France became the first team ever to fail to have a shot during the first half of a World Cup final, forcing Didier Deschamps into a historic double change with Argentina 2-0 up.

Deschamps became the first boss to make two substitutions before half-time in a World Cup match, with the reigning champions on the ropes and failing to have a solitary attempt on goal.

Ousmane Dembele and Olivier Giroud were hauled off after just 41 minutes, with France having a mountain to climb after a Lionel Messi penalty and a wonderfully worked Angel Di Maria strike.

Dembele was at fault for Argentina's opener, bringing down Di Maria in the France area before Messi coolly slotted home his sixth goal of the tournament, and Di Maria added a second shortly after.

With France well off the pace, Deschamps was forced into drastic measures as he replaced Dembele and Giroud with Randal Kolo Muani and Marcus Thuram.

Deschamps' decision to take off Giroud will be a big talking point, after the France head coach declined to bring back Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema for the final.

Benzema was ruled out of Qatar 2022 with a thigh injury, but there had been suggestions the Real Madrid striker could link back up with the squad for the final on Sunday.

But Deschamps did not call upon Benzema, who posted an ambiguous message on social media in the following days that was translated as "I'm not interested".

Deschamps chose to start Giroud despite the Milan man struggling with an injury in the days prior to the final.

Giroud was clearly unhappy at being substituted, throwing a water bottle on the sidelines with Les Bleus' status as world champions under serious threat.

Lionel Messi became the first player in World Cup history to score in every round of a single edition of the tournament after putting Argentina ahead against France in Sunday's final.

The Argentina captain opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 23rd minute when he calmly sent Hugo Lloris the wrong way after Ousmane Dembele felled Angel Di Maria.

Messi is the first man to net in the group stage, the round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final at one World Cup.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward also became the first to 20 direct goal involvements at the finals (12 goals, eight assists), while no player has scored or assisted in more different matches (14) than the 35-year-old, whose sensational campaign showed no signs of slowing.

Inter must "speed up" if they are to close the 11-point gap to Serie A leaders Napoli, according to striker Edin Dzeko.

The Nerazzurri lifted the Serie A title in the 2020-21 campaign for the first time in 11 years, though they then watched their city rivals Milan end their own drought the following season as Inter fell two points short.

Their bid to wrestle back the title from Milan this season has started poorly, having lost five of their opening 15 league matches, leaving them in fifth ahead of a return to action after the World Cup break.

But it is not Milan who lead Serie A, but instead their next opponents Napoli, who visit San Siro on January 4.

Under Luciano Spalletti, Napoli are unbeaten through 15 matches and hold an eight-point advantage to Milan in second, while Inter are lagging even further behind.

However, Dzeko believes Inter can still catch Napoli, though the forward acknowledged a sharp upturn in form will be required if they are to do so.

"We have to give credit to them if they [Napoli] have accumulated this gap," Dzeko told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Of course, 11 points are too many.

"It's pointless to think back on those months, rack your brains and rack your brains.

"The only thing we can do now, I repeat, is to speed up, because you can always make up for it."

Inter visit Napoli for the return clash on May 21.

Rory McIlroy feels like he is on a “journey” to winning another major title and is optimistic his drought could end next season.

The Northern Irishman has enjoyed a successful 2022, winning the FedEx Cup for the third time and ending the season at the top of the world rankings.

McIlroy endured the agony of missing out on being crowned Open champion after putting himself in a great position to win it, while he was runner-up in The Masters and finished eighth in the PGA Championship.

It is eight years since the 33-year-old won the last of his four major tiles, but he is confident he will not have much longer to wait for the fifth.

"I'm really excited for the majors next year," he told RTE. "I haven't felt this good going into a season, especially a major season, in a long, long time.

"It didn’t happen [in The Open at St Andrews] and it was really hard to see the picture clearly at that time. But a week or two after that, you reflect on it and think 'I'm way closer to winning a major now than I have been in a long time'.

"It's a journey again. I feel like I'm on this journey to win my first major again, which is a really great feeling. I'm getting closer, I'm laying the foundations, and I'm sort of building it step by step."

McIlroy also reiterated that he feels LIV Golf boss Greg Norman should step down for the good of the sport.

"He's become too divisive of a figure," he added. "There's no hope of dialogue going forward if he's involved.

"We have a plethora of amazing golfers on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour, but I think the game is healthier as a whole if we're all playing together.

