分类： sports

At a sold-out, pro-Spanish crowd packed SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, Mikel Oyarzabal delivered a two-goal masterclass that powered Spain to a convincing 3-0 victory over Austria in the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout stage on Thursday. The result marked Spain’s first knockout win at the men’s World Cup since they lifted the trophy in South Africa 16 years prior, ending a years-long drought of early tournament exits that had followed their 2010 championship run.

Coming into the match, questions still hung over Spain’s star-studded squad despite an unbeaten group stage run, with critics doubting whether the side could convert their consistent regular-season form into deep tournament success. Those doubts were quickly silenced as La Roja put on one of the most dominant performances of this World Cup, controlling possession for nearly the entire 90 minutes and showcasing the dynamic offensive creativity their roster has long been praised for. Most notably, Spain extended their unprecedented clean sheet streak at this tournament, with goalkeeper Unai Simón not required to make a single save to secure his fourth consecutive shutout — Austria, for their full 90 minutes of play, failed to register a single shot on target.

The decisive breakthrough came 36 minutes into the match, after a cautious opening stretch and a first-half hydration break. Oyarzabal, captain of Real Sociedad, found himself unmarked inside the Austrian penalty area and fired a first-time finish off a perfectly weighted pass from left-back Marc Cucurella, who would go on to assist both of the winger’s goals, highlighting a lethal attacking connection down Spain’s left flank. Oyarzabal had previously notched just one goal at the tournament, doubling his total with the opening strike.

Spain maintained relentless pressure after halftime, and the side doubled their lead in the second half through Tottenham Hotspur defender Pedro Porro, who scored his first ever senior international goal. After a cutting run from Álex Baena down the left wing, the attacker lifted a cross to an unmarked Porro, who powered home an emphatic header to extend Spain’s advantage.

Oyarzabal put the final nail in the coffin in the 89th minute, once again meeting a precise Cucurella pass to slot home his second of the night and Spain’s third. The result capped a near-flawless performance for Spain, with 18-year-old Barcelona phenom Lamine Yamal turning in another standout showing: the teenager recorded four of Spain’s 10 total shots on target, played his longest minutes of the tournament to date, and came inches from scoring late in the match when Austria defender David Alaba deflected his powerful goal-bound effort off the line, drawing gasps from the capacity sellout crowd.

For Austria, the result brings an end to their first World Cup knockout stage appearance since 1998, with the side having qualified for this round after a dramatic injury-time draw against Algeria in the group stage. goalkeeper Alexander Schlager put in a heroic individual performance, recording six spectacular saves to keep the scoreline from growing even larger, but his efforts were not enough to stop Spain’s red-hot attack. Austria has still not won a World Cup knockout match since 1954.

Following the win, Oyarzabal emphasized the team’s focus on the challenge ahead: “I’m happy to have helped the team for us to go through another round. Now just rest and get ready for the next one. It was a complicated match. We knew that it was going to be difficult against a very physical team, but we had a very good day and played a good match.”

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente echoed that sentiment, praising his side’s performance while warning against complacency: “The great teams step up when it’s needed. We played a great match. We came close to perfection, but we must keep improving. There is always room for improvement, because every upcoming match will be very difficult.”

Spain will next face the winner of the round of 16 match between Portugal and Croatia in Dallas next Monday, as they continue their push for a first World Cup title in 16 years. The win extends Spain’s extraordinary unbeaten run in competitive matches to 35 straight games dating back to March 2023, a stretch that has included winning the 2023 UEFA Nations League and 2024 European Championship, with only a penalty shootout defeat to Portugal in the 2025 Nations League final breaking their perfect run over the past three years. After three consecutive disappointing World Cup campaigns — two early knockout exits and one group stage elimination — La Roja have firmly reestablished themselves as genuine title contenders in this year’s tournament.

