0:10
Will Ospreay is one win away from destiny at AEW Forbidden Door
Will Ospreay never dreamed of this. Because in his own words, it was a thought so unfathomable, even dreaming it felt impossible to his imagination.
But when the 33 year-old from Rainham, Essex steps foot in the ring opposite Swerve Strickland on Sunday at Forbidden Door, he will be a three-count away from turning a dream into destiny.
The winner of the clash between Ospreay and Strickland will win the Owen Hart Memorial Cup and go on to main event All In at Wembley Stadium with the AEW World Championship on the line – something that, even today, the man many believe to be the best wrestler in the world is having a hard time comprehending.
“I couldn’t tell you, mate,” Ospreay said when asked what he envisions when he pictures competing for the world title in his home country. “I’m being brutally honest with you. It’s just like, how can you tell?”
The journey to the top has to have a beginning, and Ospreay credits his parents for supporting his love of wrestling from a very young age.
“If we were to go back to when I was wrestling in my garden when I was, 14 years old, my mum and dad bought me a wrestling ring and put it in my garden,” Ospreay said. “Because they were like, ‘It saves him. It saves him from going out into the streets.’ Knife crime in London was very high, and still is. It was like a dangerous world that we growing up in and my mum and dad wanted me to stay home and not to be mixing with those type of people. So they saw that there was an avenue that I loved and that they wanted me to go down, which was wrestling.”
Not only did Ospreay’s parents support a dream that many at the time would have called unusual and unrealistic, he credits his mother for his showmanship and yearning to be an entertainer.
“My mom ran an amateur drama group in Rainham,” Ospreay said. “And I say amateur, like it was done at a very low budget. So I always had like a feeling that performing was kind of in me. I was very much a performative person, and that may stem back to my mum.”
And while the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion didn’t picture Wembley Stadium being a possibility when he was a child, he did know that wrestling was what he wanted to do – no matter how odd it seemed to everyone around him.
Recounting a pivotal point of his childhood, Ospreay details a day in school in which every student was asked to say aloud what they want to be when they grow up.
“Obviously, in England, wrestling was never super popular,” Ospreay said. I remember it so well. I remember the room, the teacher. I remember everyone going around the classroom and, like, saying what they wanted to be when they grew up. And I said I wanted to be a wrestler. And everyone f–king laughed. It was so embarrassing. It genuinely felt horrible to have that type of humiliation towards it.”
Ospreay eventually did reach the height of every young English boy’s dream. In 2023, while still a member of the New Japan Pro Wrestling roster, he faced Chris Jericho at All In – the highest-paid attendance show in pro wrestling history at 81,035 fans.
“I was sh–ting my pants, mate,” Ospreay said with a laugh. “I did an indie the day before, and we wrestled in front of 4,000 people, which was a big number for Revolution Pro Wrestling. It was huge – it was five percent of the audience that we were going to wrestle in front of. I had a genuine moment of like, ‘Oh, my God, maybe I’m a bit out of my depth here. I don’t think that many people know me.’ So to come out on that first night and hear people singing my song, I was blown away.”
His win over Jericho, and presentation as a whole through the build up, was what Ospreay called the “final piece” to him officially signing with AEW.
“Tony Khan put a lot of trust me to be in that because once again, I wasn’t signed to aew,” Ospreay said. “I was brought in as a favor that New Japan really wanted. They thought it would be a real cool opportunity for not only me, but for the company to showcase themselves and say like, ‘Oh, yeah, this is our boy.’ And they allowed me to do it and Tony allowed me the good gracious to come out and to perform. And after that, there was a level of trust between us.”
Ospreay’s match with Jericho came after a pair of instant classic bouts with the man who ran New Japan before him, and went on to be one of the founding fathers of AEW – Kenny Omega.
The two had a bitter rivalry leading into their match at Wrestle Kingdom 17, a bout that saw Omega defeat Ospreay for the IWGP United States Championship in what quickly became a Match of the Year contender and will go down as one of the best bouts in pro wrestling history. That following June, Ospreay defeated Omega at Forbidden Door to win the title back in another barn-burner. Five months later, he made his AEW signing official.
In that time since joining the company, the real-life rivalry between Ospreay and Omega has blossomed into a friendship.
“It’s grown a lot,” Ospreay said of his relationship with Omega. “Especially from where we were.
