Spain cruised past Austria 3-0 on Thursday in a dominant display that reinforced their status as one of the favourites for the World Cup and sent them into the last 16.

Harry Kane sends England into the round of 16 of the World Cup after 2-1 win against #Congo

Paraguay knock out Germany on penalty kicks in World Cup stunner. FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts - Paraguay stunned four-time world champions Germany 4-3 on penalties on Monday to advance to the World Cup round of 16 in one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history, after the teams were tied 1-1 over 120 minutes.

Jose Canale hit the decisive penalty to give the underdogs a memorable victory and spark wild celebrations, as they advanced to the next round where they will face either title contenders France or Sweden in the last 16.

It is the biggest win in the World Cup for the South Americans, who reached the quarter-finals in 2010 and had not qualified since.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, who at the age of 38 became the youngest coach in a World Cup knockout stage in 40 years, opted for an offensive lineup, giving his team’s top scorer in the tournament, Deniz Undav, his first start.

The forward, who had three goals and two assists in the group stage, threatened early on with a curled shot as the Germans controlled possession as expected, and had their opponents pinned in their own half.

While spending most of the time without the ball, Paraguay were content to soak up the pressure and do the hard defensive work as Germany plodded every possible route to their opponents’ goal but had no single effort on target in the entire first half.

By the 35th minute Germany, desperate to advance deep in the tournament after group-stage exits in both 2018 and 2022, had completed 244 passes to Paraguay’s 31 but had not managed to come any closer to breaking the deadlock.

Executing their game plan to perfection, the South Americans, with Miguel Almiron back in the side after his suspension, stunned the favorites with a quick move down the right before Enciso powered home his header to score his country’s first ever goal in the knockout stage of a World Cup.

The small pockets of Paraguay fans, completely outnumbered by the white-clad Germany supporters, exploded with joy, pounding their drums as silence fell across large swathes of the stands.

Frustration was visible among the Germany players as their dominance proved unprecedented - no team had ever completed 253 more passes than their opponents in a World Cup first half and still gone in behind at halftime.

They hit back nine minutes after the restart with Florian Wirtz floating a cross into the box and Havertz leveling with a glancing header.

Wirtz delivered an almost identical cross in the 78th minute but Havertz’s header was blocked by keeper Orlando Gill as the game spilled over into extra time.

The Germans thought they had snatched a winner in the 102nd minute when defender Jonathan Tah headed in a corner at the far post but after a lengthy VAR review the goal was disallowed for a foul on the keeper.

The Germans saw Havertz, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Tah fail to score from the spot before Canale, after two misses by the South Americans, kept his composure to seal their win. #Sportnews, #fifa

Writing by Karolos GrohmannEditing by Toby Davis

#Congo DR's win over Uzbekistan knocks South Korea out of the top eight 👏
There's one more third-place spot up for grabs. #DStvFIFAWorldCup2026 | #EverythingCanWait

Serena Williams’ comeback is ‘inspirational’: Novak Djokovic. Novak Djokovic admitted that Serena Williams’ comeback has given him an added boost as he pursues a record-setting 25th Grand Slam title.

Williams, 44, will compete at Wimbledon for the first time in four years. In addition to her singles attempt, she’s also joining her older sister, Venus, in the women’s doubles competition.

“First and foremost, what she’s doing is inspirational and it’s epic. That’s what I told her,” Djokovic, 39, said Saturday. “I always admired her career, her journey, her story. Of course, Venus’ as well.

“For her to come back after years of being absent from the tour, two children later, and to give so much effort to, not just for her own satisfaction or coming back on the tour, but also to give all of us a pleasure of seeing her back on the court is remarkable.

“I told her that whatever happens, what she’s doing is truly inspirational for me personally, I’m sure for millions around the world.”

Like Williams, Djokovic is a seven-time winner at Wimbledon, most recently in 2022. Roger Federer holds the men’s record with eight titles at Wimbledon.

Seeded seventh, Djokovic will face China’s Wu Yibing on Monday at the All England Club.

Williams will face Australian Maya Joint in the first round at Wimbledon. It will be the first singles match for Williams since a third-round loss at the U.S. Open on Sept. 2, 2022.

“I see her in the gym more than I have seen her when she was at her prime,” Djokovic said. “It tells me that she really wants this to work out the best way possible. It’s admirable, honestly, the effort she’s putting in. Of course, all eyes are on her, her comeback. I just hope that she will enjoy because she really deserves (to).”

The longtime World No. 1 received a wild-card entry at the All England Club, where she claimed the singles titles in 2002, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

Williams began her comeback with doubles matches earlier this month at the HSBC Championships in London and the Berlin Tennis Open.

