KTBB News, Weather, Talk

NEW YORK (AP) – Lionel Messi has quite a climb to catch Kylian Mbappé for the Golden Boot.

The Argentina superstar has won just about everything in soccer except for the award for being the leading scorer at the World Cup, and he’s now two behind Mbappé after the France striker upped his total to 10 goals in a wild third-place game.

Even if Messi can’t get there, a record-extending third Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player seems well in reach after Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

He’s already the only player to win the award multiple times since it was first given in 1978, and sparking Argentina’s run to a second straight final at age 39 gives him a strong case for another.

“He is the history. He is the legend,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said.

The other awards to be presented Sunday for performances at the World Cup are the Golden Glove for the top goalkeeper, and the Best Young Player Award, given to the top player 21 years old or younger.

Spain is in good shape to win at least one if not both of those, with Unai Simón allowing only one goal in seven games and 19-year-old Lamine Yamal providing the dazzle up front and showing why he is already considered one of the most promising players in the world.

Messi is at the other end of a career in which he’s won the Ballon d’Or, given to soccer’s player of the year, a record eight times.

The Golden Boot has eluded him, but he had the lead going into the final two matches of this year’s tournament. Both Messi and Mbappé had eight goals through the semifinals, but Messi owned the tiebreaker with one more assist.

Mbappé then scored twice Saturday in France’s 6-4 loss to England, making him the first player with 10 goals in a World Cup since Germany great Gerd Müller had 10 in 1970.

Mbappé also won the Golden Boot four years ago in Qatar, when France lost to Argentina in the final. This time, he could join players such as Italy’s Salvatore Schillaci in 1990, Croatia’s Davor Suker in 1998 and Germany’s Thomas Müller in 2010 as players whose goals in a third-place game carried them to the Golden Boot.

Should Messi beat out Mbappé in an Argentina victory, he would be the first Golden Boot winner to play for the champion since Ronaldo scored eight goals when Brazil won the title in 2002.

He may not need any goals to secure another Golden Ball.

Messi won that trophy for the first time in 2014, when Argentina was the runner-up, and again in 2022 when his seven goals in seven games powered his country to its third title.

The Golden Ball, Golden Glove and the Best Young Player Award are voted on by members of the media from a list of players compiled by the FIFA Technical Study Group.

HOUSTON (AP) – Gunnar Henderson scored the tiebreaking run from second base on Tyler O’Neill’s infield single with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Houston Astros 4-2 on Saturday for their sixth straight victory.

Baltimore’s winning streak is its longest since May 30 to June 5, 2025.

O’Neill beat the throw to first from second baseman Jose Altuve, allowing Henderson to score with ease. That left runners at first and second, and Leody Taveras followed with an RBI single off Enyel De Los Santos (0-3).

Yordan Alvarez hit a tying double for Houston in the bottom of the 10th, and the Astros loaded the bases with nobody out. But they failed to push across the winning run against Andrew Kittredge (1-1).

O’Neill threw out Nick Allen at the plate after catching Altuve’s flyball to shallow right field. With runners on second and third, LaMonte Wade Jr. tried to bunt for a hit and was thrown out at first.

Cam Sanders retired the side in order in the bottom of the 11th for his first major league save.

Orioles starter Trevor Rogers allowed one run and seven hits in 6 1/3 innings with a season-high eight strikeouts. He was removed with runners at the corners in the seventh, and Houston tied the score at 1 on Allen’s squeeze bunt against Rico Garcia.

Rogers has a 1.23 ERA over his last six starts.

Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti gave up one run and one hit in five innings. He issued four walks, one of which scored on Dylan Beavers’ double in the fourth.

Baltimore took a 2-1 lead in the 10th on a sacrifice bunt by pinch-hitter Jeremiah Jackson.

Houston shortstop Jeremy Peña left after a third-inning strikeout due to a right hamstring cramp, and first baseman Christian Walker exited during his at-bat in the fourth with right hip tightness. Astros manager Joe Espada said both will undergo imaging.

Houston has lost three straight and six of eight.

Up next

Orioles RHP Kyle Bradish (6-9, 3.61 ERA) faces RHP Hunter Brown (1-0, 3.57) when the series concludes Sunday.

