Sports
Caldwell leads balanced Lynx to rout of expansion Tempo
MINNEAPOLIS — Reserve Maya Caldwell led a balanced attack with 16 points and the Minnesota Lynx beat the Toronto Tempo 100-72 on Thursday night.
It was the worst loss for the expansion Tempo, who fell to 3-3 after winning their previous two. Toronto’s other two losses were by three and four points. Minnesota’s first four games were decided by a total of 16 points.
Courtney Williams scored 15 points, rookie Olivia Miles had 14 and Natasha Howard and Kayla McBride each had 13 for the Lynx (3-2).
Kia Nurse led Toronto with 23 points off the bench and rookie Kiki Rice added 11. Brittney Sykes and Marina Mabrey, who combine for more than 45 points a game — both reached 30 in a win over Phoenix on Sunday — were held to nine. Each picked up a pair of fouls in the first quarter.
The Lynx shot 55 per cent, had a 46-25 rebounding advantage and outscored the Tempo 42-24 in the paint. Minnesota went 10 of 24 behind the arc.
The Tempo shot 34 per cent. They made 12 3-pointers but only shot 29 per cent from distance.
The Lynx went on a 9-0 run and raced to a 27-14 lead after one quarter. Not much changed in the second quarter and the Lynx led 53-32 at halftime.
The Lynx stretched the lead to 76-50 after three quarters.
Tempo: Host fellow expansion team Portland on Saturday.
Lynx: At Chicago on Saturday.
Tom Pelissero is a national insider who has strong connections to the Minnesota Vikings. He therefore brings some authority behind his words.
Recently, Pelissero chatted with Rich Eisen, known for (among other things) running a blistering forty. Apparently, Minnesota is working through a true battle at quarterback, giving each guy near identical opportunities to prove capable of being the QB1.
Tom Pelissero Says it’s a True QB1 Battle
“They are splitting this 50/50,” Pelissero explained about the purple passer battle.
To my eye, the split was essentially even, as Pelissero indicates. J.J. McCarthy would get run with the starters; next up would be Kyler Murray with the starters. Neither were dominant forces completing every pass. Both made mistakes. What seemed to emerge, though, was a situation where the kid QB — McCarthy — was the better of the pair across the three days of practice.
At times, Murray turned the ball over. Some of that is to be forgiven since he’s so new and is human. More concerning, perhaps, is that there were several snaps where he struggled to find an open man. Being in a real football game instead of 7-on-7 would have led to some chaos.
Pelissero had more to say: “[Kevin O’Connell] wants this to be fair all the way through the entire process.” Next up was a reasonably juicy proclamation: “I think that at this stage coming out of minicamp, the coaches probably have a pretty good idea what direction they think this is going to go. And I don’t anticipate it takes all three preseason games for them to arrive at that conclusion.”
On Thursday after the final day of minicamp, Kevin O’Connell essentially offered the precise idea Pelissero is offering. Seeing this QB battle go all of the way to Week 1 isn’t going to happen.
The reason why Minnesota is in the clunky scenario they’re in is due to what was a horrendous passing attack last year. J.J. McCarthy deserved better stats, often letdown by WRs who dropped too many balls, an OL that was very injured, and an HC who refused to run with consistency.
Still, things got ugly. McCarthy finished his season at 6-4 behind 57.6% passing for 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.
Meanwhile, Murray has never lacked for accuracy. Nor, for that matter, is arm strength, speed, or promise more broadly an issue. He can do a ton well.
Where Murray has struggled has been with winning. Very seldom has he turned the Cardinals into a strong team, if ever at all. In seven seasons, Murray went to the playoffs a single time. He then got demolished while there.
Worse yet, the injuries have piled up in his career and his work ethic has been a source of concern. Kicking things back even further involves remembering the doubts about Murray’s commitment to football since he was so good at baseball that he had a chance to play pro in the MLB.
Oh, and for the record, Tom Pelissero did predict Kyler Murray as the starting quarterback. He seemingly did so as an assessment coming from his own perspective rather than delivering insight from Vikings coaches and/or executives.
Without question, Murray is the leader in the clubhouse, but the passer battle is just getting started.
Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.
I’m not sure we’ll ever see a five-game NBA Finals that close any time soon. I’ll say we won’t.
It will go in the books as a win for the New York Knicks, which culminated in their first NBA championship in 53 years, breaking a drought that had seemed like a curse at times — for long stretches of time — for one of the NBA’s marquee franchises.
