England manager Thomas Tuchel has defended his full-back selection policy after confirming Reece James will miss Saturday’s World Cup match against Panama.

As revealed by BBC Sport this week, James was assessed by England medics following Tuesday’s goalless draw against Ghana after complaining of a hamstring issue.

Tuchel has since confirmed that the Chelsea right-back has not travelled to New Jersey from their Kansas City base for their final Group L game against Panama on Saturday (22:00 BST). But he insists James has a chance of playing in England’s possible last-32 match next week.

However, BBC Sport understands that James is a significant doubt for the start of the knockout stages, should England qualify.

James’ injury – and the calf issue that caused Tino Livramento to return home from the United States – has thrown into question Tuchel’s decision to bring just three recognised full-backs to the World Cup.

Djed Spence, James and Livramento were the only genuine full-backs selected.

Nico O’Reilly, who played at left-back for Manchester City last season, is also in the squad – but he came through the ranks at Etihad Stadium as a midfielder. Dan Burn has also played at left-back but is recognised as a centre-back.

Spence and central defenders Jarell Quansah and Ezri Konsa are Tuchel’s alternative options at right-back.

Nevertheless, Tuchel said: “Yes, I am [happy with my options at right-back]. I selected the team, so I’m very happy with everything with the characteristic of the players and strengths that they give us.

“We would love to have every single key player, we would love to have them available, it’s not available – we find solutions, it’s what we do. It’s a tournament, we move on.”

James and Livramento, in particular, have a chequered injury history and Tuchel’s decision to take both to the World Cup is likely to be called into question.

Tuchel, though, is confident James will play again in the World Cup should England progress.

“It’s a minor hamstring issue, he’s not been able to train the last two days,” confirmed Tuchel.

“He’s now on an accelerated rehabilitation program and we take it game by game, but we strongly believe that he will be available [during the tournament].”

There was better news with regards to the availability of Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, who Tuchel said would all be available to face Panama.

Rice (calf) and Anderson (glute) missed training on Thursday – but returned on Friday.

Tuchel confirmed Saka is ready to start after coming off the bench in the opening two matches because of a long-term Achilles tendinitis complaint.

Jockey Dylan Gibbons has made consistency his watchword this season and intends to maintain that focus into the upcoming racing period.

Achieving Group 1 victories represents the ultimate goal for any jockey, and a triumph aboard Infancy in the Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m), the final major race of the 2025-26 racing term, would provide a perfect flourish to his successful year.

Gibbons, a talented apprentice, was once considered part of the next wave of young riders coming through the ranks, alongside notable names like Zac Lloyd and Tyler Schiller. However, a shoulder injury sustained in late 2024 disrupted his momentum.

Returning to the saddle last year, he worked assiduously to secure a solid position in Sydney’s fiercely competitive racing landscape. While this required time and considerable perseverance, the rewards began to materialise.

With 38 metropolitan wins in Sydney this term, Gibbons is currently positioned eighth on the jockeys’ premiership table. His season highlights include Group 3 victories on Southend in The Baillieu and Piggyback in the Parramatta Cup.

“If you go back a season, things dropped off a bit compared to how they were going when I had the claim, so I had to rebuild, so to speak,” Gibbons stated.

“I wanted to re-establish myself, be a consistent city rider, and keep chipping away at the winners.
“I’ve had a good provincial season, and those horses can eventually turn into city winners. Fortunately enough, I’m also getting near the forty (metropolitan winners) mark which has been good.”

Gibbons has already celebrated two Group 1 successes: guiding Explosive Jack to victory in the 2023 Sydney Cup (3200m) and Kalapour in the 2024 Tancred Stakes (2400m).

He is hopeful of adding to that tally when he partners Infancy in the Tattersall’s Tiara, expressing confidence in the $51 outsider’s potential to surprise.

Infancy produced a strong showing when finishing second in the Group 2 Sapphire Stakes (1200m) in April. She subsequently raced in midfield during the Luskin Star Stakes (1300m) at Scone, and again in the Bob Charley Stakes (1200m), which was dominated by the front-runner Wanaruah.

