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ATLANTA (AP) — Sitting on the bench, Saudi Arabia striker Saleh Al-Shehri could only put his head in his hands as Spain extended its lead to 4-0 early into the second half at the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia had always been a heavy underdog against the European champion. But still there was hope for an upset. After all, in 2022, Saudi Arabia had famously defeated Argentina in the World Cup. And, just six days ago, in this very stadium, World Cup debutant Cape Verde had frustrated Spain, holding them to a 0-0 draw.
Sunday was different, though, as Spain dominated from the start, recording 22 shots to Saudi Arabia's three.
The 4-0 loss was not a fatal blow for the Green Falcons. A win against Cape Verde on Friday would still give Saudi Arabia a chance to advance out of the group stage.
But the defeat was a demoralizing blow for a country that has poured billions into the sport as it tries to bring more legitimacy to its domestic league and bolster the national team ahead of Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup.
Saudi Arabia's team is almost entirely composed of players who compete in the Saudi Pro League, where they play with and against aging superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mané.
Though Saudi Arabia has started to pull back from such spending on international stars, Green Falcons coach Georgios Donis said their presence had raised the standard of the Saudi league and helped local players develop, though he acknowledged that translating those gains to the international stage remains a challenge.
“The more competitive the competition, the better our players will be,” he said.
Despite those investments, native Saudi players have sometimes struggled to get significant minutes on the field. Starting goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais, for instance, joined a club in the Saudi second tier last year to secure more playing time.
The national team has also had three coaches in the last two years, with Donis appointed less than two months before Saudi Arabia kicked off their World Cup campaign.
The tournament had opened more promisingly last week for Saudi Arabia thanks to a 1-1 draw with Uruguay in which they held the lead until the 80th minute. On Sunday, in Atlanta, though, they never looked threatening and were down 3-0 within the first 25 minutes. Donis called Sunday a “bad result” against “one of the best teams.”
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said the Saudi players had demonstrated some good link-up play but that they had run into a “very powerful" Spanish side.
Looking ahead to Cape Verde, Donis said he was confident his team would rediscover their potential.
“We will come back to the level ... where we’ll be very competitive,” Donis said.
___
AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup
North Carolina vs. Oklahoma baseball box score: Live stats from College World Series originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The North Carolina baseball team enters a must-win scenario in a Father's Day edition of the College World Series against the Oklahoma Sooners. Game 2 in Omaha carries an interesting storyline for both squads.
Oklahoma is doing something we’ve never seen in college baseball before. The Sooners finished the season with a sub .500 record in the SEC and didn’t win a single game in the SEC tournament but advanced to the big dance. Now they control their own destiny after winning nine straight.
North Carolina blazed through the tournament but are now one loss away from falling short of a championship. They'll need to win two straight to be crowned the best in baseball.
First pitch in Omaha will be at 2:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
2026 NCAA Baseball Championship123456789RHENorth Carolina (53-13-1)003010461Oklahoma (42-22)200000241North Carolina vs. Oklahoma baseball box score: Live stats from College World Series NCAA ChampionshipNorth CarolinaBatterPOSABRHRBIBBSOAVGOBP2Jake SchaffnerSS411201.355.4678Owen HullCF411102.391.4985Gavin Gallaher2B201011.293.38444Erik Paulsen1B302000.301.4231Cooper Nicholson3B100011.256.43412Tyler HoweLF200012.236.36523Colin HynekC300003.259.34618Carter FrenchRF010030.240.40125Rom Kellis VDH311001.299.338Total224636113B:
- Schaffner 1 (8)
H:
- Hull 1 (9)
RBI:
- Schaffner 2 (50)
- Hull 1 (86)
- Glauber 24 (15 strikes)
- Lynch 56 (36 strikes)
2B:
- Willits 1 (19)
RBI:
- Willits 1 (53)
- Smithburg 12 (9 strikes)
- Mercurius 92 (53 strikes)
- Bodin 29 (14 strikes)
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The U.S. men’s national team did more than clinch the top spot in Group D when it beat Australia 2–0 on Friday. It also continued the World Cup viewership win streak for Fox Sports.
According to preliminary figures from Nielsen, which are likely to be revised upward in the coming days, Friday’s game pulled in 14.78 million viewers on English-language television in the U.S.
