Global Pulse

标签： South America

南美洲

  • Messi leaves midway through second half, Inter Miami rallies past Union 6-4

    Messi leaves midway through second half, Inter Miami rallies past Union 6-4

    MIAMI — What was already set to be a historic MLS match between Inter Miami and the Philadelphia Union became overshadowed by an unforeseen twist on Sunday night, as soccer icon Lionel Messi departed the fixture 17 minutes before full time, leaving Argentina’s World Cup camp monitoring his fitness ahead of the tournament’s kickoff next month. Messi, who is rarely substituted off during club play, had notched two assists to help Inter Miami mount a comeback after a shocking early 2-0 deficit to the last-place Union, but the 8-time Ballon d’Or winner began holding his left hamstring in the 71st minute. Rather than walking to the team bench to await substitution, Messi made a direct line for the locker room tunnel after being replaced by Mateo Silvetti, leaving the MLS champions’ fans to speculate over the severity of the issue. He walked to the locker room unassisted by medical staff, albeit at a slow pace.

    The match itself went down in MLS history books, with both sides combining for eight first-half goals – a new league record. The Union got off to a blistering start, with Milan Iloski netting a first-half hat trick (including two penalties) and Bruno Damiani adding another to put Philadelphia up 4-2 22 minutes into the contest. Inter Miami responded quickly: Germán Berterame scored two first-half goals, with Messi setting up both, to pull the defending champions level at 4-4 by halftime. After the break, heavy rain soaked the DRV PNK Stadium turf, leading to multiple slipping incidents for players on both sides, though officials did not observe any notable misstep from Messi that could have triggered the hamstring issue. There has been no official confirmation from Inter Miami or the Argentina national team on whether Messi’s early exit was a precautionary measure or a response to a significant injury.

    Late in the match, Luis Suárez scored his third goal of the night to put Inter Miami ahead, and Rodrigo De Paul – celebrating his birthday – added a stoppage-time strike to lock in a 6-4 win for the hosts. The result pushes Inter Miami to 31 points through 15 matches, good for second place in the Eastern Conference, just two points behind table-topping Nashville SC, ahead of the league’s World Cup pause.

    For the Philadelphia Union, the loss extends a historically bad 2025 campaign. The 2024 Supporters’ Shield winners have plummeted from first place to the very bottom of the MLS table, holding just seven points through 15 matches with only one win all season. Their 10-goal thriller with Inter Miami drew star power beyond the pitch, with Grammy-nominated Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi – a Miami resident – performing the national anthem ahead of kickoff. Fonsi, a lifelong soccer fan, called sharing the stadium with Messi a once-in-a-lifetime honor.

    All eyes now turn to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, where Messi will look to defend his 2022 title with Argentina. The 39-year-old has previously stated he will only compete in the tournament if he is fully fit, and Argentina kick off their Group J campaign against Algeria in Kansas City on June 16, less than three weeks from Sunday’s match. If Argentina win Group J – a result most analysts expect as the defending champions – Messi could return to South Florida for a Round of 32 match in Miami Gardens on July 3, with a potential third-place match scheduled there on July 18. For now, the uncertainty over Messi’s fitness puts that entire trajectory in question, leaving soccer fans across the globe waiting for an official update on one of the sport’s biggest stars.

  • Ecuador’s president touts US-backed crime-fighting efforts and vows to keep hunting down criminals

    Ecuador’s president touts US-backed crime-fighting efforts and vows to keep hunting down criminals

    QUITO, Ecuador — In his annual State of the Union address delivered before the National Assembly in Ecuador’s capital on Sunday, President Daniel Noboa highlighted the outcomes of his administration’s U.S.-backed anti-organized crime campaign, alongside promising improvements to key national economic indicators. The hardline security push comes as Ecuador grapples with a years-long drug violence crisis that has become the top public concern for the South American nation.