Although the filly will need some luck from an awkward draw and a solid pace, Gibbons believes she will be in contention if these elements align.

“She has over-achieved her whole career and done a remarkable job,” he commented.

“The 1400 metres is getting near her maximum distance, but when she was in that brutally run 1300 (Luskin Star Stakes) with Whinchat and Phearson leading, they ran it like a mile race and she was there to the fifty metres and got chopped out.
“If she can get the right run, she has got a wicked turn of foot.”

Gibbons also has the ride on the tough sprinter Brudenell for Lees in the W J Healy Stakes (1200m) and would relish seeing the dual Listed winner secure an overdue Group success.

“He is one of my favourite horses. I’ve won four or five races on him now,” Gibbons said.

“He is honest as the day is long, and he’s only gotten better with age. If things go his way, you know he’s going to give one hundred and ten per cent, and it would be nice to see him get a Group win.”

Gibbons has a strong book of eight rides at Eagle Farm, with Geemes ($5.50) rated by bookmakers as his best prospect for victory in the Listed Tattersall’s Gold Crown (2100m).

Infancy is a $51 chance in the Tattersall’s Tiara, but Gibbons believes she is capable of an upset. Check out the latest betting markets for the race at sports betting platforms.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have selected Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. One of the most dynamic playmakers in this draft class, McKenna should give the Maple Leafs an offensive boost immediately.

McKenna just wrapped up his freshman season at Penn State, and the transition from junior hockey to the collegiate level wasn’t a smooth one initially. However, after a slow start, McKenna found his groove and finished the season with 15 goals and 36 assists 35 games. His 51 points ranked third in the Big Ten, and McKenna led the Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost to Minnesota-Duluth in the first round.

Prior to his career at Penn State, McKenna posted gaudy numbers with the Medicine Hat Tigers in the WHL. In 2024-25, McKenna tallied 41 goals and 88 points in 56 games while helping the Tigers capture a WHL title. McKenna and Medicine Hat fell just shy of a Memorial Cup title, losing to the London Knights in the championship game.

It might be a bit much to ask McKenna to ride shotgun alongside Auston Matthews right out of the gate, but he has the skill to make an instant impact. Can McKenna land among the best No. 1 picks of this century? If he can, that would be a huge boost to a Toronto offense that finished in the middle of the league last year.

With the No. 2 overall pick, the San Jose Sharks took Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg, who pushed McKenna to be the top selection in this draft. San Jose adds yet another elite offensive weapon to its arsenal with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith already there. Stenberg will help replace William Eklund, who was recent traded to the Ottawa Senators.

After trading defenseman Bowen Byram to the Chicago Blackhawks for the No. 4 overall pick, the hometown Buffalo Sabres replaced Byram with Daxon Rudolph, one of the best playmaking defensemen in this class. Those moves will be analyzed for years to come.

Stay tuned here with CBS Sports as the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft continues. We’ll have the full results and analysis once the opening round concludes.

Round 1

1. Toronto Maple Leafs — Gavin McKenna (LW, Penn Sate, NCAA)
2. San Jose Sharks — Ivar Stenberg (RW, Frölunda, SweHL)
3. Vancouver Canucks — Caleb Malholtra (C, Brantford, OHL)
4. Buffalo Sabres — Daxon Rudolph (D, Prince Albert, WHL)
5. New York Rangers — Alberts Šmits (D, Jukurit, Liiga)
6. Calgary Flames
7. Seattle Kraken
8. Winnipeg Jets
9. San Jose Sharks (via Florida, Ottawa)
10. Nashville Predators
11. St. Louis Blues
12. New Jersey Devils
13. New York Islanders
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. St. Louis Blues (via Detroit)
16. St. Louis Blues (via Washington)
17. Los Angeles Kings
18. Washington Capitals (via Anaheim)
19. Utah Mammoth
20. Buffalo Sabres (via Edmonton, San Jose)
21. Philadelphia Flyers
22. Pittsburgh Penguins
23. Utah Mammoth (via Boston)
24. Vancouver Canucks (via Minnesota)
25. Ottawa Senators (via Tampa Bay, Seattle, Florida)
26. Vegas Golden Knights (via Dallas, Carolina, New York Rangers)
27. San Jose Sharks (via Buffalo)
28. Montreal Canadiens
29. St. Louis Blues (via Colorado, New York Islanders)
30. Calgary Flames (via Vegas)
31. Carolina Hurricanes
32. Ottawa Senators

Lionel Messi will start on the bench for Argentina football against Jordan to complete their World Cup 2026 group stage.

