Keyword – Sport
Trefwoorden – NBA, NBA finals, New York Knicks, San Antonio Spurs, Victor Wembanyama, Basketball, US sports, Sport, Zohran Mamdani, Oklahoma City Thunder
Title – The year of New York and the Thunder weren’t inevitable: 15 things we learned from the NBA playoffs | NBA | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/claire-de-lune
Link – The year of New York and the Thunder weren’t inevitable: 15 things we learned from the NBA playoffs | NBA | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T09:00:18.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/16/tktktktk-15-things-we-learned-from-the-nba-playoffs

The year of New York

Sometimes it’s just your year. When infectiously optimistic young mayor Zohran Mamdani was elected this past fall, there was a palpable vibe shift in the city. That’s not to say that there’s a direct correlation between the New York Knicks being NBA champions and the era of buoyant positivity permeating the city, but it’s also not to say there’s not one. Other American cities will, inevitably, have their moment in the sun again soon. But 2026 is the year of New York (someone get that memo to the Mets).

The Spurs aren’t going anywhere

It may come across as condescending to you’ll get ‘em next time a group of professional athletes who were on the verge of a championship, but it doesn’t feel like the San Antonio Spurs just squandered a golden opportunity. If anything, they far, far overachieved this year: it’s almost entirely unheard of for a young team to make it all the way to the finals in their first rodeo. The core of Victor Wembanyama (22 years old), Stephon Castle (21) and Dylan Harper (20) certainly took their lumps along the way, and lessons learned are often painful. But it’s not looking through rose-colored glasses to say that this Spurs team will be rodeo-ing for many seasons to come.

The Thunder are not inevitable

As the saying goes, that’s why they play the games. I’m old enough to remember nine months ago, when the Oklahoma City Thunder seemingly didn’t know how to lose and everyone in the NBA media ecosystem was talking about how they were going to cruise to a repeat championship. Flash forward to the present: where the formidable Thunder met their end against the pugnacious Spurs in Game 7 of the Western Conference finals. Oklahoma City will absolutely be heard from again, and it wouldn’t be shocking if they wound up back in the finals next year. But let this be a lesson: in an era of parity, dynasties are best left labeled in hindsight, not prematurely.

LeBron shouldn’t retire yet

A 41-year-old with a beard full of grey being the guy to single-handedly backpack his team to a first-round playoff victory sounds fantastical. But there is one timeline in which it’s possible: the one with LeBron James. James has been asked about retirement relentlessly for the past several seasons, and the question is understandable. He is old enough that his own son is now his teammate. But he is, quite frankly, still too damn good to hang it up. When the Lakers found themselves without their top two scorers – All-NBA first-teamer Luka Dončić and guard Austin Reaves – the then-third option had to pull his cape out of the closet. He responded by dragging Los Angeles through the first round almost by force of will. Wherever James ends up next season, it simply cannot be retirement.

It’s a 48-minute game

Everyone who has played any level of organized basketball has heard the same refrain: “We gotta play all 48.” But it’s rare that playing 46 or 47 minutes worth of high-level hoop comes back to bite you … anywhere besides the NBA playoffs. This year’s eventual champions, the Knicks, are that fact personified: clawing back from down 29 points in the second half of Game 4 to complete the largest comeback in NBA finals history . They knew what all great, connected, fearless teams know: it’s never over until it’s over. All it takes is, as captain Jalen Brunson put it after the Game 4 comeback, “chipping away”.

Steph needs help

Listen, maybe it’s just over. But Stephen Curry is still really, really good, and I for one am tired of watching him flame out in the play-in or, at best, the first round year after year. At this point, the 2022 championship feels like a fever dream. Maybe the answer is a 2024 Olympics-style reunion with old rival LeBron James. Maybe the long-rumored Giannis Antetokounmpo pipedream somehow comes to fruition. The Golden State Warriors are running short on time. They need solutions, and quickly. Otherwise, the flashes of brilliance Curry still delivers every spring will become increasingly fleeting, until one day they’re gone.

The Twitter DMs were real

Do we have concrete proof that the controversial, mean (and, if we’re honest, occasionally hilarious) Twitter DMs leaked earlier this season actually came from the keyboard of Kevin Durant? Not exactly. But the evidence is mounting. The most damning exhibit may have been the first round of the playoffs, where Durant’s Houston Rockets were bounced by a Lakers squad relying on meaningful postseason minutes from not only LeBron James Sr, but also junior . Death by Luke Kennard is a pretty scathing indictment all by itself. The Rockets were a walking reminder that talent and chemistry are not the same thing. They looked discombobulated and unmoored with or without Durant in the lineup, but they often seemed to be having a lot more fun when he wasn’t.

The Hawks will be great next season

The Knicks won 16 of 19 games during their march to the title, but two of those three losses came in the first three games of the opening round. The opponent? A feisty Atlanta Hawks team that finally admitted defeat on the Trae Young experiment and embraced the future in the form of Jalen Johnson and his Most Improved Player running mate Nickeil Alexander-Walker. In exchange for Young, Atlanta landed the perfect veteran steward in CJ McCollum, who, as shocking as it may sound, was the only player in the entire postseason to consistently make the Knicks look mortal. Add in all that athleticism and depth, plus the No 8 pick in this year’s draft courtesy of the New Orleans Pelicans, and the Hawks should enter next season with a puncher’s chance in what promises to be a fascinating Eastern Conference.

