Argentina advances to World Cup final
From Kevin Baxter: The jury is still out on whether Lionel Messi is the greatest soccer player ever. But there should be no doubt he’s the greatest to ever play in a World Cup.
And you don’t need the records, the wins or the goals to prove that — although he certainly has enough of those. You just need to see Messi at his most magical, as he was Wednesday, setting up a pair of game-changing goals in a seven-minute span to lift Argentina to a 2-1 win over England and into Sunday’s World Cup final with Spain.
“It’s really hard to speak right now, but I’m going to try not to cry,” Lautaro Martínez, who scored the winning goal two minutes into stoppage time, said in Spanish. “I’m already overwhelmed inside. It’s incredible. Everything we’ve achieved is just incredible.”
Like their 13-game World Cup unbeaten streak, dating to the opening game of the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Or back-to-back trips to the final, which gives them a chance to become the first repeat champion in the men’s tournament since Brazil in 1962.
But it hasn’t been easy. Eleven of Argentina’s 19 goals — including both scores in Wednesday’s semifinal — have come after the 75th minute. They trailed in the 80th minute or later in two of their last three knockout games, only to rally both times.
And Messi has either scored or assisted on three of the four goals that rescued Argentina.
World Cup semifinals schedule, results
All times Pacific
All games on Fox and Telemundo
Tuesday
Spain 2, France 0
Wednesday
Argentina 2, England 1
Third-place match
France vs. England, Saturday, 2 p.m.
Championship match
Spain vs. Argentina, Sunday, noon
Nneka Ogwumike ties team record in Sparks’ loss
Nneka Ogwumike scored 23 points for the Sparks on Wednesday. But it was her 15-foot jumper with 1:45 left in the game that put her in the record book.
Ogwumike’s final points tied Lisa Leslie as the franchise’s all-time scorers with 6,263 points in the Sparks’ 96-87 loss to the Minnesota Lynx, who won their fourth in a row.
Candace Parker is third with 5,684 points.
Ogwumike, who played 12 seasons in L.A. before returning this season, added 12 rebounds and five assists for the Sparks, who dropped to 10-13. The inconsistent Sparks have dropped back-to-back games since firing GM Raegan Pebley.
This day in sports history
1920 — The United States sweeps Australia in five matches to win the Davis Cup for the first time since 1913. The U.S. team is made up of Bill Tilden and Bill Johnston.
1938 — Paul Runyan wins the PGA Championship by routing Sam Snead 8 and 7 in the final round.
1947 — Rocky Graziano scores a technical knockout with a barrage of 30 punches against Tony Zale in the sixth round to win the world middleweight boxing title. Held in Chicago Stadium, it’s the largest grossing fight in history.
1950 — Uruguay beats Brazil 2-1 to win soccer’s World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.
1967 — Kathy Whitworth wins the LPGA championship by one stroke over Shirley Englehorn. Whitworth sinks a fifty-foot uphill putt for a birdie on the 18th green at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Sutton Mass.
1989 — Betsy King birdies three of the first four holes of the final round to win her first U.S. Women’s Open championship by four strokes over Nancy Lopez.
1993 — Nick Faldo ties the best single round in 122 years of the British Open with a course-record 63 to give him a one-stroke lead after the second round.
1995 — Annika Sorenstam of Sweden wins the U.S. Women’s Open by one stroke over Meg Mallon, her first victory on the LPGA Tour.
2005 — In Las Vegas, Jermain Taylor beats Bernard Hopkins for the undisputed middleweight title. Hopkins, a winner of a record 20 consecutive defenses, starts slowly and the undefeated challenger builds up a big enough lead on two judges’ scorecards to take the crown.
2006 — J.R. Todd becomes the first Black driver to win an NHRA Top Fuel event, beating Tony Schumacher in the Mopar Mile-High Nationals.
2011 — Kyle Busch wins the Nationwide race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to become the third driver to win 100 races in NASCAR’s three national series. Busch, with 22 Cup victories and 29 Trucks wins, also ties Mark Martin for first place in career Nationwide Series victories with 49. Richard Petty and David Pearson are the other drivers with at least 100 wins.
