July 2026 - Soccer Wiretap

Harry Kane declined to say whether Wednesday's World Cup semifinal loss to Argentina marked his final tournament with England, adding that the 2-1 defeat echoed similar late-game collapses from past tournaments. England led 1-0 through Anthony Gordon's 55th-minute goal before Argentina scored twice late, with Enzo Fernandez equalizing in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez heading home the winner in stoppage time off a Lionel Messi cross.

Kane described the pattern of England's recent near-misses after the match.

"It's a similar story to what's happened in previous tournaments I feel like," said Kane. "We managed the momentum of the game so well for 60 minutes, we scored and got ahead. And then for one reason or another, we struggled to be on the ball, we struggle to put pressure on the ball and it allowed them to create more momentum and created more attacks for them in our final third.

"It's a normal mindset to try to hang on and try and hold on to the one-goal lead but you know, we're still 20 minutes out so there's going to be enough time there [for Argentina to score]. We'll have to watch the game back and find out exactly how we can improve in those situations, but it's been probably the missing piece now for the last four tournaments."

Kane has led England through a string of major tournament heartbreaks, including a 2018 World Cup semifinal exit, a Euro 2020 final loss, a 2022 World Cup quarterfinal defeat and a Euro 2024 final loss to Spain.

Asked whether this could be his final World Cup, Kane declined to speculate on his international future. Kane turns 33 later this month.

"Again, it's too early to talk about that," said Kane. "I'm taking it year by year and the national team is my pride and joy. It's what I love to do most more than anything. Obviously four years is a long way away, I'm 33 this summer but it never ended with Leo there, he's still performing at the highest level. I never want to put a limit on these things. I'll address situations as they come, but for now it's just about processing a tough loss."

Thomas Tuchel confirmed he will remain England's manager through Euro 2028, addressing his future after Wednesday's semifinal loss to Argentina at the World Cup. Enzo Fernandez and Lautaro Martinez scored late to give Argentina a 2-1 comeback win in Atlanta, overturning Anthony Gordon's 55th-minute opener for England.

England will now face France in Saturday's third-place match in Miami Gardens, Florida, while Argentina advances to Sunday's final against Spain. Tuchel signed a contract extension with the Football Association before the tournament that ties him to the role through the 2028 European Championship.

Tuchel confirmed his commitment to the position when asked directly about his future.

"First of all, the World Cup is not over. There is still a match to play that we are not looking forward so much to, but there is still a match to play," said Tuchel. "Then we keep on going. I have a contract until the home Euros, and I'm looking forward to that, even now [when] it is difficult to look that far ahead."

Tuchel's substitutions drew scrutiny after England lost momentum late in the match, with Lionel Messi setting up both Argentina goals, including Martinez's stoppage-time winner. Tuchel replaced defender Reece James with Dan Burn and midfielder Declan Rice with defender Nico O'Reilly in the 82nd minute. England held just 12 percent possession between Gordon's goal and Argentina's equalizer.

Asked whether he regretted his decisions, Tuchel defended his approach.

"No, I believe that's just the nature of the game," said Tuchel. "As soon as you lose, you get criticized. ... No one knows what would have happened if we made different decisions. So, it makes no sense to engage in that and lose my head. I'm responsible for them, I took them, so I take the criticism. That's just the way it is."

England captain Harry Kane criticized the team's approach after taking the lead.

"Once we went 1-0 up, we seemed to just try and hold on, which at this level is just not enough, so I'm gutted," said Kane.

England's defeat continues a pattern of late collapses in major tournaments, including the 2018 World Cup semifinal loss to Croatia and the Euro 2020 final defeat to Italy, both games in which England led before losing. Tuchel dismissed the idea that recurring late-game struggles reflect a deeper pattern specific to the national team.

"I love to see these things in a football matter and through football glasses, so first of all I always think solvable on the football field," said Tuchel. "I don't believe so much in an English thing and in a curse or whatever, or in like history repeating itself in these moments. It's different coaches, different players, different situations, different opponents, so I think basically I believe in the football thing, which for me still as a football coach cost us today because I think we were just not active enough in any structure."

Jude Bellingham said a heated exchange with Lionel Messi during Wednesday's World Cup semifinal stemmed from a disagreement over an uncalled foul, downplaying the moment that went viral on social media. The confrontation occurred amid a physical opening stretch of the match.

Argentina defeated England 2-1 in a match that swung late, continuing a pattern seen throughout the tournament by Argentina. Anthony Gordon had given England a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute, but Enzo Fernandez equalized with a long-range strike in the 85th minute, assisted by Messi. Lautaro Martinez then headed home the winner in the 92nd minute off another Messi delivery.

