England are gearing up for a huge World Cup semi-final showdown with bitter rivals Argentina as talk of a rift in the Three Lions camp has been addressed.
There’s been plenty of issues with refereeing and VAR during the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. And the decisions of officials both during matches and afterwards have come under huge scrutiny.
Here’s all you need to know in our daily morning round-up of all the biggest World Cup stories over the last 24 hours, ahead of this week’s crunch semi-final ties, which also include a mouthwatering clash between France and Spain.
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Jude Bellingham and Thomas Tuchel ‘rift’
Insiders have categorically rubbished suggestions of a falling-out between Jude Bellingham and Thomas Tuchel following England’s thrilling 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway.
The friction emerged after Tuchel branded the Three Lions “lucky”, sparking a fierce rebuttal from Real Madrid superstar Bellingham, who stood up for his team-mates’ performances in testing circumstances.
England captain Harry Kane has intervened as a mediator to calm the simmering post-match spat between his boss and star midfielder. Kane maintained the German coach is merely trying to extract the very best from the squad because of the high standards they can achieve.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa midfielder Morgan Rogers has slammed the “ridiculous” debate over Bellingham’s position as England’s leading number 10. Rogers stressed the argument is nonsensical, considering the six-goal sensation has virtually carried the World Cup single-handedly.
Manager sacked
Senegal have sacked head coach Pape Thiaw in the wake of their devastating Round of 32 exit from the 2026 World Cup.
The Teranga Lions squandered a two-goal advantage to suffer a crushing 3-2 defeat against Belgium in extra time, spelling the end for Thiaw despite his earlier continental triumphs.
Strikers’s girlfriend speaks out
The partner of Alexander Sorloth has issued a public statement condemning a torrent of vile online ‘hate’ aimed at the striker.
The poisonous remarks emerged instantly following Norway’s gut-wrenching extra-time loss to England in the quarter-finals.
He was blamed for the defeat after failing to play Erling Haaland in for a shot at goal when the Norwegians were leading 1-0 at the time and the Manchester City goal machine could have doubled their lead.
Sorloth chose not to pass, squandered the opportunity, and England went on to win 2-1.
Messi ‘disrespect’
Lionel Messi confronted a match official during a fiery exchange in their 3-1 World Cup victory over Switzerland, allegedly the referee as deeply disrespectful.
The Argentina skipper didn’t mince his words after he was reportedly unhappy with the tone in which Joao Pedro Pinheiro spoke to him.
The incident occurred moments before a Switzerland free kick. Messi, who part of Argentina’s defensive wall, was instructed to step back to the required distance.
Infuriated by the Portuguese referee’s tone, the Argentine captain reportedly snapped back: “Speak to me properly. Don’t disrespect me. Speak to me properly; I spoke to you properly.”
Referee controversy
The huge controversy surrounding FIFA’s ruling to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card has escalated despite the United States’ elimination from the competition, reports the Mirror.
It has come to light that just one out of 18 officials – the chairman of FIFA’s disciplinary committee, Mohammad Al-Kamali – chose to lift the suspension, with the remaining 17 not even approached following Donald Trump’s phone call with the governing body’s president.
Meanwhile, FIFA are under fire once again over decisions seemingly favouring Argentina, after the contentious VAR rulings in their victories over Egypt and Switzerland.
Lautaro Martinez also avoided a second yellow card for vaulting the hoardings to celebrate with supporters, which could have meant him missing the semi-final through suspension.
It has now come to light that the squad were allowed to don black armbands in honour of legendary ex-skipper Antonio Ubaldo Rattín, while France were refused their request to do the same for manager Didier Deschamps’ late mother.