ATLANTA (AP) – Brandon Nimmo’s two-run single in the sixth inning gave Texas the lead as the Rangers rallied from an early deficit to beat the Atlanta Braves 7-6 on Saturday in a matchup of first-place teams.

Texas left-hander MacKenzie Gore (6-8) gave up a two-run homer to Eli White in Atlanta’s four-run second inning and another homer to Michael Harris II the following inning. After giving up five runs in the first three innings, Gore gave up no more runs while pitching 5 2/3 innings.

All-Star left-hander Jacob Latz recorded the final four outs for his 19th save.

Evan Carter hit a two-run homer off Tyler Kinley (5-4) in the sixth as the Rangers pulled even at 5-5. Dylan Lee allowed infield singles to Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung before Nimmo’s two-run single up the middle gave the Rangers the lead. Nimmo drove in three runs with two hits.

Braves right-hander Owen Murphy allowed three runs, two earned, in 2 2/3 innings in his first major league start.

Murphy, who made two relief appearances before his first start, was hurt by Mauricio Dubón’s fielding error in the Rangers’ two-run third inning. Dubón collided with Harris on Kyle Higashioka’s fly ball to center field. Langford and Nimmo had run-scoring singles in the inning.

Dubón’s run-scoring double in the seventh trimmed the Rangers’ lead to 7-6.

The Braves had 19 hits in Friday’s 15-1 win to open the series.

Up next

Braves RHP Grant Holmes (5-4, 3.61 ERA) will start in Sunday’s final game of the series. Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said RHP Nate Eovaldi (9-7, 4.04), who has been out with an illness, is tentatively set to start.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Bukayo Saka scored three goals to lead England to a 6-4 win over France for third place in the World Cup, while Kylian Mbappé surpassed Lionel Messi’s career World Cup scoring record and took the lead in the Golden Boot race with a pair of second-half goals on Saturday.

It was the highest-scoring World Cup game since Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982, and the 10 goals were the most in a third-place match.

Saka had goals in the 37th minute and first-half stoppage time, then added his third on a penalty in the 87th for his second career hat trick with England. The Three Lions also got goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa to build a 4-0 halftime lead and secure their best finish in a World Cup since winning their only title in 1966.

England’s Jude Bellingham capped the scoring in the eighth minute of second-half stoppage time, his seventh goal of the tournament.

Mbappé reached 22 career goals, one more than Messi. The star striker finished this World Cup with 10 goals, two ahead of Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, which is awarded to the tournament’s top scorer.

Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé also scored for France.

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago Blackhawks star Connor Bedard has agreed to a $75 million, five-year contract, completing a major offseason goal for the team.

The rebuilding Blackhawks announced the deal on Saturday. Bedard, who turned 21 on Friday, had been a restricted free agent.

“Connor has continuously defied our expectations since being drafted, and has quickly established himself as an elite player in the NHL,” general manager Kyle Davidson said in a release. “He utilizes all aspects of his game to not only be a constant threat, but to make the players around him better every time he steps on the ice. Connor’s strong work ethic and determination to always improve his game has set an extraordinary standard for our young core.”

The deal was finalized 10 days after Bedard had surgery on his left shoulder. The center is expected to miss the start of the season after he got hurt while skating with a group of NHL players in western Canada.

Chicago went 29-39-14 this year, an 11-point improvement on the previous season and still nowhere near playoff contention. The team has finished No. 31 in the NHL each of the last three years.

The Blackhawks haven’t made a postseason appearance since the NHL used an expanded playoff format after the 2020 season was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. They acquired defenseman Bowen Byram in a trade with Buffalo on June 23, and they also signed forward prospect Roman Kantserov in May.

Bedard has been the centerpiece of the team since he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft. He made his anticipated NHL debut that October and won the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year.

He had 23 goals and 44 assists while appearing in all 82 games in his second season. He continued his steady improvement this year, setting career highs with 30 goals and 45 assists in 69 games.

“He’s so important to our team,” Davidson said in April. “He took such a big step forward this year in every facet.”

Bedard missed nearly six weeks of his rookie season with a broken jaw, and he was sidelined for 12 games this year after he injured his right shoulder.