Bellingham addressed the exchange with Messi after the match, which ended with Messi staring him down before nodding dismissively.

"[We were] discussing a foul, actually," said Bellingham. "But it was nothing bad. I'm sure everyone will do their thing and make it a big deal. But no, it was nothing really. I thought there was a foul earlier and he said, 'Well what about the one on me?' and I was kind of saying, 'You're strong enough to take it,' you know what I mean?"

Bellingham also reflected on facing Messi despite the disappointment of England's defeat.

"It's privilege to play against [Messi]," said Bellingham. "There was nothing against him. I'm obviously on the losing side which hurts a lot, but it's a privilege to go against him."

Argentina scored twice in stoppage time to stun England 2-1 in Wednesday's semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, advancing to a World Cup final meeting with Spain on Sunday.

England had led since a second-half strike from Anthony Gordon and appeared headed to the final before Argentina's late surge. 

Enzo Fernandez drew Argentina level in the 85th minute with a long-range strike from 20 yards. Lionel Messi then set up Lautaro Martinez, who headed home the winner in the second minute of stoppage time off a cross from the far post.

Argentina held a commanding 1.59 to 0.53 edge in expected goals, a gap that reflected the pressure they applied in the closing stages.

"This is incredible, it's truly incredible," said Martinez. "I dreamed it, I swear. I told Alexis [Mac Allister] I was going to score a goal; I told Facu Medina that I was going to come on and win the match.

"We stretched the team and went all-in. We got the goals in the end, and after 3½ years, we're back in a World Cup final."

Messi extended his World Cup knockout-stage assist total to 10, six clear of any other player over the past six decades. He has produced a goal or assist in 11 consecutive World Cup matches since 2022.

"We're disappointed, we were so close, but we got too passive after we scored and conceded a lot of chances," said England coach Thomas Tuchel. "We could not turn the ball possession around and then conceded so many crosses, chances and shots."

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford kept England ahead with saves on Nico Gonzalez and Mac Allister before Argentina's late breakthrough. The result marks England's continued wait for a second World Cup final since 1966.

Argentina will chase a fourth title and back-to-back championships against Spain in East Rutherford, New Jersey. England face France in Saturday's third-place match in Miami.

Thomas Tuchel said he has considered using man-marking against Lionel Messi on Wednesday when England meets Argentina in the World Cup semifinals.

"I was thinking about this, if we do a proper old school man-mark [on Messi]," Tuchel said in his prematch news conference on Tuesday.

"I'm not sure if we follow through with this idea but it crossed my mind. I think everyone knows the spaces where he wants to show up. It's just like, you analyse the matches, you feel he just sees stuff earlier than anyone else on the field."

Messi has eight goals and two assists during the 2026 World Cup.

"It's just like the ball drops to him, he finds the gap, he makes himself the space for his left foot and then executes the solution on the very highest level," Tuchel added. "I think we found some patterns in their game of course but if we close the patterns he will find a new one or create a new one.

"It is his super strength, it is just what it is. It is an exciting setup, it is very unique to play against the reigning champions, it is very unique to play against Leo Messi and his team. It is unique to play with England against Argentina. It is just a big match in every department."

Kylian Mbappe was critical of France's tactics following their 2-0 loss to Spain in the World Cup semifinals on Tuesday in Dallas. France was attempting to reach a third consecutive World Cup final.

"We were three against two in midfield and against Spain, that's hard," Mbappe said after the game. "Fabian [Ruiz] and Rodri had plenty of time to play. There was a lack of communication on the press. I think we should have done man-to-man press and force them to run with us."

Spain took an early lead when Mikel Oyarzabal converted a penalty following a foul drawn by Lamine Yamal against Lucas Digne.

"We didn't play the game we wanted, technically, tactically," Mbappé said. "When you don't do what you have to do in a World Cup semifinal, you don't win. Spain respected their game plan and what the team usually does. They like to control the ball and the tempo. Our plan was to press them high so they could not install their rhythm.

"Because they are better than us at controlling a game. We didn't manage to do it. We were too sloppy technically. We could not hurt them when we could have."

Mbappe also blamed mistakes made by the players.

"Even when we recovered the ball, our first touches were not good enough. That gives a defeat. It is a huge disappointment. But if we are objective, we didn't put all the ingredients to go to the final," Mbappé said.

Spain defeated France 2-0 Tuesday in the World Cup semifinals in Dallas, reaching the final for the first time in 15 years, per ESPN. Spain held a 1.63 to 0.31 edge in expected goals.

