Argentina beat Switzerland to set up World Cup 2026 semifinal with England

KANSAS, United States 

Defending champions Argentina will face England in the semifinals of FIFA World Cup 2026 after beating ten-man Switzerland 3-1 after extra time thanks to a decisive long-range effort by Julian Alvarez.

Alexis Mac Allister headed in a 10th-minute cross by Lionel Messi to hand Argentina the lead at Kansas City Stadium on Saturday.

It was far from the dominant display that the South Americans would have hoped for thereafter, and the Europeans deservedly levelled in the 67th minute when Dan Ndoye slotted home from close range.

The Swiss controversially lost Breel Embolo to a second yellow in the 72nd minute for simulation. VAR had to intervene, however, to request the referee to review whether the booking given to Argentina’s Leandro Paredes was a case of mistaken identity – a new VAR rule for this tournament.

Embolo appeared to dive to win the free kick and Portuguese referee Joao Pinheiro changed his decision, which resulted in an inconsolable Embolo given his marching orders.

Argentina pressed for the winner in normal time and nearly found their reward with virtually the last kick of the period when Lisandro Martinez flung himself at a loose ball in the box, but his scissor-kick didn’t have the power to beat the keeper.

Messi had himself come close when through, one-on-one, but his chip was saved. The referee’s assistant raised his flag to suggest the effort would have been offside anyway, although replays show a goal may well have stood – it would have been Messi’s ninth in six appearances at the tournament.

It was Alvarez who stole the show on this occasion, however, with a fizzing effort from 25 yards which rifled into the top right corner of the goal in the 112th minute.

As the Swiss threw bodies forward in the dying seconds, there were huge holes left at the back and Lautaro Martinez capitalised deep into stoppage time in extra time to slot home a third after a counterattack led by Thiago Almada, whose initial shot deflected kindly into his teammate’s path.

Argentina will now face England in the semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta. Spain play France, the team Argentina defeated in the final at Qatar 2022, on Tuesday in the other last-four clash.

Only two nations have previously defended a World Cup title, Italy and Brazil.

The taxing nature of the competition, which saw Argentina also pushed to extra time in the round of 32 by Cape Verde, may play a part.

England, though, also needed extra time to beat Norway on Saturday, and 39-year-old Messi seems determined to defy time and can’t be ruled out from finding yet more magical moments.

"Tanzania’s chief opposition's trison case 'be completed' within 30 days" - Commonwealth

LONDON, England 

The Commonwealth has urged the Tanzanian government to find a political and legal solution to the case facing opposition leader Tundu Lissu.

This is in accordance with recommendations submitted to the community by former Malawian president and special envoy to the community, Lazarus Chakwera.

Chakwera was appointed to mediate political tensions in Tanzania and facilitate national dialogue following the disputed October 2025 general elections, which sparked widespread protests.

Tundu Lissu was arrested following a political rally in Mbinga, Tanzania, where he called for major electoral and constitutional reforms.

The government charged him with treason and publishing false information online, alleging that his "No Reform, No Election" campaign had incited public unrest.

Tanzania's opposition leader, Tundu Lissu surrounded by Prison officers in court

In his ongoing trial, which has been postponed several times, Lissu requested to represent himself after his team of lawyers claimed they were denied the opportunity to speak with him privately and withdrew from the case.

He has been in prison under maximum security for more than 400 days.

However, the Tanzanian government has insisted that the case against Lissu is not politically motivated and that the court is independent in hearing it.

Other instructions given by the Commonwealth to the Tanzania government includes lifting of restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression, civil society and the media.

The holding of an inter-party consultative  forum to agree on collective framework on the way forward for the next general elections is also urged by the Commonwealth. 

Bellingham scores twice as England beat Norway 2-1 to reach World Cup semis

MIAMI, United States 

Jude Bellingham was England’s hero once more by scoring twice as the Three Lions came from behind to end Norway’s historic run and reach the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 win after extra-time.

In their first-ever quarterfinal, Andreas Schjelderup fired Norway into a shock lead in the searing Miami heat on Saturday.

But Bellingham, who also netted a double in a memorable 3-2 over Mexico in the last 16, produced a moment of magic to equalise just before half-time.

Norway had a second goal controversially disallowed after a VAR review in the second half for a foul by Erling Haaland as both sets of players were pushed to their physical limits by going to extra-time.

