• USSF chief exec focuses on ‘incredible support’ of fans

• Won’t say if federation regrets Trump involvement

• US president called Fifa to lobby for red card review

US Soccer Federation chief executive JT Batson made his first public remarks Thursday about the controversy surrounding Donald Trump’s involvement in this summer’s World Cup, participating in a media roundtable with US Soccer chief operating officer Dan Helfrich and Fifa head of global football development Arsène Wenger.

Before the United States’ last-16 encounter with Belgium, Trump revealed that he had made several calls to Fifa president Gianni Infantino, lobbying for a review of US forward Folarin Balogun’s red card in the last-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Fifa eventually suspended Balogun’s ban but denied that Trump’s repeated calls had influenced that decision.

The tournament’s mascot came to herald the ubiquitous, commercial aims of a growing international spectacle

Deep within a dark warehouse in Hillsborough, North Carolina, there sits a severed head. Encased in plastic, perfectly preserved and seemingly begging to be reanimated, it belongs to an American soccer legend.

For a seismic summer 32 years ago, Striker the dog was more ubiquitous than any of World Cup 94’s players, plastered all over billboards, Coke cans, key chains, caps and hundreds of other items. Kids carried around Striker dolls. Grown men played Striker-themed pinball machines and Super Nintendo games and posed for photos with the pup in stadiums.

The Queens Classic – Kerr’s return, Lavelle’s stunner, wildfire smoke and all in between – shows how far the league has come and also where it can still improve

Ten years ago, a National Women’s Soccer League game at a baseball stadium was a sign of just how far the league had to go. A match during the 2016 season was played at a minor-league ballpark on a woefully small pitch, dubbed “shocking and embarrassing” by the league’s own stars.

Come 2026, NWSL games at ballparks are showpiece events. Attendance records were shattered at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and San Francisco’s Oracle Park in the previous two seasons. Wednesday night added another milestone: Gotham FC’s 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit on a hot, hazy night at Citi Field, the regular home of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, drew the second-largest crowd in league history (42,175) and set the record for the most attended women’s sporting event in the city’s history.

The league is back in play after a six-week pause for the World Cup. We spotlight seven players to watch after their stints with their national teams

The 2026 MLS season resumes Thursday, cleverly holding its return on the days between the World Cup semi-finals and third-place game. Fans of any of the league’s 30 teams will be trying to recall the state of affairs after a six-week pause, with more than half of the regular season still to be played and the Leagues Cup further congesting the schedule.

The league was curiously absent from the World Cup, only cited during the broadcasts viewed by millions if a commentator named an involved player’s club and whose reach largely depended on the in-market efforts of its franchises. And yet, through the quarter-finals, MLS ranked sixth in total minutes by its players, the highest of any league outside Europe’s big five. Twenty-two of MLS’s 30 clubs had at least one man make a tournament squad.

All the reaction from England’s semi-final defeat, as the UK government calls for Fifa to investigate Argentina over a Falklands banner displayed after the game

Thomas Tuchel had already shown this week he’s not someone who is prone to mere pleasantries after a game. The head coach shouldered the blame for England becoming too passive after taking the lead against Argentina, but at the same time said he had “no regrets”.

I don’t believe so much in an English thing and a curse or whatever. It’s repeating itself in different moments. It’s different coaches, different players, different situations.

What cost us today was that we were not active enough in any structure. I can understand these discussions are out there and of course a million coaches after the game know it better. You can discuss this with a million coaches. I have to make a decision on the pitch. It’s how I analyse the match and I take the responsibility.

️Updates from the first-round action at Royal Birkdale
️Official leaderboard | R&A gets tough | And mail us

Bob Mac aside, it’s still a wee while until some of the more fancied stars take to the course. Time for a little scene setting, then. Ladies and gentlemen, on the tee, Ewan Murray …

A fast start for Bob MacIntyre! He sends his opening tee shot into the rough down the left, and only just finds the front of the green with his second. But he rolls in a 45-footer and birdie is not a bad way to start the week! Oban’s finest already has three top-ten finishes at the Open on his resumé, including a tie for seventh at Portrush last year. Keep an eye out.

The impact of a heatwave is laid bare by the Open venue’s scorched earth, making the competition for the Claret Jug even harder to gauge

A star was born in 1976 at Royal Birkdale. Seve Ballesteros was unable to press home his 54-hole advantage due to a combination of a Sunday 74 and Johnny Miller’s surge. Still, the swashbuckling style of the 19‑year‑old Spaniard captured hearts and minds. Ballesteros played golf – and successfully – from all parts of the famous links.