Hopefully, the island of Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs survive this, as Knicks fans’ joy levels will likely need to be measured on the Richter scale. And hopefully the good city of San Antonio — which hosted so many Knicks fans who made the trip to Texas for Game 5 — will survive this, too.
The hard-fought 94-90 win topped a hard-fought series for the Knicks over the up-and-coming San Antonio Spurs, with the Knicks completing one of the most impressive playoff runs in NBA history.
The team that won 53 games in the regular season and was the third seed in the Eastern Conference went 16-3 on their way to the title. And even with all five games in the Finals coming down to the final two minutes, and the two teams being separated by just 12 total points, the Knicks’ 15.5-point average victory margin for the playoffs was the largest in the 30 years that the NBA has tracked it.
But even at that, Game 5 was there for the Spurs to win, or the Knicks to lose. For the fifth straight game, the Spurs opened a double-digit lead in the first quarter and for the fifth straight game, the Spurs held a fourth-quarter lead.
San Antonio was up by 10 with 8:21 to play before the Knicks went on a 10-0 run to tie the game, with all 10 points coming from Jalen Brunson, who took his rightful place in both Knicks and NBA lore by scoring 15 of his 45 points in the final frame to lead the Knicks to the win.
Meanwhile, the Spurs stumbled and fumbled through the fourth quarter once again, the part of the game when the NBA’s most talented young team and a group that seems poised to make several Finals appearances over the next 10 years will need to figure out if they are going to win the number of titles their youthful talent suggests they can.
The Spurs shot 7-of-22 in the fourth quarter Saturday with Stephon Castle, De’Aaron Fox and Victor Wembanyama — their three primary scorers — combining to go 2-for-12. For the series, the Spurs’ offensive rating in the fourth quarter was 90.5 points per 100 possessions. For context, the Washington Wizards, a team trying to lose as many games as possible during the regular season, had a fourth-quarter offensive rating of 111.4.
The Spurs will deeply regret costly mistakes that burned them at the end of Game 2, and especially in Game 4 when the Spurs surrendered a 29-point lead in the second half and a 20-point lead in the fourth quarter in the biggest collapse in Finals history. But as the youngest Finals team since 1977, the Spurs should have plenty of time to learn and reflect.
They could do a lot worse than studying what the Knicks have built: a selfless, resilient team that rallies behind their clear leader, Brunson. The Knicks found a way to win games in any style and in any situation and are a worthy entry in the annals of NBA history.
The Knicks captain did what two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder could not do: solve the Spurs’ defence.
Over seven games against the Spurs, Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 25.9 points per game while shooting just 40.1 per cent from the floor, compared with 31.1 points on 55.3 per cent shooting as he won his second straight MVP award. He could never really crack the Spurs code.
Brunson got the same treatment as a ball-dominant offensive engine and it showed in the first two games of the series as he averaged just 25 points on 33.9 per cent shooting, each well below his regular-season averages.
But Brunson figured it out, scoring 32, 36 and then 45 points in the final three games, while connecting on 48 per cent of his shot attempts.
While OG Anunoby was getting plenty of well-deserved buzz as a potential Finals MVP candidate after his epic showing in Game 4, when he scored 33 points on 15 shots and hit the never-to-be-forgotten game winner on his tip-in, Brunson became an easy choice after his eye-popping showing in Game 5, where he kept the Knicks alive in the first half after they came out flat and and then made them immortal with his showing in the fourth quarter.
It was the kind of performance that any NBA great would be proud to have by his name, and will be the signature moment for what will prove to be a Hall-of-Fame career for the former second-round draft pick.
You can’t spell champion without OG
Well, you do, but let’s just say that having Anunoby in your starting lineup means your team has at least one championship-level player on your roster. The Raptors drafted Anunoby 24th overall in 2018, taking advantage of him falling down the board after missing most of his second season at Indiana with a torn ACL. He showed plenty of promise in his first two seasons in Toronto but was still very much a work in progress when he missed the Raptors’ championship run with appendicitis.
But by his third season, Anunoby was a starter on a Raptors team that was on a 60-win pace during a year shortened by the pandemic. It will forever be a Raptors ‘what-if’ around Anunoby being traded to New York midway through the 2023-24 season.