6:11
2026 World Cup Round of 32: Full list of matches, potential round of 16 games
Just a few days remain in group play at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
And the Round of 32 is getting filled in.
As of Friday morning 14 teams have booked a spot in the knockout round, and four of the 16 matches in the Round of 32 have been set. By the end of matches today more teams will have clinched a spot in the Round of 32, and by the end of the weekend the Round of 32 will be set.
And we can start thinking about potential matchups in the Round of 16.
Here is what we know about the Round of 32, and what we could see in the Round of 16.
Let’s start with the bracket for the knockout rounds of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Here, courtesy of USA Today, is the knockout round bracket:
Let’s work our way through the bracket as it stands, starting with the matches in the upper left.
Match 74 will see the top team in Group E take on a third-place team from Group A, B, C, D, or F.
Germany has clinched Group E, and is waiting on a winner. For a look at the third-place standings, and what teams have clinched a spot in the Round of 32 as a third-place team, we have you covered here.
The next match, as we work our way down the bracket, is Match 77.
Match 77 will feature the top team from Group I against a third-place team from Group C, D, F, G or H.
The top team from Group I will be either France or Norway, and that group winner will be determined when those two titans meet on Friday afternoon. For more on the third-place standings, we have you covered here.
Update: France’s 4-1 win over Norway has clinched Group I, and they will slot into Match 77.
The next match, as we work down the bracket, is our first completely set match in the Round of 32.
This match pits a pair of second-place teams, Canada from Group B, and South Africa from Group A.
The next match is set as well, and could be an instant classic.
On one side? The Netherlands, winners of Group F. On the other? Morocco, who finished second in Group C.
We move next to the lower-left quadrant of the bracket, and Match 83. That will feature the second-place team from Group K, and the second-place team from Group L.
The next match on the list is also yet to be set.
Match 84 will see the top team from Group H face the second-place team from Group J. Spain is in the driver’s seat in Group H, while Austria and Algeria are the likely options out of Group J.
Match 81, however, is set.
The United States clinched a spot in the knockout round with a win over Australia in their second match of group play. As for Bosnia and Herzegovina, they became one of the first teams to advance to the Round of 32 as a third-place team late Wednesday night, and their spot against the USMNT was confirmed by FIFA on Thursday evening.
The last match on the left side of the bracket has yet to be determined.
The top team in Group G will face a third-place team from Group A, E, H, I, or J. As of publication, Egypt is in first place in Group G, but three teams in that group—Egypt, Iran, and Belgium—can still win the group.
For more on the third-place teams, you can see the standings here.
We now move to the right side of the bracket, working from the top to the bottom. In the upper-right quadrant we see a fascinating match in the Round of 32 between Brazil and Japan. Brazil advanced as the winners of Group C while Japan finished second in Group F.
The next match in the Round of 32, Match 78, has one confirmed team. Ivory Coast advanced to the Round of 32 as the second-place team in Group E. They will take on the second-place team from Group I, which will be either France or Norway.
Update: Norway has finished second in Group I, and will take on the Ivory Coast in this match.
Match 79 will see host team Mexico take on a third-place team from Group C, E, F, H, or I. That team has not been confirmed yet, but could be Scotland or Ecuador, depending on the various permutations.
Match 80 will feature the winners of Group L against a third-place team from Group E, H, I, J or K. England, Ghana, and Croatia are in the running in Group L. Here is a look at the teams vying for a spot as a third-place finisher.
We now shift to the lower-right quadrant of the bracket, and Match 86. Argentina, having clinched Group J, is confirmed as one of the teams in this match. Lionel Messi and company will face the second-place team from Group H. For more on the Group H scenarios, we have you covered here.
One side of Match 88 is set, with Australia moving on to the Round of 32 as the second-place team in Group D. They will face the second-place team from Group G. All four teams — Egypt, Iran, Belgium, and New Zealand — are potential opponents as of publication.
Switzerland advanced to the Round of 32 as the winners of Group B, and will take on a third-place team from Group E, F, G, I, or J.
The final match in the Round of 32, in the bottom-right of the bracket, will feature the winners of Group K against a third-place team from Group D, E, I, J, or L.