Philly need to turn the page

Speaking of embracing the youth movement, there’s another team in the Eastern Conference that could stand to do the same. For a brief moment – around the start of the second round – it looked as though the stars were finally aligning for this moribund version of the Philadelphia 76ers. Joel Embiid looked like an MVP candidate again. Paul George didn’t look like a walking contractual albatross. Everything was clicking in a way that seemed to validate the grand vision that Daryl Morey had spent years chasing. Then the wheels came off. Morey is out of a job, and the underlying reality has reasserted itself. If there’s a path forward for Philadelphia, it probably doesn’t involve squeezing one more run out of Embiid and George. It involves turning the page, embracing the future, and building around Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe instead.

The Celtics should shake it up

There will be several coaches on the hot seat this summer. Joe Mazzulla, fresh off a Coach of the Year award, probably won’t be one of them. But he showed some serious warts in these playoffs – and, honestly, last year’s too – with his apparent unwillingness to stray from a three-point-heavy dogma even when circumstances demanded it. The pithy press conference quotes are cute and all. They become a lot less charming when your team keeps running aground on the same shoals every postseason. Beyond any tactical adjustments, the Boston Celtics have a major personnel decision to make. Jaylen Brown, the mercurial star who appeared to relish his months-long stint as the team’s No 1 option, may never have more trade value than he does right now. My takeaway? Sell high on Brown, and use the return to retool both the roster and the philosophy underpinning it.

The Timberwolves lost the trade

There was a time, not all that long ago, when the blockbuster trade that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns looked like a genuine win-win. While Towns didn’t exactly cover himself in glory during the title-clinching Game 5 of the NBA finals , that debate was settled this postseason. Randle once again proved more liability than asset when the games mattered most, while DiVincenzo will spend most, if not all, of next season recovering from an achilles tear. Meanwhile, Towns was indispensable during the Knicks’ march to the championship. He was particularly brilliant in Games 1 and 2 of the finals, helping set the tone for a dominant series victory and validating the gamble New York made when it acquired him.

Don’t make too much (or too little) of the regular season …

Somewhere between “the NBA regular season is irrelevant” and “the NBA regular season is the bible” lies a more nuanced truth: there is plenty to be gleaned from the six months between October and April, but none of it is definitive. Take, for example, the Detroit Pistons, who steamrolled the Eastern Conference for much of the regular season but carried glaring playoff-centric flaws that were obvious to anyone looking closely enough. Or the Knicks, who faced the opposite problem: a team that wasn’t blowing the doors off opponents during the 82-game marathon because it was clearly ironing out wrinkles in preparation for the 16-game sprint. The signs were there all along, not least when they captured the NBA Cup in December. On the other side of the ledger sat the Spurs. Their regular-season dominance over the Thunder turned out to be more than a curiosity; it was a preview. When the Spurs knocked Oklahoma City out in the conference finals, the warning signs had already been there for months. So by all means, take lessons from the regular season. Just don’t mistake them for gospel.

… and don’t trade for James Harden

There’s a famous meme, born from a scene in Arrested Development, in which one character asks: “Did it work for those people?” The response: “No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might … but it might work for us.” That, in a nutshell, is the James Harden experience. Every few years, a different NBA front office succumbs to a kind of selective amnesia. Executives are charmed by Harden’s remarkably regular-season production and convince themselves that this time will be different. They willingly suppress the memory of the playoff shortcomings that have followed him throughout his career until, inevitably, those memories come flooding back in painful fashion. Then comes the disappointment. Then the trade request. Then the wheel spins again. I will never fully understand how the optimism persists, but the Cleveland Cavaliers became the latest franchise to learn the same lesson as so many before them: when the calendar turns to April, May and June, Harden simply cannot be treated as a dependable No 1 option.

A savvy front office is paramount

There was one trait shared by the three best teams in the playoff field – the Thunder, Spurs and Knicks – they were run by smart, shrewd front offices. Their intelligence manifested in different ways. Oklahoma City and San Antonio largely built through the draft. New York took a more aggressive path, assembling their core through trades and free agency. But all three organizations excelled at the same fundamental task: roster construction. You may not have the Thunder’s seemingly endless depth. You may not have the Spurs’ lottery fortune. You may not possess the je ne sais quoi , culture and sheer stubborn resilience that powered the Knicks to a championship. But putting smart people in charge is one of the few competitive advantages available to every franchise.

