After what may have been his final World Cup match, Lionel Messi was in tears on the field Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J., ruing a missed chance to win a second consecutive title for Argentina.

Messi, without hinting whether his World Cup career was officially through, congratulated Spain and said the memories will last in an Instagram post Monday.

“The pain is immense, and this wound will take time to heal,” Messi wrote in his native Spanish alongside a photo of him bearing a silver medal. “But I also hold onto all the good things… The matches we turned around by giving it our all–moments that will remain in our memories forever–and the support of an entire country which, combined with this group’s hard work and effort, brought us back among the world’s elite once again. It is hard to fully appreciate our achievement right now, but this group reached two consecutive World Cup finals.”

Argentina defeated France on penalty kicks following a 3-3 draw in the 2022 final in Qatar, earning the last piece of major hardware Messi had yet to win in his illustrious career.

Argentina were once again one of the best teams in the 2026 tournament in North America. They rallied past England in the semifinals before coming up against a Spanish defense that held them without a shot on goal.

Messi turned 39 during the tournament and will turn 43 during the 2030 World Cup to be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for every greeting and message,” Messi wrote. “Once again, we managed to unite as a country and stand together, sharing the immense pride of being Argentine.

“I also want to congratulate Spain on winning the championship.”

Messi broke Miroslav Klose’s record of 16 all-time World Cup goals early in the tournament, and he finished with 21, though he was caught and surpassed by Kylian Mbappe (22). The French star also denied Messi a Golden Boot, finishing with 10 goals to the Argentine’s eight.

ESPN reported Monday that Messi and his national team and club teammate Rodrigo De Paul will not play the next two regular-season matches for Inter Miami, nor participate in the MLS All-Star Game, as they rest and recover from the World Cup.

–Field Level Media

The Women’s Tennis Association has changed its eligibility policy and will require athletes to submit to a one-time genetic gender test to establish eligibility, the organization revealed early this week.

In a Reuters report detailing the specifics of the new requirements, players will be required to be tested for the SRY gene, which helps determine biological sex. The test can be administered via cheek swab or blood test.

“Player screening will begin in 2026, following all appropriate confidentiality and data privacy safeguards and concurrent with a comprehensive player engagement program,” a WTA spokesperson told Reuters. “The WTA recognizes that this is a sensitive and complex issue and is committed to treating all players with dignity and implementing the policy in a respectful and thoughtful way.”

Previous policy allowed transgender women the ability to compete if their testosterone level was lowered past a specific threshold for more than two years prior to participation, though no known transgender women are currently active in professional tennis.

The International Olympic Committee adopted a similar policy involving a one-time test earlier this spring. Other sports organizations to adopt the testing have included the World Athletics federation and World Boxing federation.

Current and former pros have voiced their support and opposition to such testing, with critics arguing that it is discriminatory.

Martina Navratilova, an 18-time Grand Slam champion and gay rights proponent, has spoken in opposition to the inclusion of transgender athletes, as has current world No. 1 player Aryna Sabalenka.

Yet Billie Jean King, famous for once winning the “battle of the sexes” in 1973, has described exclusion of transgender athletes as discrimination.

–Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Dodgers acquired right-handed reliever Seth Halvorsen in a trade with the Colorado Rockies on Monday.

The Rockies received a pair of minor leaguers in right-hander Nick Frasso and outfielder Landyn Vidourek.

Halvorsen, 26, is 0-1 with a 4.74 ERA in 21 relief appearances for the Rockies this season. In three major league seasons with Colorado, he is 3-4 with a 4.31 ERA in 75 relief appearances.

After just spending time on the injured list because of right shoulder inflammation, Halvorsen made a rehab appearance at Triple-A Albuquerque on Sunday and pitched a scoreless inning. Los Angeles is expected to send Halvorsen to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

Frasso, 27, was 1-0 with a 4.74 ERA in 21 appearances (one start) with Oklahoma City this season, while Vidourek, 22, was batting .170 with six home runs and 24 RBIs in 59 games at Single-A Ontario.

Also on Monday, the Dodgers optioned right-hander Kyle Hurt to Oklahoma City. Hurt was the additional 27th man on the roster for the second game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the New York Yankees and pitched two scoreless innings.

–Field Level Media