After a long hiatus from elite downhill competition, Nukeproof is officially back in the World Cup mix — and this time as a title sponsor and bike partner for a freshly minted race team. The newly formed Nukeproof Axess Racing Team will compete in the UCI Mountain Bike Downhill World Cup

World Cup host cities are required to have a viewing and celebration area where throngs of soccer fans who can’t snag tickets to the stadium can gather before, during, and after to eat, drink, and cry tears of joy or sorrow.

The Aston Villa attacking midfielder has been in exceptional form this season and once again starred for the surprise Premier League title challengers on Sunday. Two exquisite efforts clinched a 2–1 victory over Manchester United and secured Rogers back-to-back braces.

Neymar underwent minor surgery on his left knee, his club Santos said on Monday. The 33-year-old Neymar previously said he wanted to fix the pains that have sidelined him from several matches this year.

Japan midfielder Takumi Minamino has torn the ACL in his left knee while playing for Monaco and will almost certainly miss the World Cup.

Thomas Rew will captain the 15-member outfit for the upcoming ICC Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Spain, which will play at least two World Cup matches next summer in Atlanta, retained its No. 1 spot in FIFA’s rankings released Monday. Spain will play Cape Verde, which moved up one spot to No. 67, on June 15 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in its first group-stage match.

With 2022 Olympic gold medalist Petra Vlhova of Slovakia sidelined since a January 2024 race crash and resulting knee surgeries, Shiffrin’s top slalom rivals are currently Lara Colturi of Albania and Camille Rast of Switzerland. The top GS skiers this season are Alice Robinson of New Zealand and Julia Scheib of Austria.

Vonn’s second consecutive podium finish — after an impressive third in Saturday’s downhill — was the 142nd of her World Cup career.

All-rounder Cooper Connolly hopes his blazing Big Bash League form can help him earn him a recall to Australia's Twenty20 squad for next year's World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav's underwhelming form has been a big talking point ahead of India's 2026 T20 World Cup campaign.

Weston McKennie is doing a bit of everything for Juventus, looking indispensable for club and country as the World Cup year approaches.