That’s good for the fourth-largest such audience for a men’s World Cup match. And even bigger ratings may be coming. The record was only set a week ago, when 18.04 million English-language viewers watched the U.S. beat Paraguay 4–1 in its opening match. (The largest soccer telecast in U.S. history remains the 2015 Women’s World Cup final, in which the U.S. beat Japan, with 22.3 million viewers.)
It wasn’t clear what the ratings would look like heading into the match. While Juneteenth is a federal holiday, the 3 p.m. ET kickoff on a Friday is hardly traditional sports viewing time.
But Fox should be happy with the numbers, which may go up when full figures become available, including out-of-home viewership. Nielsen has tweaked its methodology several times since 2025 to better account for co-viewing and out-of-home audiences, which are particularly relevant for the World Cup, as many fans choose to attend watch parties. Since changing its methodology, sports viewing statistics have trended higher.
Up next for the U.S. is Turkiye on Thursday. The U.S., which has two group-stage wins for the first time, has already clinched first place in the group, and Turkiye has been eliminated due to its two losses. (FIFA changed its tiebreaker rules before the World Cup so that head-to-head results are considered before goal differential.)
As a result, the result is (mostly) meaningless. But another strong showing from the U.S. this week could still boost interest ahead of the Round of 32 matchup on July 1. That match is scheduled for primetime.
The post USMNT Delivers Another Ratings Win for Fox With 14.8M Viewers appeared first on Front Office Sports.
Jun 21, 2026; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Rays center fielder Jonny DeLuca (21) catches a fly ball during the fifth inning against the Washington Nationals at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images The Rays eked out a win over the Nationals with good pitching and defense and just enough offense to win their first series since they took two of three from the Angels a few weeks ago.
Nick Martinez got the start, and while he probably isn’t, over a full season, the Cy Young caliber guy we watched earlier in the season, he is the sort of bulldog fighter who every team needs in their rotation. Uncharacteristically he gave up three walks, and the homerun and two double he surrendered were on pitches over the heart of the plate, suggesting that his concern about command made him reluctant to try to paint corners.
But a guy who can give you six innings with three runs is a pitcher who can keep you in ballgames even when it’s not his best day. I’ve grown quite fond of Nick Martinez.
My usual complaint in the many games where they fail to score runs is that they get very few hits, or their only hits are singles. Today they actually connected for some nice extra base hits, but least early in the game these always seemed to come with two outs, which made it hard to turn those hits into runs. They did score in the bottom of the third on back to back doubles from Taylor Walls and Yandy Diaz, but in other innings they simply left men on base, which is why they found themselves down 3-1 in the middle of the sixth inning.
They were able to come back, however, with some timely homers against the Nationals bullpen.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Ryan Vilade cut the deficit to one with this homerun:
View LinkAn inning later, Jonny DeLuca put the Rays ahead for good with this one:
View LinkThe combo of Cleavinger, Baker and Kelly pitched three scoreless innings, and your Tampa Bay Rays came away with the victory. I liked seeing Bryan Baker used in the eighth, to face the heart of the Nationals order; I was worried that Cash had reverted to rigid bullpen roles and I for one like the idea of using your best pitcher against their best hitters.
A few shout outs. The Rays slump did seem to coincide with DeLuca’s IL stint. Maybe that’s just coincidence, but seeing him come back with a little extra oomph in his bat is great.
Chandler Simpson — his ability to make contact and steal bases — was a key part of the Rays earlier success, and in recent weeks he was looking rough. He wasn’t getting on base very often, and when he did he wasn’t making the kind of ruckus that makes him effective. He’s a young player, not yet an established major league guy, so while it’s possible others teams had simply caught on to him, it’s also possible that a bad run had gotten into his head. At any rate, I hope this series is evidence:
(You can thank/blame Jason Collette for this image).
Finally, Yandy. Don’t need to say more.
With the NBA offseason right around the corner, the rumors have ramped up. It's that time of the year when the entire league is positioning itself for a jam-packed summer. Teams will change and players will find new homes. For the first time in a couple of summers, the Oklahoma City Thunder will take part in the mayhem.
Falling short of a second NBA championship, the Thunder will have to decide on the long-term future of a handful of players. Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Kenrich Williams all have team options for the 2026-27 season. Cason Wallace is eligible for a contract extension after a third-year breakout.
Of that quartet, Hartenstein is one of the more surefire examples that he'll stick around in OKC. The latest reassurance of that forecast? HoopsHype's Michael Scotto detailed what the rest of the league thinks the Thunder will handle his $28.5 million option.