12:07
NHL draft instant grades for every 2026 first-round pick
The 2026 NHL Draft comes to us from Buffalo on Friday night for one of the biggest nights in hockey. It’s an opportunity for teams to find their stars of the future, and always rewards the organizations who have invested resources into their scouting departments, while identifying the most-talented scouts along the way.
Unlike any other major sport, the NHL Draft boasts selections across five-plus nations, two continents, and trying to mesh all that together with being able to successfully project who can transition to the NHL after playing under different rules. All we know about this draft is that LW Gavin McKenna will likely be the No. 1 overall pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and from there it could be anarchy.
One thing to watch is how many veteran players could be dealt tonight. Mammoth names like Connor Hellebuyck, Dylan Larkin, and Zach Werenski are potentially finding new homes — and that adds a lot of intrigue to a class that is already deep on talent.
We’re following the first round live to grade this year’s picks.
Grade: A
The Leafs didn’t overthink this process and got the most dynamic skater in this class. A selfless wing, McKenna has an incredible eye for passing and a gift for setting his teammates up for success. A fluid skater who is light on his feet, McKenna does need to add some muscle to his frame to be more of a force against agressive defenders, and there’s work on the forecheck to be done — but the stage is set for McKenna to be an impact player as soon as he arrives in the NHL.
Grade: A
I had the best player in this draft as a total toss-up between McKenna and Stenberg. An exacting, heady player — Stenberg is an elite skater with a ludicrous change-of-pace and an array of moves on the breakaway. While Stenberg might not have the upside of McKenna, his floor is much, much higher.
Immediately, he will slot in with Macklin Celebrini and really push this team to the next level, but there’s also real potential that Stenberg can develop into a center at the NHL level. If that happens, it really could give San Jose a center pairing like the Oilers have with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Grade: B-
I don’t hate the pick, but this is going to raise so many questions about whether this was a nepo pick. He’s a grinding center who works well in short spaces, very good at getting tip-ins, as well as controlling rebounds. The biggest issue here is that I think Chase Reid is a far superior prospect, and I can’t help but question if the Canucks had the blinders on to lock in the coach’s son. The either locked in too much on getting a center, or locked in too much on Malhotra. I think he’s going to be a very good NHL player, but Reid’s NHL career could come back to haunt them.
Grade: C
Nah. I don’t like this choice at all. I understand that this was essentially a free pick after the Bowen Byram trade, I understand that Chase Reid’s player comp was too much like Rasmus Dahlin — but I don’t care. Rudolph was a mammoth late-riser in the draft, which scares me. This is less about the player Rudolph is, because it’s going to be a solid offensive defenseman, but the Sabres decided to miss out on some elite, elite talents to roll the dice.
Grade: C-
ANOTHER defensive reach in a row. This was a trait-based pick from a team wanting size and physicality over skill. Smits is a stay-at-home defenseman who won’t add much on offense, doesn’t do anything elite, and the best you can say is that “he’s tough.” They had the best defenseman sitting in their laps, and decided to go in another direction. I just do not understand the decision-making here.
Grade: B-
Carels was a player the Flames had targeted this draft, and they got their guy. He’s a good player, he isn’t being taken too high — and that’s more or less where the praise ends. At some point you need to be able to pivot as a front office is there’s just too much value on the board, and Reid was right there for them. It’s clear they invested a lot in scouting Carels, which caused this pick to happen, but again we have a team too locked in on their own decision to see the forest for the trees.
Grade: A+
Easiest pick in this draft, and kudos to the Kraken for taking advantage of the idiots in front of them. Reid is the best defender in this draft by a significant margin, with offensive skills that could make him Cale Makar-esque when he reaches the next level. Reid has shown elite stick skills, a gift for clogging lanes, and a player who can essentially become an extension of the offense when crossing into the zone. This is a franchise moment for the Kraken, and they needed a break. Pinch yourselves, Kraken fans, because this is somehow real.
Grade: A
Really, really like this pick for the Jets with what they’re trying to do on offense. Björck is a little honey badger who loves out-working people on the ice and using his high IQ to make big plays around the net.
18:01
Justin Bieber announced the Maple Leafs pick at the NHL Draft, and it was so cringe
The NHL had teased that a “major celebrity” would be announcing the No. 1 overall pick at the draft, and as everyone guessed, it was Justin Bieber. The whole thing was extremely weird. Not only did Bieber get an incredibly tepid reception from the crowd in Buffalo, but Biebs was unbelievably cringe.
