FIFA announce star-studded World Cup Dream XI featuring Messi, Mbappé and Haaland/ Image: X
Spain may have lifted the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy after defeating Argentina 1-0 following extra time in New Jersey, but the tournament’s best-performing players have now also been recognised after FIFA revealed its official Dream XI.The Team of the Tournament, selected through a global fan vote, reflects the standout performers from six weeks of football across the United States, Canada and Mexico. While Spain, France and Argentina dominate the selection after reaching the semi-finals, England’s third-place finish was rewarded with just a single representative.Jude Bellingham is the only England player to make FIFA’s Dream XI despite Thomas Tuchel’s side ending the tournament on a high with a remarkable 6-4 victory over France in the third-place play-off.
Bellingham flies England’s flag
Bellingham’s inclusion comes after another outstanding major tournament for the Real Madrid midfielder.The 23-year-old finished with seven goals, the highest tally ever recorded by an England player at a single FIFA World Cup, helping the Three Lions secure their best finish since winning the tournament in 1966.Despite England producing several standout performers, including Bukayo Saka’s historic hat-trick against France and Declan Rice’s record-breaking third-place play-off display, Bellingham was the only English player voted into the final XI.
Spain, France and Argentina dominate selections
Fresh from captaining Spain to their second World Cup title, Rodri headlines the midfield after also winning the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player.Spain have three representatives in total, with both full-backs Marc Cucurella and Pedro Porro joining their captain in the side after Luis de la Fuente’s men completed an unbeaten tournament by defeating Argentina in the final.France also supply three players despite finishing fourth.Golden Boot winner Kylian Mbappé occupies the right side of the attack after finishing the tournament with 10 goals, becoming the first player to win the World Cup Golden Boot twice while also breaking Lionel Messi’s all-time World Cup scoring record with 22 career goals.Michael Olise takes one of the midfield places after producing a record-breaking campaign of his own. The France playmaker finished the tournament with seven assists, the most ever recorded by a player at a single FIFA World Cup.Dayot Upamecano completes France’s contingent in central defence.Argentina, beaten finalists after Ferran Torres’ 106th-minute winner, have two players in the XI.Lionel Messi features on the left wing after finishing the tournament with eight goals and four assists, while defender Lisandro Martínez partners Upamecano at the heart of the defence.Completing the front three is Norway striker Erling Haaland, who marked his World Cup debut by firing his country to a historic first-ever quarter-final appearance while scoring seven goals during the tournament.
Cape Verde cult hero earns goalkeeper spot
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Perhaps the biggest surprise in the Dream XI is the goalkeeper selection.Rather than Golden Glove winner Unai Simón, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford or France’s Mike Maignan, fans voted for Cape Verde veteran Vozinha.The 40-year-old became one of the breakout stars of the tournament during Cape Verde’s memorable run to the Round of 32 before they narrowly lost 3-2 after extra time to eventual finalists Argentina.Vozinha kept clean sheets against both Spain and Saudi Arabia, made 18 saves across the tournament and outperformed his expected goals against figure by 0.9.His performances also made him an unlikely social media sensation. According to tournament figures, the goalkeeper began Cape Verde’s opening match against Spain with around 50,000 Instagram followers. After producing seven saves against the eventual champions and continuing his impressive campaign, that number reportedly surged to 29.5 million by the end of the World Cup.
FIFA World Cup 2026 Dream XI
GoalkeeperDefenders
Pedro Porro (Spain)
Lisandro Martínez (Argentina)
Dayot Upamecano (France)
Marc Cucurella (Spain)
Midfielders
Rodri (Spain)
Michael Olise (France)
Jude Bellingham (England)
Forwards
Lionel Messi (Argentina)
Erling Haaland (Norway)
Kylian Mbappé (France)
The Dream XI rounds off the individual honours following the conclusion of the tournament.Rodri claimed the Golden Ball as the competition’s best player after leading Spain to the title, with Messi and Mbappé receiving the Silver Ball and Bronze Ball respectively.Mbappé finished as Golden Boot winner with 10 goals, edging Messi, who ended the tournament on eight goals and four assists, while Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón received the Golden Glove after conceding just one goal in eight matches. Teenage defender Pau Cubarsí collected the FIFA Young Player Award, and the Netherlands were recognised with the FIFA Fair Play Award after receiving just three yellow cards throughout their campaign.
