sport

Ferran Torres scores the only goal of the game as Spain win their second World Cup.

Ferran Torres scored ‌in the 106th minute to lift Spain to their second World Cup title with ⁠a 1-0 win ⁠in extra-time over 10-man Argentina in the final.

Torres’ deserved winner on Sunday came 16 years and eight days after Andres Iniesta also scored in extra time ⁠to lift the Spaniards to their first World Championship with a 1-0 victory over the Netherlands.

It came on La Roja’s 20th shot on the contest against a defending champion Argentina ⁠that failed to manage any to that point and struggled to wrest possession away from their superior Iberian opponents.

That was true at even strength and became more difficult when La Albiceleste’s numbers were reduced when Enzo Fernandez’s late challenge of Pau Cubarsi left referee Slavko Vincic no ‌choice but to produce a second caution just before the end of normal time.

Spain remain the only nation ever to win a European Championship and World Cup in successive tournaments, having now done so a second time. They are also the first World Cup champion ever to concede only once across an entire tournament.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina failed to earn a title for the first time in three major tournaments, having also captured the ⁠2021 and 2024 Copa Americas either side of their 2022 World ⁠Cup triumph.

The 39-year-old, eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi finished the competition with eight goals and four assists, but had little time on the ball until Spain finally took the lead and never seriously looked like lifting his ⁠side to another great moment as he has so many times in the last two World Cup cycles.

Emi Martinez made 11 ⁠saves for La Albiceleste, who fell short in their ⁠bid to be the first consecutive World Cup champions since Brazil won the 1958 and 1962 titles.

What had felt so difficult for the first 105 minutes suddenly looked easy after 37 seconds of play in the second period of ‌extra time.

Pedro Porro curled in an outswinging cross from the left to the back post, Nico Williams won the header and nodded it back into space, and Torres hammered a ‌half-volley ‌at last past the flailing Martinez.

It was his only goal of the tournament, making him the seventh player to score during a tournament in which his side never trailed.

Asked about his goal, Torres said after the game: “Honestly, I didn’t think too much. I just saw the ball coming to me, and I just shot with the power of all the Spanish people.”

The win made Spain coach Luis de la Fuente, at 65, the oldest coach ever to lead a team to the World Cup title.

“We are world champions,” de la Fuente said. “It was together we reached this stage.”

There was some pushing and shoving after the final whistle, which was quickly cleaned up and Spain commenced its celebration as most Argentina players sat on the turf in disbelief.

Cooler heads prevailed, and Spain’s players lined up minutes later to form an honour guard of sorts for Argentina’s squad to walk through on their way to the stage for the runner-up medals.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni admitted Spain were the better team.

“They were the better side – that’s the truth – but I’ll cherish the memory of them [his side], of what they achieved, and of the value of making it this far,” Scaloni said.

“We have to place immense value on this because it takes so much effort.”

ARLINGTON, Texas — Paige Bueckers had 25 points before leaving the game following a scary collision, Arike Ogunbowale scored six of her 20 down the stretch and the Dallas Wings beat the Sparks 90-82 on Sunday to extend their winning streak to a franchise-record six games.

Bueckers hit a three-pointer that capped a 14-5 spurt and gave the Wings an eight-point lead with 9:12 left in the game.

Jessica Shepard had 11 points, 14 rebounds and six assists for the Wings (17-8) and Azzi Fudd also scored 11.

The Sparks (10-15) have lost four consecutive games, all on the road.

The Sparks’ Nneka Ogwumike was fouled as she ran downcourt and, as she fell to the ground, collided with Bueckers with about 3½ minutes to play and Dallas leading by four. Both players remained down for a couple of minutes. Ogwumike stayed in the game, while Bueckers — who appeared to hit the back of her head on the floor — walked to the locker room and did not return.

Ogunbowale scored six points from there to seal it.

Ogwumike made seven of 12 from the field and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Dearica Hamby added 16 points on eight-of-12 shooting, Cameron Brink scored 10 and Erica Wheeler had 10 assists to go with nine points for L.A.

Dallas beat the Sparks 104-96 in L.A. on June 5.

Up next for the Sparks: host Phoenix on Wednesday.

All the biggest talking points and stats from the first 45 minutes of a goalless World Cup final in New Jersey in the US.

After a star-studded tournament ceremony and the logistical delays caused by the arrival of US President Donald Trump, the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina ended in a goalless scoreline at half-time.

The match at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday has been a cagey affair, with Spain enjoying greater possession and Argentina looking to make the game into a scrap.

The final kicked off six minutes late in New Jersey following a pre-match show that included singer Robbie Williams and actor Tom Cruise.

Once the football actually began, Spain looked to control the ball and force Argentina to chase the game. The South American giants were mostly restricted to their own half and looked to make it a physical battle.

Here are some of the biggest talking points from the first half.

A cagey affair in New Jersey

It all started so promisingly, with Lamine Yamal forcing a save from Emi Martinez after just five minutes. The teenager shot from a tight angle inside the box following some brilliant link-up play with Dani Olmo.

Since then, chances have been at a premium, with just three shots at goal in the entire first half, all by La Roja, with Argentina yet to register an effort.

Spain striker Mikel Oyarzabal tested Martinez on 39 minutes, but his shot from just outside the area was easily saved by the Argentine keeper. Marc Cucurella also dragged an effort wide late on.

While Spain saw more of the ball, Argentina looked to get stuck in and make it a scrappy final. So far, the defending champions’ game plan has worked.

Referee keeps his cards in his pockets

Slovenian official Slavko Vincic declined to brandish a yellow card until the 40th minute, despite some hefty challenges in the first half.