You can win with a small guard

Becky Hammon is a brilliant basketball mind, a damn good coach and, unfortunately, the source of a quote that will live in infamy. “If your best player is small, you’re not winning,” Hammon said in 2023 while arguing that Brunson, listed at 6ft 2in, could never be a true No 1 option on a championship team. Given that Brunson now possesses both an Eastern Conference finals MVP and an NBA finals MVP trophy, it goes without saying that the take did not age particularly well. If the NBA teaches the same lesson over and over, this season hammered it home more forcefully than most: there is no single blueprint for superstardom. Brunson has flaws. Plenty of them. He is also one of the most outrageously clutch players the league has ever seen. The goal is not to find a flawless basketball demigod molded in the image of ames or Michael Jordan. The goal is to find a truly great player, one capable of leading a locker room and elevating teammates, then intelligently and relentlessly build a roster that amplifies his strengths. The Knicks’ radio broadcaster Tyler Murray captured it perfectly in his final call of the season: “The 2026 New York Knicks will forever be remembered as the team that proved no lead is too big, and no guard is too small.”

Keyword – Film
Trefwoorden – Film, Drama films, Romance films, LGBTQ+ rights, India, Culture, Bollywood, South and central Asia, World news
Title – Cactus Pears review – tender and subtle story of forbidden love and a poignant awakening in India | Film | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/peterbradshaw
Link – Cactus Pears review – tender and subtle story of forbidden love and a poignant awakening in India | Film | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T06:00:25.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/jun/17/cactus-pears-review-forbidden-love-india-rohan-kanawade

H ere is a really impressive directorial debut from Mumbai film-maker Rohan Kanawade: tender, subtle, candid, scrupulously observed. It is a story of forbidden and unacknowledged love, or maybe semi-forbidden and semi-unacknowledged, and an emotional flowering that reveals the oppressive importance of family, status and class.

Anand (Bhushaan Manoj) is a 30-year-old Mumbai call-centre worker who must return to his remote home village when his father dies, where he is expected to stay for the full 10-day mourning period, an absence for which he must grovellingly apologise to his boss over the phone. His dad’s final words, incidentally, were that he wanted his wife Suman (Jayshri Jagtap) to cook him a really nice meal, and the poignancy of that request is cleverly revealed by Kanawade in the later scene in which Anand’s elderly, blind grandfather reminisces about why he agreed to marry the lowly and uneducated Suman in the first place.

This widow, in one of the film’s many murmuringly subdued dialogue exchanges, advises Anand to stay discreet about his reasons for leaving and why he is still unmarried; the story they are sticking to is that a “girl” broke his heart. Anand painfully ponders whether to send this person a text revealing that he is back in the old neighbourhood. But more importantly, Anand reconnects with Balya (Suraaj Suman), a poor goatherd and casual worker whose family money was long since expended on his sister’s dowry, who shares Anand’s dormant feelings for him. But Balya is under pressure to get married within a community which is collectively aware, at some level of denial, about why he is single and wants him to stop embarrassing everyone.

As the 10-day observance continues, and the time of his father’s funeral ceremony draws closer, Anand becomes more resolved about what he wants his future to look like. The cactus pears of the title are a shy gift to Anand from Balya; he has symbolically removed their prickles in advance, a touching act which only points up how the prickles are not to be removed so easily in any other aspect of their lives.

Cactus Pears is in UK and Irish cinemas from 19 June.

Keyword – US news
Trefwoorden – US news, Lil Nas X, Mental health, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Music, Culture, Bipolar disorder
Title – Lil Nas X shares update after getting mental health care: ‘There’s less fear in my heart’ | US news | The Guardian
Author – Associated Press
Link – Lil Nas X shares update after getting mental health care: ‘There’s less fear in my heart’ | US news | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T17:59:17.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/17/lil-nas-x-mental-health-instagram-video

The musician Lil Nas X posted a moving video update to his Instagram on Wednesday morning. In the nearly three-minute clip, the artist – born Montero Lamar Hill – shared that he “has been in rehab for a few months” and since then, has returned home to Atlanta, where he is from and his family lives, and Los Angeles, where he resides.

The update comes in response to an event last summer in which the musician was charged with attacking Los Angeles police officers.

In April, a judge allowed the 27-year-old to enter a mental health diversion program intended to lead to the charges being dismissed. The musician was eligible for the program because the court found that the encounter involving police was the result of his since-diagnosed bipolar disorder and appeared to be an aberration compared with his usual behavior.

In Wednesday’s video, Lil Nas X publicly discussed his mental health diagnosis. “I have a therapist now and a psychiatrist, which has been really helpful. When I got my bipolar disorder diagnosis, I feel like I had known for the past few years, but I didn’t want to admit to it ‘cause I didn’t want to have to take medication and, I don’t know, have people think different of me.”

“I’m doing much better,” he continued after joking that he’s “living life on extreme hard mode”.

“I’m feeling better. I’m creating freely. And there’s less fear in my heart,” he said.

Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes dramatic shifts in mood, energy, activity levels and concentration. These range from periods of extremely elated, irritable or energized behavior – known as manic episodes – to very sad, indifferent or hopeless periods, known as depressive episodes.

“I’ve been doing music for seven years now,” Lil Nas X said in switching gears near the end of the clip. “I wanted to let you guys know there is new music on the way.”

Then he addressed his fans directly. “I love you and all I want to do is continue to try to make you proud and make myself proud.”

Lil Nas X was arrested and briefly taken to a hospital for a suspected overdose in August after Los Angeles police say he charged at officers responding to a report of a naked man walking on a busy boulevard.

