0:09
Shootout heartbreak leaves Socceroos still searching for elusive World Cup knockout win | Jack Snape
Following their painful defeat on penalties to Egypt, there is a nagging suspicion Australia may not get a better chance to break their duck
Lucas Herrington did not deserve to be the face of this painful defeat. The 18-year-old was already the youngest starter the Socceroos have ever fielded at a World Cup. Now he will be forever connected with one of Australian football’s great tragedies.
Once he missed his penalty kick – his side-footed effort placed too high and into the crossbar – first Awer Mabil ran to him, the gesture acknowledging the pain that will never leave him. When Egypt finished the shootout moments later, Herrington quickly turned his back to the crossbar that did him wrong, and put one arm to his mop of curly hair.
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1:04
Austin Trout does ‘Rocky’ themed walkout as Apollo Creed, gets violently knocked out at BKFC event
Austin Trout wanted to celebrate the Fourth of July in style, but he ended up on the wrong side of the fireworks.
On Friday night, Trout faced off with Ben Bonner in the main event of BKFC Liberty Brawl at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. Since moving to bare-knuckle in 2023, the former WBA boxing champion had put together a strong run in BKFC, stacking up five wins in a row, including winning the BKFC welterweight championship. But that run came to an end against Bonner, who brutally knocked him out in the second round.
Trout cut quite the scene walking to the BKFC ring, coming out in homage to Apollo Creed in Rocky IV, wearing the star-spangled outfit and trunks, with an accompanying musical act performing James Brown’s version of Living in America.
Unfortunately for Trout, it appears he never actually watched Rocky IV, because while he didn’t mean the same tragic end as Creed does in the film, Bonner did get the better of Trout for the fight, ultimately flooring him with a thudding right hand in the second round, finishing the fight.
It was a tough scene for the 40-year-old Trout, but a huge win for Bonner, who also claimed the BKFC lightweight title.
2:24
Cape Verde exit World Cup with heads held high: ‘We did our best and we did it with bravery’
Coach Bubista says campaign has been ‘source of great pride’
Tiny archipelago nation bows out after 3-2 defeat to Argentina
Lionel Messi and Argentina will move on to Atlanta and a quarter-final against Egypt next week after a thrilling 3-2 victory against Cape Verde, but this was still a wonderful night for the tiny archipelago nation, whose players left Miami Stadium having created their own moment of sporting history.
“First things, the pride I feel in my players and what they did, they did it with dignity and courage,” Bubista, the Capo Verde coach, said after his team had been edged out in extra time by Diney Borges’s own goal.
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3:12
Jhon Arias goal sends Colombia into last 16 as Ghana bow out of World Cup
Ghana can only have feared the worst when Luis Suárez’s number came up in the seventh minute. A day on from the 16th anniversary of one of the most infamous episodes in World Cup history, the Colombia forward who shares a name with the man whose handball broke the hearts of Black Stars supporters in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup returned to haunt them.
Not long after coming off the bench, it was the Sporting striker who provided the assist for what turned out to be the winning goal from Jhon Arias to set up a last-16 clash against Switzerland in Vancouver on Tuesday. Even if they couldn’t find another goal that their superiority clearly warranted, Colombia were deserved winners and look more than capable of at least matching their previous best result at the 2014 World Cup when they reached the last eight.
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4:10
Get the Big Shield ebook free for Fourth of July weekend
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It's Fourth of July weekend. It's slow. The staff has the weekend off.
I'll be posting some stuff throughout the weekend. And you stopped by to check it out.
For that, you get a free copy of the Big Shield ebook. If you want it.
To get it, click here. Download it. Spend the rest of the summer reading it.
No strings attached. No questions asked. No shirt, no shoes, still service.
Enjoy the weekend, and celebrate the fact that our country has endured for 250 years. Exercise your freedoms. And don't hassle others who are exercising theirs.
But, please, be careful with the fireworks. Like the instructions say, "Like fuse. Get away."
It's not worth risking a serious injury. Every year, we'll read stories about people losing fingers, eyes, or worse. Don't be the one we read about.
And if you're reading Big Shield, the injury risk is very low. And long as you're not reading it while lighting fireworks.
5:11
Listen: Fox, Telemundo calls of Argentina-Cape Verde World Cup instant classic
Lionel Messi and World Cup defending champion Argentina held off an absolutely remarkable effort from massive underdog Cape Verde in the 2026 FIFA World Cup’s round of 32 on Friday evening in Miami. It was one of the most stunning, entertaining matches in World Cup history, and Cape Verde came very close to delivering one of the biggest upsets the sport has ever seen in the island nation’s first-ever World Cup appearance.
Cape Verde erased multiple deficits with equalizers before Argentina scored what would serve as the game-winning goal in extra time of a 3-2 victory.
Play-by-play announcer John Strong and color commentator Stu Holden had the English-language broadcast call for Fox.
Here, we’ll go through their calls of some of the major moments from the thrilling match.
Messi increased his record for most career World Cup goals when he scored his 20th goal to give Argentina a 1-0 lead in the first half.
LIONEL MESSI SCORES HIS 20TH CAREER FIFA WORLD CUP GOAL!
John Strong has the Argentina-Cape Verde play-by-play call for Fox. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/dH4nURCsUt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 3, 2026
Strong: “LIONEL MESSI! AS HE HAS DONE NINETEEN PRIOR TIMES IN HIS CAREER HAS DONE AGAIN! TWENTIETH CAREER WORLD CUP GOAL! ARGENTINA OUT IN FRONT HERE IN MIAMI!”