With the contract done, the next big moment for Bedard could be taking over as the 36th captain in franchise history. He became an alternate captain after the team traded away its entire leadership group in March.

His teammates think he’s ready for the challenge.

“I think that he has every leadership quality like I was just talking about to be a captain in this league,” forward Oliver Moore said in April. “He brings it every day.”

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Sam Burns gets his best chance at winning a major he never planned to play.

Two weeks after his daughter was born, one week after Burns changed his mind and decided to fly from Louisiana to play in the British Open, he followed his record-tying 62 with a 5-under 65 on Saturday to build a two-shot lead at Royal Birkdale.

Perhaps even more impressive is that Burns played with purpose amid the chaos that is Bryson DeChambeau, who played alongside him and heard big support from the gallery a day after he theatrically protested a two-shot penalty for improving the area of his swing.

DeChambeau seems to thrive among distractions, and two late birdies kept him in the game. Even with a bogey on the final hole — after playfully engaging with the gallery — DeChambeau had a 69 and goes into the final round four shots behind.

Burns was at 10-under 200 and with a two-shot lead over Si Woo Kim (67) and Ryan Fox, who became the third player this week to tie the major championship record with a 62. That took the New Zealander from even par into the final group with a shot at his first major.

Also still hanging onto hope was Southport’s own Tommy Fleetwood, who had a 69 and was five shots behind. About the only one missing was Scottie Scheffler, the defending champion, who struggled again to make putts and had to settle for a 70, leaving him six shots behind.

Of the leading 10 players going into Sunday, DeChambeau — a two-time U.S. Open champion — is the only player who has won a major.

That’s not to say Burns hasn’t experienced the pressure.

He was a 17-foot putt away from forcing a playoff in the U.S. Open last month at Shinnecock Hills. He was the 54-hole leader in the U.S. Open at Oakmont last year and was slowed only by wet conditions in which he lost control of two key shots because of all the water in the fairway.

Part of Burns feels as though he has nothing to lose because he never expected to be at Royal Birkdale. His wife, Caroline, was due to give birth the week of the British Open, but he never withdrew. She gave birth to a daughter, Belle, on July 3.

“To be able to come here was a bonus,” Burns said. “I didn’t think there was anyway possible. It will be a great challenge tomorrow. No matter what happens, I can live with the results.”

LONDON (AP) – British runner Josh Kerr ran 3 minutes, 42.66 seconds to break the long-standing men’s mile world record at a Diamond League meet in London on Saturday.

Kerr broke Moroccan Hicham El Guerrouj’s mark of 3 minutes, 43.13 seconds, set in Rome in 1999, and the Edinburgh native then set off on a lap of honor at London Stadium.

Kerr, 28, was so dominant Saturday that he finished just over three seconds clear of American Yared Nuguse in 3:45.69.

The crowd support as he closed in on the record was “just incredible,” Kerr told the BBC.

“It was just me, my shoes and the track,” he said. “I was absolutely deaf in that last 110 meters.

“I didn’t take my foot off the gas,” he continued, “but … I started to glide and I was like ‘Oh wow, this feels incredible.’ It’s incredible because I’m slowing down. So, I was like ‘I better get to the line.’ So, crossing the finish line, seeing 42-something — anything — was my goal, so it was great.”

Kerr’s previous best time was 3:45.34 in 2024.

He had targeted the mile race at the Diamond League meet as a main goal in a track season with neither Olympics nor world championships.

The mile is not a championship event, yet it has iconic status in track history, with the four-minute barrier broken in 1954 by another British runner, Roger Bannister.

Kerr was a silver medalist in the 1,500 meters at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — France and England agree on this: Neither team wanted to be playing on Saturday.

France was a favorite to win the World Cup. England was close to ending a decades-long wait for its first World Cup title since 1966.

Both fell one match short of their ultimate goals after losses in the semifinals. And instead of playing in Sunday’s final — that game will be between Argentina and Spain — England and France will face each other in a consolation match for third place.

“None of us wanted to play in this game for third place,” France defender Ibrahima Konate said Friday. “But we don’t have a choice to play. France and England have a big story together. And yeah, we are looking forward for the game tomorrow, and let’s see what will happen.”

