Hello and welcome to Daily Mail Sport’s World Cup Breakfast from day 33 at the tournament – your one-stop shop for everything you’ve missed overnight in North America.
For all the latest news, viral moments and what to look out for, stay right here.
Overnight news
Police in Atlanta are scrambling to work on an intense security operation ahead of England’s semi-final clash with Argentina. They have been made aware of the rivalry between the two countries, which dates back to the Falklands War and the Hand of God moment. Read more from Mike Keegan by clicking here.
Elsewhere, Roy Keane aimed a jibe at rival Alf Inge Haaland, suggesting his view of England’s win over Norway could have been clouded by the alcohol he was supposedly drinking, insiders have insisted there is no issue between Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham, and details of Lionel Messi’s strange exchange with a referee have been revealed.
Insiders have insisted there is no issue between England’s Thomas Tuchel (right) and Jude Bellingham (left)
View from the ground
A sports section in a Boston bookstore felt like a seriously fine prospect. Some of the greatest sports books have been written in the USA.
David Remnick’s Ali biography, ‘The Boys of Summer’, ‘Friday Night Lights’, Norman Mailer’s ‘The Fight’. What other treasures would such a store have to offer? Save for a few new titles on the World Cup, precious little of such a kind.
The great American sportswriting tradition might have sent some its output up into the literary canon, but it was sports romance which got its own section in the store, with ice hockey romance a sub-genre with shelves all of its own. Who knew? ‘The Deal’, the college rink romance which sold a million copies and has an Amazon spin-off, has brought dozens more titles in its wake. There’s baseball, golf and football romance inside books with dreamy, pastel covers. It’s not exactly peak Jilly Cooper.
Fair play. The market dictates these things. TikTok has driven millions of the new sales. They say that curation of stories out of sports in hit Netflix series like ‘Drive to Survive’ has also helped build a market more interested in fiction than fact. And the US concept of sport fangirls, alien to us, also seems a useful plot device.
Some of my match reports can get a little floral at the best of times when I get caught up in the romance of big sporting occasion. But even so. Best leave the romantics to fill the bookshelves.
Ian Herbert
Ian Herbert encountered a whole new world when he stumbled into the sports section of a bookshop in Boston
Celebrity watch
While a number of sports stars who took in England’s defeat of Norway were captured by cameras on the night, a few more low-key stars – sheltered inside the privacy of a hospitality box – declared themselves unexpected Three Lions fans on social media.
Two of Wimbledon’s biggest names, last year’s finalist Amanda Anisimova, and semi-finalist of this year Coco Gauff, took in the game in Miami, with the former posting a carousel to Instagram with the caption ‘we’re not at the tennis anymore’.
While Gauff opted for the more neutral red, fellow US star Anisimova nailed here colours to the mast and opted for an England jersey – perhaps proving that despite her somewhat disappointing third-round exit in SW19 last week, she hasn’t totally turned her back on the land of strawberries and cream.
Amanda Anisimova and Coco Gauff swapped the lawns of Wimbledon for the Miami Stadium
US Open finalist Anisimova even sported an England jersey as she roared Harry Kane and Co home from the stands
Viral moment of the day
On generally a quiet day of World Cup news, the internet has continued to debate two key calls in England’s win over Norway – should England’s first goal have been ruled out, and should the penalty call have stood?
FIFA insist the sensor in the ball suggests the ball did not hit the camera cable, but video footage seems to suggest otherwise. If it did, the game should have been stopped, meaning Jude Bellingham’s equaliser should not have stood.
The Djed Spence penalty call was not as significant. England were already 2-1 up at the time when the referee gave a penalty before overturning it on VAR. Some say Spence initiated contact, some say he had a right to protect the ball before being tripped by Oscar Bobb.
It’s a debate that will rumble on.
England were awarded a penalty against Norway before it was overturned after a VAR check
Join the discussion
Should England have been awarded a penalty against Norway?
Picture of the day
England have enjoyed a recovery day back at their Kansas City base, and a number of players took to the pool.
Bellingham, hero from the Norway win, has tried his hand at modelling in the past, turning out for the likes of adidas and Skims, and he has nailed the pose again here.
England’s World Cup players enjoyed a pool day back at their Kansas City base on Sunday
Stat of the day
Thomas Tuchel is currently the best international manager of a European nation ever. At this stage.
The Three Lions boss, according to Opta, has won 80 per cent of his matches in charge (16 of 20) which is the highest for a manager of any manager to have been in charge of a European country for at least 10 games.
How he’d love to make it 18 out of 22…
Three things to look out for today
1. Who’s in England training?
With a recovery day behind them, England’s players will be back in training today, and it will be interesting to see who’s in full training and who’s either out or on a reduced plan.
Marc Guehi, Declan Rice and Reece James were struggling for fitness prior to the Norway win, but all three were able to play. While Guehi played the full 120 minutes, Rice only made it to half-time, and James was a second-half substitute.
We’ll see if everyone is doing OK a little later on, with kick-off against Argentina around 60 hours away.
2. The race for the Golden Boot
With a couple of days’ break until the semi-finals get underway, it feels like a good time to take a look at the individual brilliance we have seen so far this tournament from an attacking point of view.
It feels as though every world class forward has turned up. Just look at the Golden Boot race – Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi – two of the greatest World Cup players we have ever seen – lead the way with eight, with Erling Haaland, fresh from carrying his nation to a quarter-final, on seven. He of course can no longer catch those ahead of him.
England duo Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are both on six. Welcome to the party, Jude. There are two games to play yet.
Kylian Mbappe leads the way in the race for the Golden Boot and will hope to add to his total against Spain tomorrow
3. France and Spain camps to speak
As is the way with games at the World Cup, press conferences are held the day before games and the sides’ managers plus a player from each camp usually speak.
Today, Didier Deschamps and Luis de la Fuente will speak to the press ahead of the France vs Spain semi-final tomorrow.
Keep an eye out for any potential injury news, assessments of their own team and how they talk about their opponents. It may be a chance to land a psychological blow.
Many have said the winner of this tie will likely win the whole thing. Each camp will know how important this game is.
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