Where do you start with Argentina’s 3-2 comeback victory against Egypt? It was a World Cup classic, a game that will be talked about for generations, with its dramatic goals, Lionel Messi’s tears and more than a whiff of controversy that, as much as anything, will only add to its legend.

Amid all that, one place you definitely would not start is with a tackle, but that does not mean it was not a vital moment.

This was slap bang in the middle of the chaos, just 10 seconds into stoppage time. By this point, Argentina had wrestled the game back from the brink, after Cristian Romero sparked his country back to life with a powerful header and Messi slapped in a perfectly struck half-volley.

Egypt were 1-0 up at half-time but seriously threatened one of the great World Cup shocks in a dramatic second half, with Zico finishing a counter-attack, only to be denied after a VAR review for a soft foul on Lisandro Martinez well before in the build-up. Zico was not to be denied and finished another stunning counter-attack to give his side a two-goal lead.

It was that threat on the break that could have knocked the defending champions out, even after they had clawed their way back to 2-2. Far from being left on the floor by Messi’s equaliser — the exact thing that Egypt would have been dreading as soon as Romero had pulled one back — they were suddenly up and swinging again.

They had been sitting back, trying to keep out Argentina as England did with Mexico in another World Cup classic, but once Messi struck, they tried to win it all over again.

Argentina continued to attack but with all the emotion and momentum of the equaliser, and the desire to get the winner, they seemed to completely forget about any kind of defending. With Egypt up off the canvas, it could have cost them.

A Messi pass intended for the area was cut out by Mohanad Lasheen, and Trezeguet slid in to mop up the loose ball. A quick pass into the middle suddenly set Egypt racing away with four players, looking to do what they had done twice to the holders.

Argentina only had two men back when Omar Marmoush took possession in the middle, 18 yards inside the Egypt half. One of them, defender Martinez, was easily bypassed by Marmoush’s first-time lay-off to Mohamed Salah.

Marmoush then essentially made the executive decision that his pass would be a one-two, as he ran around the back of Salah and steamed away with the ball again.

Leandro Paredes was Argentina’s holding midfielder, but in the closing stages of the match, before Messi’s equaliser had arrived, Romero had pushed up front, meaning that Paredes dropped deep, and when his country had the ball he was often the last line of defence.

So when Egypt broke away and Martinez was cut out of the equation, Paredes was left to face three forwards running at full tilt, with little help.

What followed was an iconic piece of World Cup defending. Paredes had seen the danger unfolding as the ball went inside to Marmoush, and started backpedalling. At one point, as Marmoush bore down on him, the Boca Juniors midfielder was fully facing his own goal as he attempted to check his left shoulder and the surroundings.

He would have seen Trezeguet, who continued his run forward after mopping up the loose ball, and by the time Paredes had turned his head the other way to look back at Marmoush, the forward was upon him.

Paredes anticipates the pass to Trezeguet, immediately turns to face Marmoush, slams on the brakes and dangles out a hopeful right leg.

The ball hits it, gently pops up into the air and lands again, just as Paredes springs to his feet.

He controls it and bursts forwards. Sensibly, considering the unfolding chaos, he laid the ball off and helped Argentina breathe, for a second at least.

One minute and 34 seconds later, the ball was in the back of the Egypt net. In the period between the tackle and the goal, Messi had tried to lead another attack and Egypt broke again, first launching a cross into the box and then dribbling in via Salah, who felt he was tripped by Julian Alvarez. It turned out to be one of the most controversial calls of this World Cup, as Argentina went up the other end and scored.

The move leading to Enzo Fernandez’s goal is relayed beautifully by Argentinian commentator Mariano Closs. “Senoras y senores, hay olor a gol,” he announces as Lautaro Martinez stands with the ball on the right — “Ladies and gentlemen, it smells of a goal”.

Only then does Lautaro Martinez send his ambitious cross into the area for Fernandez to plant his header into the far corner, capping a wild game.

Were it not for Paredes’ intervention, it could still have been very different.

Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles had a feeling this spring, confident that his team is built to last.

Promising young quarterback. Dynamic head coach. A connected locker room. The momentum felt real.

