The 2026 World Cup got off to a great start for England captain Harry Kane. The Bayern Munich striker scored twice in the Three Lions’ 4-2 victory over Croatia in their Group L opener.

The 32-year-old frontman even enjoyed a stroke of good fortune during the game. Having initially seen an early penalty saved by Croatian ‘keeper Dominik Livakovic, he was afforded the chance to retake the spot kick because of defensive encroachment. Unsuprisingly, Kane made no mistake from 12 yards on the second occasion.

However, Kane has been warned that there will be no repeat of that good fortune when England play Ghana in Boston on Tuesday evening as an infamous witch doctor has vowed to put a ‘curse’ on the England skipper.

Nana Kwaku Bonsam, Ghana’s most well-known witch doctor, has previously taken credit for the knee injury that blighted Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s preparations for the 2014 World Cup.

Cristano Ronaldo Previously Targeted By Infamous Witch Doctor

With Portugal and Ghana set to meet in the group stages of that tournament, the spiritualist claimed to have been behind the tendinitis that wrecked the Ballon d’Or winner’s build-up to the competition.

Speaking at the time, Bonsam declared:

“I know what Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury is about, I’m working on him. I am very serious about it.

“I said it four months ago that I will work on Cristiano Ronaldo seriously and rule him out of the World Cup or at least prevent him from playing against Ghana and the best thing I can do is to keep him out through injury. This injury can never be cured by any medic, they can never see what is causing the injury because it is spiritual.”

Bonsam’s ‘curse’ didn’t directly help his country, as Portugal still defeated Ghana in their Group G clash, with Ronaldo even getting on the scoresheet.

However, Portugal still failed to make it out of the group stages, which was a major surprise.

Harry Kane ‘Cursed’ Ahead of Ghana Clash

Credit: Reuters/Jim Rassol

As well-placed as England currently are in the group, boss Thomas Tuchel can ill-afford to lose his main striker to injury. Speaking to the Daily Star, Bonsam insisted:

“I am working on Harry Kane. I have shown what I am capable of before, so I know what work I must do to stop him.

The witch doctor concluded: “I will do my work so that it can help Ghana.”

Worryingly for those who believe in these sorts of curses, Kane was seen leaving the stadium in Arlington last week with strapping on his leg after the Croatia game. He is, however, still expected to take his place in the starting line-up against Ghana.

Late yesterday evening, the 22nd of June, we saw the news that the Milwaukee Bucks had officially traded their star man, Giannis Antetokounmpo. But the eventual destination has caught people by surprise.

The Greek power forward has been on the books at the Bucks since 2013, after beginning his career in Greece before making himself available for the 2013 NBA Draft, where he was selected 15th overall.

But after 13 years, Giannis has sought pastures new, and after rumours circulated that he would join Jayson Tatum at the Boston Celtics, he has instead been traded to the Miami Heat.

Why Antetokounmpo Was Traded to the Heat & Not the Celtics

Jeff Hanisch via Imagn Images

Miami’s trade package was the best deal for the Bucks, and Shams Charania, who is ESPN’s NBA insider, has explained why it was difficult for the Boston Celtics to complete any deal for Antetokounmpo.

The offer on the table from Miami consisted of Tyler Herro, Kel’el Ware, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Kasparas Jakucionis, three first-round selections, one swap option for 2030, and a second-round selection in 2033. This completely blew Boston out of the water, and they were unwilling to even attempt to match it.

Speaking on SportsCenter, Shams Charania reported that: “The Celtics were not willing to part with enough young players and assets to get a deal done.”

The Celtics offered Jaylen Brown and two unprotected first-round picks for the Greek superstar. But despite Brown being a player that interested the Bucks, the deal as a whole just wasn’t enough for Milwaukee to even acknowledge.

Benny Sieu via Imagn Images

It has been reported that the Bucks would have entertained the trade had Boston added young player Hugo Gonzalez, or even Baylor Scheierman, as well as more trade options. However, the 2024 NBA champions were far away from what Milwaukee wanted and this allowed Miami to come in and get the deal done.

With Giannis turning 32 this year, and injuries becoming more and more recurring, Boston may have been savvy in protecting their youth. The Celtics deemed it more important to hold on to the likes of Brown, Gonzalez, and Scheierman — who are all in their 20s — than put all their eggs in one basket and hope an injury-plagued Antetokounmpo can bring them success.

Miami have perhaps showed their hand too early in the deal for Giannis. Including four young players as well as a plethora of future trades for their top target completely blew Boston out of the water. With no competition for the Bucks power forward, the Heat could have potentially been more conservative in the deal.

Miami will be happy with their acquisition of such a huge name in Giannis, and Milwaukee themselves will be thrilled with what they managed to recoup for their star player, meaning the deal works for all parties involved.

A 2026 World Cup pundit has come under serious fire for disgusting comments he made during the match between Belgium and Iran on Sunday afternoon.

Belgium and Iran both opened up their World Cup campaigns with a draw. Iran shared the spoils in an entertaining match against New Zealand, while Belgium were held to a goalless draw by Egypt.

Both sides went into their clash at Los Angeles Stadium knowing that a victory would almost certainly see them seal their progression to the knockout rounds of the competition.

However, neither side could find a winner as they drew 0-0.

REUTERS/Daniel Cole

Belgium needed Lille ace Nathan Ngoy to step up in the absence of star player, Jeremy Doku. However, the 23-year-old was shown a straight red card in the 67th minute after dragging Mehdi Teremi when clear on goal.

Rade Bogdanovic, a former Serbian footballer who was capped three times by FR Yugoslavia, has come under fire for making racist comments in the aftermath of Ngoy’s error.

The 56-year-old, who played for the likes of Atletico Madrid and Werder Bremen in his playing career, said on RTS, per the Mirror:

“I played with them. Sometimes we had to protect our own players from making mistakes. Modern football doesn’t allow this kind of error at World Cup level.”

After being challenged by the presenter, the 56-year-old added: “If we wanted to go into details, we could. They make mistakes too. Of course I’m not generalising, but the majority lack concentration and then situations like this happen.”

Bogdanovic and RTS Release Statements

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters/Kirby Lee

Bogdanovic has apologised for his comments. He told Reuters, per the BBC: “I sincerely apologise for my statement regarding black football players.”

RTS also released a statement. They said: “We would like to inform the public that Mr Rade Bogdanovic is not employed by our company, but has been engaged as an expert commentator for the duration of the tournament.

Despite his comments, Bogdanovic was back in the RTS studio on Tuesday for Argentina’s 2-0 win against Austria.