Former Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has joined Benfica on a season-long loan from Saudi Arabian side Al-Nassr.

The Portuguese giants will be the seventh club of Duran’s career at the age of just 22, following recent stints with Fenerbahce and Zenit St Petersburg.

Benfica will pay a £5.19m (6.1m euros) loan fee for the Colombia international with the option to make the move permanent for £25.5m (30m euros) at the end of the 2026-27 season.

“I am happy! I continue to say that it is the biggest club in Portugal. I am very grateful to be here,” said Duran.

“I have very high expectations of being here. I want to play well, give my all and become champion.”

Duran began his professional career with Colombian side Envigado in 2019 before earning a move to MLS team Chicago Fire in 2022.

He was on the move again in January 2023 when he joined Aston Villa for £14m and quickly became a fan favourite.

A move to West Ham fell through in the summer of 2024, but after scoring a famous winner for Villa against Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Duran was sold to Al-Nassr for £71m in January 2025.

Despite scoring eight goals in 13 games for the Saudi Arabian side, he stayed for only half a season before moving to Fenerbahce on loan.

But manager Jose Mourinho was sacked less than a month after Duran made his debut and the loan was cancelled in February 2026 so he could join Zenit.

After bagging three goals in nine games in Russia, Duran now has the chance to make a home at Benfica, his seventh club in the seventh country of his young career.

A former three-weight world champion has discussed how Ryan Garcia’s pedigree and world-level experience could see him knock out Conor Benn.

The world welterweight champion secured his WBC title in February, dethroning Mario Barrios with a wide unanimous decision victory after scoring a first-round knockdown.

Conversely, Garcia’s first major title shot resulted in a devastating seventh-round stoppage defeat after Gervonta Davis landed a sickening body shot in their 2023 encounter.

‘King Ry’ then moved up to 140lbs but failed to make weight against Devin Haney, who he nonetheless defeated in 2024 before testing positive for banned substance ostarine.

This rendered his majority decision victory a no-contest and, following his year-long ban, Garcia was dealt a shock defeat against now-WBA welterweight champion Rolando Romero.

But despite each of these setbacks, the 27-year-old is now considered one of the leading operators at 147lbs, making him a sizable favourite against his upcoming opponent.

One of many who seem to be backing against him is British boxing icon Duke McKenzie, who has said on his YouTube channel that Benn would need a generous slice of luck to have any chance of defeating Garcia.

“I just don’t see him beating Ryan Garcia, because we’re talking about levels. Conor Benn might get lucky and knock him out … but I don’t see that happening.

“Ryan Garcia’s tried, tested, proven … and he has the mental strength of knowing how it is to be a world champion.

“He got knocked off that pedestal and climbed back up the tree – got his act together – and became a bona fide world champion.

“He’s got pedigree over Conor Benn. He was an outstanding amateur. I think Garcia will probably get him later in the fight – anywhere after the six-round mark.”

It was finally announced earlier this week that Garcia will defend his WBC title against Benn on September 12, with the pair colliding at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.

This weekend, Errol Spence Jr returns to the ring after three years out to face a fellow former world champion in Tim Tszyu. Boxing icon Roy Jones Jr has weighed in with his fight week prediction.

Spence has been inactive since a comprehensive 2023 defeat at the hands of Terence Crawford. As time passed, many fans assumed that he had quietly retired from the sport.

He has now booked a comeback against Tszyu, who has remained active but suffered bruising defeats to Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev in recent years.

Speaking to FightHype, Jones – who has visited Spence in training ahead of this return – backed the American to win, praising his engine.

“It’s going to be a slugfest. Man, it’s a hard call, but I’m going with Errol to withstand the onslaught that Tszyu gonna put on early. If he gets past four, five rounds, Errol definitely gonna beat him. To me, Errol is stronger later than anybody fighting. You get him past round six and you’ve got a problem on your hands, especially if he ain’t beat up or anything in the face, because that’s when he starts to come alive.”

The fight was originally set at a 158lbs catchweight, but a late request from Spence’s side to move it up to the middleweight limit of 160 was accommodated by Tszyu.

It tops the bill this Saturday, July 25, at Afterpay Arena in Sydney, Australia, and is promoted by PBC in association with No Limit Boxing. It will be available live on pay-per-view via both DAZN and Prime Video, depending on territory.

The FIFA World Cup is typically an event where the best teams from around the world face each other every four years, with the right to be called world champions on the line.