‘What if’ the Raptors had traded him, Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet during the 2022-23 season when it seemed like the centre wasn’t holding? Would the Raptors rebuild have gotten off to a better start? ‘What if’ the three prodigal Raptors had been more open to start a new chapter alongside rising youngsters Scottie Barnes and less interested in seeking out greener pastures, both financially and competitively, elsewhere? ‘What if’ the Raptors had prioritized keeping Anunoby — who seemed like the best fit alongside Barnes — and paid him accordingly?
We’ll never know, but anyone who has followed Anunoby’s career could see him as a starter for a championship team. But this? Anunoby averaged 21.2 points on 52.5/50.0/86.9 shooting splits and played defence as well as it can be played. He’s not a starter, he’s a star.
Wembanyama so close and yet…
The big Frenchman seemed more energized and more determined in Game 5. He allowed that his poor performance in the second half of Game 4 — he was 3-of-14 and missed two crucial free throws — was attributable to fatigue. In Game 5, he played 44 minutes with just one day’s rest after playing 39 minutes in Game 4. It was a lot for a player who averaged just 29 minutes in the regular season. But with two days off his feet, Wembanyama came out determined to impose himself and force Game 6.
He had five blocks in the first half. Three of his first four field goals were dunks or lay-ups. He had the Spurs on his shoulders. But he faded again late, scoring just three of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. He didn’t block a shot in the second half. He found himself isolated on Brunson late in the fourth quarter and was left bamboozled as the shifty Knicks guard, who is more than a foot shorter than him, wound his way into the paint for a crucial score.
Wembanyama finished the series averaging 26 points, 11.2 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game. It was by any measure an impressive performance for any player, let alone one in his third season and in the playoffs for the first time. But he was exposed in some ways, too. The conditioning and ability to handle the extreme physicality of playoff basketball will need to improve. His ability to deliver as a go-to scorer needs some work. There’s no question in my mind that the work will be done and Wembanyama will be on a mission next season. Look how far he has come since having to miss the end of last season with a career-threatening blood clot? Most importantly, Wembanyama sounds like he’s already on it.
“I think that compared to anything before, this is the biggest lesson of my life, the biggest learning moment,” he said after the game. “I can’t tell you exactly what the lesson is, but we’re learning from that, for sure. I’m learning more than any other time in my life before.”
Not rookie of the year, but best rookie?
The 2025 rookie class was extraordinary, so much so that Toronto Raptors rookie and ninth overall pick Collin Murray-Boyles was good enough to help win playoff games and looks like a rotation player on a high-level team as a 20-year-old, and he barely made second-team all-rookie. The top three vote getters in the rookie of the year race were, in order: Cooper Flagg (taken first overall), Kon Knueppel (taken fourth) and VJ Edgecombe (taken third). Dylan Harper, the second overall pick, finished a distant fourth in the rookie-of-the-year race, with five third-place votes.
Voting for all NBA regular-season awards is completed before the playoffs start. But it’s pretty clear through the playoffs that Harper has an excellent chance of being the best player in the 2025 class, apologies to Flagg. His combination of physicality, poise and elusiveness off the dribble on offence and spectacular on-ball defence, along with his size at point guard, makes it easy to project multiple all-star and all-NBA nods in the 20-year-old’s future.
After Wembanyama, he was the Spurs’ most important player in the first half as his 11 points off the bench had an out-sized importance in such a close game. He was better in the third quarter. Facing elimination in Game 5, he finished with 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and no turnovers.
But like so many of his teammates, the fourth quarter eluded him. He shot 1-of-6 down the stretch after his lay-up with 8:21 left in the fourth quarter gave the Spurs a 10-point lead. The lay-ups he was able to create for himself so successfully earlier in the game didn’t fall as the crowd in the paint got thicker. He was the Spurs breakout star of the playoffs, and given how poorly De’Aaron Fox played — the veteran guard was 3-of-15 from the floor when the Spurs needed him most, capping off a series where he shot just 34.3 per cent — Harper should be their starting point guard next season and for a decade to come, at least.
When road warriors are too much
One of my fondest memories from covering the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 championship was a healthy collection of Raptors fans gathered at one end of Oracle Arena, well after the win had been secured and the Golden State Warriors fans had left. And as I was doing post-game TV hits, the Raptors fans took a break from chanting ‘We the North’ and began singing O Canada. It was incredible and summed up why the Raptors’ title was different and special.