The French Football Federation on Thursday said it would unveil France’s new coach at a news conference on Tuesday, July 28. Football legend Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to replace Didier Deschamps as the national team’s new coach.
News broke that LeBron James would not be returning to the Los Angeles Lakers on June 30. Effectively, he became a free agent that second, which means the race to obtain his services has been going on for almost a month. Still, he hasn’t decided and nobody has any idea when he will.
In some ways, this is a good thing for the NBA. The league is still hanging around the top of the news cycle at a point in the calendar when typically everyone starts to shift their focus toward football. If this situation wasn’t lingering, the only NBA story anyone would be talking about would be the Kawhi Leonard investigation, which is actually a bigger deal than James’ free agency, as it has a major trade on hold. If the Raptors miss on Leonard, it will become a bigger loss than any of the teams that end up missing on James.
But LeBron is LeBron, and as long as he’s on the open market, he’s going to be the story. And the longer this story goes, the more some entities will be both hurt and helped by the attention. So that’s what we’re going to look at today. Who are the biggest winners and losers of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer taking this long to make up his mind?
As of this writing, north of $210 million has been wagered at Kalshi on James’ next team. At Polymarket, the number is just under $40 million and climbing. The longer this goes on, the more bets these markets will field. James’ procrastination is a cash cow.
I’m sure by now you know the Miami Heataccidentally posted a scheduled video for an introductory press conference on their YouTube channel. This is normal media business. Everyone has social posts and articles and videos prewritten or recorded for every realistic destination (as do those teams), so the button can be hit the instant that LeBron’s decision goes public to capitalize on that initial surge of traffic. These posts aren’t supposed to be published, of course. The Heat’s social media team made a mistake, and it swung the markets wildly.
Prior to that post, the Cleveland Cavaliers were the favorite to land James, having taken 38% of the bets at Kalshi, with the Heat next on the board at 36%. After the Heat’s post went viral, the wagers started rolling in as Miami surged to a 49% favorite while Cleveland dropped to 26%.
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Those splits have largely stayed the same, even after Miami called its post a mistake. Meanwhile, at the time of this writing, the Golden State Warriors, who were a 46% favorite to land James at the start of July, are also-ran material at this point, having accounted for just 17% of wagers.
By the way, these aren’t the only markets that are popping. You can also bet on which conference James will end up in (the East is currently an 82% favorite), the total value of his next contract, the date the announcement will be made, and even who or where the announcement will come from. James announcing it himself currently has 35% of the bets, with Klutch Sports Group (meaning agent Rich Paul) second at 28% and ESPN’s Shams Charania at 25%.
If you’re new to these prediction markets, this is your wake-up call. As we speak, there are millions, and in the case of James, hundreds of millions being wagered on everything from sports-related outcomes to wars, the stock market, the Grammys and Oscars, political elections and oil prices.
If it’s in the news, chances are you can bet on it. As such, the longer James’ free agency stays in the news, the more bets these markets will be fielding. So while most of us (I certainly count myself among this group) would probably appreciate it if this saga could just end already, the prediction market folks that are raking in all this wagered cash would love nothing more than for this to drag on as long as possible.
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Loser: NBA schedule makers
Everyone thought James would make a big announcement at Fanatics Fest in New York City last week amid his flurry of scheduled appearances. Instead, it was NBA commissioner Adam Silver who made waves when he went on stage and basically told James to hurry up already so the league could finish the 2026-27 schedule.
“I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule,” Silver said. “But [where LeBron plays] will influence how we set the schedule, how we set opening week, Christmas Day, etc. So I need him to make a decision.”
There have been rumors that James was ready to make his announcement last week, but was irritated by Silver trying to rush him and decided to hold off a bit longer.
Who knows if this is true, but Silver has a fair point about the schedule. The NBA is one year into a $76 billion TV deal with Disney, NBC, and Amazon, and those networks split the biggest dates and games — particularly opening night, Christmas Day, and all the big national windows.
