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️ Live Formula One updates from 2pm BST/3pm CEST ️ Follow on TikTok | And you can also email Yara The Formula One championship battle is heating up as we arrive at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit for the final double-header before the summer break and what once looked like a comfortable advantage for the Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli has quickly become one of the closest title fights of the season…

️Updates from the final day’s play at Royal Birkdale ️ Official leaderboard | Mail Scott with your thoughts Sam Burns is playing with house money today. Sort of. The 29-year-old from Louisiana was planning to sit this one out, with his wife Caroline slated to give birth earlier this week. But Caroline delivered earlier than expected, then encouraged her husband to give the Open a whirl. And now l…

Fifa’s orchestration of incompatible or frankly absurd corporate sponsorship suggests the balance may have tipped too far It’s almost all over. No more hydration breaks, no more obligatory pans of the TV cameras to Hollywood A-listers, or dread of the crushing inevitability of English disappointment. The Fifa World Cup 2026 is at an end, after another month of planet-straddling drama laced with s…

After the team’s third-placed finish, we rate the 24 squad members who made an appearance at the tournament Jordan Pickford Could he have done better with Enzo Fernández’s equaliser for Argentina? Jude Bellingham certainly thought so. But the man who has made more World Cup finals appearances than any other Englishman made some crucial saves, including a brilliant stop from Nicolas González in th…

Great brought an ideology to Barcelona that Guardiola and Emery refined, defining the playing style of the national team Two countries are generating powerful, cross-border momentum in football. Spain represent the leading footballing culture, radiating their influence across the globe. Argentina possess a distinct identity that shapes the South American continent. Consequently, the World Cup is …

Stage updates, starting from 1.10pm CET/12.10pm BST You can email Tanya | Stage-by-stage guide | Team guide Recap yesterday’s fascinating stage in the Voges. 1. Paul Seixas (FRA) Decathlon CMA CGM Team 51:23:47 Continue reading...

Lionel Scaloni says he has a squad full of fighters – wild and unruly – but on the pitch they play with a freedom reminiscent of eight- or nine-year olds After scoring the goal that secured Argentina’s place in the World Cup final , Lautaro Martínez burst into convulsive sobs during the touchline interview. He spoke of the first pair of trainers his father bought him and of how his mother kept ma…

Updates from Lord’s, play starting at 11am BST You can email James | And sign up for The Spin We’ve got ten minutes before play begins here at Lord’s. Enough time to have a read of these lovely tributes to the great Sir Garfield Sobers who passed away this week. He was a cavalier in an era when there were so many roundheads on the international circuit. The great West Indies’ sides of his time no…

Fifa deal with prediction market company under fire Balogun reprieve showed ‘rules bend under pressure’ Fifa has been accused of providing an “open door to fraud” and allowing political influence to cast doubt on the integrity of the World Cup in a stinging rebuke by the Council of Europe’s secretary general. In an open letter published to coincide with Sunday’s final, Alain Berset also called fo…

⚽ World Cup final starts at 3pm EST, 8pm BST, 5am AEST ⚽ Player guide | Golden Boot | Follow on TikTok | Mail us Greetings greetings! forty-eight teams, five weeks and 103 matches; welcome to World Cup final day! Of course we’ll be looking back at England’s absurd victory France, as well as forward to our Spain v Argentina denouement, the champions of Europe taking on the champions of South Ameri…

Spain’s brilliance isn’t just about Rodri or Lamine Yamal – it’s all about the collective culture developed over many years We talk about individuals too much in English football. Football is about the collective. Spain’s semi-final dominance over France was not built on individual brilliance but on a shared understanding of space, timing and their core principles. That is why they are the most e…

As the top two in the Fifa rankings prepare to meet in New Jersey on Sunday we look at the pointers that may help decide the game Slavko Vincic becomes the first Slovene to referee a World Cup final. He oversaw the 2024 Champions League final at Wembley (Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0) as well as Spain’s 2-1 win over France at the 2024 Euros semi-final. The 46-year-old’s first World Cup m…

The reigning champions may need to continue outperforming their xG to overcome Spain’s superb defensive record The World Cup final will feature the champions of South America and Europe for the first time. Argentina and Spain sit first and second in Fifa’s world ranking of men’s international teams. Opta’s supercomputer rated Luis de la Fuente’s side as favourites to win the tournament, with thei…

Argentina 24-31 England Visitors run in five tries; hosts denied late score by TMO It has been a long season but England’s well-travelled players can finally head to the beach with some degree of satisfaction. Spurred on by a fine performance from the wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, they had to weather a frantic finale to complete an eventful five-try win over Argentina, thus denying their hosts a not…

Green says Mets follow all MLB AI guidelines Ottavino alleges club used AI for pitch decisions MLB recently restricted dugout iPad functions New York Mets interim manager Andy Green said the club is fully compliant with Major League Baseball when asked about a report that singled out his organization for using artificial intelligence for in-game strategy decisions. “Whatever the rules are, we rem…