Plenty of viewers probably thought that would be all that Argentina would need in this match, but Cape Verde evened things up early in the second half.
CAPE VERDE WITH THE EQUALIZER VS ARGENTINA!
John Strong with the Fox call. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/9BEdImt5eX
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 3, 2026
Strong: “IT’S A GOAL! CAPE VERDE HAVE SCORED! DEROY DUARTE SENDS A SHOCKWAVE ACROSS THE GLOBE! CAPE VERDE HAVE TIED THE GAME AGAINST ARGENTINA!”
The match stunningly went to extra time in a 1-1 tie, and the chaos only increased from there.
Shortly after extra time began, Argentina regained the lead on a goal from Lisandro Martínez.
ARGENTINA TAKES THE LEAD EARLY IN EXTRA TIME!
John Strong on the call for Fox. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/0lGJdcLDXW
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 4, 2026
Strong: LISANDRO MARTÍNEZ! HIS FIRST CAREER WORLD CUP ASSIST EARLIER; HIS FIRST CAREER WORLD CUP GOAL NOW! AND ARGENTINA TAKE THE LEAD IN EXTRA TIME!”
But, again, Cape Verde had a response. And this time with an absolute golazo from Sidny Lopes Cabral.
SIDNY LOPES CABRAL DELIVERS AN INSANE GOLAZO EQUALIZER FOR CAPE VERDE IN EXTRA TIME!
JOHN STRONG WITH THE FOX CALL! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/XtFgO3LdIB
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 4, 2026
Strong: “IT’S INCREDIBLE! IT’S REMARKABLE! IT’S ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE! IT’S CAPE VERDE, FOR A SECOND TIME TONIGHT, TYING THE GAAAAME!”
Holden: “I love this game, man.”
In the 111th minute, a Lionel Messi corner kick turned into what would officially be ruled an own-goal off Cape Verde’s Diney Borges.
ARGENTINA REGAINS THE LEAD!
Lionel Messi sets up Cristian Romero with the go-ahead goal.
John Strong has the call for Fox. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/dh3qmvMvpB
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 4, 2026
Strong: “IT’S A GOAL! ARGENTINA RETAKE THE LEAD! ROMERO TO LEAD THE CELEBRATIONS!”
Here was Strong’s play-by-play call as the match officially ended:
“IT’S OVER! IN ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE GAMES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD CUP, ARGENTINA SURVIVE!”
John Strong with the call for Fox as Argentina holds off an incredible effort from Cape Verde. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/pgLM5J8HSx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 4, 2026
Strong: “IT’S OVER! IN ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE GAMES IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD CUP, ARGENTINA SURVIVE!”
And Holden delivered a message to Cape Verde “on behalf of the world.”
“Cape Verde. Thank you, on behalf of the world. You made us dream and watch your dreams lived out in real time. We’ll never forget you. What a performance against the world champions.”
– Fox analyst Stu Holden pic.twitter.com/59KDEfAAej https://t.co/EZ7S2NHAdb
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 4, 2026
“Cape Verde,” Holden said. “Thank you, on behalf of the world. You made us dream and watch your dreams lived out in real time. We’ll never forget you. What a performance against the world champions. They went toe to toe. Against all the odds. Messi and Argentina prevail again; one of the favorites for the tournament. But people aren’t going to forget this. This is just a beautiful game. Beautiful moments all around. Football wins again.”
How about the Spanish-language calls for key moments?
Soccer play-by-play legend Andrés Cantor — known for his electric “¡Goooooool!” calls — had the duties on the Telemundo broadcast:
Andrés Cantor has the Telemundo call of Lionel Messi’s 20th career World Cup goal. #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/3ZTPvE8YMa https://t.co/i8cgI9vIRS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 3, 2026
The Telemundo call of Cape Verde’s equalizer with Andrés Cantor on play-by-play.
10:14
Five and a half hours that left England's World Cup tie in chaos
For several hours on Friday, no-one seemed to know when England's World Cup last-16 match against co-hosts Mexico would kick off. BBC Sport tells how a story of confusion and anger - culminating in a Fifa U-turn - unfolded.
10:34
Cape Verde threaten shock for the ages before Argentina break hearts in World Cup classic
Argentina faced a scare against Cape Verde. Lionel Messi struck his 20th World Cup goal, sealing a 3‑2 win after extra time. The victory puts the defending champions into the last 16.
Messi’s control and finish, his seventh tournament goal, put Argentina in command. He showed why he remains the team’s catalyst.
Cape Verde, the Blue Sharks, fought back fiercely. They refused to go away, forcing extra time and keeping fans on edge.
The win ends Cape Verde’s fairytale run, but the island nation earned respect. Argentina now looks ahead to their next challenge.
11:17
Colombia v Ghana: World Cup 2026 last 32 – live
The round‑of‑32 clash kicks off at 8:30 p.m. local time, 9:30 p.m. EDT, and runs into the early morning for fans in Europe and Australia. Colombia and Ghana will meet on a night that could reshape their tournament paths, and the stakes feel high for both sides.
Colombia entered the last U.S. World Cup as a fan favorite, riding the legacy of Carlos “El Pibe” Valderrama, Adolfo Valencia and Faustino Asprilla. That promise fizzled when they fell to Romania and then saw their hopes evaporate in a classic U.S. showdown.
Now, with fresh talent and a new generation, Colombia looks to redeem that past disappointment, while Ghana aims to make its own mark on the American stage.
