In the middle of Argentina’s celebrations for sealing a spot in the FIFA World Cup2026 final, Lionel Messi found something that completely took his mind away from the game. In a video that has surfaced on social media, Messi and the rest of the Argentina players could be seen engrossed in reading the penalty notes that were pasted on the water bottle of England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, after the conclusion of the semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday. While pasting such notes on the water bottle is a common practice, Messi was intrigued to see how in-depth England’s preparations were.

It was Nico Gonzalez who held the bottle for Messi as the Argentina captain tried to read the penalty notes. For Messi, the notes suggested that Pickford should take left and dive right.

Argentina players started laughing when they saw Pickford’s water bottle with their names written on it just in case it ends in a penalty shootout. pic.twitter.com/AuUUk9dSev

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— valentine (@valentineezz2) July 16, 2026

As the match concluded in a 2-1 win for Argentina, England captain Harry Kane had nothing but praise for his counterpart.

“Leo is still performing at the highest level,” England captain Harry Kane said. “I felt like for large parts of the game, we dealt with him really well. But as always with the most dangerous players in the world, when they have the ball in the final third, they can be place-setters. And he did that again today. He’s obviously one of the best players ever for a reason.”

Eight days after an improbable rally against Egypt in the round of 16, Messi returned to Atlanta to produce another stellar moment in a career that might already be the best of anyone to play the sport.

England was surely envisioning going for its first World Cup title since its only one six decades ago after a 55th-minute goal from Anthony Gordon.

But Messi and his blue-clad teammates, as they have shown over and over again, are never done. Now it’s on to face Spain in the final on Sunday with a chance at becoming the first repeat champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

In the 85th minute, with England hanging on for dear life, Messi pushed out a short corner, immediately got the return pass and spotted Enzo Fernandez lurking in the middle of the field, 25 yards from the goal. Fernandez ripped a curling shot past goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to even the score.

At that point, it seemed inevitable that Argentina would pull out the victory.

With AP Inputs

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France vs Morocco Highlights | Mbappé Inspires France to FIFA World Cup Semifinal Victory

Amid the excitement of the summer transfer window, Manchester United are also tailoring the plans for their biggest move. Last week, United confirmed they will be building their new 100,000 seater stadium, 350 metres away from the current Old Trafford. The new site, will sit on land recently purchased from Indurent.

Announcing the relocation, CEO of the stadium development Collette Roche said: “Was it a big decision to be 350 metres further away from Old Trafford? No, because quite simply we’re in Old Trafford, which is really important. But going back to what’s more important to us is that we can’t disrupt what we’re doing today.

“We’ve got ambitious plans for the club, we want to win football matches. Being 350 metres away for the next four or five years, or however long it takes to build a stadium, is going to be really important because if it’s too close, it will be disruptive.”

“So there’s pros and cons to that,” Manchester United Supporters Trust’s (MUST) communication director Chris Rumfitt told MEN Sport when this aspect of the new stadium was put to him. “The big advantage of not being on the same footprint is obviously it means you can build one stadium before you demolish the other one.

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“So you don’t have to look at interim options like some London clubs have. I think we’ve had both Arsenal and Tottenham at times having to play league matches at Wembley, which I think has been a pretty unsatisfactory experience.

“And in the north west, it’s even harder because there isn’t a Wembley. There is not a neutral ground to go to. So the thought of having to play somewhere else; dare I even think about going across town to the other lot, it was always pretty unthinkable.”

But Old Trafford is more than just bricks and mortar to matchgoing supporters. To MUST’s members, who are split on the decision to leave the Theatre of Dreams, playing on the same pitch as the likes of Duncan Edwards, George Best, Eric Cantona and Bryan Robson, remains important.

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“I think people would, in an ideal world, prefer to have been a bit more adjacent, a bit like the Tottenham ground,” Rumfitt added. “It really is literally adjacent to White Hart Lane. It’s as near as it can without being exactly the same bit of land.