For example, James has played in 20 Christmas Day games, including 19 straight. Meaning, wherever he signs will immediately become a Christmas team. Just that alone has a domino effect, and when you factor in the 25ish national-TV games James’ new team will certainly be cast in, and all the downstream effects of that scheduling in terms of how that changes other teams’ dates.
This is a big holdup for the NBA and its very expensive and increasingly antsy television partners.
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Winner: Rich Paul’s podcast
While James only made select appearances at Fanatics Fest over a two-day span during this saga, his agent, Rich Paul, has been front and center with his “Game Over” podcast becoming something of a buffet for the masses of fans (and media) starving for any crumb of information.
It started on July 3 when Paul unveiled the famous whiteboard, outlining the pros and cons and biggest players and selling points for each potential James suitor.
Game Over Podcast
Since then, Paul has been the main public voice for the James side and his podcast must be seeing massive spikes in audience. He hasn’t really said much other than that James is “not going to be rushed” and is going to do what is best for him and his family. But again, every little crumb of information — from “the 76ers have our attention” to “this will not be a money-based decision” — is being gobbled up like a Michelin-rated meal. And in this case, Paul’s podcast is the restaurant.
Loser: Cavs and/or Warriors
On some level, every team that strikes out on James is going to be a loser. But there are degrees to this. If the Heat don’t get him, for instance, they’ll be disappointed. They could really use his playmaking and shooting, but worst-case scenario, they still landed their big fish in Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer. James would be icing on the cake.
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Same thing for the Philadelphia 76ers. They already made their summer splash by swapping out Paul George for Jaylen Brown, and Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons are nice margin signings. Wade will be a starter if James doesn’t come. And honestly, he’s a better defender than James and the 76ers already have arguably too much scoring. What Philly could really use is James’ passing to help navigate a supremely delicate usage ecosystem composed of four No. 1-option players.
The Minnesota Timberwolves need a power forward after the losses of Julius Randle and Naz Reid. And of the teams being reported as realistic suitors, they might give James his best chance at winning, given the two-way players, shooting, companion creation and defensive infrastructure already in place. But again, if they miss on James, they at least already made a big move this summer by trading for LaMelo Ball.
The Cavs and the Warriors, on the other hand, have all their eggs in the LeBron basket, and with it dragging on this long, their Plan B pool has all but dried up. The Cavs let the aforementioned Wade go to the 76ers in part to keep room open to sign the two Jameses — LeBron and Harden, who opted out of his $42.3 million contract for next season to also create room for LeBron.
It’s all tied together, and if James doesn’t come, the Cavs will be looking at guys like Jonathan Kuminga instead and could also end up having to pay Harden more than they’d like to (although he doesn’t really have anywhere else to go now that this has dragged out for so long).
Meanwhile, the Warriors haven’t added a single player besides their draft picks. When Draymond Green opted out, it was clearly a move aimed at freeing up mid-level money for James, and Golden State fans really began getting their hopes up when reports indicated the possibility of trading for Anthony Davis as the lure for James.
Now the Davis pursuit looks done, if it ever really even began in earnest, and James teaming up with Stephen Curry is back in the pipe-dream realm, at least if you believe the reporting. Warriors fans are going to revolt if another offseason rolls by without the team doing anything of significance as another year of Curry’s rapidly dwindling career fades away.
TORONTO — Max Scherzer knows where the baseball calendar is and the realities of where the Toronto Blue Jays sit in the standings, and he isn’t interested in going there. The veteran right-hander, coming off five hitless innings of rehab work at triple-A Buffalo, is trending toward a return from the injured list and if he can hit the ground running, there’s sure to be interest from clubs seeking depth and experience for their pitching staffs.
In possession of full no-trade protection, however, Scherzer holds final say over his fate in the coming months. So, given the situation, would he consider a move should the Blue Jays get an offer for his services? What does he want for the rest of the year?
“There’s nothing for me to say,” he replied. “We have a job to do. We need to win baseball games. We’ve got to go one-and-oh today. When whatever happens, happens, we’ll talk about that at a different time. We have a job to do, go one-and-oh.”
