News & features
Bellingham Does It Again — Two Goals, an Extra-Time Rescue and England Storm Into the Last Four
In a Miami furnace where the heat index touched 108 degrees, England looked beaten, blunted and one mistake from going home. Then Jude Bellingham decided otherwise — a first-half equaliser, an extra-time winner, and a second successive two-goal knockout masterclass. Norway are out, England are into the semi-finals, and a nation is running out of ways to describe a 23-year-old who simply refuses to lose.
Champions Refuse to Fall — Argentina Grind Down Switzerland in Extra Time to Set Up a Semi With England
Ninety minutes could not separate them. A red card, a Messi assist and a night of gritted teeth finally could. Made to sweat by a stubborn Switzerland, the world champions dug into the reserves that only champions possess, struck twice in extra time, and booked the semi-final the whole tournament has been craving: Argentina against England. The holders are still standing — and they look harder to kill than ever.
A Nation in Mourning — Football Says Goodbye to Jayden Adams, Gone at 25
Weeks ago he was carrying the hopes of South Africa at a World Cup, playing through unimaginable personal grief with a quiet dignity that moved a nation. Now the game is grieving him. The death of Jayden Adams at just 25 has stopped football in its tracks — from Johannesburg to the office of the FIFA president — and left an entire country asking how a light so bright could go out so soon.