ATLANTA (AP) — Defending champion Argentina rallied to beat England 2-1 and reach the World Cup final. Trailing 1-0 going into the last five minutes of regulation time, Enzo Fernandez and substitute Lautaro Martinez scored for Argentina. Anthony Gordon had given England the lead, but Lionel Messi and Co. had other ideas. Argentina pushed for an equalizer and the pressure eventually led to Fernandez scoring in the 85th minute. Martinez headed in the winner two minutes into injury time. Argentina will play Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
UNDATED (AP) — The World Cup final is set for Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, featuring a clash between Argentina and Spain. Argentina is led by Lionel Messi., the tournament's all-time leading scorer. Spain, led by Lamine Yamal, has the best defense. Argentina seeks its fourth title and aims to be the first back-to-back champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962. Spain is after its second title, having won in 2010. Both teams have impressive unbeaten streaks, with Spain unbeaten in 37 matches overall and Argentina in 13 World Cup games.
ATLANTA (AP) — Lionel Messi delivered for his teammates. With one more win, he’ll be delivering another World Cup trophy for Argentina. Messi didn’t add to his tournament-leading goal total, but the 39-year-old assisted on two late strikes that carried La Albiceleste to another stunning comeback and a 2-1 victory over England in the semifinals Wednesday. Eight days after an improbable rally against Egypt in the round of 16, Messi returned to Atlanta to produce another stellar moment in a career that might already be the best ever. Messi is the World Cup career scoring leader with 21 goals.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Expanded playoffs in baseball make trade predictions tricky, especially for players like Detroit's Tarik Skubal. Twenty-three of the 30 teams are within four games of a playoff spot as the season's second half begins Thursday. Skubal, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, is a major trade possibility. The 29-year-old left-hander returned to the mound in June after elbow surgery. The Tigers, who have improved since June, are close to a wild-card spot. Their performance in upcoming games will decide their trade strategy. Other pitchers like Joe Ryan and Freddy Peralta might be dealt.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Milwaukee Brewers acquired right-handed pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. and left-hander Colton Gordon from the Houston Astros for outfield prospect Jadyn Fielder. Houston agreed to pay Milwaukee $4,227,273 to offset most of McCullers’ remaining salary, leaving his cost to the Brewers at $2.5 million. Milwaukee cleared space on the 40-man roster by sending left-handed pitcher Rob Zastryzny to the 60-day injured list.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)
— The Atlantic Coast Conference is revamping the tiebreaker format
for its football championship game following a controversial finish
last season that allowed a five-loss Duke team to reach the title
game over then No. 10-ranked Miami. That put the Hurricanes at risk
of not making the College Football Playoff. When head-to-head
competition cannot separate tied teams, the team with the strongest
overall body of work will earn the opportunity to compete for the ACC
championship and the conference’s automatic qualifier to the
College Football Playoff. ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips says that
will be based on a SportSource Analytics metric used by the CFP.