  • Bolivian minister’s convoy ambushed while overseeing roadblock clearance

    Bolivian minister’s convoy ambushed while overseeing roadblock clearance

    Bolivia has been plunged into escalating political unrest this week, as anti-government demonstrations led by allies of left-wing former president Evo Morales have targeted the six-month-old administration of center-right President Rodrigo Paz. Tensions boiled over on Saturday, when an official convoy led by Public Works Minister Mauricio Zamora was ambushed by protesters during a mission to clear blocked highways leading to the administrative capital La Paz and neighboring El Alto.

    Local media reports confirm that Zamora’s vehicle was intercepted in the town of Copata, on a route south of La Paz, on Saturday afternoon, leaving the minister separated from his security detail and out of communication for a short period. According to Bolivia’s leading private news agency Agencia Noticias Fides, after the initial ambush the separated vehicle attempted to escape via an unpaved side road, only to face a second attack before ultimately rejoining the rest of the convoy. Zamora was later confirmed to be safe with no reported injuries.

    Zamora was leading a state operation launched before dawn on Saturday to clear roadblocks erected by protesters and establish “humanitarian corridors” to restore the flow of essential food and medical supplies into the capital region. Security forces including police and military units were deployed from major urban centers, using heavy equipment like bulldozers to remove rocks and concrete barriers placed across key highways. However, the operation met fierce resistance from demonstrators, who responded with sustained violence across multiple flashpoints.

    In addition to the attack on Zamora’s convoy, protesters launched coordinated attacks on state infrastructure across the country. On the main highway leading into El Alto, demonstrators looted and burned a customs checkpoint in Achicha Arriba, hours after police used tear gas to disperse crowds gathered there. Near Caracollo, located north of the department capital Oruro, a separate official convoy was hit with explosive devices. Local daily newspaper La Razon reported that protesters set fire to a military truck, burned a civilian minibus on the La Paz-Oruro highway, and ransacked a local police station. Multiple journalists covering the state clearance operation have also been targeted in attacks, according to several regional news outlets.

    The current wave of unrest has been building all week, with mass marches, continuous road blockades, and repeated clashes between protesters and security forces across La Paz. The demonstrations are led by national trade unions and Morales supporters, who are demanding President Paz’s resignation. Two core grievances have driven the protests: widespread anger over Paz’s austerity economic policies, particularly his decision to eliminate long-standing national fuel subsidies that has pushed up living costs amid ongoing inflation and supply shortages, and opposition to the new administration’s pro-United States diplomatic alignment, which breaks with decades of left-wing foreign policy in Bolivia.

    Paz, who was elected last year on a pledge to pull Bolivia out of its worst economic crisis in decades, has faced widespread public backlash since taking office six months ago. Former president Morales, who still commands broad support across much of rural and working-class Bolivia, has publicly backed the protests and amplified unconfirmed reports of protester deaths during the clearance operation. The government has denied Morales’ claim that one person was killed in the town of Vilaque on the La Paz-Oruro highway.

    Morales is currently facing outstanding criminal charges relating to an alleged relationship with a minor during his time in office, and has been sheltering by his supporters amid attempts by the Paz administration to prosecute him. The current government accuses Morales of deliberately instigating the current unrest to undermine the new administration and regain political power.

    In comments Saturday to Argentine news outlet Todo Noticias, President Paz said his government was open to pursuing all possible channels of dialogue to de-escalate the crisis, but added a firm warning: “Everything has a limit.” As of Saturday evening, roadblocks have been re-established in multiple locations where security forces had previously cleared routes, leaving the capital region still facing critical shortages of essential goods.