Despite the tournament being a team event, with the highest prize being the FIFA World Cup trophy, it also features several awards that recognise the individual brilliance of players throughout the tournament.

Two of the biggest individual awards at the FIFA World Cup are the FIFA World Cup Golden Boot, which is awarded to the player who scores the most goals during the tournament, and the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball, which is awarded to the best all-round player of the tournament.

But who are the individuals who have been able to win these prestigious awards in the 96-year history of the tournament? Take a look.

FIFA Golden Boot

The FIFA Golden Boot is the oldest individual award in the tournament’s history, having been presented to the top goalscorer since the inaugural edition of the competition in 1930.

While no player in the tournament’s history has been able to win the Golden Boot twice, there have been two editions in the past 96 years in which more than one player shared the award.

During the 1994 World Cup, Oleg Salenko and Hristo Stoichkov were announced as the joint winners of the FIFA Golden Boot. In 1962, six players, namely Garrincha, Vavá, Leonel Sánchez, Dražan Jerković, Flórián Albert and Valentin Ivanov, received the award as they all finished with four goals each.

FIFA World Cup: Full list of Golden Boot winners:

FIFA Golden Ball

Unlike the Golden Boot, the Golden Ball award was not introduced until the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. In the tournament’s history, only one player has been able to win the award twice, namely Argentina’s Lionel Messi, who received the FIFA World Cup Golden Ball in 2014 and 2022.

FIFA World Cup: Full list of Golden Ball winners:

The BCCI on Monday invited bids for the title sponsorship rights for its domestic and international home events, with the current agreement with IDFC FIRST Bank nearing the end of its tenure. The cricket board issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT), inviting entities to bid for the rights through a competitive process. The ITT document will be made available on payment of a non-refundable fee of Rs 1 lakh, plus applicable GST. Interested parties can purchase the document until August 4, while the deadline for seeking clarifications is August 5.

Bid documents must be submitted by August 13, the BCCI said in a press release signed by its secretary Devajit Saikia.

The BCCI said the tender document, containing the eligibility criteria and terms and conditions governing the bidding process, will be shared only after confirmation of payment of the ITT fee.

The board clarified that purchasing the ITT does not automatically entitle an entity to participate in the bidding process, with only those meeting the eligibility criteria specified in the tender document being allowed to submit bids.

The successful bidder will acquire the title sponsorship rights for BCCI events, which include international matches involving the Indian men’s and women’s teams played at home, domestic tournaments such as well as Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Irani Cup, besides age-group competitions.

The current rights are held by IDFC FIRST Bank, which secured the deal in September 2023 and runs until August 2026.

IDFC First Bank is the exiting title sponsor for all BCCI international and domestic home matches (including Test, ODI, and T20 series, as well as domestic tournaments like the Ranji Trophy).

Additionally, Apollo Tyres serves as the official lead sponsor and jersey sponsor for Team India.

The BCCI reserves the right to cancel or amend the tender process at any stage without assigning any reason.

BCCI also invites bids for associate partner rights 

The BCCI also issued a Request for Quotation (RFQ), inviting entities to bid for the associate partner rights for its events through a tender process.

The RFQ document will be made available on payment of a non-refundable fee of Rs 1 lakh plus applicable GST. Interested parties can purchase the RFQ till August 14, seek clarifications until August 16, while the last date for submission of quotation documents is August 25.

The board said the RFQ, containing the eligibility criteria and detailed terms governing the bidding process, will be shared only after confirmation of payment of the RFQ fee.

The successful bidder will acquire the associate partner rights for BCCI events, which include home international matches involving the Indian men’s and women’s teams, domestic competitions and age-group tournaments.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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FIFA World Cup 2026 | ‘I Don’t See A World Cup Trophy…’: Mbappe Says France’s Job Isn’t Done

At 19, most footballers are still trying to establish themselves in a first team. Lamine Yamal could already be discussing what remains to achieve.

The Barcelona winger walked into his first FIFA World Cup and walked away with the biggest prize in football as his team beat defending champions Argentina 1-0 in the final, adding it to a collection that already included a European Championship, multiple La Liga titles, domestic cups and individual awards. For someone who only made his senior debut three years ago, the list borders on the absurd.

The only glaring omission now is the UEFA Champions League.

For a player who has barely entered adulthood, Yamal is already approaching what many legends spend an entire career chasing. Football has rarely witnessed a rise this complete, this early.

A teenager rewriting football’s timeline

Football has always celebrated young prodigies. Pelé won the World Cup at 17. Lionel Messi became Barcelona’s future before turning 20.