As a record-breaking heat wave swept across Western Europe last month, turning vast swathes of grass across London brown and pushing regional water suppliers to issue urgent calls for steep cuts to outdoor water use, one unexpected patch of lush greenery has stood out: the 18 competition grass courts of the Wimbledon Championships, the only Grand Slam tennis tournament played on a natural grass surface. For the hundreds of thousands of spectators and top-ranked players competing this year, the perfectly manicured lawns have looked as immaculate as ever, a level of consistency most competitors never think to question.

“I have not once ever considered the watering of the grass,” American top player Madison Keys told reporters after securing her place in the tournament’s third round, echoing the unspoken assumption shared by most athletes and fans. That assumption is no accident: it is the product of decades of targeted research, daily data-driven adjustment, and relentless work from a 31-person team of groundskeepers led by Neil Stubley, head of courts and horticulture at the All England Club.

Stubley, who monitors shifting weather conditions across the city across nearly 25 separate weather applications, checking updates every few minutes to adapt to changing conditions, credits his team’s success in withstanding rising summer temperatures to a 40-year-long research project testing grass species for tennis courts. The goal? Identify strains that offer the ideal balance of heat and drought tolerance, hard-wearing durability against constant play, and the smooth, consistent bounce players demand.

Since 2001, all 18 competition courts and 20 practice courts at the All England Club have been planted with specially selected perennial ryegrass, a species chosen for its proven performance in the face of rising heat. To keep soil conditions consistent across every court, technicians have installed specialized monitoring tubes on Centre Court and four other major show courts, allowing probes to measure real-time soil moisture levels – a measurement that directly impacts court hardness, percentage of living grass cover, and the consistency of ball bounce, the most critical factor for professional competition.

These monitoring tools proved particularly valuable during the record-breaking heat peak last week, when Britain smashed three consecutive all-time June temperature records. UK’s national weather service the Met Office confirmed that this June was the warmest ever recorded in England, with overnight temperatures also remaining far above seasonal averages, amplifying heat stress on vegetation. While the early-June heat wave broke over the country last weekend, bringing current temperatures down to a mild maximum of 26 degrees Celsius, forecasts predict a return of hotter, drier conditions for the tournament’s middle weekend and closing week. Notably, there has been no rain at all during the 2024 tournament, and no precipitation is expected in the coming days – a dry pattern that follows an unusually parched spring, with April recording just 20% of London’s average rainfall, according to regional supplier Thames Water.

Unlike most residential and commercial properties across the capital, the All England Club does not have an independent private water source, but organizers have prioritized water conservation alongside the need for immaculate playing conditions. “Every time we do a project, part of the remit is how can we conserve things, whether that be energy, whether that be water,” Stubley explained in an interview. The club has repeatedly tested new water systems, from recapturing drainage water for reuse to exploring access to groundwater from boreholes and nearby lakes, though plans often shift alongside changing environmental regulations that govern water use across the UK. Stubley noted that drought and more frequent extreme heat waves are an inevitable consequence of a changing climate, and the club continues adapting its practices to meet this new reality.

Extreme heat has become a growing challenge for all four Grand Slam tournaments in recent years, from the sustained extreme temperatures at the Australian Open to an unexpected heat wave that disrupted this year’s French Open, and stifling humidity at the U.S. Open. But what makes Wimbledon unique is its dependence on a living playing surface: the other three majors are played on hard courts or red clay, which are far less vulnerable to heat and drought stress than natural grass.

To ensure consistency across every playing surface, the All England Club partners with the independent Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) based in Yorkshire, which conducts regular third-party verification of court conditions. Technicians from STRI measure moisture and hardness across all courts, and even count individual grass blades on high-traffic baselines to track how quickly the grass wears down from constant play. Every day, the team receives this granular data, allowing them to adjust irrigation for each court, which has its own unique microclimate. If readings show Court 14 is firmer than Centre Court, for example, the team can increase water to the smaller court to maintain consistent playing conditions across the entire venue.