The 50th anniversary of Ballesteros’s emergence comes with an uncanny parallel: back at Birkdale, the grass is parched again. Firm, fiery, unpredictable Opens are the finest. Stand by, then, for a sporting feast over four days on the Sefton coast. Less green and pleasant land, more yellow brick road. Away from putting surfaces which have been lashed with water, the impact of a heatwave is laid bare.

• Staff told to eject hecklers among expected 300,000 fans

• Officials reject Faldo’s calls to fine miscreants $10,000

The R&A has warned golf fans who misbehave at the Open that they will be identified and slung out under its new code of conduct.

Its chairman, Mark Darbon, stopped short of endorsing calls by Sir Nick Faldo, the last Englishman to win an Open, for anyone that abuses a player to also be fined $10,000. However, he confirmed that a team of R&A staff, marshals and officials would be closely monitoring the expected 300,000 spectators at Royal Birkdale to ensure good behaviour.

The 154th Open starts at Royal Birkdale on Thursday with a host of compelling storylines to follow

Scottie Scheffler won the 2025 Open by four strokes, but the world No 1 arrives at Royal Birkdale having missed the cut at the Scottish Open last week. The out‑of‑form American has claimed his fewest wins in a season since 2021, having secured only one victory all year: the American Express tournament in January, in his first start of the year. Since then Scheffler has recorded four runner-up finishes, including at the Masters. “I didn’t really feel like I played that bad,” he said of his missed cut, his first in four years. “This golf course can be just tough at times.”

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?

• Cease and bullpen combine for three-hitter

• Bellinger named MVP after two-run single

• AL record first All-Star shutout since 2013

Dylan Cease struck out the side in the first inning, combining with 10 relievers on a three-hitter in a show of pitching dominance that led the American League to a 4-0 win over the National League in Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.

All-Star MVP Cody Bellinger hit a two-run single and Ben Rice followed with an RBI single in the first against Cristopher Sánchez of the host Philadelphia Phillies.

‘Boston cone’ arrives to fanfare in first-class seat from Glasgow before planned trip to raise money for mental health

Fresh off its first-class flight from Glasgow, it received a reception befitting a visiting dignitary: a bagpiper in full regalia playing inside Boston Logan international airport. Waiting to greet it were diplomats, the governor and Boston’s mayor.

The guest of honor? An orange traffic cone.

Spain grandly swatted aside strangely subdued France to reach Sunday’s final

France and Spain have only met once before at the World Cup. That was 20 years ago, back in the day when Les Bleus very much had La Roja’s number (the Euro 84 final, the Euro 2000 quarters, all that).

Spain have had the better of the tournament football since. Wins in the Euro 2012 quarters and the Euro 2024 semis, plus an absurd 5-4 victory in last year’s Nations League semis. France did win the 2021 Nations League final, though.

• US striker’s red card was suspended after Trump calls

• Fifa president accused of breaching neutrality rules

The United States striker Folarin Balogun has revealed he predicted Donald Trump’s involvement in overturning his World Cup suspension would “cause a lot of controversy”.

The Monaco forward was sent off with a red card in the United States’ round-of-32 meeting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but Fifa’s disciplinary committee then suspended the one-match ban for a year, allowing Balogun to participate in the Americans’ last-16 loss to Belgium.

• Six-time Olympic medalist resumes training

• Tokyo all-around champion targets LA 2028

• Latest Paris gold medalist planning comeback

Suni Lee is making a run at a third Olympics.

The America gymnastics star announced she is returning to the sport on Tuesday, about two years out from the Los Angeles Games.

• St Louis Cardinal homers on final six swings

• 24-year-old outfielder wins $1m and title

• Schwarber, Contreras finish second and third

Jordan Walker silenced Philadelphia’s boo birds by homering on his last six swings, chasing down Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber in the final round and becoming the first St Louis Cardinal to win the Home Run Derby on Monday night.

Schwarber hit 11 homers during his 15-swing turn in the final round. Philly fans, who loudly booed everyone but Schwarber and Bryce Harper throughout the night, quietly headed toward the exits when Walker’s winning shot soared over the left-field wall.

As the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game take over Philadelphia, we take a spin around the majors with an awards watch, an Ohtani update and lots in between

With more than half of the MLB season in the books, the baseball world has convened in Philadelphia for the annual All-Star festivities. What better time for owners and players to engage in Brotherly Love and figure out how to avoid the widely predicted 2027 labor strife that could cancel next season? Considering the storm clouds gathering, a near-term resolution seems unlikely, so we’d better soak in the season we’re having. How’s that going? Glad you asked.