“This is, what 350 metres, they say, away. It means things like going to the Bishop’s Blaize or The Trafford, the two nearest pubs, suddenly aren’t actually right on the doorstep of the stadium and you’ve got a good 5-10 minute walk to the ground from those pubs.

“For some clubs, the experience of moving has gone better than others. And if we are going to be asked to go along with it, I think they need to work harder to show fans the benefits of doing so and the fact that maybe their worst fears need not come to pass.”

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And it is those fears that were not eased any further when the topic of debt was raised. Roche urged supporters not to become ‘over-obsessed’ by the thought of United racking up more debt to build the new stadium.

“This is a really important issue for us and the club can say, don’t over obsess about the debt. Well, the club have laid £1bn of debt on itself. They’re the ones who created a situation where people obsess about the debt,” Rumfitt responded. “We’re not taking that. We’re not taking that from them. We are going to focus on the debt.”

United are currently in £1.3bn of debt and initial estimates were for the stadium to cost £2bn, although Roche was unable to confirm if that was still the case.

“Our view is that the best way they could finance a new stadium… There’ll be a number of sources of money. We are realistic. But one way they should finance the new stadium is by issuing new shares and letting fans buy them,” he continued.

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“So rather than debt, you have equity and fans can build up a stake in the club via that. Now that’s not going to finance a whole £2bn, we realise that, but you could finance a good amount of money through that sort of model.

“And certainly any big increase in debt is something we’re going to be watching very carefully, especially if it’s the sort of debt which holds us back in the transfer market.

“If we didn’t have the £1bn of debt, that they’ve imposed on the club in the first place, then [adding it] to build the stadium is perfectly sensible. Like the mortgage on your house. I agree, it’s a different sort of debt because it’s debt matched against an asset, which generates revenue.

“If our starting position wasn’t £1bn of unnecessary debt, then we’d be a lot more open to taking on this more legitimate form of debt.”

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Protecting the atmosphere and heritage of Manchester United, 350 metres away and scrutinising how the new stadium will be funded, are among the priorities for MUST when further fan consultations take place, as will ticket prices and the potential introduction of personal seat licenses that allow fans to pay a one-time, up-front sum, to give them the right to purchase a season ticket. MUST are united in opposing this season ticket model.

The club insists fans will be consulted throughout the process, but from MUST’s perspective, plenty more needs to be done before United get their backing for this venture.

“Fans are quite split down the middle. And I think the reason they are split down the middle is because so far the club really hasn’t provided enough information to allow fans to make a settled view,” Rumfitt concluded.

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“Fans really want to know that the preservation of the atmosphere of Old Trafford is prioritised. That we don’t see a huge increase in ticket prices because of the new stadium. And that the sort of traditional match going fan base is prioritised and looked after if we are going to move to a new stadium.”

Need to know

England are set to play for a bronze medal after losing to Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals

Everything you need to know about the World Cup bronze final

1. Match date and opponents confirmed: England are set to play France in the bronze medal match on Saturday, July 10. The Three Lions enter the game after losing to Argentina, joining fellow semi-finalist France in the third-place play-off as they seek to leave the World Cup with a medal.
2. Kick-off time: The match is scheduled to begin at 10pm UK time.
3. Match location: This battle for third place will be staged at the breathtaking Miami Stadium. This modern, world-class arena is where England previously defeated Norway in the quarter-finals.
4. Match context for England: The two teams come into this high-stakes encounter following incredibly disappointing semi-final losses that ended their dreams of winning the famous trophy. England suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat against reigning world champions Argentina, conceding late Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez goals to cancel out Anthony Gordon’s opener.
5. Match context for France: France suffered a 2-0 loss to a clinical Spain side in their semi-final, with goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro settling the match. Manager Didier Deschamps is set to oversee his last match in charge of the national team as he prepares to step down at the end of the tournament.
6. Stakes for the England squad: Winning the third-place play-off offers this generation a remarkable chance to achieve the nation’s best World Cup performance since 1966. Furthermore, the Three Lions will want to avenge their painful elimination by France in the 2022 quarter-finals.

