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• Trump and Infantino appear at Fifa reception

• World Cup final kicks off on Sunday at 3pm ET

Donald Trump credited Fifa president Gianni Infantino for the decision to suspend US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card ahead of his team’s crucial last-16 game against Belgium, which the US eventually lost 4-1.

Trump and Infantino were sharing the stage at a reception in the atrium of Trump Tower ahead of a meeting of the Fifa Council on the Friday before Sunday’s World Cup final. The pair entered a stage as Lee Greenwood’s God Bless the USA played over the loudspeakers, standing at the dais for two minutes and 15 seconds to wait for the entire song to finish before Infantino made his remarks, before then throwing to Trump.

‘Strong confrontation’ comes at fragile moment for Reform’s relations with rightwing media as coverage turns negative

Nigel Farage is no stranger to expressing his ire at what he regards as the liberal establishment, but even figures close to him were surprised at the tirade of anger he unleashed upon the editor of the Times.

The exchange, which is said to have included an expletive aimed at Tony Gallagher, was triggered by the Reform UK leader’s outrage that the paper was planning to run a story about his houses, which he said endangered his family.

Defence minister seeks three ‘Nahal’ outposts in Gaza as top commander says Israel now controls 65% of the strip, violating Trump ceasefire deal

Israel’s defence and finance ministers announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and more than $400m (£300m) in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s military commander for the region celebrated violent outposts as his “security partners”.

With national elections scheduled for 27 October, Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition is racing to expand control of land in occupied Palestine and drive out Palestinians before its mandate expires.

From a 1957 novel on a 37-metre-long scroll to a pair of Aris Isotoner Light gloves, test your knowledge with the Saturday quiz

1 What is the only Asian country wholly in the southern hemisphere?
2 Which cross-Channel service ended in 2000 after 32 years?
3 What 1957 novel was typed on a 37-metre-long scroll?
4 Which two sportswear giants are based in the Bavarian town of Herzogenaurach?
5 Which singer and activist was nicknamed Mama Africa?
6 Pfas are popularly known as what by environmentalists?
7 A pair of Aris Isotoner Lights gloves played a central role in what event?
8 About which operation did Churchill say “wars are not won by evacuations”?
What links:
9 Jonathan and Oscar Cainer; Debbie Frank; Sally Kirkman; Shelley von Strunckel?
10 Cricket clothing; Lucas and Polanski; Delta music; NZ rugby?
11 Syra (I); Philometor Soteira (II and III); Tryphaena (V); Thea Philopator (VII)?
12 Regnum defende and semper occultus?
13 Black Dyke; Brighouse and Rastrick; Cory; Grimethorpe Colliery?
14 Benjamin Franklin; Michelle Kwan; Clare Boothe Luce; Shirley Temple?
15 Arabic (Roman); Dutch (Calicut); Portuguese (Peru); French and Turkish (Indian)?

The Avengers star teams up with real-life scholars for a look at the eruption of Vesuvius. At points it’s elegiac and moving, at others it’s majestic and brutal

It’s always funny when documentaries strategically pair a possibly boring topic with a famous face, just to sex them up. A History of NCP Car Parks By Tinie Tempah, say, or World’s Deadliest Sleep Disorders With Anna Maxwell Martin. So when I saw that Tom Hiddleston was hosting a National Geographic investigation into the destruction of Pompeii in AD79 (Disney+, from Thursday), there was no way I wasn’t watching.

The actor has famously sauntered through life’s most vaunted way stations: Eton, Cambridge, Rada, Kong: Skull Island. Privilege and perceived smugness have long been sticks to beat him with. It’s harder to argue he’s not qualified for this job, having earned a double first in classics. Here, he slips into the role of undergraduate detective. A real-life scholar is forced to cosplay as his don during their interview, addressing Hiddleston by surname, issuing prim little reprimands. Hiddleston even translates Latin headstones in the first episode. I don’t know what the ancient Roman for “screw it, I’m leaning in” is, but I think that’s what it means.

