分类： sports

On the fifth and final day of the second Test between New Zealand and England at London’s iconic Oval ground, fast bowler Matt Henry produced a career-defining performance to deliver a crushing 253-run victory for the Black Caps, pushing the three-match series to a decisive decider in Nottingham kicking off this Thursday.

England resumed play on Sunday morning at 182 for five wickets, chasing an improbable 463 runs to secure victory. What followed was a relentless masterclass in fast bowling from Henry, who ripped through the hosts’ lower order to claim the final five wickets in just 31 balls, a stretch that yielded only three runs. By the end of the innings, Henry finished with sensational figures of six wickets for 29 runs, combining this with his first-innings five wickets for 80 runs to end the match with 11 wickets for just 109 runs.

This extraordinary haul marks the best match bowling figures ever recorded by a New Zealand seamer against England, and also marks Henry’s first 10-wicket match haul across his 35-Test career. He is also the first bowler to claim 10 wickets in an Oval Test since legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne during the 2005 Ashes series, and the first fast bowler to hit the milestone since Devon Malcolm’s 1994 performance against South Africa.

Henry’s late-match spell included two consecutive double-wicket maidens that removed England star Joe Root, Jofra Archer, Matthew Fisher and Josh Tongue. The seamer even came within one delivery of a hat trick, only for Jordan Cox to successfully defend the final ball. Root, who carried England’s last faint hope of a comeback overnight on 75, added just two more runs before he was trapped lbw between bat and pad, ending his innings at 77 off 145 balls. His review of the decision was rejected, and England’s chances of a win departed with him.

Archer fell to an unplayable delivery that skidded under his bat, ending his innings on a two-ball duck, while Fisher chopped onto his own leg stump and Tongue edged a catch to first slip—both batters gone without scoring. Henry celebrated his milestone five-wicket innings haul and 10-wicket match haul with a quiet roar before he was mobbed by his celebrating teammates. Cox, who resumed on zero, managed a quick 25 runs before he was bowled attempting a sweep, bringing the match to a close just 48 minutes after play began on the final day. Tailender Sonny Baker failed to score.

This win marks only New Zealand’s seventh Test victory in England across 95 years of touring, and just their second at the Oval, with the last coming back in 1999. It follows a dominant England victory at Lord’s in the first Test of the series, setting up an all-or-nothing decider in Nottingham.

For Henry, the historic performance marked a personal redemption arc. The senior seamer suffered back spasms on the first morning of the Lord’s Test, leaving him sidelined and unable to contribute meaningfully to the team’s effort. A 10-day break between matches allowed him to make a full recovery heading into the second Test.

“It feels bad when you let the guys down on day one at Lord’s,” Henry told reporters after receiving the Player of the Match award. “It was great to come here and get my quota out. I didn’t expect it to unfold like that today but probably saved a hot day in the field.”

Henry credited his wicketkeeper Tom Blundell for a key tactical contribution that unsettled England’s batters, noting Blundell’s decision to stand up to the stumps while he bowled kept batters guessing at the crease. “Having a world-class operator like Tom is huge,” he said. “He’s always up for it. You can’t do it unless you’ve got someone good behind the stumps. We know England like to create a flow of runs.”

Beyond Henry’s magical bowling performance, the Black Caps’ win was built on strong contributions across the side, Henry noted. Kyle Jamieson claimed four wickets in the match after a standout bowling spell on Saturday evening, while Glenn Phillips hit his maiden Test century in New Zealand’s first innings to put the Black Caps in a commanding position. Henry Nicholls added a second century in the second innings, combining with Rachin Ravindra for a massive partnership that effectively batted England out of the contest before the final day.

“Little moments in the first innings set the platform for the ball to get soft and Glenn to do his thing,” Henry said. “Top order did a job for us. The way the guys applied themselves with the ball, we talked about being relentless and different from each end. We stuck at it and got the rewards.”

