IN FIFA WORLD CUP

England have been left heartbroken with their World Cup dreams shattered as Argentina struck twice late to come from behind and win a dramatic semi-final in Atlanta.

Thomas Tuchel’s side looked on course to reach England’s first men’s World Cup final since their win in 1966 when Anthony Gordon gave them the lead in a feisty encounter after fifty-five minutes.

Argentina was inspired and turned the contest around when Enzo Fernandez struck a magnificent equaliser with five minutes left, before Lautaro Martinez turned in an injury-time winner.

England’s wait for success goes on as they now face France in the third-place play-off, while Argentina will attempt to retain their crown against Spain on Sunday.

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Newcastle legend, Alan Shearer has praised Argentina’s comeback victory over England in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final.

Recall that Argentina produced another stunning comeback as the defending champions broke English hearts to reach a second successive World Cup final after a two-one victory.

While England suffered a heartbreaking defeat, Three Lions legend Alan Shearer believes the better side progressed.

Also, Former England star Wayne Rooney said England did not know what to do after taking the lead against Argentina.

Rooney believes England’s inability to manage the game after going in front ultimately proved costly.

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England striker Harry Kane has expressed deep devastation after England’s two-one loss to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-final.

Kane stated that the players abandoned their tactical instructions and fell into a trap of trying to hold onto a narrow lead rather than staying on the attack.

He expressed gratitude to the fans and his teammates who left every ounce of energy on the pitch, labeling the two-one stoppage-time collapse as gutting.

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England manager, Thomas Tuchel, has defended his tactics after the Three Lions’ World Cup dream ended in an agonising late defeat to Argentina.

Tuchel said his team had become too passive after taking the lead at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The German indicated he plans to honour his contract that leads up the the 2028 European Championship.

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Meawhile, England head coach Thomas Tuchel has retained the backing of the Football Association and is expected to lead the team into Euro 2028.

Tuchel was criticised for his substitutions as England squandered a 1-0 lead late on, but says he intends to stay – a decision which has the full backing of FA chief executive Mark Bullingham.

Tuchel signed a two-year contract extension in February having been appointed in January 2025 on an 18-month mission to win the World Cup.

The 2028 European Championship is being hosted by England, Wales, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland.

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Argentina face the prospect of disciplinary action from Fifa after their players celebrated the World Cup semi-final win against England with a banner in support of their country’s claims to the Falkland Islands.

After the final whistle, Argentina players celebrated while holding a banner reading “Las Malvinas son Argentinas”, which translates as “The Falklands are Argentine”.

The Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean, remain the subject of a sovereignty dispute between Britain and Argentina.

World football’s governing body said the gesture had breached rules on political action and team misconduct.

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England World Cup winner Nobby Stiles died with a brain condition caused by repeatedly heading a football, a coroner has ruled at his inquest.

The former Manchester United and 1966 World Cup-winning midfielder died with severe dementia in 2020 aged 78 and had headed a football about 140,000 times in his career, Stockport Coroners’ Court heard.

Senior Coroner Alison Mulch recorded the cause of death as Alzheimer’s disease, contributed to by CTE, along with another neurodegenerative condition and cerebrovascular disease.

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Belgium forward, Leandro Trossard has joined Turkish side Besiktas from Arsenal on a three-year contract.

The 31-year-old has been signed for fifteen point three million pounds paid in six equal instalments over three years – and his deal also includes a further one-year option.

He was given permission to travel to Istanbul to undergo a medical after a transfer fee was agreed.

Trossard scored thirty-six goals and registered thirty-four assists in one hundred and seventy-four appearances for the Gunners, helping Mikel Arteta’s side win last season’s Premier League title.

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Sunderland has signed Belgium defender Thomas Meunier on a two-year deal following his departure from French side Lille.

The 34-year-old made more than five hundred and fifty senior club appearances and previously had spells with Club Brugge, Paris Saint-Germain, where he won three league titles, Borussia Dortmund and Turkish side Trabzonspor.

Meunier is the Black Cats’ first signing of the season after the departures of forward Eliezer Mayenda and midfielder Dan Neil.

Meunier, who will link up with the rest of the Sunderland squad in early August.

Bournemouth is in talks with Benfica to sign Portugal defender Antonio Silva as a replacement for Marcos Senesi.