In this week’s newsletter: Is Nolan our last superstar director? Every one of his films is an event, clearing the release schedules and selling out cinemas

This July, competitors are running scared – like Ithacans fleeing the cyclops Polyphemus – from The Odyssey, Christopher Nolan’s humongous staging of Homer’s epic poem. The only significant alternatives you’ll find at the cinema in the week of its release are a handful of Aardman rereleases and an astoundingly poorly reviewed adaptation of Animal Farm. The tumbleweeds roll on into next week too, where the star attraction is a cheapo horror film capitalising on Pinocchio’s public-domain status. Only by the 31 July does a blockbuster tentatively poke its head above the parapet – we commend you for your bravery, Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

No other film-maker is able to make studios retreat from the battlefield like Nolan, such is his clout. Sure, other directors might be able to attract sizeable numbers of moviegoers by dint of their name on the poster – Paul Thomas Anderson, Tarantino, Scorsese – but none of them are operating on the same “event cinema” scale, selling out cinemas for months on end. Modern-day Spielberg, with a fair wind behind him, might come close, but that depends completely on the project: flashy sci-fi movie that harks back to his golden era of ET and Close Encounters – perhaps; semi-autobiographical paean to the wonders of moviemaking – not so much. Nolan doesn’t tend to experience that variability: everything he stamps his name on will reliably hit.

A hasty handover from Starmer meant his successor has not had much time to prepare for office yet his team is quietly confident

• What Andy Burnham’s first speech as Labour leader tells us

Just 20 minutes’ walk along the road to Wigan Pier, Andy Burnham’s own route back to Westminster was cemented. At the Edge community centre, about a mile from the famous canal wharf, the result of the Makerfield byelection was announced, surpassing even his highest expectations.

“Andy knew running in Makerfield was high risk but it was the proof point he needed to show the Labour party and the country that if he could win there, he could win anywhere. He got 55% of the vote. It worked,” one of his team said.

• Scaloni wary of Spain despite underdog run

• Coach calls 39-year-old captain ‘pure history’

• World Cup final kicks off on Sunday at 3pm ET

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni, captain Lionel Messi and goalkeeper Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez met with the media on Friday in New York City, two days ahead of Argentina’s second consecutive World Cup final appearance.

Few considered Argentina – who are built around an aging core and led by a 39-year-old talisman – to make it this far. Yet the team has put together a string of heart-stopping, chaotic performances, capped off by a memorable and unexpected semi-final win over England, to set a date with Spain on Sunday.

‘Strong confrontation’ comes at fragile moment for Reform’s relations with rightwing media as coverage turns negative

Nigel Farage is no stranger to expressing his ire at what he regards as the liberal establishment, but even figures close to him were surprised at the tirade of anger he unleashed upon the editor of the Times.

The exchange, which is said to have included an expletive aimed at Tony Gallagher, was triggered by the Reform UK leader’s outrage that the paper was planning to run a story about his houses, which he said endangered his family.

Defence minister seeks three ‘Nahal’ outposts in Gaza as top commander says Israel now controls 65% of the strip, violating Trump ceasefire deal

Israel’s defence and finance ministers announced plans for three illegal settlements in Gaza and more than $400m (£300m) in funding to expand construction in the occupied West Bank, as Israel’s military commander for the region celebrated violent outposts as his “security partners”.

With national elections scheduled for 27 October, Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition is racing to expand control of land in occupied Palestine and drive out Palestinians before its mandate expires.

The United States and Iran exchanged strikes aimed at infrastructure and military targets on Saturday as their battle over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.

(Image credit: Razieh Poudat/AP Photo)

Bring the flavours – and heat – of Athens into your kitchen, with this traditional salad baked for an added sweetness and jamminess

Greeks, look away now! Those who don’t turn on the oven in the summer months might want to turn the page, too. Personally, I don’t mind putting something in the oven in summer, not least because I enjoy that the oven does the work when I might not want to. I even quite like that cheeky blast of heat when I open the door, imagining briefly that I’m on the streets of Athens. I digress … Today’s recipe is for a Greek salad (minus the cucumber) that’s roasted to make the flavours sweeter and more jammy, then cut with briny feta and cooked with orzo to fill bellies after a long summer’s day.

As the bombing starts again, it’s clear the president has dragged the US into a limitless fiasco – and the world into an economic quagmire

Feckless and clueless, Donald Trump is lost in Iran, unable to find a way out of the disastrous war he started. Once again, the US military is pummelling the country and, increasingly, its civilian infrastructure. As before, this unlawful bludgeoning strengthens the resistance of a hardline regime that cares little for its people’s suffering. How often have Trump and Pete Hegseth, the Pentagon’s wildling lord of bones, hailed a bogus victory? The president claimed this week to be “winning big”. No one believes him. Even as it counts the vast human and economic cost of his Persian folly, a watching world scoffs at US impotence.