Powered by seven strong innings from another potential trade candidate, Shane Bieber, the Blue Jays went one-and-oh Thursday, beating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 to avoid a four-game sweep against the American League East leaders.
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By recent standards, the three runs felt like a breakout, as Ernie Clement cleverly scored in the first on Alejandro Kirk’s infield single after Junior Caminero overran the ball at third base, while the go-ahead run crossed on George Springer’s RBI single in the third and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. added some insurance with an RBI single in the seventh.
But, the heavy lifting fell to Bieber and relievers Tyler Rogers and Louis Varland as the Blue Jays (47-56) ended a four-game losing streak that pushed them further toward sell mode ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline.
On the heels of his six shutout innings in Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox, the last time the Blue Jays won a game, Bieber’s three-hit, one-run, no-walk, three-strikeout effort should help raise interest in the pending free-agent righty, who doesn’t have any no-trade protection.
One rival evaluator said each outing between now and the deadline will really matter for Bieber as teams try to assess where he’s at after he missed half the season with elbow inflammation and has been building up on the fly in the majors. A second evaluator said as long as Bieber shows that he’s healthy, there will be a market for him because post-season calibre starters are difficult to acquire at the deadline, and he showed his mettle returning from Tommy John surgery in last year’s playoffs.
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The Blue Jays don’t feel the need to make deals for the sake of making them, so they’ll demand a certain talent threshold to complete any subtraction trade. So how teams view what Bieber — and their other players on expiring contracts — can offer will determine how deep any potential sell-off ends up going.
As that drama plays out, manager John Schneider and the coaching staff remain fixated on helping their players turn the team’s fortunes, regardless of what the playoff odds say.
To that end, they’ve looked to the way the Boston Red Sox, whom they visit Friday, escaped from the grave to win 15 straight and return to relevance. Last season, the Cincinnati Reds’ playoff odds stood at 6.6 per cent Aug. 7 and were at 1.3 per cent on Sept. 4 before they rallied to win a wild-card spot. The Cleveland Guardians were at 12.2 per cent last July 31 and 2.5 per cent on Sept. 1 before they rallied.
In 2024, the Detroit Tigers’ playoff odds stood at 0.3 per cent on Aug. 1, each an example for the Blue Jays to latch onto.
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“For sure,” said Schneider. “Just yesterday we were sitting here talking, OK, if you say it’s July 23rd and you’re six-and-a-half out of first place in the division, you’re like, that’s attainable. I know it looks a little bit different now record-wise, and there are more teams involved, but yeah, you look at that, you look at the Red Sox, you look at the 2021 Braves who didn’t get over .500 ‘til August 6th. You’re waiting for it to turn, and I think you’re grasping on players performing better that can perform better, and you’re grasping on ways to try to make that happen quick, or quicker.
“Baseball is stupid, we talk about it all the time, and it can turn on a dime,” he continued. “We all know that it has to turn now and are frustrated that it hasn’t, but there’s always hope until there’s not. That’s the beauty of it. And that’s what we’re talking about, just meeting that head on.”
Argentina’s Lionel Messi (10) cries at the end of the World Cup final soccer match between Spain and Argentina in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Spain’s dramatic 1-0 extra-time victory over Argentina in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final may have settled the destination of the trophy, but the controversy surrounding the showpiece continues to gather momentum days after the final whistle.A petition demanding that the World Cup final be replayed has now attracted 88,915 signatures at the time of writing, with thousands of Argentina supporters claiming the match was influenced by controversial refereeing decisions.The online campaign, launched on Change.org by Argentine supporter Gisela Sánchez, calls on FIFA to review the officiating performance of Slovenian referee Slavko Vinčić, who oversaw Sunday’s final at the New York New Jersey Stadium.