Authorities allege the musician was walking nude down a street in LA’s San Fernando valley and charged at police officers who were responding to calls about him. A criminal complaint says three officers were hurt. Photos and video apparently shot before the police confrontation showed Lil Nas X walking in the street in only white briefs and white boots.

After spending three days in jail, he was released on $75,000 bail on the condition that he attend drug treatment. He pleaded not guilty in a court appearance to three counts of battery with injury on a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer.

In his first public comments shortly thereafter, the artist posted a video to Instagram saying: “These last four days have been terrifying.”

But he added with a laugh, speaking of himself, that “your girl is going to be OK. She’s going to be all right.”

Then two months ago, Judge Alan Schneider allowed Lil Nas X to enter the mental health diversion program. If he sticks to his treatment program and obeys all laws for two years, the four felony counts against him will be dismissed.

The Atlanta -raised artist is best known for 2018’s country and hip-hop merging Old Town Road , which spent a record 19 weeks at No 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won him two Grammys. It is one of the most popular singles of all time, and in 2019 broke the Billboard record set by Mariah Carey’s One Sweet Day for most weeks at No 1.

Known for his genre-bending, innovating sounds and style, Lil Nas X’s first full studio album, 2021’s Montero , went to No 2 on the Billboard album chart and received a Grammy nomination for album of the year. Other hits have included Industry Baby and Montero (Call Me by Your Name) .

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, Lionel Messi, Argentina, World Cup, Football, Sport
Title – What happened on a historic night for Argentina? ‘Messi things’ | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/pablo-iglesias-maurer
Link – What happened on a historic night for Argentina? ‘Messi things’ | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T05:59:04.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/17/lionel-messi-hat-trick-algeria-argentina-world-cup

L ong after the dust had settled on Argentina’s 3-0 group-stage victory over Algeria on Tuesday night, Algeria and Bayern Munich midfielder Ibrahim Maza emerged wearily from behind a curtain and stepped up to the microphone.

Maza had played well, even assisting on Algeria’s disallowed first goal. He had also had a front-row seat to a Lionel Messi masterclass, just a few yards away from Argentina’s captain when he scored his third goal of the evening and tied Miroslav Klose as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer. In short order, he was asked to expand on what made Messi unplayable on Tuesday evening.

“Messi things,” Maza said, a smile creeping across his face. “I don’t think I need to explain to you [what that means]. You just have to watch the game and then you’ll know what I mean by Messi things. He can decide the game on his own, as we saw today.”

Messi did indeed decide the game on his own on Tuesday, scoring a trio of clinically taken goals to bury Algeria and push Argentina to the verge of the knockout round. He did so 20 years to the day after scoring his first World Cup goal for Argentina.

It feels sometimes like Messi is ageless, but rolling the tape on that strike – which came in Argentina’s 2006 group‑stage opener against Serbia and Montenegro – reveals a mop‑headed teenager with alien‑like speed and reflexes. He blurs across the area and smashes a finish across the face of goal, announcing his presence on the world stage.

He became Argentina’s youngest World Cup goalscorer that day and on Tuesday he became their oldest, eclipsing former Argentina great Martin Palermo’s record by more than two full years. Messi moves slower now and undoubtedly enjoys the space he is frequently given by defenders who fear humiliation at his hands. Twenty years on, Messi lacks a little pace but his mind is as sharp as ever, as is his ability to find space where there isn’t any to be found. He remains awe-inspiring.

Not long after Maza slipped back through the curtain and headed towards the team bus, Messi himself emerged, smiling and clutching a Michelob Ultra “Superior Player of the Match” trophy, probably the least important silverware he has ever touched.

Messi, of course, is famously competitive and frequently minimizes these types of individual accomplishments. “Honestly [the record doesn’t matter],” he said. “It’s an honor to be there, for what it means to be next to Klose, [the Brazilian] Ronaldo is also there. [Kylian] Mbappé too, he scored twice today. It’s just a statistic and nothing more. ”

It is easy to question the veracity of Messi’s feelings, of course. He is relentlessly competitive, sometimes to the point of pettiness. The mere mention of Mbappé’s goals, scored hours earlier , and of the other participants on the list, demonstrates his interest. Messi’s Argentina and Inter Miami teammate Rodrigo De Paul, who assisted on Messi’s first goal, laughed when he was asked about Messi’s record.

“I swear he doesn’t care. Sometimes we’ll be in a room drinking mate and we’ll tell him: ‘Hey man, you’re just one away or two away’, or whatever. And I swear he has no idea. I don’t know how that works.”

Messi left after 80 minutes to a thunderous ovation. The crowd of nearly 70,000 chanted his name, and Messi raised his arms in acknowledgement. His head coach, Lionel Scaloni, met him at the touchline. He was holding back tears as he eventually sat on the bench next to Messi. It was not the only time that emotion got the best of him. He welled up after Messi’s third goal, and again on the field as Argentina supporters serenaded their team after the match.

“There are no words; anything I say would be superfluous,” Scaloni said after the match. “It’s what he’s been doing for 20 years, it’s what the people of this sport want to see.”

