World Cup LIVE: FIFA face backlash as Kane weighs in on Tuchel vs Bellingham row

FIFA is facing a massive backlash as Harry Kane weighed in on Thomas Tuchel and Jude Bellingham's row.

FIFA is feeling the heat

following the controversial decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's one-game ban after the move was reportedly solely made by the chairman of its disciplinary committee, without consulting the other 17 members.

The American striker was shown a straight red card during his country's 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 16, and he was due to be

banned for the World Cup tie

against Belgium.

But FIFA deferred Balogun's punishment, making him eligible to face Belgium after US President Donald Trump asked FIFA to review the ban.

The European football governing body UEFA later accused FIFA of "crossing a red line" in a strongly-worded statement.

It comes as Harry Kane insisted Thomas Tuchel is "trying to drag" the best out of England players by being ultra critical.

Three Lions captain Kane was effectively playing peace after Judge Bellingham was clearly annoyed by Tuchel's remarks following England's heroic win over Norway.

That clinched England's place in the second semi-final this week.

France will face Spain in the first semi final on Tuesday, while England take on rivals Argentina on Wednesday.

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Micah Richards has revealed he plans to walk away from television punditry within the next eight years.

The 38-year-old has become one of football’s most popular broadcasters since hanging up his boots in 2019, winning over viewers with his infectious laugh and natural chemistry with fellow pundits.

Richards is now a familiar face across the BBC, Sky Sports and CBS Sports.

He also co-hosts the hugely successful The Rest Is Football podcast alongside Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer, with Netflix paying a reported £14million sum to stream the show during this summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America.

Despite enjoying a highly lucrative second career in broadcasting, Richards insists he has no intention of remaining on television forever and wants to step away while he is still at the top of his game. “I’ll be out of all this by the time I turn 46,” he told The Telegraph.

“You won’t see me on any mainstream media beyond the 2034 World Cup. That will be the last time I am on the BBC or Sky or CBS. I’ve told them all this and they think I’m joking. I’m not.”

Unfortunately, politics has once again injected itself into the beautiful game.

Ahead of England's semi final tie against Argentina, the country's foreign minister Pablo Quirno reaffirmed its claim to the British Falkland Islands.

Britain and Argentina fought a war over control of the islands in the 1980s, after the military junta launched an undeclared invasion.

Britain won the 74-day conflict and the war has become a point of contention and rivalry between the two nations that has spilled over into football.

Quirno said in an article published in La Nacion (The Nation), which said: "Time does not transform an illegitimate occupation into sovereignty."

It could be viewed as an extreme example of mind games ahead of the match.

Police are on red alert for the World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina in Atlanta, where there's set to be limited segregation.

The two countries will face-off at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta which boasts a capacity of 75,000 and is located in the city centre.

Officers have been made aware of the historical context behind the match. England and Argentina have history both on and off the pitch, stretching from Diego Maradona's infamous Hand of God goal at the 1986 World Cup to the war over Falkland Islands, which Argentina's players sung about after beating Switzerland on Sunday.

The teams also haven't played each other for more than two decades. Although tickets purchased via the respective national federations are in designated areas, tickets sold by FIFA allow for rival fans to sit next to one another.

Police are braced for a 50-50 split between supporters, with both countries well backed during the tournament so far thanks to expats or those travelling from home.

England's fans have been praised for their behaviour, with only four arrests in Miami on Saturday night as the Three Lions beat Norway 2-1 after extra-time to reach the last four for only the second time since 1990.

England will take on rivals Argentina in what will likely be the biggest test for the Three Lions so far this tournament.

Thomas Tuchel's men will need to bring their A game against Argentina, who have managed to pull out results, which have been impressive to watch - even if some were controversial.

Lionel Messi will be the obvious threat, with the star having scored eight goals so far this World Cup.

England will face Argentina at 8pm UK time on Wednesday, at Altanta Stadium, in Georgia.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino said he could see the World Cup be expanded to 64 teams.

The proposal comes after this year's World Cup, the biggest so far, was expanded to 48 teams.

He told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport: "These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup.

"You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it's getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don't give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they'll lack the incentive to keep improving."

Harry Kane insists Thomas Tuchel is simply “trying to drag” the best out of his England players by being ultra critical.

Three Lions captain Kane was effectively playing peace make after Jude Bellingham was clearly annoyed by Tuchel’s remarks following England’s heroic win over Norway.

That clinched England’s second semi-final in three World Cups as they booked a date with Argentina in Atlanta on Wednesday.

It was Bellingham’s brilliant brace which sealed the victory after an extra time epic but afterwards Tuchel was quite critical of England’s performance in his post-match TV interview.

But Kane insisted that Tuchel just wants the best out of his players - and insisted they can play better despite reaching the last four of the tournament.

Kane said: “When he sees us train and sees the closeness of us and sees what we can do, especially with the players we have, the way we attack, our one-on-ones and the skills. He just wants to see that version of us.

“He knows as much as anyone that it’s not as simple as that, we’re playing against good opposition and good teams.

"He’s trying to drag it out of us and we know ourselves we have another level that we can reach.“

France and Spain will go head-to-head in the first semi final of this year's World Cup following stunning performances from both sides.

Les Bleus are the slight favourites ahead of tomorrow's match at Dallas Stadium, in Arlington, Texas.

Kylian Mbappe will also be seeking to add to his goal tally in his race for the golden boot. So far, the forward has hit the back of the net eight times.

While Spain's performances have been more mixed, they have bounced back on several occasions, showing their determination.

FIFA's controversial decision to suspend Folarin Balogun's one-game ban was reportedly made solely by the chairman of its disciplinary committee - without the other 17 members being consulted.

USA striker Balogun had been shown a straight red card during his country's 2-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 16, and was set to be banned for their World Cup quarter-final against Belgium.

But with less than 48 hours until kick-off, it emerged that FIFA had deferred Balogun's punishment, making him eligible to face Belgium.

It was an unprecedented decision which sparked fierce backlash, with European football governing body UEFA accusing FIFA of 'crossing a red line' in a strongly-worded statement.

We have gone from 48 teams to the last four in this year's World Cup.

France, Spain, Argentina and England are the only teams that remain, all of whom have won a World Cup at least once.

France will take on Spain tomorrow, while England will face rivals Argentina on Wednesday.