Sports
Defensive Switzerland set sights on stifling Lionel Messi, Argentina
July 7, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.; Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates after the match as Argentina qualify for the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images The knockout stage of the World Cup has not been easy for defending champion Argentina.
They needed extra time in the round of 32 to earn a 3-2 victory against Cape Verde before requiring a late rally from a two-goal deficit against Egypt to claim a 3-2 win in the round of 16.
Goals may be harder to come by for Argentina against defensive-minded Switzerland in the quarterfinals on Saturday night in Kansas City, Mo.
“It wasn’t easy to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a World Cup knockout match – especially given how games are going these days, where no one gives you anything for free,” Argentina star Lionel Messi said. “But thank God, we did it once again.”
Messi, who earlier missed a penalty kick, scored the tying goal in the 83rd minute Tuesday in Atlanta before Enzo Fernandez netted the winner in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Cristian Romero sparked the comeback with a goal in the 79th minute off a Messi assist.
The 39-year-old Messi has a record 21 World Cup tallies for his career. He owns eight goals in this World Cup, tied with France’s Kylian Mbappe for the most in the tourney. Mbappe, though, has played one more match, with his team already through to the semifinals.
“Especially for those players on the bench, the players who watch Lionel Messi play and can’t believe what they’re watching – he should be a role model for them,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “He tries again and again, and I get goosebumps.”
Swiss captain Granit Xhaka and defender Ricardo Rodriguez are the only members left from the 2014 squad that lost 1-0 in extra time to Messi and Argentina in the round of 16 at Brazil.
“I don’t know that we can stop him over 90 minutes. It’s going to be difficult,” said Xhaka, referring to Messi. “But we have to be smart, compact, close the gaps and not give him too many spaces. We just try to play our game.”
Argentina is riding an 11-match unbeaten streak in the World Cup. They’ve scored multiple times in each of those games, tied for the longest streak in tournament history.
“It’s obviously a very tough challenge,” said Switzerland defender Manuel Akanji. “But I think we’re ready. I think we can play against any opponent and make it hard for them. We know it’s going to be difficult but we’re going to give our best.”
Switzerland, in the quarterfinals for the first time since they hosted the tournament in 1954, have scored nine goals over their five matches while conceding just three.
They’re coming off a scoreless draw vs. Colombia that they won 4-3 in penalty kicks.
“We know Argentina has many fine qualities. Few talk about the Swiss qualities,” Xhaka said. “(Saturday) we will talk on the pitch, and we will show what we can do, and everything else doesn’t matter.”
Switzerland will be without productive midfielder Johan Manzambi, who racked up three goals and two assists in their first four matches of the event, for the second straight match because of a knee injury.
“We tried everything we could to get him back in peak form,” Swiss coach Murat Yakin said. “Momentum was on his side, and there was so much joy when he plays, and he has his teammates by his side. Everything worked out so well for him until now.”
The winner of Saturday’s match will play either Norway or England on Wednesday in Atlanta with a berth in the World Cup final on July 19 at East Rutherford, N.J., on the line.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A'ja Wilson back in form for Aces as Mercury come to town
Jun 17, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) defends against Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas (25) at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images A’ja Wilson wasn’t the least bit hindered in her return from a three-game injury absence Thursday night.
Wilson takes aim at another strong outing on Saturday when the Las Vegas Aces host the Phoenix Mercury.
The four-time league MVP missed three games with an injured right ankle and wasted no time returning to her usual standard. She ended up with a game-high 32 points and 10 rebounds to help Las Vegas notch an 88-80 road victory over the Portland Fire.
“Early on, I was just testing my ankle to see if it was ready to rock and roll,” Wilson told reporters. “I felt like I was ready a couple of games ago, but the medical staff said something different.
“I just knew that I had to be aggressive and take what the defense was giving me.”
Wilson made 10 of 19 field-goal attempts – splitting two 3-point tries – and hit 11 of 13 free throws while playing 30 minutes.
Jackie Young added 19 points, 11 assists and three steals as Las Vegas (16-6) moved into a tie with the Minnesota Lynx for the best record in the WNBA.
That victory also gave Becky Hammon one of the coaching spots for the All-Star Game July 25 in Chicago. The coaches of the teams with the two best records as of Friday receive that honor. Minnesota’s Cheryl Reeve will be the other coach.
Phoenix (8-15) and Las Vegas split two meetings earlier this season. The Mercury notched their most impressive win of the season in their 2026 opener when they blew out the host Aces 99-66 on May 9 in Sin City.
On Tuesday, Phoenix veteran DeWanna Bonner became the third player in WNBA history to exceed 8,000 career points. Bonner (8,014) trails Tina Charles (8,396) and Mercury legend Diana Taurasi (10,646), the latter a former teammate.
Bonner, who turns 39 next month, averages 9.0 points per game this season in her 17th WNBA campaign.
“The older you get, just understanding what to put in your body and what fuels you,” Bonner told the team website. “What it takes to warm up, and how you treat your body after a game is huge. It’s important. You take a beating out there, so you have to love on your body a little bit more. Especially the older you get.”