Spain were furious when the referee didn’t penalise Alexis Mac Allister after a late challenge on Olmo just 15 minutes into the final.

The Argentine midfielder dived in, missing the ball entirely as he wiped Olmo out. The Spanish bench erupted, but the referee decided not to book the Liverpool man.

The first yellow card was eventually shown when Lisandro Martinez dragged Oyarzabal down from behind.

Martinez heads off injured

Argentina suffered a late blow in the first half as key defender Lisandro Martinez was forced off with an injury.

Martinez has played a crucial role at the heart of defence for Argentina in this tournament, but they will now have to cope without him for the second half of the final.

Veteran defender Nicolas Otamendi is now tasked with keeping the likes of Yamal and Oyarzabal quiet.

What were the head-to-head stats in the first half of the Spain-Argentina final?

Spain saw a lot more of the ball and enjoyed 64.6 percent possession. They also had three shots at goal, compared to none for Argentina.

The South Americans committed two more fouls than their opponents and picked up one yellow card.

Spain have been awarded two corners so far, whilst Argentina have had none.

Italian singer Pausini told the BBC’s Carl Nasman that she’s “very excited” and “proud” to be performing alongside Williams and Scherzinger at the closing ceremony.

“When Robbie [Williams] invited me to sing with him, I felt goosebumps everywhere because Robbie’s one of my favorite singer, songwriter, and performer,” Pausini told the BBC.

The celebrity line-up will continue at half-time with performances by Madonna, Justin Bieber, Shakira and BTS.

Madonna, the best-selling female music artist of all time, is set to perform after the launch of her new album, Confessions II, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in July.

Bieber also returned to the spotlight earlier this year, with his biggest live performance in four years at the Coachella music festival after cancelling his Justice world tour because of health issues.

Al Jazeera reporters on ground faced lengthy queues to enter the stadium due to tighter security checks.

Fans, media workers and employees faced lengthy queues to get in to the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, which is expected to be attended by United States President Donald Trump.

In the 48 hours before Sunday’s finale at New York New Jersey Stadium, FIFA sent emails to media staff inviting them to arrive as early as six hours before kickoff and warned them of road closures 150 minutes beforehand.

Among the media and stadium employees, the result appeared to be an early crunch to clear tight security that included inspections by Secret Service agents.

Al Jazeera reporters had a two-hour wait between entering the queue and clearing the initial security perimeter. Other journalists who arrived earlier reported wait times of three hours or more.

Trump’s helicopter landed next to the stadium as long lines of spectators waited to enter through enhanced security checks because of him.

One reporter was denied entry into the venue despite having tournament accreditation.

Malfunctioning ticket scanners added to everyone’s frustration as they queued in the heat.

Numerous other media personnel were denied entry at the security perimeter of the 80,000-capacity venue and sent to the stadium’s accreditation centre.

The same scenario was true for many fans, according to online reports. Despite warnings advising ticket-holders to show up four hours early, there were numerous reported waits of two hours or more in fan queues, with some also reporting malfunctioning ticket scanners.

However, when players from Spain and Argentina first took the field roughly 45 minutes before kickoff, a healthy portion of the lower stadium bowl appeared to be full, including the overwhelming majority of allocated supporters’ sections.

It is not the first major cup final on US soil to have logistical delays for fans.

In 2024, the kickoff of the Copa America final in Miami Gardens, Florida, was delayed by about 75 minutes due to overwhelmed personnel at fan entrances.

Significant numbers of un-ticketed fans then rushed turnstiles and forced entry before law enforcement gradually worked to clear those without paid admission as the match progressed.

Hundreds of Argentinian fans packed Boca Juniors steakhouse in the Elmhurst, Queens neighbourhood of New York City’s Little Argentina hours before the World Cup final kickoff against Spain. The steakhouse, known for its festive atmosphere, has been a “temple” for the Argentinian diaspora during the 2026 World Cup.

SOUTHPORT, England — Ryan Fox of New Zealand survived a wild ride along the back nine of Royal Birkdale and delivered the biggest putt of his life Sunday, making a 12-foot birdie on the final hole to win the British Open for his first major title.

Four players had a share of the lead at some point Sunday. Cameron Young was atop the leaderboard for two hours without hitting a shot because he finished his astonishing six-under 64 when the leaders were on the front nine.

Fox never lost hope, even after a pair of bogeys on the back nine, and the 39-year-old son of an All Blacks rugby player delivered the goods when it counted. He birdied the 16th to tie Young for the lead, and then made birdie on the toughest hole to become the third Kiwi to win a major.

Fox closed with a two-under 68 and thrust both of those powerful arms into the air. He was on the phone with his family moments later and heard saying, “You asked me to bring a trophy home, and I am, aren’t I?”

His name will go on the base of that shiny Claret Jug, joining Bob Charles of New Zealand from 1963.

His sterling moment brought more disappointment for Young. The American also finished one shot behind in the British Open at St. Andrews four years ago, and he had a Sunday lead on the front nine at the Masters until Rory McIlroy overtook him.

“I gave it everything I had all the way through,” Young said when he finished. He was on the range when he heard the cheer for Fox. Young declined interviews when it was over.

Sam Burns, the 54-hole leader who was never planning to be at the Open until his wife gave birth to their daughter earlier than expected, lost a two-shot lead and didn’t make birdie over the last 12 holes to finish two shots behind.