"Greg's done his bit, he's been disruptive, he's been divisive. But now I think it's time for someone to come in and cooler heads to talk about this.

"If that happens, the game of golf will hopefully end up in a better place than it is right now."

Harry Brook hopes he has given England's selectors a headache with his performances in Pakistan, but believes Jonny Bairstow should return to the team when he recovers from injury.

Brook scored 111 as England posted a first innings total of 354 on day two of the third Test in Karachi, taking a first innings lead of 50, though the hosts cut that to 29 after finishing the day on 21 without loss.

The 23-year-old has made three centuries in three Tests during the tour of Pakistan, vindicating captain Ben Stokes' decision to pick him as a replacement for Bairstow, who enjoyed a free-scoring 2022 before a freak leg injury ruled him out for several months.

Bairstow will be eyeing a return ahead of next year's Ashes series, and Brook says he would back him for an immediate recall, though hopes his own scintillating form has thrown a wrench into the plans of England's selectors.

Brook also broke Alastair Cook's record of 450 runs from 2015-16 to score the most runs by an English men's cricketer in an overseas Test series against Pakistan.

"Most selectors say they like headaches, so hopefully I've caused a very big migraine," he said after the close of play on Sunday. "It's too hard to say at the moment.

"I think Jonny is one of the best players, if not the best player, in the world. He was this summer anyway. For me, he comes straight back into the side.

"Obviously, I'm not selecting the team, but he's such a big player for the side, and he has been for so many years."

Brook acknowledged he had exceeded his own expectations with his form in Pakistan, after his latest century steered England ahead in the third and final Test of a series they have already won.

Having also helped England to the T20 World Cup in Australia, Brook said he is enjoying his achievements on tour.

"I actually said to one of my mates before I came out here that I would love to get two hundreds out here," he added. "So obviously to go one better is a very nice feeling."

Achraf Hakimi has apologised to Gianni Infantino following his confrontation with the FIFA president.

The Morocco defender reportedly questioned Infantino on the level of officiating at the World Cup following the Atlas Lions' defeat by Croatia in the third-place play-off.

Walid Regragui's side were denied a potential penalty against the 2018 runners-up when Youssef En-Nesyri's header hit Bruno Petkovic, while Ibrahima Konate's challenge on Sofiane Boufal also went unpunished in the semi-final loss to France.

But Hakimi, who also confronted referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim, has since expressed remorse over the incident, with the Paris Saint-Germain full-back acknowledging his frustration had boiled over.

"Nothing happened," he told reporters. "I was angry after the end of the match. I went to talk to him, and I apologised for the words I said to him. He is my friend and I respect him a lot, so nothing happened."

Morocco became the first African nation to reach the World Cup semi-finals, having topped Group F ahead of Belgium of Croatia, before overcoming Spain and Portugal in the last 16 and quarter-finals respectively.

Dean Elgar raised concerns about the condition of the pitch at The Gabba in the closing stages of Australia's six-wicket win in the first Test against South Africa.

The hosts secured victory on day two in what was the second-shortest Test in the country after the same two sides played out what remains the shortest Test in history in 1932 in Melbourne.

A green pitch offered considerable bounce and movement, which led to wickets falling regularly as the match was over after a total of just 144.2 overs.

After a first innings score of only 152, South Africa limited Australia to 218, before capitulating with the bat again and posting just 99 in their second innings, setting the hosts a target of a mere 34 to win.

Even then, four Australia wickets fell as Kagiso Rabada (4-13) tore through their top order, though the target was reached in large thanks to the bounce of the pitch, with the top scorer being the 19 extras that mostly came from bouncers that flew over wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne and raced to the boundary.

"I did ask the umpires when [Rabada] got [Travis] Head out down leg, I said 'how long does it go on for until it potentially is unsafe?'," South Africa captain Elgar said.

"And then [Anrich] Nortje was bowling those short ones that were flying over our heads. I know the game is dead and buried, it was never to try and change or put a halt to the game. That's where the umpire's discretion comes into play, not us as players. I am definitely not going to say it was safe or unsafe.

"There were only a handful of runs left so I thought maybe they thought I was just trying to take the mickey," he added, having not received any response from the officials. "But it's not a bad reference point going forward to get a reply.

"You've got to ask yourself the question – is that a good advertisement for our format? Thirty-four wickets in two days – a pretty one-sided affair, I would say.

