Month: May 2026

Lamine Yamal was scared of missing the World Cup after injuring his hamstring and prayed that he could recover in time. Yamal is expected to be fit for the tournament that begins on June 11 in North America. He injured his left hamstring while converting a penalty kick with Barcelona in a Spanish league match on April 22. “I never had a hamstring injury like that but I knew that it wasn’t going to be a short recovery time,” Yamal said in an interview with the Spanish soccer federation published on Sunday. “I was afraid that it was something serious or that it could relapse and that I would miss the World Cup.” The 18-year-old Yamal went down after converting a first-half penalty kick in the game against Celta Vigo. He scored and immediately looked to the bench to signal he was hurt. He dropped to the ground as his teammates arrived to celebrate, then appeared to grab the back of his left leg. “I remember the play in which I got injured,” Yamal said. “I was praying inside for it not to be serious, for it to be a cramp or something like that, because I knew the World Cup was very close.” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said last week after including Yamal in his World Cup squad that the forward was expected to be ready to play either the first or second Spain match. La Roja will debut against Cape Verde on June 15 in Atlanta. It then faces Saudi Arabia on June 21 in Atlanta and Uruguay on June 26 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Yamal is expected to lead the Spain squad that will try to win its second world title. It won the World Cup for the first time in South Africa in 2010. “The moment has finally arrived,” Yamal said. “I think that ever since the European Championship ended, we’ve all been thinking about this day, and we are all very excited. We will enter the tournament as the European champions, and we are going to give it everything we have.” Spain officially began its World Cup preparations on Saturday in Madrid. Some 2,000 people watched the team’s first training session on Sunday. Reporting by The Associated Press.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

To win a record eighth LIV Golf individual title, Joaquin Niemann outdueled another highly decorated player in Talor Gooch. To win a record 10th regular-season team title, Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC received help from a golden-haired reserve from Australia. Niemann beat Gooch, the OKGC captain, with a birdie on the first playoff hole Sunday to claim LIV Golf Korea. The win is Niemann’s first in 2026 after winning five times last season; he now has three more wins than any other player in league history. “It was fun out there,” said the 27-year-old Niemann, the league’s youngest captain. “I really enjoy the feeling of winning again.” Niemann and Gooch, who shared the 54-hole lead, each finished at 12 under in regulation after they each shot final-round 3-under 67s at Asiad Country Club. Niemann had four birdies in a five-hole stretch on his front nine to take the lead, but Gooch made a 28-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to tie for the lead during their tense back-nine battle. In the playoff, Niemann’s approach from 150 yards finished inside six feet to set up his winning birdie putt. “I feel like every hole was kind of like a match play,” Niemann said. “… I love having that pressure, knowing that you’ve got to hit the shot and you win the tournament. I feel like that’s what I always dreamed when I was a kid, hitting that last shot and making that last putt.” Said a disappointed Gooch, who was seeking his fifth LIV Golf individual title: “It’s frustrating when you have a chance to win. That doesn’t come too often in this game, so you want to capitalize on it.” The Crushers successfully defended their LIV Golf Korea title won on a different course last year in Incheon, shooting a collective 23 under to beat OKGC by three shots. With their second win of this season, the Crushers now have 10 regular-season victories, breaking a tie with Legion XIII and 4Aces GC for most by any team. “Just grateful, super grateful that I’ve got amazing guys, an amazing team,” said DeChambeau, who finished solo third individually at 11 under, one shot out of a playoff. “We all click in different ways, but we all work to make our team the best out here.” Those 10 wins have come in 50 regular-season starts since the core group of DeChambeau, Charles Howell III, Anirban Lahiri and Paul Casey were established midway through the inaugural 2022 season. Sunday’s win, however, was the first with a lineup adjustment, as reserve player Travis Smyth filled in for Casey, who was sidelined with a wrist injury. Smyth was critical for the team’s success, finishing in a four-way tie for eighth at 7 under that also included Howell. He played his final 10 holes in a bogey-free 3 under, providing some critical birdies en route to shooting 67. “I didn’t want to be the fill-in guy that disappoints the team and stops them from standing on the podium,” said Smyth, who unfurled his blond shoulder-length hair during the team’s post-round press conference. “I’m over the moon. I’m super-proud of myself, super-proud of these guys, and couldn’t have asked for a better first week.” The Australian becomes just the second reserve player to celebrate any kind of LIV Golf trophy; John Catlin won as a reserve with Smash GC at Greenbrier during the 2024 season. “Man, the week that Travis had, shooting those scores around this golf course,” Howell said. “When you’re playing for a team and you’re up there at the top and you’re wanting to win, it’s just one of the really, really cool things about LIV Golf – and it happens every week.” FINAL LEADERBOARDS Individual Top 10 1 (-12) – Joaquin Niemann, Torque (66-69-66-67) * 2 (-12) – Talor Gooch, OKGC (69-63-69-67) 3 (-11) – Bryson DeChambeau, Crushers (65-68-71-65) 4 (-10) – Dustin Johnson, 4Aces (70-70-64-66) 5 (-9) – Scott Vincent, HyFlyers (65-70-67-69) T6 (-8) – Brendan Steele, HyFlyers (70-69-68-65); Harold Varner III, OKGC (68-69-68-67) T8 (-7) – Travis Smyth, Crushers (72-66-68-67); Lucas Herbert, Ripper (71-66-69-67); Marc Leishman, Ripper (69-68-68-68); Charles Howell III, Crushers (65-70-68-70) * Won on first playoff hole with birdie Team Top 3 1 (-23) – Crushers GC (DeChambeau 65-68-71-65, Smyth 72-66-68-67, Howell III 65-70-68-70, Lahiri 68-73-70-71; Rd. 4 total: -7) 2 (-20) – OKGC (Gooch 69-63-69-67, Varner III 68-69-68-67, Kokrak 68-70-69-70, McDowell 68-71-73-71; Rd. 4 total: -5) 3 (-15) – Ripper GC (Leishman 69-68-68-68, Herbert 71-66-69-67, Smith 67-68-68-73, Smylie 71-69-74-69; Rd. 4 total: -3) This piece is courtesy of Mike McAllister in partnership with LIV Golf​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports