分类： sports

In a landmark moment for global football that took place Tuesday in Kansas City, Argentine superstar Lionel Messi etched his name into the record books once again. The 38-year-old captain became the first male footballer in history to start a match at six different FIFA World Cup tournaments, hitting another historic milestone just days ahead of the 2026 edition co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. This starting appearance against Algeria in Argentina’s opening warm-up fixture also marked Messi’s 200th international cap for his country, an achievement only two other male players have ever reached.

Messi, who led Argentina to a dramatic World Cup title win in Qatar 2022, originally announced that tournament would be his final shot at global glory. At that edition, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner delivered one of the most iconic tournament runs in modern football, netting seven times overall including two goals in a thrilling, high-stakes final against France that secured Argentina’s third world championship. But in a turn of events that delighted fans across the globe, the Inter Miami forward reversed his decision to retire from international World Cup competition, and went on to finish as the top goal scorer during South American qualifying for the 2026 tournament.

Messi’s historic milestone puts him one step ahead of his long-time career rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who will equal the six-World-Cup record if he takes the pitch for Portugal in their warm-up match against DR Congo on Wednesday. Only two other male players have hit the 200-cap mark for their countries: Ronaldo himself and Kuwaiti footballer Bader Al-Mutawa, putting Messi in extremely rare company.

The Argentine legend has shown no signs of slowing down in club play, either. Since joining Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, he has maintained a blistering scoring pace, notching 13 goals in just 16 league appearances in the 2026 season. In recent comments, Messi made clear his passion for the game remains undimmed, saying he intends to keep playing professionally for as long as he is physically able.

Making his World Cup debut all the way back in 2006 as a teenaged prospect at the Germany tournament, Messi’s journey to six World Cups spans two decades of elite-level competition, cementing his reputation as one of the greatest players to ever step onto the pitch.

The Ostrava Golden Spike, one of the most prestigious stops on the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold circuit, delivered tightly contested sprint action on Tuesday, with two of Jamaica’s top track talents turning in underwhelming performances amid a key pre-championship season.

Rising sprint star Brianna Lyston, making her first competitive appearance since a late-April meet in Clermont, Florida where she clocked a 2024 season-best 10.94 seconds in the 100m, crossed the line third in the women’s 100m final with a time of 11.18 seconds, competing in mild 0.5m/s tailwind conditions. The race was claimed by Poland’s home crowd favorite Ewa Swoboda, who took gold with a winning time of 11.09 seconds, while New Zealand’s Zoe Hobbs claimed second place with 11.12 seconds, edging Lyston out of the top two.

Off the track, a more notable development for Lyston came earlier this week, when the Jamaican sprinter was omitted from the entry list for this weekend’s Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) National Championships. She joins a growing list of elite Jamaican track athletes who have opted to skip the national qualifying event, a decision that sparks questions about her preparation and potential status for upcoming global championship competitions.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, another Jamaican standout, former World Athletics Championships silver medalist Britany Anderson, also finished outside the top three, crossing the line sixth with a time of 12.87 seconds in nearly calm wind conditions of -0.1m/s. The hurdles race was one of the closest competitions of the entire meet, with the top three finishers separated by just three hundredths of a second. Nadine Visser of the Netherlands claimed the gold medal with a winning time of 12.65 seconds, followed closely by Poland’s Pia Skrzyszowska in second at 12.66 seconds, and South Africa’s Marione Fourie rounding out the top three with 12.68 seconds.

In a promising development for Brazil’s World Cup campaign, star forward Neymar has taken his first major step toward a comeback, holding his first on-field training session at the tournament Tuesday, months after he suffered a right calf injury that sidelined him for much of 2024.

Diagnosed with the injury back in late May, the 34-year-old all-time leading goalscorer for Brazil has followed a strict rehabilitation routine ever since the Brazilian squad touched down in the United States for the tournament. Tuesday’s light running session at the team’s New Jersey training base marked a clear milestone in his gradual recovery from the prolonged layoff.

Neymar has not yet cleared the hurdle to rejoin full team training, and was forced to sit out Brazil’s opening Group C match against Morocco this past Saturday, which ended in a 1-1 draw. His inclusion in the final tournament squad already raised eyebrows across global football circles: consistent fitness problems have kept the veteran winger from making a single appearance for the Brazilian national side since the start of 2023. This year alone, recurring injury issues have limited him to just 50 percent of his club’s matches across domestic league, cup, and Copa Sudamericana competitions.

Brazil now turns its attention to its second group stage fixture, scheduled to take place this Friday in Philadelphia against Haiti. The team will close out its Group C campaign against Scotland on June 24 in Miami, with Neymar’s recovery timeline remaining a key talking point heading into the critical next phase of the tournament.

Ahead of Portugal’s opening 2026 World Cup group stage clash against DR Congo, national team head coach Roberto Martinez has doubled down on his unwavering support for 41-year-old icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who is set to make history as the first men’s player to compete at six different World Cup tournaments. With a young, talent-dense squad that has earned Portugal a place among the pre-tournament favorites to lift their first-ever World Cup trophy, Ronaldo’s continued role in the starting lineup has sparked widespread debate across global football circles.

Critics of Ronaldo’s continued inclusion point to his recent dry spell at the highest level of international competition: the five-time Ballon d’Or holder, who holds the all-time men’s international goal record with 143 strikes, has not found the back of the net in his last nine appearances at major global tournaments. Detractors also note that he contributes minimal defensive work when Portugal is out of possession, a gap that could leave the side exposed against top opposition.

For Martinez, however, there is no question that Ronaldo remains Portugal’s top choice in the final third. In comments delivered at a pre-match press conference, the coach framed the veteran as a global benchmark for young footballers everywhere. “He is an example and a reference for football. For all those children on the street who begin to feel the love for sport, following the example of Cristiano Ronaldo is wonderful,” Martinez said.

The coach added that despite this being Ronaldo’s sixth World Cup campaign, the forward approaches preparation with the same hunger and intensity that marked his first appearance on the sport’s biggest stage. “It is his sixth World Cup, but I can say that internally it seems to be his first World Cup in terms of intensity, in terms of emotional output, of how important it is for him to be prepared to lead the group,” Martinez explained. “Within the team he is a vital player because he is the finisher, he is the player in the penalty area, he is the player who has those movements that can open spaces for other players. Within our attacking game, his numbers reflect the importance he has.”

That sentiment is echoed by Portugal’s young star core, led by Manchester United captain and recent Premier League Player of the Year Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes, who grew up watching Ronaldo compete, recalled first seeing the forward play at UEFA Euro 2004, hosted in Portugal when Ronaldo was just 19 years old and helped carry the side to the tournament final. “All of us in this national team we have grown up watching Cristiano Ronaldo play and for us it’s such an honour to play next to him now in the same team,” Fernandes said. “We’re all here to support him and to support Portugal to go as far as possible.”

Portugal’s squad boasts one of the deepest and most talented rosters in this year’s tournament. Beyond Fernandes’ standout form, the side fields a elite midfield that includes Vitinha and Joao Neves, who just claimed their second consecutive Champions League title with Paris Saint-Germain, and Bernardo Silva, who is set to transfer to Real Madrid after nine trophy-laden seasons with Manchester City. Fernandes emphasized that the squad’s combination of individual elite talent and team cohesion makes them a legitimate contender, adding that the side has every right to dream of lifting the trophy. “We have a very strong team, great individual quality, and beyond the individual quality and the strengths that we have as individual players, I think we are a very cohesive team, a very united team,” Fernandes said. “Obviously our dream is to be there (winning the World Cup) and I think that dreaming is not forbidden.”

After facing DR Congo, Portugal will round out Group K play against tournament first-timers Uzbekistan and Colombia. Martinez, however, warned against overlooking Portugal’s opening opponent, pointing to recent high-profile upsets in early tournament matches—including Spain’s surprising 0-0 draw with underdog Cape Verde—to underscore that no World Cup match is a guaranteed win.

“We’ve got very little to win tomorrow from the outside. If you win against Congo, it’s expected. If you win by one, it’s a big problem. If you draw, it’s a catastrophe. If you lose, this is the end of the world,” said Martinez, a Spanish national. “They come with no expectations, they are enjoying being here. We’ve seen incredible performances from teams like Qatar, Cape Verde, exemplary performances, that shows you that there are no easy games in a World Cup.”

The coach also confirmed long-circulated reports that he will step down from his role following the World Cup, as his current contract is set to expire at the end of the tournament. “My contract ends after the World Cup. This is not news, this is just a fact,” Martinez added. “We’re now focused on finishing the work that we’ve begun three-and-a-half years ago. When I came to Portugal the focus was to try to win everything, but most importantly to prepare for the World Cup.”

BERLIN, Germany — Just hours after officially confirming she will team up with sister Venus for Wimbledon doubles, 44-year-old tennis icon Serena Williams faced a straight-set exit at the Berlin Open on Tuesday. Williams and her Czech partner Karolina Muchova fell 6-4, 6-4 to the pairing of Giuliana Olmos of Mexico and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe, in only Williams’ second outing since her surprise comeback announcement earlier this month.

The opening set slipped away from Williams and Muchova after Williams dropped serve in her second service game. In the second set, a mid-set break of Muchova’s serve proved decisive, leaving the pair unable to mount a comeback and close out the match in Olmos and Routliffe’s favor.

Despite the loss, Williams offered a notably positive assessment of her physical performance post-match. “I felt pretty good out there. I felt actually more nimble and more sturdy and quicker than the first match in Queens,” she told reporters, adding that she felt solid overall in terms of physical conditioning and speed — two attributes she noted are critical for fast-paced grass court play.

This Berlin run marks Williams’ second tournament appearance since she ended a two-year retirement and announced her return to competitive tennis in June. Her first comeback match at London’s Queen’s Club last week ended in a opening-round win, but her run was cut short when doubles partner Victoria Mboko suffered an injury that forced the pair to withdraw.

When asked why she opted to pair with Muchova, a top Czech player, for the Berlin event, Williams delivered a characteristically witty response: “Czech players have given me nothing but trouble throughout my whole career. So if you can’t beat them, join them.”

The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion originally stepped away from professional tennis in 2022, saying she wanted to prioritize time with her family. When she announced her comeback, she cited a desire to compete in front of her two young daughters as the core motivation for her return.

Though flashes of the dominant power game that made Williams a generational force in women’s tennis for 20 years were visible on court, the nearly four-year break from full-time competition left Williams searching for rhythm, particularly in the early stages of the match. She steadily improved as the contest progressed, however, refining her footwork and unleashing the blistering serve and powerful forehand that were the hallmarks of her historic career.

With the All England Club set to name one final singles wildcard for Wimbledon, which kicks off on June 29, speculation has mounted that Williams could pursue a singles run at the iconic Grand Slam. The tennis legend quickly shut down those rumors, however. “You think I’m ready for singles?” she asked reporters. “I need to get to work.”

Williams last claimed a Grand Slam singles title at the 2017 Australian Open, and her most recent Wimbledon singles win came in 2016. When she takes the court at Wimbledon next month alongside Venus, the pair will be defending a legendary doubles legacy: together, the Williams sisters have claimed 14 Grand Slam doubles crowns, six of which have come at the London grass court major.