Defending champion Scottie Scheffler somehow managed to stick around until the end, getting two bad bounces that cost him momentum, then getting one big break for a most improbable birdie but failing to birdie the 18th. He closed with a 67 and shared fourth with hometown star Tommy Fleetwood, who fell back early but thrilled the thousands packed along the dunes with a birdie-birdie finish for a 68.

Missing from all drama, remarkably, was Bryson DeChambeau. He lost a golf ball and made triple bogey on the 11th hole and didn’t make a birdie until he was well out of contention. That two-shot penalty he received Friday for improving the path of his swing wasn’t an issue at the end. DeChambeau shot a 72 and tied for 14th.

Fox won for the 10th time worldwide, his biggest title before Sunday coming at the BMW PGA Championship in 2023. He is the oldest first-time major champion since Henrik Stenson was 40 at Royal Troon 10 years ago.

Fox finished at 10-under 270, got his hands on the jug and heard those magic words when he was introduced as the “Champion golfer of the year.”

“I’m not quite sure how I hit that putt on 18. Look, it is a dream come true,” Fox said. “Looking at that trophy now, it’s the first time I’ve seen it up close. So it’s pretty amazing.”

Young was flawless until the final hole, his tee shot finding a pot bunker. He tried to open the face of a six-iron but caught it thin and it smacked into the vetted wall and into the rough. He hit the next shot into a greenside bunker and nearly holed it for par. The bogey put him at nine-under 271.

Burns was losing ground quickly on the front nine with three straight bogeys, none more damaging than a pitch to the reachable par-four fifth hole that went over the back of the green.

Si Woo Kim emerged as the leader going to the back nine until he made bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes, and fell out of contention for good with a pair of late bogeys that added to a 40 on the back nine for 72.

And then there was Young, at the top of the leaderboard, the wind gaining strength and the challenge to match him looking tougher by the hole.

Fox fell two shots behind Young’s score when he missed a six-foot par putt on the 11th.

He hit his approach to 12 feet on the 13th for birdie, then hit a superb pitch to tgree feet for birdie on the par-five 14th to tie Young.

But his hopes took a nasty turn on the par-five 15th when his tee shot caromed off the side of a bunker and settled next to the lip, leaving him no stance and no shot. He smartly played away from the back pin to the fairway, chipped from 45 yards away to six feet and made bogey.

It was as big as any shot he hit until the last.

He rallied with another clutch shot to 10 feet for birdie on the 16th to again tie with Young, and right when it looked as though the Open was headed for its first playoff in 11 years, Fox came up with a winner.

Fleetwood found the raucous ovation to be a consolation. He grew up in Southport and long dreamed of winning an Open at Royal Birkdale. He holed a 65-foot putt on the first hole that brought the loudest cheer of the day. And he was one shot behind as he played the ninth.

But he dropped three straight shots and the hope was gone. Even so, the ovation on the 18th hole was one he won’t forget.

“This disappointment that I didn’t win today or I couldn’t get it done when I was in a really good position, of course there’s only one person that gets to win it, and my dream of winning the Open will carry on and I’ll continue to chase it,” Fleetwood said.

“But stuff like that, walking down 18 and the atmosphere out there, that was beyond stuff that I’ve dreamt of. That was just stuff that I never imagined.”

Ferguson writes for the Associated Press.

NEW YORK — What if the Dodgers never get a full season of pitching from Shohei Ohtani?

In his first season with the Dodgers, he did not pitch at all. In his second, he did not pitch until June. And, halfway through this third season, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts admitted Sunday he could not say when Ohtani might pitch again.

“Don’t know yet,” Roberts said.

October might be your immediate concern, and it should concern the Dodgers too. Of the four starting pitchers they would plan to use in the postseason — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow and Ohtani — Yamamoto is the only one pitching major league innings right now. It’s not Tarik Skubal or bust, but the Dodgers should trade for someone they would start in a playoff game.

Yet, for a player with seven years left on his $700-million contract beyond this one, there might be a lot fewer opportunities to celebrate Ohtani as a two-way player than the Dodgers and their fans envision.

Ohtani did not pitch in his first year and a half with the Dodgers as he recovered from elbow surgery. When his rehabilitation was complete, he was good to go.

This is different. Ohtani is battling irritation in his left knee. Roberts used three concerning words to describe it: “wear and tear.”

There is no easy fix. The lubricant injection Ohtani received a week ago relieves symptoms for a short period of time, usually a few months. It is repeatable, but its benefits are not always felt right away.

The Dodgers had announced Ohtani would start Wednesday. Roberts said Ohtani experienced discomfort while playing catch, and that was enough for the Dodgers to push back his next start to…

“I would say that it’s going to be some time,” Roberts said. “It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing.”

Shohei Ohtani warms up before facing the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium on June 15.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

If it is a wear-and-tear thing, there might be no solution besides management over the remainder of his career.

“I think it’s a little bit, it’s just like all of us, all athletes, that kind of have wear and tear,” Roberts said. “That’s just part of it, and now it’s just kind of showing itself a little bit, and then you got to manage it. I think that it’s the years of sliding, pitching, hitting and all that stuff.”

Ohtani is aware of this. He is 32. This is his 14th professional season. He reported to spring training with the goal of winning the National League Cy Young award, in part because who knows how long you can do everything at an elite level on a baseball field?

“Inside, I’m assuming this is my last chance as a pitcher,” Ohtani told the Japanese sports magazine Number in an interview published last month.

In his first 10 starts this season, he posted a 0.74 earned-run average, never giving up more than two runs in a start. In the four starts since the knee irritation surfaced June 10, his ERA is 4.38, and he has given up at least three runs in each start.

