Sports
England, Argentina anticipate 'special game' in World Cup semifinal
July 11, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; England’s Harry Kane reacts. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images ATLANTA — England are one win away from their first World Cup final appearance in 60 years.
To get there, all they’ll have to do is beat an Argentina side looking to become the first back-to-back champion since Brazil in 1958 and ’62.
The two sides with a heated World Cup history face off on Wednesday in Atlanta for the right to face the winner of Tuesday’s Spain-France semifinal in East Rutherford, N.J., on Sunday. The losers of each semifinal will meet in a third-place match Saturday at Miami Gardens, Fla.
“This is as big as it gets, so I’m really excited for this week,” England captain Harry Kane told ITV this week. “I think it’s going to be a special game and what a tough team to play against but hopefully, that brings the best out in us.”
England’s World Cup history against Argentina is favorable on the whole, with a 3-1-1 record. Those two non-wins, though, are among the darkest marks in the country’s soccer history, a 2-1 loss in the 1986 quarterfinals on the infamous “Hand of God” goal by Diego Maradona, and a 2-2 penalty-shootout loss in the round of 16 in 1998, a match marred by David Beckham’s second-half red card.
Kane downplayed any notion of those past matches weighing on this England squad.
“I think it’s not something you want to focus too much on, surrounding the history. Yeah, that’s all part of it and that’s what (media members) will talk about, the fans will be involved in,” Kane said. ” … It’s England versus Argentina, it’s two of the biggest nations going toe to toe. Two giants in the semifinal of a World Cup. The rest of it is just a small part.”
While Kane led the way early for England with five goals in their first four matches, Jude Bellingham has been carrying the weight of late. Bellingham has delivered consecutive braces in the last two wins against Mexico and Norway to pull even with Kane and France’s Ousmane Dembele in the Golden Boot race with six goals apiece.
But they’re all chasing Argentine superstar Lionel Messi, who is tied with France’s Kylian Mbappe atop the leaderboard with eight goals in this tournament.
Messi, 39, has already broken the World Cup records for career goals (21) and assists (10) in this year’s tournament, his record sixth appearance. But Argentina showed they are more than Messi the last time out.
He didn’t score in Argentina’s 3-1 extra-time defeat of Switzerland in the quarterfinals, snapping his record nine-match World Cup scoring streak. It was an important showcase of the squad’s depth after he scored eight of their 14 goals through the first five matches.
Despite Messi’s heroics and the rest of the team’s strides, it hasn’t yet felt like Argentina have reached their peak in the knockout stage. They needed extra time to win two of their first three elimination matches and rallied from down 2-0 in the final 12 minutes of regulation to beat Egypt in the round of 16.
“Luck was with us (vs. Switzerland),” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said, a statement which could be applied to their entire knockout run. “We must be realistic, there are things we need to improve.”
And yet, here resilient Argentina are, respectful of their toughest opponent to date but certainly not intimidated.
“They have great players, but beyond the individual names they’re a team,” Argentina defender Gonzalo Montiel said. “Our focus is on ourselves first.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Sun hold off furious rally from Fire, win as buzzer-beater fails
Jul 14, 2026; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Sun forward Aaliyah Edwards (8) shoots the ball against Portland Fire forward Emily Engstler (21) in the first half at Mohegan Sun Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images Reserve Aaliyah Edwards scored 21 points as the Connecticut Sun withstood a comeback try by the Portland Fire and hung on for a 90-87 victory in Uncasville, Conn., on Tuesday afternoon.
Edwards scored 15 points in the first half and made 9-of-13 shots overall as the Sun (6-18) avoided a third straight loss.
Britney Griner added 20 in her return from a groin injury as the Sun survived being outscored 24-18 in the final 10 minutes.
Olivia Nelson-Ododa added 16 and Leila Lacan contributed 14 for the Sun, who shot 52.2% and survived a missed 3-point try at the buzzer by Portland’s Bridget Carleton that would have forced overtime.
Carla Leite led the Fire (10-14) with 18 points and Megan Gustafson contributed 15. Emily Engstler chipped in 14 and Carleton finished with 12 as the Fire shot 48.3% but finished 9-of-26 on 3-point tries.
The Sun outscored the Fire 11-4 in the final 3:36 of the first quarter to take a 32-23 lead. Nelson-Odoba sank a 16-footer for a 13-point lead two minutes into the second, Griner’s layup opened a 46-32 lead with 5:37 left and the Sun held a 50-40 lead at halftime.
The Sun took a 15-point lead with 1:42 remaining in the third on a free throw by Raegan Beers and settled for a 72-63 lead into the fourth after allowing the final five points.