  • Ecuador fans pin hopes on a World Cup run amid a surge in violence

    Ecuador fans pin hopes on a World Cup run amid a surge in violence

    Against a grim backdrop of spiraling violent crime, widespread drug trafficking-related unrest and deep-seated economic strain, the South American nation of Ecuador is turning to its national men’s soccer team for a much-needed lifeline of hope ahead of the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Multiple provinces across Ecuador have already been placed under formal states of emergency, with thousands of military personnel and police officers deployed to counter a dramatic surge in organized criminal activity driven by drug trafficking networks. Curfews after dark are commonplace across large swathes of the country, the border with neighboring Colombia remains unstable, and a crippling fuel crisis has disrupted daily life for millions of Ecuadorians. Even amid these cascading crises, however, national enthusiasm and optimism for La Tri – as the Ecuador national team is affectionately known – remains completely undimmed.

    Ecuador’s national side turned heads during qualifying, securing a second-place finish in the South American standings behind defending World Cup champions Argentina, dropping only two matches across 18 qualifying games – both one-goal away losses to Argentina and Brazil, the continent’s two soccer powerhouses. For long-time fans, this strong qualifying run has fostered bold expectations: many believe the 2022 squad is good enough to surpass the nation’s best ever World Cup result, a round-of-16 exit at the 2006 tournament in Germany, where Ecuador was knocked out by a iconic free-kick goal from England’s David Beckham.

    In downtown Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest port city and one of the most violent urban centers in the Americas, that excitement translates to tangible displays of support. Mario Uquillas, a 43-year-old local shopkeeper, even purchased a large new television on credit specifically to watch his nation compete on the global stage. “I hope that, at the very least, La Tri reaches the quarterfinals. It’s about time, because we have a great team,” Uquillas explained. Merchants across the city’s busy La Bahía market have also leaned into the World Cup fever, stocking a wide range of official and fan-made national team jerseys. The most popular designs bear the names of the squad’s three breakout stars, all plying their trade at top European clubs: Arsenal defender Piero Hincapié, Chelsea midfielder Moisés Caicedo, and Paris Saint-Germain center back Willian Pacho.

    Hincapié already gave Ecuadorian fans a taste of major trophy success earlier this month, when he helped Arsenal end a 22-year drought to claim the English Premier League title. Next weekend, fans will get another chance to cheer on their homegrown heroes when Hincapié and Pacho face off against each other in the UEFA Champions League final, building even more momentum ahead of the World Cup.

    Tragically, Ecuador’s wave of violence has not spared local soccer, leaving the domestic game stained by bloodshed. Five active domestic players were murdered last year alone, with three more wounded in targeted armed attacks. The most high-profile killing came last December in northern Guayaquil, where hired gunmen assassinated Mario Pineida, a former left back for top local side Guayaquil Barcelona and a one-time Ecuador national team player. Pineida was shot multiple times while visiting a local butcher shop with his mother and partner; his partner was killed in the attack, his mother wounded. One suspect was arrested shortly after the shooting, but the full motive for the killing remains unconfirmed.

    Statistics underscore the severity of Guayaquil’s security crisis. Ranked the eighth most violent city in the Americas by global crime tracking platform Numbeo, the city sits at the heart of Ecuador’s national wave of violence. Official data from the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime recorded 9,216 violent deaths across the country last year, representing a homicide rate of 50.1 per 100,000 inhabitants – one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. For families in Guayaquil’s sprawling informal slum communities, daily life has been reshaped by fear: where children once played informal soccer matches in the streets after school, many now lock themselves inside their homes as soon as night falls, avoiding the threat of random shootings, robberies and targeted attacks.

    Even in this challenging security environment, soccer remains a powerful unifying force, largely thanks to Guayaquil Barcelona, the nation’s most popular and successful club. The club’s youth academy, which counts Hincapié as one of its early graduates, offers a tangible path out of poverty and insecurity for hundreds of young local players – and the facilities have been upgraded with heavy security to protect the young athletes from organized crime. Today, the academy serves nearly 300 boys and girls, providing a safe space to train that they cannot find in their home neighborhoods.