So it’s a bit rich for me to find fault with whatever circumstances exist that allow for fans of a road team to make themselves felt in the arena of their opponents. But the way Knicks fans have invaded their opponents’ arenas through this playoff run is at another level.
I’ll give credit to Marcus Thompson II, the brilliant columnist for The Athletic, for writing on this more eloquently than I can here, but his point was well made: as big time sports has morphed to a commercial and entertainment product above all else, fans without means — and we’re talking about Spurs season tickets holders not having the means to resist selling a pair of tickets for $40,000 or more to members of the incoming Knicks horde, themselves finding it more affordable to travel to San Antonio to see their team to pay than what it cost to attend games at Madison Square Garden — threaten to be left behind.
One report said 54 per cent of the tickets for Game 4 on the secondary market were from buyers in New York and New Jersey. As is their right. Commerce is commerce. But it does feel like the plot’s been lost somehow — and I don’t know how, to be honest — where fans from one of the NBA’s largest and wealthiest markets can overwhelm the fan base of one of the league’s smallest markets, in part because they can’t afford to support their team in their own market.
The smallish group of Raptors fans at Oracle after Game 6 back in 2019 — a few hundred maybe? — seemed charming. The Knicks invasion seemed less so, but that’s maybe more of a comment on the price of fandom in these bottom-line times.
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Mike Santana has been on the top of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) for quite some time but he faced one of his toughest challengers yet in pro wrestling veteran Eric Young on “Impact.”
Young earned a guaranteed title shot with a battle royal win a few weeks ago. He made a statement against Santana last week when he hit the TNA world champion with a piledriver. Young was on a tear against the champion but continuous two counts nearly forced his hand against the referee.
But taking his eye off the prize ultimately hurt Young. Santana nailed a huge double underhook toss from the top rope against Young. A Santana bulldog and rolling cutter put him back in full control. Though, he couldn’t get Young to stay down either. The referee did get caught in the middle of the match, as Young hit him inadvertently.
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Mike Santana makes his entrance during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on June 3, 2025. (Bradlee Rutledge/WWE)
Santana hit Spin the Block but the referee was down. He tried to get the referee back up as quickly as possible. He picked up Young back to a vertical base and Young kicked him in the groin. Young nailed Santana with the TNA World Championship and then nailed a piledriver.
As the referee was counting, Santana somehow got his hand on the rope to break the count. Young was about to finish off Santana when Ricky Sosa appeared and distracted Young long enough for Santana to roll up Young.
Santana retained the TNA World Championship.
Nic Nemeth’s music hit and it looked like he was going to call his shot and get a title match on “Impact.” Nemeth grabbed the mic and said he could call his shot and win the title, but he wanted to wait until Slammiversary.
Nic Nemeth enters the ring during the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Wrestling DONTAKU event at Fukuoka Convention Center in Fukuoka, Japan, on May 3, 2024. (Etsuo Hara/Getty Images)
Santana and Nemeth shook hands, signaling the match was on. The two later worked together to take out Order Four after Mustafa Ali’s match against KC Navarro for the TNA International Championship.
Nemeth then hit Santana with a Danger Zone. Santana was right not to trust Nemeth ahead of their match at Slammiversary.
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Moose returns, sets match vs Eddie Edwards
Moose celebrates during NXT at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Dec. 30, 2025. (Andrea Kellaway/WWE)
It was a few weeks ago that The System took out TNA veteran Moose in the back. After the TNA broadcast reported that Moose was cleared to return, he came out of the back as The System dished out punishment to Leon Slater.
Cedric Alexander just pinned Slater in a tag team match with Eddie Edwards. Brian Myers and Bear Bronson got into the ring and put the beatdown on Slater. That’s when Moose’s music hit. He came to the ring and sent The System scurrying.
Moose said he will take on Edwards in a match at Slammiversary.
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“Impact” match results:
- Mike Santana def. Eric Young to retain the TNA World Championship.
- Mr. Elegance def. Elijah.
- Cedric Alexander and Eddie Edwards def. Leon Slater and Fabian Aichner.
- Allie, Rosemary and Mara Sade def. Ash by Elegance, Heather by Elegance and M by Elegance.
- Mustafa Ali def. KC Navarro to retain the TNA International Championship.
New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson scored 45 points on Saturday night to lead his team back from a 16-point early game deficit and defeat the San Antonio Spurs by a score of 94-90 to win the coveted National Basketball Association (NBA) championship.
