Yesterday's results & headlines

The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico continued to dominate the back pages, with the second round of group matches throwing up a statement performance and a couple of nervy nights for the favourites. In Group H, Spain answered their opening-day stumble in emphatic fashion, brushing aside Saudi Arabia 4-0. Teenage talisman Lamine Yamal opened the scoring inside ten minutes before Mikel Oyarzabal struck a first-half brace to settle the contest long before the break — exactly the response Luis de la Fuente's side needed after being held by Cape Verde.

The same group delivered the day's romance. World Cup debutants Cabo Verde twice fought back to earn a remarkable 2-2 draw with Uruguay, a result that keeps the tiny island nation's fairytale alive and leaves the two-time champions short of their own expectations. Elsewhere, Group G produced a stalemate as Belgium and Iran cancelled each other out in a goalless draw under the SoFi Stadium roof in Inglewood, while New Zealand met Egypt in Vancouver to close out the evening's schedule.

Home nations watch

There were no British sides in action on Sunday, but England fans were still digesting an encouraging if imperfect start to the campaign. Thomas Tuchel's side opened Group L with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas last Wednesday, Harry Kane bagging a brace alongside goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford. Scotland, meanwhile, banked their group fixtures earlier in the week and now look ahead to a daunting meeting with Brazil.

Racing & tennis

On the domestic front, the summer Flat campaign rolls on after a busy Royal Ascot week, with trainers now turning their attention to a packed week of evening fixtures. In tennis, the grass-court build-up is reaching its climax: the qualifying draws for Wimbledon 2026 were released over the weekend ahead of the Championships getting under way at the All England Club on Monday 29 June, with Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka installed as the top seeds.

Today's fixtures & previews

World Cup 2026 — Group J & Group I

It is another bumper day of finals football, headlined by the defending champions. Argentina face Austria at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (kick-off 18:00 BST), with Lionel Scaloni's side knowing victory would seal a knockout berth with a match to spare. Both teams sit on three points after matchday one, but Argentina's superior goal difference — boosted by Lionel Messi's hat-trick against Algeria — has them top of Group J.

In Group I, France take on Iraq at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia (22:00 BST), the tournament favourites looking to make it two from two after Kylian Mbappé's brace sank Senegal. The same group sees Norway meet Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey from around 01:00 BST (Tuesday), with Erling Haaland, already on two tournament goals, chasing more after Norway's eye-catching 4-1 demolition of Iraq.

UK horse racing

The pick of the domestic action is Royal Windsor's ever-popular Monday Night Racing, an evening of Flat turf action on the figure-of-eight track beside the Thames, with the first race traditionally going off around 18:00 and the card running into the early evening. It is a fixture built for the summer crowds, mixing competitive sprint handicaps with maiden contests for the season's emerging two-year-olds. Punters should keep an eye on the going reports through the afternoon given the changeable June weather.

Tennis & the wider card

With Wimbledon a week away, the leading grass-court tune-up events are in their closing stages, giving the British contingent a final chance to sharpen up before SW19. Expect plenty of seeding and draw speculation to fill the airwaves as the countdown to The Championships — beginning Monday 29 June — gathers pace.

Betting tips & odds analysis

Player news & injury updates

England's defensive headache

England suffered a pre-tournament blow when full-back Tino Livramento was forced to withdraw from the squad with a calf injury assessed at four to five weeks, ruling him out of the group stage. Trevoh Chalobah was called up as his replacement. Fellow defenders Reece James and Djed Spence are only recently back from hamstring and jaw problems respectively, leaving Tuchel's options at the back stretched.

Saka managed carefully

Thomas Tuchel confirmed England must "take care" of Bukayo Saka's fitness across the tournament, though the Arsenal forward was passed fit and declared "ready to go" for the opener against Croatia. His workload is likely to be monitored closely with a congested knockout schedule potentially ahead.

Messi rewrites the record books

On the back of his treble against Algeria, Lionel Messi drew level with Germany's Miroslav Klose as the all-time leading goalscorer across World Cup tournaments — a milestone that underlines why, at 38, he remains the creative hub through which everything Argentina build runs.

Grass-court watch

Ahead of Wimbledon, defending champion Jannik Sinner is the men's No.1 seed and Aryna Sabalenka tops the women's seedings. British fans will be watching fitness bulletins from the warm-up events closely as the home contingent finalise their grass-court preparation before the Championships begin on 29 June.