• United States’ Alex Freeman (16), second left, celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the World Cup Group D soccer match between the United States and Australia in Seattle, Friday, June 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — It’s halftime at the World Cup.

Take a break, everyone.Wednesday marked the midpoint of the 104-match tournament — technically, just past the midpoint, with 54 matches now in the books and 50 remaining before a World Cup champion is crowned in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on July 19.

The U.S. has reached the Round of 32, which shouldn’t be surprising. Mexico and Canada, the other host nations for this biggest World Cup in history, are also through to the knockout stage. And the stars are positively shining: Argentina’s Lionel Messi has five goals to kick-start what he hopes is a run toward a second consecutive World Cup title. France’s Kylian Mbappé has four, as do Norway’s Erling Haaland and Brazil’s Vinicius Júnior.

Stadiums are mostly filled; FIFA is touting record attendance.

And there have been some feel-good stories, most notably the tale of Cape Verde goalie Vozinha and how his mother was able to come to this World Cup.

“The best is yet to come,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino told SNTV earlier this week.

In other words, the second half of this tournament — just like the second half of matches — is when things might get really good.

Ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in July, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria(AFN) has invited 29 athletes to the National Sports Commission CWG national camp in Abuja for intense preparation for the games.

The athletes made up of 14 male and 15 female were drawn from the result of the just concluded national trials at Yabatech Sports Complex in Lagos and current records of other athletes who were not able to make it to the Lagos trials because of visa issues.Secretary-General of the Federation, Mr. Israel Inwang, urged the invited athletes to report to the NSC National CWG camp in Abuja from Thursday, June 25, 2026.

The athletics team to the 2026 Commonwealth Games will compete in 18 events across track and field including the three relays scheduled for the games- 4 × 100metres men, 4 × 100metres women and Mixed 4 × 400metres.

AFN President Tonobok Okowa, is wishing the athletes, coaches and other officials a hitch-free camping exercise.

• NFF CAF-certified training programme

President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, has reiterated the Federation’s commitment to expanding coaching education across the country, promising to bring CAF-certified training programmes closer to grassroots coaches.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the CAF B-License Refresher Course in Abuja on Wednesday, Gusau said that the NFF has made significant progress in coaching development since his administration assumed office and remains determined to create opportunities for coaches to improve their knowledge and qualifications.

According to him, the Federation inherited a challenging situation regarding coaching education but has since recorded notable achievements through the organisation of several coaching courses and Nigeria’s return to the CAF A-License convention.

“When we came in, the situation was not particularly great with regards to coaching education. I believe you can all attest to the fact that significant progress has been made in this area, with the numerous courses we have had and our country’s return to the CAF A-License convention,” Gusau said.

( The Sun)