The game-five victory was the fourth comeback win in the Knicks 4-1 run in the best-of-seven series.
Hoisting the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy after the game, team owner James Dolan shouted, “I want to say something to New York. Hey New York! I’m sorry it took so long! But here we are… and hopefully it won’t take that long again!”
“I don’t know what I am feeling,” a teary-eyed Brunson told reporters after the game. “I’m in awe. I don’t know… whenever someone counted us out, we found a way to come back and do something about it.”
‘Never-say-die’ attitude characterized Knicks dogged determination to take championship
Voted the championship’s most valuable player (MVP), Brunson, who averaged 32.6 points per game in the series, came up big in game 5, scoring 29 of his 45 points in the second half.
Team President Leon Rose praised the team’s character and grit, “the never-say-die attitude” and calling their playoff run “incredible.”
Saturday’s road victory in San Antonio, Texas, was set up by the most dramatic comeback in NBA history the Wednesday prior at the Knick’s home, Madison Square Garden — arguably one of the most storied venues in US professional sports — when the Knicks overcame a 29-point deficit to win 107-106 at the buzzer.
Knicks now among NBA elite with third championship
The championship is the first to be won by the Knicks (who incidentally won the first NBA game ever in 1946) since 1973 — 53 years ago — when they defeated the Los Angeles Lakers.
Saturday’s victory puts the Knicks in elite company, making them one of just nine teams to have won at least three championships.
“There are a couple of franchises that are pretty iconic just because of the history that they have, the location that they’re in, sometimes even the building that they’re in,” said Knicks head coach Mike Brown. “New York is definitely one of the few that you could say that to in all three facets.”
When the 1973 championship team landed at JFK Airport after their victory over LA, police braced for a “rabid” crowd of “hundreds” of people.
It is safe to say that this time, when the Knicks bring the first major professional sports championship (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB) title back to the Big Apple in 14 years, crowds will be decidedly larger and definitely more rabid.
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Edited by: Roshni Majumdar
By Emily Green and Herbert Villarraga
TIJUANA, Mexico, June 14 (Reuters) – Some 25 miles (40 km) south of the U.S.-Mexico border, nestled between taquerias in the suburbs of Tijuana, hangs a flag in the Mexican colors of green, white and red. But its design is far from common in these parts.
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Inside is what owner Saied Assadi says is only the second Iranian restaurant in all of Mexico. “Food is one of my passions,” he said when Reuters visited this week, as he served up a traditional Iranian platter of rice, grilled tomatoes, mixed meats and salad.
But not all Iranians in the area are eager to visit Assadi’s restaurant.
The Iranian community in Tijuana only numbers about 20 people – out of a city population of some 2 million. Even in this tiny community, however, differing politics epitomize the split in the diaspora and the challenges facing the Iranian team on the eve of their World Cup campaign.
Dara Makoipour, an Iranian who moved to Tijuana in 2018, is put off by the flags that decorate Assadi’s restaurant. “We have different views,” said Makoipour, who prefers to cross the border to eat at Iranian restaurants in California.
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Featuring a lion and sun motif, the flag decorating Assadi’s restaurant was Iran‘s national flag before the 1979 revolution and is associated with the country’s previous Shah-led government. It has become a subject of controversy ahead of the World Cup, as supporters attempting to take it into stadiums may breach FIFA rules restricting political paraphernalia.
In the 2022 Qatar World Cup, security denied entry to fans carrying the flag.
Asked about Iranians who find the flag off-putting, Assadi said: “Whether that person wants to come eat Iranian food or not because of the flag, that’s his choice. Some people are extremists.”
But there is something that unites Makoipour and Assadi, and that is their support for Iran’s soccer team, known colloquially as Team Melli, or “national team” in Persian.
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TIJUANA: AN UNUSUAL CHOICE
Uncertain about whether the U.S. would issue the team visas with the two countries at war, the Iranian squad announced last month it was relocating its training base from Arizona to Tijuana.
The selection made some sense. This Mexican border city is relatively close to the team’s group-stage games in Los Angeles and Seattle, and Mexico was happy to host.
Still, for a squad representing a country where alcohol is banned and women are required to wear hijabs, a city famed for strip clubs and gambling dens was a bold choice.