Sure, building on last season’s surprise breakthrough will be difficult. Coach Ben Johnson has made that crystal clear to everyone inside Halas Hall for months. But even with the heart-stopping path the Bears took to an NFC North championship and a riveting playoff win over Green Bay last season, Poles is optimistic his crew can navigate the path to sustained success.

“This is a new year and we’ve got to get back to work,” the Bears’ GM told The Athletic in March. “But you see this hunger from this young group of guys who want to string year after year after year together.”

With an eye on fortifying their roster with conscientious and passionate players, Poles and Johnson believe they have found a catalyst for their future.

“You feel the hunger to put the time in to get back to where we were,” Poles said. “It’s kind of an addiction you sense from these guys.”

For a franchise that hasn’t been to the playoffs in consecutive seasons in 20 years and hasn’t strung together three straight winning seasons since the late 1980s, the difficulty of this climb is well-documented. A tougher schedule is on tap for 2026. The division is still loaded. And the Bears must again find ways to create their own luck to keep the vibes good and to dodge regression.

With training camp beginning later this month, we explore four key questions for the Bears as they look to extend this run.

Will close-game execution carry over?

The Bears’ late-game heroics last season were numerous and exhilarating, evidence of a breakout team playing with dangerous levels of belief under pressure. Here are just a few examples:

• Josh Blackwell’s blocked field goal in the final seconds to preserve a 25-24 win in Las Vegas in September.
• Nahshon Wright’s late fumble recovery and Jake Moody’s walk-off field goal for a primetime 25-24 road victory over the Washington Commanders in Week 6.
• Caleb Williams’ 58-yard rescue touchdown pass to Colston Loveland in the final minute in Cincinnati for a 47-42 win.
• Devin Duvernay’s 56-yard kickoff return late in Minnesota to set up Cairo Santos’ walk-off 48-yard field goal in a 19-17 victory.

And, yes, we can’t forget those two ridiculous home comeback victories over the rival Green Bay Packers, both coming after the Bears trailed by double digits in the fourth quarter and sealed with stadium-shaking Williams-to-DJ Moore touchdown passes.

The final tally: Seven Bears wins, including the playoffs, after they trailed in the final two minutes.

That wasn’t just the best mark in the NFL last season; it was the best this century. Since 2000, only the Tebowmania Denver Broncos and the 2016 Detroit Lions had more than four such victories, with five each.

Good luck repeating all that, right?

Still, even with the warning signs that last season could have been an outlier, it’s worth noting the Bears’ eight victories in one-score games were accompanied by five such losses.

So maybe Williams doesn’t hit a 46-yard overtime bomb TD this season, as he did to Moore in Week 16 to stun Green Bay. But maybe instead Williams will find Cole Kmet in the end zone on the final snap, as he was unable to do at Lambeau Field two weeks earlier.

Maybe Williams won’t rally the Bears from 10 points down in the final six minutes as he did during a November escape against the New York Giants. But maybe he does hit a game-deciding pass from the 2-yard line, which he was unable to do against the San Francisco 49ers in a Week 17 thriller.

The point is that while Williams and the Bears were frequently spectacular in the clutch last season, they were not perfect. And their .636 winning percentage in regular-season games decided by seven points or fewer ranked 10th in the NFL. Perhaps a slight uptick there is still possible?

One of the Bears’ biggest keys to sustaining success will be remaining poised and focused under pressure. On that front, they should enter 2026 with a surplus of confidence. In Williams as a late-game killer. In Johnson as the dialed-in manager. And in the entire team’s ability to meet the biggest moments.

Tyrique Stevenson and the Bears led the NFL with 33 takeaways, including 23 interceptions, last season. Is that sustainable? (David Berding / Getty Images)

Is takeaway regression inevitable?

Reality No. 1: Of the NFL-high 23 interceptions the Bears recorded last season, 19 were made by players no longer on the roster, including seven from league picks leader Kevin Byard, who is now with the New England Patriots.

Reality No. 2: Of the 22 teams that led the league in takeaways between 2006 and 2024 — three seasons had co-leaders — more than half fell out of the top 10 in that category the following season. A dozen teams had a dip of at least 10 takeaways the year after leading the NFL.