Portland scored the first eight points of the fourth and forced a timeout when Gustafson’s layup cut the deficit to 72-71 with 7:52 remaining.
The Sun let the lead slip to one with 7:19 left and held an 84-79 lead on a short jumper by Lacan with 3:23 remaining. After Engstler’s six-footer made it 84-83 with 2:27 left, Edwards sank a 16-footer and a pair of three throws to help the Sun get a 90-83 lead with 73 seconds left.
Carleton sank a 10-footer with 40.9 seconds left to make it 90-87 and blocked a Lacan shot with 20.8.8 seconds left. Following a Portland timeout, the game ended when Carleton shot an airball on a well-contested corner 25-foot attempt.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Red-hot rookie Olivia Miles leads Lynx into clash with Sparks
Jun 17, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Minnesota Lynx guard Olivia Miles (5) drives to the basket against LA Sparks guard Ariel Atkins (7) in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images While pursuing their second winning streak of at least four games this season, the Minnesota Lynx have had a knack for keeping things interesting.
Owner of the league’s best record, Minnesota (18-6) seeks a more comfortable showing on Wednesday afternoon when it hosts the Los Angeles Sparks (10-12) in Minneapolis.
The Lynx have had to mount fourth-quarter rallies in each of their last three wins. On Monday, they trailed by eight in the opening minute of the final quarter before an offensive outburst lifted the club to a 104-100 victory over the Phoenix Mercury.
Kayla McBride and rookie Olivia Miles combined for 70 points in Monday’s win, helping the highest-scoring offense in the Western Conference (90.6 points per game) reach triple digits for the fifth time this year.
Miles, in particular, has turned heads just two months into her pro career. With her 33-point, eight-assist outing, the No. 2 overall pick out of TCU became the fastest player in league history to reach 400 points, 100 rebounds and 100 assists (22 games).
“There have been tremendous players in the league, so I just can’t say enough,” Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve said. “Her impact on our team, just the magnitude of it, shouldn’t be understated. … The success of the team is on her shoulders and it’s impressive how she’s handled it.”
Miles’ 19.4 points per game lead the Lynx, while McBride adds 17.0 per night and Natasha Howard averages 16.8.
Los Angeles enters the difficult matchup having dropped six of its last nine games. The Sparks also have gone 1-12 against the Lynx since the beginning of the 2023 season, which includes a 99-83 loss on June 17 in Los Angeles.
Coach Lynne Roberts’ team has been dealt bad luck on the injury front throughout the year. Kelsey Plum (team-high 23.9 points per game) hasn’t played since June 21 with a lower leg injury. Former No. 2 overall pick Cameron Brink has appeared in just 14 games — none after June 15 due to a sprained ankle.
“We can’t be entirely outcome-driven. We haven’t been healthy all year,” Roberts said. “The roster that we had on paper has not been the roster that we’ve played with. That’s hard on the players. It’s tough to gain consistency. But that’s what it is. We have to just keep chopping wood.”
Fifteen-year veteran Nneka Ogwumike leads the healthy Sparks with 17.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while Dearica Hamby averages 14.6 points and 7.6 rebounds.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Inter Miami acquire Ecuadorian D Fricio Caicedo
Apr 4, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Fans wait to enter the stadium prior to the game between the Inter Miami CF and the Austin FC at Nu Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Inter Miami acquired Ecuadorian defender Fricio Caicedo on loan from Costa Rica’s FC Moravia FCM.
The deal announced Tuesday runs through the 2027 season and includes a purchase option.
Caicedo, 18, is also eligible to occupy a U22 Initiative roster slot with the defending MLS Cup champions.
“Fricio is a young player with tremendous potential and a bright future,” Inter Miami sporting director Alberto Marrero said. “We’re very pleased to welcome him to the project. We believe this is the ideal environment for him to continue developing, grow as a player, and gradually showcase his full potential. He stands out for his physicality, his strength in the air, and his pace when competing for loose balls.”
The ink is dry. Caicedo is officially a Heron ?? pic.twitter.com/gi4Jclf46R
— Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 14, 2026
The 6-foot-4 center-back acknowledged that playing alongside eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is a dream come true.
“My goals are to play, earn minutes, become a starter and win many trophies,” Caicedo said. “I came to Miami because my dream was to play alongside (Lionel) Messi, who is without a doubt the best player in the world. I’m here to make history and show what I can do.”
Inter Miami will return from the FIFA World Cup break on July 22 against the visiting Chicago Fire.
–Field Level Media
Sun hold off furious rally from Fire, win as buzzer-beater fails
Red-hot rookie Olivia Miles leads Lynx into clash with Sparks