Can he pitch effectively if he can tolerate the discomfort? Would he want to? Would the Dodgers want him to, given their investment in him as one of the most dynamic hitters in baseball history?

To this point, Roberts said, Ohtani has experienced the irritation only on the mound, not at bat. As a result, Roberts said, the Dodgers do not believe shutting down Ohtani as a hitter for a few days would help ease the discomfort.

Maybe this works, with the injection calming the knee long enough to get Ohtani through the season, or with the irritation waning. Even then, it’s going to take some time.

“The first step is getting him into a spot where he feels like, and we feel like, he can pitch and not regress,” Roberts said.

Ohtani has not pitched in 16 days, and let’s say he does not pitch for another 16. Then the Dodgers would be looking at building back Ohtani’s endurance as they ramp up for the playoffs. So, even if Ohtani can return, could he pitch deep into a postseason game?

Shohei Ohtani hits a home run against the Tampa Bay Rays at Dodger Stadium on June 16.

(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)

The Ohtani Effect is real, and grand. It is measured in T-shirts and ticket sales, tourists and movie promotions, bobblehead dolls and international corporate sponsorships.

But all of that should not obscure Ohtani’s greatness as a player.

If Aaron Judge cannot hit, he cannot help the Yankees, and they entered play Sunday 18-20 since he suffered a rib injury.

If Ohtani cannot pitch … well, he has hit 11 home runs since then, for the team with the best record in the major leagues.

The Dodgers do not believe Ohtani’s viability as a pitcher is in jeopardy, but we can already hear the cynics: In a worst-case scenario, if he could not pitch well again, would the contract be worth it?

It already is: Two full seasons, two World Series championships.

Abandoned as a baby with severely underdeveloped limbs and brought up by nuns in Baghdad, Kelly will be performing at the World Cup final alongside some of the biggest global stars.

Among the headline performers at the first-ever FIFA World Cup half-time show alongside Shakira, BTS, Justin Bieber and Madonna is a man with a remarkable life story – Iraqi-born singer Emmanuel Kelly.

Kelly says he was found abandoned in a box as a baby, and was brought up by nuns at Mother Teresa’s orphanage in Baghdad. Some of his limbs were severely underdeveloped, and at the orphanage he became friends with another boy called Ahmed, who had a similar condition.

In 1998, when Emmanuel was around four years old, the Australian Catholic humanitarian worker Moira Kelly visited the orphanage and witnessed the plight of Emmanuel and Ahmed.

She was determined to bring the boys to Australia for medical treatment, and after two years, she succeeded.

Emmanuel and Ahmed arrived in Australia in 2000, and both underwent multiple surgeries to enable them to wear prosthetic limbs. They were adopted by Moira the same year, and in 2009 they officially became Australian citizens.

In an interview published on the FIFA website in 2025, Emmanuel said the surgery and prostheses enabled him and his brother to be self-reliant for the first time.

“We learned all the basic things I think that humans take for granted sometimes, like walking and feeding themselves and things like that,” he said. “Eventually I decided I wanted to pursue entertainment and music.”

In 2011, at the age of 17, Emmanuel was a contestant in the Australian version of television talent show The X Factor. His rendition of John Lennon’s song Imagine captivated the live audience and was viewed millions of times online. Although he was eliminated relatively early in the series after forgetting the words to a song he was performing, this was the start of his musical career.

His brother Ahmed, meanwhile, became a competitive swimmer, representing Australia multiple times and winning the silver medal in the men’s 150-metre individual medley at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

In 2016, as the band Coldplay were preparing for concerts in Australia, lead singer Chris Martin saw a video of Emmanuel Kelly performing and resolved to meet him. Kelly was invited onto the stage at the Coldplay concert in Melbourne and sang Imagine in a duet with Martin.

The two became friends, and in 2024 Kelly was invited to be the headline opening act for Coldplay for their four concerts in Australia during their Music of the Spheres tour.

“Chris has been my brother, Chris Martin, for eight years or so, and he said to me, ‘Hey, come on tour with me and join me on a stadium tour.’ I did that, and that was pretty epic,” Kelly said in his FIFA interview.

Last year, Martin was asked by FIFA to curate the half-time show at the Club World Cup final at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Kelly was one of the singers Martin asked to take part in the performance. He was described by organisers as “the first differently abled artist to headline a FIFA half-time show”.

Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina is taking place in the same stadium. Once again, Martin is curating the musical performance, and Kelly will be one of those on stage for what FIFA hopes will be the most viewed half-time show in history.

“What an exciting opportunity to get to represent true full-scale global unity,” Kelly said in a video on Instagram ahead of the show. “No matter how different you are, you will still be seen.”

NEW YORK — The Dodgers don’t know when Shohei Ohtani will take the mound next.

He was tentatively scheduled to start Wednesday against the Phillies, after promising initial reports on his recovery from an injection in his left knee. But after seeing his knee’s response to playing catch, the team decided to give him more time.

“We just want to continue to give it the best chance to kind of get into a good spot,” manager Dave Roberts said. “And as he said, as we feel, it’s the pitching and the torque of landing on that leg that kind of gets it upset.”

It was clear enough from catch play that Ohtani’s start would have to be pushed back that Ohtani did not feel the need to test it by throwing off a mound, Roberts said.

“Where we’re at right now, how we’re proceeding, I would say that it’s going to be some time,” Roberts said. “It’s not going to be a day-to-day thing.”

That left a wide range of timeline possibilities, from days to weeks. Roberts did, however, rule out shutting Ohtani down from pitching for the rest of the season.