Heat and drought are not the only threats to Wimbledon’s iconic lawns. Top players like defending champion Jannik Sinner and seven-time Wimbledon winner Novak Djokovic often slide across the baseline to reach wide shots, and the textured pimples on the soles of modern grass-court tennis shoes act surprisingly like a cheese grater, shredding grass leaves as players slide. While the service boxes typically turn brown later in tournaments from heavy foot traffic during serves, this sliding damage is more spread out across the baseline. Stubley noted that different players bring different playing styles that impact the courts differently, and the team simply adjusts its maintenance to account for the unique wear each year brings.

As the tournament progresses into its second week, Stubley and his team will continue their daily routine of monitoring, adjusting, and maintaining the lawns, ensuring the iconic green courts continue to live up to the high expectations of players, fans, and broadcasters around the world.

LONDON – As England advances to the World Cup round of 16, the British government has announced a sweeping policy change to grant licensed pubs across England and Wales permission to operate until 5 a.m. during the team’s upcoming match against Mexico, responding to growing public and industry demand for extended viewing hours.

The push for flexible licensing rules gained immediate momentum Thursday, just 24 hours after captain Harry Kane scored two late game-winning goals to secure England a 2-1 knockout round victory over Congo in Atlanta. The round of 16 fixture is scheduled to kick off at 1 a.m. UK time at Mexico City’s iconic Azteca Stadium, with a potential finish time pushing close to 4 a.m. if the match requires extra time and a penalty shootout. Under existing UK licensing legislation, pubs were only permitted to serve patrons until 2 a.m., which would have forced venues to cut off viewing before the final whistle for millions of fans planning to watch the match together.

Speaking on the policy change, Prime Minister Keir Starmer framed the extension as a win for both supporters and local communities. “Football might be coming home but we’re making sure fans don’t have to,” Starmer said. “Pubs staying open till the final whistle is good news for supporters and good news for the pubs and venues that bring our communities together. The whole country will be backing the team. Come on England!”

Unlike one-off extended licensing arrangements that require individual venues to submit separate applications for approval, this blanket government exemption eliminates all administrative barriers for operators in England and Wales. The policy change does not extend to pubs in Scotland or Northern Ireland, which retain their existing local licensing rules for the match.

The announcement has been broadly welcomed by Britain’s hospitality and pub industry, which has already seen a major revenue boost from live broadcasts of the World Cup, held across venues in North America. Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, praised the government’s pragmatic approach. “Major sporting occasions like this deliver a significant boost to hospitality businesses while creating an atmosphere that unites the country,” Kill noted. “This allows venues to focus on what matters most: bringing communities together to support the national team.”

Emma McClarkin, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association, echoed that enthusiasm, saying “pubs and fans will be over the moon about this decision, because we all know the best place to watch the match is down the local.”

In a secondary move aligned with public excitement for the fixture, the government has also confirmed that schoolchildren will be allowed to watch the early-morning match while still meeting attendance requirements for Monday classes. The call to accommodate young fans came from England’s German head coach Thomas Tuchel, who publicly urged schools and parents to grant children an excused absence adjustment to watch the game.

“It’s a late game, but children can be in school the next day,” Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson confirmed, backing Tuchel’s appeal. Tuchel had previously encouraged parents after England’s win over Congo to “write an excuse for school and let them watch football. Come on. There’s so much school to go to, but the World Cup is every four years. Let them watch. There will be a big, big match on in four days and we need the support of everyone, and especially of the children.”

BERLIN — In the wake of Germany’s stunning early elimination from the latest World Cup, national team head coach Julian Nagelsmann sat down for a high-stakes crisis meeting with German Football Association (DFB) leadership at the federation’s Berlin headquarters on Thursday, where he faced questioning over his squad’s underwhelming tournament performance.

Nagelsmann’s position as head coach has been thrown into serious doubt just days after Germany fell to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the tournament’s first knockout round, capping off a run that has heaped widespread criticism on the 38-year-old tactician. Back home in Germany, Nagelsmann has faced growing backlash over a string of controversial decisions: inconsistent public messaging, sudden reversals of previously stated selection policies, persistent faith in underperforming star players at the expense of in-form alternatives, and a general failure to unlock the potential of a squad widely expected to compete deep in the tournament. His tense, irritable interactions with reporters during the competition did little to soften public or media criticism.