De Paul said: “He’s an animal. What makes me the happiest is that I feel like he’s enjoying it. That he doesn’t feel the weight of the pressure that he felt for so long. Everyone knows his mentality. He doesn’t let himself enjoy things much because he’s always focused in helping us and the team. But I see him good now, I see him happy. That’s contagious among the group.”

Messi’s happiness was easy enough to see. He beamed after every goal, celebrating much like the 19-year-old who found the back of the net for the first time 20 years ago. He lingered on the pitch after the final whistle, waving at fans and embracing his teammates, a smile on his face even as he walked towards the team bus in the wee hours of the morning.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, England, World Cup, Football, Sport, Croatia, Thomas Tuchel
Title – Tuchel says World Cup will ‘bring out the best’ in England against old foes Croatia | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/jacob-steinberg,https://www.theguardian.com/profile/davidhytner
Link – Tuchel says World Cup will ‘bring out the best’ in England against old foes Croatia | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T00:30:17.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/17/thomas-tuchel-world-cup-opener-england-croatia

Thomas Tuchel has said the occasion and tension will bring the best out of England when they open their World Cup campaign with an ­awkward game against Croatia on Wednesday.

England cruised through ­qualifying, but have a patchy record against top opposition and much to prove before their first encounter in Group L. They have faced top-20 sides on three occasions under Tuchel, drawing with Uruguay and losing to Japan and Senegal .

Yet Tuchel is confident ­England will have a different mindset in a competitive game. The German cannot wait for his first World Cup to begin and believes his side will be ready for the challenge posed by ­Croatia under the Dallas Stadium roof.

“Because it’s not a friendly match, we will not try stuff,” England’s head coach said. “We will rely on us and the occasion and the tension will bring out the best in us.”

Tuchel’s aim is for England to play with the intensity of a Premier League side. “We should play brave and play to the strengths of the players,” he said. “I feel clearly that the players want it and that they are successful in club football like this.

“They compete in the ­strongest league, most of them. The others who are not in the league ­compete in the highest level in Europe and ­Champions League and they play in brave and active teams. It makes things excited and creates a ­certain energy and we need a connection with our fans who are here, with the fans at home, to create something special.”

England’s carefully planned buildup involved them ­acclimatising to the heat by flying to a Florida for a pre-tournament training camp two weeks ago. They have stepped up preparations at their base in Kansas City and Tuchel, who is expected to start Jude Bellingham over Morgan Rogers at No 10, feels his players require no special messaging about their World Cup starting here.

“They know,” he said. “I don’t feel any emotional fuel is needed to make everyone clear what is happening. We know.

“I see it even as an advantage that we’re very focused on what we can influence. We don’t put it in the ­bigger picture – just put it where it is. Go day by day, influence what you can ­influence. If we can stay there, I think we have an even ­better chance to compete and perform on our highest level.”

England could overpower an ­ageing Croatia side, but they must be wary of the craft of Mateo Kovacic and the 40-year-old Luka Modric in midfield. The 37-year-old Ivan ­Perisic is another danger and scored in ­ Croatia’s semi-final win over ­England at the 2018 World Cup.

“It is a very difficult start,” Tuchel said. “It is an experienced team, an experienced coach, in tournament knockout football. It’s a top football nation and a very strong opponent. The centre of gravity in their game has dropped a bit, into a back three, we expect.

“From a midfield three, which was the core of Croatia , it has only Kovacic and Modric still there. They’re ­playing in a midfield two now. They play with fluid No 10s and wing-backs. But the core is still Modric and Kovacic.

“Then they have Perisic, who is always a threat with the crosses. That is one of the most dangerous crossers in world football, maybe – left foot, right foot, he does not even need space to put a cross in. It is ­remarkable. And they are strong in set pieces”.

England have been working on their own set-pieces and looked in good shape when they thrashed Costa Rica last week .

There are few selection headaches for Tuchel. He must decide whether to risk Bukayo Saka , with the winger troubled by an achilles problem. Noni Madueke is an option to start instead of his Arsenal teammate while Ezri Konsa and John Stones are expected to get the nod over Marc Guéhi in central defence.

The full-back Tino Livramento is out of the tournament after ­suffering a muscular injury in ­training; Tuchel said scans indicated the Newcastle man would be out for four-to-five weeks. ­Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah has been called up in his place, a move that will free up Jarell Quansah to be a full-back option on both sides, together with Djed Spence. Chalobah will come in as a centre-half option.

The squad will play a behind-closed-doors game at their Kansas City base on Thursday, Tuchel said, to keep the players who do not get many minutes against Croatia ticking over. The opposition could be the local MLS team, Sporting Kansas City. England did the same thing after their friendly against Costa Rica last Wednesday, when they had a training match against Miami United in Florida the next day. England’s second World Cup group game is not until Tuesday, against Ghana at Boston Stadium.

“It is true that we try to play an in-house match after Croatia to use the time [well], we have many days [before the Ghana game],” Tuchel said. “It can give the players who don’t play minutes an extra match load. We did it after the Costa Rica game and we do it one last time on the day after Croatia.”