READ MORE: Heartbreak in Manchester as England’s World Cup hopes come to an end against Argentina

England’s 2026 World Cup kits

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Save for an odd name here or there, recent iterations of The Open have produced leaderboards filled with the who’s who of golf. Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele both won their second major titles of the season by raising the Claret Jug these last two years, as the first three major championships of the season provide breadcrumbs for what to expect at the fourth.

While the courses may rotate and the weather may change, quality remains the throughline in major championships, and even more so at an Open, where physical and (more importantly) mental limitations are tested.

Royal Birkdale has crowned 10 worthy champions in its history as an Open venue. The list is hitter after hitter, those golfers where only one name is required to remember them: Palmer, Watson, Trevino. An 11th will be added to it this week from a field of 156 men, finalized on Monday, when Joe Dean advanced through last-chance qualifying.

While Birkdale has crowned titans, it has also left room for Cinderella stories to fill in the rest. Chris Wood in 2008 and Justin Rose a decade prior both come to mind. And both ends of the spectrum are likely to rise to the forefront as only four days of major championship golf remain out in front of us before the clock resets, and everyone starts the countdown for April to roll around.

Let’s get into the field at the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale and the top 26 players out of the 156-man field. You can also check out 2026 Open predictions and expert picks and the nine golfers most likely to raise the Claret Jug ahead of the year’s final major.

2026 Open field, ranked

1. Scottie Scheffler (Won 2025): Just overwhelmed the field and Royal Portrush en route to his Claret Jug last season. Not quite the same form as he was 365 days ago, but Scheffler is still the world’s best. He has been on the first page of the leaderboard at some point in all three majors this season, though he has yet to cross the finish line. Royal Birkdale will be an execution test, and that may play into the world No. 1’s hands even with the missed cut last week.

2. Rory McIlroy (Won 2014): He has been in form during early rounds these last few months but seems to stumble once the weekend rolls around. That was the case at the U.S. Open and in the third round of the off-and-on Scottish Open, but there is enough good to suggest he will be a factor. McIlroy has a win and five other top-10 finishes in his last 10 Open appearances and drove it well at The Renaissance Club.

3. Matt Fitzpatrick (T4 in 2025): Fell short at the Scottish Open with a disappointing weekend, but the consistency and ceiling leave no doubt that he is at least the third-best player in the world at the moment. Iron play has been exceptional, and although the short game left a little to be desired, Fitzpatrick is firmly in form. He sniffed contention at the U.S. Open last month and is on the cusp of grabbing major No. 2.

4. Tommy Fleetwood (2nd in 2019): Quietly has five top-15 finishes in a row since missing the cut at the PGA Championship. Fleetwood’s floor continues to put him in elite company, but he will be tested in more ways than one this week as he receives the hometown treatment in Southport. In his last seven Opens, he has five top-20 results, but this time should only improve on that mark as he improves throughout the bag and arrives with a much sharper short game than years past.

5. Jon Rahm (T2 in 2023): Battled to make the cut at the Scottish Open but failed to play himself into another tournament. He has been a factor in one of the three majors to date, which is light given his talent level and affinity for the moment. The driver was a bright spot in Scotland, and his links golf pedigree is among the best in the game.

6. Chris Gotterup (3rd in 2025): When Gotterup gallops, he runs fast and hard. The three-time winner this season was in with a chance in his defense at the Scottish Open a week after a Sunday 62 put his name atop the leaderboard at the John Deere Classic. He has creativity and shot-making in spades to go along with his timeliness on the greens while in the heat of the battle. Gotterup has made all three major cuts this season and is rounding into form at the exact right time for the second straight year at The Open.

7. Wyndham Clark (T4 in 2025): The most recent major champion who finished inside the top five in last year’s Open and inside the top 15 in his last start. For anyone else, that sentence would make them an auto-bet, but for whatever reason, Clark continues to lack the recognition some of his peers are garnering. If this becomes a chipping-and-putting contest, there is no one doing it like the two-time U.S. Open champion.