The Cherries targeted the 22-year-old following Senesi’s decision to leave on a free transfer and join Tottenham Hotspur.

Silva is seen as a good ball-playing replacement for the Argentina centre-back, although Benfica have paused further progression in the talks as they look to get through Europa League qualifying.

The Portuguese club face St Gallen in Switzerland on 23rd July, with the return a week later in Lisbon.

Silva has been a regular for Benfica since breaking into the first team in 2022 and has featured in the Champions League, Europa League and Club World Cup.

Coventry City is closing in on a deal worth more than seventeen million pounds for Eintracht Frankfurt defender Aurele Amenda.

The Switzerland centre-back would cost an initial fifteen point four million pounds, with a further one point seven million pounds in add-ons, and is set to sign a four-year contract with the promoted Premier League club.

Amenda is understood to have been persuaded by a strong pitch from manager Frank Lampard and Coventry’s recruitment staff.

Amenda would be Coventry’s third signing of the summer following the arrivals of winger Loum Tchaouna from Burnley and midfielder Frank Onyeka, who made his move from Brentford permanent.

Cardiff City have filed an appeal against a French judge’s decision to dismiss a claim for more than one hundred million pounds in compensation following the death of footballer Emiliano Sala.

The 28-year-old, and pilot David Ibbotson, died when the Piper Malibu plane carrying them crashed into the English Channel on the night of 21st January 2019.

The Argentine striker was on his way to join Cardiff, then in the Premier League, from FC Nantes for a fifteen million pounds transfer fee.

The independent football regulator has issued a warning notice to Morecambe after their owners failed to respond to requests about the running of the club.

It is the first time the football regulator has taken action since the Football Governance Act passed into law a year ago.

Morecambe directors Kuljit Singh and Harjit Singh failed to reply to two requests for information under section 65 of the Act.

A censure statement gives the IFR the right to name football clubs, owners, directors or senior executives who fail to meet licensing standards.

Birmingham City has signed defender Millie Turner and midfielder Lisa Naalsund from Manchester United.

The pair, who announced their engagement last month, are believed to have joined for six-figure fees as Birmingham prepare to return to the Women’s Super League.

Birmingham won the WSL 2 title last season to end a five-year absence from the top flight.

It is understood Turner, who has two England caps, and Naalsund, who has made thirty-nine appearances for Norway, have signed three-year contracts.

Turner made 189 appearances during eight years at United and was part of the squad that won a first major trophy, the FA Cup, in 2024.

IN NIGERIA

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have been drawn with Ghana, Togo, and Burkina Faso in Group B of the WAFU B Under-twenty Championship.

The draw for the regional tournament, which serves as the qualifying competition for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations was held on Wednesday at the headquarters of the West African Football Union, Zone B in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The Flying Eagles and Ghana’s Black Satellites will renew their long-standing rivalry in the group.

Group A consists of hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Benin and Niger, with the three nations also competing for a place at the continental championship.

The competition will take place from 26th July to 9th August, 2026, in Côte d’Ivoire.

Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali’s agent, Mohammed Lawal, has revealed the reason behind the goalkeeper’s decision to step away from football.

Nwabali requested a release from his contract with South African club Chippa United to pursue new opportunities in February.

The Nigeria international attracted interest from African heavyweights Kaizer Chiefs and Simba SC, as well as several clubs in Saudi Arabia.

The shot-stopper who endured a devastating two-month period during which he lost his grandmother, father and mother, has now returned to Chippa United, five months after leaving the club.

Lawal said the heartbreaking series of losses had a profound impact on the former Enyimba goalkeeper.

Serie A club Fiorentina has submitted an improved offer to Wolverhampton Wanderers for Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare.

The Viola saw their opening bid for the 25-year-old rejected by Wolves last week but have now returned with a fresh proposal in a bid to convince the Premier League club to sanction the transfer.

Fiorentina’s latest offer is structured as an initial loan deal with a buy clause for twenty-two million euros.

Negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing, with Fiorentina hopeful of reaching an agreement for the Nigeria international, who has emerged as one of their top attacking targets this summer.

Stoke City is interested in signing Nigerian striker Josh Maja following his departure from West Bromwich Albion.

The 27-year-old became a free agent after failing to agree terms on a new contract with the Baggies, bringing an end to his stay at The Hawthorns.

