The Guardian

The boy in the baby bath has unbelievably become the successor to Messi at Barcelona and now, maybe, on the world stage too “Maybe Lionel Messi has picked up lots of babies, maybe it’s chance, but for those of us who have faith, who believe in something beyond, ‘chance’ is God’s pseudonym when he doesn’t want to sign his name,” Luis de la Fuente says. “In life, everything happens for a reason. So…

World No 2 was in full flow off the tee but off colour on the greens and knows he needs to make a charge on moving day One of the sweetest sounds in sport is the elongated swoosh that comes as Rory McIlroy’s driver connects with his ball. Really, it is a beautiful thing. You imagine the impact will be a violent clank. Instead it is more like a yogi softly exhaling having found nirvana. But as McI…

A tournament with more teams and more games has been filled with euphoria, heartbreak, and these weird and wonderful viral moments As a Japanese supporter exclaimed to a television camera, “Texas is good, everything is big”, we knew the World Cup had started. In those early euphoric moments, seeing the palpable joy when everything is still possible, it seemed Japan fans were the MVPs of memes. Th…

British rider moves into fourth in general classification Schmid claims debut Tour win after mass breakaway Tom Pidcock leapt up the overall standings in the Tour de France, briefly climbing as high as second place, after a fulminating stage to Belfort ended in a debut Tour win for Swiss professional Mauro Schmid. Pidcock was one of the key instigators of a mass breakaway that formed on the rolli…

West Indies legend, who has died aged 89, was cricket’s finest all-rounder, delivering victories with style and grace Cricket nuts like an argument. Who is the best fast bowler ever? The best spinner? The best wicketkeeper? The best slip catcher? They – oh all right, we – can spend hours discussing the candidates. But the best all-rounder? That does not take any longer than the debate over the be…

With cries of malfeasance and injustice over referee decisions, Fifa actions and even Argentina’s run, the tournament is a mirror of a theory-pilled society “Life is unfair.” This was the first thing that Hossam Hassan, Egypt’s fiery coach, told the media after his country’s devastating 3-2 loss to Argentina in the last 16. The legendary striker turned manager had been minutes away from orchestra…

Northampton Saint is embracing a friendly rivalry with his headline-grabbing teammate when they take on the Pumas It has been a long road for several of the players who went on the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia last year. They are putting on a professionally brave face, but for some the final weekend of the season cannot come soon enough. Factor in the travel, the training and associate…

‘I like goals that are lofty and sport needs moments’ Keely Hodgkinson races in 800m in Diamond League A bullish Josh Kerr has insisted he is in the shape of his life and “not scared of failure” as he attempts to break the one-mile world record at Saturday’s London Diamond League. The former 1500m world champion and double Olympic medallist has developed a reputation as an admirably straight-talk…

Antonelli’s lead in the F1 drivers’ standings looked insurmountable after Monaco, but now Russell is potentially within one race win of wiping it out Squaring off at this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, Formula One’s leading title protagonists Kimi Antonelli and George Russell are embroiled in an increasingly tense head to head. The 19-year-old Antonelli appeared to have an iron grip on the lead, h…

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Chatty American in his first Open enjoys English trains and, despite a second-round blip, likes the links too Did you hear the one about the kid from Tampa who won the Open in his very first week playing the links? If you didn’t, it’ll be because neither did he. Right now it’s still a maybe. Jackson Suber, 26, square jaw, slim hips, big swing, and very long odds, was two shots clear of the field …

Two minutes and 55 seconds. That’s how long I really had hope of reaching the World Cup final. And it didn’t kill me In her book Hope in the Dark the author Rebecca Solnit examines if it is possible to have hope when you consider all of human suffering. She quotes the Bulgarian writer Maria Popova: “Critical thinking without hope is cynicism, but hope without critical thinking is naivety.” By all…

Contract to 2031 one of his ‘top three’ life moments Leeds close to signing centre-back Muharemovic Dominik Szoboszlai has given Liverpool and their head coach, Andoni Iraola , a significant boost by signing a new contract to 2031. The midfielder, who was the team’s best performer during a difficult final season under Arne Slot, has two years on his deal and mentioned several times last season th…

This year’s dominant leader shouldn’t take the boos personally – even Eddy Merckx didn’t always get red carpet treatment Enduring the ire of French cycling fans is a rite of passage for a majority of the select group of prolific Tour de France winners, as Tadej Pogacar seems be finding out. The first catcalls came on Tuesday’s stage to Le Lioran in the Cantal , and unfortunately, although we can …

Jamie George promises ‘the strongest of reactions’ England players were racially abused by fans last year England’s rugby players are threatening to walk off the pitch in protest against Argentina on Saturday if there is any repeat of the racial abuse aimed at black squad members on their last visit a year ago. Further incidents will not be tolerated and, according to England’s captain, Jamie Geo…