IN FIFA WORLD CUP 
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Spain has won a knockout match at the men’s World Cup for the first time in sixteen years as the team beat Austria three-nil in Los Angeles to reach the last 16.

After thirty-six minutes of gradually increasing pressure, Spain finally took the lead when Marc Cucurella’s low cross was swept home from twelve yards by Mikel Oyarzabal.

They deservedly doubled their lead in the 66th minute when patient build-up ended in right-back Pedro Porro charging into the box to head home Alex Baena’s cross.

And a crushing victory was sealed as Cucurella and Oyarzabal combined again with a minute remaining.

The new Real Madrid left-back played a perfect through-ball for the striker to slide home his fourth goal of the tournament.
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Senegal midfielder, Pape Gueye has announced he will step away from international football for as long as head coach Pape.

Thiaw remains in charge, following the Teranga Lions’ dramatic exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Gueye made the announcement on social media shortly after Senegal squandered a two-goal lead to lose three-two to Belgium after extra time in their Round of 16 clash.

He said he would address the team’s elimination at a later date but made it clear he would not play under the current
technical crew.

Gueye’s decision piled further pressure on Thiaw, whose substitutions while protecting a two-goal lead have drawn widespread criticism from fans and pundits.

Responding to the criticism after the match, Thiaw defended his decisions, insisting the substitutions were necessitated by player fatigue rather than tactical reasons.
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England is taking precautions before their arrival in Mexico to ensure boisterous locals intent on ruining the players’ rest and sleep do not disrupt their preparations.

Thomas Tuchel’s side face Mexico in their World Cup last-16 tie on Monday.

The squad are due to arrive in Mexico City on Friday so will spend two nights before the game in the capital.
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Manager Julian Nagelsmann is reportedly set to be sacked as Germany coach, with former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
the favourite to take over in the dugout.

Nagelsmann has been under fire since Germany’s last 32 exit from the World Cup after a shock loss to Paraguay.

Showing pictures of Nagelsmann at German FA headquarters in Frankfurt, the coach had been offered a severance package of eight million dollars to leave the position in a three-hour meeting.

Figures on his annual salary have not been made public, although German media reports he earns roughly seven million euros per year.
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Tottenham have completed the signing of midfielder Mateus Fernandes from West Ham for a club-record fee of eighty-five
million pounds.

Spurs have not confirmed the length of contract for the 21-year-old, who has played once for Portugal but is not part of their World Cup squad.

Fernandes spent the past two seasons in the Premier League with Southampton and West Ham, although each club were relegated to the Championship.

Tottenham saw off competition from Manchester United, who were unwilling to match the fee agreed by Spurs – which is a
guaranteed eighty-five million pounds without add-ons.
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Manager Vitor Pereira has left Nottingham Forest with the club poised to appoint former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner as his successor.

A deal to appoint the 51-year-old is virtually done with just the formalities left to complete.

The Austrian, who led Palace to the Europa Conference League title last season following their FA Cup success in 2025, will become Forest’s fifth manager in fewer than 12 months.

The club confirmed Pereira’s departure with staff members Filipe Almeida, Luis Miguel, Bruno Moura, Marco Knoop and Pedro Lopes also leaving.
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IN NIGERIA
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Nigeria’s senior men’s basketball team, D’Tigers, has kicked off their FIBA Group C, first round World Cup 2027 African Qualifiers campaign on a winning note, beating Tunisia 84-81 in a hard-fought contest.

Chimezie Metu and Ike Iroegbu led the scoring with 17 points each, while Wes Iwundu contributed with 14 points.

On his part, Uche Iroegbu chipped in 13 points as D’Tigers saw off a resolute Tunisian side to clinch a crucial opening win in the three-game qualifying window.

The match was closely contested throughout, with both teams trading leads in what proved to be a high-intensity encounter.

The win provides D’Tigers with an important boost as they continue their quest to qualify for the 2027 FIBA World Cup.

D’Tigers next Group C fixture is against Guinea billed for Friday, 3rd July, and they will round off with a tie against Rwanda on 5th July.

The 2027 FIBA World Cup tournament will be hosted in Qatar from 27th August to 12th September.
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Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets has departed for China to compete in the 2026 China International Youth Football Tournament, scheduled to take place in Yinchuan from 5th to 11th July.

The four-nation invitational tournament is hosted by the Chinese Football Association, the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Administration of Sport and the Yinchuan Municipal People’s Government.

It is organised by the Ningxia Football Association in partnership with the Yinchuan Sports Bureau, with promotion handled by the China Football Industry Development Corporation.

Head coach Uwejamomere Eboboritse will lead a 20-man Golden Eaglets squad for the competition, assisted by Kalli Mohammed Kachalla and Abdullahi Isa.

Nigeria will battle hosts China, Australia and Tanzania in the tournament, with all matches set to be played at the Yinchuan Sports Centre Helanshan Stadium.

The competition forms part of the Golden Eaglets’ preparations for the 2026 WAFU B Under-seventeen Championship, which will be held in September and serves as the qualifying tournament for the 2027 Africa Under-seventeen Cup of Nations.
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Former board member of the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, Peter Singabele, has been appointed as chairman of a five-member interim management Committee of Bayelsa United.

Singabele’s appointment was confirmed by the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Dr. Peter Akpe.

The committee which replaced Tarilaye Amankwe’s dissolved board will oversee the affairs of Bayelsa United FC for a period of six months.

Ken Akpolaemi Odogu, will serve as Secretary, while Sir. Braveman Wodi, Godson Ekadi and Ono K. Akpe are other members of the committee.