Through that lens, it seems impractical to expect the Bears to repeat their takeaway binge after racking up a league-high 33 in 2025. And if that number falls significantly, a defense that finished 29th against the run (5.0 yards per attempt) and 29th in pressure rate (31.5) could be vulnerable.

In March, Johnson conceded this much: “You do the studies, the analytics, the statistics and all that, and you find that takeaways really is not a sustainable metric.”

But without missing a beat, Johnson added this: “We still have Al Harris.”

In fact, with Harris as the defensive backs coach, forcing turnovers remains central to the defense’s mission.

“I’m obsessed with taking the ball away,” Harris said. “That’s our culture here. That’s super important to me. And the players feed off that.”

Harris has a history of creating takeaway success. Five players he has coached over his past nine NFL seasons have recorded at least five picks in a season. That fraternity includes Byard and Wright last season; Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland (twice) with the Dallas Cowboys; and Marcus Peters (twice) with the Kansas City Chiefs.

In his nine seasons as the head defensive backs coach in Kansas City, Dallas and Chicago, Harris has been part of defenses that have averaged 17 interceptions per season. He has also helped coach defenses in three organizations that led the NFL in picks — the Chiefs in 2016, the Cowboys in 2021 and the Bears last season.

“I don’t coach ‘Turnovers come in bunches,’” Harris said. “I don’t believe that. I think this is coached. It’s in your culture. It’s a part of how I preach my message.”

One last footnote: the Lovie Smith-era Bears prioritized takeaways and averaged 34 per season, with highs of 44 in 2006 and 2012 and a low of 28 in 2009. In other words, keeping the takeaway faucet open may not be easy. But it isn’t impossible.

What to make of the Bears’ injury toll?

Last season’s magical run did not come with a clean bill of health. Of the 23 players listed as starters on offense or defense when the first depth chart of the summer was released, six wound up on injured reserve during the season. In all, that original group of starters missed a combined 70 regular-season games.

There are a multitude of ways to calculate how severely teams are affected by injuries. In most studies, the 2025 Bears ranked near the middle of the pack. Analytics expert Aaron Schatz offered an AGL (Adjusted Games Lost) metric that ranked the Bears 17th in time missed by starters or other important players.

Still, the defense was hit particularly hard. Cornerback Kyler Gordon, for one, missed 14 games and had two separate IR stints while dealing with hamstring, calf and groin injuries.

Cornerback Jaylon Johnson, who started camp on the physically unable to perform list with a groin injury, missed the entire preseason and then the opener, returned for two quarters in Week 2, then wound up aggravating the injury, needing surgery and missing the next two-and-a-half months.

Linebacker T.J. Edwards had a similar in-and-out experience because of a lingering hamstring problem. (Edwards missed seven regular-season games, then fractured his fibula against the Packers in the wild-card round.)

Dayo Odeyingbo (torn Achilles tendon) and Shemar Turner (ACL tear) each suffered season-ending injuries before Week 10.

On offense, foot injuries kept Rome Odunze out of the final five games of the regular season and affected his performance when he played.

In all, 18 Bears spent time on injured reserve. With even a slight uptick in injury luck, particularly on defense, the Bears might be positioned for added success.

The team’s sports science staff and strength and conditioning leaders must navigate a twisty regular-season schedule. After playing five of their first six games on Sundays, the Bears have only one promised Sunday-to-Sunday turnaround the rest of the way, with games over the final three months on Monday (Week 8 at Seattle), Thursday (twice), Friday (Christmas vs. the Packers) and Saturday (Week 15 at Buffalo). That will test the team’s preparation routine and the way players rest and recover during short and long weeks.

Improving Caleb Williams’ completion percentage is a priority for the quarterback and the Bears this year. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

What’s next for Caleb Williams?

There was a lot to love about Williams’ second season and his first with Johnson. The quarterback set a Bears single-season record with 3,942 passing yards, threw 27 touchdown passes (fourth-most in franchise history) and posted an interception rate (1.2) that led the league during the regular season. His sack rate also plummeted, down to 4.1 percent from 10.8 percent in his rookie season.