“I guess anything is possible, but I just don’t think that’s a possibility,” he said.

To fill Ohtani’s spot in the rotation this week, the Dodgers moved right-hander Emmet Sheehan’s start to Monday. Before the rainout bumped the second game of the series against the New York Yankees, Sheehan was scheduled to start Saturday.

For Sunday’s doubleheader, right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto will take the mound in the first game. The bullpen, and potentially multiple innings from the 27th man, will cover the nightcap.

“Honestly, a lot of it is where we’re at and how we’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” Roberts said of the MLB-leading Dodgers. “Could [Ohtani] probably do it? Sure. But right now, the benefits just don’t seem to outweigh the cost at this time of the season. So I think we still have plenty of time to get him to a good spot to then pitch.”

Ohtani, who went hitless in four at-bats as the designated hitter in Friday’s 2-1 win, was set to DH and hit leadoff in Sunday’s first game.

Welsh rider Zoe Backstedt has retained the 2026 Baloise Ladies Tour title a year after becoming the youngest winner of the race.

The 21-year-old’s performance included a time trial win on stage 3A on Saturday, and she finished with a provisional overall time of 11 hours, 27.08 minutes.

Only one second overall separated the Netherlands’ Nienke Veenhoven – who won the final stage – and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden of Australia. They finished 22 and 23 seconds respectively behind Backstedt.

English competitor Millie Couzens finished fifth behind the Netherlands’ Charlotte Kool.

Mercedes driver won his sixth GP of 2026 as championship rival and teammate George Russell crashes out on first lap.

Kimi Antonelli won the Belgian Grand Prix for Mercedes on Sunday to stretch his Formula One lead to 45 points over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton on a bleak day for teammate George Russell, his closest title rival heading into the race.

Russell had been the 19-year-old Italian’s closest rival before the start at Spa-Francorchamps, but the Briton spun off into the gravel on the opening lap after a collision with Hamilton while trying to make up places lost at lights out.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was second in the 44-lap race, 1.952 seconds behind after leading, thanks to a pit stop while a virtual safety car was deployed, with Max Verstappen third to give Red Bull their 300th Formula One podium.

Hamilton finished fourth, despite serving a five-second penalty for the collision with Russell, but remained under investigation for an unsafe release from a pit stop that could drop him to fifth and further stretch Antonelli’s lead.

It was Antonelli’s sixth win in 10 rounds this season, leaving him 50 points clear of Russell. Antonelli was first in qualifying, continuing Mercedes’ clean sweep of pole positions this season.

“It’s great to be back on the top step after a few difficult rounds,” said Antonelli, who had drawn a blank in two of the past three rounds.

“It was a hard-fought race. We lost first place with the VSC but then we managed to make our way back.

“The momentum was always there. It was just about getting the results,” he added. “Today we were a bit lucky with what happened in terms of the championship but you have to take every opportunity because we saw how much it can swing.”

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri finished fifth, with Isack Hadjar sixth for Red Bull from last on the grid. Reigning champion Lando Norris was seventh for McLaren after starting 13th due to a 10-place grid drop.

Gabriel Bortoleto brought more points for Audi in eighth place, with Arvid Lindblad ninth for Racing Bulls and Argentine Franco Colapinto completing the scoring in 10th place for Renault-owned Alpine.

LONDON — British runner Josh Kerr ran the mile in 3 minutes and 42.66 seconds to break the longstanding men’s world record at a Diamond League meet in London on Saturday.

Kerr broke Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj’s mark of 3 minutes and 43.13 seconds, set in Rome in 1999, and the Edinburgh native then set off on a lap of honor at London Stadium.

Kerr was so dominant on Saturday that he finished more than three seconds clear of American Yared Nuguse in 3:45.69.

The crowd support as he closed in on the record was “just incredible,” Kerr told the BBC.

“It was just me, my shoes and the track,” he said. “I was absolutely deaf in that last 110 meters.

“I didn’t take my foot off the gas,” he continued, “but … I started to glide and I was like ‘oh wow this feels incredible.’ It’s incredible because I’m slowing down. So, I was like ‘I better get to the line.’ So, crossing the finish line, seeing 42-something — anything — was my goal, so it was great.”

The 28-year-old Kerr’s previous best time was 3:45.34 in 2024.

He had targeted the mile race at the Diamond League meet as a main goal in a track season with neither Olympics nor world championships.

The mile is not a championships event yet has iconic status in track history, with the four-minute barrier broken in 1954 by another British runner, Roger Bannister.

Kerr was a silver medalist in the 1,500 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

After the South Africa game, Rassie Erasmus said Scotland were a top-three nation in the world, presumably behind his own side and France.

With Rassie you never know what sort of agenda might lie behind his public comments – there’s usually something – but it was an eyebrow-raiser nonetheless.

In the wake of Fiji, Schoeman – two tries this summer – went down a similar road when asked if he felt Scotland were closing the gap on the world’s best sides.

“No, I don’t feel we’re closing the gap,” he added. “I feel we are a top-three, top-five team in the world. We’ve proven that – Argentina away, France, England, we play [and beat] the top dogs.

“South Africa, Ireland, All Blacks, we haven’t had too much love there. That’s maybe the games we want to target, to go against the best. Just to go full toe-to-toe with them for a full 80-minute performance.”

Top three is a big stretch, but there are moments in games when you think Scotland have it within them to lay the ghosts of Ireland and New Zealand to rest.

They’ll get a crack at the Kiwis in the autumn and will play Ireland in the spring, both at Murrayfield.

As much as the Nations Championship has been a try-laden fun-fest, the real battle and barometer of progress remains the Six Nations.

