FIFA World Cup 2026: Messi shares training glimpse ahead of Argentina…

Florida [US], July 3 (ANI): Argentina captain Lionel Messi shared glimpses of his side’s preparations ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 clash against Cabo Verde, posting training snippets on Instagram on Thursday (local time).

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner uploaded photographs on Instagram from Argentina’s training session, offering fans a look at the defending champions’ final preparations before their knockout fixture at Miami Stadium. esporist.org

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The defending champions will face Cabo Verde in the Round of 32 on July 3 (local time), with a place in the Round of 16 at stake. Lionel Scaloni’s side enters the knockout phase aiming to continue its title defence after progressing through the group stage.

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Messi has been central to Argentina’s campaign, leading the team as they seek to retain the FIFA World Cup crown won in Qatar in 2022.

The 39-year-old has enjoyed another impressive tournament, combining experience and leadership with his trademark creativity in attack. Argentina will be looking to build on that momentum against Cabo Verde as the knockout stages begin.

Messi has enjoyed an outstanding campaign in the ongoing 23rd edition of the FIFA World Cup. The Argentine captain is currently joint-top of the Golden Boot standings with six goals, level with France captain and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe.

The winner of the encounter will advance to the Round of 16 and move one step closer to lifting the FIFA World Cup trophy. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)

Former India cricket team star Saba Karim has backed an out-of-form Sanju Samson to continue at the top of the order ahead of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the ongoing ENG vs IND series. His remarks come after the keeper-batter’s repeated failures in the last three games and the growing clamour around the delay in the 15-year-old’s T20I debut. Ahead of the ENG vs IND 2nd T20I, Karim stressed on the need for India to be patient with Sanju while pointing out that Vaibhav had to earn his place in the playing XI.

‘Samson is a fabulous player’

Speaking on Star Sports’ show ‘Follow the Blues’, Karim noted that Samson was a match-winner who was crowned the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup 2026 following which he had a good IPL season. The former BCCI selector said that Sanju must be wondering why he is being targeted after his repeated failures. The Keralam keeper-batter has registered five ducks in his last 10 away T20Is, two hundred-plus scores and three single digit knocks. It is pertinent to point out that Sanju Samson has been consistently inconsistent in his T20I career, making him an easy target after every failure.

“I don’t think so at this stage. Sanju Samson is a fabulous player. He has been a match-winner. He had a very good IPL season. Before that, he was the Player of the Tournament in the T20 World Cup. What are we looking at? Sanju Samson would be thinking, ‘Why is everyone pointing the gun at me?‘” Saba said.

Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi continues to wait on the sidelines for his T20I debut. The prolific batter earned his maiden India call-up after a stellar IPL 2026 season where he finished with 776 runs to his name. However, he did not get a chance to make his debut in the series against Ireland and in the ENG vs IND 1st T20I. This was because the team management decided to back the existing set of openers, noting that Sooryavanshi needs to wait for his opportunity.

Karim shares a similar view, noting that simply being a part of the Indian team will serve as a learning curve.

“Even for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, this is a good learning curve. He also gets to understand that to get into this Indian team XI, you have to earn your call-up. This environment will help him grow as a player and as a human being. Although he has got such an incredible amount of talent, when you get into such a competitive environment, you need to bide your time,” he added.

The post ‘Sanju Samson would be thinking…’: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi asked to earn call-up to playing XI in ENG vs IND T20Is appeared first on Inside Sport India.

Former India off-spinner R Ashwin, who will shoulder the dual responsibility of captain and mentor for ex-India captain Rahul Dravid-owned Dublin Guardians in the European T20 Premier League (EPTL), revealed that the former Team India head coach will not be involved in the team's cricketing decisions.

“I think freedom is very important for the people to be on the side [of running] a cricket team on the field. And I don’t think we’ve had too many issues at all so far. Rahul has been very clear that he doesn’t want to involve himself as much in cricketing decisions, which is why I’m at the centre of it. I’ll be taking responsibility for it and I also have to construct the team.

“It is new territory for all of us. We are looking forward to it and hopefully in the long run make a difference. Rahul and I both will have our sincere stamp on whatever we do in this tournament,” Ashwin told mid-day after the ETPL player draft during a virtual interaction with select media on Thursday.

Ashwin, 39, represented India in 287 matches across all three formats, taking 765 international wickets. Earlier, in the same dual role of captain and coach, Ashwin guided the Dindigul Dragons to the Tamil Nadu Premier League title in 2024.

