For much of the star’s career, this tournament has been held as his potential pinnacle. Instead much of the USMNT’s success came without his involvement

There was a clear quiver in Christian Pulisic’s voice as he answered the final question posed to him at the 2026 World Cup.

On its face, the question was straightforward: how did the overall experience of this tournament meet his expectations? The subtext was what got overwhelming. For eight years, this World Cup co-hosted by the United States has been held up as the possible pinnacle of his career and those of his teammates. Every machination of American soccer has operated with signposts displaying “2026” in bold.

The fallout from USA’s defeat to Belgium gathered pace, with criticism of Fifa growing

Let’s talk about everyone’s favourite subject: England!

What a game that was against Mexico, by the way. I feel asleep about 1am (BST), woke up with England winning 2-1, just before Quansah got sent off and all hell broke loose. England’s defending in the final 20 minutes or so was an absolute work of art (thank you Dan Burn), even if Mexico’s attacking play lacked a certain amount of imagination. A magnificent performance by the players, not to mention Thomas Tuchel, who I feared had gone too early with the: ‘Play a back five, and just hack the ball anywhere’ strategy.

Quarter-final action, under way in SW19 from 1pm (BST)
Wildcard Fery extends Wimbledon fairytale | Mail Tanya

Now a love hold for Struff, who’s started pretty well and leads 3-2 He looks confident, but he’s not yet been put under pressure and I wonder if he can offer more testing returns. Even if he needs to stand back to give himself a better look at Sinner’s serve, he has to try and dig into it rather than hope e can struggle to a tiebreaker.

Nana Sinner appears to have been busy knitting Jannik’s top; that, or Nike have rinsed him with gear yet again.

New York City mayor joins Democrats in urging Platner to drop out of Senate race after sexual assault allegation; Platner must end campaign by 13 July for Democrats to replace him on ballot

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Donald Trump said he had a “very good talk” withVladimir Putin, ahead of arriving in Turkey.

This comes amid a wave of recent Russian strikes across Ukraine that have killed at least 21 people. The US president said that he also spoke with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the Nato summit.

Exclusive: Researchers warn of ‘major crisis in male reproductive health’ partly driven by obesity and diabetes

Men’s average testosterone levels have halved over the past 50 years, according to scientists who say that society is facing a male fertility crisis.

Total testosterone levels in men declined by 54% between 1972 and 2019, according to data presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in London on Tuesday.

Researchers testing a cheap, homegrown oil in Uganda found what cats knew all along – it worked as well as the artificial chemical used globally

A homegrown catnip lotion has proven “just as effective as Deet” as a mosquito repellant in trials carried out in Uganda.

Catnip, or Nepeta cataria, is a common herb from the mint family. The chemical in the plant that causes feline euphoria – nepetalactone – also has insect-repelling properties but this has not previously been commercialised.