Bellingham came up with another big moment for the winner as he pounced on an error by Orjan Nyland to sweep in his sixth goal of the tournament.

England will face Argentina or Switzerland on Wednesday for the chance to reach a first World Cup final in 60 years.

Haaland’s spectacular run of scoring in his last 14 competitive matches for Norway came to an end against the land of his birth, with Norway’s exhausted talisman replaced at half-time of extra-time.

Having failed to win a World Cup knockout game after conceding first since the final of 1966 before this tournament, England have now done so twice in three matches.

Harry Kane’s heroics prevented an embarrassing early exit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the last 32.

But it is Bellingham who has stood up in the past two matches to keep England in the hunt to end their long wait for major tournament glory despite far from flawless performances.

The 5pm local time (21:00 GMT) kickoff in Florida meant that temperatures remained above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) throughout, with intense humidity making for draining conditions for the players.

The heat looked as if it would spoil the spectacle in the first half.

Thomas Tuchel’s men were rattled as England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saved low from Martin Odegaard before Alexander Sorloth wasted a glorious chance when he failed to feed Haaland and instead went for goal himself.

Almost immediately, Bellingham pulled his team out of the mire once more.

Bellingham had been well marshalled until he collected Anthony Gordon’s pass, burst into the box at speed and then slotted home on his weaker left foot.

Momentum was suddenly in England’s favour and they nearly went into the break ahead.

Bellingham was this time the creator for Kane, who dinked the ball coolly over Nyland, but had just drifted offside.

Tuchel introduced Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze at the break for the ineffective Noni Madueke and Declan Rice – the Arsenal midfielder had been suffering with illness earlier in the week.

But those changes left England light in midfield, and they were left hanging on at spells in the second half.

Torbjorn Heggem made the most of some sloppy defending to turn in at the back post, but Haaland was penalised for a push on new Manchester City teammate Elliott Anderson before the corner had been taken, and the goal was disallowed.

Norway were inches away from a winner again when Kristoffer Ajer hit the bar after England failed to deal with another dangerous corner.

Both sides visibly wilted in the energy-sapping conditions late on but were forced to endure an extra 30 minutes.

Nyland had been Norway’s supporting act in the last 16 win over Brazil with a series of saves before Haaland struck twice late on for a landmark victory.

This time the Sevilla goalkeeper was the villain as he spilled substitute Morgan Rogers’ shot from distance and Bellingham pounced and scored.

England were awarded a penalty moments later, but this time VAR intervened in Norway’s favour to deem Djed Spence had initiated contact inside the box.

Yet, Norway’s spirit was already crushed, epitomised by a slouched Haaland watching on from the bench with nothing more to give.

Tuchel said his side was “lucky” to emerge with the win.

“We made life very, very difficult for ourselves today. The result is fantastic. We are in the last four. It’s amazing but not happy with the performance,” he told ITV.

“The commitment is there, but we made life difficult for ourselves in the way we played – sloppy, a lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough, not repetitive enough. We were lucky today.

“It’s about the quality – we need to play better. We will get better [in the semifinal]. We need to.”

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 12/7/2026

 

Spain leave it late to book semifinal date with France

LOS ANGELES, United States 

Mikel Merino scored in the 88th minute from a rebound yielded by backup Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens, and Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 victory.

Merino was the late hero for the second straight match for Spain, who advanced to face tournament favourite France in the semifinals on Tuesday in Dallas.

He came on in the 86th minute and scored from his second touch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens spilled a Pau Cubarsi shot from outside the area.

The Arsenal forward also scored as a substitute early in injury time to secure Spain’s 1-0 victory over Portugal in the last-16.

Lammens, the Manchester United keeper, was forced into the match in the 71st minute after longtime Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois left with an apparent thigh injury.

Belgium desperately pressed for an equaliser in the final minutes, but Aymeric Laporte volleyed their best chance out of the box.

Fabian Ruiz scored the opening goal in the 30th minute for Spain after Courtois had parried a shot from Dani Olmo from Pedro Porro’s cut-back from the right of the area, but Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere scored the first goal allowed by Spain in the entire World Cup in the 41st minute.

His header from Timothy Castagne’s cross from the right ended a record streak of 649 minutes without conceding at the World Cup.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 11/7/2026

 

South African president welcomed by Macron at start of visit to France

PARIS,  France 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was welcomed by his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron at the presidential palace in Paris on Friday.

