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Sports

World Cup moments: Viking row and minnows sparkle

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The first 48-team World Cup has provided a thrilling spectacle and a string of compelling storylines.

AFP Sport picks out some of the key talking points after more than five weeks of action in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

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Hotshots

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The race for the Golden Boot caught fire early and has remained absorbing until the final weekend.

The names at the top of the charts are a who’s who of the world’s top marksmen — including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

Mbappe, who scored twice in France‘s 6-4 defeat by England in Saturday’s third-place playoff, leads Messi by two goals with just Sunday’s final to come.

The Frenchman is also now the top goalscorer in World Cup history — with 22 to his name across three tournaments, one ahead of Messi.

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Minnows sparkle

Debutants Cape Verde finished the group stage unbeaten and advanced from a section that included former champions Spain and Uruguay.

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“To be honest, it feels like I’m living in a fairytale,” said Deroy Duarte after his team set up a last-32 match against defending champions Argentina.

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The African nation pushed Lionel Messi’s men to the brink, twice coming from behind, before a winner for Argentina in extra-time.

Caribbean island Curacao — the smallest country to compete at a World Cup by both population — also had their moment of glory, holding Ecuador to a goalless draw after an opening 7-1 hammering by Germany.

Argentina comebacks

Time and again Argentina have appeared vulnerable at the 2026 World Cup, but they have always found a way.

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The defending champions cruised through their group but were taken to extra-time by Cape Verde and recovered from 2-0 down late in the game against Egypt.

They needed extra-time again to beat Switzerland in the quarter-finals and were staring at defeat against England in the semi-finals before a late double.

Argentina have not played the silkiest football but their never-say-die attitude is their superpower.

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Balogun row

The World Cup was remarkably free of off-field controversy until Folarin Balogun found himself at the centre of a political storm.

The US forward, who scored three goals, was sent off in his team’s last-32 match against Bosnia-Herzegovina, ruling him out of the next game.

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But FIFA stepped in and suspended his ban, leading to widespread condemnation, especially when it emerged that US President Donald Trump had intervened.

The host nation were outclassed 4-1 by Belgium in the last 16, with Balogun making little impact.

Afterwards, the 25-year-old admitted the episode had put extra pressure on the team.

Haaland goes viral

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Erling Haaland fired Norway to their best-ever World Cup finish — and also became a social media sensation with his quirky posts.

The towering Manchester City forward has gained 30 million Instagram followers since the start of the tournament to move to more than 71 million.

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Haaland, 25, whose team were beaten by England in the quarter-finals, now has far more Instagram followers than City’s official account.

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One of his posts featured the “Viking row”, which will be one of the abiding images of the tournament. 

The ritual featured players leading Norway fans in a rhythmic row in a pretend Viking boat.

He also shared a picture of himself arriving back in Norway accompanied by a stuffed raccoon, explaining: “It followed me home.”

Falklands dispute

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The build-up to the semi-final between Argentina and England was dominated by talk over the contested Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas.

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Argentina recovered from a goal down to win 2-1 and reach their third final in four World Cups.

After the final whistle the players held a banner that read: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (The Falklands are Argentine).

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Britain called for FIFA to look into the incident and the governing body put out a statement saying it was “assessing the match reports”.

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Sports

How Todd Hamilton’s hybrid helped him win the 2004 Open

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It’s been 22 years since Todd Hamilton claimed the Open Championship at Royal Troon to become the 2004 Champion Golfer of the Year, but the 60-year-old still remembers just about every detail of his week in Scotland.

On this week’s episode of Subpar, Hamilton — who says he doesn’t play much golf anymore in his home of Norman, Okla., and instead spends his time helping out his local high school golf team — reminisced with hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz about the definitive achievement of his professional career.

Hamilton said that even he was surprised by the caliber of his play at Royal Troon, and gave plenty of credit to his Sonartec hybrid, a club he wielded with masterful precision throughout the week, even on short shots around the green. On the final hole of his aggregate four-hole playoff against Ernie Els, Hamilton stroked his hybrid to three feet, setting up a magnificent up and down — and ultimately, the win.