    For the young athletes honing their skills on the academy’s pitches, the dream of following in Hincapié, Caicedo and Pacho’s footsteps is alive. “My dream is to play for PSG or Real Madrid,” said 10-year-old Piero Ortega, who has trained at the academy for five years. “My dream is to be a professional soccer player.” Another 10-year-old prospect, Washington Vera, already displays elite ball control and passing skill, and has his sights set on the national team. “I would like to play for the national team as a right winger,” Vera said, adding he is eager to one day “score goals for the national team.”

    Enrique Benavides, coordinator of Guayaquil Barcelona’s youth academy network, says the program fills a critical void for young people amid widespread instability. “Insecurity has set a limit for us; fear has entered every neighborhood, every community. Nobody is safe,” Benavides said. ”Given the insecurity, this school offers children the opportunity to attend our pitches and train safely. Before, they played in parks and streets at any time of day, but now that’s no longer possible because of the insecurity.”

    That collective need for a reprieve is why so much is riding on Ecuador’s World Cup run: for a nation grappling with daily violence, the tournament offers a brief, much-needed distraction from the crises unfolding outside their doors. Fans’ passion is as unbridled as their expectations for the squad. “Before, we dreamed of qualifying; now we’re hoping they reach the quarterfinals or semifinals of the World Cup,” said Daniel Sánchez, a Guayaquil-based lawyer. Matías Oyola, a former Guayaquil Barcelona player who recently took over as the club’s sporting director, shares that confidence. “The World Cup for Ecuador will be a continuation of what they did in the qualifiers,” Oyola said. “It’s going to be excellent.”

  • Venezuela’s Machado vows another run for presidency and eyes a return from exile by end of 2026

    Venezuela’s Machado vows another run for presidency and eyes a return from exile by end of 2026

    PANAMA CITY — In a meeting with fellow Venezuelan opposition figures held in Panama on Saturday, María Corina Machado, the exiled Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, made a major political declaration: she will once again seek the Venezuelan presidency, and plans to return to her home country before the close of 2026.

    Machado’s announcement arrives more than four months after a surprising policy shift from the White House, which set aside its previous backing for Machado to instead align with a loyalist from Venezuela’s ruling party following the U.S. military’s capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The opposition figure has lived outside Venezuela since last December, when she left 11 months of hiding within the country to travel to Norway to accept her Nobel Peace Prize.

    Speaking to reporters after the closed-door gathering, Machado emphasized that she and the assembled opposition leaders remain unified in their push for a peaceful democratic transition in Venezuela, a goal she said can only be achieved through “free and fair presidential elections, where all Venezuelans inside and outside the country vote.”

    Despite the opposition’s clear call for open elections, the timeline for a constitutional presidential vote remains murky. Under Venezuela’s constitution, a new election must be held within 30 days of a sitting president becoming permanently unable to serve. But the Trump administration has downplayed and delayed discussions of holding an immediate vote, as it has thrown its support behind Maduro’s successor, acting President Delcy Rodríguez.

    Rodríguez has drawn praise from U.S. President Donald Trump and top White House officials by opening Venezuela’s massive oil sector to expanded American investment at a moment when global oil prices are soaring, driven by ongoing conflict in Iran.

    Machado laid out a clear timeline for organizing a legitimate democratic vote, explaining that a properly run election with full democratic safeguards would require seven to nine months of preparatory work. Key preconditions she outlined include the installation of nonpartisan electoral oversight bodies, updates to national voter registration rolls, and guarantees that all opposition candidates can campaign and appear on the ballot without interference from the ruling government.

    Machado rose to prominence as Maduro’s most formidable political challenger in recent years. Ahead of Venezuela’s 2024 presidential election, Maduro’s government issued a ban barring Machado from running for office. In response, she tapped retired ambassador Edmundo González Urrutia to stand in as the opposition’s unity candidate.

    On election night, ruling party officials quickly declared Maduro the winner just hours after polls closed, a move that drew widespread international skepticism. But Machado’s well-coordinated campaign network collected and published independent vote tally evidence showing González had defeated Maduro by a more than 2-to-1 margin.

