Argentina coach Scaloni hails ‘legend’ Messi before World Cup final

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni urged fans to make the most of seeing Lionel Messi lead his team out in another World Cup final at the age of 39 as the holders aim to retain the trophy when they take on Spain this weekend. chickenroad-game.rodeo

Scaloni lauds Messi

“He has made history. He is a legend,” Scaloni said of the former Barcelona player, who has already helped Argentina win a World Cup and back-to-back Copa America titles in the last five years.

Messi’s international career has enjoyed a remarkable late renaissance — a decade ago he briefly retired from the Argentina team at the age of 29 after a Copa America final loss to Chile, his fourth defeat in a final for his country.

Messi and Scaloni hugged on the pitch at full-time after Wednesday’s 2-1 semi-final win over England, with the Argentine captain calling that victory “pure history”.

“It fills me with pride because he is the best player in the history of football,” Scaloni said of Messi, who has scored eight goals at this World Cup, which is his sixth, and is the tournament’s all-time top scorer with 21.

“To have been able to get to a final in the way that he has in this moment, at the age of 39, I think it is incredible.

“That is why I said we should enjoy having him, because look at what happened with Diego (Maradona) and how we ended up missing him.

“We still have Leo and we should appreciate that. He is the historic figure and the legend, as are all these players who have given us these marvellous years.”

Argentina had gone 28 years without winning a major international title before lifting the Copa America in 2021 to spark this current golden era.

‘The journey to get this far has been incredible’

“They have done things that a few years ago were unthinkable. It was not easy to get here and to compete at this level over so many years,” he said ahead of Sunday’s final at the MetLife Stadium just outside New York City.

“We might win and I hope we do but in any case the journey to get this far has been incredible.”

Scaloni said he could not answer whether the game would definitely be Messi’s last at a World Cup, but it seems highly unlikely he will continue until the next one in 2030.

Argentina will have to beat the reigning European champions if they are to become the first nation in 64 years to win back-to-back World Cups.

“They are a great team. Everything worries me about them,” Scaloni said.

La Cour pénale internationale (CPI) confirme la tenue future d'un procès très attendu sur les crimes commis dans les prisons libyennes, après la chute de Mouammar Kadhafi. Les juges ont confirmé jeudi 16 juillet les charges contre Khaled Mohamed Ali el-Hishri, un ancien directeur de la prison de Mitiga, près de Tripoli, accusé de crimes contre l'humanité et de crimes de guerre. Surnommé « l'Ange de la mort » par d'anciens détenus, il devra répondre de 17 chefs d'accusation.

Several players turned back their biological clocks at Wimbledon 2026, but it took one of the world’s toughest endurance races to really demonstrate that ‘age is just a number’.

Swiss tennis pro, Stanislas Warinka at 41 and Serena Williams at 44 returned to Wimbledon in attempts to turn back the clock, but although they played impressively, they lost in the first round.

Novic Djokovic at 39 is nine years older than the next oldest player in the world’s top 30, and advanced to the semi-finals before losing to the World Number 1, Jannik Sinner.

But among the most impressive sporting endeavours by ‘senior citizens’ in recent times was French ultra-trail athlete, Ludovic Pommeret’s feat in winning the Hardrock Endurance Run in the American state of Colorado in record time last weekend (11 July).

Just ten days short of his 51^st birthday, the French ultra-trail athlete returned to his happy hunting ground to race to a record-breaking victory around the 100-mile circuit through the San Juan Range and historic mining hills of Southern Colorado.

The Hardrock Hundred Mile Endurance Run is an ultra-marathon, close to 100 miles (162.0 km) in length, including 10,000 m of elevation gain at an average elevation of over 3,400 m with a lung-searing high point of 4281 metres at Handies Peak, two thirds of the way into the counter-clockwise direction race.

The race is dedicated to the memory of the miners who settled in the area and who built the mining trails on which much of the race is run.

The run starts and ends in the regional centre of Silverton, passes through the towns of Telluride, Ouray and the ghost town of Sherman and crosses thirteen major passes in the 3700m to 4000m range. Runners must overcome extremely rugged terrain including steep scree climbs and descents, snowpacks, river crossings, and boulder fields.

To still be improving past fifty is extraordinary, but that’s what Pommeret achieved. He first won the (counter-clockwise) event in 2024 as a sprightly 49-year-old in record time in 21 hrs 33min 06sec before returning last year to win the clockwise version in 22:21:53, 45 minutes outside Kilian Jornet’s 2022 record which marked the Spaniard’s fifth win at Hardrock.

This year Pommeret stunned the trail running world with an outstanding performance, reaching the finish at Silverton well before dawn 21:11:36 – almost 22 minutes inside his 2024 mark and the fastest Hardrock circuit in either direction.

While the majority of full-time trail runners turn professional early in their careers before turning to ‘more conventional’ occupations later in life, Pommeret did it in reverse. A computer engineer who worked for Swiss air traffic control, Pommeret retired in 2025 at age 50 to become a full-time professional athlete.