The Deputy Governor urged the interim committee to bring the state-owned football team back to the Nigeria Premier football League, NPFL, within one season.
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Super Eagles midfielder, Usman Mohammed has completed a return to Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Bnei Reineh on a free transfer.

The experienced midfielder signed a two-year contract with Lior Reuven’s side after leaving fellow Israeli outfit Ironi Tiberias at the end of his contract.

Mohammed is no stranger to Maccabi Bnei Reineh, having previously played for the club between 2023 and 2025.

During his first spell, the 32-year-old made 63 league appearances, and scored three goals, establishing himself as one of the team’s key midfielders.

His return is expected to strengthen Reuven’s squad ahead of the new Israeli Premier League campaign as the club looks to build on its recent progress.
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The International Federation of American Football, IFAF, has confirmed that the
NFAF is the body recognised to oversee the sport in the country, ending months of uncertainty over Nigeria’s international
status.

IFAF Managing Director Andy Fuller gave the confirmation in a written response to enquiries over why the Nigeria American
Football Association, NAFA had continued to appear on the world body’s official membership directory, months after the
National Sports Commission, NSC inaugurated the NFAF.

Fuller also praised the NSC’s handling of the transition saying he was grateful for the transparency shown by the Sports
Commission during this process.

The confirmation follows concerns raised by NAFA president Babajide Akeredolu, who had questioned whether the
transition complied with IFAF’s constitutional procedures.
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England-born Nigerian winger, Nehemiah Oriola has signed a new contract At Brighton and Hove Albion that runs until June 2029.

Brighton confirmed the signing in a statement on their website.

Orioles is of Nigerian descent through his father and Ghanaian descent through his mother.
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Flying Eagles midfielder, Daniel Daga has been acquitted of sexual assault by Norway’s Frostating Court of Appeal.

The 19-year-old has been out of action for the past eleven months due to the allegations.

His club, Molde FK, confirmed in a statement on Thursday that Daga is now available for selection again while the parties await the final judgement.

The Court of Appeal overturned that conviction, clearing the Nigerian midfielder of the charge.
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OTHER LEAGUE
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Ross McCrorie is adamant manager Derek McInnes has the qualities to be a success at Rangers, saying the manager was the
number one reason he returned to Ibrox.

The 28-year-old defender had options in England after Bristol City triggered a contract extension but the prospect of linking up with his old boss again proved decisive.

McCrorie first joined Rangers as a nine-year-old and made his debut in September 2017.

He played more than fifty matches before making the decision to move on to Aberdeen in 2020, with some coaxing from McInnes.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Tennis, Arthur Fery is the last British player left standing in the Wimbledon singles as he fought back from a set down to reach the third round, while compatriots Katie Swan, Jacob Fearnley and Jan Choinski all crashed out.

Only four home players reached the second round at the All England Club this week, with 15 Britons falling at the first hurdle – the highest number since 1988.

Fery became the first British man to win a first-round match when he rallied from a set down to beat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur on Tuesday.

And the 23-year-old wildcard continued his winning streak in similar style against Finland’s Otto Virtanen on Wednesday, battling back to seal a 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 6-3 victory on a packed-out court 18.
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In Formula one, Lewis Hamilton says Silverstone will be a completely different circuit with this year’s new cars.

The British Grand Prix track is renowned as one of most demanding for drivers because of its sequence of challenging high-speed corners.

The lack of braking points means the cars will be energy starved this year, so will be running with not much more than half the engines’ full power at key points of the track.

The Ferrari driver said the cars will be recovering energy through Copse and Becketts, the two most challenging high-speed corners.
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In Cricket, England roared into Sunday’s T20 World Cup final against Australia with a superb 40-run victory against South Africa at The Oval.

On a brilliant night under the lights in front of a jubilant and expectant crowd, England overcame their recent struggles in pressure matches in the biggest sign of improvement under coach Charlotte Edwards to date.

They wobbled early on, faltering at 23-3 in the fourth over, but captain Nat Sciver-Brunt hit an immaculate 75 from 47 on her return from a calf injury which had threatened to rule her out of the tournament.

She shared a partnership of 133 from 90 balls with England’s other wise head, Heather Knight, lifting England all of the way to 169-5. Knight, equally as impressive as Sciver-Brunt, made 58 from 47.
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In Rugby, After eleven straight wins in 2025, England’s momentum crashed to a halt in the recent Six Nations, losing four times in a row for the first time in the tournament’s history.

It was a slump that threatened to derail the whole Steve Borthwick project, but following a “thorough and honest” Rugby Football Union review, the England head coach and his staff have been backed to carry on through to the World Cup in Australia next year.

The pressure, though, is still on. Memories of that winning run have long faded, with supporters left frustrated by a Six Nations beset by ill-discipline and a lack of accuracy and execution.
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Six-time major champion, Phil Mickelson has disputed allegations of misconduct carried in an investigation by golf publication Skratch, with his representatives calling the piece an anonymously sourced drive-by shooting.

The Skratch investigation by journalist Alan Shipnuck alleged Mickelson was no longer welcome at three California golf clubs because of inappropriate behaviour towards women.

It also included a claim by Ashley Perez, the former wife of PGA Tour player Pat Perez, that Mickelson showed her an explicit photograph of himself in 2015 and propositioned her.

The Skratch investigation comes after Mickelson left a prestigious California golf club following allegations of inappropriate contact with a female employee which he denied.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
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IN FIFA WORLD CUP-ROUND OF 32

Australia vs  Egypt

Argentina vs Cape Verde
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

Anxiety Never let the fear of striking out get in your way…words from Baseball Legend, George Herman “Babe” Ruth.