Bonner had nine points and a team-high seven rebounds in Thursday’s 92-89 home loss to the Indiana Fever. Alyssa Thomas led the way with 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Phoenix has lost consecutive games after winning its previous three.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cameron Percy conquers wet, windy Firestone to seize Kaulig lead
Cameron Percy hits out of a sand trap during round 2 of the Kaulig Companies PGA Championship, July 10, 2026, at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. Australia’s Cameron Percy fired a 4-under-par 66 on Friday during the second round of the Kaulig Companies Championship to claim a one-shot lead through 36 holes at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio.
Percy’s bogey-free trip around the wet and windy South Course pushed him to 7 under as he hunts his first PGA Tour Champions title. First-round leader Jerry Kelly and Zach Johnson are one shot behind while Boo Weekley sits two back.
Percy, 52, and his caddie have done the math to decide what it should take for Percy to make the tour’s fourth major of the year his first win.
“We worked out most of the time if you get to 12 under, you’ll win,” Percy said. “So I didn’t care about my score, I’m just trying to get to 12 under. That’s 3 under a day and I’m one shot ahead of that.
“Really, you know, I’m still 5 behind what I’m trying to do. I need 5 more under from here on in and if someone beats me, well, that’s just too good.”
Kelly, who won majors in 2020 and 2022 at Firestone, already has figured out what it takes. If not for a bogey on No. 18, he’d hold a share of the lead with Percy. Instead, he finished with a 69 for the day to join Percy and Johnson as the only golfers who are at least halfway to 12 under.
Johnson pieced together five birdies and two bogeys for the second straight day to net another 67.
“The days were very similar, yesterday and today,” Johnson said. “Obviously the scorecard was very similar. Created a lot of opportunities. I missed some short putts yesterday. You can argue I missed a couple short putts today, too. But I made a couple, so I’m driving it great, I seemed to give myself a lot of good opportunities.
“Seems like the harder the hole — the more difficulty — I seem to execute even better. That was encouraging.”
Weekley, who has shed the sinus infection that forced him to withdraw from last week’s U.S. Senior Open after the opening round, posted a bogey-free 67 to move to 5 under. He climbed five spots into solo fourth going into the weekend.
“Today I didn’t have a square (a bogey),” Weekley said. “I got lucky, though. I missed a couple greens on the par-3s and I actually drew good lies. You know, when you draw the good lie, you feel good about it, you feel like you can get it up and down, and I got it close every time and just tapped it in.”
Tag Ridings, the only golfer in the 76-man field to match Percy’s second-round 66, joins South Africa’s Retief Goosen (67), Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke (70) and Ryan Armour (68) at 4 under.
Stewart Cink, who won this year’s first two majors, posted a 68 Friday to round out the top 10 with Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen (70) at 3 under.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Belgium GK Thibaut Courtois on injury sub: Team above everything
July 10, 2026; Inglewood, California, U.S.; Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois. Mandatory Credit: Gary Vasquez-Imagn Images Thibaut Courtois has kept Belgium in many a match throughout his national team career. But an injury substitution before a heartbreaking loss may have been the goalkeeper’s final World Cup moment.
Courtois said he would have been able to play through a leg injury, but he accepted being taken out for Senne Lammens in the 71st minute of Belgium’s quarterfinal showdown with Spain on Tuesday.
Lammens proceeded to let in Mikel Merino’s game-winning goal in the 88th minute, which enabled La Roja to advance 2-1.
“I felt a lot of pain in my quadriceps. But I had no problem with staying in goal though, only for long kicks,” Courtois told media after the match, per soccer reporter Fabrizio Romano.
“In the end the manager decided to take me off. This is no problem as the team goes above everything.”
The Real Madrid star let in Fabian Ruiz’s goal to open the scoring in the 30th minute, but Charles De Ketelaere equalized for Belgium before halftime.
Courtois was credited with four saves before his exit. He supported Lammens, 24, a Manchester United goalie who made two saves in his brief World Cup debut. Lammens dropped a soft shot by Pau Cubarsi and Merino smashed the rebound past him for the deciding goal.
“Senne Lammens is a fantastic goalkeeper with a bright future,” Courtois said. “This moment will make him stronger.”
It’s not known whether Courtois will make another World Cup appearance as he’ll be 38 when he is 38 during the 2030 tournament.
His goalkeeping spurred Belgium to a quarterfinal run in 2014 and a third-place finish in 2018, their best World Cup to date. Friday was Courtois’ 21st World Cup match; he’s had eight clean sheets, tied for third all-time behind Fabien Barthez and Peter Shilton, each with 10.
Per reports from his mixed zone interview, Courtois said he would like to take a year off from international competition — skipping the 2026-27 UEFA Nations League — and play for Belgium in qualifiers for the 2028 UEFA European Championship.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson back in form for Aces as Mercury come to town
Cameron Percy conquers wet, windy Firestone to seize Kaulig lead
