Sports Week

Sports News

Welcome to Sports Week. Here are today's top sporting stories from around the world.

On 7th July 2026 Argentina produce a sensational comeback to keep their FIFA World Cup title defence alive... Spain end Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup journey... Belgium storm into the quarterfinals... we look back at Ronaldo's extraordinary international career... India suffer their heaviest-ever T20 International defeat... Wimbledon delivers more memorable moments... and Indian athletes continue making headlines across multiple sports.

Let's begin with football in this Sports Week.

Defending champions Argentina are through to the quarterfinals of the FIFA World Cup after producing one of the tournament's greatest comebacks.

Trailing Egypt by two goals with just over ten minutes remaining, Lionel Scaloni's side looked destined for a shocking exit. Yasser Ibrahim and Mostafa Zizo had put Egypt firmly in control, while goalkeeper Mostafa Shobeir produced a heroic display, even denying Lionel Messi from the penalty spot.

Switzerland are also through to the quarter-finals after edging Colombia 4-3 in a dramatic penalty shootout.

Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel emerged as the hero, producing a brilliant save from Cucho Hernandez after both sides had missed earlier spot-kicks. Cedric Itten and Ruben Vargas converted the decisive penalties to seal Switzerland's place in the last eight.

The match ended goalless after 120 minutes, with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances. Colombia came closest when Jhon Lucumi's header struck the crossbar, while Jaminton Campaz missed a golden opportunity late in extra time.

The victory sends Switzerland into their first FIFA World Cup quarter-final since 1954, where they will face defending champions Argentina.

But champions always find a way.

Cristian Romero pulled one back in the 79th minute before Messi levelled the scores just five minutes later. Then, deep into stoppage time, Enzo Fernandez completed an unforgettable turnaround to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory.

Argentina's remarkable resilience keeps their title defence alive, while Egypt bow out with enormous pride after pushing the world champions to the limit.

Spain have also booked their place in the quarterfinals after edging Portugal one-nil in an emotional all-Iberian encounter.

Substitute Mikel Merino scored the decisive goal in stoppage time, extending Spain's unbeaten run to thirty-five matches and setting up a blockbuster quarterfinal against Belgium.

For Portugal, however, the defeat marks the end of Cristiano Ronaldo's final FIFA World Cup campaign.

Belgium completed the quarterfinal line-up with an emphatic four-one victory over hosts United States.

Charles De Ketelaere starred with two goals and an assist as Belgium capitalised on a series of defensive mistakes. Malik Tillman briefly restored hope for the Americans with a stunning free-kick before Romelu Lukaku struck his ninety-third international goal to seal a convincing victory.

As Ronaldo's World Cup journey comes to an end, football bids farewell to one of the greatest international careers the sport has ever witnessed.

The Portuguese legend retires from World Cup football with all-time world records of 233 international appearances and 146 goals. He also scored ten international hat-tricks and recorded 141 victories in Portugal colours.

Ronaldo featured in six FIFA World Cups, becoming the first footballer to score in six different editions and finishing as Portugal's all-time leading World Cup scorer with eleven goals. At the UEFA European Championship, he remains the tournament's all-time leading scorer with fourteen goals and captained Portugal to their historic Euro 2016 triumph before lifting two UEFA Nations League titles.

Although the FIFA World Cup trophy remained beyond his grasp, Cristiano Ronaldo's consistency, professionalism and relentless pursuit of excellence have secured his place among football's greatest-ever players.

Away from the action on the field, France captain Kylian Mbappe has condemned racist remarks made by a Paraguayan senator following France's World Cup victory over Paraguay.

Mbappe described the comments as "despicable" and said such behaviour was unworthy of a public representative. The senator later deleted the posts and apologised, but the incident once again underlined football's continuing fight against racism and discrimination.

The World Cup has also highlighted another fascinating reality.

Despite football attracting billions of supporters worldwide, many of the world's most populous nations—including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Ethiopia—have never appeared at the FIFA World Cup.

Experts say population alone is not enough. Strong grassroots programmes, quality coaching, modern infrastructure, professional leagues and sustained investment remain the key ingredients for international success.

Countries like Uruguay, with a population of barely three-and-a-half million, continue to prove that footballing tradition often outweighs sheer numbers.

Now to Indian sport.

Grassroots tennis in Assam has received a major boost after the All Assam Tennis Association partnered with the Kia Tennis Premier League to launch the Race to Gold Scholarship Programme.

Beginning later this month in Guwahati, the initiative will organise structured tournaments for Under-10, Under-12 and Under-14 players, with scholarships, prizes and equipment rewards aimed at identifying and nurturing future champions.

Moving to martial arts, hosts Meghalaya have claimed their first gold medals at the Fourteenth Senior National Pencak Silat Championship in Shillong.