Though the match will provide little more than moral victories, it may give Thomas Tuchel a chance to regain favor after the England coach faced widespread criticism about his tactical choices in the Three Lions’ semifinal loss to Argentina.

“Nobody wants to be, tomorrow, in this game,” Tuchel said Friday evening. “All of these four teams wanted to be in New York (at the final). But it is an official World Cup game. It’s a chance to have the best result in 60 years for England. Mentality is not something that you switch on and switch off as you like it. It is a moment to show that we are actually made of what we showed through the whole tournament.”

France star Kylian Mbappé also still has a chance to win the Golden Boot, awarded to the tournament’s leading scorer.

Mbappé has eight goals, tied with Argentina’s Lionel Messi for the tournament lead. Messi has an edge in the tiebreaker with four assists to Mbappé’s three. England’s Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are also in the mix with six goals each.

France coach Didier Deschamps said Mbappé is available for Saturday’s match — the star participated in France’s training session Friday in Fort Lauderdale — but added he will make changes to his regular lineup. Tuchel said there will also be changes to England’s lineup.

“We do have a match for the third place playoff, and there’s a duty,” Deschamps said. “We have duties. I have duties, my staff has duties and so do the players. We have a responsibility to wear this jersey for all the French people who are cheering for us.”

It will also be the final game for Deschamps as France’s coach after 14 years leading the squad. Konate said the French players want to “pay back our head coach” with one last win.

“He carried many French players,” Konate said. “We had some disappointing moments, but he brought a lot of joy.”

France won the World Cup under Deschamps in 2018, lost a gut-wrenching final to Argentina on penalties in 2022, and fell short tactically on Tuesday, when the offensive firepower of Mbappé, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise was neutralized by the stout Spanish defense.

Deschamps won one major trophy — albeit the biggest of all — having lost the European Championship final on home soil in 2016.

“I know it will be the last match and I also know that the French national team will be missed,” Deschamps said. “I had the privilege for 15 years to be up here with this jersey, to experience magnificent moments, more difficult moments. The French national team is the most beautiful thing that has ever happened to me in my professional career.”

For England, which reached the World Cup semis for the first time since 2018, there is still work to do in closing the gap with France, Argentina and Spain.

“I think out of the four (semifinal) teams, the other three teams almost expect to be world champions,” Tuchel said. “We were hoping. We were dreaming. We were pushing and believing. But still we have to close that gap. And we’re up for that from tomorrow.”

The German coach, who has won trophies with Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Bayern Munich, said his squad was too passive against defending champion Argentina. Leading 1-0 going into the 85th minute and in a defensive shell, England surrendered goals to Enzo Fernández and substitute Lautaro Martínez amid widely questioned tactics and substitutions by Tuchel.

He said he trusted his instincts during the match and did not regret his decisions.

“If it’s easier that someone takes the blame,” Tuchel added, “I take the blame.”

HOUSTON (AP)- Taylor Ward hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Houston Astros 3-2 on Friday night to extend their season-best win streak to five games.

Adley Rutschman had a ground-rule double to begin the inning against Bryan King (2-3) before Ward hit the next pitch out to left for his seventh homer.

Cam Sanders (1-0), acquired from Pittsburgh for cash on Monday, came in with the bases loaded and one out in the seventh. The right-hander struck out Isaac Paredes looking and got Christian Walker to pop out foul behind home plate to pick up his first major league win.

Tyler Wells allowed Jeremy Peña’s infield hit in the ninth before retiring Yordan Alvarez on a shallow fly to center field for the second out. After Paredes walked, Wells struck out Walker for his third save.

Houston starter Peter Lambert allowed three hits, struck out a career-high 10 over six innings and left with a 2-1 lead. He issued three straight two-out walks in the third, including a free pass to Pete Alonso that made it 1-1.

Alvarez had an RBI double in the first for Houston and finished 2 for 3 with two walks. He leads the AL with a .321 batting average, 71 RBI and 31 home runs as he pursues the Triple Crown.

Paredes’ sacrifice fly in the third made it 2-1. Orioles starter Dean Kremer allowed two runs in four innings.