Perhaps best of all, Williams cemented his “Iceman” reputation with brilliant playmaking down the stretch of close games while showing pronounced improvement in handling the huddle and the pre-snap operation. Not bad after enduring a coaching change and later acknowledging that he felt like he was drowning during portions of Johnson’s first training camp as coach last summer.

With the way Williams finished 2025, there’s reason to believe he could be approaching a production springboard.

Still, a separate pile of evidence illuminates the quarterback’s need to continue improving, with enough to suggest he’s not as close as some believe to becoming one of the league’s elite quarterbacks.

Per TruMedia, Williams’ 58.1 completion percentage last season ranked 32nd. Johnson has also consistently cited it as a concern. Williams’ overall passer rating (90.1) also ranked in the bottom half of the league and, according to TruMedia, his EPA per dropback (.077) ranked 18th.

Furthermore, Williams’ five postseason interceptions matched the number of picks he threw over the final 13 weeks of the regular season. (It’s important context that three of those playoff interceptions came on fourth downs, when he was intent on putting the ball in play.)

It’s no wonder the debate about Williams’ standing in the league’s QB hierarchy and his potential remains so lively. The range of possibilities still seems wide.

Williams is in a promising position to build on last year’s success, though, thanks to the development he showed in 2025, his healthy union with Johnson and the demanding goals the team has given him to make this next jump.

Some see MVP potential — and right away. (Williams, per DraftKings, is currently tied with Matthew Stafford with the eighth-best odds to win that award this season.) But he won’t have to reach that level for the Bears to continue winning. Even modest improvement would put the team in a good place.

And with a crop of talented playmakers growing around him — Loveland, Odunze and Luther Burden III among them — a window appears open for a promising offense to improve on a 2025 season in which it ranked sixth in total yardage.

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Good morning! Enjoy a miracle today. Inside: 

Last Words: A World Cup moment to reflect

Today marks the first day without a World Cup game since June 11, when the tournament began. I don’t really know what to do with myself, but we shall persist … until tomorrow. 

Yesterday’s results — along with a final say about the USMNT’s ugly exit and future — warrant plenty of conversation. Let’s start with what actually happened: 

• Argentina advanced via a miracle comeback over Egypt, winning 3-2 and scoring all three goals in the final 15 minutes of the match. Supporters will say Lionel Messi’s left foot is kissed by God, while Egyptian fans will rue some iffy VAR calls for years to come. Either way, Argentina advances to the final eight.
  
• Messi and company will play Switzerland, which survived a nervy 0-0 tie through extra time and won in a shootout over Colombia. Argentina will be favored in that matchup, but don’t forget that the reigning Cup winner has been on the ropes in two straight matches. This Switzerland team has guts, too.

Jamie Squire / Getty Images

As for the latest departed host country, bitterness still roiled a day later over the Americans’ poor showing in a 4-1 loss to Belgium. Interest had soared; over 40 million people watched the game here. The lingering emotions are sensitive and inhabit a wide spectrum: 

• There is despair/resignation. For all the strides this U.S. team made, the ending was same old USMNT stuff. Our columnist Candace Buckner wrote this morning about why the United States will never win a men’s World Cup. Maybe I’m naive, but I’m not sure I agree. You can read her argument here.
  
• There is resentment on a grander scale. The entire Folarin Balogun red-card saga made an inspiring story — America’s possible ascent into the soccer elite — into one of villainy, at least to the rest of the world, who saw a punishment overturned after the host country’s president made a call to FIFA. Jerry Brewer wrote a great column explaining the nuance of that.
  
• There is also quiet hope. Whatever fanciful dreams any American had of winning the World Cup on home soil this year were misguided at best. But despite the exit, there was real progress in the talent and style of play this American team exhibited, though it was clearly not enough to compete with actual soccer powers. The problems have been laid bare. Will anyone do anything about them? Paul Tenorio has a brutal assessment of things, along with a path forward. 

We’ll focus on the teams still in the tournament tomorrow. Onward:

News to Know

Adam Davy / PA Images via Getty Images

Gauff glides on grass, again
Coco Gauff is apparently done with her grass tennis allergy after beating No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula in three sets yesterday, advancing to the semifinals at Wimbledon, where she had never gone past the fourth round before this year. She won yesterday by playing “anti-grass,” as Matthew Futterman wrote. 

