England captain Harry Kane revealed that his team advanced to the World Cup semi-finals without playing at their best. England narrowly defeated Norway 2-1 in extra time during the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the morning of July 12 Thailand time. Following the match, Kane told BBC Sport: "Our message going into today was to go all in. I've seen us in training and I've seen the quality, especially in the final third, but we haven't quite been able to put it all together. Yet we've reached the World Cup semi-final without playing our best football." He continued, "If we can find it in Wednesday's match, it could be the difference between winning and losing this tournament. We'll enjoy it, rest up, and prepare for the next game in the coming days."

A preliminary club licensing committee has confirmed that Nara United failed to meet the club licensing evaluation criteria, resulting in the club's demotion to Thailand's semi-pro league for the 2027 season. The Lawyersoccer Facebook page and sports law experts have revealed that Nara United is preparing an appeal, expected to be submitted on July 14. The page's post stated: "Appeal progress update: documentation nearly finalized, expected submission on July 14, 2569. This is to inform Nara United fans and followers who have inquired via inbox. We will exhaust all procedural steps before the outcome, and whatever happens will follow the governing regulations and bylaws."

Media reports indicate that Argentina's 2022 FIFA World Cup championship prize money of 42 million euros—part of approximately 300 million euros in total winnings—was transferred to a company with no connection to football.

Previously, Yahoo reported that the Argentine Football Association (AFA) is under investigation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and U.S. federal prosecutors for allegations of money laundering and financial misconduct.

Recently, prominent journalist Romang Molina revealed that just nine days before the final match where Argentina defeated France, a contract was signed allocating 30% of the AFA's World Cup revenues to a company named TourProt Entertainment.

Following Argentina's world championship victory, FIFA transferred 42 of the 300 million euros directly to that company. Investigations have indicated the company has no connection to football whatsoever.

Nevertheless, these allegations have only been publicized through Molina's reporting and have not yet been confirmed by any legal ruling.

Kevin De Bruyne, midfielder for the Belgian national team, announced he will take a rest period before returning to action with Napoli in Italy's Serie A.

Belgium's World Cup 2026 campaign ended in the semi-finals following a 1-2 loss to Spain. After the elimination, De Bruyne was asked about his message to Napoli fans and responded: "Let me rest a bit. I just played the final match of the season. It's been a difficult year. I worked hard and proved I could return to peak condition after a serious injury."

"Let me rest for now, and I'll be back," he concluded.

Paolo Maldini, the legendary Italian national team defender and AC Milan icon, has been officially appointed as technical director of the Azzurri. The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) created this position specifically to revitalize the national team following its failure to qualify for the World Cup in three consecutive tournaments. Maldini has now accepted the role and signed a four-year contract.

Two foreign men prostrated themselves before staff at Steakpremier restaurant on July 12, expressing gratitude for the delicious food as they prepared to return home. A TikTok video posted by @sanggg_pbp captured the remarkable moment: the visitors approached staff members, raised their hands in a wai greeting, then knelt down and bowed so deeply their foreheads touched the floor. The staff immediately reciprocated the respectful gesture, with some even lying flat to return the bow—an extraordinarily rare sight from foreign visitors. When asked what prompted such an unusual display, the poster explained that the two men were regular customers who frequented the restaurant often and were leaving Thailand, so they wanted to bid farewell with this profound gesture of appreciation. The video sparked extensive comments from both Thai and international viewers, who praised the visitors' deep respect for Thai culture.