Cristiano Ronaldo announced himself at Sporting CP as a teenager. Yet very few have combined sustained excellence with silverware quite like Lamine Yamal. Instead of merely being labelled “the next big thing,” he has already become one of football’s biggest stars while still technically being a teenager.

The remarkable aspect is not simply the quality of his football. It is how quickly he has converted potential into trophies.

From Rocafonda to La Masia

Born on July 13, 2007, in Esplugues de Llobregat and raised in the working-class neighbourhood of Rocafonda near Barcelona, Yamal’s football journey began on local concrete courts before Barcelona spotted his extraordinary talent.

He joined La Masia at the age of seven. Within the academy, coaches quickly realised they were nurturing something different.

His close control, awareness and decision-making separated him from his peers long before physical development became a factor. Former Barcelona coaches frequently pointed to his football intelligence rather than his dribbling as the quality that made him unique.

Breaking Barcelona records before turning 16

Barcelona fast-tracked his development. In April 2023, Xavi handed Yamal his senior debut at just 15 years and 290 days, making him the youngest first-team player in club history. The records followed almost weekly.

• 
  Youngest Barcelona starter.
• 
  Youngest Barcelona goalscorer in La Liga.
• 
  Youngest player to feature in El Clasico.

By the start of the following season, he was no longer regarded as a promising academy graduate. He had become an automatic starter.

His breakthrough campaign produced goals, assists and mature performances well beyond his years as Barcelona reclaimed domestic supremacy.

As the seasons progressed, Yamal lifted:

La Liga titles

Copa del Rey

Spanish Super Cup

Domestic treble with Barcelona

Barcelona’s iconic No. 10 shirt once worn by Lionel Messi

By 19, he was already carrying the responsibility that once belonged to Barcelona’s greatest-ever player.

Spain’s youngest history-maker

His rise with Spain mirrored his club career. Yamal became Spain’s youngest senior international and their youngest-ever goalscorer. Then came Euro 2024.

He became the youngest player ever to appear in the European Championship. He dazzled throughout the tournament, producing decisive assists and unforgettable goals before helping Spain defeat England in the final.

The tournament transformed him from a promising youngster into one of football’s genuine superstars. He had become a European champion before turning 18.

A debut World Cup that ended on the biggest stage

Expectations entering the 2026 FIFA World Cup were enormous. Yamal handled them with remarkable composure.

Spain reached the final after conceding just one goal throughout the tournament, with the Barcelona winger once again emerging as one of Luis de la Fuente’s biggest attacking weapons.

His dribbling, creativity and fearlessness repeatedly unsettled defenders, while his maturity stood out even more than his technical brilliance.

Whether producing moments of magic or sacrificing himself defensively, Yamal played with the assurance of someone far older. For many players, reaching a World Cup final defines a career. For Yamal, it arrived at the very beginning. 

  The Messi connection football never imagined

No story involving Yamal feels complete without mentioning Lionel Messi. In 2007, a 20-year-old Messi unknowingly held five-month-old Yamal during a Barcelona charity photoshoot.

Nearly two decades later, the pair met again on football’s grandest stage. The photograph became symbolic. One Barcelona icon unknowingly holding another.

Now wearing Messi’s former No. 10 shirt at Barcelona, Yamal has gradually stepped into a role few imagined anyone could inherit so naturally.

Regardless of the World Cup result, the symbolism remains extraordinary.

What has Lamine Yamal already won at 19?

By the age of 19, Yamal’s trophy cabinet already includes:

Individual achievements include:

• 
  Barcelona No. 10 shirt
• 
  Spain’s youngest debutant
• 
  Spain’s youngest goalscorer
• 
  Youngest player at the Euros
• 
  Youngest player in a major international final
• 
  Ballon d’Or runner-up 

Only one mountain still remains

With Spain winning the World Cup, there is realistically only one major team trophy left missing from Yamal’s résumé. The UEFA Champions League.

That statement alone illustrates the absurdity of his career. Most elite footballers spend 15 years attempting to collect even half of those honours.

Yamal has placed himself within touching distance before celebrating his 20th birthday.

Football’s future has already arrived

Regardless of whether Spain would’ve lifted the World Cup or fell one game short, the broader picture remains unchanged.

Yamal is no longer football’s future. He is football’s present. The World Cup final may have represented the biggest occasion of his career so far, but everything suggests it will not be his last despite the triumph.