Scotland are trending in the right direction but summer and autumn have always been an unreliable guide to their true worth.

Enjoy the quality of some of their rugby over the last three weeks, but put it in context, too. The Six Nations and World Cup remain where it’s at.

The shy 9-year-old Nathan Negrete doesn’t naturally gravitate toward the spotlight, but as Negrete stood with Weston McKennie in front of the roaring 74,904 fans at SoFi Stadium, he smiled.

Looking back nearly a month later, the Pico Rivera resident doesn’t remember much of the U.S. men’s national team win over Paraguay, getting overwhelmed by the experience. But he remembers what McKennie told him — something Negrete decided should be kept secret despite a large smile on his face.

“The best day ever,” he said of the experience. “Because I went to the World Cup.”

Quaker and Common Goal partnered with FIFA to select children and young adults to escort teams out onto the pitch before kickoff. Negrete, who attends Rio Vista Elementary, was one of the lucky few who joined the U.S. team before its 4-1 win over Paraguay. It was a joyous start to a tournament run that would eventually end in the Round of 16.

A fan of both the U.S. and Mexico, Negrete started playing soccer at 4. His mother, Monica Ocampo, and his father, Jonathan Negrete, were both soccer fans, and they encouraged him to play as a striker. After his practices, though, Negrete would step into the goal and block his teammates’ shots. And once he strapped on the gloves officially, his parents couldn’t convince him to leave the net.

But there wasn’t anything quite like the experience of stepping out in front of the roaring crowd. Even as the city prepared to host the World Cup, as nearby restaurants hung banners to attract pedestrians and watch party notifications flooded social media, Ocampo said she wasn’t prepared for the impact of watching her child take the field with the national team.

The family held a 15-person watch party, just not for the actual game — for her son. The Telemundo broadcast zoomed in on Negrete and McKennie. For a couple of moments, Negrete scanned the stadium seriously, but then he looked up to see himself and McKennie on the SoFi Stadium video boards. So, he smiled.

“I cried,” Ocampo said. “His dad looked like he wanted to cry when he saw him.”

Messages from friends and family flooded her phone as the rest of the people who knew Negrete realized he was on the broadcast. Was that Nathan? Was that your son? Negrete took on a new nickname after his appearance: “Famous Nathan.”

As Nathan drove home with his mom, he still couldn’t believe what had happened. It took a few days for him to take it all in, and once he started talking about it, not a lot could stop him. The one priceless memory he kept with him was simple:

“‘I really want to be a professional soccer player now,’” Ocampo remembers her son saying in the car ride home. “Actually being there, seeing the field, actually living it, that’s one thing he told me that night: I really want to be a professional.”

He wouldn’t be the first. Graham Zusi, who played for the U.S. men’s national team between 2012 and 2017, participated in the 1994 World Cup opening ceremony as a 7-year-old. And even now, Negrete is using his experience to fuel his dreams of playing professionally, revisiting the YouTube video of the experience again and again.

“Hopefully one day he gets there, but wherever his life takes him, just for him to see that experience, it’s something he’s never going to forget,” Ocampo said. “Even now, sometimes we talk about him like I can’t believe he actually did that.”

The FIFA World Cup 2026 final is not far away, and the predictions are coming in thick and fast.

Spain, the reigning European champions, are eyeing their second World Cup title, 16 years on from their maiden triumph in South Africa. But standing in their way are holders Argentina, the South American giants aiming to become just the third country to win back-to-back World Cup titles.

Stats provider Opta predicts Spain as the favourites to win the 2026 World Cup, with a 59.56 percent probability of lifting the trophy in New Jersey. La Roja are also the picks of several former players and pundits.

Former England striker Michael Owen said world number two Spain are the “deserved” winners of the tournament.

“Spain haven’t got the greatest individual players, I think France probably have … but Spain as a team are everything England are not – they are brave, courageous with the ball,” Owen told The Straits Times.

“Spain are just a great team that pass the ball confidently and play amazing football as a collective.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the ex-Barcelona and Manchester United striker who represented Sweden at two World Cups, expects Spain to dominate the final, which comes two years on from their Euro 2024 triumph.

Spain handled France very good [in the semifinals]. I believe they can handle this Argentina,” Zlatan, now a pundit on US broadcaster Fox Sports, said.

“Argentina is not a counterattacking team. Spain are going to do their thing. They’re going to play collectively … I believe Spain are going to dominate that game.”

Spain were also John Terry’s favourites for glory, with the former England captain saying on the Sports Uncensored show that Luis de la Fuente’s side have “got too much for Argentina”.

Former goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the Spain captain during their maiden World Cup triumph in 2010, expressed his confidence in the team’s ability to bring home a second, sharing a picture of another star halfway stitched on the top of their badge.

A star represents every World Cup a team has won.

[Translation: And why not?]

While a lot of the consensus centred around a Spain win, some think Argentina have a chance, even if it is slim.

Alan Shearer, one of England’s greatest strikers of all time, backed the reigning champions, saying on The Rest is Football podcast, “If there’s one team that can do it in terms of stopping them [Spain], it’s Argentina because of their mentality and togetherness.

“They have been down so many times and in trouble, and somehow managed to get a win. That’s what you’ve got to admire about them.

“When you’ve got a genius in your side,” he added, referring to Messi, “you’ve always got a chance.”

But how can Argentina beat favourites Spain in the title clash?

English football pundit Micah Richards thinks the answer to that is low-block transition – the strategy of teams sitting back closest to their goal and, after winning possession, rapidly shifting from a compact defensive shape into an offensive counterattack.

