ATLANTA (AP) — It's a World Cup semifinal lineup for the ages.
Four previous champions and the four top-ranking teams in the world. Five of the six top scorers, one GOAT and one of the bitterest rivalries in soccer.
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France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates scoring the opening goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) celebrates at the end of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Jude Bellingham, left, and Harry Kane celebrates England's victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after his team's victory over Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
Argentina, Spain, France and England went into the tournament as the top four in FIFA’s rankings and are two wins away from being crowned champion of the world again. It's just too close to call either semifinal matchup: France will play Spain in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday and England will face Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Not since 1990 has the final four of a World Cup been made up entirely of previous winners. England and Argentina were involved then, although they didn't play each other. Then, like now, Argentina was the defending champion — after beating West Germany in the 1986 final in Mexico — and went on to lose to West Germany in the 1990 final.
And this year could also see a repeat final from 2022 if France and Argentina both advance.
Argentina must overcome England in a match that resumes a fierce rivalry that goes beyond the soccer field, with tensions also relating to the 1982 conflict over the Falklands Islands.
On the field there have been numerous flashpoints between the teams on the World Cup stage. Argentina captain Antonio Rattin, whose death was announced on Saturday, was sent off in a bad-tempered quarterfinal match against winner England in 1966. England manager Alf Ramsey tried to stop his players from swapping shirts with their opponents after a 1-0 victory.
Roll the clock forward 20 years and in 1986 Diego Maradona's infamous “Hand of God” goal helped Argentina to a 2-1 win against England in the quarterfinals on the way to lifting the trophy.
David Beckham was sent off in 1998 for kicking out at Argentina midfielder Diego Simeone, who was predictably criticized by the English media for his reaction to what appeared to be light contact. Argentina won the round of 16 match on penalties.
Beckham got his revenge four years later by scoring a penalty in a 1-0 win that contributed to Argentina being eliminated at the group stage.
France and Spain meet again in the semifinals of a major tournament, just two years since going head-to-head at the European Championship.
Spain won 2-1 with a then-16-year-old Lamine Yamal on the score sheet and went on to lift the Euros by beating England in the final.
Kylian Mbappé's powers were diminished in that tournament after sustaining a broken nose, while emerging stars like Michael Olise and Désiré Doué were yet to break through.
Two years on and France is widely regarded to have been the most impressive team of this World Cup with a dizzying array of attacking talent and the joint leading scorer in Mbappé ahead of the semifinal on France's Bastille Day.
In contrast Spain had to contend with injuries to Yamal and fellow winger Nico Williams coming into the tournament and has relied on late goals from substitute Mikel Merino to edge past Portugal and Belgium in the last two rounds.
The nations have met on a number of occasions at the World Cup or Euros. France beat Spain in the final of Euro 84.
It has become a thrilling competition within the tournament as many of the world's most lethal finishers have all turned up in peak form.
Erling Haaland may be out of the race, but five of the six top scorers are still standing and others could yet force their way into the race for the Golden Boot.
Mbappé and Lionel Messi lead the way with eight goals each. Haaland has seven, but he cannot add to that number after Norway was eliminated by England in the quarterfinals.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane have six each, while Ousmane Dembélé is on five.
Mikel Oyarzabal has four goals, so could yet challenge if Spain overcomes France in the semifinals.
There's also the contest for the all-time top scorer at World Cups overall with Messi on 21 goals and Mbappé on 20.
He is already considered by many to be the greatest of all time — the GOAT — and his performances at what is likely his last World Cup, aged 39, have only strengthened that argument. This will be Messi's first ever game against England.
If Messi can lead Argentina to the title, he would surpass the great Maradona by winning two World Cups for his country.
Argentina would also become the first back-to-back champion since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.
Soccer great Pelé was part of those Brazil teams and also went on to win a third World Cup in 1970.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) celebrates scoring the opening goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between France and Morocco in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) celebrates at the end of the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Jude Bellingham, left, and Harry Kane celebrates England's victory over Norway in a World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Miami Gardens, Fla., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Argentina's Lionel Messi reacts after his team's victory over Switzerland in the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Missile alert sirens sounded Monday in Bahrain as Iran retaliated over the latest round of U.S. airstrikes targeting the Islamic Republic.
The U.S. had been conducting strikes overnight in Iran.
There was no immediate word from the island kingdom in the Persian Gulf about any damage. Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United States launched several waves of strikes on Iran on Sunday over an Iranian attack on a container ship in the Strait of Hormuz that set it ablaze and left a crew member missing earlier in the weekend. Iran responded with attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Oman — the nation on the other side of the strait that Tehran has pressed to collaborate in managing shipping traffic.
The U.S. military said it was seeking “to degrade" Iran's "ability to attack commercial ships freely transiting" the strait. The statement came after a third round of strikes late Sunday night and into Monday in Iran.