The state's victories came in the artistic, or Seni, category, while several Meghalaya athletes also progressed impressively in the combat events during the championship featuring nearly fifteen hundred participants from across the country.

Now on Cricket

Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become the youngest player ever to represent India in international cricket.

At just fifteen years and ninety-nine days, the Bihar youngster surpassed Sachin Tendulkar's long-standing record that had stood for nearly thirty-seven years.

His fearless batting style has already generated enormous excitement, with many viewing him as one of India's brightest future stars.

However, it proved to be a difficult outing for India in the third T20 International against England.

Chasing 202 for victory at Trent Bridge, India collapsed for just seventy-six runs—their second-lowest total in T20 International history and their biggest defeat in the format.

Phil Salt anchored England's innings with seventy runs, while Sam Curran added an unbeaten forty-one.

Josh Tongue claimed career-best figures of four for twenty-eight and Jofra Archer took three wickets as England's pace attack completely dismantled the Indian batting line-up.

Teenager Sooryavanshi briefly thrilled fans with two huge sixes on debut before falling to Archer's express pace.

The defeat leaves India needing victories in the remaining two matches to avoid consecutive T20 series defeats.

Looking ahead, former India batting great VVS Laxman will coach India's squad during the upcoming Zimbabwe tour and the Asian Games campaign.

Laxman will once again lead a second-string Indian side while the senior coaching staff take a short break following the England series.

The cricketing world is also mourning the passing of former Afghanistan fast bowler Shapoor Zadran.

The left-arm pacer, who represented Afghanistan in forty-four One-Day Internationals and thirty-six T20 Internationals, died after battling a rare immune disorder.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board described him as one of the pioneers who helped establish Afghanistan as a respected force in international cricket.

Now to Wimbledon.

Defending champion and world number one Jannik Sinner has marched into the semifinals with a straight-sets victory over Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff.

Sinner's composed performance keeps him just two wins away from successfully defending his Wimbledon crown.

Italian tennis also enjoyed another memorable moment when Flavio Cobolli celebrated his quarterfinal victory over Alex de Minaur by recreating Cristiano Ronaldo's famous "Siuuu" celebration, delighting spectators on Centre Court.

Cobolli later revealed he has admired Ronaldo throughout his life and had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to perform the iconic celebration.

In the women's draw, Coco Gauff reached her first Wimbledon semifinal after defeating fellow American Jessica Pegula.

The victory makes Gauff the youngest player since Maria Sharapova to reach the semifinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Karolina Muchova also advanced to her maiden Wimbledon semifinal with victory over Naomi Osaka.

The International Olympic Committee has announced plans to gradually end the neutral-athlete system introduced for Russian competitors.

The IOC has advised international federations to begin preparing for the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes under their national identities as qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games begins.

In another sign of sport embracing technology, Virtual Taekwondo will make its Asian Games debut later this year.

The discipline combines traditional taekwondo techniques with virtual reality technology, allowing athletes wearing VR headsets and motion sensors to compete in immersive digital arenas where speed, timing and strategy determine victory.

Back to cricket.

A magnificent 180 from Justin Greaves has placed the West Indies in a commanding position against Sri Lanka in the second Test.

After replying with 499 to Sri Lanka's 549, the West Indies require only a draw on the final day to secure their first Test series victory in four years.

Indian boxers continue to impress at the Asian Under-19 and Under-23 Championships in Jakarta.

Ambekar Meetei, Aditya, Sikander and Devendra Choudhary all registered convincing victories to advance to the next round.

There was disappointment, however, for India's skeet shooters at the ISSF Shotgun World Cup in Italy.

Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan narrowly missed qualification for the final after finishing sixteenth, while Parinaaz Dhaliwal placed thirteenth in the women's event.

In athletics, India's preparations for the Asian Under-23 Championships have suffered a setback after promising shot putter Vidhi Choudhary failed a dope test and was withdrawn from the national squad. Junior sprint star Nipam Chauhan has also been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance.

Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta strengthened his lead at the Pune International Grandmaster Chess Tournament with another impressive victory and remains the favourite heading into the final round.

In tennis, legendary doubles pair Bob and Mike Bryan have criticised ATP proposals to reduce doubles prize money and tournament field sizes from 2028, warning that the move could seriously affect opportunities for future doubles specialists.

And finally, British wildcard Arthur Fery has created history by becoming the first British wildcard in the professional era to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Growing up just minutes away from Wimbledon, Fery fulfilled a childhood dream by producing the biggest victory of his career with Roger Federer watching from the Royal Box.

What a remarkable day across the sporting world—from unforgettable FIFA World Cup drama and Cristiano Ronaldo's emotional farewell to record-breaking cricket milestones, Wimbledon brilliance and inspiring performances from Indian athletes.

That's all for today's Sports News.