Jordan Pickford is confident England will be streetwise enough to keep their cool in Wednesday’s intense World Cup semi-final clash with Argentina.

Thomas Tuchel’s side have the chance to become the nation’s first men’s team to reach the final since Sir Alf Ramsey’s heroes lifted the trophy in 1966.

World champions Argentina stand in their way and the eyes of the nation will be on Atlanta for what is sure to be an electric encounter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Wednesday.

This is the nations’ first knockout meeting since David Beckham saw red for tripping Diego Simeone in England’s agonising World Cup 1998 exit, but Pickford believes they will avoid similar drama.

“I think you’ve seen throughout the tournament our desire to win tackles, we’ve not got into any scuffles or anything,” England’s all-time leading appearance maker at World Cups said.

“We’ve been very well respected within the game. Decisions go our way, they don’t go our way, we just reset, we go again and we let the football do the talking.

“I think that’s what we’ve done throughout the tournament. Apart from Jarell (Quansah’s red card in Mexico), we’ve not had any suspensions, no second yellow cards or anything like that.

“It just shows the mentality we have and we don’t get wrapped up in things like that. We stay focused, we stay together.”

That focus will be vital in what is sure to be a febrile atmosphere as Argentina’s players and fans will Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players in the game’s history, to another World Cup crown.

The 39-year-old has been a force of nature this summer as Lionel Scaloni’s men scraped through to the semi-finals, but England have their own stars in Hary Kane and Jude Bellingham.

“Everyone will talk about Messi because he’s one of the GOATs (greatest of all time) of the game,” Pickford said.

“But you can’t look past the ability and the talent we’ve got in the squad – going forward, defensively, togetherness. We’ve got it all there and that’s what we need to put on show on Wednesday.

“But we also can’t just talk about Messi. They’re a good side and they’re reigning champions. They’re a good side but we’ve got so much ability in our squad going forward and we’re hard to break down. We’ve got that resilience, we’ve got that togetherness and we’ve got that mentality. That’s what makes a good team.”

England against Argentina holds a lot of history for a variety of reasons, including Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ in 1986 and the Beckham moment 12 years later.

But the background matters little to Pickford and this current crop, who are looking to make it to the World Cup final after reaching the last two European Championship showpieces.

“I think it’s just solely focus on us as England now and us being at our best to beat another top nation,” Pickford said.

“It’s us against them to get a place in the final, and it’s a game of football. 90 minutes, 120, penalties. We’re ready for anything, and it’s us against them and it’s about who comes out on top. We’re fully prepared for that.”

New Chelsea manager Xabi Alonso has made it clear that he wants midfielder Enzo Fernández to remain at the club.

Alonso spoke during his first press conference at Stamford Bridge on Monday after officially taking charge of the Blues.

The Argentina international has been linked with a move away from Chelsea in recent weeks, with reports suggesting interest from Real Madrid. However, the Spanish giants have denied trying to sign him.

When asked if he wanted Fernandez to stay, Alonso gave a simple answer.

“Yes,” he said.

“We have spoken. But, as you can understand, what we said will remain private.”

The 25-year-old midfielder is currently away with Argentina and is preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-final against England.

Alonso also confirmed that striker Nicolas Jackson will return to the squad after Bayern Munich decided not to make his loan move permanent.

“Nico Jackson is joining the tour in Asia and we are looking forward to him working with us,” Alonso said.

The Chelsea boss also revealed that winger Alejandro Garnacho is not training with the first team because he is looking for a move away from the club. Italian side Roma are among the clubs interested in signing him.

Alonso admitted Chelsea’s failure to qualify for European competition has changed some plans but insisted it will not affect the club’s main objectives for the new season.

He said he is working closely with the sporting directors to strengthen the squad in the right positions before the transfer window closes.

Describing his appointment as a “privilege and honour”, Alonso said he is excited by the opportunity to lead one of England’s biggest clubs.

“The excitement is the club, the squad and the opportunity to build something successful here,” he said.

“We want to build a competitive mentality, win games and enjoy doing it.”

Alonso added that returning Chelsea to European football is one of his main targets.

“For sure, that’s a goal,” he said. “But to achieve it, we have to do many things right. We are ambitious, and at Chelsea you need the hunger to succeed.”

The 44-year-old has already begun working with his squad at Cobham as he prepares the Blues for the new Premier League season.

Alexander Zverev is used to being “the third guy” in tennis. After following up his French Open title with a run to his first Wimbledon final, he’s hoping to be more than that in the future.

Despite losing to Jannik Sinner on Centre Court on Sunday, the 29-year-old Zverev thinks he is closer than ever to challenging the top-ranked Italian and his main rival Carlos Alcaraz and giving tennis a Big Three again.

Sinner and Alcaraz had won the last nine Grand Slam tournaments between them before Zverev won his first major at Roland Garros this year.

