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Kylian Mbappe leads the Golden Boot race by two goals but Lionel Messi could yet overtake him in the World Cup final.
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Ben Askren ends his competitive career with a points loss in a wrestling match with another former UFC fighter Belal Muhammad.
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 match was Argentina’s opening loss to Saudi Arabia in 2022. At this tournament, Vincic showed Ecuador’s Piero Hincapié a red card for covering his mouth in the 95th minute against Mexico. He has averaged 2.33 yellow cards per game. Continue reading...
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 exceptional team in the world and why I think they will win the World Cup on Sunday. It is not about Rodri, Lamine Yamal or Pedri. It’s about the whole midfield, the collective. Spain will find positional and numerical superiority in whichever way they can, because doing so has been deeply ingrained from very early ages and they are the masters of time and space on a football pitch. Against France they were rewarded for that culture by generating so many moments of four-versus-two numerical superiority in key spaces. Continue reading...
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 their opponents on Sunday deemed fourth likeliest. Both systems had England and France in their top four, suggesting the semi-finals featured the correct teams. But do the statistics from the World Cup indicate we have the best pair for the final? Continue reading...
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Midfielder Declan Rice says "this is the best England group for a very long time" after they secure a third-placed finish at the World Cup.
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