If the team had doubts, they seemed to be assuaged by the warm welcome they received from supporters when they arrived at 5 a.m. last Sunday, nearly four hours behind schedule. Since then, a small number of fans have gathered outside the hotel every day seeking autographs.
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“Tijuana and especially the Mexican people – they’ve been amazing,” Iran national soccer player Saeid Ezzatollahi told Reuters.
So far, Team Melli hasn’t ventured far. They are traveling with a private chef, Mexican soldiers guard their hotel, and their only excursions have been by chartered bus to a nearby stadium to train.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT
The Iranian community in Tijuana is so small it doesn’t even register on the census – a stark difference from nearby Los Angeles, which boasts the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
But Sadegh Galavi said he felt immediately at home when he and his wife visited in 2022 from Tehran.
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“Literally, we fell in love with Mexico,” he said. “And then Tijuana makes me feel that there is a lot of opportunity to work, to do many things, to build a life.”
Galavi found a job after seeing a car on the street with vanity plates that read TEHRAN. He left a note on the windshield; the owner turned out to be Makoipour. Galavi is now a mechanic for an auto restoration business Makoipour owns.
Makoipour and Galavi were ecstatic when they heard the team was coming to Tijuana.
“As long as the other side” – the U.S. – “doesn’t give them a hard time, the rest is going to be easy peasy,” Makoipour said.
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FIRST MATCH
On Sunday, the team will travel by private plane to Los Angeles one day ahead of their first World Cup match, against New Zealand.
Support staff and soccer federation members denied U.S. visas will stay behind, including the team supervisor, analysts and press liaison.
The U.S. State Department has said it will not allow the Iranian team to “abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the U.S. under false pretenses.”
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, responded that the Trump administration believes “anybody who doesn’t think the same as them is a terrorist.”
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The Iranian flag remains a flashpoint. A California non-profit has filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent any restrictions on bringing the pre-revolutionary flag into stadiums, under freedom of expression protections.
FIFA previously directed Reuters to its stadium code of conduct, in which it prohibits any flags “of a political, offensive and/or discriminatory nature.” FIFA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit.
Assadi, whose restaurant displays that flag, said he believes the Islamic Republic is “not giving people the freedom” they deserve.
But he will be cheering the national team on Monday, regardless of his – and the team’s – political views.
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“Pretty much everyone in Iran plays soccer,” he said. “I hope all Iranians will support the team as soccer players.”
(Reporting by Emily Green and Herbert Villarraga; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Rosalba O’Brien)
Sports
Free 2026 World Cup anytime goalscorer picks, odds, best bets: Havertz, Gyokeres among best bets for Sunday
Another quartet of World Cup games is on tap for Sunday, June 14, with major stars set to take the field. On the schedule is Germany vs. Curacao at 1 p.m. ET, Netherlands vs. Japan at 4 p.m., Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador at 7 p.m. and Sweden vs. Tunisia at 10. That means fans have four matches’ worth of soccer betting opportunities, and we’ve identified anytime goalscorer prop picks at FanDuel for each one.
For more World Cup picks, including outright winners, spread picks and totals, you should check out the picks from SportsLine experts like Jon Eimer, Martin Green and Brad Thomas. Anyone following their World Cup betting advice at sportsbooks and on betting apps could have seen huge returns.
Best World Cup goalscorer picks for Sunday
- Kai Havertz, Germany (-170, FanDuel)
- Donyell Malen, Netherlands (+190, FanDuel)
- Yan Diomande, Ivory Coast (+450, FanDuel)
- Viktor Gyokeres, Sweden (+150, FanDuel)
Kai Havertz, Germany (-170, FanDuel)
Germany having questions at forward is something of a running theme. That being said, there are plenty of teams in this tournament that would love to have Havertz up top. He showed his quality in the Champions League final when he scored an extremely difficult goal from a tight angle, and he will be tasked with leading the line for a German side that has aspirations of making a deep run. With all due respect to Curacao, this is a team Havertz and his teammates should make light work of.
Donyell Malen, Netherlands (+190, FanDuel)
A move from Aston Villa to Roma at midseason seemed to finally unlock Malen’s potential. He hammered home 14 goals in 18 matches after his switch to Serie A and firmly earned his place on the plane for the Dutch team. While Villa utilized him as a second striker or in-cutting right winger, Malen was firmly Roma’s lead striker. He’ll mostly be operating as a winger again for the Netherlands, but manager Ronald Koeman will know how to get the most out of the dynamic forward. He may very well be the team’s most exciting offensive option.