The Albiceleste are defending their title and have started in magnificent form behind Messi’s prolific run of five goals from two games in victories over Algeria and Austria.

Messi is the leading contender to win this year’s golden boot, one clear of France forwards Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele.

Messi (18) is also two clear of Mbappe (16) as the tournament’s all-time record goalscorer, but that record could be threatened with Lionel Scaloni opting to hold the 39-year-old back for the Group J finale.

“Leo Messi will be on the bench against Jordan. He will have minutes in the second half,” said Scaloni.

Scottie Scheffler has spent much of the 2026 season looking just a bit off, admitting as much ahead of last week’s U.S. Open when he described his game as being a little “dull” and lacking the same sharpness we’ve grown to expect from the World No. 1. 

While that sharpness didn’t arrive in time to capture the career grand slam, Scheffler seems to have found something at TPC River Highlands, where he’s off to a red-hot start to grab the 36-hole lead at 16 under thanks to a 10-under 60 on Friday. Overnight rain delayed the start of the second round by 30 minutes, which softened the course and gave players the green light to attack. No one took that opportunity better than Scheffler, who has positioned himself at the top of the leaderboard entering the weekend in pursuit of his second win of the season. 

Scheffler began his day birdie-bogey-birdie, but ripped off four straight birdies late in his front nine to go out in 30. He’d add another stretch with four consecutive birdies in the middle of his back nine to get to 10 under on his round and arrived at the 17th hole needing one birdie in the last two holes to break 60 for the second time in his career. 

After hitting 15-of-16 greens in regulation coming into the 17th, Scheffler had a rare miss from the fairway from 162 yards, tugging his approach — with Scheffler saying he got gusted — off the left side of the green. After a poor chip from the fairway cut, he made a tough 8-footer for par to keep the 59 dream alive going to the 18th. There, he missed his first fairway of the day, finding the left bunker, but drew a good lie and was able to put an approach 20 feet below the hole to give himself a run. 

Scheffler said after his round it was a tricky read, with the ball moving right on him early and ending up too far outside before taking the sharp break late, leaving a tap-in par to post a 10-under 60. Had Scheffler managed to make that putt, he could’ve joined Jim Furyk as the only players to break 60 twice on the PGA Tour. That record remains with Furyk, who Scheffler joked in his press conference somewhat ruined shooting a 59 at TPC River Highlands. 

“It was kind of funny. It was like, yeah, it would be cool to shoot 59, but somebody has already shot 58 here, so it’s not even the course record,” Scheffler remarked. “So it’s not like…you know, Jim kind of takes away a little bit of the special 59 when you are losing still.”

TPC River Highlands is always a course where players can go out and attack, and that’s especially the case on a day like Friday when the wind is negligible and the course is softened by rain. However, the difference between Scheffler’s first round 64 and his 60 in the second round came down, largely, to more putts falling. 

“Yeah, I’d say in golf the line is always pretty fine. I’m sure if you looked at today’s round versus yesterday’s round, it’s probably pretty similar from a ball-striking perspective,” Scheffler explained. “It’s a matter of holing a few putts. Some days they’re kind of hanging on the edge and not quite going in, and then other days they’re finding the bottom of the cup. Today was a day definitely which most of them were finding the bottom of the cup.” 

The stats back that statement up, as Scheffler holed just over 145 feet of putts on Friday after holing 95 feet in his still excellent opening round 64. While he would’ve loved to see one more putt of length drop on the 18th hole, he’s most concerned with snapping out of his winless drought that’s currently sitting at 17 weeks. 