France v Spain build-up and Atlanta police step up security for England v Argentina

Atlanta police are increasing staffing and resources for Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina.

The department says additional officers will be deployed around the stadium and across the city’s entertainment and high-traffic areas, with large crowds expected before and after the match:

As Atlanta prepares to host an upcoming World Cup semi-final match and welcomes increased numbers of residents and visitors, the Atlanta Police Department has enhanced its citywide public safety and security posture. Additional personnel and resources are already deployed and will continue to be strategically assigned in and around the event venues, entertainment districts, and other high-traffic areas to help ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone. These proactive measures are designed to protect the public, deter criminal activity, and ensure residents and visitors can safely enjoy this historic event.”

• Vick arrested in connection with Memphis shooting

• 29-year-old started on Jayhawks’ 2018 Final Four team

Lagerald Vick, a former University of Kansas basketball player and a starter on their 2018 Final Four team, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder in ⁠Tennessee.

Vick, 29, was a guard for the Jayhawks from 2015 to 2019.

• Saturday’s bout in Las Vegas finished in first round

• Irishman says he will undergo surgery on leg

Conor McGregor says he plans to fight again in UFC despite the fact that his return to competition lasted just 69 seconds before he suffered a leg injury, which he says will require ⁠surgery.

“Surgery. Prehab. Return ⁠to ​martial arts practice. Go again,” McGregor wrote on Instagram on Monday. “Final fight of the contract. ⁠Praise God!”

• Matches will take place on 10 and 13 October

• Washington DC and Chester, Pennsylvania to host

The top two teams in women’s soccer will meet in a pair of friendlies this fall, with the United States hosting Spain in Washington DC on 10 October and Chester, Pennsylvania three days later.

The meeting pits the 2024 Olympic gold medalist United States against a Spain side who won the 2023 women’s World Cup. It will serve as a benchmark for both sides in the run-up to the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Miller takes indefinite leave after arm amputation and questions of possible financial improprieties

An on-air analyst for a top US sports broadcaster says he is pulling back from his role indefinitely as he heals from a car crash in Missouri that forced him to undergo a life-saving amputation – and while he reportedly faces a law enforcement investigation into possible financial improprieties connected to what he billed as side charity work.

Matt Miller’s announcement on Friday that he was taking indefinite leave from ESPN provided only the latest twist in an unusual case that has drawn significant attention from both media as well as the substantial number of American football fanatics who follow his area of expertise: the process by which NFL teams select, or draft, collegiate prospects.

The build-up to the semi-finals began earnest and Senegal sacked their head coach

Sidebar, Whatever bears such a striking resemblance to Neil Innes’ I’m Free to be an Idiot that the former Monty Python collaborator received a songwriting credit and a share of the royalties in an out of court settlement.

Wonderwall might be the England team’s Oasis song of choice, but surely they change it up to this more apposite (and far better imo) number.

• Bout with Holloway in Las Vegas finishes in first round

• UFC chief Dana White: ‘We’re assuming a blown ACL’

• Irish star’s last fight before Saturday was five years ago

Conor McGregor’s return against Max Holloway at UFC 329 in Las Vegas ended after just 69 seconds of the first round because of a knee injury.

Fighting for the first time in more than five years, the 37-year-old McGregor flew across the ring with a left roundhouse kick when the bout started and landed awkwardly on his right knee.

• Historic 11-under 60 sets LPGA major mark

• South Korean opens three-shot final-round lead

• Ryu chasing second major in three weeks

Haeran Ryu set the scoring record for LPGA majors on Saturday with an 11-under 60, giving the South Korean player a three-shot lead in the Evian Championship as she goes for a second straight major.

Two weeks after winning her first major at the Women’s PGA Championship, Ryu birdied four of her last five holes at Evian Golf Resort. She had a chance at tying the LPGA scoring record of 59 but settled for a lengthy two-putt birdie putt on the closing hole.

• Adebayo and Herro involved in altercation

• Young unfazed by scrutiny over Wizards deal

• NBPA vows fight against second apron

Former Miami Heat teammates Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro had a brief verbal and physical altercation at a practice facility for the NBA’s Summer League in Las Vegas on Friday, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Adebayo struck Herro at least once during the encounter, said the person, who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither player nor their teams revealed any details publicly.