If she defeats Joint, she could face No. 29 seed Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in the second round and defending champion and No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland in the third round.

Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slam singles titles are the most by a male player. The Serbian is tied with Margaret Court for the all-time record.

--Field Level Media

#Canadian #women embrace pressure ahead of flag football world championship. An Olympic berth is available, but neither head coach Rachel Lessard nor quarterback Sara Parker see it as the biggest prize for Canada at the world women’s flag football championship.

Canada will compete at the International Federation of American Football (#IFAF) world championship Aug. 13-16 in Duesseldorf, Germany. The top-two teams will qualify for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, where flag football will make its Olympic debut.

If the United States reaches the final, the top-three will advance as the Americans already have an Olympic spot as host.

But Canada will play with a gold medal in mind. The Canadians qualified for the world event by reaching last year’s IFAF Americas Continental championship in Panama, dropping a 12-0 decision to Mexico in a contest halted in the first half due to severe weather.

“I feel very confident with where we’re at right now compared to last year,” Lessard said. “I feel like we’re more polished.

“Our roster hasn’t been finalized yet but we have so much depth and so many players who can do many different things. I think aiming for gold is something we can achieve.”

Earlier this month, Canada defeated the U.S. 34-33 in Los Angeles. Parker finished 19-of-25 passing for 164 yards and three touchdowns.

“We used mostly the same plays we did last summer but executed them at a higher level without adding anything funky or different to our offence,” Parker said. “I think that shows we’ve progressed immensely from last summer.

“Honesty, I’d hate to be the other teams (at world event) because we’re coming in hot and with a silver medal I feel we got in a situation we didn’t deserve. I think we’re really fired up, I think momentum is on our side and we’re going to make things happen.”

Canada will continue its world championship preparation next weekend in China with workouts and exhibition games versus the Chinese and Australia.

The world championship isn’t the last Olympic qualifying event. But failing to do so in Germany would mean participating in the ’27 IFAF continental championship and then the final Olympic qualifier series in 2028.

“That (Olympic berth in Germany) is the way we’d like it to go,” Lessard said. “The shortest road possible, that’s what we’re aiming for and preparing for.”

The second-place finish in Panama followed a historic bronze medal for Canada at the ’25 World Games in Chengdu, China. The squad earned its first-ever international hardware in women’s flag football with a 38-20 victory over Austria.

“I think a big part that contributed to our game against the U.S. was the team culture we’ve built,” said Parker, a member of the ’25 squad. “The energy, momentum, team spirit and unity we had really made a difference.

“If we keep building on that, stay united, keep making each other better and pushing ourselves, we’re definitely going to show up fired up. In Germany, I don’t think we’ll be stoppable.”

Flag football is huge in Quebec with numerous men’s and women’s leagues. It has also been played at universities since 2021.

Starting in 2027, women’s flag football will be a pilot sport in U Sports.

“I see the potential of growing the pool of athletes that will create the pathway to the national team,” said Lessard. “This will give the means and push for universities to help players that want to play at that level and, of course, give us credibility with other sports.”

Parker, who played at Concordia, feels flag football coaching will also benefit.

“I know Rachel isn’t going to brag but I think we also have many high-quality coaches in Quebec,” Parker said. “Making (flag football) a national sport will also give the opportunity for coaches to better equip themselves and also help athletes develop and improve and give them a better shot at making the national team.”

Roughly six weeks out from the world championship, Parker feels it’s important Canada not look too far ahead and remain focused on immediate tasks.

“We don’t know yet who’ll make up the team for Germany but I feel everyone was made for this,” Parker said. “From a quarterback’s standpoint, I’d say it’s really important to stay in the moment and regardless of the situation know you’ve practised for it.

“Don’t think too much about the outcome, just the situation you’re in. I feel that helps me kind of relieve pressure in a game, just focus on executing what’s in front of me as best I can.”

And never fear pressure.

“During our game with the U.S., the crowd wasn’t really as friendly as we would’ve liked and in Panama, the crowd was for Mexico and booed us,” Lessard said. “But we want those moments.

“We know it’s a privilege to feel that pressure and we’ve changed our philosophy, now we embrace it. We ask ourselves, ‘Is there anywhere you’d rather be? No, so enjoy the moment and play ball.’”

Nicolas Pepe’s double sealed Ivory Coast’s first-ever trip to the World Cup knockout phase in a 2-0 victory over Curacao on Thursday afternoon.

Marsch says Davies was not ready to play in Canada's 2-1 loss to Switzerland. VANCOUVER — Head coach Jesse Marsch was using Alphonso Davies “as a decoy” after saying he expected the captain would play for Canada in Wednesday’s crucial FIFA World Cup match against Switzerland.

