Category: Sports

Lionel Messi pumped his arms as he held the Copa America trophy, celebrating Argentina’s record 16th title after a 1-0 victory over Colombia on Sunday night. Even though Messi injured his leg in the 64th minute, his leadership was vital, as Lautaro Martínez scored the game-winning goal in the 112th minute.

Argentine coach Lionel Scaloni proclaimed Leo to be the best player of all time. Although he had covered his face in anger earlier, Messi continued to be an uplifting presence as he watched from the bench. Once Colombia’s 28-game unbeaten record was broken, Martínez rushed over to embrace his 37-year-old captain.

Argentina won the 2021 Copa America and the 2022 World Cup in a row, so this was their third big trophy in a row.

After the play was postponed due to crowd unrest, Martínez finally came on in the 97th minute and sealed the victory with a goal scored off a ball from Giovani Lo Celso. Due to oppressive humidity, Colombian coach Néstor Lorenzo saw his players experience severe cramps. In what may have been his final Copa America performance, Messi demonstrated his unwavering commitment despite his injuries by lifting his arms in triumph as Argentina won the title.

Mikel Oyarzabal’s late goal secured Spain’s 2-1 victory against England in the UEFA EURO 2024 final, giving La Roja a record-breaking fourth title.

The first half was cautious, with few clear opportunities. Two minutes after the start, Nico Williams scored from Lamine Yamal’s spectacular run and assist, giving Spain the lead. Despite England’s efforts to equalise through Cole Palmer, Oyarzabal’s late strike from Marc Cucurella’s cross secured Spain’s victory.

Nico Williams was selected Player of the Match due to his dangerous offensive performance and crucial opening goal. Yamal, aged 17 years and one day, became the youngest player to compete in a Euro or World Cup final. With the help of crucial saves and a goal-line clearance by Dani Olmo, Spain’s defence, under the command of Unai Simón, held firm against England’s late surge.

Spain’s coach, Luis de la Fuente, hailed the team’s solidarity and resilience. Spain set records by winning all seven games and scoring 15 goals during the event. England, despite their extraordinary tenacity, fell just short but showed promise for the future, with Gareth Southgate naming Spain as the best team in the competition.

Shubman Gill created history in his debut T20I series as captain, leading India to a 4-1 victory over Zimbabwe. Gill, the 14th Indian captain, became the first to win four T20Is in a series abroad. The feat was accomplished with a 42-run win in the sixth Twenty20 International at Harare Sports Club.

Gill, who was named captain in the absence of senior players, scored 170 runs in five matches. Despite a surprise 13-run setback in the series opener, India recovered to win the series. Gill is now the sixth-most successful Indian T20I skipper, trailing Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav.

Zimbabwe won the toss and chose to field in the final match. Yashasvi Jaiswal got India off to a solid start with two sixes, but he fell quickly, as did Abhishek Sharma and Gill. Sanju Samson’s 58 from 45 balls, along with Riyan Parag, helped India achieve 168. Samson also became the seventh Indian to score more than 300 sixes in T20s.

Zimbabwe’s chase failed, finishing at 125 in 18.3 overs. Mukesh Kumar grabbed four wickets for 22 runs, while Shivam Dube contributed with both the ball and the bat, hitting 26 runs off 12 balls. Dube won the Player of the Match award for his overall effort.

Carlos Alcaraz cemented his reputation as a budding tennis star with a dominating straight-sets victory over Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon men’s singles final. The 21-year-old Spaniard won his second Wimbledon title in a row, defeating Serbia’s 24-time Grand Slam champion 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) at the All England Club in South London.

Alcaraz dominated the almost two-and-a-half-hour match, although he was tested in the third set tiebreak after missing three championship points.

Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, recognised Alcaraz’s dominance, stating that he had never seen the young player serve so brilliantly and admitting he was half a stride behind the entire match. Djokovic grabbed a brief lead in the third set, but he battled to keep up with Alcaraz’s unrelenting pace and quickness.

The final began with Djokovic serving, but Alcaraz took the first game after a 15-minute fight, which Djokovic acknowledged set the tone for the contest. Alcaraz’s quickness and talent rendered the 37-year-old Serbian unable to answer effectively, and the match ended in just over an hour and 16 minutes, with Alcaraz leading 2-0.

This year’s straight-sets victory contrasted significantly with the previous year’s five-set final, in which Djokovic believed he had an equal chance of winning.

Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix in 2024 and finished first in the Power Rankings with a score of 9.4. Max Verstappen finished in third place, behind Nico Hulkenberg in second. Verstappen also narrowed the distance between him and Norris in the driver standings, extending his lead marginally.

Although McLaren and Norris still need to improve to win a championship, Hamilton and Verstappen proved to be decisive in the shifting conditions at Silverstone. After Hamilton, Hulkenberg was the most impressive driver. He qualified and finished sixth in the rain, assisting Haas in closing the gap with RB in the constructors’ standings. Andreas Seidl of Sauber will be overjoyed that Hulkenberg will be joining his squad for the 2019 season.

After a two-season absence, Hamilton’s performance was outstanding, as he won his ninth Grand Prix at Silverstone and his 104th overall. In his last season with Mercedes before switching to Ferrari, the seven-time world champion put up an intense and skillful performance to hold off Norris and Verstappen.