"The nature of it, how it started to play with some seriously steep bounce with the old ball, you are kind of on a hiding to nothing as a batting unit. I don't think it was a very good Test wicket, no."

Elgar's opposite number Pat Cummins, who took 5-42 in the second innings, felt the surface was well short of concerning levels.

"No way, it was fine," he said. "Sideways movement, there was a little bit of up and down bounce, but it was fine. There were no balls jumping off a length or anything like that.

"It was certainly tricky. Two days probably isn't ideal… personally, I don't mind it if the groundsman err on the greener side occasionally. [I've] played a lot of Tests where they've erred on the flatter side. I think it was the same for both teams."

Day two also saw Mitchell Starc take his 300th Test wicket when he bowled Rassie van der Dussen with a trademark inswinger, and Cummins paid tribute to his team-mate.

"You can talk about strike rate, average, all those things," he said. "[But] the longevity you've got to have to get 300 as a fast bowler, the injuries you've got to overcome… you've seen it all by the time you get 300.

"I've seen him mending a lot of scars, bruises and blisters in the change room. You see the toil behind the wickets and performances. It puts him right in the upper echelon of great Aussie bowlers. Now he's nipping the ball a bit more. I reckon his next 300 will come pretty quickly."

Harry Brook scored a third century of the series as England finished the second day of the third Test against Pakistan with a 29-run advantage.

In-form batter Brook struck a brilliant 111 as the tourists recovered from 145-5 to post 354 all out in reply to 304 and Pakistan closed on 21 without loss on another absorbing day at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Having started the day on 7-1, England were in trouble after Nauman Ali (4-126) got rid of Ben Duckett before Joe Root edged his first ball to Agha Salman at slip.

Ollie Pope made an assured 51, but was on his way after being bowled by a beautiful delivery from Abrar Ahmed (4-150) and Ben Stokes was run out for 26 following a mix-up with Brook.

England needed Brook to deliver again after the calamitous loss of his skipper and he continued his purple patch with a stylish innings, putting on 117 for the sixth wicket with the impressive recalled Ben Foakes (64).

Brook showed a combination of great timing and power, scoring a third hundred in on his fourth Test, and Foakes showed his class with the bat to frustrate Pakistan.

Mohammad Wasim trapped Brook leg before to end his sublime knock, but Mark Wood (35) and Ollie Robinson (29) offered support for Foakes with enterprising knocks to enable England to take a lead.

Abrar cleaned up Robinson to end the innings, with Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood negotiating nine overs late in the day to reduce the deficit without any damage being done.

Brook's dream start continues

It was only in January that the 23-year-old Brook played his first England game and a Test debut followed in September.

He looks very much at home on the international stage, hitting three sixes and a further eight boundaries in his latest outstanding innings.

Foakes shows his class

Wicketkeeper-batter Foakes missed the first Test due to illness and Pope kept the gloves for the second Test as England wrapped up the series with one match to spare.

Back in the side for the final Test, Foakes gave yet another demonstration of his class with the bat – as well as being a brilliant keeper.

Lionel Messi will break the record for most World Cup match appearances in Sunday's final against France after being named in Argentina's starting XI.

Messi's outing in the semi-final win over Croatia took his World Cup games tally to 25, level with Lothar Matthaus.

But he was unsurprisingly named among the starters for Sunday's showpiece at Lusail Stadium, with Messi aiming to win the World Cup for the first time.

Another lesser record is within his grasp as well, as Messi will be become the first player to score in the group stage, last 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final in a single edition of the tournament if he nets against Les Bleus.

That would also ensure he becomes the first player (since 1966) to record 20 goal involvements in World Cup tournaments, as he goes into the game with 19 (11 goals, eight assists).

Messi and nine others retain their places in the team from the semi-final, with the only change seeing Angel Di Maria come in for Leandro Paredes.

France's major concern ahead of the final had been the virus being spread around their camp.

However, they appear to have come through the worst of it, with everyone available for selection.

As such, Didier Deschamps reverts to his preferred starting XI, with Dayot Upamecano and Adrien Rabiot returning to the line-up – the former was only fit enough for a bench role against Morocco, while the latter missed out entirely.

There had been reports of additional players contracting the illness during the week, while Aurelien Tchouameni, Theo Hernandez and Olivier Giroud were said to be struggling with injuries.

But all were deemed fit enough to start as France aim to become the first European nation since Italy in 1938 – and just the third country ever – to retain their World Cup crown.