At 19, he has already built a résumé that rivals established legends. If he won, he is frighteningly close to completing football before turning 20.

Spain‘s newly crowned World Cup champions were greeted by a million fans as the team arrived for the victory parade in Madrid.

The players, some shirtless, others holding drinks, set off on their procession along the main arteries in the city centre where a sea of fans in red and yellow were waiting, with the destination Cibeles square.

After flying back from the United States to Madrid, the players were received by King Felipe VI and the royal family, and then Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, before kicking off the parade.

“You have shown your grit, your resilience and your courage, always backed by your technical skill, your control and command of the game, combining head and heart,” the king told La Roja’s stars.

“Kings of the world” ran the words on the front of their vehicle, with fans chanting “champions” to their heroes.

Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday, secured by a Ferran Torres strike in extra-time, has sparked an outpouring of national pride in the football-mad country, whose only other World Cup triumph came in 2010.

Read moreSpain crowned world champions after extra-time thriller against Argentina

Spain captain Rodri held the World Cup trophy aloft at the top of the stairs as he descended from the Iberia plane that flew the team home after clinching their second star.

Later at Moncloa, the Manchester City midfielder said this was the crowning achievement of his career.

“I’ve always said it, winning with your country is the most beautiful thing there is, above all a World Cup,” said Rodri.

“This generation grew up watching (Iker) Casillas and (Andres) Iniesta lift the cup and that we can do it today is the biggest thing you can do in football.”

Many younger supporters were not yet born when Andres Iniesta’s extra-time goal against the Netherlands secured Spain’s first World Cup in South Africa 16 years ago.

Madrid fans react to Spain’s World Cup win

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On Monday morning, the Castellana, Madrid’s main avenue, bore the marks of a boozy evening – the tarmac strewn with trash, beer cans and shards of glass.

Among the last remaining supporters, some slept with grins on their faces on the pavement or on benches, while others were still staggering home as cleaning crews worked from the early hours to prepare the route for tonight’s party.

On a tragic note, a 13-year-old boy was killed around midnight in the town of Ciudad Rodrigo in the west, after a fountain crumbled under the weight of supporters who had climbed onto it to celebrate.

Spain’s women’s side won the World Cup in 2023, meaning for the first time a country has both trophies at the same time.

Read moreSpain crowned Women’s World Cup champions after beating England in historic win

In 2030, Spain will defend their crown on home soil, as one of the World Cup hosts along with Portugal and Morocco.

“It’s two for two,” said Sanchez, of Spain’s record in World Cup finals. “Why not dream of a third in 2030, especially with Spain as hosts?”

‘All-time’ kings

The Spanish press was running out of superlatives to describe its heroes after they overcame favourites France in the semi-finals before downing Argentina.

Read moreBrilliant Spain defeat toothless France to reach World Cup final

“The kings of all-time!” wrote Marca, celebrating a “second star that will now be stitched onto the Spanish jersey after yet another masterclass in collective play”.

Argentina, despite the presence of all-time great Lionel Messi, failed to create clear chances against Spain’s well-organised and more positive side in the final.

Messi had a sensational World Cup but drifted through the final like a ghost, shedding tears at the end.

Read moreMessi denied dream farewell as Argentina lose World Cup final to Spain

“The pain is immense, and it’s going to be hard for this wound to heal,” Messi wrote on Instagram.

 In Madrid, tears also flowed on Monday night, but they were tears of joy.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Keely Hodgkinson admitted she wanted more despite returning to winning ways at the London Diamond League, with the Olympic champion relieved to put a difficult start to her outdoor season behind her.

Keely Hodgkinson was left wanting more but admits there was some relief at opening her account for the outdoor season in London. A couple of shock defeats over 800m, and a fall in training that left the Olympic champion with a pair of bashed up knees had been far from the ideal start to Hodgkinson’s 2026 summer.

But with her knees on the mend and racing in front of a revved-up crowd that had just witness Josh Kerr break the world mile record at the Wanda Diamond League, Hodgkinson held off Femke Broeders-Bol to take victory in 1:56.21.

That time was a couple of seconds behind the British record she set in Stockholm in June, when she was surprisingly beaten by Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, and Hodgkinson admitted she had been hoping to go quicker.

She said: “I actually felt pretty good. I was hoping for a bit more, but overall I’m happy to take the win. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, and it was great to compete in front of a home crowd. It was fun, but I just wanted a little bit more. Given the last couple of weeks, though, I’m happy enough.