Yan Diomande, Ivory Coast (+450, FanDuel)
You might hear Dimonde’s name a lot this summer. The 18-year-old just broke out in a huge way for RB Leipzig with 12 goals and eight assists. He’s a blazing speedster and displays technical ability far beyond it’s years. It’s why the top Premier League teams are trying to sign Diomande — he’s been heavily linked to Liverpool, among others. Ecuador’s defense is formidable, but if anyone has the fire to break through, it’s Diomande.
Viktor Gyokeres, Sweden (+150, FanDuel)
With Alexander Isak’s fitness still a major variable, the Swedish attack is likely to be centered around Gyokeres. His move to Arsenal this past season may not have resulted in the lofty highs many dreamed of, sure, but he still scored 14 goals and won the Premier League. It’s hard to imagine that Sweden’s goalscoring output will depend as heavily on set pieces as Arsenal, so Gyokeres should have more to feast on — especially against a Tunisia team that isn’t expected to go far.
Sports
Emma Raducanu – latest: Queen’s latest score and updates as British No 1 plays Donna Vekic in final
Emma Raducanu thanks team after getting through ‘tough moments’
After a difficult season, Emma Raducanu has found suddenly serious form since returning to the grass. Before Queen’s, Raducanu was without a win in two months and lost her only two matches of the clay-court season after struggling with post-viral symptoms.
After being Iva Jovic in the semi-finals, it was telling Raducanu thanked her team for sticking with her through “tough moments” in the last few months.
“It means everything to be doing this here at Queen’s,” she said. “The whole day has been electric. This week has been incredible, I really enjoy playing here and that shows in my tennis.
“Ask any British player and they would love to lift the title here. We’ve been through some tough moments in the last few months but we have been putting in the hard work and I want to thank my team for helping me get into the final.”
Jamie Braidwood14 June 2026 11:05
Good morning and welcome
Emma Raducanu aims to win the second title of her career and first since lifting the US Open five years ago as the British No 1 faces Donna Vekic in the final of the HSBC Championships at Queen’s Club.
Raducanu won two matches in one day on Saturday to reach only her third career final on home soil in west London. She battled through an injury scare during her quarter-final win before producing an impressive performance to beat Iva Jovic 6-2 6-2.
The final at Queen’s will be underway from 1:30pm BST in west London.
Jamie Braidwood14 June 2026 11:00
Sports
‘Could be sacrificed’ – Insider claims Liverpool might ‘reluctantly cash in on’ regular starter
Liverpool may be ‘reluctantly’ prepared to offload one of their most-used players from the 2025/26 season, according to one transfer insider.
Alexis Mac Allister recently marked the three-year anniversary of his transfer to the Reds from Brighton, but his future has been the subject of speculation over the past few weeks.
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Paul Joyce has written of the ‘doubt’ over the 27-year-old’s future at Anfield amid the absence of contract negotiations (when other 2023 signings were in talks or had already agreed new deals), while Fabrizio Romano claimed during the week that other clubs are ‘starting to look at’ the midfielder’s situation.
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Liverpool ‘could reluctantly cash in on’ Mac Allister
Speaking on the latest Transfer Insider podcast for Football Insider, Pete O’Rourke named the Argentine as one player who Liverpool may be willing to sell during the summer, if they need to raise funds for prospective signings of their own.
The reporter said: “Liverpool have to wheel and deal in the market this summer to try and raise some cash to boost their own transfer kitty.
“Mac Allister is somebody that they could reluctantly cash in on. He still has good value and is a World Cup winner, so if he goes and has a good World Cup again this month, then that’ll obviously maybe bring other teams to the table as well.
“Liverpool, right now, are looking to strengthen rather than weaken the squad, but if they are needing to sell players, Mac Allister could be one of those that could be sacrificed.”
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Mac Allister still has plenty to offer at Liverpool
Like many of his teammates at Anfield, the 27-year-old endured a drastic decline in form in the 2025/26 campaign compared to the previous season, and his current market valuation is among the highest of any Liverpool player according to Transfermarkt.
If FSG were to receive any signals that he might be prepared to leave this summer, that could potentially make the hierarchy more amenable to offers from elsewhere for the Reds’ fifth most-used player of last term (Transfermarkt).
