Deportes

It all started after a long goal kick by the Norwegian goalkeeper Orjan Nyland. Fox Sports cameras captured how the ball – as seen in the replay – seemed to hit one of the cables supporting the aerial camera at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. It would have been a mere anecdote if it weren’t for the fact that this was the play that led to England’s 1-1 against Norway and sparked the controversy dubbed cable-gate.

The Tour always calls upon its great champions. But even for legends, a victory in the Grande Boucle is practically a vital goal. This is the case with Mathieu Van der Poel, genetically designed to fly on the bike, the quintessential classics rider, champion of almost everything and several times over. But the Tour… Oh, the Tour! Only two stage wins appeared on his resume as he approaches 32 years old, a meager haul for Poulidor’s grandson. As if that weren’t enough, the design of this edition had left the Dutchman almost without opportunities. But amid the darkness, there was a ray of light. A 150-kilometer hell with a wall 25 kilometers from the finish in Ussel. A torture with constant ups and downs. Perfect for the classics specialists. Ideal for Mathieu van der Poel.

The Tour de France stages a race against the clock, the mountains, and physical wear every summer. This year, it is also competing against the heat. The organization decided yesterday to cut the first 30 kilometers of today’s stage after French authorities activated the red alert for high temperatures in the Corrèze department, where thermometers can approach 40 degrees. The route modification reflects how much the heat is affecting modern cycling. Hydration, physiological adaptation to high temperatures, and nutrition occupy as important a space as physical preparation or strategy. Riders consume more carbohydrates than ever, monitor their temperature, and look for any detail that allows them to delay fatigue.

57 days after lowering the curtain on the 2025-26 season, the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper opens its doors tomorrow to kick off the 2026-27 season. From 9:00 a.m., the non-international first team players are scheduled to undergo the usual medical check-ups. They will be welcomed by Hansi Flick, who cut short his vacation and returned to work on July 6 to start designing a preseason that will begin on Tuesday with a single morning training session. During the week, the team will alternate morning and evening sessions, as well as some days with double sessions.

Alongside Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham is the other big name of an England team that is already among the top four in this World Cup. His brace against Haaland’s Norway sent the three lions to the semifinals, where they will face Leo Messi’s Argentina. With six goals and one assist in six matches, the Real Madrid player’s performance makes him one of the stars of the tournament. He is the highest-scoring midfielder in the entire championship.

Lamine Yamal has scored a goal in the World Cup and has not provided an assist, according to official data. Lamine’s numbers are very meager for those obsessed with statistics and those who do not pay attention to the subtleties of football. The fact is that Spain will play the semifinal on Tuesday…

The controversial words of the former Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy about the French team continue to cause a stir. The former leader stated in a column in the newspaper El Debate that France, Spain’s next opponent in the World Cup semifinals, “has a very high-level squad, that is true, but without French players.”

The World Cup already has its four semifinalists. France and Spain were the first to confirm their place among the top four, and last night it was the turn of the other two: England and Argentina, who sealed their qualification in two matches marked by refereeing controversy. Switzerland is outraged by Embolo’s expulsion, who saw the second yellow card for a dive in the middle of the field; while in Norway they denounce the strangest play of the tournament. In Nylland’s goal kick, the ball strangely changes trajectory, it seems to touch the aerial camera, and seconds later the play ends with a goal by Bellingham, which went up on the scoreboard.

Surrounded by members, emblems, and fan club members, Florentino Pérez’s last campaign event before the elections was marked by a full-frontal attack against his rival, Enrique Riquelme, whom he tried to discredit by all means in an extremely harsh speech. Without constantly mentioning him, but with direct references to his candidacy, Pérez built his intervention on the denials regarding his rival’s signings. “We campaign from the truth. Others prefer lies and hoaxes” and criticized that “a televised hoax is launched and then denied” by those involved.

Amid great anticipation, in true American style, including a speech by the mayor and a marching band, the Spanish national team’s expedition landed on Friday night in Chattanooga, a beautiful town located in the southeast of the state of Tennessee, where Luis de la Fuente and his team will establish their base camp throughout the first phase of the World Cup. “A team takes off. A country flies”, read the personalized Airbus 350-Next that transported ‘La Roja’ from Rosalía de Castro airport, in Santiago de Compostela, to Chattanooga, after a stopover in Nashville.