Iranian state media acknowledged the latest attacks early Monday, describing explosions in several locations.
The first wave of strikes, on Sunday morning, was in response to an Iranian strike on a container ship in the critical waterway the day before. In response, Iran hit Gulf Arab states in an escalating cycle of violence that left the negotiations between Tehran and Washington to end the war at the edge of collapse.
The U.S. struck again later Sunday. The governor of Qeshm Island near the strait told Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency that projectiles were fired at military targets, with no casualties. Explosions were also heard in the coastal city of Bandar Abbas and Hajiabad city to the north.
A U.S. official said a few strikes targeted missile and air defense systems and paramilitary Revolutionary Guard boats. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss military operations.
Iran and the U.S. are nearly at the midway point of the 60-day period of their interim deal aimed at reaching a permanent end to the war. The strait, a key route for the global supply of oil and natural gas and long considered an international waterway, has become a sticking point in negotiations that seem in danger of collapse.
“A return to full-scale hostilities would have catastrophic consequences,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, according to a statement.
The U.S. military earlier Sunday said it hit some 140 targets, including missile and drone launch sites, ammunition dumps, communication equipment and other sites.
The attacks were heavier than in recent days. The U.S. has launched three rounds of airstrikes targeting Iran in the past week over attacks on ships heading through the strait using a route off Oman, seeking to avoid the Islamic Republic’s territorial waters.
“We bombed the hell out of them last night,” President Donald Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Semiofficial Iranian news agencies reported that a navy officer was killed. Iran retaliated by attacking nations in the region hosting U.S. military forces, while insisting it alone must control the strait and potentially charge vessels for traveling through it.
“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a main negotiator, wrote. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
Iran said the strait was closed until calm is restored, and Tehran would consider targeting “additional enemy bases in the region” if it faced more attacks. The U.S. military and Trump asserted that the strait remained open.
The U.S. military said over 140 ships had transited over the past week. A multinational body overseen by the U.S. Navy said traffic continued “at reduced levels” off both Oman and Iran, and that nearly 140 vessels transited daily before the war.
About a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed through the strait before the war. Iran’s grip on it led to a global energy crisis, though oil prices have sharply dropped since wartime highs of $120 a barrel.
Missile alerts sounded across several Gulf Arab countries.
Qatar's military said it intercepted incoming Iranian fire, with explosions heard in the neighboring United Arab Emirates. Three people, including a child, were wounded by shrapnel from the interception of attacks, Qatar's Interior Ministry said.
Missile alerts sounded in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet.
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said three “land border posts” in the north and an offshore drilling platform of the Kuwait Oil Company were damaged, with one worker wounded.
Three Iranian missiles struck areas across Jordan, causing minor damage but no injuries, Jordan’s state news agency reported.
And the Omani state news agency said drones struck sites in an area on the waterway, a day after Oman and Iran held talks on the strait and agreed to continue discussions. The strait sits in Iran and Oman’s territorial waters.
Oman summoned the Iranian ambassador to protest the strikes, the first such move since the war began, calling Iran's acts “irresponsible.”
The Cyprus-flagged container ship hit by Iran on Saturday suffered “significant engine room damage,” the U.S. military said.
Oman's maritime authority said it rescued 23 crew members but one was missing. India’s foreign ministry called him an Indian national.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center, overseen by the British military, said the ship had been moving along Oman's shoreline.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard said multiple vessels “disregarded our warnings" and ignored instructions to follow what it called an approved route. One “was struck by a warning shot and brought to a stop.”
Iranian state media later reported U.S. strikes across the country, including southern Iran in the province closest to the strait and military sites in a province near Tehran.
Trump suggested last week that the interim deal in the war was “over.” But mediators, including Pakistan, Qatar and Egypt, have continued efforts to reach an agreement.
A regional official involved in mediation, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss talks, said efforts to shore up the ceasefire continued Sunday. Pakistan said its foreign minister spoke by phone with Iran's top diplomat and urged “de-escalation” on both sides.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, unseen since the war began, on Saturday vowed in his first statement since the funeral of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that Iranians would avenge his killing in the war’s opening strikes on Feb. 28.
Weissert and Toropin reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Munir Ahmed in Islamabad and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
Children wade in the water with cargo ships at anchor in the background and a fisherman nearby, in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
Commercial vessels are seen in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, June 30, 2026. (Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
A pro-government demonstrator wears an Iranian flag as she waves a religious flag in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a square in Tehran, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man holds a poster of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a gathering commemorating him at a square in Tehran, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A pro-government demonstrator wears an Iranian flag as she holds a religious flag in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a square in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Pro-government demonstrators wave Iranian and religious flags in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a square in Tehran, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A pro-government demonstrator waves an Iranian flag in a gathering commemorating the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at a square in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