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, World Cup, England, Croatia, Football, Sport
Title – England v Croatia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/scottmurray
Link – England v Croatia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T19:23:24.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/jun/17/england-v-croatia-world-cup-2026-live-updates

Luka Modric, who made his World Cup debut in 2006, 20 years ago tomorrow, coming on during a goalless draw with Japan, talks to ITV as well. “We did good qualifications … we played well … now is the real deal … we will see where we are at the moment … how good we are … I have a lot of confidence and belief in this team … a lot of young players … still some old guard … let’s see … age is just a number … this is how I see it … for me it’s not important … it’s important how you feel … what you do on the pitch.”

Thomas Tuchel speaks to Independent Television. “This is what we have worked for … the goal of the prep camp … to be ready for the day … I don’t want to be anywhere else in the world … so let’s go … ideal conditions … to play an intensive match … that’s our aim … we stick with the team that started so well against Costa Rica … we will not start and finish this match with 11 players … we need a strong bench … we have players who can influence and change matches from the bench … that is important … it was a 50-50 call to go with Jude [instead of Morgan Rogers] … I expected Mateo Kovacic to start so we have one slight tweak … we need to adapt our press … we are prepared for that … we are at the starting line … we let the players go and take the next steps.”

… so Jude Bellingham does indeed get the nod at 10 over Morgan Rogers. Anthony Gordon has been selected ahead of Marcus Rashford on the left, while Noni Madueke patrols the other flank; Bukayo Saka, not 100 percent fit, remains wrapped up safely on the bench. Ezri Konsa starts alongside John Stones in the centre of defence.

Croatia captain Luka Modric, 40, is about to appear at his ​ fifth World ‌Cup. He wins his 199th cap tonight. Ivan Perišić will make do with his 155th cap. Mateo Kovacic ‌is on the bench and dreaming of cap number 114.

The teams

England: ​Pickford, Konsa, O’Reilly, Stones, James, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Kane, Gordon, ​Madueke.

Croatia: Livakovic, Stanisic, Gvardiol, Sutalo, ‌Vuskovic, ​Modric, Mario Pasalic, Baturina, Petar Sucic, Perisic, Musa.

Way out west east. While the soccer stars get ready to rumble in Texas, art has broken out in Shoreditch, east London. “Dunno if it’s of interest but I’m sketching the England fans at the Old Blue Last,” writes Keith Williams, and very nice his work is too. Enjoy, observe, interpret, comprehend, appreciate, etc.

Some more scene-setting from our folk in Arlington. This comes to you from Guardian football writer and occasional meteorologist / retail trends analyst Ed Aarons.

It’s going to be a hot one at the Dallas Stadium for England’s opening game of the World Cup against Croatia, with temperatures expected to exceed 33 degrees when the game kicks off. Thankfully there is air conditioning throughout with a capacity crowd of 70,000 expected. Lots of England and Croatia fans have been gathering over the road from one of the entrances outside a Walmart, which I would imagine is much cheaper than buying drinks inside Fifa-land …

Some early team news. Courtesy of our man on the spot, Jacob Steinberg.

As predicted in today’s Super Soaraway Guardian, Jude Bellingham gets the nod at No10 for England. Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke are on the flanks, with the latter preferred to Bukayo Saka, who’s been trying to shake off an Achilles problem. Ezri Konsa is picked over Marc Guehi in central defence too.

Time To Kill pt III. Our comprehensive Player Guide features every single player going to North America this summer, with potted bios written by experts from all around the world. Contains no trace of Trent Alexander-Arnold, and that’s an Official Guardian Guarantee™.

Time To Kill pt II. Bracketology allows you to curate your very own World Cup pipe dream. Click yon, drag hither, plot a route, reconfigure. Or if you’ve not got that much precious time to waste, hit shuffle and see what pops up. I’ve just done that and Curaçao have beaten Iraq in the final. Once again – because it’s the second time I’ve tested and trailed the shuffle feature – England didn’t get out of their group, and I’m beginning to suspect the coding for this was done in Glasgow. Anyway, it’s good fun, so get on it!

Time To Kill pt I. You want preview pieces? We got preview pieces.

Preamble

It’s day seven of the 2026 World Cup , and finally England are on their way. They are Tom’s 26. Hear the roar, of the red, white and … ah who remembers that cheesy old song anyway? Point is, after an interminable wait, England are at long last getting down to business.

Whether they’d have hand-picked Croatia as their first opponents is a moot point. On the one hand, England are a young and vibrant team, the sap rising, while most of Croatia’s first choice are in their 30s and their captain and talisman Luka Modric is now into his fifth decade. But on the other, this is a team that reached the final in 2018 and the semis last time round, and all of that Croatian experience has got to count for something.

There’s also the small matter of the head to head. England have won the last two meetings between the countries, in November 2018 and at Euro 2020 , but the big ones that really counted went Croatia’s way – in Euro 2008 qualifying and the 2018 World Cup semi – and those results cut deep. So yes, England would have probably preferred to start their campaign against Panama or Ghana, but here we all are. Can England get it right this time? Kick off is at 9pm BST, 3pm at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. It’s on!

