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- Spain faces significant challenge in neutralising Messi for World Cup final, says Merino
- Cyclosporiasis outbreak linked to shredded lettuce from Mexican supplier to Taco Bell
- Darline Graham considers running for her late brother’s Senate seat
- Tsunami alert issued following 7.3-magnitude earthquake off Mexico’s coast
- Hungary advances rule of law under new prime minister, EU report says
- US Strikes Iranian Infrastructure as Tensions Escalate in Region
- Saskatchewan child care licence applicants report denial of applications
- Trump addresses election security claims and releases declassified documents
Hunt for Tube hero who gave blind man his shoes after he lost one through the gap The hunt is on find an ‘absolute hero’
Get you up to speed: Tackling Messi ‘huge challenge’ for Spain in World Cup final: Merino
Spain’s Mikel Merino acknowledged the challenge of neutralising Lionel Messi as the two teams prepare for the World Cup final in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Messi played a crucial role in guiding Argentina to the final, contributing with two assists in a 2-1 semifinal victory over England.
Spain’s training camp is located in East Hanover, New Jersey, as they prepare for the World Cup final. The match against Argentina, where both teams are aiming for the title, will take place on Sunday in East Rutherford.
Mikel Merino acknowledged the significant challenge of neutralising Lionel Messi in the upcoming World Cup final, emphasising the motivation it provides for the Spanish team. He called for the referee to manage the match’s intensity, indicating that an effective officiating approach will be crucial for a successful showdown against Argentina.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how Spain plans to strategically counter Lionel Messi’s influence in the match.
Spain faces significant challenge in neutralising Messi for World Cup final, says Merino
Sport|World Cup 2026Tackling Messi ‘huge challenge’ for Spain in World Cup final: Merino
Spanish midfielder says he has ‘huge confidence’ in his abilities after his impressive performances as a substitute.
Published On 17 Jul 202617 Jul 2026
Spanish super-sub Mikel Merino admitted that neutralising the threat of Lionel Messi will be a “huge challenge” as La Roja prepare for their World Cup final showdown against Argentina.
“It’s a huge challenge, an incredible motivation for me and the whole team,” Merino said of facing Messi in his news conference on Friday.
“Being able to play against a side like Argentina, which has already won this trophy, makes the match even more significant, and I’m very happy to be experiencing this moment,” Merino told reporters at Spain’s training base in East Hanover, New Jersey.
Argentina skipper Messi, 39, has been pivotal in dragging the defending champions into Sunday’s final in East Rutherford, orchestrating a 2-1 semifinal victory over England with two assists.
Messi, the tournament’s joint top-scorer with eight goals, also inspired a dramatic comeback against Egypt in the last 16, when Argentina fought back from 2-0 down with 11 minutes remaining to win 3-2.
Arsenal ace Merino has played a decisive role in Spain’s road to the final, coming off the substitutes’ bench to score late winners in a last-16 defeat of Portugal and a quarterfinal victory over Belgium.
“I have incredible confidence in myself and my abilities, and every time I step onto the pitch, I believe I can make an impact for the team,” Merino stated.
“But honestly, it doesn’t matter who the hero is; the important thing is that the team wins in the end. “When you win a title, it belongs to everyone, not just the starting 11,” he added.
Merino, meanwhile, enthused about the “impressive” talent of 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, who will face Messi for the first time in a clash representing the past and the future of FC Barcelona.
Merino, 30, predicted that the final would be “an intense match” and that the referee would need to “control the intensity and frequency of challenges and fouls”.
“The faster the ball moves between us, the less time the opposition has to commit a foul,” he noted.
The midfielder, who said he did not have “very clear memories” of Spain’s first World Cup title in 2010, recalled the admiration of that trailblazing side.
“Being able to represent our country today and be those same players for new generations – for the children watching us – is something magical,” he said.
October 12, 2024
6:18 am
‘Cheer up, you caught the bad guy,’ says killer Virginia McCullough as she is arrested for murdering her parents
A woman who murdered her parents “in cold blood” before hiding them in makeshift tombs for four years told officers to “cheer up, you caught the bad guy” as she was arrested in her home.
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication and fatally stabbed her mother Lois McCullough, 71, shortly afterwards in 2019.
She ran up large debts on credit cards in her parents’ names and after their deaths, she continued to spend their pensions until she was finally caught in 2023.
In body-worn video footage released by police, a handcuffed – and eerily calm – McCullough told officers: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually.
“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She said she had slipped something into her father’s drink then put his body under a bed on the ground floor, and put her mother’s body in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough, having been arrested on suspicion of double murder, told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
She added: “I know I don’t seem 100% evil.”
At the police station, she told officers where a kitchen knife was, which she described as a “murder weapon”, and a hammer which she said “will still have blood on it”.
McCullough, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday with a minimum term of 36 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted to their murders between 17 and 20 June 2019 at an earlier hearing at the same court.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how she hid their bodies in makeshift tombs at the family home in Great Baddow in Essex, then told persistent lies to cover her tracks.
The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and frequently told doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, on holiday or away on lengthy trips.
But concerns over Mr and Mrs McCullough’s welfare were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred these to police.
The GP had not seen the couple for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and attend scheduled appointments. It was found McCullough had frequently cancelled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain her father’s absence.
Police said a missing persons investigation was initially launched and McCullough lied to officers, claiming her parents were travelling and would be returning in October.
It became a murder investigation, and when officers forced entry to the house in Pump Hill on September 15 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were in the house and that she had killed them.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parents’ money and accruing large debts in their name.”
She added: “This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”
To downplay the genocide, the israelis claim there’s only 20,000 people left in north Gaza, says
@MahaGaza
: the real number exceeds 400,000
Man of the right wing Nigel Farage taking more second jobs and freebie helicopter rides
Gosh he’ll soon be a true blue Tory at this rate
Or far far worse
The cost-of-living crisis is far from over, yet the government’s 50% increase to the bus fare cap is a political choice, adding hundreds to annual costs.
To address hardship & the climate crisis, the government must keep the £2 cap & make public transport accessible for all.
G20 waters down support for Ukraine amid pressure for peace talks
The Tech Titan Who Led His Company From a 68-Square-Foot Jail Cell
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US.
Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November.
Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies.
Hegseth, 44, has served as an infantry captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has no senior military or government officer experience.
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
November 23, 2024
8:17 am
Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday.
The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month.
At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground.
“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in Basta,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The health ministry put the initial death toll at four, with 23 wounded. The number is expected to climb in the coming hours as search and rescue efforts continue.
It came after a long day of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been non-stop since last week.
The cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group escalated into a full-blown war in mid-September.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Beqaa region, and has sent ground troops across the border. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets deeper into Israel.
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