From the walkout, to his own personal announcement style, and beyond — this somehow managed to get worse, and worse. McKenna’s first interview after being drafted included Bieber on the couch, and more time was spent gushing over Justin Bieber than actually learning anything about McKenna. I’m not sure why the NHL felt it was appropriate to have Bieber invade the interview at all, which led to a SECOND interview after McKenna left the stage, conducted by Matthew Schaefter.
Easily the second funniest moment came immediately after the pick, when Bieber told McKenna that another special guest couldn’t be there but wanted to say hello. Everyone expected it to be Drake, but it was Auston Matthews, met with another chorus of boos.
This is the kind of move you pull off when you’re in Toronto, and even at that point you need to think about it.
19:30
US players insist momentum remains with them despite late loss to Turkey
The US were on the verge of an encouraging draw in a meaningless game, but they insist that losing to Turkey changes nothing about what’s to come
Throughout the week preceding the United States’ final World Cup group game, their matchup with Turkey was discussed as something of a formality. The new tournament format made it impossible to begin speculation on a possible opponent until the third wave of matches kicked off on Wednesday, but the co-hosts’ place in the last 32 was already secure.
There were ample questions about how much Mauricio Pochettino would (and should) rotate. Christian Pulisic’s every movement, including whether or not he was donning a sleeve on his calf, was closely scrutinized. The atmosphere around training was light and jovial, a rare “eye of the hurricane” moment where the intensity seemed to wane and positivity permeated every corner of the team’s camp in Irvine, California.
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20:45
World Cup 2026: James set to miss Panama match; Schweinsteiger defends Côte d’Ivoire comments – as it happened
Our writers reacted to the latest news from the tournament before the blockbuster Group I match between France and Norway
Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland will go head-to-head later on as France take on Norway and they have both scored the same amount of goals so far this tournament with four. They could go top of the Golden Boot standings this evening but who is currently there? Have a look:
Ecuador fans’ nerves will be eased for now but that is not the case for all the nations yet as all of the knockout spots have not been allocated. Here is how the third-place spots are shaking out:
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21:40
Oleksandr Usyk vacates heavyweight title belts but insists he is not retiring
Ukrainian will give up three world heavyweight titles
‘I’m not leaving the sport … I still have my last dance’
The world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has announced he will relinquish his title belts. The Ukrainian currently holds the WBC, WBA and IBF versions.
The unbeaten 39-year-old insists he is not retiring but says the “well-considered” decision will “open new opportunities”.
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22:18
Serena Williams faces Maya Joint in Wimbledon opener as Draper and Raducanu dealt tough draw
Draper to play sixth seed Taylor Fritz in first match
Ostapenko and Sabalenka drawn in Raducanu’s quarter
Serena Williams will face Australia’s Maja Joint at Wimbledon in her long-awaited return to singles competition after four years of retirement, a match between two players born nearly 25 years apart.
Joint, a talented 20-year-old who won Eastbourne last year, has struggled badly with this year, compiling a 3-15 record. The winner of their first round match could face the in-form Filipino 25th seed, Alexandra Eala.
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23:06
Ben Duckett says shedding pounds has helped him pile on runs for England
Opening batter credits fitness regime for form in heat
Duckett stepped away from nets for four-week bootcamp
After scoring his first Test century for more than a year Ben Duckett revealed that shedding some weight has helped him to pile on the runs, with a post-winter fitness regime catapulting him into the summer in form that was glimpsed in the first two games of the series and has been obvious in the third.
“It’s an area of my career where I haven’t necessarily helped myself or been great at,” he said, after scoring a 99-ball 113 on his home ground. “The biggest thing is I’m not getting any younger and I want to keep doing this, to keep having days like this, for as long as I possibly can.”
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24:06
Norway 1-4 France: World Cup 2026 – as it happened
France walked away with a 4‑1 victory over Norway, and Ousmane Dembélé owned the night. He ripped off a hat‑trick in just 25 minutes, turning the Boston venue into his personal showcase. A teammate capped the French tally with a late strike, sealing the win.
Norway’s lone goal sparked a brief surge, but the French attack kept the pressure relentless. The crowd in the hotel bar watched the drama unfold on a giant screen, braving the miserable weather outside. The match delivered the excitement fans hoped for, and the final whistle confirmed France’s dominance.