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, Mexico, World Cup, Football, Sport, Americas
Title – Protesters to rally against World Cup sponsor Hyundai before Mexico game | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/matthughes
Link – Protesters to rally against World Cup sponsor Hyundai before Mexico game | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T13:04:58.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jun/17/protesters-to-rally-against-world-cup-sponsor-hyundai-before-mexico-game

Hyundai will be targeted by protesters at a rally before the Group A game between Mexico and South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday, due to the World Cup sponsor’s business dealings with the South American mining company Ternium.

A 2025 report from the environmental group Mighty Earth criticised Hyundai’s involvement in what they described as a “dirty steel supply chain”, as the South Korean motor company is a major buyer of iron ore from Ternium for use in steel production. Ternium has faced repeated criticisms for its destructive environmental impact and corporate governance policies from campaign groups, as well as its alleged links to the disappearance of two Mexican activists.

A rally will take place at the Plaza de La Liberación in Guadalajara, to highlight the fate of Mexico’s so-called 130,000 disappeared, some of whom worked in the mining industry.

Three years ago two men went missing in Guadalajara after being critical of Ternium for its role in the alleged destruction of rural areas. Ricardo Arturo Lagunes Gasca, a renowned human rights lawyer, and Antonio Díaz Valencia, leader of the Aquila Indigenous community in the state of Michoacán, disappeared after attending an anti-mining community meeting in January 2023. The Guardian reported eyewitnesses at the time stating that the two activists were threatened and followed by several men in cars and motorbikes after they left the meeting in Aquila and headed towards the neighbouring state of Colima. Lagunes and Díaz were travelling in a white Honda pickup truck that was later found abandoned on the side of a highway riddled with bullets but no blood.

The protesters at the rally on Friday will accuse Hyundai of sportswashing by signing World Cup sponsorship deals and hold placards urging the company to show Ternium the red card. Hyundai and Kia are Fifa’s official mobility partners for the World Cup as part of a deal that also involves them providing transport for players, referees and other officials during the tournament. Hyundai has supplied Fifa with a fleet of 994 cars and 506 buses across the US, Canada and Mexico, while Kia will deploy 660 vehicles across North America.

Protest movements have been a significant feature of the Mexican element of the World Cup. Striking teachers succeeded in forcing road closures around the Estadio Azteca last week before the opening match between Mexico and South Africa , where about 200 protesters fought with police after attempting to force entry into the stadium.

Ternium Mexico has categorically denied any involvement in the disappearances. “Ternium expresses its solidarity with the families of the missing men, and with the community of Aquila,” a spokesperson said. “Ternium is against any type of violence and categorically rejects any speculation and/or defamation that tries to associate it with any type of illegal activity.

“We always operate within the law and with a broad sense of social responsibility. Ternium is a leading public company in the manufacture of steel in Latin America, which operates transparently and under the highest standards of control in all its operations.”

Hyundai declined to comment on the protests.

Keyword – US news
Trefwoorden – Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, US news, Democrats, US politics
Title – Hillary Clinton says Biden’s re-election bid cost Democrats the 2024 election | Hillary Clinton | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/joseph-gedeon
Link – Hillary Clinton says Biden’s re-election bid cost Democrats the 2024 election | Hillary Clinton | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-16T20:39:45.000Z
Category – News
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/hillary-clinton-joe-biden-2024-election

Joe Biden ’s decision to seek a second term was “a terrible mistake” that cost Democrats the presidency and may have permanently damaged his legacy, Hillary Clinton has declared.

Speaking at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan on Monday, the former US secretary of state and 2016 Democratic nominee said Biden had reneged on a prior commitment to step aside – and that the betrayal of that promise proved catastrophic. “He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy, and for the country,” she said.

Clinton argued that had Biden announced in late summer 2023 that he would not run, a genuine Democratic primary would have produced a stronger nominee.

“I believe whoever emerged from that contest, whether it was the vice-president or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump,” she said, calling the decision to stay in the race “a terrible miscalculation”.

Biden eventually abandoned his re-election bid in July 2024 following a disastrous debate performance against Trump, during which his wife Jill Biden recently revealed that she believed he was having a stroke while watching him. Biden then went on to hand over the nomination to his vice-president, Kamala Harris , in August, who went on to lose the general election to Trump a few months later.

Still, Clinton’s claim that any Democrat would have beaten Trump deserves scrutiny. A 2025 report from the left-leaning Way to Win into the 2024 defeat identified three core problems: voters wanted economic change; Republicans held a structural media advantage; and leftwing movements on Gaza, racial justice and immigration were badly out of alignment with the party. A controversial, and belated , internal review of the Democrats’ losses identified a slew of mistakes, describing a party that had lost ground at every level of government for nearly two decades.

In her remarks on Monday, Clinton explained that “once [Biden] didn’t move and did not, you know, admit that he had said he was going to step aside, and then decided not to, and held on for as long as he did, we were in a terrible dilemma.”

