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Spain shock hosts Netherlands while Germany beat Argentina to set up Sunday’s final

Spectators across Spain watched in wonder, some whipping off their protective glasses and rising to their feet in unison, as a rare total ​solar eclipse swept across the north of the country on Wednesday evening, plunging it into darkness. Spain deployed a massive police contingent and set up special viewing spots across rural ‌areas that offered the best views of the spectacle. Millions of people gathered in Iceland and northern Spain to witness Western Europe’s first total solar eclipse in 27 years. Throughout human history, eclipses have stirred amazement, fear and reverence, as they appear to momentarily halt the normal course of nature. The shadow or “umbra” cast by the alignment of Sun and Moon creates a strange twilight during which temperatures drop, shadows appear at strange angles and some animals go to sleep. But the phenomenon is fleeting, lasting just minutes, with the lunar shadow moving across the surface of the Earth at some 3,430 kilometres (2,130 miles) per hour, according to the Paris Obser...

Millions of people gathered in Iceland and northern Spain to witness Europe’s first total solar eclipse in 27 years on Wednesday, with Spanish officials warning people to avoid areas where a heatwave has raised the risk of wildfires. Authorities were expecting up to 6 million visitors in mostly rural areas within the eclipse’s path across the north of Spain and the Balearic Islands, said Juan Cruz, Spain’s Secretary of State for Science. “I hope that tonight will see the emergence of a wonderful generation of astrophysicists,” he said. “It’s such a special moment.” The eclipse will be quickly followed by the sunset in Spain, making the event particularly alluring. Police, planes, and helicopters are on standby The uncanny sensation when day briefly turns into twilight and some animals fall quiet as the moon passes directly between Earth and the Sun was often treated as an omen in the past, a cosmic struggle or a sign of divine power. Frenchman Leyssalle Anthony, 39, prepares a telescope to view the total sola...

Last week’s rush of migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta began with a trickle. Encouraged by a handful of viral videos, ​including some posted by a Spanish news outlet intended to highlight the burden of migration pressures, the movement of a few dozen youths quickly turned into ‌tens of thousands swimming en masse by last Thursday. More than 80 people drowned or were crushed in a stampede, according to official tallies. A catalyst came three weeks earlier, when Spain’s Supreme Court published a ruling saying migrants caught at sea could not be immediately pushed back at the border of Spain’s North African territories of Ceuta and Melilla. The ruling does not preclude their summary return afterwards, legal experts said. View this post on Instagram Ceuta has long drawn ​migrants hoping to build a new life in Europe. But as misinterpretations of the ruling spread — including claims anyone who reached Ceuta, by sea or land, could not be ​returned — more and more people tried their luck. “Never believe thos...

Italy has suspended its Schengen agreement with Spain, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday, calling the measure “unavoidable”. “The temporary suspension of Schengen with Spain is a necessary choice to safeguard the security of our citizens and defend the European borders,” he wrote in a post on X. He noted that the influx of migrants in Ceuta, Spain, “reminds us that the management of the Union’s borders is a shared responsibility among our countries, one toward the other”. “We must work together to prevent uncontrolled migrant flows from entering EU territory, with all the consequent risks and the threat of terrorism, which must be countered without hesitation,” he added. US President Donald Trump led far-right attempts on Friday on both sides of the Atlantic to make political capital from Spain’s migration crisis, portraying the migrant surge in Ceuta as a warning for America if his opponents get into power. “It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if th...

Italy has suspended its Schengen agreement with Spain, Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Friday, calling the measure “unavoidable”. “The temporary suspension of Schengen with Spain is a necessary choice to safeguard the security of our citizens and defend the European borders,” he wrote in a post on X. He noted that the influx of migrants in Ceuta, Spain, “reminds us that the management of the Union’s borders is a shared responsibility among our countries, one toward the other”. “We must work together to prevent uncontrolled migrant flows from entering EU territory, with all the consequent risks and the threat of terrorism, which must be countered without hesitation,” he added. US President Donald Trump led far-right attempts on Friday on both sides of the Atlantic to make political capital from Spain’s migration crisis, portraying the migrant surge in Ceuta as a warning for America if his opponents get into power. “It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if th...