• Also in London: Novak Djokovic is into the men’s semifinals after a five-set epic win against Félix Auger-Aliassime. Waiting for him is world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

A 6-team trade
NBA stalwart Khris Middleton is heading back to the Washington Wizards as part of a six-team trade that is frankly difficult to track. Middleton will sign an extension with the suddenly interesting Wizards, while D’Angelo Russell goes to Memphis in the deal, Caris LeVert lands in Milwaukee and John Collins ends up in Detroit. The full details are here.

IOC reinstates Russia
The International Olympic Committee provisionally ended its suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee yesterday, which means Russian athletes will be able to participate in the 2028 Olympics and beyond under their flag. The suspension came about in 2023 after Russia invaded Ukraine. See more on the implications here.

More news:

• Former Cowboys defensive end Marshawn Kneeland, who died by suicide last November, was diagnosed with CTE posthumously. Read our full story.
  
• CB Bucknor is among seven MLB umpires set to retire at the end of this season. See our full report.
  
• Twins star Byron Buxton landed on the IL with a hip strain and will miss the All-Star Game.
  
• Meanwhile, Pirates rookie Konnor Griffin will miss eight to 10 weeks with an injury to his left ring finger. Tough.

📰 Find more news here 24/7.

Mess: Drama continues to shroud WNBA

Griffin Quinn / Getty Images

There are so many compelling on-court things to talk about this WNBA season. Minnesota, for one, having the best record in the league (tied with Las Vegas) despite missing its best player. Or Atlanta’s resurgence as a power player, despite a recent skid. And then there are the Aces and Liberty, always elite. 

Yet, days like yesterday are defined by the league’s off-court drama. Two buzzy stories: 

• Las Vegas waived guard Chennedy Carter, further spotlighting the strange career Carter has experienced. Her talent is undeniable — she’s averaged 14 points per game across five seasons — but every stop has led to an unfriendly departure. The 27-year-old was great for the Aces earlier this season before complaining about her role on social media. Catch up with the full saga here.
  
• In Chicago, veteran Skylar Diggins also aired grievances on social media after being demoted to the bench for the first time in 10 years. This comes months after the Sky traded away franchise cornerstone Angel Reese. It doesn’t help that the team is 7-14. Read more on Diggins. 

Let’s keep moving:

Watch Guide

📺 Tennis: Wimbledon
8 a.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN2
Two women’s quarterfinal matchups early this morning: Linda Nosková-Elise Mertens and Marta Kostyuk-Jasmine Paolini.

📺 MLB: Phillies at Reds
7:10 p.m. ET on ESPN
We have two primetime baseball games tonight, and I chose the game featuring the highest-ranked team on our latest Power Rankings (Phillies, seventh). We’re in the final full week before the All-Star break. Get some baseball in your life on a rare World Cup off day. 

📺 WNBA: Fever at Sparks
10 p.m. ET on USA Network and CNBC
Indiana is on a roll, while Los Angeles has failed to capture any momentum the last couple of weeks, losing three straight.

Pulse Picks

The MLB Draft is this weekend, which means it’s probably a good time to check out Keith Law’s latest mock draft, posted this week. See the picks. We will have plenty of draft stuff this weekend, too, but for now, check out our primer as to what’s different this year. 

As we creep toward the end of the month, MLB teams get more frantic about the upcoming trade deadline. Are we buying? Selling? Doing nothing? See our latest Urgency Index to find out how your team is feeling. 

Wait, why are LIV golfers popping up at the Scottish Open — a PGA Tour event — this week? Brody Miller explained the nuances.  

Roster rebuilds in the transfer portal era are nothing new. But at Oklahoma State, new football coach Eric Morris is nearly starting over from scratch: 140 scheduled visits, 87 new players … and one star QB. Go inside the rebuild. 

Necessary reading: The NFL stories you missed this offseason. 

Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Our story on the 10-second disaster that was Belgium’s third goal against the U.S.

Most-read on the website yesterday: World Cup quarterfinal bracket predictions.