Scheffler opened his season with a bang, winning the American Express in his first start of 2026. Since then, he’s been unable to put together four complete rounds, with slow starts becoming a frustrating trend in the middle of his season. Numerous furious comebacks on the weekend to finish just off the lead prove he still has that top gear, but finding those levels for 72 holes has been a challenge. 

Through 36 holes at the Travelers, he’s got that sorted out and looks like the player who has dominated the PGA Tour for the last four years. He’ll have to keep that up on the weekend, as TPC River Highlands always leaves the door open for players to go low and try to chase down the leader. If he can convert his 36-hole lead into his 21st PGA Tour victory, he’ll change the question from why can’t he win right now to why can’t go on a winning streak through the summer. 

Weekend contenders 

2. Viktor Hovland (-14)
T3. Akshay Bhatia, Eric Cole (-13)
T5. Matt Fitzpatrick, Bud Cauley, Ben Griffin (-10)
T8. Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, J.J. Spaun, Patrick Cantlay, Maverick McNealy, Brian Campbell (-9)
T14. Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns, Keegan Bradley and five others (-8)

It’s not often you shoot 65-61 in the first two rounds of a tournament and don’t have the lead going into the weekend, but Viktor Hovland has done just that. His best start to a week this season has been overshadowed by Scheffler’s return to dominant form. Hovland showed some strong form two weeks ago in Canada before a missed cut at the U.S. Open, but back on a golf course where you must attack, he’s once again looking like a threat and keeping Scheffler from running away from the field. 

Bhatia hasn’t notched a top 10 since his win at the Arnold Palmer, but he got the putter warmed up again on Friday to shoot a 62 that jumped him into a tie for third. He proved earlier this year what he’s capable of when he gets hot on the greens and TPC River Highlands is a course known for having friendly greens. He’s tied with Eric Cole, who continues his blistering pace of late as he’s primed for another weekend in contention in pursuit of his first PGA Tour title. 

Matt Fitzpatrick had it rolling again in the middle of his back nine but cooled off a touch late and dropped a shot on the 18th to slide back into a tie for fifth. Even so, he finds himself on the first page of the leaderboard once again heading into a weekend and is arguably the biggest threat to Scheffler, even six off the pace. Cauley, who picked up his first win two weeks ago in Canada, is still riding that high and playing extremely well once again this week. The same can be said for Ben Griffin who has returned to quality form after a slow start in 2026. 

Given who is in the lead, it’s hard to imagine Scheffler helping out the rest of the field this weekend, which means those not yet at double-figures under par have serious work to do on the weekend. That’s certainly possible at a course like TPC River Highlands, but Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Sam Burns, defending champ Keegan Bradley and U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark will all be feeling like they need to post scores of 64 or better on Saturday and Sunday to have a chance at winning. 

Cameron Young’s dip in form continues 

After winning The Players, contending at the Masters and winning again at the Cadillac Championship, Young was the hottest player on the PGA Tour and was seemingly making up ground on the Scheffler-Rory McIlroy tandem in the Tour’s top tier. However, Young hasn’t been nearly as sharp over the past month-plus dating back to the PGA Championship and that slip in form has been extremely evident to start this week as he’s one of just five players who have yet to break par in the first two rounds. 

Young’s hot streak was buoyed by some phenomenal putting on top of his excellent ball striking, but he has cooled off on the greens of late. Young is 70th out of 72 players in the field this week in strokes gained putting, losing more than five shots on the greens so far. Maintaining an elite level of play is the hardest thing in golf and Young’s proving just how challenging it is. His talent is undeniable, but his recent dip underscores just how remarkable a run like Scheffler’s is when we’re concerned about his form when he’s only posting top 10s most weeks and not winning. 

Former undisputed light-heavyweight world champion Artur Beterbiev is keen to return to action as soon as possible, but he believes that one of the current world champions is ‘ducking him’.

Beterbiev knocked out Enrico Koelling to capture the IBF light-heavyweight title back in 2017 and, after defending the belt against Callum Johnson and Radivoje ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic, the Canadian-Russian unified the titles by halting WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Once again, two defences followed, as Beterbiev continued his 100% knockout streak with wins against Adam Deines and Marcus Browne inside of the distance, before adding the WBO strap to his collection by knocking out Joe Smith.