Stoke City manager Mark Robins is a long-time admirer of the former Sunderland forward and is keen to bring him to the bet365 Stadium ahead of the new Championship campaign.

Maja is no stranger to Stoke, having spent the second half of the 2021/22 season on loan from French club Girondins Bordeaux.

Kun Khalifat of Owerri have confirmed the arrival of Enyimba of Aba midfielder, Hogan Umoh as well as Chima Deruo, also a midfielder from Niger Tornadoes of Minna.

The Pride of Imolites also confirmed they have signed Bendel Insurance of Benin centre-back, Preye Seikrowei from as the club regroup for preparations ahead the 2026/2027 Nigeria Premier Football League, season.

The club said in a statement by its media department that Calabar Rovers defensive midfielder, Ediri Ejogharado, has put pen to paper for them.

The Owerri club eased past relegation last term by the whiskers and the Coach Obinna Uzoho’s side are bent on bolstering the squad ahead the coming season.

OTHER LEAGUE

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill believes new signing Camilo Duran has similar attributes to influential forward Daizen Maeda.

The Colombian forward, who joined for an undisclosed fee from Qarabag last week, scored within five minutes of being introduced as a substitute in Celtic’s four-one friendly defeat by Sporting.

O’Neill has been quoted as saying he has resigned himself to losing Maeda this summer, but he sees similarities between the Japan forward and his only summer signing to date.

Hibernian will face Malisheva of Kosovo in the second round of Conference League qualifying this month.

Malisheva, who were runners-up in the Kosovo Superleague last season, were two-one down after the first leg of their first-round qualifying tie against Albanian side Vllaznia.

However, Malisheva roared back to win the second leg 5-0 on Wednesday, progressing 6-2 on aggregate.

David Gray’s side, who are ranked more than one hundred places higher than their Kosovan opponents, will be away from home for the first leg on 23rd July before the second leg at Easter Road on 30th July.

OTHER SPORTS

In Boxing, British professional boxer, Anthony Joshua says his heavyweight clash against Kristian Prenga is not a simple tune-up or warm-up fight.

Despite being heavily favoured against the hard-hitting Albanian, Joshua has stressed that he is preparing to punch with malicious intentions to prove he remains a dangerous wrecking machine.

Prenga enters the bout at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia with a formidable 20-1 record, featuring twenty knockouts, and has openly stated his goal is to derail Joshua’s planned blockbuster showdown with Tyson Fury.

Joshua remains focused on securing a statement victory.

In Cricket, Somerset’s Craig Overton produced one of the great T20 Blast innings to help the defending champions pull off an astonishing victory at Yorkshire and reach Finals Day.

Yorkshire, who were hunting their first T20 Blast title, reduced Somerset to 82-8 in the 15th over in chase of 162 at Headingley.

But Overton smashed 79 from 30 balls, including three sixes from the final over in which the visitors required 22 to win, to ensure Somerset qualified for the showpiece event for the sixth consecutive season.

Chief executive, Mark Darbon says the R&A is getting pretty close to staging an Open Championship outside of the United Kingdom for the first time, at Portmarnock Golf Club in Dublin.

The R&A – the governing body which organises and runs the Open, first revealed the possibility of Portmarnock hosting golf’s oldest championship in 2023, with the Irish government announcing its support of up to thirty-four million pounds in 2024.

Portmarnock has previously hosted the men’s and women’s amateur championships.

In Cycling, Soren Waerenskjold caught the big guns by surprise with a long-range sprint to win the fastest-ever stage of the Tour de France.

Racing in his fourth Tour, the 26-year-old Norwegian claimed his first stage win and just the second for his team, Uno-X Mobility.

Overall race leader Tadej Pogacar remains three minutes and 36 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard in the general classification standings.

The peloton completed stage 11 at an average speed of fifty point nine kilometres per hour, beating the previous record of fifty point three kilometres per hour from 1999.

In Athletics, New guidelines have been released advising broadcasters on how to use more respectful camera angles when covering live female athletics events.

The European Broadcasting Union has worked with female athletes to develop the guidelines, which aims to avoid sexualising the action with unnecessary camera angles.

British Olympic Bronze medalist Holly Bradshaw is among the athletes to advise the Union.

The pole vaulter said she has been sent abuse on social media and has seen inappropriate videos of herself online because of revealing camera angles during live coverage of her competitions.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind….words from Mister Rogers.