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England's World Cup journey is over (well, sort of), but the fallout from Wednesday's defeat to Argentina is continuing in earnest. There have been calls for the Argentine players to be investigated and punished after some were seen dancing with a banner that read: "Las Malvinas son Argentinas," which translates to: "The Falkland Islands are Argentine".
The move has sparked outrage, with the British government demanding FIFA look into the matter ahead of Sunday's final. Meanwhile, Argentine president Javier Milei has once again reiterated that Argentina aim to reclaim the Falklands via diplomatic means.
Away from the ongoing saga, Argentina are preparing for their second consecutive World Cup final, with Spain this year's opponents. Rodri and co. dismantled France in the semi-final, to set up their first final appearance since 2010 - the year they won their first World Cup title.
Stick around as Express Sport keeps you posted on all of the latest World Cup news and updates!
Amie Wilson
Declan Rice message
England midfielder Declan Rice has broken his silence following the team's exit from the World Cup at the semi-final stage.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow's third-place play-off between England and France, the Arsenal midfielder moved to thank fans for their support.
“I just wanted to say a massive, massive thank you to all the fans for all your incredible support throughout this World Cup," he said.
“Honestly, [it was] incredible. All of the boys feel all of your support so thank you so much.
“Thank you so much to everyone in Kansas for making this stay so special.
“One more to go on this journey. Stick with us [for] one more and hopefully we can win tomorrow.”
Amie Wilson
Mauricio Pochettino give USMNT future timeline
USA manager Mauricio Pochettino has said that he will make a decision on his future next week after holding talks over a new contract.
His current deal is set to expire after the World Cup, where he led the team to the round of 16. They fell to a 4-1 loss to Belgium at that stage, with the build-up to the game overshadowed by the controversy over Folarin Balogun's ban being suspended by FIFA.
Speaking to Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, Pochettino said:
"We are evaluating it, looking at it. "[U.S. Soccer] has made me an offer to continue, and we will see. Next week we will make a decision."
(Image: Getty)
Amie Wilson
Jannik Sinner sends England support
World tennis No.1 and recently crowned Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner has sent a message of support to England star Jude Bellingham following the team's exit from the World Cup at the semi-final stage.
Around 24 hours on from the defeat against Argentina, Bellingham took to social media to send an emotional message to fans.
That prompted messages of support in the comments section. Included was a message from Sinner, the Italian, with a praying-hands emoji.
A friendship appears to have blossomed between the two, with Bellingham in attendance for several of Sinner's matches during the Madrid Open, with both spotted out having lunch together before the final.
— jannik sinner files (@jannik_files) July 17, 2026Jannik Sinner commented under Jude Bellingham\u2019s IG post after England\u2019s loss: \u201c\ud83d\ude4f\u201d
Two champions supporting each other \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83e\ude79 pic.twitter.com/v1H3vGSqUc
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Amie Wilson
Smoke impact on Spain preparations
Spain and Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has admitted that the Spanish squad could see and smell smoke as they continue their preparations for the World Cup final.
Luis de la Fuente's side are in New Jersey and have trained outside as normal.
Speaking to the press, Merino said:
“For a game that is as important as a World Cup final, you have to be able to shut out external factors as much as possible.
“Luckily, we are being careful with every detail thanks to the federation and the organisers of the World Cup.”
Amie Wilson
Southgate to attend World Cup final
Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate will be in attendance at the World Cup final match between Spain and Argentina on Sunday, according to the Telegraph.
The report says that the plans have been in place for a while and would have been the same had England overcome Argentina in their semi-final this week.
Southgate has been doing public speaking since stepping down as the Three Lions boss three years ago, and is set to speak at an event just outside of New York City before attending the final on Sunday night.
(Image: Getty)
Amie Wilson
Argentina backed over World Cup banner
The White House have appeared to have backed Argentina players over their display of a Falklands Islands flag following their World Cup semi-final win over England.
Following the 2-1 victory, several players have been pictured celebrating with the flag, which reads: "Las Malvinas son Argentinas", which translates to "The Falklands are Argentine."
The players have been condemned by the UK government, with some calls for the players to be banned from the World Cup final.
Sky News reports that the White House would not support players being banned, with World Cup chief Andrew Giuliani saying the players are exercising their freedom of expression laid out in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Amie Wilson
Konate makes honest France vs England admission
France defender Ibrahima Konate has admitted that nobody really wants to play the third-place play-off, but players are left with 'no choice.'