Davies, who has been sidelined with an injury, was on the bench but didn’t play in Canada’s 2-1 loss before a sold-out crowd of 52,497 at BC Place Vancouver.

“Alphonso wasn’t ready yet, so I was using him a little bit as a decoy,” Marsch said after the game. “He will be ready for the next match.”

Marsch was asked if he thought his ploy worked.

“I listened to their news conference (and they) had three questions about Alphonso Davies, so they at least had to prepare for that,” Marsch said.

Switzerland head coach Murat Yakin was asked what he thought about Marsch’s tactic.

“You always have to plan with the captain,” Yakin said through an interpreter. “You have to look at different games and different styles. You have a sense of the substitutes too.

“Of course, we looked at Davies during this tournament but we didn’t only prepare for individual players. Right now, we only react to what’s happening on the pitch.”

Marsch sounded confident Tuesday that Davies would come into the match as a substitute.

“We will evaluate what we need of him in the game,” Marsch said. “I would like to get him into the match, for sure. And I think that he can have a big impact, both on us physically and football wise, but also mentally, psychologically, to have our captain back, our best player back in the team. I think this is a big factor.”

The Swiss took a 2-0 lead in the match before Canada fought back with a goal from Promise David in the 76th minute.

With time ticking down, and Canada trailing by a goal, Marsch elected to bring in Jacob Shaffeburg with his final substation.

The loss meant Canada finished second in Group B and will play Group A’s runner-up Sunday in Los Angeles.

After the game Davies walked through the mixed zone with a cellphone pressed to his ear. He did not stop to talk to the media.

The 25-year-old wing back has not played since early May when he suffered a hamstring injury playing for Bayern Munich in a Champions League semifinal.

Davies hasn’t played for Canada since a ligament injury during Nations League play against the United States in March 2025.

He joined the national squad in Edmonton at the end of May and followed return-to-play protocols, including warming up with teammates during Tuesday’s training session and running and passing balls.

Davies didn’t dress for Canada’s 1-1 opening World Cup draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12. He was on the bench for a 6-0 win over Qatar on June 18 in Vancouver.

Davies has a connection with Vancouver. He was just 15 years old when he made his professional debut with Major League Soccer’s Vancouver Whitecaps.

Born in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled civil war in Liberia, he grew up in Edmonton. He was 14 when he signed with the Whitecaps’ academy.

His professional debut was June 1, 2016, when he came on in the 72nd minute of a Canadian Championship game against the Ottawa Fury. At 15 years, 212 days old at the time, he was the youngest player to appear in a game for the `Caps.

Davies signed his first professional contract in July of that year, a multi-year deal with Vancouver that made him the youngest active player in MLS. He played his first league game the next day, seeing 13 minutes of action against Orlando City.

During parts of three MLS seasons Davies made 65 appearances, scoring eight goals.

Davies earned his first call-up with the national team in June 2017 shortly after receiving his Canadian citizenship.

He’s scored 15 goals and had 17 assists in 58 appearances for Canada.

Davies made Canadian soccer history when he scored the country’s first-ever World Cup goal in a December 2022 group-stage match against Croatia.

Davies left Vancouver in July 2018 when Bayern acquired him in a record-breaking transfer worth up to US$22 million.

During his time in the German Bundesliga, Davies helped Bayern to six league titles, a UEFA Champions League title and a FIFA Club World Cup title.

Davies has struggled to stay healthy.

His latest injury was his third since he returned Dec. 8 from a 260-day layoff from a torn cruciate ligament in his right knee.

He was sidelined Feb. 22 to March 9 with a muscle fibre tear, then from March 11 to April 2 with a right hamstring injury.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2026.

The Canadian Press

#FIFA World Cup 2026 | France vs Iraq: France leads Iraq 2-0 in their Group I match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but the game is currently suspended due to severe weather. Severe thunderstorms and lightning activity near the Lincoln Financial Field stadium in Philadelphia triggered safety protocols at halftime

Mondial 2026 : le score de 2-1 à la mi-temps est en faveur de la Celeste de l’Uruguay face aux Requins bleus du Cap-Vert, dimanche, au Hard Rock Stadium de Miami, aux États-Unis d’Amérique, pour le compte de la deuxième journée du groupe H de la Coupe du monde 2026, coorganisée du 11 juin au 19 juillet aux États-Unis, au Canada et au Mexique.

Le Cap-Vert a ouvert le score par Kévin Lenini à la 21ème minute. L’Uruguay a ensuite renversé la situation grâce à Maximiliano Araújo, à la 44ème minute et Agustín Canobbio à la 6ème minute de la prolongation.