Though Nagelsmann publicly committed to seeing out his role immediately following Germany’s exit, DFB president Bernd Neuendorf made clear the day after the defeat that the federation would conduct a full, unrushed review of what went wrong. “After such a crushing blow, we cannot and do not wish to simply return to business as usual,” Neuendorf said in his statement.

This tournament marks the third consecutive early World Cup exit for German men’s football – a humbling result for a nation with a deep cultural passion for the sport and a legacy as one of the game’s most decorated programs, with four World Cup titles to its name. Ahead of the current tournament, Nagelsmann stoked high expectations by publicly declaring the team’s goal was to lift the World Cup trophy once again, a target the squad ultimately never came close to reaching.

Germany’s tournament got off to a promising start with a comfortable win over first-time qualifier Curaçao, but struggled through a narrow late win over Ivory Coast, where a pair of late goals from substitute Deniz Undav secured three points. A surprise group-stage loss to Ecuador followed, setting up the knockout round defeat to Paraguay.

Compounding the embarrassment, details have emerged of poor pre-tournament preparation: before the penalty shootout against Paraguay, multiple German players turned down captain Joshua Kimmich’s request for volunteers to take penalties, revealing the team had not planned for a shootout scenario. Defender Jonathan Tah, who stepped up to take the decisive penalty that went wide, opened up about the miss on social media this week. “I’ve replayed that missed penalty in my mind thousands of times, trying to somehow steer the ball into the net in my thoughts,” Tah wrote on Instagram. “The reality is that the ball didn’t go in. And that hurts. But one thing is certain – I would take it again.”

German tabloid Bild reported Thursday’s crisis meeting ran for roughly three hours, during which Nagelsmann acknowledged tactical misjudgments during the tournament and addressed widespread criticism of the team’s pre-tournament training camp in Winston-Salem. Nagelsmann currently holds a contract as Germany head coach through the 2028 European Championship, but multiple reports indicate Neuendorf and other top DFB officials have asked him to step down. A final decision on the coach’s future is expected within the coming days.

After more than two decades of dazzling playmaking, trophies, and inspiring resilience against devastating injury setbacks, beloved former Spanish international footballer Santi Cazorla has called time on his professional career at the age of 41. The 41-year-old made the heartfelt announcement public via a reflective post on his personal Instagram account, bringing a close to one of the most memorable careers in modern Spanish football. “There are stories that don’t end…they live on forever,” Cazorla wrote in the caption of his retirement post, adding a simple note of gratitude: “Thank you for everything.”

Most recently, Cazorla had returned to his boyhood club Real Oviedo in 2023, a homecoming that delivered immediate success: he played a key role in guiding the side to promotion to Spain’s top-flight La Liga at the end of the 2023-24 season. However, the club could not hold onto its top division status, dropping back to the Segunda Division in the most recently completed campaign.

Cazorla built his reputation as one of the most technically gifted midfielders of his generation during successful stints at two of Europe’s most well-known clubs: Spain’s Villarreal and England’s Arsenal. During his six-year tenure at Arsenal from 2012 to 2018, he emerged as a fan favorite and a consistent creative catalyst under legendary manager Arsène Wenger, helping the club claim two FA Cup titles during his spell in North London.

On the international stage, Cazorla’s legacy with the Spanish national team is defined by two major continental triumphs: he was part of the iconic Spanish squads that won back-to-back UEFA European Championship titles in 2008 and 2012, cementing his place in Spanish football history. A cruel injury kept him from featuring in Spain’s 2010 FIFA World Cup win, a highlight many believed he deserved to be part of after his standout performances in the years leading up to the tournament.

Throughout his decades-long career, Cazorla faced and overcame repeated severe injury scares that many believed would end his career far earlier. Most notably, a persistent ankle injury kept him sidelined for nearly two years in the mid-2010s, requiring multiple surgeries and raising fears that he would never return to top-level football. His eventual comeback was widely hailed as one of the most inspirational stories in modern sport, showcasing his unmatched grit and love for the game.