The 69-year-old will replace Frank de Boer who stepped down after the Dutch were beaten by the Czech Republic in the last 16 of the European Championship last month. Van Gaal will name former Netherlands coach Danny Blind and Henk Fraser from Sparta Rotterdam as his assistants and appoint Frans Hoek as his goalkeeper coach, multiple media reports said on Thursday (July 22).
* Australia lock Ned Hanigan will return to the New South Wales Waratahs in 2022 after completing his contract in Japan in a boost for the struggling Super Rugby side. The 26-year-old, playing for Kurita Water Gush in Japan, will slot back into a Waratahs pack with the returning Jed Holloway and Wallabies captain Michael Hooper as the Sydney team looks to rebound from a winless season in 2021.
* Australia and New Zealand have withdrawn from this year's Rugby League World Cup in England due to player welfare and safety concerns, organisers announced on Thursday. The Rugby League World Cup is scheduled to begin on Oct. 23, with the final to be played on Nov. 27.
* Australia will play five Twenty20 International matches in seven days in a whirlwind tour of Bangladesh next month, the cricket boards of both countries said on Thursday. Aaron Finch's men will arrive on July 29 and play five matches at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka from Aug. 3 to Aug. 9.
* Everton have signed winger Demarai Gray from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a three-year contract, the Premier League club said on Thursday. Financial details of the transfer were not disclosed but British media said Everton paid around 1.6 million pounds (US$2.2 million) for Gray.
* Jaguar confirmed its long-term future in the all-electric Formula E series on Thursday, with the new Gen3 era set to start next year. Jaguar's Sam Bird is leading the drivers' championship ahead of two home races in London this weekend - the British marque's first race on home soil since leaving Formula One at the end of 2004.
* Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith Rowe has signed a new long-term contract with the club, the Premier League outfit announced on Thursday. The academy graduate, who has been at Arsenal since he was nine, became a mainstay of manager Mikel Arteta's team last season and made 33 appearances in all competitions.
* The Italian Grand Prix at Monza in September will feature Formula One's second sprint race after the experimental format made its debut at Silverstone last weekend, the sport said on Thursday. The venue for a planned third sprint this season has yet to be confirmed but is expected to be at one of the long-haul rounds.