England take on Les Bleus on Saturday night (10pm) in the Bronze medal match after the sides lost to Spain and Argentina, respectively.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference, Konate said:
"I think England is a very good team, to be fair, and has had a very good game as well against Argentina, and yeah....
"Not one of us wanted to play this game for third place, but we don't have the choice to play, you know, and I think France and England have a big story together.
"Yeah, we are looking forward to the game tomorrow and let's see what will happen."
(Image: Getty)
Amie Wilson
Frank Skinner explains England World Cup downfall
By Jerry Lawton
Frank Skinner has blamed England’s World Cup flop on fans swapping Three Lions for Wonderwall as their terrace anthem.
Players and supporters sang the Oasis hit to each other in stadiums at the end of matches - instead of the tune the comic helped pen for the team for Euro 96.
Frank, 69, said he knew Wonderwall - written by Noel Gallagher for Oasis’s second album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? in 1995 - would be a bad omen.
Addressing England’s 2-1 semi-final defeat by Argentina on his podcast Frank Off The Radio he said: “I blame Wonderwall.
“It’s clearly unlucky.
“I mean, I think Noel wrote it for his partner at the time and they split up.
“Then he had a big argument with his brother.
“It’s a f****** monkey’s paw.
“England should have kept well away.
“But no, no, they knew best. So that went wrong.”
Amie Wilson
Argentina stars left stranded ahead of final
Argentina have been left stranded after they were prevented from flying to New Jersey due to bad weather. The current World champions will take on Spain in the final on Saturday as they aim to defend their title.
Argentina were planning on making the journey to New York on Friday to give themselves time to prepare for the game. However, The Sun report that the team were left stranded at the airport with the flight delayed due to thunderstorms.
They will have to wait until the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is back up and running before making the journey.
READ THE FULL STORY HERE
Amie Wilson
Authorities 'monitoring' situation which could impact World Cup final
The situation around wildfires in Canada is being 'monitored' by authorities ahead of this weekend's World Cup final, according to US outlet ABC News.
The final between Spain and Argentina is due to take place at 8pm UK time in New York, but it is one of the states to have an air quality alert in place due to the fires.
Smoke from nearly 900 active fires is said to be travelling from Canada to the US, but it is still to be known what impact it will have on Sunday.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said: "This is very serious.
"We are reaching into a level of air quality that is dangerous for every single New Yorker."
The city is providing free face masks to people to help deal with the smoke.
Miami, where England will play their third-place play-off vs France on Saturday, is also one of the states currently under the air quality alert.
Amie Wilson
England star told to boycott France game
England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has been told to boycott the third-place play-off match vs France due to not being given game time so far at the tournament.
The 21-year-old is one of just two outfield players to have not played any minutes, having been left on the bench for all seven games of the tournament. He may get his chance vs France, with some changes expected.
However, former Man United midfielder Nicky Butt has told the player to reject that chance.
"I do not know what is going on there, there’s something not quite right with it," he said.
"Now they’re going to play the bomb squad in the stupid third-place game. I’d just refuse to play if I was Kobbie Mainoo. I’d say I was injured. It’s a nonsense game, especially when you’ve been treated like that.
"He’s not played a minute of football, now to go and start this pointless jumped-up friendly and potentially get injured for the whole season… no."
Amie Wilson
World Cup final referee reaction
FIFA have confirmed that Slavko Vincic has been chosen to referee the World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, with them sharing a video showing his reaction when he discovered the news.
The Slovenian will be joined by fellow countrymen Tomaz Klacnik and Andraz Kovacic as his assistants.
Adham Makhadmeh of Jordan is the fourth official.
Giving his reaction to being selected, Vincic said:
"So, first of all, a shock. Then happiness. I was shaking, so it's an incredible honour to get the World Cup final.
"It's something that... it's only a dream for a referee, for a young referee when they start. So, I'm very proud, very proud of myself, my team.
"It's very difficult to put everything into words, but I'm very proud to represent my country, Slovenia, in the biggest sporting event in the world.
"So, yeah, I'm very proud. My team is very proud and we will do our best."
Joe Krishnan
World Cup tickets still available
Around 7,000 tickets are still listed on Fifa's ticket sites for Saturday's World Cup bronze medal match between England and France.
As of Friday at 10am BST, the game in Miami (kick off 10pm) hadn't sold out with 1,246 tickets on general sale listed at $865 (£657) and $1,125 (£855).
