Author: Darren Smith

Christian Pulisic said he expects to be fine after being substituted at half-time of the USMNT’s 4-1 World Cup opening win over Paraguay, explaining that a kick to the back of his left calf in the first half had prompted a precautionary withdrawal. “I just got a bit of a kick in the first half so I’m really hoping that it’s nothing,” Pulisic said. “Taking a little bit of precaution today, but I’m hoping I’ll be fine in the next few days.” With the United States holding a comfortable 3-0 lead at half-time, manager Mauricio Pochettino opted to bring on…

The United States men’s national team made headlines on Friday not for their performance against Paraguay, but for their jersey — a striking red-and-white “Stripes” kit inspired by the American flag that players say finally gives them a shirt they are proud to wear on home soil. The Stripes kit, worn in the team’s opening 2026 World Cup match, will be worn again for their second group game against Australia on 19 June, before the side switches to a navy-blue “Stars” kit for their final group match against Turkey in Los Angeles on 23 June. Goalkeepers wore bright yellow against…

Wayne Rooney clashed heatedly with BBC refereeing expert Darren Cann during post-match analysis of Canada’s 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina, after Rooney insisted Bosnian goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj should have been sent off for a challenge that referee Facundo Tello chose not to punish. The incident occurred during the Group B clash in Toronto, when Vasilj rushed out towards Canada forward Tani Oluwaseyi, with both of the goalkeeper’s fists making contact with the back of the striker’s head as Oluwaseyi went down. The referee did not deem the challenge serious foul play and took no further action. During analysis on the BBC,…

The search for a missing Sydney mother continues after her estranged son was charged with her alleged kidnapping and murder, with police revealing the pair had arranged to meet so he could ask her for money shortly before she vanished. Sandra Popovic, 58, failed to return to her home in Sydney’s northwest on Tuesday. Family members told officers they last heard from her at around 4.50pm on Monday, when she said she was meeting her son, Ante Popovic, 33, in Winston Hills. Her car was found abandoned on Dodson Crescent at around 9.30am on Tuesday, identified by 7News. Superintendent Barry…

A 68-year-old Minnesota woman who had been missing for three days was found alive but trapped up to her ears in mud beside a remote trail, after two friends on ATVs took an unplanned detour and stumbled across her by chance. Kathryn Woessner disappeared on 3 June without any personal belongings near Akeley, Minnesota, around three hours north of Minneapolis, according to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office. Police had classified her as endangered and raised concerns for her safety given her medical conditions. Three days later, friends Adam Sandbeck and Mike Gravalin set out on their ATVs to explore a…

Police in Peru disguised themselves as World Cup mascots to ambush a wanted drug dealer in Lima, exploiting his obsession with football to catch him completely off guard before storming his apartment and seizing a gun, a knife and a stash of drugs. Officers from the force’s Green Squad dressed as Maple the Moose and Clutch the Bald Eagle — the official mascots of World Cup co-hosts Canada and the United States — after intelligence revealed the suspect was, in the words of a police spokesperson, “a die-hard football fan, living and breathing the World Cup fever.” The spokesperson said:…

A man has been jailed for four and a half years after stabbing a fellow holidaymaker three times in the abdomen during an unprovoked attack at Flamingo Land Resort in North Yorkshire, leaving the victim’s family describing the ordeal as “mental torture” that continues to affect them months later. Joshua Donnelly, 22, of Duxford Road, Middlesbrough, plunged a four-inch kitchen knife into the 38-year-old victim’s abdomen shortly after 1am during a chaotic early-hours incident. The victim, a father who was staying nearby with his family, had attempted to calm a domestic dispute involving Donnelly and his partner when Donnelly grabbed…

A major new exhibition tracing 80 years of artistic exchange between South Korea and Japan has opened at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea, in Gwacheon, marking the 60th anniversary of normalised diplomatic relations between the two countries and bringing together around 200 works by 43 artists and artist teams. “Road movie: Art between Korea and Japan since 1945” was jointly organised by the Korean museum and the Yokohama Museum of Art, where it first opened late last year and drew approximately 37,000 visitors before travelling to Gwacheon. The exhibition spans the period from Korea’s liberation in…

A family-run department store that has served Warrington for more than a century will close its doors next month, as rising costs, online shopping and the growth of out-of-town retail parks finally bring an end to a business that survived two world wars and a terrorist bombing. Hancock & Wood first opened on Bridge Street in 1914 and has remained on the same site for 112 years, run throughout by four generations of the Hancock family. Director Christopher Hancock said the decision to close had brought “sleepless nights” as he considered how to break the news to staff, but that…

Switzerland goes to the polls on Sunday to decide on a proposal that would impose a hard cap on the country’s population at 10 million — a measure unprecedented among democracies, which has split the country down the middle and reignited a fierce national debate over immigration, identity and Switzerland’s place in Europe. The proposal is backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which frames it as a “sustainability initiative” designed to ease pressure on housing, public services and the environment. It has been opposed by the Swiss government, every other major party, business leaders and trade unions, who have…