Control of the strait of Hormuz, closed due to Trump’s belligerence, is now the White House’s limited, elusive objective. The grander US and Israeli war aims – eliminating Iran’s nuclear programme, degrading its regional militias, regime change – are less attainable than ever. It’s Trump’s craven leadership that renders US forces ineffective, not the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. If Iran really is the existential menace he claims, the logical course would be all-out conquest. When George W Bush decided Iraq posed unacceptable dangers, he invaded with 170,000 ground troops. It was a catastrophe. But at least Bush had balls.

Simon Tisdall is a Guardian foreign affairs commentator

Chris Packham takes us back to the beginning in awe-inspiring fashion, while Christopher Nolan heads for Homer with a grand adaptation. Here’s the pick of the week’s culture, taken from the Guardian’s best-rated reviews

Need something brilliant to read this weekend? Here are six of our favourite pieces from the last seven days

Accompanying my wife on a morning walk is a humbling experience – not least because our pet enjoys better name recognition than I do

I don’t normally do the morning dog walk; it’s my wife’s thing. But we’re going away for the weekend straight afterwards, so on this particular Friday it makes sense for us to go together. The park is more or less on the way out of town.

“Morning!” my wife sings, waving at someone in the car park.

Vibrant areas for young workers who plan to rent while saving for a deposit and then get on the property ladder

• The new 100% mortgages for first-time buyers

The common property rite of passage for graduates and career-focused first jobbers has changed over the past decade. Many careers used to start in London, and an early house-share would be followed by a first flat purchase, then a move to somewhere bigger.

However, the heavy burden of housing costs in the capital is making would-be first-time buyers stop and evaluate whether – even with London weighting on some wages – it is possible to get on the ladder there.

Hugh, 55, a teacher and musician, meets Edie, 50, an independent advocate

What were you hoping for?
An exciting, exhilarating experience and a beautiful lady to talk to.

The actor seemed destined for a long but unflashy career in musical theatre – until a role as a football club owner in the TV hit changed everything. She talks about her new Hollywood era, calling out misogyny and why she’s ‘more than just camp’

Hannah Waddingham clears her throat. Her voice is a little scratchy. Two days before we meet, the star of Ted Lasso hosted the TV comedy show Saturday Night Live UK. She took part in almost all of the sketches that night, from a skit about “two top-heavy, Reading-based drama teachers” called Janet, to a musical number about how many glasses of wine to drink at a bar, to a bit in which she played the stern northern leader of a speed awareness course. In her opening monologue, she zipped through a variety of accents and impressions. “You see?” she told the cheering crowd. “Range! Range.”

I should have remembered this line when making small talk. We are tucked away in the hidden private dining room of a hotel in London, the city where the actor was born and raised and where she still lives with her young daughter. When Waddingham walks through the lobby, people notice her. She is tall, striking, and wearing the pulled-down baseball cap that is an actor’s day-off uniform. During lockdown, Ted Lasso – the amiable football series in which she plays Rebecca Welton, the owner of a fictional team called AFC Richmond – made her famous on both sides of the Atlantic. In 2021, it won her an Emmy award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series. At 47, after a long but unflashy career on stage and screen, there was a sense that her time had come.

As the climate crisis fuels more intense blazes, pushing them to new parts of the world, those tackling them are forced to ration resources and decide which to fight

César Alcaraz had only just become a firefighter in the late 1990s when he found himself ambushed by a fast-moving blaze. Barely able to breathe and with no more water left in his truck, he and his colleagues fled an inferno ravaging Spain’s Montgó mountain region, wishing their bosses had sent more support.

But nearly three decades on, as an officer with Alicante’s provincial firefighters, Alcaraz has more sympathy for the agonising choices that commanders have to make. When wildfires overwhelm an area, his job resembles that of a doctor in an emergency room with too few ventilators.

As the climate crisis fuels more intense blazes, pushing them to new parts of the world, those tackling them are forced to ration resources and decide which to fight

César Alcaraz had only just become a firefighter in the late 1990s when he found himself ambushed by a fast-moving blaze. Barely able to breathe and with no more water left in his truck, he and his colleagues fled an inferno ravaging Spain’s Montgó mountain region, wishing their bosses had sent more support.

But nearly three decades on, as an officer with Alicante’s provincial firefighters, Alcaraz has more sympathy for the agonising choices that commanders have to make. When wildfires overwhelm an area, his job resembles that of a doctor in an emergency room with too few ventilators.