Petition accuses referee of “controversial and corrupt” performance
Spain secured their second men’s World Cup title courtesy of Ferran Torres’ 106th-minute winner after extra time, ending Argentina’s hopes of defending the trophy they won four years earlier.However, the result has not been accepted by a section of Argentina supporters.In the petition, Sánchez alleges that Vinčić delivered a “controversial and corrupt” performance and urges FIFA to investigate several key decisions made during the final.“The recent final between Argentina and Spain was tarnished by the controversial and corrupt performance of the referee who, according to video evidence, was bought to influence the match’s outcome,” the petition states.“It is a monumental disappointment for the players, coaches, and, above all, for the fans who crave to see a game decided by talent and dedication on the pitch, and not by rigged refereeing decisions.“If we allow corruption to go unnoticed on this global stage, we are setting a bad example for future generations of athletes and fans.“Therefore, we ask FIFA to review these incidents with seriousness and transparency, and to consider replaying the final, this time without the influence of a corrupt referee.”
88,000 Argentina fans demand World Cup final replay after ‘controversial and corrupt’ referee claims
The petition, however, does not provide independently verified evidence to support those allegations beyond videos circulating across social media which the organiser claims favour Spain.
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Spain dominated before sealing victory in extra time
Despite the reaction from some supporters, Spain were widely viewed as the better side throughout the final.Luis de la Fuente’s team controlled possession for long spells, pinned Argentina deep inside their own half and prevented the defending champions from registering a single shot on target during normal time.Goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez repeatedly kept Argentina in the contest before Ferran Torres finally broke the deadlock in the 106th minute of extra time.
Fans watch the World Cup final soccer match between Argentina and Spain in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Sunday, July 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)
Argentina’s task had already become significantly harder after midfielder Enzo Fernández was sent off in the third minute of stoppage time at the end of normal time.Having already been booked for dissent following a denied free-kick, Fernández received a second yellow card after a reckless challenge on Spain defender Pau Cubarsí, reducing Lionel Scaloni’s side to ten men before extra time began.According to match statistics, Vinčić awarded 46 fouls during the final, with 25 committed by Argentina as the match became increasingly fragmented.
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Tempers boiled over after the final whistle
The frustration carried over into the closing moments of the evening.Immediately after Spain were confirmed as world champions, ugly scenes erupted on the pitch.Leandro Paredes was sent off after the final whistle following clashes involving Eric García and Gavi, while Nahuel Molina also appeared to spark part of the confrontation after confronting Spain captain Rodri.The incidents have since become the subject of a separate FIFA disciplinary review.Speaking during ITV’s coverage, former England defender Gary Neville strongly criticised Argentina’s conduct.“It’s a disgrace,” Neville said.“I love the competitiveness of the Argentines, fighting and scrapping for their lives every game. Messi’s propped them up at times and they’re very competitive and I love that element of them.“But it’s been a disgrace the last few games.”
Similar replay campaign emerged earlier in the tournament
The Argentina petition is not the first online campaign calling for a World Cup replay during this tournament.Following Spain’s semi-final victory over France, French supporters launched a similar Change.org petition after disputing a controversial incident that led to the penalty opening the scoring.That campaign also gathered more than 82,000 signatures, although it had no effect on FIFA’s official result.Likewise, there is no indication that the latest petition will alter the outcome of the World Cup final.Meanwhile, Change.org has also hosted petitions taking the opposite position. One campaign calling for Argentina to be banned from future World Cups amassed more than 29 million signatures before eventually being closed.Away from the online debate, thousands of Argentina supporters gathered across the country following the team’s return home, applauding Lionel Scaloni’s squad for reaching a second consecutive World Cup final despite falling just short of retaining their title against an impressive Spanish side.
It sees ‘King Ry’ make the maiden defence of his belt after winning it against Mario Barrios back in February, while Benn gets his inaugural world title shot as he prepares to return to 147lbs for the first time since April 2022.
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While the fight has peaked the interest of many boxing fans, two-weight world champion Malignaggi isn’t one who appears too enthralled by the match-up.
Speaking to ProBox TV, Malignaggi began by claiming that the upcoming showdown is a ‘mismatch.’
“I think ultimately nobody is going to talk about how this is a mismatch. Only people on the inside know this fight is a mismatch… I don’t think it’s that great of a fight.”
He then went further and revealed he sees it being an extremely easy victory for Garcia.
“I think Ryan is going to beat the s**t out of this guy… The build-up will definitely entertain, but the fight ultimately will be a dud on fight night.”
