Page 18 - Sports News

World Cup 2026 Round of 16 schedule: Teams, IST timings, venues, streaming

Fifa World Cup 2026 Round of 16 begins on July 4. Check full pre-quarterfinal schedule, IST timings, venues, teams, results and live streaming details

Delhi HC reserves verdict on pleas over Asian Games dressage selection

The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its verdict on pleas by riders Anush Agarwalla and Sudipti Hajela challenging their exclusion from the dressage team for the upcoming Asian Games. A bench of Chief Justice D K Upahdyaya and Justice Tejas Karia heard on merits the appeal by the two athletes challenging a single judge's June 29 order that refused to interfere with the selections after the Equestrian Federation of India (EFI) refused to agree to the appointment of an independent expert to evaluate the rankings of the selected athletes. The counsel for the ad hoc committee running the EFI contended that the "best" riders had already been selected for the sporting event and that the appeals were "not a fair attempt by genuine persons". The counsel asserted that once the single judge has already given a decision upholding the selections, the central government cannot sit in appeal over it, and appointing any such expert would amount to external influence over a national sports ...

VAR saves Portugal as Ramos late show ends Modric's World Cup journey

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first World Cup knockout goal before Goncalo Ramos headed Portugal into the last 16, where Spain await

US end European jinx as Balogun drama fuels World Cup knockout win

The US beat Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 in the Fifa World Cup 2026 Round of 32, ending a 24-year wait for a knockout win and setting up a Belgium clash

Belgium's great escape: Late heroics end Senegal's World Cup dream

Romelu Lukaku ignited Belgium's comeback in the 86th minute, arriving perfectly inside the box to convert Thomas Meunier's low cross and halve the deficit.

FIFA WC 2026: Harry Kane overtakes Pele as England storm into Round of 16

Two moments of individual brilliance from Kane transformed panic into relief, carrying England into the Round of 16, where a daunting meeting with hosts Mexico now awaits.

Ecuador's Hincapie receives red card for covering mouth at World Cup 2026

Ecuador's Piero Hincapie became the second player to be issued a red card at the World Cup under FIFA's new rule that calls for a player to be sent off for covering their mouth during a confrontational exchange with an opponent. Hincapie was sent off in the 95th minute of Ecuador's 2-0 loss to Mexico Tuesday in the round of 32. He was shown the red card following an exchange with Mexico forward Santi Gimenez. FIFA established the new rule to prevent players from hiding abusive comments to opponents by covering their mouth. Paraguay's Miguel Almiron was the first player to be punished under the new rule when he was sent off in a group stage match against Turkey last week. While Ecuador's tournament is over, Hincapie will be suspended for the team's next international match.

Fifa WC: Mexico end 40-year knockout drought, beat Ecuador 2-0 to enter R16

Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez scored goals in a nine-minute span in the first half and Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 to break a 40-year drought without a win in the knockout stage and progressed to the World Cup round of 16. Quinones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute while Jimenez added a strike in the 31st minute for the Mexicans, who had not won a knockout-stage match since defeating Bulgaria in the round of 16 when they hosted the tournament in 1986. Mexico subsequently lost seven consecutive times at that same stage in the 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups. In Qatar 2022, they were eliminated in the group stage for the first time since Argentina '78. Mexico will play another home match Sunday against the winner of Wednesday's match between England and Congo. The match started one hour after the original scheduled time due to a thunderstorm. It was the second match of the tournament affected by weather. A storm during the France-Iraq match at Philadel

Mbappe breaks WC record of most goals in knockouts as France storm into R16

Kylian Mbappe scored twice in France's 3-0 win over Sweden, taking his World Cup knockout tally to 10 and his overall tournament count to 18

The Wimbledon Debenture: A front-row seat and a winning investment

Each Debenture provides the holder a premium seat on Centre Court or No.1 Court for The Championships for five years, along with the use of exclusive restaurants and bars.

Mexico-Ecuador World Cup match delayed by an storm in Mexico City

The match between Mexico and Ecuador for the round of 32 of the World Cup was delayed Tuesday night due to a thunderstorm over the Mexico City Stadium area. The storm started about two hours before the match was set to begin. No announcement was made on when it would start. Mexico is aiming to qualify to the round of 16 and inch closer to tie their best performances in the World Cup. Mexico reached the quarterfinals, playing at home, in 1970 and 1986.

