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A history of racism and ongoing footballing rivalries have made the choice of which team to get behind in Sunday’s final a charged topic

The Brazilian journalist and columnist Julia Duailibi usually writes about politics in her weekly column for the leading Brazilian newspaper O Globo, but last Thursday she took a different tack, writing instead about why she would not be supporting neighbouring Argentina in the World Cup final.

“I have always been an admirer of the hermanos [as Brazilians affectionately call Argentinians] and would have loved to cheer on a fellow South American team,” she wrote on the morning after Argentina’s dramatic semi-final victory over England. “But I admit that the racist scenes involving a minority of the fans, and the silence of the majority on the pitch, turned my stomach.”

The World Cup final is a classic clash of the process team against a side riding an emotional urge to fulfil Messi’s destiny

In the 37 minutes between England going ahead against Argentina and falling behind, they had 12% possession. It’s fair to assume that in the World Cup final Spain will provide a rather different challenge. They do not suffer the Mafeking tendency of the English, seeking to re-enact some famous siege every time they take the lead. The finalists have averaged 64% possession so far in the tournament. Spain could hardly be more different to England: their way is not of panic but of process.

There is a clearly defined Spanish style, as there has been since Vicente del Bosque replaced Luis Aragonés as Spain manager in 2008, and arguably before. In that, perhaps, there is hope for England. Spain once were even greater underachievers but Aragonés inspired the revolution against the furia roja orthodoxy. The result has been three Euros and a World Cup in the past two decades, with perhaps another to come on Sunday.

Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison uncovered the truth after Bylin received an at-home DNA test as a Christmas gift

A DNA discovery has led two families to accuse a North Dakota hospital of changing the course of their lives after learning two newborns were allegedly switched at birth nearly four decades ago.

Kyle Bylin uncovered the truth after receiving an at-home DNA test during a Christmas gift exchange. The test connected him with his biological aunt through a genealogy platform, prompting her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, to take his own DNA test. The results confirmed the two men had been raised by each other’s biological families.

Party manifesto pledged to honour existing North Sea exploration licences but not issue new ones

Andy Burnham risks his first confrontation with Labour MPs if he announces new oil and gas drilling licences when he becomes prime minister, insiders have warned.

Speculation is rife that Burnham will announce some new plans for drilling in the North Sea after he is installed in Downing Street on Monday.

Sirens sound in Bahrain and Kuwait accuses Tehran of targeting civilian sites and infrastructure as Iran strikes US allies

The US retaliated against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) after two American troops were killed and one was missing in Jordan when Tehran launched a wave of attacks against US allies in the Middle East.

Iran’s attacks came as the renewal of US strikes on Iran entered a second week and fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.

Kyle Bylin and Jeremy Morrison uncovered the truth after Bylin received an at-home DNA test as a Christmas gift

A DNA discovery has led two families to accuse a North Dakota hospital of changing the course of their lives after learning two newborns were allegedly switched at birth nearly four decades ago.

Kyle Bylin uncovered the truth after receiving an at-home DNA test during a Christmas gift exchange. The test connected him with his biological aunt through a genealogy platform, prompting her nephew, Jeremy Morrison, to take his own DNA test. The results confirmed the two men had been raised by each other’s biological families.

Sirens sound in Bahrain and Kuwait accuses Tehran of targeting civilian sites and infrastructure as Iran strikes US allies

The US retaliated against Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) after two American troops were killed and one was missing in Jordan when Tehran launched a wave of attacks against US allies in the Middle East.

Iran’s attacks came as the renewal of US strikes on Iran entered a second week and fighting escalated over the strait of Hormuz.

• Slovene now 4min 30sec ahead of Vingegaard

• Paul Seixas takes lead in young rider classification

Tadej Pogacar’s rapacious appetite for stage wins was in evidence yet again in the climbs of the Vosges on Saturday, as he raced to his fourth victory of this year’s Tour de France at Le Markstein.

Pogacar’s attack came 1.6km from the summit of the final climb, the Col de Haag, and 7.5km from the finish line and once again left Jonas Vingegaard, Paul Seixas and Remco Evenepoel in his wake.

Ruling comes as supreme court is set to consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles violate US constitution

A federal appeals court on Friday ruled that New Jersey’s bans on assault firearms and magazines that can hold 10 or more rounds is unconstitutional.

It marks the first time a federal appeals court has struck down a state ban on such weapons, and comes as the US supreme court is set to consider whether bans on semiautomatic rifles violate the second amendment in the fall. Just last week, another federal appeals court upheld Illinois’s ban on semiautomatic weapons.

• Russell will share second ​row with Ferrari’s Leclerc

• Norris ‌third fastest ‌but has a 10-place grid penalty

Kimi Antonelli has suffered a run of no little bad luck of late, but the Italian teenager demonstrated it had left him entirely unfazed as he produced a dominant lap to secure pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix.

The 19-year-old’s composure and control at Spa-Francorchamps on Saturday was something to behold as he flew round the circuit in the Ardennes mountains with ease, comfortably beating the Red Bull of Max Verstappen into second place. Notable was the manner in which he did so given Verstappen had benefited from having a tow from his teammate, Isack Hadjar, who willingly sacrificed his laps given he had a 30-place grid penalty to come.

Tune into World Cup coverage, and you are likely to see waves of male, screaming, sweaty fans. But one of the joys of covering this World Cup has been speaking to women who love soccer.

(Image credit: Danielle Villasana for NPR)

Fifa says football brings the world together but the unhoused in Atlanta feel targeted and completely excluded from the tournament

“A lot of our community has been pushed out by the World Cup. We’re not just dollar signs, we’re more than that. We’re people and we’re frustrated that they’ve chosen to treat us less than human.”

“They dropped me off there in the middle of the night. They call them Mormon centres or whatever, but it ain’t nothing but a warehouse of cops. It looked like a Fema camp. When I saw it, I left, I walked all the way back here. It’s because of the World Cup. They’re trying to make it look good for tourists. They don’t want the eyesores around.”