The World Cup had its semifinals defined with the four best teams according to the world ranking classified. Four top-level teams and two of great rivalry. On the one hand, France and Spain. On the other, England and Argentina, teams that every time they face each other, it seems they play in such a way that the winner can keep the Falkland Islands. Or the Falklands, as the British call them. But the draw was set and a good part of the debates were not about football. Both Argentinians and English were accused of having qualified thanks to refereeing assistance. In England's case, the debate was surreal: had the ball touched a cable from the camera hanging from the ceiling? Journalists, fans, and curious people debated the ball's trajectory, physics, and astrophysics.

Jannik Sinner is becoming the Midas king of tennis. The young Italian, world number 1, has revalidated the champion title at Wimbledon after defeating the German Alexander Zverev. It is the fifth Grand Slam title for the 24-year-old from South Tyrol, who already shone at the All England Club in Wimbledon a year ago, when he defeated Carlos Alcaraz. Today he did so against a Zverev who put up a fight with very solid play similar to what we had seen a few months ago at Roland Garros, when the German won the first Grand Slam title of his career. But Sinner has ended his dream of winning a second major title this season in a final decided in four sets (6-7, 7-6, 6-3, and 6-4).

When Hansi Flick signed for Barça in the summer of 2024, the German coach knew perfectly well that the club's economic situation was delicate and that top-tier signings could not be afforded. A year later, he was greatly disappointed when he learned that he would have to wait another season to be able to strengthen the squad, as delays in the return to Camp Nou conditioned the fair play financier. The third one was the right one and Barça faces a summer without more restrictions than those of its budget. Once Anthony Gordon has been signed for 70 million plus variables, the next target is Karim Adeyemi, a Borussia Dortmund forward, who, if nothing goes wrong, will be a Blaugrana this very week. The German club has already admitted that the footballer is not training and has permission to negotiate his departure.

The Spanish team is back in the World Cup semi-finals after defeating Belgium 2-1. Sixteen years later, the national team is among the four best countries in the world and will face France on Tuesday, July 14 (9 p.m.) in Dallas. A match in which Luis de la Fuente will have to decide whether to stick with Fabián Ruiz – who scored in the quarter-finals – in midfield or to bring Pedri back into the starting lineup. "The important thing is the collective, everyone has their responsibility and it is just as important to start the match as it is to play the last five minutes," the coach assured after qualifying.

Àlex Sans (Barcelona, 1976) was clear that he wanted to be part of the cycling world. He first tried it as a cyclist, but when he saw that he “couldn't be professional,” he looked for another alternative. His coach when he was a junior and under-23 was also a masseur for Antonio Pineda's teams, which this year have celebrated 40 years as benchmarks for under-23 teams in Catalonia under the name Club Ciclista Camp Clar. Sans began to learn the trade with them. The leap into professional cycling came in 2000, when he joined the MemoryCard–Jack&Jones team as a masseur and at the same time also as a masseur for the Kelme team as a freelance. He combined races with both teams and at the end of the year, both teams offered him a contract. He chose the Danish team. “It appealed to me. It was more of an adventure,” Sans justifies to ARA in this first week of the Tour. And he continued with a project that later became CSC Proteam, with whom Àlex won the Tour in 2008 with Carlos Sastre. Consolidated in the peloton for decades, he now directs the Pinarello Q36.5 Procycling Team, one of the teams participating in the current Tour de France.

Argentina will play the World Cup semi-finals thanks to Julián Álvarez. He hadn't scored in the entire tournament and was dealing with some murmurs about his rather mediocre performance, but he showed up at the best moment to save his team in another match decided by delirium (3-1). Sought after by big European clubs like Barça, the Atlético de Madrid forward invented a championship goal to unbalance a match that was heading for penalties. A rocket into the top corner from a brave Swiss team to meet England's Kane and Bellingham in the semis this Wednesday.

A wound that has been open for sixty years. A wound that England wants to close in New York by winning the World Cup. For the moment, the team that proudly wears three lions on its crest is already in the semifinals; it's the fourth time it has achieved this. Two goals from Jude Bellingham have allowed the English to defeat a magnificent Norway in extra time in the quarterfinals in Miami, in a match where at times the English have played with fire (2-1). But the team trained by Thomas Tuchel knows how to compete and suffer. Things in life, a German coach excites the English, who will now face Argentina, in a spectacular duel. It will be a new episode of a rivalry that has given us epic matches such as the one in 1966 at Wembley, the one in 1986 in Mexico, or the round of 16 in 1998, among others.

It probably all started with Martina Navratilova. She was the first Czech tennis player who thrilled with her style and her successes. Those were different times. In fact, she competed as Czechoslovakian until she fled to the United States in 1975, seeking a lifestyle that suited her better. It was the years of the Cold War and for the socialist regime of Prague, it was a low blow. But above politics, Navratilova planted a seed in the Czech Republic. She did so especially with her achievements at Wimbledon, where she won the singles title on nine occasions. Half of the 18 Grand Slam titles she won were on the grass of the All England Club in south London, where she also lifted seven more titles in doubles and four in mixed doubles.

Sorrow in the football world after it became known that Jayden Adams, a 25-year-old footballer who participated in the World Cup with the South African national team, died this Saturday. The tragic news was confirmed by the South African Football Federation through a statement published on its X account. The causes of death have not yet been disclosed.