Keyword – Television & radio
Trefwoorden – Television, Television & radio, Culture, Harlan Coben
Title – I Will Find You review – seen one maddeningly watchable Harlan Coben adaptation? You’ve seen them all | Television | The Guardian
Author – https://www.theguardian.com/profile/sarahdempster
Link – I Will Find You review – seen one maddeningly watchable Harlan Coben adaptation? You’ve seen them all | Television | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T07:01:24.000Z
Category – Culture
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2026/jun/17/i-will-find-you-review-harlen-coben-britt-lower-netflix

A lever groans, a pipe judders and thunk ; another length of premium-grade bunkum is extruded from the Harlan Coben Industrial Adaptation Complex™. This particular emission – an eight-part assemblage of fists and mumbling entitled I Will Find You – is the 13th of Coben’s novels to have been processed by Netflix as part of a 14-book deal. Which means – the pulse quickens – there is now just one more to go. On Netflix, at least. The author’s ongoing deal with Amazon suggests we could be trapped in an ever-spiralling cycle of preposterous thrillers for eternity. May God have mercy on our souls.

Helpfully, Netflix has titled its cluster of adaptations “The Harlan Coben Collection”, which makes them sound like the type of ceramic figurines advertised at the back of Sunday supplements: Regency belles, say, or dogs dressed as fictional detectives. Stun your family by collecting them all! Alternatively, watch just one – any one – of these adaptations and relax in the knowledge that you have now in effect seen them all, and thus need never again subject yourself to the sight of hitherto respectable actors remaining straight-faced while delivering lines of the “The past never changes. Until one day it does” genus.

I Will Find You, then. The gist is, as usual, this: somebody is missing. Somebody else is accused of a crime wot they did not do. The police are inept and/or corrupt, there is much scowling in expensive leisurewear, and everybody from stoic hero to snarling baddie speaks. Like this. To imply a sense of urgency. And gravitas. Whereas it merely makes them sound as if. They’re just back from. Zumba.

In a startling break with Netflix-Coben tradition, I Will Find You is set not in Europe but the US, which means the breathlessness comes with bigger guns and the captions shout things like BOSTON rather than LONDON, ENGLAND. In every other respect, however, I Will Find You is classic small-screen Coben, which is to say: maddeningly watchable crap with bells on.

So here is David Burroughs (Sam Worthington), a muscular everyman serving a life sentence in a Maine penitentiary for the murder of his young son. And yet he is innocent. Innocent, do you hear? But nobody believes our unshaven hero and so his days are spent dolefully punching fellow prisoners while immersed in thoughts of self-reproach (“A father’s job is to protect his child from harm. I failed,” etc).

Until! Ex-sister-in-law – and disgraced investigative journalist – Rachel Mills (Britt “Severance” Lower) turns up with a recent photograph of a frolicking youngster who looks very much like … no. Surely not. But yes. It seems David’s son may not be dead after all. “If there’s a chance …” gasps Rachel, pointing to the fact that said frolicker sports an identical birthmark to the formerly-dead Matthew, “… no matter how impossible, that he’s somehow still alive …”

And with that we’re off, bustin’ outta prison in the (complicit) governor’s Toyota Testosterone and straight into what Rachel’s ex-editor calls “the story of a lifetime!” He’s wrong, of course (it’s the story of eight 40-ish minute episodes plus ads), but there is enough “gas” in the tank to ensure an eventful ride for all.

Slowly, a labyrinthine global conspiracy unfolds and David and Rachel are up to their fugitive nostrils in questions: where is David’s son? If it wasn’t Matthew who was murdered, who was it? And who is the shadowy puppet-master to whom everyone from shifty prison warden to icy charity boss keeps sending cryptic texts?

The upshot? Palpable cobblers. The script is made of Play-Doh and our protagonists are but flaps of luncheon meat pegged to a washing line. And yet still we must – must! – find out what happens. And so we stagger, dazed, into the next episode. And the episode after that. Until many, many red herrings, narrative cul-de-sacs and splutter-inducing plot holes later, we are deposited at the end of another Coben adaptation with virtually no memory of how we got there. Confound it! That’s 13 down, one (??) to go. Stay strong, everyone.

I Will Find You is on Netflix now.

Keyword – Football
Trefwoorden – World Cup 2026, Football, Sport, World Cup
Title – Messi’s record, Mbappé’s magic and Haaland’s big splash – World Cup Daily | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Author – Max Rushden
Link – Messi’s record, Mbappé’s magic and Haaland’s big splash – World Cup Daily | World Cup 2026 | The Guardian
Publish date – 2026-06-17T06:21:19.000Z
Category – Sport
URL – https://www.theguardian.com/football/audio/2026/jun/17/lionel-messi-kylian-mbappe-erling-haaland-world-cup-daily-podcast

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email .

On the podcast today: Lionel Messi becomes the first man to appear at six World Cups and marks the occasion with a brilliant hat-trick against Algeria.

Elsewhere … France start slowly against Senegal, but a slight tweak and presumably some stern words from Didier Deschamps at half-time see them emerge a new team; Kylian Mbappé with two great goals, plus an unbelievable Michael Olise assist. They already look quite ominous …

Plus Erling Haaland scores a brace on his World Cup debut as Norway beat Iraq 4-1. Are they looking the dark horse candidate so many tipped them to be? There’s a preview of Wednesday’s action including England v Croatia, and your questions answered.

Support the Guardian here .

You can also find Football Weekly on Instagram , TikTok, and YouTube .