In a dominant Group F World Cup clash held in Monterrey, Mexico, Japan delivered a spectacular 4-0 victory over Tunisia on Wednesday, moving the Asian side within touching distance of a fourth consecutive knockout stage appearance and marking the biggest ever winning margin for the Samurai Blue in World Cup history.

Japan’s clinical attacking display leaves them level on four points with group leaders Netherlands after two matches, with the Dutch holding the top spot only on the tiebreaker of one additional total goal. For Tunisia, the defeat brings an early end to their World Cup campaign, making them the first team eliminated from this year’s tournament after a second underwhelming performance.

The writing was on the wall for Tunisia from the opening minutes of the tie. Crystal Palace midfielder Daichi Kamada opened the scoring in just the fourth minute, slotting home a simple tap-in from Keito Nakamura’s perfectly placed cross. This strike stands as the fastest goal Japan has ever scored in World Cup competition, and marked Kamada’s second of the tournament.

The 2-0 lead came in the 31st minute, when Feyenoord striker Ayase Ueda cut through Tunisia’s defense from the halfway line. What looked like a lost chance after Ueda chose to hold possession rather than pass to onrushing teammates turned into a moment of magic: the 27-year-old, who finished the 2023-24 Eredivisie season as top scorer with 24 goals, unleashed a well-placed angled strike from outside the box that nestled into the left corner of Tunisia’s net.

Japan extended their advantage in the 69th minute, when a clever flicked pass from Ueda put winger Junya Itō through on a one-on-one with Tunisia goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen. Itō kept his cool under pressure, slotting the ball past the keeper to put the Samurai Blue up 3-0.

Ueda capped off the dominant performance with his second of the night in the 83rd minute, a looping header that sailed over Dahmen and into the back of the net, closing out the 4-0 win. The four-goal haul is the highest number of goals Japan has ever put past an opponent in a single World Cup match.

The result leaves Japan guaranteed at worst a third-place finish in Group F, a position that can still be enough to advance to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams across all groups. For Tunisia, the elimination comes just one match after the North African side made a major coaching change, hiring two-time Africa Cup of Nations-winning manager Hervé Renard following a humiliating 5-1 opening defeat to Sweden. Renard’s arrival failed to turn Tunisia’s fortunes around, however, as the side could not contain Japan’s pacey attacking unit and failed to register a single clear goalscoring chance throughout the 90 minutes.

Japan, who have not lost a 90-minute match to a European opponent since 2019, will face off against Sweden in Dallas on Thursday in their final group stage match. Tunisia will wrap up their tournament the same day, taking on the Netherlands in Kansas City.

The 2026 expanded-format FIFA World Cup has already delivered one of its most compelling underdog stories, as 82nd-ranked New Zealand stands one win away from breaking a decades-long tournament drought and punching its first-ever ticket to the knockout round. When the All Whites touched down in British Columbia for this year’s competition, just qualifying for their first World Cup appearance since 2010 felt like a victory in its own right. But a dramatic 2-2 draw against 22nd-ranked Iran in their opening group stage match has transformed their unlikely underdog run into a genuine shot at history this Sunday against 29th-ranked Egypt.

New Zealand’s path to this year’s tournament would not have existed without FIFA’s decision to expand the World Cup field from 32 to 48 teams. The expansion marked the first time the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) earned an automatic berth to the tournament, a long-awaited change that cleared the way for New Zealand to claim the spot after a three-step qualifying run that ended with a 3-0 win over 151st-ranked New Caledonia.

The dynamic of the OFC has shifted dramatically since 2006, when former regional powerhouse Australia left the confederation to join the Asian Football Confederation in pursuit of stiffer competition and more reliable qualifying paths to the World Cup. Australia’s departure left New Zealand as the undisputed top side in a region with a stark ranking gap: after the All Whites, the next highest-ranked OFC side is New Caledonia, leaving New Zealand without consistent top-tier competition in regional play.

