Sports

Patience proved the critical virtue for Spain. They had to wait for a kickoff delayed by, among other things, a Tom Cruise speech. They had to wait twice as long as usual at halftime. And they had to wait for 106 minutes of play and their 20th shot before Ferran Torres lashed home the goal that would win them a second men's World Cup. "I'm very moved. Looking back and thinking about them, we've won everything, absolutely everything, with this generation of players," said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente. "The match should have been decided much earlier ... but this is a World Cup final, and you have to dig deep even against ten men, and we’re prepared for anything." Spain's captain and player of the tournament, Rodri, lifted the trophy, but not before Donald Trump made his presence known. T...

Patience proved the critical virtue for Spain. They had to wait for a kickoff delayed by — among other things — a Tom Cruise speech. They had to wait twice as long as usual at half time. And they had to wait for 106 minutes of play and their 20th shot before Ferran Torres lashed home the goal that would win them a second men's World Cup. For much of Sunday’s final, that moment had felt purely a matter of time, as the European champions thoroughly outclassed their South American counterparts. Just as they did in their impressive semifinal display against France, Spain dominated the ball early and their teenage superstar, Lamine Yamal, came close to opening the scoring in the fifth minute. Seconds later, at the other end of the pitch and the age scale, Lionel Messi was beaten to a through ...

After six years on ESPN, the Bundesliga has a new home in the United States of America. A combination of USA Network and Fandango has reportedly struck a deal through the 2030-31 season to be the English-language broadcaster of Germany's top flight in the US. The deal is reportedly worth $20 million (€17.4 million) per year, which is noticeably less than the $34 million per year paid by ESPN. USA and Fandango are part of Versant, a media company that is trying to develop itself as a home for broadcasting rights below the top leagues of the NFL and NBA. Fandango is predominately an app to buy movie tickets, but Versant is looking to diversify its offering by including live sports. All 300-plus Bundesliga games will air on either channel, with USA requiring a subscription and Fandango bein...

World Cup holders Argentina are to face England in the 2026 World Cup semifinal in Atlanta – a match that will take place against the background of an intense history between the two nations. In April 1982, the unpopular General Leopoldo Galtieri, who led Argentina under a military junta at the time, ordered an invasion of the Falkland Islands, which are known to Argentinians as "Las Malvinas." Great Britain's then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent a "task force" of approximately 26,000 troops to take back the territory. The conflict lasted 74 days and ended with Argentina's surrender on June 14, 1982.  Argentines see the roots of that conflict as going back to 1833, when the United Kingdom took military control of the islands, located about 500 kilometers (300 miles) off Argentina's...

It's the kind of thing many football fans experience during World Cup watch parties: The "home" team scores a goal and fans in a beer garden or pub cheer as one – and may even embrace in celebration – even though they had been complete strangers just moments earlier. For Katie Wood, a clinical psychologist at Swinburne University in Melbourne, these shared moments can actually support mental health. "The greatest protective factor for our mental health is connectedness—the connection to ourselves, to other people, to our community, and to our culture," Wood told DW. And sport, in her view, hits exactly this note; it brings people together. This form of connection isn't limited to families or friends. It can also emerge when, for a brief moment, one feels they are part of something bigge...

After six years of being on ESPN, the Bundesliga has a new home in the United States of America. A combination of USA Network and Fandango has reportedly struck a deal through the 2030-31 season to be the English-language broadcaster of Germany's top flight in the USA. The deal is reportedly worth $20 million (€17.4 million) per year, which is noticeably less than the $34 million per year paid by ESPN. USA and Fandango are part of Versant, a media company in the country that is trying to develop itself as a home for broadcasting rights below the top leagues of the NFL and NBA. Fandango is predominately an app to buy movie tickets, but Versant is looking to diversify its offering by including live sports. All 300-plus Bundesliga games will air on either channel, with USA requiring a subsc...