“Get the ball to Messi, whereas [Julian] Alvarez or [Lisandro] Martinez just make it horrible, make it how they did with England,” he added.

“I think Argentina need to stay in the game as they did against England and turn it on when they see a shift in momentum.”

Meanwhile, another of England’s greats, Gary Lineker, stuck with his pretournament pick, Spain, but added that Argentina are “so gritty”, making the predictions a very tough choice.

“You cannot go against that little fella [Messi]. He’s so great; it’s going to be really, really close. It’s genuinely 50-50.”

Unlike others, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to pick a side.

“Everyone I root for has lost,” he said, with a laugh. “So I feel like whoever I say is going to lose at this point.

“I’m gonna say the classic politician’s answer – I’m excited for a good game.”

Benn, 29, had earlier said Garcia is “like a big child, a spoiled brat”.

“He throws his toys out of the pram on social media, throwing little tantrums,” he added.

“I’m not too concerned about this little influencer. He ain’t a fighter. He can say whatever he wants, it ain’t going to make a difference come 12 September.”

Benn then pointed to himself and said: “12-round war proven. I don’t quit, I don’t stay down on one knee,” referring to Garcia’s loss to Gervonta Davis in 2023.

Garcia, 27, responded by saying Benn’s “not gonna make it to 12, he’s not good enough”.

“You think I’m going to let a guy from the UK come here and beat me and take my belt? You’ve lost your mind,” Garcia added.

Born and raised in California, Garcia has Mexican heritage and often carries both an American and Mexican flag into the ring.

“Wait till I smack you up and make you quit,” Benn added. “You have no heart. You’re not Mexican, bro.”

Benn, who spent 12 years of his childhood in Mallorca, Spain, then shouted at Garcia in Spanish while grabbing his crotch.

Garcia later said he would stop Benn inside five rounds before the stage was cleared for a face-off between the fighters.

Benn’s father, former world champion Nigel Benn, was standing behind him as he repeatedly shouted “you quit” and told Garcia “you ain’t got no heart. I’ll test it, I’ll test that chin too”.

Garcia replied by saying: “This about to be easy work. You not good enough to beat me. Your dad’s gonna stop the fight. I promise you.”

New Jersey, United States – Tobin Heath knows everything about winning a football World Cup and defending it successfully.

As a key member of the peerless USA women’s football team of the late 2000s and 2010s, Heath won the FIFA World Cup in 2015 and 2019, as well as Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012.

But it is not just the medals and honours that elevated her to the pantheon of football greats. Instead, it was Heath’s role in revolutionising the women’s game as a skilful and gifted forward that set her apart.

From mazy runs around defenders while running down the flanks to jaw-dropping assists and finishes inside the penalty area, Heath is often regarded as one of the most technically gifted playmakers in football history.

It is no surprise, then, that Heath’s analysis of World Cup teams as a member of FIFA’s Technical Study Group went viral on social media and prompted questions about why she has not been seen on popular football shows prior to the tournament.

The 38-year-old hung up her boots in 2025 after career-ending injuries forced her into retirement. Her 181 international appearances brought her 36 goals but left an indelible mark on the game.

Having followed the knockout matches as the only female member of an elite panel of analysts at a men’s World Cup, Heath’s insights stood out as the tournament progressed towards the final.

As a World Cup replete with goals – 307 in 103 matches, at an average of nearly three goals per match – the ongoing tournament has left some fans questioning whether more scoring equates to a better overall spectator experience.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeera Sport, Heath shares her thoughts on the goals, players, styles of play and teams that stood out at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the tournament’s legacy:

Al Jazeera: Have more teams and more matches led to a record number of goals at the World Cup? Is it correct to rank this tournament as the most entertaining edition?

Tobin Heath: Yeah, that’s the biggest factor. For me, this is the evolution of football. It’s an evolution of football that the fans are obviously enjoying.

There are multiple factors [behind the high goal average] that we are analysing. But the top one is where these teams are winning the ball back, how they’re counter-pressing and the use of attack in wide areas. The use of the full-backs in the attack has been a key theme and a big positive for football.

We always want to see more goals. So we have to look at the increased team format and the diversity of the teams that are being matched up with each other. Personally, I love seeing diversity in football.

Stylistically, it makes for very interesting matches, and I think we saw some of those most interesting matches in the group stages and towards the beginning of the knockout rounds, where we saw teams that typically play different styles going toe-to-toe with the giants of football.

Al Jazeera: What impression did the likes of Cape Verde, Egypt, DR Congo and other African teams leave on you?

Heath: It was fantastic. Cape Verde are top of my mind in terms of their results. If you look at their result against Spain in particular, and then the thrilling game against Argentina, it’s basically the two finalists. There’s a direct correlation there, which is fascinating to see. And just the bravery with which they played – with so many low blocks – is very rare.

And then in the Egypt game, another outstanding match against Argentina. The result, very well, could have gone either way for me. It was just a beautiful display of football.

I remember watching the African club teams in the Club World Cup last summer and enjoying African football. I’ve enjoyed playing African teams in the World Cup, too. For me, as a football player, it gives you a different problem to solve.

Another team that stood out for me and that I thoroughly enjoyed this tournament was Ivory Coast. I loved their football, I loved their style, I loved their individual brilliance.

For African football, this is a big positive, and another step in the growth of football on that continent with various styles. And I hope to see more of the same in the Women’s World Cup next summer.

Al Jazeera: Having been a big exponent of attractive football in your playing days and a proponent of it after your retirement, how would you rate the different styles on display at the World Cup? And did you think it was an entertaining World Cup?

