All the latest news after the first World Cup 2026 semi-final and the countdown towards the second

Over the next three hours – and when I’m subbed off thereafter – we’ll reflect on France 0-2 Spain, and look forward to England v Argentina. England v Argentina in the semi-finals of the World Cup, oh my complete and utter daze days.

Greetings one and all. Anyone got any plans for later?

The fallout from USA’s defeat to Belgium gathered pace, with criticism of Fifa growing

Let’s talk about everyone’s favourite subject: England!

What a game that was against Mexico, by the way. I feel asleep about 1am (BST), woke up with England winning 2-1, just before Quansah got sent off and all hell broke loose. England’s defending in the final 20 minutes or so was an absolute work of art (thank you Dan Burn), even if Mexico’s attacking play lacked a certain amount of imagination. A magnificent performance by the players, not to mention Thomas Tuchel, who I feared had gone too early with the: ‘Play a back five, and just hack the ball anywhere’ strategy.