Firefighters raced on Tuesday to subdue huge wildfires that have forced unprecedented evacuations of tens of thousands of people across France and Spain, as western Europe braced for another heatwave. The fires have torn through a region already battered by a blisteringly hot and dry summer. Crews were seeking to capitalise on more favourable weather before a new wave of higher temperatures settled in from Wednesday. In the Bordeaux region of France, firefighters contained the forest blaze overnight, while in Spain, authorities allowed people from nine out of 11 towns in the central Toledo province to return to their homes. However, fires still raged out of control in Madrid and nearby provinces, prompting heightened vigilance. One Spanish evacuee described a “red hell” of fire, portraying intense scenes as residents fled with little more than clothes on their backs. Europe, the world’s fastest warming continent, has endured record-breaking heatwaves this year. Scientists say human-driven climate change is in...

Spain faces two crucial days to bring raging wildfires under control before weather conditions worsen, authorities said on Monday, as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on his citizens to “exercise extreme caution” ahead of a new heatwave. Wildfires that broke out in forests around the Spanish capital at the height of the summer holidays have forced some 60,000 people to flee their homes, often with just minutes’ notice, leaving pets and medicine behind. “You run to save what you can and then you turn to defend” against the fire, said Karim Benali, 39, a volunteer who spoke to AFP on a road near Navaluenga, west of Madrid. “There were some 48 homes here; they burned,” he added, surrounded by charred earth and trees blanketed with a persistent smell of smoke. This handout photo released on July 26 and taken on July 24, 2026 by Spain’s Military Emergencies Unit (UME) shows UME personnel fighting a wildfire near Navas del Rey, 55 kilometres southwest of Madrid, Spain. — AFP The fires devoured forests left tinde...

SPAIN have won the FIFA World Cup for a second time but their Sunday victory over Argentina became more rewarding by bringing a much-needed smile to the harrowed Palestinian people in their undeterred fight against the genocidal occupation of their homeland. It might seem a curious alignment of obviously distant spaces between Europe’s Spain and Asia’s occupied Palestine. But then, everyone knows that sports have always been intertwined with their strange political connections. Sunday’s World Cup final represented a contemporary intertwining of sports and politics. What happened on the field was a stymied Argentina succumbing to a team that moved like a symphony. Off the field, we saw the politically motivated mistreatment of the Iranian team by the host country under President Donald Trump’s watch. Even here, though, the Iranians made their point with quiet grace. The perennially sanctioned country, facing daily bombardments from the US-led military, didn’t shirk from sending a team to the enemy country to s...

Spain’s newly crowned FIFA World Cup champions on Monday arrived back in Madrid, where a million fans are expected to greet them after a night of raucous celebrations across the country. Spain captain Rodri held the World Cup trophy aloft at the top of the stairs as he descended from the Iberia plane that flew the team home from the United States after clinching their second star. Spain’s 1-0 victory over Argentina in New Jersey on Sunday, secured by a Ferran Torres strike in extra-time, has sparked an outpouring of national pride in the football-mad country, whose only other World Cup triumph came in 2010. Many younger supporters were not yet born when Andres Iniesta’s extra-time goal against the Netherlands secured Spain’s first World Cup in South Africa 16 years ago. On Monday morning, the Castellana, Madrid’s main avenue, bore the marks of a boozy evening — the tarmac strewn with trash, beer cans and shards of glass. Among the last remaining supporters, some slept with grins on their faces on the pavement...

There is a version of this tournament that exists only in press releases: 104 games, three countries, a halftime show with more headline acts than most music festivals manage in a weekend, a Peace Prize nobody quite understands, hydration breaks timed to the minute. FIFA built something enormous this summer, then spent five weeks discovering that a football tournament, however large you make it, still insists on being decided by 22 people and a ball. Tonight, at the MetLife Stadium, Madonna, Shakira and BTS will perform to a crowd that mostly just wants them to hurry up so Argentina and Spain can get on with it. That, in miniature, has been the story of the last month: spectacle straining against substance and mostly, gloriously, losing. Noise before a ball was kicked Start with the noise, because there was so much of it before a ball was even kicked. The draw itself happened under a cloud, staged at a Kennedy Centre now reshaped in Donald Trump’s image, with enough absent artists to make the guest list feel ...

The FIFA World Cup will be hosted by Portugal, Spain and Morocco

Spanish elan meets Argentinian steel in a historic World Cup final on Sunday which sees the reigning champions of Europe and South America battle for football’s ultimate prize. Holders Argentina are bidding to become the first team in 64 years to successfully defend the title, in what is almost certainly the final World Cup match of captain Lionel Messi’s career. Spain are aiming to thwart those ambitions by clinching the country’s second World Cup crown following their maiden victory in 2010. US President Donald Trump will be among a star-studded crowd of just over 80,000 spectators at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford as the largest World Cup in history reaches its climax. World Cup officials have said they are “monitoring closely” air quality from Canadian wildfires affecting the region around the final, which kicks off at 12am PST. The final will also see an unprecedented 25-30 minute half-time interval for a Super Bowl-style concert featuring the likes of Madonna, Shakira and Justin Bieber. This com...