8. Viktor Hovland (T4 in 2022): Driver is much improved over the last month, and the results back it up. The ability to club down and pick and choose spots off the tee should help a thinker like Hovland, who remains one of the top iron players in the world. For all the grief his short game has received, it is no longer dragging him down. He opened the week at 45-1, which was downright disrespectful.

9. Justin Rose (T2 in 2018, 2024): There is no doubting Rose’s ability to peak at the perfect time as he has three top-11 finishes in the three major championships this season. Combine that with a good run at The Players Championship, and the Englishman has been present at each and every event one would want on the calendar. Came onto the scene here back in 1998 and would make for one hell of a full circle story.

10. Xander Schauffele (Won 2024): Must be thrown in the top 10 given his north of 50% hit rate on that mark in major championships in his career. Still has the top-15 streak going at the U.S. Open, but the ceiling remains absent while the floor gets tested. Schauffele has never missed the cut and rides a run of four straight top-20 finishes in this championship into this week, but he also doesn’t have a top-10 finish since the PGA Championship.

11. Collin Morikawa (Won 2021): Getting whispers of Morikawa given the execution heavy style test Royal Birkdale is combined with the firm, fast, fiery conditions. Reminded folks of his quality with a final-round 61 at the Travelers Championship as he continues to look healthier by the week. More than comfortable using the putter around the greens.

12. Robert MacIntyre (T6 in 2019): The big left-hander is rounding the corner. MacIntyre was amiss for most of the spring, but once summer rolled around, so did his game with three top-15 finishes in his last four starts, including a T3 last week at The Renaissance Club, where his approach play was sublime. He has three top 10s in six Opens.

13. Sam Burns (T31 in 2024): Burns’ baby has arrived, and his watch has ended. He has secured his Thursday tee time, and with Burns in the field, he is immediately a top contender. The U.S. Open runner-up is playing at a level he has not yet reached in his career, meaning a result in The Open he has not yet achieved could be in his future. This year’s Augusta National and Shinnecock Hills were the firmest and fastest tests thus far.

14. Cameron Young (2nd in 2022): It has been a couple of months to forget for Young, who was flying sky high with his second win of the season at the Cadillac Championship, only to come back down to Earth. The three-time PGA Tour winner has struggled mightily on the greens over that span.

15. Ludvig Åberg (T23 in 2025): Åberg has taken his foot off the gas ever since the PGA Championship, where he was paired with Aaron Rai on the final day. A new putter in his bag has sured up some play on the greens for the most part, although he comes in with finishes of T55 and MC in his last two tournaments.

16. Tom Kim (2nd in 2023): You could see the gears turning. A nice start in Myrtle Beach and a close call at the U.S. Open, where he rose to the occasion, both led to his impressive victory at the Scottish Open last week. Kim has put the blade back in the bag and is back to the player who was winning in bunches out of the gates. He regularly elevates his game on this side of the pond in his career, and there is no doubt that he can contend at Royal Birkdale.

17. J.J. Spaun (T23 in 2025): Supremely accurate, elite iron player with a short game that has had its moments this year. Spaun once again comes into a major championship flying under the radar. He has only one Open championship under his belt, but he proved last year that his game can translate. Even if this year is on the firmer and faster side, Spaun should be ready. Give me all of those 100-1 price tags.

18. Patrick Reed (10th in 2019): These conditions scream Reed’s name. As crafty as they come, the former Masters champion got back into the groove of things last week with a solid showing at the Scottish Open as he plays himself into a major championship for the first time since the Masters. The competitive reps should help the Race to Dubai leader.

19. Russell Henley (5th in 2024): Don’t need much convincing to love Russ Bus’ chances. He thrives when the ground game is required, as he can run in between the dunes and pick up chunk yardages in bunches. The chipping and pitching have held him back this last month, but he is largely one of the best in that category.

20. Tyrrell Hatton (T5 in 2016): Unbelievable putting over the last month led to a win at Valderrama, a top 10 at the U.S. Open and top 20 last weekend at the Scottish Open. Fantastic player on links golf courses and getting more consistent in major championships. The Englishman has four top 20s and two missed cuts in his last six Open starts.

