The Guardian

Latest news as final week of World Cup gets under way Power rankings | Sign up to Football Daily | Email us Email! “While not a fan of Fifa’s blatant attempts to change the World Cup solely to make more money,” writes Ryan, “I’m actually not against the idea of going to 64 teams. The quality difference between no 48 and no 64 in the world rankings is not that large on paper, so I don’t see that i…

Plucky defeats decorated with patches of excellence will not cut it for Australia with a home World Cup now looming large The camera found Joe Schmidt shortly after France had completed a 22-point swing. Australia’s coach had seen a 21-12 half-time lead obliterated in 16 brutal minutes. Schmidt, one of rugby’s sharpest minds, looked short of answers. The trouble was that the questions confronting…

Sinner recovers from Roland Garros with win over Zverev World No 1 faced only one break point in final Jannik Sinner described his triumph at Wimbledon as particularly special considering his painful defeat at the French Open, after he recovered from a difficult first set to secure his second Wimbledon title with an impressive 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 win against the second seed Alexander Zvere…

Sinner wins fifth grand slam title at age of 24 Championships expected to be hottest on record Over the past 25 years, Wimbledon has deliberately slowed down its grass courts to blunt the power of the game’s most venomous hitters. But the era of boom-boom tennis returned with a vengeance on Sunday as Jannik Sinner defended his men’s title. It was a final short of subtlety but oozing muscular powe…

South Korean finishes two shots clear of Min Woo Lee McIlroy closes with 64 for tied seventh before the Open Tom Kim produced a bogey-free final round to win at the Scottish Open on Sunday. The 24-year-old South Korean became a Rolex Series winner for the first time and picked up a victory for the first time in 1,001 days. Kim was in fine form at the Renaissance Club with an impressive final roun…

German briefly threatened before falling well short against world No 1 whose only weakness appears to be the weather Shortly before 7pm, a full 162 minutes into this match, Alexander Zverev got his first break point on the Jannik Sinner serve. With the score still one set apiece and tied like a knot, this felt like a kind of hinge point. A humongous chance in a match preciously short on them. Sin…

We assess the teams who played in the last eight as the business end of the tournament approaches Didier Deschamps has seen it all before and certainly does not fear even the lowest of blocks. It is clear everyone is afraid of Les Bleus, which is understandable, and they are using it to their advantage. It is admirable how teams keep France quiet for lengthy periods but the game is too long to co…

India 341-7; England 130-6. England need 327 runs with 4 wickets remaining Two women claim first Test milestones at Lord’s India are poised for victory in their Test at Lord’s after reducing England to 130 for six in their second innings , having spent the first two sessions of the day batting them out of the game. Yastika Bhatia became the first woman to score a century in a Lord’s Test, as Indi…

The sacked England Test coach reinvigorated an ailing team in 2022, but his super-aggressive style proved unsustainable Farewell, then, to Bazball, the approach defined upon its adoption by the Collins English Dictionary in 2023 as “a style of Test cricket in which the batting side attempts to gain the initiative by playing in a highly aggressive manner”. In time the manner grew less aggressive, …

The latest episode of Thomas versus Jude does not have to descend into a drama and team cannot afford to be distracted heading into the World Cup semi-final Thomas Tuchel lobbed a grenade into the mix. Jude Bellingham picked it up and threw it back. There was an explosion of honesty in Miami, where everyone was struggling to maintain composure in the stifling humidity, and it needs to be dealt wi…

Pogacar wants calendar changed to avoid worst of heat Van der Poel wins ninth stage shortened amid high temperatures Tadej Pogacar called for radical change to the professional racing calendar after another day of stifling temperatures, as Mathieu van der Poel won the shortened ninth stage of the Tour de France from Malemort to Ussel, with Tom Pidcock finishing third. “If I had the power I would …

Political leaders in both countries rebuke Mariano Rajoy after he writes team ‘does not have any French players’ The former Spanish conservative prime minister Mariano Rajoy is facing growing accusations of racism after writing in a World Cup newspaper column that the French national team “does not have any French players”. Rajoy, who was in office from 2011 to 2018, pondered Spain’s looming semi…

‘Definitely ​an issue that will be examined and discussed’ Fifa president calls 48-team tournament a ‘huge success’ Fifa officials will look at the possibility of expanding the World Cup by another 16 teams before the ⁠2030 event, Gianni Infantino said in an interview. The Fifa president told Bluewin, a Swiss media outlet, that growing from 48 to ⁠64 teams could make ⁠sense. “That’s definitely ​a…

Former owner and chairman of Chelsea FC who bought the club for a pound and helped restore it to the top rank of English football For more than 20 years, Ken Bates, who has died aged 94, was synonymous with Chelsea Football Club, which he bought in 1982 from the Mears family, who had lost control after rebuilding the west stand. Haemorrhaging money, hugely in debt and about to sink into what was …

Midfielder got England back on level terms in fine fashion but pictures suggest illegal interference in the buildup Norway’s goalkeeper, Ørjan Håskjold Nyland, launches a goal-kick down the pitch two minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half. The ball falls just inside England’s half, near the touchline, where Elliot Anderson is able to gather possession and drive forward. Continue …