"This is what happens at Sachsenring, you win and it's normal." This was said by Marc Márquez after winning Saturday's sprint race, and he can say it again this Sunday. The rider from Cervera – who is the king of Sachsenring, with ten victories at this circuit – has had no rival at the German Grand Prix and makes a statement in the MotoGP World Championship. Marc Márquez is now third in the general standings, with only eighteen points separating him from the leader, Jorge Martín, who finished fifth. The Japanese rider Ai Ogura – second in Germany – occupies second place in the general standings, fourteen points behind the rider from Madrid.

He is only 19 years old and is an undisputed starter for a team that has qualified for the World Cup semi-finals for the second time in its history. Pau Cubarsí forms, together with Aymeric Laporte, the most solid partnership in the championship: they have only conceded one goal in seven matches, that of the Belgian De Ketelaere. But what's more, the Barça player even dared to shoot at goal with the shot that goalkeeper Lammens blocked and which Mikel Merino took advantage of to score the definitive 2-1 for the Spanish national team.

From the 2022 World Cup is common to see on social media that Argentine players share photos and videos of their roasted with the national team. Fans follow them wherever they are: in Qatar, at the Ezeiza fields – where the internationals train in Argentina – or in the United States. "It has become a ritual. They usually do it 48 hours before matches. The players, the technical staff, and the rest of thestaff technician. The grid is always handled by Diego Iacovone," says Bruno González, an Argentine journalist.

The Spanish team is already in the World Cup semi-finals. Suffering, dominating possession but struggling to break down Belgium's defense, Lamine Yamal's team and company eventually defeated the Belgian side (2-1) with an early goal from Fabián and a late one from Mikel Merino just before the end of regulation time. The red team's dream continues despite the team failing to dispel doubts, unable to complete a flawless 90-minute match. The next hurdle is France, with whom they will compete for a place in the final.

As if starting the season late had not served as a warning last year, Girona returns to work with everything to resolve. Quique Álvarez's first project on the bench maintains the squad that threw the First Division into the bin: only Izan and Pyshchur, signed before the end of the season, when no one imagined that the Second Division was a real possibility; Iván Morante (Burgos) and the return of the loaned players, with the addition of the new technical staff, bring a different joy within a club that no longer spreads optimism but rather discouragement and frustration.

A few hours after Norway eliminated Brazil in the World Cup, a debate began to ignite on Brazilian social media: there were people who, to justify the slow decline of Brazilian football, which has not won the World Cup since 2002, spoke of the rise of evangelism in a traditionally Catholic country. What seemed like an unimportant comment escalated in tone, with Catholics, evangelicals, and atheists arguing, football people wondering if it wasn't a sterile debate, and even theologians having their say.

"They will go crazy." Kevin Punter opened Pandora's box with an enigmatic message on social media. A few weeks after Moses Wright announced he had signed for Barça, the center plans to pay his release clause to avoid putting on the blaugrana team's jersey. As journalist Víctor Lavagnini (TV3) explains, the good relationship with Mike James, the player who threatens to take the blaugrana club to court for breaching his pre-contract, has been key for the former Zalgiris player to have doubts about the culé project.

With the numbers in hand, Lamine Yamal is far from the offensive contributions of other stars of this World Cup. For now, the Barça winger scores a single goal in the tournament and has not played any assistance. Of course, with the exception of the match against Portugal, he has not been able to play all the possible minutes. In the debut against Cape Verde he was a substitute and only played 19 minutes. Against Saudi Arabia he was a starter and was substituted at halftime after scoring. Against Uruguay, 76 minutes; and against Austria, 85. With the 90 minutes of the round of 16 against Portugal, he adds up to 315 minutes out of a possible 450. 70%. A low percentage if you consider that the top scorers (Leo Messi, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappé) exceed 90% participation.

Hours before the initial whistle, in the streets of L'Hospitalet de Llobregat there was no room for doubt regarding the World Cup quarter-final duel between France and Morocco. Minute by minute, the red jerseys of the Atlas Lions colored the neighborhoods of Florida and Torrassa, where Hakimi and Brahim Díaz competed to occupy the backs of the youngest, who imitated their idols with a ball at their feet. Among all these jerseys, some from the Spanish national team with the name of Lamine Yamal, also of Moroccan origin, also stood out.

No surprises in Boston. The French team will play in the semifinals of this World Cup and is already awaiting the rival from the match between Spain and Belgium today. Didier Deschamps' team devoured Morocco, which had performed very well throughout the championship, with a voracity proportional to the talent it possesses and the importance of the occasion. The superiority displayed by the Gauls is comparable to that of Brazil, thanks to an imagination that has been lost. The multicultural breeding ground of 21st-century France is the favorite to lift the World Cup.

Football fans in Lleida have not found peace for years. But this summer they may regain hope. For years, football in the capital of Segrià has been marked by the economic and institutional problems of the heir team of the lifelong Lleida, the club that reached the First Division on two occasions, the last one in the 90s. Since then, debts, lawsuits, disappointments, and economic failures. The last one this summer, as the team that played in Tercera RFEF could not find a buyer who agreed to pay the debts it carried and had to close shop. A chaotic end, as a foreign buyer appeared who turned out to be a scammer. A chaotic end, as a foreign buyer appeared who turned out to be a scammer. "Everything has happened to us," says journalist Juanjo Lecumberri.