    On Saturday, Machado reaffirmed her commitment to open competition, saying she would face any other presidential candidate in what she called an “impeccable election.” “I will be a candidate, but there may be others, of course,” she told reporters. “I would love to compete with everyone, with anyone who wants to be a candidate.”

  • Peru’s Catholic Church holds a symbolic ceremony in apology for Indigenous land dispossession

    Peru’s Catholic Church holds a symbolic ceremony in apology for Indigenous land dispossession

    LIMA, Peru – Decades of unaddressed harm and land disputes came to a pivotal moment Saturday, when top Catholic leaders in Peru gathered with Indigenous Tallán people in the northern community of Catacaos to offer a formal, long-delayed apology for land dispossession carried out by the now-disbanded Sodalitium Christianae Vitae.

    Founded in 1971 as a conservative counter-movement to the left-leaning liberation theology that spread across Latin America in the 1960s, Sodalitium grew to become one of Peru’s most influential religious societies, boasting roughly 20,000 members across South America and the United States at its peak. But the organization’s reputation collapsed after decades of hidden misconduct came to light, leading to its full dissolution by the late Pope Francis in 2025. A sweeping Vatican investigation uncovered a pattern of severe abuses, including sexual exploitation by the group’s founder Luis Figari, systemic financial mismanagement by senior leadership, and widespread spiritual abuse against members.

    Calls for accountability first emerged in 2011, when former Sodalitium members submitted formal abuse allegations against Figari to the Archdiocese of Lima. For years, however, neither local church authorities nor the Holy See took meaningful action. It was not until 2015, when a survivor and an independent journalist published a book detailing the group’s wrongdoings, that pressure for a full investigation became impossible to ignore. After an unsuccessful internal reform attempt, Pope Francis dispatched two of his most trusted investigators – Monsignor Jordi Bertomeu, who led Saturday’s ceremony, and Archbishop Charles Scicluna – to probe the claims. Their final report exposed a troubling culture of “sadistic,” sect-like abuse of power, misappropriation of church funds, and coordinated harassment of whistleblowers and critics.

    Saturday’s ceremony marked a long-overdue step toward repairing harm that extends far beyond internal religious abuse, to the displacement of Indigenous and rural communities in Catacaos. Land disputes between the Tallán people and Sodalitium-linked entities stretch back more than 10 years, after companies tied to the group launched legal eviction proceedings to seize thousands of hectares of land held by local farmers, through a series of property transfers that the community has never legally recognized. Dozens of local farmers were charged with criminal usurpation in the wake of the claims, and two community land rights leaders were shot and killed during violent clashes over the eviction efforts.

    Addressing a packed congregation of community members and church leaders, Bertomeu, the apostolic commissioner who oversaw Sodalitium’s dissolution, offered an unflinching acknowledgment of the church’s decades-long failure to act. “We are here to ask for your forgiveness in the name of the Church,” he said. “We are late. We should have come 20 years ago, and we are truly sorry. Forgive us, offer us your forgiveness, because we too need it.” Bertomeu also shared a message of solidarity the late Pope Francis sent to the Catacaos community in 2024, which read: “Fight for your lands, I am with you.”

    The historic ceremony comes months after the Peruvian Episcopal Conference confirmed that Pope Leo XIV is considering a visit to the South American nation before the end of the year. Tania Pariona, secretary of Peru’s National Human Rights Commission, framed the event as a groundbreaking step for accountability in the country. She noted that the church’s gesture puts it far ahead of Peru’s national government, which she said has repeatedly failed to uphold the land rights of rural and Indigenous communities. Describing Catacaos as a community still “fearful and broken” after decades of conflict, Bertomeu’s apology opens a new chapter in reckoning with the harm caused by one of Latin America’s most influential fallen Catholic organizations.