Benn will likely have to put in a career-best performance if he is to come out on top, with his best wins to date coming when he beat Chris Eubank Jr in their middleweight rematch in November, before overcoming Regis Prograis in their 150lb catchweight bout in April.
Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz scored a decisive win of the Tour de France at stage 18 on Thursday, securing victory in the final climb to Orcieres-Merlette. While Tadej Pogacar had previously maintained his overall lead, the Slovenian suffered a blow as key teammate Brandon McNulty abandoned the race.
Former England striker Jermain Defoe has described his first managerial job as an “eye-opening experience” following his exit from National League side Woking after just four months and six league games in charge.
But on Thursday, Woking confirmed Defoe’s stint had come to an abrupt end after they “mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect” – two weeks before the opening match of the new campaign against Sutton United.
“Unfortunately, circumstances have ultimately made it impossible for me to continue in the position,” Defoe said in an Instagram post.
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“I am extremely proud of the work undertaken during my time at the club and genuinely felt that we were building something special.
“My time at Woking FC has been an eye-opening managerial experience and one that will undoubtedly make me stronger for the next challenge in my career.”
Defoe’s ninth and final game in charge of Woking was a 1-0 defeat by Braintree Town in one of three pre-season friendlies on Tuesday.
He scored 305 goals in 763 senior appearances for clubs including West Ham, Tottenham, Portsmouth and Sunderland before retiring in 2022.
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Defoe, who struck 20 times in 57 international appearances, was part of an interim coaching staff at Rangers in 2021 and then worked in the Spurs academy, before leaving in 2024 to pursue a full-time managerial role.
Shubman Gill; and protestors in Delhi. (ANI/PTI Photos)
NEW DELHI: India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has spoken out amid the ongoing student protests over repeated exam paper leaks, urging compassion, mutual respect and a renewed focus on safeguarding the interests of students.In a message shared on his Instagram story on Thursday, Gill stressed that India’s youth deserve every opportunity to pursue their dreams and help build the country’s future. Without referring to any specific protest or political issue, the 26-year-old underlined the importance of education and expressed support for those raising their voices peacefully. “As a young Indian, I believe our generation deserves every opportunity to learn, dream and shape the future we all aspire to,” Gill wrote.His statement comes against the backdrop of widespread protests in several parts of the country, where students have taken to the streets demanding accountability over repeated examination paper leaks.
‘I have immense respect’ for peaceful voices
Gill acknowledged the concerns of young people and praised those choosing peaceful means to express their views.“I have immense respect for every young person who believes in making their voice heard peacefully.”The India skipper said education remains one of the strongest pillars of nation-building and urged everyone to approach the situation with empathy.“Education has the power to shape our nation’s future. I hope we move forward with compassion, mutual respect and keeping the best interests of every student at heart.”He concluded his message with a simple but powerful appeal: “For India’s future.”Gill’s comments add the voice of one of the country’s biggest sporting stars to the growing conversation around ensuring fairness and trust in India’s education system.
Sporting fraternity rallies behind students
Gill is among several leading Indian sportspersons who have publicly reacted to the ongoing protests.Earlier, cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar urged society to build a culture where honesty and merit triumph over shortcuts.“Failure is okay, cheating is not. Never take shortcuts,” Tendulkar wrote, adding that students’ disappointment was understandable when hard work was not rewarded.India’s first individual Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra also highlighted the importance of a strong education system, saying a nation’s true strength lies in the opportunities it creates for its youth.“An education system that inspires confidence, rewards merit and nurtures curiosity is one of a nation’s greatest strengths,” Bindra said, expressing hope that India would continue strengthening its education system for future generations.Grandmaster Nihal Sarin called for accountability, saying the pressure students face while preparing for crucial examinations should never be dismissed.Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif said it was painful to see students being lathi-charged during protests and hoped a solution would emerge soon.Former all-rounder Irfan Pathan said no paper leak should ever destroy years of hard work and family sacrifice, while Shikhar Dhawan appealed for patience, dialogue and faith in the country’s institutions as the way forward.