This imbalance highlights a long-debated feature of FIFA’s World Cup qualification structure: allocation of tournament slots is based heavily on confederation geography, rather than global team rankings. This system means that many higher-ranked teams from deeper, more competitive confederations miss out on qualification entirely; this year alone, 17 of FIFA’s top 48 ranked teams failed to qualify, including 20th-ranked Denmark from the UEFA confederation and 14th-ranked Italy, which has now missed three consecutive World Cups. By contrast, smaller confederations get far fewer slots: UEFA claims 16 berths for this expanded tournament, while OFC holds just one.

Well aware that regional competition cannot prepare them for the global stage, New Zealand has actively sought out friendly matches against far higher-ranked opponents to sharpen their play. That intentional strategy paid off in their opening match against Iran, where winger Elijah Just netted both of the All Whites’ goals to secure the draw. Just’s two goals matched New Zealand’s total goal output across both of its previous World Cup appearances in 1982 and 2010, giving the side a surge of confidence heading into their critical match against Egypt.

Head coach Darren Bazeley has emphasized that the team is staying grounded, refusing to let the weight of a potential historic berth distract from the task at hand. “We can’t let the occasion get too big,” Bazeley said in a pre-match press conference. “It’s about us winning a game of football.” He added that the side has no fear of facing higher-ranked opponents, noting: “If we’re going to win a World Cup, we have to play against top teams and top players and perform well.”

Midfielder Ben Old echoed that confidence, saying the entire squad relishes the once-in-a-generation opportunity to make New Zealand football history. “Putting ourselves in such a great position – like this opportunity to create history – we know how good we can be,” Old said. “It’s just a really exciting moment to be in.” The side has long embraced its identity as international football’s underdog, Old added, a mindset that has taken away any pressure of expectation against higher-profile opponents: “We’re always used to being the underdogs. We’re not afraid to play any of these teams.”

With one point already in the group stage table and two matches remaining, New Zealand is not only in contention for knockout stage qualification, but also poised to break multiple team World Cup records: a single win against Egypt would send them through, and even one more goal would break their record for most goals scored in a single World Cup tournament.

LAS VEGAS — For 12 years, award-winning Associated Press veteran photographer John Locher has called Las Vegas home, covering beats ranging from high-stakes professional sports to sudden breaking news, in-depth human interest features and original enterprise reporting. When the 2022 FIFA World Cup rolled around, Locher approached his assignment with a creative eye that set his work apart from typical tournament coverage.

Unlike traditional match-day photography that centers on action inside stadiums, Locher set out to capture the far-reaching passion the World Cup sparks across the globe, even in cities not hosting any tournament games. For the Friday matchup between Australia and the United States, he turned his lens to local fan gatherings to showcase the widespread excitement that extends far beyond match venues. Known for its one-of-a-kind approach to entertainment, Las Vegas offered the perfect unconventional backdrop: a poolside watch party.

Locher’s first stop was Circa Resort and Casino, a venue that had already built a reputation for hosting large-scale sports watch parties on a massive outdoor screen above its swimming pool. Anticipating the scene would be unlike any standard viewing event, he planned his shoot to highlight this uniqueness. After capturing close-up shots of cheering fans reacting to game moments, he began searching for an elevated vantage point that could frame the full scope of the gathering. Using a wide-angle lens, Locher captured a sweeping shot that included hundreds of fans gathered in the pool alongside the iconic casino skyline of downtown Las Vegas, emphasizing the unusual setting of this World Cup viewing experience.

In reflecting on the power of the image, Locher noted that the photograph succeeds because it embodies Las Vegas’ signature tendency to turn ordinary events into extraordinary experiences. While bars and restaurants across the United States hosted watch parties for the highly anticipated Australia-US clash, this poolside gathering offered a distinctly Las Vegas twist that could not be replicated anywhere else. The image stands as a testament to how deeply the World Cup’s cultural pull penetrates communities across the country, even far from the tournament’s host stadiums.

This photo is part of The Associated Press’ ongoing comprehensive coverage of the FIFA World Cup. More of AP’s award-winning World Cup reporting can be viewed on their dedicated coverage hub.