Heath: Oh my gosh, 100 percent! What we have seen in the level of creativity in this tournament has been nothing short of inspiring.

I became a huge fan of France because at any given moment on the pitch, you could see something that has never been done before in football. You’d see innovative football, innovative individual players.

Creativity has been at an all-time high. When you see the best players in the world performing at the top level, being highest in all the metrics. You look at (Jude) Bellingham, (Kylian) Mbappe, (Lionel) Messi, (Erling) Haaland – these are the best players that were showcasing their best football in this tournament.

There’s something in the water in the US that we just love our stars, we love putting them on a platform and the stars showed up big time at this World Cup.

Al Jazeera: Which young players have impressed you the most and what do their performances mean for the future of football?

Heath: The most incredible name that stands out for me is (Pau) Cubarsi.

To be so young, to play so many minutes and be so effective with this Spanish defence, it highlights an incredible way that Spain is generationally able to really connect the ideas and implementation of the type of football that they want to play.

I hope and pray that we see Lamine Yamal perform in a supersonic way in the final. He’s due for a moment. The anticipation has been there all tournament.

We talked about these young players, but we also have to highlight what Messi is doing and the age at which he’s doing it. It’s nothing short of extraordinary. I was laughing that we should give out a veteran award, but he could also win player of the tournament.

From the young superstars to the old, football is in good hands for generations to come.

Al Jazeera: What do you think about the future of football in the US and what this World Cup has done for it?

Heath: It’s so interesting because I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Our culture and society move fast. There are so many things that capture the attention of Americans at any given moment, and the World Cup captured the audience.

We put on a fantastic event; we showcased incredible stadiums and what the different parts of our country look like in the summertime, from the Pacific Northwest to the Miami heat. Stadiums with roofs to uncovered stadiums.

And yet, I’m left wondering how it affects football for us, especially men’s football in our country.

We talk about stars and the importance of stars in our country, but when I think about the players who had a good tournament, including Malik Tillman and Folarin Balogun, there’s no stardom. It’s a little lacklustre for what the USA team and the World Cup have done in terms of the popularity and interest in this country.

I hope that there is a direct correlation with players to come, both girls and boys, who can point to this World Cup as their inspiration. It will be the greatest indication of whether this tournament was a success.

Our country has been captured by the moment of watching the World Cup, but no one knows if they’ve been captured with it in their soul. It feels a little bit like a flash in the pan.

Al Jazeera: What is the biggest footballing aspect that stood out for you at this World Cup?

Heath: The gap between the possibility of winning a World Cup and actually winning a World Cup. It’s still extremely wide.

We had competitive matches, smaller teams going toe-to-toe with the biggest giants in the world, but it still seems that the closer you get, the bigger the gap between the top teams that can realistically go far in the tournament and the ones we enjoyed watching in the beginning.

I always say, winning is a muscle. It’s no surprise that we have two teams in the final that have enjoyed a lot of success in international football.

We see this both in men’s and women’s football. It will take something truly special to be able to break into that group.

Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

When asked if Spain would win the World Cup, Lamine Yamal simply smiled and said “yes”.

His words to American broadcaster CBS in the build-up would have come as a surprise to no-one who has seen the confident teenager become one of the best players on the planet.

For many though, for his prediction to come true, Lamine Yamal was going to have to set the tournament alight in his first ever World Cup.

So far, that has just not happened.

The 19-year-old has scored one goal and has not made an assist, but his country have cruised into the final anyway and will face Argentina on Sunday.

While the likes of fellow superstars Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Erling Haaland have had starring roles, Lamine Yamal’s World Cup has been surprisingly understated.

But could this be his moment?

Lamine Yamal’s stats for Spain are incredible. He has yet to lose for his country in the 27 competitive matches he has played. He has started 12 games at major tournaments for Spain and won all of them, the longest 100%-win rate of any European player across major tournaments when starting.

If he scores in New York on Sunday he will become just the third teenager to find the net in a World Cup final, after Pele in 1950 and Mbappe in 2018.

Win the tournament and he becomes just the fourth teenager to ever start a World Cup final and win the trophy, after Pele, Mbappe and Italy’s Giuseppe Bergomi in 1982. Nineteen-year-old team-mate Pau Cubarsi could become the fifth.

“No-one will care whether Lamine has scored lots of goals and created lots of goals,” said one Spain fan. “If he wins the World Cup with Spain, he will be a legend forever.

“If we lose to Argentina, no-one will remember his first World Cup. We know he will have lots of other World Cups and we believe he will become the greatest.

“But not many teenagers get the chance to win a World Cup. This is his chance. He will have regrets if we lose and he hasn’t been able to play his best.”

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Showers and thunderstorms triggered a flash flood warning for Manhattan and northeastern New Jersey on Saturday, but the rain also helped blow out the smoke from Canadian wildfires that had choked the tristate area for days and threatened to disrupt Sunday’s World Cup final at MetLife Stadium.

Concerns about hazardous air quality led the White House and FIFA to hold informal discussions Friday over the possibility of moving the game, with the most likely venue being Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

On Friday, before the storms, the Air Quality Index (AQI) in East Rutherford was around 160, which was considered unhealthful. But that was down from a “very unhealthful” reading of 245 on Thursday.

By 6 p.m. EDT on Saturday, that level had dropped further, to 89, posing only a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. That number was expected to continue falling into the early hours of Sunday, and the level at kickoff was projected to be 66, although forecasters warned that shifting winds could bring smoke back into the area, causing temporary spikes in the AQI.