Read 6 minutesAtlantaUpdated: 15 July 2026 08:05 AM IST The cruelest punishment Spain inflicted on France was not that they defeated them and advanced to the final; Or they reduced them to futile escapees in an airless glass box, or they imprisoned France’s strange forward line in an iron cage, but they drove them to utter despair. Spain took the fight out of France, instilling an irreplaceable sense of fatalism in a group of high-class football performers. A group that includes the most expensive footballers, Ballon d’Or and Champions League winners. The match, a 2-0 win thanks to goals from

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Read 3 minutes Clearly unimpressed with Salvadoran official Ivan Arcides Barton Cisneros, who took charge of the heavyweight bout, Deschamps questioned his ability to play in the World Cup semi-finals. “If I say anything, I will look hurt because we lost,” Deschamps told reporters after the match. “But I ask you: does the referee have the job of handling a semi-final? There is a penalty, but that’s not all; it adds to everything else. I have nothing against the referee tonight, but ask yourself the question.” Story continues below this ad

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Read 4 minutes15 July 2026 11:48 AM IST England’s quarter-final win over Norway at FIFA World Cup 2026 may have been inspired by Jude Bellingham’s match-winning brace, but the performance has been remembered for the wrong reasons. In a match that England lost heavily, two goals from Bellingham helped them overcome a 1–0 deficit in the 40th minute. The Three Lions, however, failed to impress their manager Thomas Tuchel, who was critical of the quality and technical level of the display. “The way we played, how we played, sloppiness, too many technical mistakes, not fast enough. We were lucky today,”

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Read 3 minutes16 July 2026 06:00 AM IST After Argentina’s 1-0 loss to England in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals, Argentina came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory, some of their players made a statement of a different kind. Giovanni Lo Celso and Nicolas Otamendi carried a banner onto the pitch at the Mercedes-Benz Arena that read ‘Las Malvinas putra Argentinas’ (The Falkland Islands are Argentina). The banner was a reference to the Falkland Islands (known in England as the Islas Malvinas in Argentina) that led to the 74-day conflict between the two countries 44 years ago. More than

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Read for 2 minutes16 July 2026 06:30 AM IST England coach Thomas Tuchel’s tactics against Argentina Anthony Gordon’s opener in the 55th minute drew criticism as the Three Lions went into a defensive shell. From then on, England sat back and looked for counters as Argentina relentlessly pushed forward and eventually Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martínez scored in the 85th and 90+5 minutes, both goals from Lionel Messi, to give England a 1–2 win. “We are disappointed. We were very close but after the goal we were very passive. We accepted too many crosses and chances and shots. We were

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Read for 5 minutesMumbaiUpdated: 16 Jul 2026 05:00 PM IST Lionel Messi just looked up, missing a heartbeat. It was stoppage time for the World Cup semi-final. Argentina had redeemed themselves once before and now had one last chance to avoid extra time. A wall of white shirts stood inside England’s penalty area. One defender rushed to close down Messi, while another threw out a desperate leg to block a cross. Three more occupied the six-yard box, each standing where the delivery was supposed to land. Jordan Pickford lurked behind them, waiting for anything to overheat. There was no passing

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The greatest trick Satan has ever pulled is to convince the world that he does not exist. Keyser Söze has a touch about Lionel Scaloni. There is a reason to analyze the positional organization of Luis de la Fuente, the tactical details of Thomas Tuchel and the attacking framework of Didier Deschamps. Yet, no manager at this World Cup has escaped such tactical scrutiny as Argentina’s. Every time Scaloni was asked to explain Argentina’s remontada, his answer was the same: it’s indescribable, even he doesn’t understand it. Wednesday’s semi-final against England was another case in point. Argentina overcame the deficit

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Read for 5 minutesAtlantaUpdated: 16 July 2026 09:08 PM IST Lionel Messi smiled when asked about meeting Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday. “I have faced many of them, and I still follow them. Many of them play for Barcelona, ​​a club that I love and follow.” For almost 15 years, Messi was the heartbeat of Barcelona, ​​his philosophy dissolved into a human figure, the most famous footballer in Spain, and the only one in Spain who wished he was one of them. Before his career began, the Spanish Football Federation considered forcing him to switch allegiance to

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Read for 5 minutes16 Jul 2026 05:28 PM IST Harry Kane stood with his hands on his hips and stared at the grass. Around him, Atlanta Stadium split into two voices, one of which had nothing to do with him. Lionel Messi came, took Kane’s head in both hands and pulled him onto his shoulder. Let Kane stay there. Then he straightened up, turned towards the England end, walked the length of the pitch and slowly began clapping at the English crowd. He found Jude Bellingham and held him. Bellingham, ten years his junior, appeared a few minutes later with

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Read 3 minutes16 July 2026 07:00 AM IST The knives came out as England manager Thomas Tuchel’s side took a 1-0 lead after losing 2-1 to Argentina in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals on Wednesday night. The German coach’s tactics were scrutinized by former footballers such as Oliver Khan and Robbie Fowler. England took the lead in the 55th minute thanks to Anthony Gordon’s goal. Then they resorted to defensive tactics that allowed the defending champion to attack wave after wave. Eventually, England completed a come-from-behind victory with Enzo Fernandez firing in from distance in the 85th minute and Lautaro

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