"He’s expected to remain in Oklahoma City," Scotto wrote. "The question among executives around the league is whether the Thunder will exercise their team option or decline it and work out a new multi-year deal at a lower average annual salary."
If I had to guess, I think the Thunder go for the latter. They usually don't like to see players play a full season with uncertainty clouding over them. Instead, they value team control and flipping players for future draft capital plus more. Think there's a world where both sides come to some sorta agreement to keep Hartenstein around for a few more years.
Since the Thunder added Hartenstein, he's been a home-run addition. He helped them win an NBA championship in his first year and almost did the same in his second year. After being a career journeyman for most of his career, he's carved out a role as a starting center who can produce a double-double in his sleep and help facilitate the secondary offense.
As the Thunder learned in these past NBA playoffs, you need size to help you battle beefy frontcourts scattered around the Western Conference. Specifically, Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs. Letting Hartenstein walk would be a step in the wrong direction.
Reporting on Giannis Antetokounmpo trade talks, Jaylen Brown, Tyler Herro, Kawhi Leonard, trade talks for the Pistons, Nets, Timberwolves, Raptors, and Nuggets. Plus, updates on free agents and extension candidates for the Suns, Thunder, Magic, and Jazz. https://t.co/76AU2Zjbz7
— Michael Scotto (@MikeAScotto) June 21, 2026This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Rumor: Isaiah Hartenstein 'expected' to stay with OKC Thunder
This past week, Alex
Pereira made it clear that he was not happy with what
transpired in the
UFC White House co-main event.
“Poatan” came up short in his bid to become a three-division champion when he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Ciryl Gane on June 14 in Washington, D.C. After the event, Pereira MMAjunkie.com) "Sometimes the fouls happen. Maybe Dean should've said, 'Watch the back of the head' or warned him or something like that. But I don't know. I can tell you this: Alex Pereira is not a whiner. And Alex Pereira doesn't complain about things or make excuses after fights. So I have to believe that he believed that. That he truly believed that was true.”
Not a Whiner
It’s currently unclear if Pereira and his team will attempt to appeal the result. The Brazilian has stated that he plans to remain in the heavyweight division going forward.
"That's something [an appeal] they'll have to work out with the commission. Not my area,” White said. “Like I said: Alex Pereira is not a whiner. The guy doesn't ever complain about anything. So you have to believe if the's that serious about it, that he's upset about and believes it to be true."
“Poatan” came up short in his bid to become a three-division champion when he suffered a second-round technical knockout loss to Ciryl Gane on June 14 in Washington, D.C. After the event, Pereira MMAjunkie.com) "Sometimes the fouls happen. Maybe Dean should've said, 'Watch the back of the head' or warned him or something like that. But I don't know. I can tell you this: Alex Pereira is not a whiner. And Alex Pereira doesn't complain about things or make excuses after fights. So I have to believe that he believed that. That he truly believed that was true.”
Not a Whiner
It’s currently unclear if Pereira and his team will attempt to appeal the result. The Brazilian has stated that he plans to remain in the heavyweight division going forward.
"That's something [an appeal] they'll have to work out with the commission. Not my area,” White said. “Like I said: Alex Pereira is not a whiner. The guy doesn't ever complain about anything. So you have to believe if the's that serious about it, that he's upset about and believes it to be true."
Iran has a real chance of making the World Cup Round of 32 after a 0-0 draw with 10-man Belgium on Sunday in Los Angeles.
Belgian fullback Nathan Ngoy was sent off in the 66th minute for a denial of a goal scoring opportunity when he fouled Iran forward Mehdi Tahremi. From there, Belgium made it clear that it was playing for the tie and took off forward Romelu Lukaku in favor of more defensive reinforcements.
The plan worked, as an Iran team that had been absorbing pressure for most of the game was suddenly put in the role of aggressor. And while Iran controlled the ball for most of the game following Ngoy’s absence, it couldn’t find the breakthrough goal.
Both teams are now tied on two points after Iran drew 2-2 with New Zealand to open its World Cup campaign and Belgium tied Egypt.
Iran has never made it out of the group stage in any of its previous six trips to the World Cup. But depending on how Sunday night’s game between New Zealand and Egypt goes, a tie against the Kiwis could be enough to get out of the group.
Belgium disappointsAs Iran can be optimistic about its chances of advancing, Belgium has been one of the biggest World Cup disappointments so far. The Belgians needed an own goal to get a tie with Egypt and were woeful in the final third even with all 11 players on the field.