Spain are now within one victory of completing a ​World Cup-European Championship double

Spain built their run to the ‌last 4 around their ability to dominate the ball, control the rhythm of matches

Super sub Mikel Merino broke Belgian hearts and sent Spain through to a World Cup semi-final against France with a late goal in a gripping 2-1 win on Friday. The stunning finish at SoFi Stadium sets up a tantalising showdown between European champions Spain and the tournament favorites France and the red-hot Kylian Mbappe in Dallas on Tuesday. But it was heartbreak for Belgium’s substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, sent on late, who spilled a shot into the path of Merino. The dramatic finale came after Fabian Ruiz had opened the scoring for Spain, before Charles De Ketelaere grabbed one back for Belgium against the run of play before halftime. Welcoming Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku back to the starting XI, Belgium were rocked by a hamstring injury during the warm-ups to captain Youri Tielemans that hit them hard. Having already lost Amadou Onana to a ruptured ACL, the Red Devils would have to play a near second-choice midfield against the Spanish possession masters. Ruiz, brought in for Pedri, wasted no ti...

Substitute Mikel Merino scored a late winner to put Spain in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Portugal and end Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career on Monday. The European champions will face Belgium on Friday in Los Angeles. In front of an expectant crowd of 70,649 at the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys, a match that on paper promised so much failed to really deliver. Extra time looked certain, before fellow substitute Ferran Torres slipped in Merino to settle the contest in the first minute of injury time. It meant a sour final World Cup match for the 41-year-old Ronaldo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, having confirmed on the eve of the encounter that this would be his last dance on football’s biggest stage. The neighbours came into the contest both unbeaten, but while Portugal had not been entirely convincing, Spain had not even conceded a goal in the tournament. One of the pre-tournament favourites, they still haven’t. For all their pedigree, talent and history, Spain have only lifted t...

European champions Spain were held to a shock 0-0 draw by tiny World Cup debutants Cape Verde on Monday. Regarded as one of the strong pre-tournament favourites, Spain had been expected to cruise past Cape Verde in their Group H opener in Atlanta. But despite enjoying 74 per cent possession and laying siege to the Cape Verde goal, the 2010 world champions were unable to find a breakthrough against the underdogs from the volcanic archipelago of just 525,000 people, who are ranked as 2000-1 outsiders to win the World Cup by several betting websites. Cape Verde’s Vozinha applauds fans after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group H match between Spain and Cabo Verde at Atlanta Stadium on June 15, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia, the US. — AFP Not even the introduction of Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal off the bench could engineer a goal for Luis de la Fuente’s men. Cape Verde’s players and supporters, meanwhile, celebrated wildly after securing an improbable point in what was their first-ever World Cup match. The underdogs, ni...

Temperatures hit record highs for May in the United Kingdom and France on Monday, as forecasters warned of a prolonged period of extreme heat across Europe throughout the week. A so-called “heat dome” of warm air from northern Africa trapped under a high-pressure system over western Europe is behind the high temperatures not usually seen until high summer. Temperatures in Spain were expected to peak later this week at 38°C, while parts of Italy imposed restrictions on working outdoors. In the UK, the Met Office weather agency said it was the hottest May day on record, with temperatures hitting 34.8°C at Kew Gardens, southwest London – a full two degrees above the previous high. “This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid-summer, let alone May,” it said on X. “The weather here, it’s like a mini version of hell. It’s boiling. It’s like really hot,” said 10-year-old Liza Nizari on a visit to London, where temperatures normally average about 17°C or 18C at this time of year. Lindy Brand-Daloze, a 66-yea...

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Friday stressed his country was a “reliable member” of Nato, after a report the United States was considering possibly trying to expel Spain over its refusal to support operations in the Middle East war. Reuters news agency cited an anonymous US official telling it that the Pentagon had outlined the expulsion option in an email looking at ways to punish Nato allies that steered clear of the US-Israeli war against Iran. “Spain is a reliable member within Nato” which is fulfilling all its obligations, Sanchez told reporters in Cyprus, where he was attending an EU summit. “As a result, I am absolutely not worried,” he said. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly railed against Nato allies for refusing to join the war, saying he viewed it as a betrayal. Some of them — France, Spain and Italy — did not allow US military aircraft deployed for the war to overfly their territories or to use bases. Britain initially also refused, but later allowed US flights from its bases for...