  • US military conducts a rapid response exercise at embassy in Venezuela’s capital

    US military conducts a rapid response exercise at embassy in Venezuela’s capital

    Four months after former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was removed from power, the United States military has carried out a rapid response drills in Venezuela’s capital Caracas, involving Marine Corps personnel and hybrid military aircraft.

    The exercise centered on two MV-22 Osprey aircraft — tiltrotor vehicles that combine the vertical takeoff and landing capabilities of a helicopter with the long-range, fuel efficiency of a fixed-wing plane. The aircraft flew over the recently reopened U.S. Embassy in Caracas before touching down in the embassy’s parking lot, where strong downdrafts from their rotors sent tree branches swaying across the area. After landing, uniformed Marine personnel exited the aircraft to complete the exercise’s operational drills.

    In a public statement posted to its official Instagram account following the drill, the U.S. Embassy emphasized that maintaining sharp, rapid response military capabilities is a core pillar of operational readiness for U.S. forces, both deployed in Venezuela and across all global U.S. mission locations. Venezuela’s interim government had pre-announced the exercise earlier in the week, with Foreign Minister Yván Gil clarifying that the drill was framed as a preparation to respond to potential medical or large-scale catastrophic emergencies in the capital.

    This military exercise comes just two months after the U.S. formally reopened its diplomatic mission in Caracas. The embassy reopening marked the full restoration of bilateral diplomatic ties between Washington and Caracas, a step that followed Maduro’s ouster from office in early January. The last time U.S. military aircraft operated over Caracas was on January 3, when U.S. elite special operations forces rappelled from military helicopters to capture Maduro and his wife. The pair were subsequently extradited to New York to face international drug trafficking charges, and both have entered formal pleas of not guilty to the allegations against them.

    The drill drew mixed reactions from local residents on Saturday. Dozens of Caracas locals gathered near the embassy compound to observe the aircraft and exercise activity, while a separate group of several dozen protesters assembled at another location across the city to demonstrate against the U.S. military operation. Protesters carried a large Venezuelan flag emblazoned with the phrase “No to the Yankee drill” to voice their opposition to the deployment of U.S. forces on Venezuelan territory.

  • Pitches, PlayStations and protein ice cream – A look inside Brazil’s World Cup base camp

    Pitches, PlayStations and protein ice cream – A look inside Brazil’s World Cup base camp

    As the world’s most anticipated football tournament draws near, all eyes are on how top contenders are shaping up for their quest for the trophy. Among the elite national sides preparing for the competition, Brazil has set up its pre-tournament base far from home, at the Columbia Park Training Facility nestled in Morris Township, New Jersey. BBC correspondent Brandon Livesay recently got rare access to the closed camp, offering football fans around the globe an unprecedented peek into how the five-time world champions are getting ready for their World Cup campaign.

    What stands out most about the Brazilian camp is the careful balance the team’s support staff have struck between high-performance training and personal comfort, designed to keep the squad in peak physical and mental condition ahead of the tournament. Beyond the meticulously maintained grass pitches, where players put in daily work on tactics, fitness and teamwork, the facility includes off-pitch amenities that cater to modern athletes’ needs for recovery and relaxation. To help players unwind after intense training sessions, the camp has been equipped with gaming stations including PlayStations, allowing team members to unwind with casual friendly competitions. Meanwhile, the nutrition team has tailored a performance-focused diet for the squad, that even includes specially sourced protein ice cream – a treat that fits the team’s strict fitness requirements while satisfying players’ cravings for sweet snacks.

    Choosing a pre-tournament base in the United States rather than in Brazil or closer to the tournament host nation was a strategic call by the Brazilian Football Confederation. The New Jersey location offers controlled privacy, cutting out distractions that often come with a high-profile side preparing for a major tournament, while still providing easy access to travel logistics for the final journey to the competition. Livesay’s tour confirms that every detail of the camp, from training infrastructure to off-field comfort, has been planned to give the Brazilian squad the best possible chance to lift the World Cup trophy, underscoring the side’s commitment to preparing thoroughly for every possible challenge ahead of the tournament.