Astros center fielder Lucas Spence made his big league debut and singled in the seventh.

Up next

Orioles LHP Trevor Rogers (6-7, 4.48 ERA) starts Saturday opposite Astros RHP Spencer Arrighetti (7-5, 4.50).

ATLANTA (AP) – Chris Sale pitched seven shutout innings of two-hit ball and Drake Baldwin, Matt Olson and Austin Riley homered for Atlanta during a 19-hit outburst as the Braves pounded the Texas Rangers 15-1 on Friday night.

Sale (10-6) became the 27th major leaguer to reach 2,700 career strikeouts when he fanned Rangers shortstop Ezequiel Duran in the fifth.

Baldwin was 3 for 4 with a walk and five RBI. His three-run homer into the Braves bullpen in the fourth gave Atlanta a 5-0 lead. Olson followed two batters later with a 420-foot shot into the Chop House restaurant in right field. He was 2 for 3 with two walks and two runs.

The Rangers had won eight of their last 10 games against left-handed starters, but they were overmatched against Sale. The veteran ace sat out Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia and was ready for Texas. He had six strikeouts, no walks and allowed just a single in the third and a double in the seventh. He threw 62 strikes on 89 pitches.

Rangers starter Cal Quantrill (3-2) lasted four innings and gave up 11 hits and six runs on a season-high 86 pitches. He was relieved by Emiliano Teodo, who permitted two runs over 1 2/3 innings in his big league debut.

All nine Braves starters had a hit, and seven had at least two. Riley was 2 for 5 with two runs. Rookie shortstop Jim Jarvis went 2 for 4 with a double, two runs and an RBI. All-Star second baseman Ozzie Albies was 2 for 4 with an RBI, and Michael Harris II had two doubles and three RBI.

Up next

Rangers LHP MacKenzie Gore (5-8, 4.63 ERA) will face Braves rookie RHP Owen Murphy (0-1, 2.25) in the first start of Murphy’s career Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Caitlin Clark scored a career-high 45 points and had 10 assists for the first 40-10 game in WNBA history, and the Indiana Fever beat Seattle 110-107 on Friday night.

Clark, who had four steals and two blocks, also became the fastest player in WNBA history to make 200 career 3-pointers, doing it in 74 games, breaking the previous mark of 81 games set by Katie Smith. Her 45 points were also a franchise record.

Kelsey Mitchell scored 30 points for the Fever (15-10) and Monique Billings added 16.

Dominique Malonga had 28 points and 14 rebounds for Seattle, which lost its fourth in a row.

It appeared Flau’jae Johnson had a fast-break layup, but Clark hustled back and blocked the shot off Johnson and out of bounds with 54.9 seconds to play. Clark then hit a 3 from the left wing that made it 105-102 and made 4 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final 17 seconds to seal it.

Clark scored 10 points in a 12-4 run and capped the spurt with a 3-pointer that made it 49-32 with 7:28 left before halftime.

Mitchell scored 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting, and Clark added five points, five assists and two steals, as the Fever tied their highest-scoring first quarter this season and took a 37-26 lead after one.

Johnson and Awa Fam had 16 points apiece for Seattle, and Natisha Hiedeman and Jade Melbourne each scored 15.

The Storm (6-21) have lost six of seven.

Aliyah Boston (leg) did not play for Indiana on the first night of a back-to-back.

Indiana beat the Storm 89-78 at home on May 17.

NEW YORK (AP) – The NFL has suspended Arizona Cardinals personnel executive Ryan Gold indefinitely for violating the league’s gambling policy.

The league said Friday that its investigation determined that Gold provided confidential, non-public inside information regarding 2026 draft selections by the Cardinals before the picks were announced, and Gold also participated in parlay bets on NFL and college games. The league didn’t say who Gold had provided with the information.

“The Gambling Policy, which is annually reviewed with all NFL personnel, strictly prohibits anyone in the NFL from participating in or facilitating any form of sports gambling, and from providing third parties non-public information,” the NFL said in a statement. “Although there is no reason to believe the integrity of any NFL game was affected, the League takes any violation of the Gambling Policy with the utmost seriousness.”

