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World Cup QF: France vs Morocco preview, predictions, head-to-head, stats

France have won all five matches and scored 14 goals, but Morocco's fast-break threat, unbeaten run and big-match maturity make this quarterfinal far from routine

Who will reach the world cup semifinals? Quarterfinal schedule, timings IST

Fifa World Cup 2026 quarterfinals feature France vs Morocco, Spain vs Belgium, Norway vs England and Argentina vs Switzerland. Check IST timings, players to watch and semifinal predictions

Atlanta chaos fallout: Egypt cries foul over refereeing, pro-Messi bias

Argentina's 3-2 comeback win over Egypt had the scoreline of a classic, but VAR controversy, touchline fury and accusations of favouritism gave Atlanta a darker edge

Switzerland end 72-year wait, set quarterfinal date with Argentina

Gregor Kobel saved Cucho Hernandez's penalty before Ruben Vargas scored the decisive kick as Switzerland beat Colombia 4-3 in a shootout

Argentina escape Egypt scare as Messi sparks late World Cup comeback

Argentina trailed Egypt 2-0 till the 79th minute before Lionel Messi inspired a stunning late comeback to seal a 3-2 win and reach the quarterfinals

Ronaldo-inspired Cobolli headlines Italy's memorable day at Wimbledon

On his first match point, Flavio Cobolli stepped up and unleashed a 135 mph first serve down the T that landed on the line and sent a puff of chalk into the air on No. 1 Court at Wimbledon. Fifth-seeded opponent Alex de Minaur could barely touch the serve and the Australian's weak return didn't even go past his own service line. Cobolli reacted by leaping into the air and pumping his fist. He launched a ball into the crowd before moving forward to shake hands with De Minaur. Then the Italian moved on to the performance he'd been waiting for. Cobolli put his racket down and went back out into the center of the court and launched himself into the most iconic celebration in soccer: twirling in mid-air like Cristiano Ronaldo, he then landed on the grass with his feet planted wide and jerked his arms down by his side. The mostly English crowd knew just what was going on and shouted "Siuuu" along with Cobolli. "I love his celebration. I love him," said Cobolli, who was once a promising

Asian Games debut marks new chapter for rapidly growing virtual taekwondo

When Vietnamese athlete Nguyen Thanh Hien Linh stepped into her first virtual taekwondo competition in Singapore in 2024, she had little idea what she was doing. "I was just kicking into the air," recalled the 21-year-old. Despite her background as an elite national taekwondo champion, she struggled in the virtual arena with no clue on strategy, skills or how the technology worked. Two years later, she won a gold medal at a recent virtual taekwondo competition in Malaysia and was part of a growing community of the gamified combat sport across Southeast Asia. Once unfamiliar and experimental, virtual taekwondo is now emerging as a structured competitive discipline. Co-developed by World Taekwondo and Singapore-based technology company Refract Technologies, it combines virtual reality technology with traditional taekwondo techniques to woo tech-savvy young athletes. Competitors wear VR headsets that transport them into a digital 3D arena, and strap motion-tracking sensors on their ..

Belgium end USA World Cup dream as Balogun controversy fades in 4-1 rout

Belgium beat the United States 4-1 in the Fifa World Cup 2026 Round of 16 as Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and Folarin Balogun had little impact

Spain set World Cup record with sixth straight clean sheet as Simon shines

Spain broke a World Cup record with its sixth consecutive clean sheet and goalkeeper Unai Simon extended his record shutout streak to 609 minutes after a 1-0 win over Portugal on Monday. Spain broke its tie with Italy (1990) and Switzerland (2006-10) for the most consecutive World Cup matches not allowing a goal. Spain's streak began with a 0-0 draw in the round of 16 in 2022, when Morocco advanced after a penalty shootout. There was also a surprising scoreless draw against Cape Verde to open group play in this tournament followed by four consecutive shutout victories to advance to the quarterfinals. Simon surpassed the previous record of 517 consecutive scoreless minutes during a 3-0 blanking of Austria to open the knockout round Thursday. Famed Italy goalkeeper Walter Zenga set the standard in 1990 with five consecutive clean sheets in his home World Cup. Simon's shutout streak started in 2022 in Qatar during a 2-1 loss to Japan to wrap up group play. He came into the Portugal g