The former England midfielder is everywhere at this World Cup, having reached a popularity in the US other Britons have rarely achieved

Watch US television for any length of time and the endless spume of adverts will eventually separate into three distinct types.

The first are adverts for units of generic food-substance, each one essentially the same hand-sized grenade of glossy and salted microminced matter; but each also with its own industrialised repertoire of colours and noise and packaging required to dress it as a distinct genre of actual human food. Try the delicious new Flame Sauced Philly Cheese Taco Wing Waffle Dog Deep Dish MegaDeath Burger Grenade-Shaped Eat Thing. You won’t be disappointed. Or you will be. Whatever.

As England prepared for their World Cup quarter-final against Norway, all the talk was about a round of golf 18 months before

The brilliant Cold War Steve is back with the latest of his special World Cup 2026-themed collages. Look closely!

More from Thomas Tuchel. Seize the day is his message.

• 4-1 defeat to Belgium averaged 33 million viewers on Fox

• Mexico v England neared 45 million across platforms

The US men’s national team officially broke the record for ⁠most-watched soccer telecast in US history twice in a row.

As disappointing as ⁠Monday’s 4-1 last-16 loss to Belgium was for fans, the pregame excitement helped attract 33.086 million ⁠viewers, according to Nielsen Media research. The audience peaked at 41.033 million during the ⁠9.15-9.30pm eastern time window.

After a fun World Cup with a dismal end, the US enters the 2030 cycle with numerous avenues to rebuild the squad

After an exciting home World Cup run ended with a disappointing thud in the last 16, there are massive questions lingering around the US men’s national team program. Mauricio Pochettino’s contract is up and US Soccer has made an extension offer, but both parties are taking some time. Matt Crocker’s abrupt exit as sporting director to take a similar job with Saudi Arabia before the World Cup begs more queries about the direction of the sport in this country. And while most of the 2026 squad’s core still projects to contend for 2030, four years is a long time.

From now, each year offers a major tournament. This is what the US should hope to clarify at every step of the way.

The crossover in the American sports calendar has made for a compelling collision of cultures, from Scots in Boston to a new English folk hero in Atlanta

First they sang for Harry Kane. Then they sang for Michael Harris II.

The Atlanta Braves center-fielder is not someone many Major League Baseball fans would consider a household name. A local kid made good, he has established himself as an above-average, everyday outfielder and at age 25 is enjoying a career-best season, but his face doesn’t dominate billboards and ads in the way of Shohei Ohtani or Aaron Judge.

Five years after his last fight, the Irishman returns to the octagon. His comeback says as much about the UFC’s appetite for its fallen star as it does about McGregor himself

These days Conor McGregor resembles an ace fighter the way a movie set depicts real life. Passing similarities are obvious but anything more than a quick, squinty glance reveals they are not the same.

For the 37-year-old Irishman, the line between genius athlete and performance artist was already blurred by the time he found himself destroyed in front of Dustin Poirier five years ago, yelping foul-mouthed barbs in the painful aftermath of his fourth stoppage loss in seven fights.

‘Violent disorder’ in London in the aftermath of France’s win over Morocco as Spain and Belgium build up towards quarter-final showdown

A 17-year-old girl fell off a truck and died while celebrating France’s World Cup quarter final win over Morocco, emergency services said Friday.

Celebrations erupted across France after the 2-0 win in the United States with hundreds dancing in the streets of Paris, watched by thousands of police on security duties.

• Milan forward was subbed out in a 4-1 loss

• Pulisic had been criticized for his lack of availability

Christian Pulisic suffered a microfracture and bone bruise in his leg in the United States’ 4-1 loss to Belgium in the World Cup last 16 on Monday, US Soccer announced.

Pulisic suffered the injury in the second half in Seattle and was removed shortly afterward. He underwent X-ray and MRI scans on Tuesday to determine the extent of the injury, which is expected to keep Pulisic out for several weeks. US Soccer said the federation and Milan are working collaboratively on his rehab plan.

• Czech 10th seed clinches a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6 (10) victory

• Muchova faces compatriot Noskova in Saturday’s final

She finds a first serve on match point and the contact is perfect: 117mph, punched hard down the centre line, and from the moment her hand receives the message from her strings, she must know this is it. Of course the ball may come back, and indeed the ball does come back, but only barely. And in those few seconds as it arcs over the net, springs back up off the grass and hangs there like a beautiful sweet fruit, Coco Gauff has a Wimbledon final in her grasp.