The Cardinals also issued a statement, saying: “The NFL’s policies and expectations for all employees are clear, comprehensive, and consistently communicated. We fully support the league’s decision in this matter, which involves a single employee. Our focus remains on preparing for the start of training camp next week and the 2026 season.”

Gold, who is in his 13th season with the Cardinals, was promoted to director of college scouting in June 2025. He spent the previous three years (2022-24) as the assistant director of college scouting after working for four seasons (2018-21) as a college scouting coordinator.

Gold has the right to appeal the suspension. He couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Friday.

The NFL has strict gambling policies for players and club and league personnel. The league has also dedicated significant resources to its gambling education program, reaching more than 20,000 people associated with the league.

The policy says players must not:

— place any bet on NFL football;

— throw or fix any NFL game or event, or otherwise manipulate or attempt to manipulate any play or other aspect of an NFL game;

— share confidential, non-public information regarding any NFL game, player or event with any third party.

NFL players — but not league or club staff — are allowed to legally place bets on other sports as long as they are off club property or not traveling with the team. They also are allowed to take part in traditional fantasy football leagues (prize money cannot exceed $250) and legally gamble at casinos on personal time.

The NFL said the Cardinals fully cooperated with the investigation and the league has seen no indication that any other member of the organization, coach or player was aware of or involved in this activity. The league also said there was no indication that any play or game was affected by this activity.

The NFL’s review included interviews with relevant people and an examination of electronic records.

At least 15 players have been suspended by the league for gambling violations since 1963, including several in recent years, but none since Isaiah Rodgers (then with the Indianapolis Colts) was suspended indefinitely in June 2023.

NEW YORK (AP) — The lineup of sports legends simultaneously on the stage at Fanatics Fest on Friday night was almost absurd. There was Tom Brady, the greatest Super Bowl champion of all time. There was Novak Djokovic, the winner of more men’s Grand Slam tennis tournaments than anyone else. There was Kevin Durant, the only four-time Olympic gold medalist in men’s basketball history.

And before they left, they all got a selfie with Lionel Messi.

Let that be the latest proof of Messi’s power: Even the biggest stars in the sports universe clearly enjoy a chance to be around the best soccer player of all-time. They’ll all be watching Sunday — along with probably 1.5 billion other people worldwide — when Messi and Argentina face Spain in the World Cup final.

“We will give it our all,” Messi said.

The star-studded news conference was expected to be Messi’s last public appearance before Sunday’s final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. FIFA decided to use Fanatics Fest — a four-day celebration of sports in New York, replete with autograph signings and celebrity appearances — as the backdrop for its preview news conferences, meaning hundreds of people got the chance to get a glimpse of Messi in the sort of setting not usually open to the public.

“It goes beyond words what Messi means as a player and what he means for Argentina,” Spain captain Rodri said. “Obviously, for me, he’s the greatest of all times.”

The idea for the appearance by Messi and the other players and coaches from Argentina and Spain was simple: Instead of having traditional media asking questions, the stars got to do the asking.

Brady probed Messi about a remarkable photo that has gone viral this week of him bathing a cute baby boy who grew up to be Spain star Lamine Yamal — “What a crazy picture,” Messi said. Djokovic asked Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni about dealing with pressure, then posed a version of that same question to Messi.

And when Messi finished, Djokovic simply said, “Gracias, Leo.” Djokovic then asked Spain coach Luis de la Fuente and captain Rodri about staying calm in big moments, before Brady asked Messi about the infamous photo with Yamal, and Rodri about what he’ll say to teammates before Sunday’s final. Durant then came out, asking Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez about what it would mean to win back-to-back World Cups.

The Argentina and Spain sides, to their credit, seemed to enjoy the show. The World Cup final is a spectacle, and so was the preview event.

“It’s one more game,” Scaloni said. “We cannot really think about the fact that it’s a World Cup final.”

It was not the easiest of roads for Argentina to get back to the final, even though the defending champions (7-0-0) are the only unbeaten and untied team left in the tournament; Spain (6-0-1) drew its opening match against Cape Verde.