How Supreme Court ruling on transgender athletes affects US women's sports

The Supreme Court ruling comes as international sports organisations increasingly move towards biological sex-based eligibility rules

India Open shifted to February as BWF unveils 2027-28 tournament calendar

The India Open Super 750 will be held in February next year and at the end of January in 2028, according to the World Tour Calendar for the next two years announced by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Tuesday. The 2026 edition of the country's flagship event was held from January 13 to 18 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium. It will now be staged from February 2 to 7 in 2027, and from January 25 to 30 in 2028 in the national capital. The 2026 edition had faced widespread criticism from elite international players over hazardous air quality, freezing indoor court temperatures, and concerns related to venue hygiene. The Syed Modi India International, which has been downgraded to a Super 100 event, will be held in Lucknow from July 27 to August 1 in 2027 and from July 25 to 30 in 2028. The BWF confirmed a 35-tournament global circuit for 2027 and 2028, ranging from Super 1000 to Super 100 levels, along with the season-ending World Tour Finals. The calendar will run year-round

Netherlands suffer another penalty heartbreak as Morocco reach pre-quarters

Yassine Bounou saved Crysencio Summerville's spot kick before Ismael Saibari scored the winner as Morocco beat the Netherlands 3-2 on penalties

Germany lose World Cup shootout for first time as Paraguay spring upset

Paraguay beat Germany 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, with Orlando Gill making two saves and Jose Canale scoring the sudden-death winner

Who is Ancy Sojan? Kerala jumper who broke Anju Bobby's 22-year-old record

Besides rewriting the record books, the jump also secured Ancy the Athletics Federation of India's qualification mark for the 2026 Asian Games

Cape Verde defy football's rich list, set up Messi clash in World Cup's R32

Cape Verde, the smallest nation to reach a men's World Cup knockout round, will face Argentina after finishing second in Group H despite a squad value far below football's giants

World Cup: Iran, Fifa avoid questions on Seattle Pride Match against Egypt

Before coach Amir Ghalenoei or goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand answered any questions Thursday ahead of Iran's World Cup match with Egypt, a FIFA official spoke up. Daniel Marin, FIFA's executive director of public relations, read a statement in light of the teams meeting in a "Pride Match" in Seattle on Friday. Egypt and Iran are two of the most repressive places in the world for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, but they coincidentally will play each other while the host city honours the LGBTQ+ community. "This Islamic Republic of the Iran Football Federation has asked us to inform the media that they are only willing to answer questions in relation to the game," Marin said. "We fully respect the right of all journalists to ask questions. In this case, we ask you respect the rights of the federation here today to only answer questions in relation to the team, the tactics, the match, and so on." Nonetheless, Ghalenoei was peppered with questions about what will transpire

New Zealand just one win away from historic World Cup knockout berth

There are several World Cup teams ranked higher than New Zealand entering their final group-stage matches without any hope of advancing to the round of 32. "That's not us," New Zealand coach Darren Bazeley said Thursday ahead of his team's match against Belgium on Friday. "We're now in a game where we win, we go through." That scenario seemed unthinkable when the All Whites, among the lowest-ranked teams in the this year's World Cup, were drawn into Group G with Belgium, Egypt and Iran. But thanks to the expanded 48-team format and a group that has veered off script, New Zealand is one win away from advancing out of the group stage for the first time. "It never works out like you expect it to," Bazeley said. "Football doesn't." A win against Belgium could push New Zealand into second place in Group G -- and therefore the knockout rounds -- if Egypt and Iran play to a draw in a match that will be played simultaneously on Friday. Anything less than a win for New Zealand against Bel

Fifa WC 2026: Turkey stun US 3-2 with late goal as Americans eye knockouts

Kaan Ayhan scored on the final kick of the match, and Turkey beat the United States 3-2 Thursday night for its only win of the World Cup. Auston Trusty scored in the third minute and Sebastian Berhalter got a tying goal early in the second half for the Americans, who had already won Group D with victories over Paraguay and Australia. Coach Mauricio Pochettino's team will meet Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday. Pochettino fielded nine new starters for this low-stakes game, but Christian Pulisic entered in the 58th minute. He hadn't played since the first half of the Americans' opener due to a calf injury. Arda Guler and Orkun Kokcu scored in the first half of a resilient performance by Turkey, which had already been eliminated. Turkey won in the eighth minute of stoppage time when Can Uzun got the ball in space on the back post and pushed it past sprawling goalkeeper Matt Turner to Ayhan, who slid to knock it home.