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From the show

World Cup Debrief

Reading time
1 min

It was France’s biggest hurdle at the World Cup – a team they haven’t beaten since 2017. For Les Bleus, that streak continues as Spain outclassed Didier Deschamps’ side with a 2-0 win in Dallas. The 2010 champions will now get a chance to add a second star to their shirt, as they’ll face either England or Argentina who are going head-to-head this Wednesday for a spot in the final.

Former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick is over two years removed from last serving in the NFL as a head coach, but as was the case in the latter part of his career, he remains viewed as being the greatest coach of all time.

According to CBS Sports’ Bryan DeArdo in the network’s ranking of the top 20 head coaches in NFL history, Belichick ranks No. 1 overall above all of the other greats to do it. In a panel of six voters, there were four who agreed that Belichick deserved the top spot in the rankings.

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“The most successful coach of the 21st century, Belichick, has two more Super Bowl wins than the next-closest coach,” DeArdo said. “He is second all-time in career wins (333) and third all-time in regular-season wins (302).”

Belichick ended his career with six Super Bowl wins as a head coach, as well as three AP NFL Coach of the Year awards.

He coached innumerable NFL greats throughout his historic career, which also included a tenure with the Cleveland Browns, and his development of Tom Brady, widely regarded as the greatest player ever, adds to his body of work as the standard-setting head coach in league history.

Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Where did Bill Belichick land in latest all-time NFL coach rankings?

The heavyweight division has been blown wide open recently, and in response one former ruler who defeated Anthony Joshua is hoping that he can get back into contention for the heavyweight throne, with his comeback fight officially confirmed.

The WBA, WBC and IBF world titles were in the possession of Oleksandr Usyk until last month, but an underwhelming performance against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven seemed to convince the Ukrainian that Father Time may have caught up with him.

As a result, the 39-year-old has decided to drop the belts, but to remain in the sport for now, with Murat Gassiev (WBA) and Agit Kabayel (WBC) each being elevated to full world champions in his place, whilst a fight for the vacant IBF strap has been ordered.

Consequently, there are a number of heavyweights who believe that they would be able to topple one of the newly crowned champions, including another former unified titleholder, Andy Ruiz Jr, who famously dethroned Joshua in 2019.

Ruiz stepped in on short notice to face Joshua at Madison Square Garden in New York, and despite being viewed as a big underdog, was able to land multiple knockdowns and secure the shock seventh round stoppage win.

His reign was short-lived after losing those belts to Joshua in the immediate rematch six months later, and since then he has only competed on three occasions, defeating Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz before a draw with Jarrell Miller in August 2024.

He is now set to get his career back on track after signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and on his Instagram account, ‘The Destroyer’ outlined that his ‘mission is not over’.

“I’m coming, no matter what anyone says, the mission is not over.”

His first fight under Hearn has been announced, as he headlines a New Jersey card against Poland’s Damian Knyba, who notably lost out to Agit Kabayel at the beginning of the year.

The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 4, with middleweight duo Vito Mielnicki and Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams poised to collide in an intriguing co-main event.

Gautam Gambhir (L) and Rohit Sharma© AFP

Over 10 million sign petition to kick Argentina out of FIFA World Cup

Over ten million people have signed an online petition at argentinaout.org demanding Argentina be expelled from the 2026 FIFA World Cup, accusing FIFA and match officials of favouring Lionel Messi and the defending champions. The petition, hosted on argentinaout.com, gained massive attention after Argentina’s dramatic comeback win over Egypt in the Round of 16.The petition claims Argentina have received favourable decisions throughout the tournament. “Argentina Out is a fan-led campaign calling for Argentina to be removed from the 2026 World Cup,” it read. “Sign the Kick Out Argentina petition to demand consistent rules, transparent officiating, and fair competition for every nation. Add your voice and help make the call to kick out Argentina impossible to ignore.”The controversy intensified after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit to beat Egypt, scoring three goals in the final 13 minutes despite Messi missing an earlier penalty. Egypt were furious after one of their goals was ruled out following a VAR review, while Argentina’s late winner stood despite claims of a foul on Mohamed Salah in the build-up.Egypt manager Hossam Hassan did not hold back after the match, saying: “I’ll say what I think, regardless of the consequences. This has clearly been rigged, and everyone has seen it. If they want them to win so badly, why are they inviting everyone to participate in the World Cup?” He added: “Fifa promotes ‘Fair Play’, but we didn’t see it on the pitch … without those mistakes, the result would’ve been different.”

Head coach Scaloni rejects favouritism claims

Ahead of Argentina’s quarter-final, manager Lionel Scaloni dismissed the allegations, insisting modern technology makes referee bias almost impossible. “In 1986, they also said Argentina was getting unfair advantages. This is nothing new for us,” he said.Scaloni added, “There are people who don’t like to see Argentina win. These comments only inspire my team to play better football.”Explaining his point, he said, “With VAR and all the technology we have today, it’s extremely difficult to help anyone. There is no room for different interpretations… today, it’s next to impossible.” Argentina are now preparing to face England in the World Cup semi-finals.

FIFA has been told it would have been “wasting the moment” if it had not extended the World Cup final interval on Sunday to stage a half-time show, according to a top global events boss.

The organisation has confirmed the 11-minute performance, featuring artists such as Madonna, Shakira, and Justin Bieber, will take place at MetLife Stadium.

However, reports suggest this show will cause the gap between the first and second halves to significantly exceed the 15 minutes stipulated by the sport’s laws.