“I don’t think it’s a reflection of where my training is. Sometimes it just takes a little while for things to come together. It’s been a tough season so far, but I’m proud of how I’ve handled it.”

Hodgkinson will now skip the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, instead focusing all her attention on the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, at the same Alexander Stadium where she won Commonwealth silver four years ago.

Meanwhile, Blackley sprinter Success Eduan continued her impressive form with a sixth-placed finish in the strongest field of the entire day. Eduan ran 22.53, just a tenth slower than the personal best set when winning the UK Champs last month, in a race won by Olympic 100m gold medallist Julian Alfred ahead of reigning Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas.

Add in Bahamian two-time 400m Olympic champion Shaunae Miller-Uibo in third and British duo Dina Asher-Smith and Amy Hunt, and it is fair to say Eduan was up against the highest-quality field of her career so far.

So while she sets high expectations for herself, the 21-year-old was also pleased with her performance at the London Stadium. She said: “I think I ran a really good race. This time last year it would have been a personal best for me, so I’m really pleased.

“Last year the field wasn’t anywhere near as stacked as it is now, so I’m just really grateful to be competing against athletes like that. I know there’s still so much more to come from me as well.

“I don’t even think I’m at my fastest yet, which is quite exciting. I’m still in quite a heavy training phase, so we’re just trying to take things slowly and not peak too early. The most important part of the season is still to come.”

Novuna is the Official Finance Partner of British Athletics and proud sponsor of the GB & NI Athletics Team. From everyday goals to world-class dreams, Novuna backs the ambition of millions across the UK — from supporting British businesses and individuals’ plans, to powering British Athletics on the global stage. Find out more at www.novuna.co.uk

FIFA is launching an investigation into the altercations that broke out on the pitch after Spain defeated Argentina in the 2026 World Cup Final at New York/New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.

Spain beat Argentina, the 2022 World Cup champions, 1-0 in extra time after Ferran Torres finally got the ball past Emiliano Martínez’s goal line.

After the final whistle blew, several brawls broke out between players, and even coaches appeared to get involved.

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Players scuffle after a foul by Leandro Paredes of Argentina on Rodri of Spain during the FIFA World Cup 2026 final match between Spain and Argentina at New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, 2026. (Maddie Meyer/FIFA)

Among them was Argentina’s Leandro Paredes appearing to grab Spain’s Eric García by the throat before others started shoving and tripping each other to the turf.

“Following an assessment of the relevant match reports for the FIFA World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, and in line with article 36 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code (FDC), the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has appointed a Disciplinary and Ethics Prosecutor to investigate potential breaches of the FDC with regard to the post-match incidents,” a statement from the governing organization read.

SPAIN BEATS ARGENTINA TO WIN 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP BEHIND FERRAN TORRES’ EXTRA-TIME GOAL

Paredes ended up getting a red card after the whistle blew and was sent off the pitch. He was also shown a yellow card for a poor tackle shortly after he substituted in for his country in the second half.

Also, Argentina’s head coach Lionel Scaloni was seen being held back by a Spanish player while he was shouting toward someone. Nicola Otamendi also exchanged words with several Spain players, including their captain Rodrí before that skirmish was broken up.

There also seemed to be a moment where Argentina assistant coach Roberto Ayala approached Spain’s Dani Olmo and punched him on the chin before they were pulled away from one another.

Referee Slavko Vincic of Slovenia shows a yellow card to Argentina’s Leandro Paredes during the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J. (Pamela Smith/AP)

“We are gracious in victory, and we must be so in defeat,” Scaloni said, via ESPN. “We accept the loss; we gave everything. We were stretched thin coming into this, but giving it your all, like they did today, sets a great example for our people and our country.

“You lose, and you have to pick yourself up again.”

Many were quick to rip into Argentina for the brawls that ensued after losing, including BBC’s Joe Hart.

“There was one man on the pitch who did have class and that was Lionel Messi, who shook hands with every one of those Spanish players,” he said, via Goal.com. “The game’s done. They could have absolutely no complaints about what happened today. Disgusting behavior.”

Spain and Argentina players scuffle after Spain won the World Cup final against Argentina at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19, 2026. (Mauro Pimentel/AFP)

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What exactly might happen from FIFA’s investigation? Well, Paredes’ chokehold on the Spanish player would result in an automatically applied red card. Nahuel Molina and Ayala are both expected to be investigated as well.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) reacts to his second touchdown to regain the lead against the Chiefs. credits: Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / USA TODAY NETWORK

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