Argentine President Javier Milei said Thursday he will not attend the World Cup 2026 final in the United States, preferring to continue watching his country take on Spain from home.

Spain's prime minister Pedro Sanchez and U.S. President Donald Trump are set to meet again at Sunday's World Cup final, as strained relations between the two leaders over defence spending and the war with Iran continue to simmer.

Andy Flower has ruled himself out of contention to replace Brendon McCullum as England's new Test head coach after being linked with a second spell in the role.

Before boarding Argentina's flight from Kansas City to New York on Friday, the Chelsea midfielder once again cupped his hands behind his ears in the famous "Topo Gigio" celebration--the same gesture he produced after scoring against England in the World Cup semifinal.

Football's global governing body FIFA will assess match reports before deciding if they take any action over Argentina's players holding up a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" (The Falklands are Argentine) following their 2-1 victory over England.

Mohammad Nawaz has been sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after testing positive for a cannabis-related substance, the governing body said on Friday, with the Pakistan all-rounder being handed a three-month ban that can be reduced upon completion of a rehabilitation programme.

Slovenian referee Slavko Vincic will officiate the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina on Sunday.

Sri Lanka police arrested the Indian co-owner of a Lanka Premier League (LPL) team on Friday, hours before the tournament was due to begin, on suspicion of trying to bribe a player.

The winners of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final on Monday will not only lift football's most coveted trophy but also receive championship rings for the first time in the tournament's history.

Football has long celebrated "Fergie Time", while Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid became synonymous with dramatic late comebacks in the UEFA Champions League. Scaloni's Argentina now belong in that conversation.

Until the 85th minute of Thursday’s semifinal, Argentina were trailing England by a goal, and a spot in the final seemed to be slipping away. The clock seemed to be carrying Lionel Messi away with it.

They drift through the tournament with the emotional weather of a commuter stranded at Farmgate in the rain, watching every bus except theirs crawl past.

Pedro Porro has turned Spain's right flank from a vacancy into a personal runway, capping a dazzling World Cup charge by helping shackle France's flying attackers and scoring a thunderbolt in Wednesday's 2-0 semifinal win in Dallas.

Fox Sports continued a record-breaking week in TV soccer viewership when Argentina's narrow victory over England on Thursday was the most-watched World Cup semifinal in English-language history, Variety reported.

Nadira earned player-of-the-match honours after completing a hattrick.

Built in 1979, the famous farmhouse planted the seeds of the beautiful final that is to come.

Root came in to bat with England 0-1 after Ben Duckett was caught behind off Jasprit Bumrah from the first ball of the innings and the home side were still struggling at 8-2 and 125-5 on a two-paced pitch

It appears the coaches of the losing semifinalists were guilty of underestimating their oppositions’ strengths while being overconfident of what had worked for them in the tournament.

Lionel Messi turned 39 during the course of this World Cup. Yet the things he has done, the numbers he has produced, and the sheer excellence he has displayed in North America continue to defy age and time.

The unanswered question is whether, when history finally presents the moment they have spent decades waiting for, they are brave enough to trust the football that got them there.