Mbappe slams Paraguayan senator over racist remarks after World Cup match

France star Kylian Mbappe on Monday condemned a Paraguayan senator over racist remarks she made following Paraguay's loss to France in the round of 16 at the World Cup. Mbappe called Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay's Liberal Radical Party, a "despicable woman" who was "unworthy" of serving in Paraguay's Congress. "Through your recklessness and your brazen racism, the entire world has already forgotten the journey and the historic effort that your players accomplished during this World Cup," Mbappe wrote on X. Amarilla posted a series of racist comments on X after Mbappe converted the winning penalty in France's victory over Paraguay on Saturday, mocking the French captain's origins, upbringing, education and appearance. France advanced to the quarterfinals, where it will face Morocco on Thursday. The Paraguayan government released a statement Monday afternoon condemning Amarilla's remarks as "contrary to the values and principles that inspire peaceful coexistence and resp

Ronaldo's World Cup dream ends as Spain strike late to beat Portugal

Mikel Merino scored in stoppage time as Spain beat Portugal 1-0 in Dallas, ending Cristiano Ronaldo's final World Cup campaign

Fifa dismisses Belgium appeal as Balogun ban row clouds USA World Cup clash

Fifa dismissed Belgium's appeal after suspending Folarin Balogun's one-match ban, clearing the US striker to face Belgium in the World Cup Round of 16

Jude Bellingham double helps England edge Mexico in World Cup classic

Jude Bellingham scored twice and Harry Kane converted a penalty as England beat Mexico 3-2 despite Jarell Quansah's red card

'I leave with a clear conscience': Ronaldo confirms last World Cup rumours

On the eve of Portugal's Round of 16 showdown against Spain, the 41-year-old finally said the words the footballing world had long expected to hear.

Mexico vs England HIGHLIGHTS, World Cup pre-QF: 10-men England beat hosts Mexico 3-2; through to QF

England vs Mexico highlights: A brace from Bellingham followed by a Harry kane penalty made sure the Three Lions book their QF berth on the night.

Haaland sends Brazil home as Norway script historic World Cup upset

Erling Haaland scored twice late in New York as Norway beat Brazil 2-1 to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time

Neymar calls time on Brazil career after Norway ends World Cup dream

Neymar retirement news: After Brazil's 2-1 loss to Norway in the Fifa World Cup 2026 Round of 16 on Sunday, Neymar said he was done with the national team.

Praggnanandhaa loses ground in Blitz as Alireza opens up lead in Croatia

Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa could not replicate his rapid form, managing just 3.5 points from the opening nine rounds of the blitz section, while France's Alireza Firouzja produced a brilliant display to emerge as the sole leader after the penultimate day of the Croatian leg of the Grand Chess Tour. Alireza was simply brilliant in the faster version as he knocked down as many as eight points out of a possible nine and took a massive three points lead on 20 points over nearest rivals Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan and Maxime Vachier-Lagrave of France. Praggnaandhaa slipped behind to a distanced fourth on 15.5 points, while world champion D Gukesh had another average day to reach on 14 points for his fifth spot. In what can be termed one of the most dominant performances in Grand Chess Tour history, Firouzja has left half the field at least seven points adrift. Vincent Keymer of Germany is sixth on 13 points, Dutchman Anish Giri is another half a point behind, while Deac ...

Tanvi Khanna backs complete home ecosystem for India's squash rise

Squash ace Tanvi Khanna believes that establishing the complete ecosystem of the sport within the country is essential for the skill expansion and global success of next generation players. The world No. 74 Tanvi, who is in the Indian squad for the Asian Games to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, in September-October, says India must imbibe lessons from top nations that have consistently produced champions. "I do believe we can learn from other nations that have a history of producing champions, but the idea is to learn and bring back the same skills to fellow Indians, so, it's more sustainable and long term," Tanvi, who won the Squash PSA Challenger Tour here, told PTI in an exclusive interview. "I strongly believe if we want the future generation to win medals for India, the entire ecosystem of coaches and players has to be in India. "This is the only way to inspire the future generations (and) this is what countries like Egypt have, and India is currently lacking," she said. Tan

Argentina survive Cape Verde scare as Messi reaches 20 World Cup goals

Lionel Messi scored his record-extending 20th World Cup goal as Argentina beat Cape Verde 3-2 after extra time to enter the Round of 16