Gareth Southgate's decision to stay on as England manager has been welcomed by Gary Neville, who believes the Three Lions can win a tournament under his watch.

Southgate said he would take time to consider his future after England's 2-1 defeat against France in the World Cup quarter-finals last week.

That loss represented the latest in a series of near misses for Southgate's Three Lions, who squandered early leads in the 2018 World Cup semi-finals and the final of Euro 2020.

However, Sunday brought confirmation Southgate would remain in post until at least the end of Euro 2024 – his contract expires soon after that tournament – and Neville is pleased with the decision.

"I think it's the right decision," former England right-back Neville told Sky Sports News. "I felt it needed to be dealt with and the fact it has come out overnight is welcome. 

"It puts it to bed, it allows everyone to focus for the next 18 months. If there is going to be a change, it will be after the next tournament; it means a proper succession plan can be put in place.

"It didn't feel right, Gareth leaving, and it also didn't feel like either he or the FA had got anything lined up, either in his own career or for the FA to replace Gareth.

"We've played well in this tournament, we played well against France, I thought we were the better team on the night and that happens in football sometimes.

"I know we always want an autopsy, a scapegoat, someone to blame, but it doesn't really exist for me in this tournament. I think the players, manager and coaches have handled themselves pretty well." 

England won praise for adopting a more positive approach in Qatar than at previous tournaments, with their tally of 13 goals in this campaign their highest at any World Cup or European Championship.

While some have suggested England need an experienced winner to get them over the line, Neville feels the Three Lions have made progress and could win a trophy under Southgate.

"This idea they're mutually exclusive and you can't have what Gareth's brought – which is respect, integrity, good football, good performances – and then win, I don't go along with that," Neville said. "This idea that Gareth Southgate can't win a tournament with England, I don't buy into it.

"We brought in Sven-Goran Eriksson, who was apparently a hard winner, and so was Fabio Capello, coaches who had success at club level, and they didn't deliver anything like what Gareth has delivered with England. Let's put that to bed.

"Over the last 10 years, we've wanted a better team, a more technical team, better performances, getting to the latter stages of competitions, keeping possession... Gareth has done all those things.

"He has made us feel better about playing for England again, getting our players and our game respected around the world. We're in a good place. 

"With the women's success [at Euro 2022], with the youth team success, England have had a really good 10 years. 

"This idea we need to bring in this hard-nosed, killer winner and all of a sudden we'll be okay, I don't buy into it. I played with Southgate, I've known him a long time – he desperately wants to win."

Antoine Rozner put his previous Mauritius Open ghosts to bed as he romped to a five-stroke win at Mont Choisy Le Golf in convincing fashion at 18-under.

The Frenchman lost out to Rasmus Hojgaard in a three-way play-off at the last edition of the tournament in 2019, but went one better in Grand Baie this year to pick up his third DP World Tour title.

Collecting his first silverware since last year's Qatar Masters, Rozner posted an impressive five-under on the final day to stay ahead of nearest rival Alfredo Garcia-Heredia.

Rozner's compatriot Julien Brun could only post a par round, to finish third with 12-under, while Simon Forsstrom, Ko Jeong-Weon and Dylan Mostert tied for fourth a shot behind him. 

The 29-year-old posted four birdies, an eagle and a bogey - the latter on the 17th - across his round of 67, matched by Garcia-Heredia, though Alejandro Canizares posted the best card of the day at seven-under.

Kyler Murray is expected to miss six to eight months after suffering a torn ACL, meaning he can hope to be ready for the start of the 2023 season.

The Arizona Cardinals quarterback left the field in tears as he was carted off during Monday's defeat to the New England Patriots.

Coach Kliff Kingsbury confirmed Murray would undergo surgery once the swelling in his knee reduces.

However, ESPN's Adam Schefter has reported there appear to be no additional complications that would delay Murray's recovery. Doctors believe all the other ligaments in his knee are intact, Schefter said.

Colt McCoy will deputise during Murray's absence for the Cardinals' clash with the Denver Broncos, having also filled in earlier this season, and Kingsbury saluted the 36-year-old.

"The respect level [his team-mates] have for him is through the roof, and he puts in the work," Kingsbury said earlier this week. "He's a brilliant football mind, and then he is really good when he gets a chance to play.

"He could be a coach if he wanted to right now. He'd probably take my job easily. He has that type of knowledge and that type of command in the locker room."