“There was always this conversation, who will be the third guy?’” Zverev said. “I’ve always been the third guy, but I was just far away from those two. But I’ve always been No. 3 in a way. So if I get closer to them … it would be great.” 
Alcaraz missed this year’s French Open – and Wimbledon – with a wrist injury, and Sinner was eliminated in the second round in Paris after wilting in the heat.

Zverev lost in five sets to Alcaraz in the semifinals at the Australian Open this year and lost 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 to Sinner on Sunday after overextending his knee in the third set.

“I think I’ve been pushing those guys,” Zverev said. “I haven’t beaten them this year, but I’ve pushed them to the limits, I would say.” 
He may have been able to push Sinner even more had it not been for a slip during the third set, on Zverev’s only break point of the match. The German fell to the ground and clutched his right knee in pain, with Sinner coming over to check on his opponent before helping Zverev up off the grass.

Zverev said he overextended his knee and that it hampered his serve – his biggest weapon – after that.

“I was struggling to push off on the serve a little bit. So my serve speed went down,” he said.

“But everything else went fine. I was moving fine from the baseline and playing from the baseline fine.” 
Despite the loss, Zverev will shed the “third guy” moniker in at least one way – he will overtake Alcaraz as No. 2 in the rankings on Monday.

Zverev had never been past the fourth round at Wimbledon before this year, but seems to have finally figured out how to play on grass.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the first time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev told the Centre Court crowd after his defeat.

Sinner seems to share that belief.

“Today you were so, so close. If you play like this, I’m very, very sure you’re going to have this (trophy) at home as well,” Sinner told his opponent.

“I know the goal is for you to become the No. 1 in the world. You’re very, very close. So we have to be very careful now.

Prince William joined his wife Kate and two of their children for the men’s final at Wimbledon on Sunday in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller.

Kate is the patron of the All England Club and presented the trophy to winner Jannik Sinner after his match against Alexander Zverev. She also handed out the trophy to women’s winner Linda Noskova on Saturday, but was not joined by any family members.

The couple’s two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, also attended Sunday’s match. All four were on hand to watch Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final as well. After the win over Zverev, the royals had an extended chat with Sinner in a room inside the tournament’s main stadium as he clutched the golden trophy.

“Fantastic achievement, Kate told Sinner. “It’s really inspiring to the children to see tennis at that level.” 
Sinner then asked the young royals how often they play tennis themselves.

“Not every day, but weekends,” George said.

Sinner had a similar conversation with the four royals after last year’s final.

“You can really see that they love the sport,” Sinner said Sunday.

“This is exactly how we feel as players on court when we see them watching tennis. Staying there for four hours under the sun with the heat, it’s really nice. … Having the whole Royal Box there, as well, the whole people staying for a match like this for four-ish hours, it’s amazing. That’s also the reason why we love to play tennis.” 
Other dignitaries in the Royal Box included German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Italy’s sports minister Andrea Abodi.

Former Wimbledon champions Stefan Edberg, Lleyton Hewitt, Richard Krajicek, Jan Kodes and Stan Smith were also in attendance.

Other Hollywood celebrities in the crowd for the match included Jennifer Lopez, Tom Hiddleston and Andrew Garfield.

A former AEW champion made a major disclosure on why he left a top company. Former AEW International Champion Will Ospreay has a huge task at hand. He won the 2026 Owen Hart Foundation tournament and is set to main event All In at Wembley Stadium against the AEW World Champion Kenny Omega.

The Aerial Assassin recently spoke about his previous company. He was one of the biggest draws for NJPW before he became All Elite. He joined the Japan-based promotion a decade ago and became a huge sensation in the pro wrestling industry. Until 2020, he became a top attraction for New Japan Pro Wrestling. He recently revealed why he left the company.

While speaking on Marking Out, Will Ospreay revealed that he was done with the company in 2023 and had decided that he was no longer going to stay with NJPW due to behind-the-scenes issues. He also claimed that he wanted to be more present for Alex Windsor and therefore signed with AEW.

“The COVID era ended 2023, then we just rode that wave. And I kind of knew that this was gonna be my last year. There was some things that were happening behind the scenes. I was just over the office. I loved the boys and I loved the fans. I got a new girlfriend. I became a dad to her kid. So it was just one of these things where I wanted to be present and I wanted to be there more. I knew I needed to go to my next stage of my career, but I didn’t wanna cut my ties with Japan. So that’s why AEW was amazing” he said. [H/T – WrestlePurists’ X]

Callum Newman doesn’t want AEW star Will Ospreay to return to NJPW

Will Ospreay was part of the United Empire before leaving NJPW for All Elite Wrestling. The faction struggled after losing a top star from their group.

While speaking on Self Made Pro, Callum said that he worked hard to get the faction to the top. He also warned Will Ospreay to stay away from NJPW.

“I worked so hard, Jeff Cobb left, Will left, HENARE got hurt, AKIRA got hurt too. It was just me, GOK, and JAY. I was like you two aren’t going to put the work in, so I did it all by myself. Then Will comes back after we finally get back to the top. . . and i’m like you left, stay gone!” he said.

It will be interesting to see what is next for the Aerial Assassin.