Shabab Chowdhury

For much of the 2026 World Cup, Argentina's journey has appeared to rest on the timeless brilliance of Lionel Messi. Yet, as the defending champions stand one game away from retaining their crown, it has become increasingly clear that Lionel Scaloni's side have found heroes beyond their captain.

The bottom line is that both teams have repeatedly found a way to win even when the odds appeared stacked against them. Neither, however, has produced the convincing, dominant display expected of a potential champion.

What do you need to turn fortunes around in a tournament?

What is a World Cup if not a collection of stories to remember? The making of fairy tales, the emergence of the unlikeliest heroes, and the crushing weight of the harshest realities, all mixed into one cauldron, brewing stories to be remembered for a lifetime.

There were long spells in Dallas yesterday when Erling Haaland appeared to be little more than a spectator in Norway’s 2-1 Round of 32 win over Ivory Coast.

England got the job done, but they will not earn extra points for style after a grafting 2-0 victory over Panama in their final Group L match at the FIFA World Cup in New Jersey yesterday.

Despite the inevitable scrutiny that follows England wherever they go, this is far from a crisis. Credit must instead go to a Ghana side that arrived with a plan, committed fully to it, and executed it brilliantly.

England have won opening games before. They have won major-tournament matches before. What they have rarely done is leave supporters wanting to watch them again immediately.

It was as if the Spanish Armada had descended upon Atlanta Stadium on Monday, where reigning European champions Spain took on World Cup debutants Cape Verde in their Group H opener widely billed as one of the biggest mismatches of the tournament.

When the announcement of the player of the match came, a few eyebrows were raised. Many felt the award should have gone to Morocco's 18-year-old midfield sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi instead of Brazil's Vinicius Junior after a pulsating 1-1 draw in New Jersey on Sunday.

As the curtain rises on the 2026 FIFA World Cup tonight, the United States appears to be competing for an altogether different title -- one of the most inhospitable hosts in the tournament's history.

Two banks of flat fours with two centre-forwards leading the line. What is there to not get? Simple, isn’t it?

A personal account highlights alleged irregularities and the limited remedy

This season of the Big Bash League has been a sobering exercise for three of Pakistan’s marquee cricketers. Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi arrived in Australia armed with heavyweight reputations and vast T20 expertise but what followed instead has been a humbling experience.

Twelve years -- that’s how long the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) went without an auction. And with unexpected surprises, unprecedented requests, and an overall underwhelming foreign-player pool, Sunday’s return to the auction table was, in many ways, reflective of the BPL’s fragile reputation.

Litton Das did something uncharacteristic of a Bangladesh captain after his side’s defeat in the first T20I against the West Indies in Chattogram on Monday.

For once, Mehidy Hasan Miraz dropped the clichés. There was no talk of “learning experiences” or “positives to take.” Instead, the Bangladesh ODI captain sounded visibly exasperated as he laid bare the team’s batting frailties after yet another collapse saw them slump to an 81-run defeat -- and a 2-0 series loss -- against Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi on Saturday.

Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera finds himself at a defining crossroads, blessed with a momentous opportunity to shape the very future of the country’s football.

Even as he credited his side’s resilience, Westwood was quick to acknowledge Bangladesh’s surge.

Bangladesh batter Saif Hassan has done what many of his peers could not. He stepped away from the national fold, returned stronger, and finally proved himself ready for the demands of international cricket.