World Cup LIVE: White House stance on Falklands banner row as FIFA react to ban calls

Liverpool icon Graeme Souness has questioned whether England's midfield duo Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson are truly world-class.

An exhausted Rice struggled to make an impact in the tournament while Manchester City's £116 million signing Anderson was overrun against Argentina.

Souness said on Sports Uncensored: "One is very young, 22 [sic 23], so he's (Anderson) got a chance of getting better. Declan won't get any better; he's looking as good as he will get at 27.

"I don't see enough football in the two of them. I see them as players who will recycle the ball, but I don't see them hurting people... I think these two young lads are limited. Declan Rice for me, limited.

"You hear people talk about Declan Rice as a world-class footballer, I think he might be a center-half. There's nothing to dislike about him in terms of his attitude to the game, nothing to dislike about him, his athleticism, commitment from the first minute to the last minute.

"My criticism of his, is, he doesn't have enough football in him. They talk about how, 'Well, look how he runs with the ball.' A center midfield player, you shouldn't do."

Ibrahima Konate has insisted France are motivated to beat England in tomorrow's World Cup third-place playoff.

Tuchel claimed that his exhausted players shouldn't have to take part in the Bronze final. But Konate, who recently signed for Real Madrid, thinks differently.

“I believe as French players, for this team, many players would have loved to compete and played this game. I’m not saying it’s easy, far from it," he said.

“I’ve read in the press that Thomas Tuchel said that no-one wants to play this game. Well, it’s true that, given the aim and objective we had, we wanted to play the final.

“But we are still representing France and it is the dream of many people to wear the shirt, the jersey, and sing the national anthem."

Jurgen Klopp has rubbished reports that he spoke about Thomas Tuchel and England after the World Cup semi-final.

Taking to social media, the former Liverpool boss said comments attributed to him were 'not true'.

"Hi guys. Just a short message from my sofa, actually," he said on Instagram.

"Today I got a lot of messages about things which I found on social media that I said something about the England game and Thomas Tuchel and tactics - and stuff like that. It's not true."

READ THE FULL STORY

The White House has claimed the Argentina players were free to express themselves under the First Amendment after displaying a banner about the Falkland Islands following their World Cup victory over England.

After beating England 2-1 in the World Cup semi-final, several players celebrated with a custom flag that read: "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" which translates to "The Falklands are Argentine" in Spanish.

With some calls for Argentina to face punishment or even be thrown out of the World Cup, the White House responded with support for Lionel Scaloni's side.

According to Sky News, the White House would not support any Argentina players being banned from Sunday's final at the MetLife Stadium.

It claims officials from President Donald Trump's team have rejected calls from the UK government, chiefly Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey, to punish the players who paraded the banner.

You can read the full story here.

Spain continued to train outside ahead of the World Cup, ignoring calls to head inside as smoke from wildfires in Canada filled the air in New Jersey.

The Euro 2024 winners trained in difficult conditions 48 hours before their clash with Argentina despite concerns over air quality in the region.

Luis de la Fuente’s side trained as normal in East Hanover, New Jersey after beating France, even with the smoke being visible to the players.

Arsenal's Mikel Merino admitted he could see and smell smoke from the wildfires but insisted his team needed to focus on the matter at hand.

“For a game that is as important as a World Cup final, you have to be able to shut out external factors as much as possible,” Merino said Friday.

“Luckily, we are being careful with every detail thanks to the federation and the organizers of the World Cup.”

Jude Bellingham has expressed his pride at England's World Cup campaign and insisted his team-mates should not face criticism for their exit at the hands of Argentina.

The 23-year-old, who scored six goals in the tournament, heaped praise on his England colleagues for their efforts in North America.

“I think the one thing that’s overriding for me is pride,” he told England's official website. “Proud to represent my nation, proud to have given them a few good moments along the way. I’ll be back, we’ll be back and we’ll give everything we have to try and bring it home for us.

“I think all the lads did everything we could. Over the course of the tournament, you can’t fault the effort and the fight and all those things. That’s the life of a footballer at this level, the more kind of beautiful the journey the more kind of heartbreaking the hurt is.

“I’m really proud of all my team-mates for putting a magnificent shift in the last couple of weeks.”

Former England manager Sir Gareth Southgate is set to attend Sunday’s World Cup final, according to reports.

The 55-year-old had planned to make the trip to New Jersey for a long time and had still planned on attending even if England won their semi-final.

According to The Telegraph, Southgate had made an agreement some time ago to speak at a private gathering before the final just outside New York City.

It has been one of the roles he has taken on since leaving England two years ago and has been in great demand from corporate clients.

The England manager wished the players and the Football Association the best of luck in a video he published before the tournament and promised to “stay out the way”.

However, that is no longer a factor in his attendance with Spain facing Argentina and Sir Gareth will take his spot in the stands.

U.S White House officials are set to hold a meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino ahead of Sunday’s World Cup final to discuss the potential health dangers posed by wildfire smoke.

Wildfires have broken out in the New York-New Jersey area just 48 hours before Sunday's final, with health and safety concerns arising if they continue to spread.

There are estimated to be around 800 active wildfires north of the border in Canada.

MetLife Stadium was engulfed in thick smoke on Friday, raising concerns about poor air quality and the threat to life. There is also a lack of visibility within the stadium.

Sky News report Infantino will discuss the matter at hand with World Cup chiefs and the U.S government, with growing concerns that FIFA do not already have a contingency plan in place.

England’s final game at the World Cup could be delayed as they prepare to face France in Miami.

The third-place playoff, also known as the Bronze Final, takes place at Miami Stadium on Saturday at 10pm BST in the UK.

According to Accuweather, temperatures are forecasted to reach 33 degrees celsius an hour ahead of kick-off, with a 'feels like' temperature of 39C.

However, the chance of rain is at around 40 per cent and Thunderstorms are predicted to arrive in the area. This is not expected until 4am, although forecasts have been incorrect throughout the tournament.

US policy on extreme weather at outside sporting events dictates that a match must be delayed or suspended if lightning is detected within an eight-mile radius of the stadium.

Players, coaches and officials must all return inside, while fans are told to evacuate the stands and shelter in a safe spot. Only until the area is clear of lightning for 30 minutes can the game safely resume.

England's World Cup ended with a familiar feeling. And there is a narrative building around Thomas Tuchel that it is never his fault when things go wrong.

Having led Argentina until the closing minutes of the semi-final, Tuchel's side lost control of the match entirely before conceding twice late on to crash out.

England completed just 311 passes to Argentina's 588 - only three of them coming between the hydration break and Enzo Fernandez's equaliser - failed to complete a single link-up play, and touched the ball inside the opposition penalty area only four times to Argentina's 17.

Afterwards, Tuchel offered his explanation of "passive players" and added in for good measure: "Ball possession plays a crucial role. It's maybe not in our DNA like it is in our Spanish DNA or in our Argentinian-Brazilian DNA."

But is the German right? Machine Football put his claim underneath the microscope...

Pep Guardiola had agreed to take the England job in 2024 only to perform a dramatic U-turn, with the Spanish coach linked with the role once more reports Daniel Orme

Current Three Lions’ boss Thomas Tuchel remains under huge pressure following the nation’s World Cup exit at the hands of Argentina.

The German’s tactics in the second-half in Atlanta have been widely criticised, with many claiming that the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss should be moved on just months after putting pen to paper on a new contract with the FA.

One of the names touted as Tuchel’s potential replacement is former Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola. And it has now been revealed just how close he was to the job previously.

Click here to read article