  • Jackson smashes meeting record to win 200m

    Jackson smashes meeting record to win 200m

    The Xiamen Diamond League track and field meet delivered a day of thrilling competition and historic performances on Saturday, headlined by a masterclass victory from two-time 200m world champion Shericka Jackson.

    Fresh off a win at the opening Shanghai/Keqiao Diamond League stop a week prior, Jackson picked up right where she left off in Xiamen, delivering a dominant run that left her competitors trailing far behind. From the moment the starting gun fired, the Jamaican sprinter seized control of the race, putting her unparalleled strength on the bend to create an insurmountable gap over the rest of the field. She crossed the finish line with a blistering time of 21.87 seconds, breaking the existing meeting record and falling just one hundredth of a second short of claiming the current world leading time.

    While Jackson claimed the top spot on the podium, her fellow competitors also turned in impressive personal season-best results. Bahamian sprinter Shaunae Miller-Uibo took second place with a time of 22.04 seconds, while American sprinter Anavia Battle secured third with 22.29 seconds. Neither runner ever looked positioned to challenge Jackson for the win, however. 2023 world 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson also notched a new season best, finishing fourth in 22.38 seconds. Great Britain’s Amy Hunt, the 2022 200m world junior silver medallist, crossed the line seventh out of nine competing athletes.

    The standout historic performance of the day came from 18-year-old Chinese javelin thrower Yan Ziyi, who rewrote multiple record books with a stunning 71.74m throw. Just one day after celebrating her 18th birthday, Yan’s effort broke not only the Xiamen Diamond League meet record but also the long-standing Asian senior record and the world under-20 record. This milestone comes just over a year after Yan set the world junior record at the age of 17, cementing her status as one of the most promising young track and field talents in the world. Her throw moves her into second place on the all-time global women’s javelin performance list.

    Another crowd-pleasing matchup came in the men’s 400m hurdles, which pitted 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Alison dos Santos of Brazil against Norwegian world record holder and 2024 Olympic silver medalist Karsten Warholm in a much-anticipated head-to-head duel. The two elite hurdlers quickly separated themselves from the rest of the pack, battling neck-and-neck for the top spot through every hurdle. In the final stretch, dos Santos pulled ahead to claim the win, finishing in 46.72 seconds – 0.10 seconds ahead of Warholm’s runner-up time.

  • Lionel Scaloni remains calm and cool as Argentina prepares to defend its World Cup title

    Lionel Scaloni remains calm and cool as Argentina prepares to defend its World Cup title

    As Argentina counts down to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, all eyes are fixed on head coach Lionel Scaloni, the quiet architect of the nation’s 2022 global title who is now chasing an almost unprecedented back-to-back championship. The iconic image of his icy composure after Gonzalo Montiel’s decisive penalty sealed Argentina’s third World Cup crown against France in 2022 remains etched in football fans’ memories: instead of erupting in celebration, Scaloni stood motionless and silent on the touchline, seemingly numb to the historic achievement he had just helped deliver. It was only minutes later, when a player embraced him and whispered the words “We are world champions,” that the coach finally broke down in tears. That unflappable temperament, it turns out, is no accident — it has been honed by a daily routine far from the roar of football stadiums.

    Longtime acquaintances of Scaloni trace his remarkable emotional control to his post-playing career hobby: long-distance cycling. Picked up on the advice of his friend, former Spanish tennis star Carlos Moyá, the 48-year-old dedicates two to three hours every day to pedaling, whether it be through the mountainous terrain of Mallorca — the Spanish island he calls home — or along the quiet trails of his native Pujato, in northwest Argentina. For Scaloni, cycling is far more than a fitness activity: it is a mental reset and a form of therapy that allows him to work through tactical plans, analyze opponents, and stay grounded amid the pressure of international football.

    “On the bike, you can think about your team, your opponent, how to prepare for the match. It really clears my head. It’s a good escape … it helps me lower my expectations, be calmer,” Scaloni explained in recent interviews.

