The Guardian

The World Cup final is a classic clash of the process team against a side riding an emotional urge to fulfil Messi’s destiny In the 37 minutes between England going ahead against Argentina and falling behind, they had 12% possession. It’s fair to assume that in the World Cup final Spain will provide a rather different challenge. They do not suffer the Mafeking tendency of the English, seeking to …

Slovene now 4min 30sec ahead of Vingegaard Paul Seixas takes lead in young rider’s classification Tadej Pogacar’s rapacious appetite for stage wins was in evidence yet again in the climbs of the Vosges, as he raced to his fourth victory of this year’s Tour de France at Le Markstein. Pogacar’s attack came 1.6 kilometres from the summit of the final climb, the Col de Haag and 7.5 kilometres from th…

Russell will share second ​row with Ferrari’s Leclerc Norris ‌third fastest ‌but has a 10-place grid penalty Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli took pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix, comfortably beating Max Verstappen of Red Bull into second place at Spa-Francorchamps in an intimidating margin of more than three-tenths, the largest advantage for pole of the season. Lando Norris was in third place bu…

Fifa says football brings the world together but the unhoused in Atlanta feel targeted and completely excluded from the tournament “A lot of our community has been pushed out by the World Cup. We’re not just dollar signs, we’re more than that. We’re people and we’re frustrated that they’ve chosen to treat us less than human.” “ They dropped me off there in the middle of the night. They call them …

Rugby union updates from 4.40pm UK/5.40pm SAST England defend Pollock after gestures to Argentina fans Email Lee | Sign up for the Breakdown Sometimes, your job is difficult. Whether you’re a mechanic dealing with a tricky gasket, or the customer services desk staff in a supermarket faced with an angry person failing to understand you cannot return worn underwear, but especially if you are the co…

Time of 3:42.66 betters El Guerrouj’s 1999 mark of 3:43.13 Becomes seventh British man to follow footsteps of Bannister He promised and he duly delivered. Josh Kerr is the new one-mile world record holder. The former 1500m world champion and double Olympic medalist could scarcely have been more bullish about his prospects of making history at the London Diamond League on Saturday, boldly announci…

Australia’s lack of forwards remains a problem but the departing coach raised the ceiling with some big scalps Australia ended the Joe Schmidt era like a struggling restaurant producing one of its finest meals on the night the head chef handed back his keys. Everything came together: the service was sharp, the ingredients were handled with care, but loyal patrons left wondering why the place coul…

️Updates from the third round at Royal Birkdale ️ Official leaderboard | Mail Scott with your thoughts Ryan Fox sends his drive at 18 into the second fairway bunker down the right. He’s not right up against the lip, but the face is a factor. However, when you’re hot, you’re hot, and he opts to go for it, whipping a short iron onto the front-right portion of the green! That was a gutsy move … and …

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Saturday’s rebranded “bronze final” between France and England in Miami might feel like a modern, Gianni-coded exercise in squeezing the product dry, but the third-place playoff is a staple of World Cup history, even if it remains the game nobody wants to play in. The very first TPPO came in 1934, Germany defeating Austria 3-2 in a match engulfe…

Australia 57-10 Italy Hosts kickstart campaign with first Nations Championship win The Wallabies have ended the Joe Schmidt era in style, blitzing Italy 57-10 in Perth to end their six-game losing streak in emphatic fashion and give longsuffering fans a glimpse of the riches new coach Les Kiss inherits in the bid for the 2027 World Cup. Despite Italy coach Gonzalo Quesada being suspended by World…

New Zealand 40-21 Ireland Hosts unbeaten in 32 years at Auckland venue Andy Farrell rued an error-strewn display after Ireland suffered a 40-21 defeat to New Zealand in round three of the Nations Championship. The All Blacks scored four first-half tries through Patrick Tuipulotu, Ardie Savea, Will Jordan and Asafo Aumua en route to stretching their remarkable unbeaten run at Eden Park to 53 Tests…

Donald Trump spoke to Fifa president before ban lifted Human rights body FairSquare sent complaint to IOC Gianni Infantino is poised to escape without sanction after complaints he breached rules on political neutrality in his dealings with Donald Trump over the Folarin Balogun affair. The International Olympic Committee this week received a formal complaint from the human rights organisation Fair…

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 Cup latest on final weekend of tournament ⚽ England’s exit was not just about Tuchel ⚽ Email us | Archive: Argentina v Spain in 1966 Donald Trump joined the chorus of criticism over Thomas Tuchel’s defence-minded approach against Argentina as the United States president questioned the England manager’s “unusual” use of his golf buddy Harry Kane. The inquest into Wednesday’s late 2-1 World…

England’s coach said ball possession is not in the team’s DNA – it’s an opinion that should disqualify him from the job How we talked. On late-night news shows, disembodied heads above a rolling yellow banner. On planes and trains, at bus stops and flower shops and kids’ birthday parties, trying desperately to connect the ennui of the now with the vividness of the later, trying on some level to a…