Read 3 minutes18 July 2026 10:59 AM IST Two days out from a second consecutive World Cup final in New Jersey, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni expressed his displeasure with FIFA over the “forced” training session when he arrived in the city after a 2-1 semi-final win over England in Atlanta. Speaking at an event on Friday ahead of the summit clash against Spain at MetLife Stadium, Scaloni criticized the training session he ran earlier in the day, which came before mandatory media commitments. “We are resting now because We arrived around 11:00pm last night. Today they forced us to train

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Read 3 minutesUpdated: 18 July 2026 09:24 AM IST The cinematic sub-plot in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final featuring Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal is too good to be true, even for the Argentine superstar. In 2024, for the first time since a photo of them together nearly two decades ago went viral, Messi spoke about meeting a young Yamal in late 2007 when he showered for a promotional charity photo shoot. In that fleeting moment, neither knew that the world would one day look back on this image and see the beginning of something extraordinary. Lionel Messi, 20, with

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Read 6 minutes18 Jul 2026 07:46 AM IST First Published: 18 Jul 2026 at 07:46 am IST A cold stare, pursed lips and a gentle nod of the head. That’s what Messi did to England star Jude Bellingham for a foul in stoppage time in the dying moments of the first half. Those who knew, knew – these were the early signs that the storm was about to hit the football field. This time it was in Atlanta, and it would take until almost the end of the night for that storm to break through. England were not defeated by

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France were knocked through the ringer by Paraguay in their round of 16, but came out smiling. Despite cynical, ferocious defending with several episodes of Paraguay scullery, this marked the first World Cup match in which no Paraguay player received a yellow card since 1998. After the final whistle, the assistant coach was only shown a yellow card. The official record had 11 fouls committed by Paraguay, compared to 13 for France – but this required the referee to blow the whistle to register a foul. Wounded but helpless in their campaign. But they did take some tremendous hits, and

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Read 3 minutes5 Jul 2026 05:42 PM IST First Published: On 5 Jul 2026 at 05:42 PM IST Along with European champions Spain, co-hosts Mexico are the only teams yet to concede a goal at the World Cup, which illustrates the enormity of the task ahead of Harry Kane and his England side in their Round of 16 tie at the Azteca Stadium. In modern football, teams usually attack and defend as a unit. But there are still some individuals who are key to the effectiveness of the effort. In the case of the Mexican defence, they are Cesar Montes

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Read for 5 minutes5 Jul 2026 08:13 PM IST First Published: On 5 Jul 2026 at 08:13 PM IST Most teams go into the match against Spain with forewarning and a crucial question – how to include Lamine Yamal? Portugal arrives with answers. England brought Wayne Rooney back from injury at the 2006 World Cup. They felt that their golden generation needed the inspiration of a red-faced Evertonian destined for greatness to fuel their campaign. That World Cup ended with Cristiano Ronaldo blinking one eye, Rooney’s fire consuming itself and England’s generation of Premier League talent being shown their place

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Read 3 minutes5 Jul 2026 08:47 PM IST First Published: On 5 July 2026 at 08:46 PM IST Paraguay may have yellowed him for a fake foul, but Michael Olis tops the list with the most assists at the 2026 FIFA World Cup with 5. Supporting actors rarely get the limelight and in the World Cup Messi, Ronaldo, Haaland, Mbappe and KaneMay be completely forgotten, but his talent for lighting fires with spark-plugs, switch-starters, flintstones and match sticks has left an impression on fans. Ollis is chasing Pele’s all-time record of 6 since 1970. It started with Olis’ braided ponytail

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Read for 5 minutesUpdated: 17 July 2026 11:45 AM IST Go back and watch Enzo Fernandez as English boos drown out Argentina’s national anthem in Atlanta. Check out his iron grip on the shoulders of Alexis McAllister and Nahuel Molina. Not a single Argentinian is singing, they are all shouting. Screaming back. All against eleven. The theme of the Falklands, the memories of every battle against England, was etched in his mind. And there’s Enzo, an able conductor, now a midfield general, guiding them through that hailstorm of emotion and, later, skill. It’s not Riquelme and it’s not Redondo. But

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Read for 5 minutesUpdated: 17 July 2026 09:36 PM IST ●Moroccan shot-stopper Yassine Bouno caused enough confusion to delay Kylian Mbappe’s routine to take a penalty, only the second of 16 taken by the France captain. ●Lionel Messi He remained uncharacteristically fumble-prone, with his career-low conversion rate of 78 percent in missed regulation time penalty kicks against Austria and Egypt. ● Kai Havertz missed for the first time since a 16/16 record – denied by Paraguay’s clever Orlando Gil as Germany went home. ● Harry Kane heads home the rebound, after missing a penalty due to distraction tactics called by

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Read 4 minutesUpdated: 17 July 2026 03:05 PM IST The 2026 FIFA World Cup final produced a classic clash of continents and contrasts at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Sunday night – Europe’s best, Spain, against South America’s defending champions Argentina. For the first time in history, the reigning European and Copa America winners will face each other in the World Cup final. While there are interesting subplots in the summit clash involving Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and others, the threat to challenge their supremacy is unlikely – at least on the grass the ball will roll on for

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