    That calm has been tested repeatedly throughout his tenure as Argentina’s head coach, a role he never expected to hold long-term. After Argentina’s humiliating round-of-16 exit from the 2018 Russia World Cup, Scaloni — a former Argentina international with zero prior experience managing a professional club — stepped into the role on an interim basis, while the Argentine Football Association (AFA) courted high-profile candidates such as Mauricio Pochettino and Diego Simeone. At the time, even Argentine legend Diego Maradona dismissed him, sneering, “Scaloni? He can’t even direct traffic.”

    Undeterred by the widespread criticism of his inexperience, Scaloni steadily built a cohesive, hungry team. He led Argentina to the 2021 Copa América title, navigated a successful 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign, and silenced doubters again in Qatar after a shocking opening-match loss to Saudi Arabia. Mid-tournament, he revamped his lineup, giving opportunities to young rookies including Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister, and Julián Álvarez, and drew out the best performance of Lionel Messi’s long World Cup career, ultimately lifting the sport’s biggest prize.

    Today, Scaloni prepares to make history as only the third Argentine coach to lead the national side into consecutive World Cups, following legendary champions César Luis Menotti (1978, 1982) and Carlos Bilardo (1986, 1990). The youngest of the three, however, rejects any comparison to the iconic managers who came before him, noting “They have established careers, they defined an era.”

    Now, the challenge of repeating as champion looms larger than ever. No men’s World Cup champion has successfully defended their title since Brazil in 1962, and Scaloni faces no shortage of obstacles: his star player Messi, 38, is nearing the end of his international career; the AFA is mired in off-field turmoil, with leadership facing corruption accusations and widespread internal anger over league format changes and refereeing calls. Even World Cup preparation has drawn criticism: the AFA has arranged warm-up friendlies against low-ranked sides, including Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Angola, Mauritania, and Zambia, with two final pre-tournament matches scheduled against non-qualifiers Honduras and Iceland in June.

    Scaloni, for his part, has refused to publically air grievances. While he shocked fans in November 2023 by hinting at a potential exit after a qualifying win over Brazil — later clarifying he was overwhelmed by serious health issues affecting his elderly parents, amid unconfirmed rumors of friction with players over off-field behavior — he has remained in the role and stayed true to his no-nonsense approach. He has made clear to his squad that winning the 2022 title does not guarantee anyone a spot on the 2026 roster, demanding constant focus and hunger from his players.

    “I don’t dwell on past achievements; you always have to keep looking ahead,” he said in late 2025. “With this jersey, you don’t have time to relax and think your place is secure.”

    His approach has paid off in the years since Qatar: Argentina claimed back-to-back Copa América titles in 2021 and 2024, and finished top of South American 2026 World Cup qualifying, even with Messi missing multiple matches due to injury. 20 of the 26 players from the 2022 title-winning squad, including Messi, have been included in Scaloni’s preliminary 55-man roster for the upcoming tournament.

    Jorge Valdano, a 1986 World Cup champion with Argentina, praised Scaloni’s work in an interview with the Associated Press, noting “Argentina has achieved the best thing a national team can achieve: being a team. It’s a team with very clear leadership, that of the coach and Leo Messi, and players who haven’t lost their hunger.”

    Argentina kicks off its 2026 World Cup Group J campaign in Kansas City on June 16 against Algeria, followed by matches against Austria on June 22 and Jordan on June 27. Scaloni retains the same calm demeanor that carried his side to glory four years ago, fully aware of the weight of expectation from Argentine fans who demand another title and will not accept disappointment.

    “We’re doing well, we’re eager. We’re aware that our opponents will play us differently because we’re the reigning champions,” Scaloni said. “The important thing is that we’ll be there. After that, it’s football, and anything can happen.” “To win a World Cup, a lot of things have to come together, not just playing well. It’s very difficult, but not impossible.”