The afternoon has been hot: viciously hot, sadistically hot, the sort of heat that seems to take years from you. In the crowd, paper fans wave and flutter like butterflies, and this has been a match full of natural beauty, of clean swings and satisfying timing and brilliant shapes set against pale green. And still the return from Karolina Muchova hangs there, high and slow, a sentence demanding a punctuation mark, a piece of Centre Court cinema about to roll the credits.

• US officials have held talks with Fifa over tournament

• Unclear whether White House has been involved

The US has expressed interest in hosting the 2029 Club World Cup as it seeks to capitalise on the commercial and sporting success of staging the World Cup.

Fifa has held talks with US officials about its plans for 2029, but the World Cup co-hosts have yet to commit to a bid because the details of the selection process have not been confirmed. It is unclear whether there has been any involvement in the discussions from the White House or ­Donald Trump’s World Cup taskforce, chaired by Andrew Giuliani, who on Wednesday hailed the success of this summer’s tournament.

It’s a first all-Czech Wimbledon women’s final after Karolina Muchova saved a match point in a dramatic final-set tie-break and Linda Noskova was nerveless against Marta Kostyuk

Gauff does hold a 6-1 lead in their head-to-head, by the way, but I’m not sure we can read too much into that, as none of those matches were on grass. Gauff, arguably the best competitor in the women’s game, has made an art out of “winning ugly” – the phrase made famous by her former coach Brad Gilbert – and has consistently found a way to come through three-setters during this tournament even when she’s not been at her best. She may well need all that fight to combat Muchova’s mix of power and touch – which is so dangerous on grass – especially if Gauff’s serve and forehand wobble, as they sometimes do. Gauff’s backhand, though, is brilliant. Will temperament + backhand or power + hands prevail? It’s going to be so fun finding out.

And here they come to a big cheer from the crowd, not that it’s quite as warm as the red-hot weather, with the current temp around 33C, and not that Gauff can properly hear it either, because she’s got her headphones – and game face – on.

Mauricio Pochettino’s team delivered several thrilling performances on home soil. The way it ended was somewhat less exhilarating

So now what? How are we supposed to think about this supposedly golden generation of the United States men’s national team who have fallen short of expectations at this World Cup on home soil?

How do we come to terms with the sense that this team beat Paraguay 4-1 in their opener – the most impressive performance in the program’s history – but also lost dismally against Belgium by the same scoreline in the last 16?

Leander Schaerlaeckens is the author of The Long Game: U.S. Men’s Soccer and Its Savage, Four-Decade Journey to the Top, or Thereabouts, which is out now. He teaches at Marist University.

England’s Jarell Quansah was banned for two games after his red card against Mexico while political jousting continued off the pitch

Our very own Jonny Weeks has been doing clever things with photos from across the World Cup.

Check them out!

With the World Cup down to eight teams, our writers assess who’s left, identify the biggest remaining threats to France and make calls on who will lift the trophy

Lionel Messi. As he proved in thrilling style against Egypt, Argentina’s No 10 still has magic in his boots even at the age of 39. While his penalty record of four from eight attempts is much worse than you’d expect, he is clinical when it matters most. EA

Who is winning the battle to be top scorer at the World Cup? Live and updated throughout the tournament

All-time World Cup goalscorers

The Golden Boot is awarded to the World Cup’s top goalscorer, with assists used as a tie-breaker if two or more players finish level. The 2026 tournament has three former Golden Boot winners taking part: Kylian Mbappé of France (eight goals in 2022), England’s Harry Kane (six goals in 2018) and James Rodríguez of Colombia (six goals in 2014).

Mbappé and Kane are among the pre-tournament favourites to finish top scorer in North America, alongside Norway’s Erling Haaland – making his World Cup debut – and Argentina’s Lionel Messi.

• Team manager and security member missed match

• Incident may have been related to Balogun controversy

Two US Soccer staff members were suspended by Fifa for their team’s World ⁠Cup defeat to Belgium on Monday.

Team manager Sam Zapatka and US ⁠Soccer vice-⁠president ​of security Frank Pannell weren’t allowed at the match. Fifa has not given a specific reason for the suspensions.

The Frenchman is a footballer, flautist and a thespian. There’s no question he is the most thrilling and compelling figure at this year’s tournament

This has been the World Cup of characters, bold fashion statements, and bantz: we’ve had Thomas Tuchel rubber-banding around the England dressing room like a teen at his first all-ages rave, and Iván Barton booting Miguel Almirón from the field as if sentencing him to death. Mauricio Pochettino and his $500 overshirt have brought fresh energy and inspiration to the wardrobes of convex middle-aged men the world over. Jokester Javier Aguirre’s avuncular “fuck you” at Anthony Gordon has pushed bilateral relations between Mexico and England to their warmest point since the British-brokered peace that ended the Pastry War of 1839.