Argentina had to rally from a 1-0 second-half deficit to beat England in the semifinals, had to rally from a 2-0 second-half deficit to beat Egypt in the Round of 16, and got taken to extra time by both Cape Verde (in the round of 32) and Switzerland (in the quarterfinals).

“I’ve said many times: We never stop fighting,” Messi said.

With that, the defending champions got their ticket to New York. And when Messi walked onto that stage Friday, not many of those who were jammed inside the theater applauded — since they were holding their phones instead, hoping to capture images of the moment.

Messi knew what they wanted. He smiled and waved. They roared.

When the event wrapped up, everyone — the players, the coaches, actor and comedian Kevin Hart, rapper and producer Travis Scott, England great Rio Ferdinand, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin and more — gathered for that selfie with the fans in the background.

“Sunday is going to be a great show,” Scaloni said.

It seemed like Messi may have taken a quick look at the case holding the trophy before he departed. Either way, it’s not like he needs a reminder of what’s at stake. No team has won back-to-back World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962, and Messi now has a chance to add one more accomplishment to his already overstuffed resume.

“We’ve got a group of players and a group of coaches that are working incredibly hard every single day to try to bring happiness to my country,” Martinez said. “We’re going to give absolutely our best, with Leo, with the team that we have, to bring the World Cup back to my country and celebrate with our people.”

SOUTHPORT, England (AP) — Bryson DeChambeau was given a two-shot penalty after his second round at the British Open on Friday that dropped the American star out of the final group and raised initial doubts about whether he would show up on the weekend at Royal Birkdale.

In a dramatic late-evening development after a 4-under 66, DeChambeau was taken back out to the fifth hole for a rules review. Footage taken during his round showed him stomping around in high grass to the right of the fairway trying to figure out his shot 72 yards out from the hole.

DeChambeau was seen in a lengthy, heated exchange with rules officials — at one point, he waved his arms and pointed in clear frustration — before being driven back to the scoring tent, where he was followed by officials including R&A chief executive Mark Darbon.

The verdict then came in: DeChambeau was deemed to have inadvertently improved the area of his intended swing by tamping down a section of grass behind the ball that might have affected his backswing on the shot.

His bogey 5 on the No. 5 was turned into a triple-bogey 7 and the two-shot penalty turned his score to a 68, leaving him three shots behind, tied for fifth place.

DeChambeau left for the range, saying only, “Are you guys having a good night?” as he walked past dozens of reporters, and stopped to sign an autograph before hitting balls in twilight.

Just after midnight local time, DeChambeau posted on X: “Obviously disappointed with the ruling. I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is. This fires me up. Onto the weekend. Let’s get it.”

The post suggested DeChambeau had made up his mind to keep playing. Earlier Friday night, his agent, Brett Falkoff, was asked if the two-time U.S. Open champion would play Saturday and he replied: “We’ll see.”

It is proving an action-packed trip to Royal Birkdale for DeChambeau, who was accused by Nick Faldo of having “zero clue of strategy” when the three-time Open champion spoke on the Sky Sports Golf podcast ahead of the tournament.

After shooting 67 in the first round, DeChambeau skipped media, though later agreed to take a few questions from the R&A.

His answers were pointed. “I feel like I did a really good job today of being incredibly strategic,” he said, before later adding: “I feel like my strategy was nice today.”

DeChambeau — one of the most high-profile players in golf — left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf in 2022 and still plays on the breakaway circuit, while continuing to produce videos on his YouTube channel that has 2.77 million subscribers.

He draws attention more than pretty much any golfer, as Friday proved.
The ruling explained by the R&A

At issue for DeChambeau was whether he violated Rule 8 that governs the intended swing.

“An improvement means to alter one or more of the conditions affecting the stroke so that the player gains a potential advantage for the stroke,” Grant Moir, the R&A’s executive director for governance, told media.

“The player,” Moir continued, “must take the least intrusive course of action to deal with the particular situation and is not entitled to a normal stance or swing.”

Moir said this applied “even when the action is accidental, as it was in Bryson’s case.”
He makes the cut at a major for the 1st time this year

DeChambeau missed the cut in each of the first three majors of 2026.

If he does turn up for the third round, he will play with fellow American Sam Burns in the third-to-last group.