Some observers have criticised the move, but Michael Gietzen, the chief executive officer of Identity, said: “FIFA is right to extend half-time and the people complaining are missing the point.

“Football has its own rhythm and its own rules and of course that matters. But a World Cup final isn’t ‘most of the time’.

“It happens once every four years, in front of the biggest audience any single sporting event can pull. Treating it like a normal weekend fixture is the mistake, not the half-time show.

“A good half-time show isn’t a distraction from the football. It’s part of the reason people remember exactly where they were when they watched it.

“A few extra minutes to get that right isn’t a compromise, it’s FIFA recognising that the final is a cultural event as much as a sporting one.

“Purists may call that a dilution. I’d call it FIFA catching up to what a decent proportion of audiences have wanted for years. A final like this comes round once every four years. Play it safe and you waste the moment.”

ITV has said it will broadcast the half-time show in full, while it is understood the BBC will confirm its plans in due course.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino has described the performance as a “groundbreaking spectacle” that will “celebrate football, music and our shared values, ensuring a legacy that transcends the final whistle”.

It was also announced that Hollywood actor Tom Cruise, popstar Robbie Williams and US singer Jennifer Hudson will perform during the closing ceremony.

The event will take place 90 minutes before kick-off and will also feature performances from Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, Italian singer-songwriter Laura Pausini and streamer IShowSpeed – with Hudson set to deliver a rendition of the US national anthem.

Shakur Stevenson is now searching for a first opponent after signing with Zuffa Boxing, but there is one man who says he is being avoided by Stevenson, whom he believes has ‘gone back on his word’.

Stevenson has been linked to a host of names since his triumph over Teofimo Lopez in January, with Devin Haney, Conor Benn and Jose ‘Rayo’ Valenzuela being some of the recent fighters mentioned for a showdown with the pound-for-pound star.

Another man who has been chasing the fight is former sparring partner and reigning WBC super-featherweight world champion O’Shaquie Foster, who has maintained that he would be willing to move up two weight divisions for the opportunity.

Back in December, Stevenson responded to Foster’s continuous call-out, telling the Texan that he must first defeat his good friend and former featherweight world champion Raymond Ford before being granted the opportunity to fight him.

“It’s all good Sav [Ford], Cause he won’t get an opportunity with me until he fight u.. That WBC s**t don’t move me.”

Since then, Foster has overcome Ford via majority-decision, with Stevenson entering the ring after that May contest to seemingly call on the showdown with ‘Shock’ Foster.

“Pick up the phone we could run it next… Don’t say he a 130 pounder either he talked his way here now let’s go. Boy gone wanna shake my hand after saying he ain’t shaking hands, let’s fight.

“Look they starting already. This dude scream my name on every platform.. Lie and say he beat me up and ran me out the gym when I never run from nobody, I’m a man first. Let’s get it.”

Yet, speaking to Ring Magazine, Foster shared his frustration at a lack of talks in the weeks that have followed, disheartened that he will not be granted a shot at the Newark southpaw despite trumping Ford.

“He went on Twitter [X] and said that basically he is not giving me an opportunity or giving me a shot at fighting him unless I give Ray Ford the shot [first]. 

“We did that and he’s not holding himself to or being a man of his word. We ain’t heard nothing from him. 

“He got in the ring that night and said, ‘we are going to do it’. I told him that I don’t care which weight and, still, we ain’t heard nothing from him.”

Foster is also being mooted for a unification clash against WBO and IBF super-featherweight world champion Emanuel Navarrete, although WBO mandatory challenger Charly Suarez is unlikely to step aside and looks set to delay that proposed match-up.

Kylian Mbappe and France’s bid to clinch the FIFA World Cup 2026 trophy came to an end on Tuesday following a shocking 0-2 defeat to Spain in the semi-final. France, who were aiming to reach their third consecutive World Cup final, were thoroughly outplayed by Rodri and Co. and knocked out of the title race. It was also a disappointing outing for captain Kylian Mbappe, who had been in fine form throughout the tournament but failed to find the back of the net in the semi-final. Despite drawing a blank and seeing France’s title hopes dashed, Mbappe remains firmly in contention for the Golden Boot.

The France striker will now have to settle for the third-place playoff while continuing his pursuit of another Golden Boot award in a closely contested race with Argentina superstar Lionel Messi.

Mbappe and Messi have eight goals each so far at this year’s tournament. Mbappe, who won the Golden Boot at the last World Cup four years ago in Qatar, holds the first tiebreaker with a 3-2 lead on assists. Messi and defending champion Argentina will play again on Wednesday in the other semifinal match against England.

Both players will then have one more match before the award is decided. France will play the loser of the other semifinal match in the third-place game on Saturday in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spain will take on the winner in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the final.

“At the end of the day, you take all the glory when you win,” Mbappe said. “When you don’t win … it’s part of the game. As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility, and I have no problem with that. We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”

Mbappe had the fewest touches of any forward in the first half with 15. Perhaps his most prominent moment was trying to persuade referee Ivan Barton that the penalty resulting in Spain’s first goal shouldn’t have been called.

The foul by Lucas Digne on teenager Lamine Yamal stood, and Mikel Oyarzabal‘s penalty kick in the 22nd minute, put Spain ahead for good.

Mbappe’s best chance came in the 67th minute when his shot deflected off Spain defender Marc Cucurella and went just wide. La Roja already had a two-goal lead at that point.

(With AP Inputs)

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