There are a further 5,864 tickets available on the official resale platform, with the cheapest being category three available at a face value of $455 (£346) plus Fifa's 15 per cent fee.
A category one ticket with an original price of $1,125 (£855) has a hugely discounted price of $659 (£500).
Amie Wilson
Prince Harry's two-word England response
Prince Harry has revealed his sadness at England's World Cup semi-final loss vs Argentina.
Walking the red carpet at the TIME100 Sports Gala on Thursday night, the Prince was asked if he was sad about England's exit from the tournament, with him responding with: "Of course!"
It comes after his brother, Prince William, posted a heartfelt message to the team on social media following the loss.
"England, you gave it everything and we are all so proud of you," he wrote. "Thank you to everyone on and off the pitch, for an incredible tournament.
"The fight and belief you have shown has inspired us all... the most complete England team in a tournament. Hold your heads high."
(Image: Getty)
Amie Wilson
Latest World Cup odds
Here's a look at the latest odds for the weekend's World Cup games from Bet365.
England vs France (after 90 mins)
England win - 14/5
France win - 10/11
Draw - 14/5
Spain vs Argentina (after 90 mins)
Spain win - 5/4
Argentina win - 13/5
Draw - 2/1
18+, begambleaware.org
Amos Murphy
Downing Streets sends subtle dig at Argentina
On his final day as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer sent a subtle dig the way of Argentina.
The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “The World Cup might not be ours, but the Falkland Islands definitely are.
Before adding: "The PM wishes both teams well for the final, especially Spain."
(Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
World Cup winners will be given championship rings
The winners of Sunday's World Cup final will be handed rings.
It's similar to the prizes handed out for winners of American sporting events like the Super Bowl.
Are you a fan of this?
— CentreGoals. (@centregoals) July 17, 2026\ud83d\udea8\ud83d\udea8| BREAKING: The 2026 World Cup Champions will receive championship \ud835\udc11\ud835\udc08\ud835\udc0d\ud835\udc06\ud835\udc12 for the very first time in history.
Inspired by North American sports tradition, 30 rings will be handed out to the winners.
There will also be limited-edition rings available for fans worldwide. pic.twitter.com/wbHZAlCp32
Amos Murphy
Previous World Cup winners
A reminder of the last SIX World Cup winners:
2002 - Brazil
2006 - Italy
2010 - Spain
2014 - Germany
2018 - France
2022 - Argentina
2026 - ???
Who will be lifting the trophy this weekend? (Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
Ex-England star defends Tuchel's approach
Former England international John Barnes has thrown his weight behind Thomas Tuchel's approach vs Argentina.
He told BetFred: "We were 1-0 up in a tournament where we’re never going to dominate possession against, or outplay, anyone.
"We were 1-0 up, so why should we make attacking substitutions because if he did that and we went on and lost, then people would be asking why he did that. He did exactly the right thing.”
Adding: “It didn’t go wrong. We’re number four in the world, so we should finish third or fourth, which is where we’re going to be. I don’t know why we expected anything different.
“Against Argentina we went 1-0 and every decision Thomas Tuchel made was the right decision. He responded to what was going on in front of him.”
Amos Murphy
Falkland Islands officials respond to saga
Politicians in the Falklands have responded to the ongoing saga following Wednesday's match.
They said: "The Falklands government is disappointed, though regrettably not surprised, that the Argentine football team decided to tarnish the result of last night’s World Cup football semi-final, a game that did not in any case involve the Falkland Islands.
"That said, it is hardly news to anyone that the people of the islands were victims of an aggressive invasion in 1982, which left many traumatised.
"The banner displayed by Argentina last night, therefore, was particularly insensitive for many people in the Falklands.
"We hope FIFA will make good on their promise to keep politics out of sport, and sanction all behaviour of this nature in line with its own rules."
(Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
World Cup final predictions
Away from all the off-field drama, it's easy to forget that the World Cup final is taking place this weekend.
It's a clash between the South American champions and the European champions.
But who is going to win?
Our writers have shared their score predictions ahead of Sunday's showpiece.
Amos Murphy: Spain 2-1 Argentina
Argentina's luck will run out in a final where Spain boss possession and make the South Americans work for the ball.
Archie Griggs: Spain 2-3 Argentina
Argentina to win it after extra time. They'll find a way, like they always do.
Jack McEachen: Spain 2-0 Argentina
A classy and composed performance from the 2010 winners.
(Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
Pep Guardiola had 'verbal agreement' with England before Tuchel appointment
Pep Guardiola had verbally agreed to become England manager, as per The Athletic.
Guardiola had been up for taking charge of the national team following Gareth Southgate's departure.
The Catalan coach went back on the agreement and signed an extension with Manchester City.
As such, the FA were forced to look elsewhere and eventually landed on Thomas Tuchel.
Would you like to see Guardiola in charge instead of Tuchel?
Pep Guardiola was reportedly close to taking charge of England (Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
England's previous third-place play-offs
It's the third time England have competed for the World Cup bronze medal.
In 1990, they lost to the host nation, Italy.
It wasn't until 2018 that England returned to the fixture, but once again it was a defeat, this time to Belgium.
Will history repeat itself on Saturday when England play France in Miami?
Amos Murphy
Marc Guehi wanted England to 'push on' after goal
Marc Guehi wasn't happy with the approach after taking the lead.
He said afterwards: "We should have carried on. We should have carried on pushing. It kind of felt like we scored and the mentality was, go back, defend.
"I don't know. I don't know,' he said. 'It's hard to think about the future right now.
"At the moment, it's just disappointment. That's all."
Marc Guehi was left fuming post-match (Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
Golden boot standings heading into the weekend
Yes, that's right, the pointless third-place play-off WILL count towards the Golden Boot race.
Here are the current standings heading into the final two matches:
Lionel Messi - 8
Kylian Mbappe - 8
Erling Haaland - 7
Jude Bellingham - 6
Harry Kane - 6
Ousmane Dembele - 5
Mikel Oyarzabal - 5
The Golden Boot race is still on (Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
England's last SIX World Cup exits
After Wednesday's heartbreaking exit from the World Cup, how does it compare to England's previous six campaigns:
2026 - Semi-final (Argentina)
2022 - Quarter-final (France)
2018 - Semi-final (Croatia)
2014 - Group stage (Italy, Uruguay, Costa Rica)
2010 - Round-of-16 (Germany)
2006 - Quarter-final (Portugal)
(Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
Thomas Tuchel questions England's DNA after semi-final loss
Thomas Tuchel has questioned England's DNA as a footballing nation following Wednesday's semi-final loss.
He said after the defeat: "In this moment my feeling was no structure in the world could have helped us.
"Because actually we were too passive and we were not physical enough, we didn't stop runners arriving in our box and the deliveries were wrong too.
"I haven't seen the data yet, but I think just right after the goal the momentum swings completely and ball possession drops dramatically. We couldn't find any duels anymore; that's why we dropped deeper and deeper. It was never the plan, but it happened.
"[We] couldn't stop the runners from the second line, the midfielders, through our gaps, and the deliveries were on the highest level. You need to get back on the ball; otherwise you cannot break the pressure, and you cannot get the momentum back.
"I think ball possession plays a crucial role; it's maybe not in our DNA like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian-Brazilian DNA, to take the ball and control the game with the ball."
Amos Murphy
England players left fuming after Tuchel tactics
England players have reportedly been left fuming with Thomas Tuchel's approach.
The Three Lions surrendered space and possession to their World Cup semi-final opponents after taking the lead on Wednesday.
According to The Telegraph, members of the England squad were left baffled by the tactics to drop deep.
Tuchel doubled down on the decision, while also questioning England's DNA.
Some England players are said to have questioned Thomas Tuchel's tactics (Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
Argentina's president weighs in on Falklands debate
Controversial Argentine president Javier Milei has doubled down on the player’s behalf, saying: “The Malvinas are Argentine. What the players did is understandable; emotion got the better of them.
“They did it, and that will probably lead to a discussion of an economic sanction. It is perfectly valid and legitimate for the players to want to express themselves and do so.
“The things that happen on the field with the players are not part of diplomacy. In the worst-case scenario, Argentina will face a £20,000 economic sanction from FIFA. We are going to recover the Malvinas, and we will do so through diplomatic means, with intelligence in our actions.”
Javier Milei has waded in on the debate (Image: Getty)
Amos Murphy
Hello and welcome!
Just two matches of the 2026 World Cup remain!
It's been a rollercoaster ride from beginning to end, with Sunday's final set to crown the 2026 winner.
Will it be back-to-back victories for Argentina, or will Spain add a second star to their shirt?
Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal will go head-to-head on Sunday (Image: Getty)