Discussions between the two men were due to focus on ways of strengthening political, economic, and strategic cooperation between the two countries.

The meeting also provides an opportunity to discuss regional security, including conflicts in Africa, and broader global issues countries.

Ramaphosa’s three-day visit come less than a month after South Africa was removed from the guest list for the G7 summit in Évian.

The presidency initially said he had been excluded because “sustained pressure from the United States”, a claim Ramaphosa later said was incorrect.

According to the French presidency, his visit to France this weekend is intended to reinforce the longstanding partnership between the two countries.

Ramaphosa will also co-chair discussions at UNESCO focused on quality education and meet with French business leaders.

On Sunday, he will take commemorations marking the 110th anniversary of the Battle of Delvile Wood in northern France during which over 2,500 South African soldiers died.

US and Iran trade attacks as Khamenei is buried

WASHINGTON, United States 

The United States and Iran again traded strikes in exchanges that continued into Thursday, as observers reported a "dramatic" drop in the number of ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz.

Thousands of mourners gather for the burial of Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Imam Reza Shrine on July 09, 2026 in Mashhad, Iran.

The US says it hit 90 military targets, some near the Strait. Iran says 14 people have been killed in the past two days.

State media also reported that targets near the Bushehr nuclear power plant were hit, citing the deputy governor of the province. The US has not commented on the latest strikes.

Iran said it targeted US assets in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar in response. Later on Thursday, Tehran launched more strikes on sites in Kuwait, Jordan and Iraq, state-linked media reported.

Separately, huge crowds gathered as Iran's late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was buried after six days of funeral events.

The "body of the martyred leader of the Islamic Revolution was buried in the memorial hall of the shrine of Imam Reza," state broadcaster IRIB reported, according to AFP.

With crowds waiting outside and listening to prayers, the flag-covered coffin was carried into the shrine of Imam Reza in his home city of Mashhad in eastern Iran.

There was no sign of his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since he was reportedly seriously wounded in the same attack that killed his father.

The crowds was Iranian flags, while some were pictured holding signs carrying death threats directed at US President Donald Trump.

Khamenei was killed on 28 February during the first hours of US and Israeli strikes against Iran.

Iran's foreign ministry denounced the latest US strikes as a "grave war crime", describing the US administration as "evil and psychopathic"

Bridges and a railway route connecting Tehran to the city of Mashhad, where the late supreme leader's funeral is being held, were also damaged, the foreign ministry said.

Iran's health ministry said 14 people had been killed and 78 people injured across five provinces.

Gulf nations reported Iranian attacks following the US strikes, with explosions in Bahrain's capital Manama, Kuwait intercepting missiles and drones, and Qatar issuing a security alert.

Later on Thursday, explosions were heard in Iran's southern port of Konarak, with a local official telling Iran's official news agency a navy site was attacked by an "enemy".

Mbappe and Dembele net as France beat Morocco to reach World Cup semifinal

BOSTON, United States 

Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele were on target as France surged past Morocco 2-0 to book their place in the World Cup semifinals.

Mbappe curled in his eighth goal of the tournament on 60 minutes on Thursday before Dembele doubled Les Bleus’ lead six minutes later to settle a clinical victory at the Gillette Stadium outside Boston.

The win sends the 2018 champions into a last-four showdown against either Spain or Belgium in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday.

African champions Morocco had been tipped to pose a serious threat to France’s hopes of reaching a third consecutive World Cup final.

But Didier Deschamps’ men were always in control against a limited Morocco side who failed to register a single shot on goal until an 83rd-minute free-kick by Azzedine Ounahi was parried away by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

France, though, struggled to find a breakthrough, and missed the opportunity to take the lead on 28 minutes when Mbappe saw a penalty saved by Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou.

Mbappe had won the penalty after being brought down by Noussair Mazraoui but was forced to wait several minutes before being allowed to take the kick after a protracted VAR check.

Morocco managed to hold out to half-time, but it was always only a matter of time before France’s relentless pressure paid off.

The breakthrough came on the hour mark, with Mbappe bending a brilliant right-foot shot past Bounou from the edge of the area.

Paris Saint-Germain star Dembele made the game safe in the 66th minute, striding forward menacingly from midfield before steering a low finish into the bottom corner.

France now await the winner of Friday’s quarterfinal in Los Angeles between European champions Spain and Belgium.

EAST AFRICA NEWSPAPERS 10/7/2026