21. Si Woo Kim (T15 in 2022): Ranks top 30 in strokes gained off the tee, approach and around the green the last three months while being one of the most accurate drivers in the world. Would be higher if Open record was better, but don’t be shocked if he plays himself onto the first page of the leaderboard following a T9 finish in North Berwick.

22. Justin Thomas (T11 in 2019): Have always been surprised by his lack of success in this championship. Thomas has no top-10 finishes in nine starts and only one top-30 finish in that span. His run of seven straight top 25s came to an end last week as his iron play continues to be checkered.

23. Alex Fitzpatrick (T17 in 2023): Only making his second start in The Open amid a life-changing season. Fitzpatrick has made the cut in both of his major appearances this year and was running hot before a missed cut at the Scottish Open. The Englishman could not buy a putt, but if that turns around, so will his chances.

24. Shane Lowry (Won 2019): Starting to look a lot more like the Lowry we know. The 2019 champion has been red-hot with his scoring clubs while continuing to struggle with putting consistently. He is without a top-20 finish since his collapse at PGA National, but something in the gut says that could change.

25. Min Woo Lee (T21 in 2022): Might only be comfortable at The Renaissance Club, where Lee has a win and now a runner-up result in his career when it comes to links golf. The key to his performance, however, was that he finally started to make some putts. As simple as it sounds, that had been the difference between the beginning and the most recent stretch of play this year.

26. Patrick Cantlay (T8 in 2022): Short game has been incredible in past Opens, and while he went from first to worst at the Scottish Open, it was another tournament where it was another bright spot. He must be comfortable with the turf, and should the iron play mirror that of this season, he may be comfortably inside the top 20 by week’s end.

The 2026 ESPY’s generated some memorable moments as the event took place at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center in New York on Wednesday. One of the night’s biggest talking points, however, involved Knicks forward bridges” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer” data-is-sponsored=”false”>Mikal Bridges, who was spotted with a mystery woman, prompting reactions from Knicks fans.

Bridges was seen with the unidentified woman during OG Anunoby‘s acceptance speech after winning the Best Play award for his buzzer-beating tip-in in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Marshall Green shared a clip of Anunoby’s speech on X (formerly Twitter).

“OG Anunoby is the funniest person ever,” Green captioned the tweet.

In the clip, Anunoby accepted the award and addressed the audience.

“It’s an honor to win an ESPY to cap off an amazing year and a great run for our team,” Anunoby said during the acceptance speech.

While Anunoby’s speech drew attention, it was Bridges who became the main talking point after he was seen sitting with an unidentified woman in the audience. Knicks fans quickly noticed the forward and reacted to him and his companion in the replies to Green’s post.

“Mikal Bridges I was unfamiliar with your game,” a fan wrote.

Fans continued to speculate about the identity of the woman sitting with Bridges, with one account asking whether she was “Maria.”

Although Bridges’ appearance at the ESPYs sparked speculation, the Knicks forward has been in a relationship with Grainer Rosati for several years. The pair have kept their relationship largely private and have reportedly been together since their days at Villanova.

However, because they have remained private about their relationship, it is unclear whether they have since split, as the woman seen alongside Bridges continues to draw attention.

Mikal Bridges once revealed why the New York Knicks should win the ESPY’s for Best Team

The New York Knicks ended a five-decade title drought by winning the NBA championship in 2026. The achievement earned them a nomination for the Best Team award at this year’s ESPYs, which they went on to win on Wednesday.

Ahead of the ceremony, Bridges explained why he believed the Knicks deserved the honor while appearing on the ESPYS Nomination Special in June.

“Honestly, when I was seeing every team, I was like, ‘Okay, there’s a lot of really good teams up here,’” Bridges said (Timestamp: 2:38). “I just think, for the city, it’s been a really long drought, about 50-some years.

“In a city like New York, it’s not easy, especially playing for this organization. So I’ll say that’s the reason why.”

The Knicks were nominated alongside the likes of the Las Vegas Aces and the LA Dodgers, but were ultimately named the best team on Wednesday.