Haas’s best qualifying effort of the year was Hulkenberg’s outstanding P6 finish, demonstrating his capacity to regain ground and get valuable points. Haas is now only four points behind sixth-place RB in the constructors’ championship, demonstrating Hulkenberg’s important role.

On Wednesday, Colombia defeated Uruguay 1-0 in the Copa America semi-finals, advancing to a final against defending champion Argentina. Jefferson Lerma’s goal gave Colombia the advantage even though they were down to 10 men for the second half. However, the game ended in chaos as players and supporters battled.

Uruguayan players confronted Colombian fans at the semi-final in Charlotte, North Carolina, as security forces struggled to keep the peace. As most of the more than 70,000 spectators supported Colombia, Lerma scored the winning goal after Darwin Nunez of Uruguay squandered three excellent chances.

In the seventeenth minute, Nunez, a striker for Liverpool, squandered a fantastic opportunity, and Lerma took advantage by heading the ball past custodian Sergio Rochet. James Rodriguez broke Lionel Messi’s record for assists in a single Copa America edition.

In the second half, Uruguay controlled, and Luis Suarez came close to scoring but struck the post. In the 88th minute, Colombia had a great chance to win, but they failed to capitalise, and they went on to win, stretching their winning streak to 28 games and making it to their first final since 2001.

Uruguay plays Canada in the third-place playoff on Saturday, while Colombia plays Argentina in Florida on Sunday.

On Thursday, Argentina’s dramatic penalty shootout victory over Ecuador in the Copa America quarterfinals set new records for viewership. According to Fox reports, the exciting encounter attracted an incredible 1.87 million viewers, making it the most-watched Copa America quarterfinal in the history of English-language TV broadcasts in the United States that did not feature the United States.

This astounding number represents a 482% increase over the average viewership of the Copa America quarterfinals in 2021 and a 57% increase over the same period in 2016.

The thrilling 4-2 victory over Argentina on penalties, the reigning champions, captured the attention of many and highlighted the popularity of Lionel Messi’s team, who are competing for a record 16th Copa America title. As they are ready to play Canada in the opening semi-final on Tuesday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, the team’s odyssey continues. Colombia and Uruguay will face off in Wednesday’s second semi-final in Charlotte, North Carolina.

This year’s Copa America is emerging as a major event for American football fans, with such a sharp increase in attendance. The final, which will take place in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Sunday, is drawing near with increasing anticipation.

On Sunday, Yaroslava Mahuchikh, the best high jumper from Ukraine, jumped 2.10 metres (6.88 feet) at a Diamond League event in Paris, setting a new world record. This outstanding achievement broke the 2.09-meter record that Stefka Kostadinova of Bulgaria had held since 1987, which had stood for 37 years.

Mahuchikh’s performance has given her more optimism about earning an Olympic gold medal for her war-torn nation, especially with the Olympics just around the corner.

The international governing body for track and field, World Athletics, has barred all Russian competitors from competing in the Olympic track meet in July. Mahuchikh has backed this choice, and World Athletics President Sebastian Coe reiterated it when he was in Kiev recently. Coe underlined the decision’s appropriateness, saying, “Nothing I witnessed tells me that the decision we’ve taken is anything other than the right decision, but the right decision on behalf of our sport.”

In addition to securing her place in the global championship, Mahuchikh’s new record serves as a testament to the resiliency and hope of the Ukrainian people. She might win a gold medal at the next Olympics, which would be a huge accomplishment for her career and her nation.

In the quarterfinal of the Euro 2024, Kylian Mbappe’s France defeated Portugal 5-3 on penalties following 120 minutes of goalless play. Theo Hernandez scored the game-winning penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo’s final tournament appearance is probably going to be remembered as this one.

Spain and France will play in the semifinals after Joao Felix of Portugal missed the game-winning third kick.

After losing to Argentina in the 2022 World Cup final and losing to Switzerland in a shootout during the most recent Euros, France finally achieved shootout success with this victory. On penalties, they were defeated by Italy in the 2006 World Cup final as well. Midway through extra time, Mbappe was replaced by Bardley Barcola after an arduous evening in which he continued to look for his best form while sporting a mask to shield his broken nose.

At 39 years old, Ronaldo appears to have participated in his final Euros. Roberto Martinez’s team managed to score Portugal’s first penalty, but they were unable to score in more than six hours of play, including a goalless tie with Slovenia in the round of 16. Before the crucial shootout, Mike Maignan made crucial saves to maintain the game goalless as France, unable to play with intensity, lost.

On Friday, second seed Coco Gauff ended the dream run of British qualifier Sonay Kartal with a 6-4, 6-0 victory, advancing to the fourth round of Wimbledon. Kartal, who started the week ranked 298th in the world, put up a strong fight, but Gauff prevailed in the opening set to make the match certain.

Champion of the U.S. Open Gauff remarked, “I thought I played really well, and she was playing at a high level, especially in the first set,” on Court One beneath the covered canopy. She was not letting me settle and wasn’t giving me anything to work with. I eventually discovered it, even though I felt like I was aiming for the correct shots but was just missing.”

Gauff has not advanced to the quarterfinals despite qualifying for the fourth round in 2019 at the age of 15 and again in 2021. Emma Navarro, the 19th-seeded American who overcame Diana Shnaider on Friday, will be her opponent this time. At Wimbledon, where she hopes to break her previous best and make her maiden quarterfinal appearance, Gauff’s steady play further establishes her as a strong opponent.