馃嚦馃嚘NamibiaSouthern Africa
Sabalenka eliminated from French Open by Shnaider, all-Italian men's semi-final set
via The Namibian3 min read
Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one, was defeated by Diana Shnaider in the French Open quarter-finals, ending her bid for a maiden French Open title. Sabalenka lost 3-6, 7-5, 6-0, stating she "couldn't really recover after the second set" mentally. Shnaider will now face Polish qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the semi-finals. Chwalinska, ranked 114th, became only the second women's qualifier in the professional era to reach the Roland Garros last four, overcoming 22nd seed Anna Kalinskaya 7-6 7/3, 6-3. In the men's tournament, Flavio Cobolli secured an all-Italian semi-final by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Cobolli will play fellow first-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Matteo Arnaldi, who advanced after Matteo Berrettini retired due to a hip injury while Arnaldi was leading 7-5, 5-2.
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England secured third place at the 2026 World Cup by defeating France 6-4 in a high-scoring match. Both teams, having faced semi-final exits, made significant lineup changes for the game in Miami. England took an early lead with goals from Declan Rice and Ezri Konsa, followed by two goals from Bukayo Saka, making the score 4-0 by halftime. France's coach Didier Deschamps described the first-half performance as "catastrophic." In the second half, France mounted a comeback with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice, becoming the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with 22 goals, surpassing Lionel Messi. Bradley Barcola also scored for France. England extended their lead further when Bukayo Saka completed his hat-trick from a penalty. Ousmane Dembele added a fourth goal for France, but Jude Bellingham scored England's sixth goal, becoming the first England player to score seven goals in a World Cup. This third-place finish marks England's best World Cup result since 1966. France, who were runners-up in the previous tournament, were eliminated by Spain in the semi-finals. The World Cup final will feature Argentina against Spain.
England secured a 31-24 victory over Argentina in the Nations Championship, with No 8 Ben Earl scoring two tries. The match, described as ill-disciplined, saw England claim their second consecutive win in the competition. Argentina, on the other hand, suffered their second defeat in three games. The game concluded dramatically when a potential equalizing conversion attempt by Argentina's fly-half Tomas Albornoz was disallowed after a late try by Bautista Delguy was chalked off following a review. England received four yellow cards during the game, and the build-up to the fixture included off-field tensions, such as England's back-rower Henry Pollock taunting Argentine fans. England captain Jamie George had previously stated his team would leave the field if subjected to racist abuse. The match also featured Argentina wearing a remake of their 1986 football kit, famously worn when they beat England in the World Cup quarter-finals. England led 19-3 at halftime, but Argentina mounted a comeback, narrowing the gap to two points at one stage. However, England regained control and sealed the win, despite ending the game with 13 men after two more yellow cards were issued in the final minutes.
Must ReadArgentina is one game away from becoming the third team to successfully defend the World Cup, with European champions Spain as their opponent. Historically, only Italy in 1938 and Brazil in 1962 have achieved this feat. Italy retained their title by beating Hungary 4-2 in the 1938 final, four years after defeating Czechoslovakia. Brazil, with Garrincha playing a key role, beat Czechoslovakia 3-1 in 1962, following their 5-2 victory over Sweden in 1958, despite Pele's injury. Other teams that reached the final in consecutive tournaments but failed to win include Argentina in 1990, who lost to West Germany after winning in 1986, and Brazil in 1998, who were defeated by France after triumphing in 1994. Most recently, France came close to retaining their title in 2022, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick, but ultimately lost to Argentina on penalties.