Belgium spent most of the first half on Iran’s side of the field but the final touch was either lacking or simply nonexistent. In the second half, this sequence that resulted in an exceptional save from Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand summed up Belgium’s day perfectly.
Belgium played Sunday’s game without Manchester City forward Jeremy Doku due to illness. But even without Doku, there was still plenty of talent on the field with Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne, Leandro Trossard and captain Youri Tielemans. Yet the Red Devils simply didn’t look sharp.
And they haven’t for a while at the World Cup. You have to go all the way back to the first group stage game of the 2022 tournament to find the last time that a Belgian player has scored.
Heck, you could make the case that Iran ultimately ended up with better scoring chances despite having so little of the ball while Belgium was at full strength. Tahremi had a goal off a free kick called back for offsides in the first half and also forced a great save from Thibaut Courtois, who was also needed for a reactive save on a shot by Hossein Kanani in the box in the first half too.
Curtis Jones' current Liverpool deal expires in 2027 [Getty Images]Liverpool have rejected a verbal offer of 25m euros (£21.7m) from Inter Milan for Curtis Jones.
The offer is well short of the £35m which Liverpool value Jones at and they are unwilling to sanction a cut-price exit for the midfielder.
Jones, 25, only has one year left on his current deal at Anfield and this is the second time Inter have come in for him this year.
The Italian club were interested in his availability in January and proposed a loan with a view to a transfer but that was also turned down by Liverpool.
This month, Piero Ausilio, Inter's sporting director, said: "Curtis Jones - we are paying attention to him. We didn't hide. We understand what the developments will be."
Federico Chiesa went as far as telling Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport that Jones asked him what it is like to live in Italy.
No one in UFC flyweight history has more knockout wins than Manel Kape, but that distinction is not good enough for him.
Kape (23-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) took sole possession on the leaderboard for most striking finishes at 125 pounds Saturday when he defeated Kyoji Horiguchi (36-6 MMA, 9-2 UFC) by third-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 279 from Meta APEX in Las Vegas.
Although he's pleased to move out of a tie with Joseph Benavidez, Kape said afterward that his ambitions are much bigger than holding the record in one weight class.
Kape wants to be the knockout king for the UFC overall, and is setting the goal of replacing current leader Derrick Lewis on the top of the throne.
"Most knockouts with the least fights," Kape told MMA Junkie post-fight at UFC Fight Night 279. "Imagine the other fights when guys pull out, if the fights had still gone on. I could've had more knockouts because I think I only have (11) fights in UFC with six knockouts. It's a good average. I want to pass Derrick Lewis. I want to pass the record of Derrick Lewis, and I know I can do this."
Kape, 32, has a significant amount of work to do if he even wants to threaten Lewis, who is comfortably at the top of the list with 16 knockout wins inside the octagon. Kape is a large distance behind at just six, so if he wants to complete his mission, there are many highlights to add to the reel.
For now, though, Kape will have to live with being the most distinguished hitter in flyweight history.
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: Manel Kape aims to break Derrick Lewis' UFC knockout record
Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann trade aftermath ends in predictable fashion originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs traded Bobby McMann in March, there was a suggestion he could return.
He was in a contract year, after all. He went to the Seattle Kraken, but then he'd be a free agent -- at least that's how the thinking went.
But the Kraken knew they were acquiring a guy in the final year of his deal. And they also likely knew they didn't plan on letting him get away.
On Sunday, that became reality. The Kraken signed McMann to a six-year contract, and he's not leaving the Pacific Northwest.
That's a reality check for any Maple Leafs fans who wondered if they'd be getting McMann back. It was never all that likely.
MORE: It's time to ask a serious Matthew Knies question
Sure, a team could've traded for McMann, seen him in their own building and realized that he wasn't someone they wanted in their future.
McMann isn't that type of player, though. He clawed his way into the NHL as an undrafted player. He had to grind for a while in the ECHL. McMann doesn't take anything for granted.
So he showed up in Seattle and stood out, just like he did in Toronto to make himself an attractive trade target in the first place.
The Maple Leafs likely understood that getting McMann back was a long shot. It was a fun idea, but one that was hard to really buy into.
McMann was too likeable a player, too talented a player, for Seattle to not do everything in its power to keep him around.
And on Father's Day, the Kraken ensured that McMann isn't going anywhere. The Maple Leafs helped him grow into the player he is now. They won't get to see the payoff.
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