“I did not use that shot, growing up as a kid,” Hamilton said. “I probably started using it early in 2004. I was never a big fan of 3-woods, and that Sonartec you just referenced was actually my 3-wood. It was a 17-degree club that one of the manufacturers bent down to 14 degrees, so I used that as my 3-wood.

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“Technically it was a hybrid, but it wasn’t a hybrid the way you would think that they’re used these days,” he continued. “Again, I didn’t start using that shot until early in the year, and it’s not really a shot that works real well over here in the States because the grass is kind of thatchy and grainy, but the ground over there, as you know, Colt, the ground’s very firm, grass is cut down pretty tight. It’s basically a slower putting green.”

Hamilton said he practiced playing bump-and-runs with the Sonartec every day at Royal Troon that week.

“It was a shot I kind of relied on a lot,” he said. “I don’t know how many times I used it during the week. I’m going to guess about 12 to 14 times that I used it as a chip-slash-putt, and I think only one time did I not get up and down with it, and that was because I missed about a 5- or 6-foot putt, and that was in the final round on the 10th hole, so obviously it was a shot that served me well.

“Used the club a lot off the tee,” Hamilton continued. “But, more or less, it was a shot that, around the greens, really helped me achieve what I went over there to achieve, and that was to win the Open Championship.”

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For more from Hamilton, including the specific swing thought that helped him at Royal Troon in 2004, check out the full episode of Subpar below.

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“Looks really empowered by the transits”

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An astrologer named Christina has predicted Argentina to come out on top in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final, claiming Lionel Messi and the reigning world champions appear to be “empowered by the transits” ahead of their blockbuster showdown with Spain.

Argentina and Spain will go head-to-head at the New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday July 19 in one of the most anticipated FIFA World Cup finals in recent memory. Ahead of the clash, CBS Sports Golazo invited astrologer Christina to analyze the astrological charts of both teams and predict the outcome of the match.

Discussing Lionel Messi who has everyone’s attention following his spectacular displays in the competition so far, she said:

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“I think that Messi’s transit looks like he’s driven… driven, driven, driven.”

Christina then turned her attention to Spain, explaining why she believes La Roja’s astrological profile reflects the identity they have shown throughout the tournament.

“Spain is interesting because Virgo, they have four planets in Virgo and Virgo is a hardworking, organized, sort of hyper-functional sign that likes to excel through, I would say, regular hard work. This is a very hardworking team, this is a team that loves to stay grounded, have a plan.”

The astrologer went on to point out the similarities between the two finalists before revealing which side she believes has the edge.

“What’s also interesting about Argentina is that it is also a Sagittarius rising just like Spain. They both have their nodes of fate in Scorpio and in Taurus and so they have the same type of fated energies, fascinatingly enough. We can see how they both got pulled into this special moment right now.”

When asked to predict the winner, she said:

“It’s a really difficult question to answer but I do think that Argentina really look empowered by the transits right now.”

The last time Argentina and Spain faced each other in the FIFA World Cup dates back to 1966 when they clashed in the group stage in England. The Albiceleste came out on top with a 2-1 victory from the encounter. It remains to be seen what the outcome will be this time.

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Argentina chase back-to-back FIFA World Cup titles against Spain

Argentina head into the FIFA World Cup final aiming to become the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to successfully defend the men’s World Cup title. All eyes will be on Lionel Messi to finish the job after inspiring his nation to another final on the world’s biggest stage.

Meanwhile, Spain have also proven to be a huge force to be reckoned with in the tournament this year. Spearheaded by 19-year-old Lamine Yamal in attack, the reigning European champions are seeking their first FIFA World Cup crown since lifting the trophy in South Africa back in 2010.

Regardless of the outcome, Sunday’s final promises to pit two of the tournament’s most in-form sides against each other in what is expected to be a memorable conclusion to the competition. Will the Albiceleste finally claim their fourth World Cup trophy or will Spain get their second? Only time will tell.