Manchester United and Rosenborg are due to meet again just two years on from their last friendly clash
Two years have passed since Manchester United last took on Rosenborg and another meeting between the teams this week shows how much has changed at Old Trafford. The clubs are due to face off in Trondheim as United chase a first pre-season win of the summer after losing to Wrexham in Helsinki.
The last meeting between the two sides took place on July 15, 2024. On that occasion, United were in action for the first time since their FA Cup final win but fell to a 1-0 defeat thanks to Noah Holm’s stoppage-time effort.
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Holm is no longer at Rosenborg while there have been a great deal of changes as far as the English club are concerned. Not least in the dugout, where then-manager Erik ten Hag was replaced by Ruben Amorim before Michael Carrick took over after just 14 months of the Portuguese boss.
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Player-wise, six members of United’s starting XI in Trondheim have moved on while two more could yet depart this summer. We’ve taken a look at who has stayed and who has gone.
Goalkeeper and defence
Radek Vitek started that match in goal and is the only one of the back five to still be on the playing staff at Old Trafford. However, he too could leave this summer.
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“At the moment, I am still here, but we will see. I hope so,” the Czech, who wants first team football, said after the Wrexham match. “I hope there will be some interest. I think you will know when things are more concrete.”
Two of the defenders in front of him that day would end up leaving the following month. Aaron Wan-Bissaka joined West Ham, with whom he was relegated in May this year, while Will Fish could end up playing against the Hammers this coming season after his Cardiff City team earned promotion back to the Championship.
Jonny Evans partnered Fish in the middle in Norway and retired at the end of the 2024/25 but stayed with United as a coach. Left-back Sam Murray also left in 2025, signing a one-year deal with Carlisle United, though he’s now in search of a new club once more.
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Midfield
Of the three midfielders to start that day, Mason Mount is the only survivor. The England international’s injury woes contributed to his failure to make his country’s World Cup squad but he was in action for United against Wrexham over the weekend.
Until a few weeks ago, Casemiro was also still around. However, the Brazilian left upon the expiry of his contract and has now begun a new chapter in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami.
Hannibal was back in the fold in the summer of 2024 after a spell on loan at Sevilla but didn’t last long. The Tunisian international joined Burnley on a permanent deal in August of that year and remains at Turf Moor to this day, though he may find himself attracting interest after the Clarets were relegated last term.
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Attack
Pre-season often allows teams to blood youth, especially when waiting for international players to return after major tournaments. On this occasion, that meant Ethan Williams on the wing and Ethan Wheatley up front, with both academy graduates still at the club.
The other member of the front three was Marcus Rashford, who had surprisingly been left out of Gareth Southgate’s England plans for Euro 2024. He is back at Old Trafford this summer but it’s not clear for how long.
Barcelona let a buy option for the forward expire after a season-long loan but there is still reported interest in the 28-year-old. Carrick will have a big call to make on whether he sees a place for him in the squad for this upcoming season.
Get Man United’s new 2026/27 home kit
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Manchester United have launched their new home kit for the 2026/27 season, inspired by the club’s heritage and featuring a classic polo collar with iconic adidas details.
WBC welterweight world champion Ryan Garcia has predicted how Terence Crawford would fare if tasked with boxing legend Thomas Hearns in his prime.
Crawford became boxing’s sixth five-division world champion when he defeated Canelo Alvarez back in September, 37 years after Hearns became boxing’s first five-weight conqueror.
Meanwhile, Crawford became the first fighter in 17 years to join the five-division club when he dethroned Canelo, simultaneously becoming the first post-war boxer to reign as an undisputed champion in three different divisions.
As a result, ‘Bud’ has earned his place amongst boxing’s all-time greats and now that he has retired, he is beginning to receive the recognition that his phenomenal career merits, unanimously considered as a pound-for-pound legend.
However, in an interview with Daily Mail Sport, Garcia admitted that he would still favour Hearns in a fantasy fight with the Omaha-born switch-hitter, with the size of the Detroit icon presumably being one key factor.
Garcia then went on to pick Hearns to come out on top against Floyd Mayweather, but admitted that Sugar Ray Leonard would always have Hearns’ number if they fought in their primes, despite their controversial rematch in 1989; where Leonard was fortunate to escape with a draw and later admitted that he lost that fight.
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