2012 — Roger Federer surpasses Pete Sampras to set the record for the most weeks at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. After winning Wimbledon a week ago — his 75th career ATP title — Federer returns to the top for the first time since June 2010. Today marks his 287th week at No. 1, one more than Sampras.
2017 — Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1, 6-4, to claim a record eighth Wimbledon men’s title.
2023 — Wimbledon Men’s Tennis: In a classic final, 20-year-old Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz ends Novak Đoković’s 34-match win streak at the All England Club with a 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 victory.
Compiled by the Associated Press
This day in baseball history
1897 — Chicago’s Cap Anson became the first major leaguer to reach 3,000 hits when he singled off Baltimore’s George Blackburn.
1902 — John McGraw was named manager of the New York Giants, a post he would hold for 30 years.
1909 — Ed Summers of the Detroit Tigers gave up only seven hits and pitched all 18 innings of a 0-0 tie with the Washington Senators, the longest scoreless game in AL history.
1920 — Babe Ruth broke his own season record of 29 homers with his 30th as the New York Yankees beat the St. Louis Browns, 5-2. Ruth would finish the season with 54.
1933 — Red Lucas of the Cincinnati Reds pitched a 15-inning 1-0 win over Roy Parmelee and the New York Giants in the opener of a doubleheader.
1941 — Joe DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 56 games with a 3-for-4 day as the New York Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 10-3.
1948 — After 8 1/2 years as Brooklyn manager, Leo Durocher stunned baseball by taking the helm of the archrival Giants in midseason.
1958 – In the nitecap of a doubleheader, Baltimore pitcher Jack Harshman hit two homers in a 6-5 win over the Chicago White Sox.
1970 — The Cincinnati Reds beat the Pirates 3-2 before 48,846 in the first game at Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers Stadium.
1985 — Sparky Anderson became the first manager to lose an All-Star Game in both leagues. The National League won 6-1 for the 21st win in the last 23 games.
1996 — Colorado’s streak of scoring at least seven runs in a game ended at 11. The Rockies beat the Giants 5-3 and tied the 1911 Pittsburgh Pirates, 1938 New York Yankees and 1976 Cincinnati Reds with 11 7-run games.
1997 — Kevin Brown pitched his first career one-hitter to lead Florida to 5-1 win over the Dodgers. Brown, who no-hit San Francisco on June 10th, faced two batters over the minimum and gave up a lead-off single to left by Raul Mondesi in the fifth. He struck out eight and retired his final 15 batters.
1998 — Randy Johnson pitched a one-hitter to lead Seattle to a 3-0 win over Minnesota. Johnson struck out 11 and gave up a single to third baseman Brent Gates.
2006 — Chipper Jones hit a two-run homer in Atlanta’s 10-5 win at San Diego to give him an extra-base hit in 14 straight games, tying a 79-year-old major league record. Jones tied the record set in 1927 by Pittsburgh’s Paul Waner.
2006 — Mariano Rivera earned his 400th save, escaping two jams and getting six outs to preserve the New York Yankees’ 6-4 victory over the Chicago White Sox. Rivera joined Lee Smith, Trevor Hoffman and John Franco in the 400-save club.
2009 — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard became the fastest player in major league history to reach 200 home runs, breaking the record previously held by Hall of Famer Ralph Kiner. Howard reached 200 homers in his 658th game, hitting his 23rd of the season in the sixth inning of a 4-0 win over Florida. Kiner hit No. 200 in his 706th game.
2013 — Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect eighth inning in his final All-Star appearance, Jose Bautista, J.J. Hardy and Jason Kipnis drove in runs to back a night of pulsating pitching, and the American League beat the National League 3-0.
2015 — Brock Holt became the first Boston player to hit for the cycle since 1996 and the Red Sox slugged their way out to a 9-4 victory over Atlanta.
2021 — Jake Cronenworth hit for his first career cycle, Wil Myers had a grand slam and a two-run shot and the San Diego Padres set a franchise record for runs in a 24-8 blowout of the Washington Nationals.
Compiled by the Associated Press
Until next time…
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