Then, for a third time, Beterbiev made two further title defences before colliding with Dmitry Bivol in a legendary undisputed showdown in October 2024, where his knockout streak came to an end in the crowning moment of his career – going the distance for the first time but claiming a majority-decision win.

Just four months later, Bivol reversed the result in their rematch with a majority decision triumph of his own, but there has been no rubber match since that meeting 16 months ago, much to the disappointment of 41-year-old Beterbiev,

Speaking with The Ring, Beterbiev declared that Bivol is ‘ducking’ a third fight, despite the ‘loose agreement’ which is understood to be in place. 

“There is a very short time after the first fight and third fight, even with that I accepted this fight, expecting to have the third fight within five/six months. You can see that he doesn’t want to fight, he is ducking me, I thinks so.”

To add to Beterbiev’s concerns, Bivol will be made to face mandatory challenger Callum Smith in the near future, unless he is willing to relinquish the WBO world title.

France’s final group match against Norway had been billed as a showdown between Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland, but Ousmane ⁠Dembélé tore up the script as he scored a ​hat-trick to seal top spot for Les Bleus in Group I.

The winger scored three times in the space of 25 minutes in the first half to send the 2018 world champions and 2022 runners-up into the knockout phase of this year’s tournament with ​a spring ‌in their step.

Read moreFrance top group as Dembélé’s first-half treble downs second-string Norway

The France players had promised to go for a win as ⁠a tribute to coach Didier Deschamps who has flown home from the United States to attend the funeral of his mother.

By finishing top of Group I, France are likely to meet Sweden in the first knockout round of the tournament. As runners-up, Norway will play Ivory Coast.

Deschamps is due to return to the squad on Saturday ‌to begin preparing for the next phase.

Les Bleus – like Norway – had ‌made sure of a place in the Round of 32 before Friday’s clash but wanted ⁠to top the group to take advantage of a lighter travel schedule offered by the tournament’s North American criss-crossing route map.

Their task was made easier by Norway coach Stale Solbakken’s decision ​to rest all but one of the players who started against Senegal earlier ‌this week, including goal-scoring machine Haaland and captain Martin Odegaard.

France went on the attack from the kickoff.

Kylian Mbappé, who is likely to be challenging Haaland for the World Cup’s Golden Boot top scorer award, slammed an angled ‌shot off the bar with barely 20 seconds on the clock.

Six minutes later Mbappé swept a glorious cross-field pass to Dembélé who cut inside ​and then outside a defender before blasting an angled shot past goalkeeper Egil Selvik.

Mbappé fed Dembélé again in the 20th minute and the Paris Saint-Germain forward gained a yard of space against his marker once ​again to score with a dipping shot.

Norway pulled a goal back almost immediately through Thelo Aasgaard before ​Dembélé became only the third France player to score a World Cup ​hat-trick – after Just Fontaine and Mbappé – by curling a low shot into the bottom corner in the 32nd.

It was the second-earliest hat-trick ever scored at a ​World Cup, behind Erich Probst who got three goals for Austria in 1954 against Czechoslovakia after 24 minutes.

Read moreWorld Cup 2026: Group standings

Jorgen Strand Larsen blew a chance to get Norway back into the game early in the second half when his soft penalty was saved by Mike Maignan.

Winger Oscar Bobb forced Maignan into another save as the Scandinavians exposed ⁠some vulnerability in their opponents’ back line before Désiré Doué got France’s fourth with a header from a cross by substitute ⁠Bradley Barcola in the ​dying moments.

Norway coach Solbakken said it had been a “no-brainer” to rest so many of his usual starters against France, including ⁠Haaland and Odegaard.

“The only argument for ​not doing what we did is that the fans in Norway and here could have seen Erling and Martin. But then it wouldn’t be a long World Cup, and that’s what we’re here for,” he said. “We’re here to go as far as possible.”

(FRANCE 24 with Reuters)