Mikel Oyarzabal converted a 22nd-minute penalty after Lamine Yamal drew a foul from Lucas Digne in the box. The goal was Oyarzabal's fifth of the tournament and 30th in 60 international appearances for Spain. Pedro Porro doubled the lead in the 58th minute, finishing a give-and-go with Dani Olmo. Yamal had a goal disallowed shortly after on a close offside ruling.

It marked the third consecutive summer that Spain eliminated France in a major tournament semifinal, following a 2-1 victory in the 2024 European Championship and a 5-4 Nations League win last year.

France, the top-ranked team in FIFA's world rankings, had been seeking to become just the third nation to reach three consecutive World Cup finals. Kylian Mbappe and Les Bleus will instead play in the third-place match Saturday in Miami Gardens.

Spain advance to the World Cup final Sunday at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where they await the winner of Wednesday's Argentina-England semifinal in Atlanta.

Andoni Iraola acknowledged Liverpool still needs additional signings as preparations begin for the 2026-27 season. The 44-year-old addressed the transfer market during his introductory press conference Monday.

"Obviously we've signed two players already but we need more players, we know this," said Iraola. "The club is working on this. Me as a coach, selfishly I want the players here from day one ready to train for preseason but understand football doesn't work like this. I know the club is working hard for those signings and I'm trying to help also."

Liverpool have added center-back Jeremy Jacquet from Stade Rennais for an initial $73.7 million and Victor Munoz from Osasuna for $46.2 million this summer. The club has also seen Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson and Ibrahima Konate depart.

Iraola was appointed Liverpool's new head coach last month on a two-year contract, replacing Arne Slot following a fifth-place Premier League finish that came just a year after the club won the title.

Asked about expectations for the upcoming campaign, Iraola declined to set specific targets but acknowledged the challenges facing his rebuilding squad.

"I think we have to accept there are difficult situations right now in terms of both sides, a lot of very important senior players leaving that have achieved almost everything here and also some of the very important players injured," said Iraola. "We haven't started training and we already have Hugo Ekitike, Conor Bradley and Giovanni Leoni with long injuries. So in terms of improving the team we have to consider we have to replace very important players that were making very good numbers and also we have a situation, especially with those three that are going to miss some time, that we also have to find a way to replace."

Iraola also addressed the disconnect some supporters felt with the team at Anfield last season, an issue he hopes to resolve through his squad's style of play.

"I would like to give them (the supporters) a team that they can feel proud of," said Iraola. "I think football and especially Liverpool is about connecting, connecting with the people, connecting with our supporters. I've been on the other side at Anfield. You can feel the stadium and I would love to have this every time we play but that has to come from us, from inside the pitch. We have to be a team that works hard, intense, aggressive, vertical so everyone can be identified and everyone can feel comfortable supporting this team."

Folarin Balogun, striker for the U.S. men's national team and Ligue 1 club Monaco, has signed with Klutch Sports Group for off-field representation. Balogun emerged as a breakout star at this year's World Cup, scoring three goals to help lead the U.S. to the round of 16.

Klutch Sports Group founder and CEO Rich Paul addressed the signing in a statement.

"Folarin Balogun is one of the most talented and influential players in global football today," said Paul. "His relentless ambition and cultural impact represent the standard of excellence we hope to continue to bring to the sport. We are incredibly proud to welcome him to KLUTCH and excited about everything we can build together."

Klutch entered the global soccer business two years ago by acquiring European football agency ROOF. Balogun becomes the first soccer player to sign directly with Klutch itself.

Balogun, 25, drew significant attention during the tournament beyond his play on the field. President Donald Trump contacted FIFA president Gianni Infantino in an effort to have a red card issued to Balogun reviewed, and the striker was ultimately cleared to play in the round-of-16 match against Belgium.

Klutch's roster includes prominent athletes such as LeBron James and Jalen Hurts, and the agency has increasingly expanded into entertainment ventures and endorsement deals for its clients as athletes take on larger roles as public figures.

Xabi Alonso praised Cole Palmer's talent during his press conference introducing him as Chelsea's new manager. Palmer has trained under Alonso at Cobham after being left out of England manager Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad.

Alonso described his early impressions of the forward's ability.

"We've had a few training sessions already, and from the first day you can see he's a special talent, a special player," said Alonso. "It's not easy to have one of those. You can notice his quality, how he's able to make the right decision in the right spot.

"I'm happy that he is in a good mood, with a good mindset to have a great season. We are looking forward to getting the best from him. We are able to build a strong team, with the proper stability to find the key players. For sure, Cole is going to be one of those key players in the attacking part."

Alonso was officially unveiled as Chelsea's new manager on a four-year contract during the press conference at Stamford Bridge.