“I think I’m at that stage of my career where I’d like to contribute more than just as a player. And for whatever it is worth, even if it’s a state-run league, I’ve been a coach-cum-captain for the last couple of years that I’ve played there. So, it was just a straight connection. Rahul had seen me do the job and understands what I do back home in club cricket. So, I think he was pretty confident that I could do it. It’s just a crossover into what I’d like to do next,” Ashwin added.

The inaugural edition of the six-team ETPL will be played in Ireland and the Netherlands from August 26 to September 20.

Portugal vs Croatia FIFA World Cup 2026: Cristiano Ronaldo is 41 years of age and had never scored a goal in knockouts of the World Cup in six editions but that was all until Thursday night. Ronaldo converted a penalty and became the oldest-ever goal-scorer in the history of the tournament in the knockouts as Portugal came from behind to beat Croatia in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match at Toronto Stadium.

It was the first time since 1966 World Cup that Portugal had won a game in the tournament after going 1-0 down. While Ronaldo leveled the game, a stoppage time header by ‘super sub’ Goncalo Ramos turned out to the match-winner even as a VAR ruling denied Croatia the opportunity to take the game into extra-time.

WATCH Cristiano Ronaldo score a penalty vs Croatia in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match HERE…

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For the first time in the history of the tournament, this clash featured a matchup of 40-somethings — Ronaldo in his sixth World Cup and Croatia’s Luka Modric, making his fifth appearance. Ronaldo leveled the game in the 68th minute with a penalty kick that gave the Al Nassr striker his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute.

“I never felt any of that (fear). Yes, nervous. But as always, you have to be very positive for things to go well,” Ronaldo was quoted as saying by AP news agency.

But it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16. Ronaldo’s Portugal will now face Lamine Yamal’s Spain in the pre-quarterfinals at the AT & T Stadium in Dallas on Monday.

“I love that type of moment, I love that type of games. I want to play every game like that,” Ramos said after the match.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player in football history to score 25-plus goals across the World Cup and European Championships. Before Ronaldo, the previous oldest goal-scorers in FIFA World Cup knockouts were Olivier Giroud of France at 36 years of age and Lionel Messi of Argentina at 35 years.

“First half we dominated the game. In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football. After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the match,” Ronaldo said after the match.

Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo pay tribute to Diogo Jota

In a postgame interview with Fox Sports, Ronaldo turned around to show the world that he was wearing a Diogo Jota jersey and his No. 21, one year after his teammate died in a car crash. “We knew this before the game. It was a so special moment. We speak today to our group, the coincidence of life. It’s unbelievable,” Ronaldo said

Croatia thought that they had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments. But after a 2 1/2-minute delay, Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans then started to throw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.

Croatia midfielder Petar Sucic said, “the referee said he didn’t see (anyone) touch the ball, he said that he had a sensor in that ball. For me, it’s a regular goal.”

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said it was, indeed, the chip on the ‘Trionda’ that triggered the decision. “I need to tell them (Croatia fans) the message is very clear: The balls now have a chip, and it’s very clear that’s why the VAR intervened. It’s not a subjective opinion,” Martinez said.

Croatia had opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic. Ronaldo’s former Real Madrid teammate Modric led Croatia to second and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022 and probably played in his final World Cup game.

“I played with Luka so many years. We’re nearly the same age. I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football,” Ronaldo said about Modric.

Vancouver [Switzerland], July 3 (ANI): Switzerland secured a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 with a commanding 2-0 victory over Algeria on Thursday (local time), displaying a clinical performance in the Round of 32 knockout clash.

Breel Embolo of Switzerland was named Player of the Match for his impressive performance.

Breel Embolo opened the scoring early in the 10th minute, finishing off a brilliant move initiated by Johan Manzambi. The winger produced a dazzling solo run down the left flank before reaching the byline and delivering a pinpoint cross, which Embolo converted from close range.

Holding a 1-0 lead at half-time, Switzerland doubled their advantage immediately after the restart when Dan Ndoye struck in the 46th minute. The goal came after a defensive clearance fell kindly to him outside the box, allowing him to fire a low effort into the net.

Algeria, led by Riyad Mahrez, attempted to mount a comeback but failed to break through the disciplined Swiss defence. Switzerland also came close to adding a third late on, though Fabian Rieder missed a gilt-edged opportunity.

Despite the missed chance, the Swiss side comfortably saw out the match, registering a 2-0 win and booking their place in the Round of 16.

The victory also marked Switzerland’s first World Cup knockout win since 1938, ending a long-standing wait in style.

Switzerland will remain in Vancouver, where they will next take on either Colombia or Ghana on 7 July. According to the FIFA Website, Switzerland have now won three successive fixtures at the World Cup for the first time, with this victory following group-stage triumphs over Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada. (ANI)

(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)