England beat France 6-4 in a chaotic World Cup third-place playoff as Kylian Mbappe became the leading scorer in World Cup history.

U.S. President Donald Trump will bask in the spotlight at the World Cup final on Sunday -- after already providing one of the tournament's most controversial moments.

Almost two decades ago, photographer Joan Monfort didn't think much of his photo shoot of a teenage Lionel Messi bathing a cute baby boy in a plastic bathtub. Not until the remarkable twist of fate became clear years later, when that infant blossomed into Lamine Yamal.

Now those images of the longhaired Messi, his hands covered in soap suds as if anointing Yamal as soccer's Next Big Thing, have become the most talked about — and gawked about — in the runup to Sunday's World Cup final, when Messi's Argentina will play Yamal's Spain for the biggest trophy in the sport.

The British government on Thursday urged FIFA to investigate Argentina's team after players posed with a banner claiming sovereignty over the contested Falkland Islands.

Argentina beat England 2-1 in a World Cup semifinal on Wednesday in Atlanta.

The Italian sculptor who designed the FIFA World Cup trophy wanted to capture three sporting emotions in a single spiraling form: the athlete's struggle, the fan's jubilation and the moment of victory.

On Sunday, either Spain or Argentina will lift the trophy after the 2026 World Cup final.

No "Hand of God" this time. Argentina didn't need it.

Instead it was the hallowed feet of Lionel Messi and the unbreakable spirit of a team that has repeatedly fought back at this year's World Cup that is now one step away from back-to-back titles.

France arrived in the World Cup semi-finals hailed as the most scintillating attacking force to grace the tournament since Brazil's fabled 1982 side.

France and their deadly attack led by Kylian Mbappe will attempt to reach a third consecutive World Cup final on Tuesday as they take on a Spain team that combines flair with defensive steel.

Ashleigh Hallam teaches English as a second language at her local library in Indiana. Soccer is now teaching her Spanish as a second language.

For her, this World Cup couldn't make more sense.

Russia's track and field federation says it has gone to the Court of Arbitration for Sport to overturn a World Athletics ruling suspending its athletes from international events due to the war in Ukraine.

World Athletics excluded all athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus from its international events in March 2022, days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine.