more throughout the evening. here on click, we are constantly

coming across jawdropping medical marvels. from robo—nurses, to ai which can outdiagnose experts. we have seen the future of medicine evolving before our eyes. it is fair to say medicine has come a long way. this is the old operating theatre museum in london. of course there is an old operating theatre museum, why wouldn't there be? back in the late 1800s for example,

this was the cutting edge — literally. and in the 130 years since, surgery has changed beyond recognition. but, as with all technology, we mustn't become overreliant on it. we mustn't think that it will do everything and we mustn't think that it will work every time. last week, we were given a sombre reminder of this when an inquest found that a cardiac patient, stephen petit, had died as a result of undergoing pioneering heart surgery using a da vinci robot. had the surgery had been of the traditional kind, he almost certainly would have survived. i think if a surgeon is going to use a robot, and use is the right technical term, he has to be very well practised with it. i think that was an example where the team were not sufficiently