However, one underwhelming campaign doesn’t change the truth that Mac Allister is a top-class midfielder who’s one of the world’s best players in his position when he’s operating at his highest level, and he has it in him to come up with clutch moments for his team.
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It was his goal which secured a memorable win over Real Madrid last November, and he also netted the stoppage-time winner at Nottingham Forest in February, a crucial result in ultimately qualifying us for the Champions League.
Hopefully Liverpool won’t feel obligated to sell the Argentine this summer and he can bounce back to his best levels under Andoni Iraola next term.
Former NFL defensive end Aldon Smith has died at the age of 36.
The San Francisco 49ers, who selected Smith as the seventh pick of the 2011 Draft, confirmed his death, but the cause has not been revealed.
Smith spent four seasons with the 49ers, helping them to three NFC Championship Games, and a season apiece with the Oakland Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys.
He played 75 regular-season games in his career and retired in 2023.
“We are devastated by the sudden and tragic passing of Aldon Smith,” read a 49ers statement.
“Aldon’s undeniable talent and sheer dominance on the field were on display from the moment he joined our organisation, having recorded one of the best rookie seasons the National Football League has seen.
“Beyond his excellence as a player, Aldon will be remembered for his infectious smile that lit up every room he walked into.”
Smith was named in the NFL’s all-rookie team in 2011 after registering the second-most sacks (14) by a rookie in a single season since 1982.
The following season he was selected for the Pro Bowl and earned first-team All-Pro honours.
However, his career was disrupted by off-field issues, with multiple arrests on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI), possessing illegal weapons, and domestic violence.
Smith was suspended in 2014 after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy before being released by the 49ers in 2015 following a DUI arrest.
Joining the Raiders later that year, he made only nine appearances before receiving an indefinite suspension for substance abuse.
He missed the 2016 and 2017 campaigns and was released by the Raiders in 2018.
Smith returned to the NFL with the Cowboys in 2020 – he made 16 starts – and had a fourth-month stint with the Seattle Seahawks in 2021 without making an appearance.
Qatar‘s Boualem Khoukhi stunned Switzerland with a late equaliser as the sides played out a 1-1 draw in their opening match at the World Cup on Saturday.
A Breel Embolo penalty had broken the deadlock for Switzerland early in the first half in the San Francisco Bay Area, before the wasteful favourites were made to pay as Qatar earned their first ever point at a World Cup.
Qatar, appearing in just their second finals after hosting the 2022 World Cup, looked rusty after the war in the Middle East caused the cancellation of two of their warm-up friendlies, meaning their meeting with Switzerland was just their third match since December last year.
And for the majority of the match they were outclassed as Switzerland racked up 26 shots, before 35-year-old Khoukhi’s header four minutes into injury time sparked wild celebrations on the Qatar bench.
For their boss Julen Lopetegui, it was also a landmark moment as he coached his first World Cup match.
Read moreWorld Cup co-hosts US thrash Paraguay in dominant Group D opener
The 59-year-old had been set to guide his native Spain at the 2018 edition in Russia, but was sacked days before the start of the tournament after it was announced he had agreed to take over Real Madrid after the World Cup.
The Swiss are seeking to progress to the knockout stages for the fourth consecutive World Cup but their inability to kill off a match they dominated will worry coach Murat Yakin.
Manuel Akanji offered Qatar the first big chance of the match in just the second minute as his defensive lapse sent Edmilson Junior through, but he could only shoot tamely at Gregor Kobel.
94th minute equaliser
That let-off woke up the Swiss, who were awarded a penalty on 13 minutes as goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada clattered into Remo Freuler, despite a suspicion of offside, and after a four-minute stoppage Embolo sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot.
The rest of the opening period was one-way traffic towards the Qatar box but Edmilson nearly caught the Swiss cold just before half-time, drawing a right-footed save from Kobel at the end of a rare foray forward.
Read moreFather of three seized by ICE at FIFA match last summer warns immigrant fans of danger
Under a blazing Californian sun the chances dried up in the second period with the most notable moments a Granit Xhaka drive from distance that whizzed narrowly over the bar and an Embolo poke that nestled in the side netting.
But ultimately Switzerland were made to pay for their profligacy as Khoukhi powered in at the back post to bullet home a 94th-minute equaliser.
Switzerland next play Bosnia on Thursday in Los Angeles, while Qatar meet co-hosts Canada in Vancouver on the same day.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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