“I pushed the pace in the beginning as I was feeling cold,” Pommeret remarked, before giving credit to his supporters. “Without my team it would not be possible. I was not sure I could hold the pace but they all helped me – my physio with her quick massages, as I don’t spend much time in the aid stations, and my father-in-law who helped me push the pace in the final section.”

Pommeret’s performance was exceptional, but 41-year-old Courtney Dauwalter’s fourth Hardrock victory in the women’s competition also demonstrated that the potential loss of youthful power and vigour in mature athletes can be more than offset in ultra-trail competition by resilience and experience. Dauwalter’s consistency in elite competition over ever-increasing distances sets her apart as one of the best ever and she shows no sign of slowing.

Dauwalter has achieved record victories with each of her races at Hardrock, starting with 26:44:38 in 2022 (counter-clockwise) which she improved to 26:11:47 in 2024 and 26:03:10 last weekend. Heir-apparent, Katy Schide, won the 2025 (clockwise) race in Dauwalter’s absence in 25:50:23, 24 minutes inside Dauwalter’s 2023 mark.

This year Dauwalter was on course to finish inside Schide’s mark for the fastest time in either direction until she suffered severe gastronomical distress after peaking at Handies, the high point of the race.

“Handies was beautiful but the beginning of the end for me,” Dauwalter reflected. “The climb to the top was very cool but my stomach problems started on the descent. I spent the night ‘fertilizing the course’! It was really hard.

“In the first half I was cruising and just letting miles happen – it felt good. The weather was good and I was running with some fun people. I didn’t have a finish time in mind, but as race unfolded during the day (Katy Schide’s) record seemed possible. But then during the night (after stomach problems) it was plain that it was not possible.”

2026 Hardrock Endurance Run Results

Men

1. Ludovic Pommeret – 21:11:36
2. Jimmy Elam – 23:48:56
3. David Ayala – 24:28:17
4. Ryan Smith – 25:45:37
5. Arlen Glick – 26:41:17
6. Nick Coury – 29:53:39
7. Paul Terranova – 30:48:30
8. Dustin Simoens – 31:37:57
9. Shad Mika – 32:27:55
10. Alex Docta – 32:36:20

Women

1. Courtney Dauwalter – 26:03:10
2. Careth Arnold – 30:32:31
3. Tara Dower – 33:02:04
4. Bailey Eppard – 35:41:59
5. Kaci Lickteig – 36:12:17
6. Erin Shaw – 36:44:55
7. Darla Askew – 36:49:47
8. Jenny Pierce – 37:26:08
9. Jenny Fox – 37:33:26
10. Jordan Armstrong – 38:39:14

The post Performances for the ‘Ages’ from Ludo and Courtney appeared first on Sports Network Africa.

À deux jours de la finale de la Coupe du monde contre l’Argentine, Luis de la Fuente s’est montré particulièrement détendu devant les médias. Le sélectionneur espagnol a même préféré plaisanter sur le seul élément qui lui inspire une véritable appréhension : le trajet en hélicoptère prévu pour regagner l’hôtel après sa conférence de presse.

Avec le sourire, le technicien de la Roja a reconnu que ce déplacement aérien lui causait davantage de stress que la finale elle-même. « Nous sommes venus en hélicoptère et nous devons repartir de la même manière après cette conférence de presse. C’est ce qui me rend nerveux », a-t-il lancé avec humour, avant d’assurer que tout le reste ne lui inspirait aucune inquiétude.

« Pour le reste, je suis parfaitement calme. Nous avons la chance de vivre un moment exceptionnel et d’être dans cette situation », a-t-il ajouté.

Une occasion à saisir

Championne d’Europe en titre, l’Espagne tentera dimanche de décrocher une deuxième Coupe du monde, seize ans après son sacre de 2010. En face, l’Argentine de Lionel Messi cherchera à conserver son titre mondial.

Interrogé sur l’idée selon laquelle les finalistes battus tombent rapidement dans l’oubli, Luis de la Fuente a balayé cette théorie. Pour lui, atteindre une finale de Coupe du monde constitue déjà un accomplissement majeur.

« Le plus important est d’avoir l’opportunité de gagner et de disputer une finale. Si je pouvais atteindre une finale de Coupe du monde chaque année, même en la perdant, j’en serais heureux », a expliqué le sélectionneur espagnol.

Une finale placée sous le signe du beau jeu

Au-delà de l’enjeu, Luis de la Fuente s’attend à une rencontre spectaculaire entre deux équipes qui, selon lui, partagent de nombreuses qualités. Il estime que l’Espagne et l’Argentine possèdent une philosophie de jeu similaire et disposent de joueurs capables de faire la différence à tout moment.

Le sélectionneur de la Roja prévoit ainsi une finale où la qualité technique et le talent devraient prendre le dessus sur la pression liée à l’événement. À ses yeux, les deux meilleures équipes du tournoi ont rendez-vous pour offrir un grand spectacle dimanche.

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