Erling Haaland has shown it’s possible to be Jaws in front of goal and Scooby Doo once the ball is in the back of the net, that there’s nothing about football so important that it can’t make way for some silly bit of online comedy. Even Harry Kane, a man who often seems like he was media trained in the womb, has squeaked thrillingly, if briefly, to life.

The Australian superstar returns to the US after a seven-year absence – and will find a vastly changed landscape

When Sam Kerr last played for the National Women’s Soccer League’s Big Apple-adjacent club, it was called Sky Blue, and the playing conditions were comparatively abysmal. The Australian striker spent three years (from 2015-17) accruing accolades for a team infamously bereft of locker rooms or running water at its training facility. This July, she returned to a vastly evolved franchise that has won two NWSL Championships in three seasons while implementing a comprehensive overhaul of its players, personnel and prioritization of player conditions.

Kerr’s return, called “a landmark moment for our club” by the president of soccer operations, Yael Averbuch West – whose role was intrinsic to Gotham’s progress – feels like an exciting moment of nostos for one of the greatest to ever play women’s professional soccer in the United States, and a sign of continued ambition for a program that has worked hard to overhaul its operations.

Arthur Fery, a British wilrdcard, devastated Flavio Cobolli, while Alexander Zverev, Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova also made the semi-finals

Paolini bursts out of the blocks with as much speed as she shows when charging around the court, racing to 40-0 and taking the game to 15. This match pits two of the best athletes in the women’s game against each other, and while Kostyuk possesses more power than the counterpunching Paolini, it’s Paolini who has the greater experience at this stage of grand slams, having reached not only the Wimbledon final but also the French Open final two years ago. Which could be to her advantage, if this comes down to who handles the moment better.

Three more games, three more holds, but it’s been fairly tortuous on serve for Mertens, who has to save three break points to scramble to 2-2, just as Paolini and Kostyuk make their entrance on Centre. I’m really, really looking forward to this one … Paolini, after losing the opening set of her first-round match 6-0, has been a player transformed, finally rediscovering the form that took her to the 2024 final and made her a fan favourite, while Kostyuk, after reaching the French Open semi-finals last month, has carried her form from the clay on to the grass, and has won 20 of her past 21 matches.

The Americans crashed out in disappointing fashion, but there were positives from the tournament on the whole. We look at how the roster performed

Stats from fotmob.com, Opta and Fifa; players listed in order of minutes played.

Weston McKennie, center/attacking midfield (Juventus)

We assess the teams who played in the tournament’s last 16 before the next round of games begins

A very different side of France came to the fore, proving they are not mere showboaters, there is plenty of steel, grit and determination among the ranks. It was a brutal encounter as they became targets for Paraguay, who added menace to the low block. No one in blue retreated to the shadows, instead taking the overaggression head on, using it as fuel. “To anyone who wants to go to war with us, this is what you should expect,” Rayan Cherki said. It was the biggest test they have faced this far but intimidation tactics do not work, it transpires, leaving everyone else wondering how to stop them.

From Philly’s blockbuster coup to LeBron James once again dominating the market, here are the early winners and losers from a frantic first week of NBA free agency

Once again, it’s time to pass judgement prematurely. After all, I would have my basketball writer card revoked were I to not evaluate before the dust has fully settled: that’s why they pay me the modestly-sized bucks, I’m told. So, without further ado, the Winners and Losers of week one of 2026 NBA free agency.

Egypt complained about the officials in their defeat to Argentina and Henderson underwent surgery

Perhaps Lionel Messi could do with a look at this video – our own Nikhita Chulani sifts the data in search of the perfect penalty.

Just in, from AP.

• Pochettino awaits talks over future with US team

• Federation backs coach but leaves door open

Spend any time around US men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino and you’ll likely notice a medallion hanging from a bracelet on his right wrist. It is emblazoned with an engraving of Saint Christopher, the patron saint of travelers.

It’s a detail that feels appropriate for Pochettino, or any high-level manager, really, all of whom are inherently nomadic. The Argentinian has enjoyed stability at a handful of stops but has also done his share of moving, having shepherded five different clubs prior to his arrival in the United States about 22 months ago.