England Down to Two Absentees for Argentina World Cup Semi-Final as Rice Trains Fully

England near full strength for Argentina clash

Thomas Tuchel will be missing just two players when England face Argentina in the World Cup semi-final in Atlanta. Jordan Henderson is still recovering from surgery on a broken arm suffered celebrating the win over Mexico in the last 16. Defender Jarell Quansah is suspended after picking up a red card in that same match.

Declan Rice's build-up to the Norway quarter-final was disrupted by illness, but there was optimism about his recovery reported Monday. He trained fully Tuesday and is expected to start against Argentina.

Tuchel is expected to lean on continuity at the back. The back four of Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Marc Guehi and Nico O'Reilly started the 2-1 win over Norway, and Tuchel was impressed with how that group performed together. It would be the first time England have kept the same starting back four in consecutive World Cup knockout games this tournament.

Man United complete Tielemans deal

Manchester United have signed midfielder Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35m on a five-year contract. The 29-year-old triggered his release clause after three seasons at Villa Park, having originally arrived in the Premier League with Leicester City in 2019.

Tielemans will take the number 18 shirt vacated by Casemiro, whose contract expired at the end of last season. United's director of football, Jason Wilcox, called him "one of the most outstanding midfielders in the Premier League" over the past seven years.

The deal comes off the back of a strong World Cup for Tielemans with Belgium, where he scored a late equalizer against Senegal and converted the winning penalty in extra time before Belgium were eliminated by Spain in the quarter-finals, in a game he didn't finish due to injury. BBC Sport's Simon Stone noted United had twice before passed on signing Tielemans, in 2019 and again in 2023, calling it another example of the club's increasingly data-driven approach to recruitment.

India beat England in first ODI at Edgbaston

India beat England by six wickets in the opening one-day international at Edgbaston, chasing down 258 with 2.3 overs to spare. Joe Root finished unbeaten on 76 and Liam Dawson made a career-best 68 for England, but the hosts collapsed from 107-6 before that partnership and again lost their last four wickets for 30 runs late in the innings.

India captain Shubman Gill made 80 before retiring with cramp, which he said afterward should not affect his fitness for Thursday's second match in Cardiff. Axar Patel, who took 4-62 with the ball, then made an unbeaten 57 to help fin