England will make a late decision on whether Declan Rice is fit to start the World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

But there remains optimism the Arsenal midfielder can shake off the effects of an illness to play on Wednesday.

Rice, who suffered with a sickness bug in the lead-up to Saturday’s quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami, was substituted at half-time.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel admitted afterwards that Rice had spent three days in bed before the match, which England won 2-1 after extra time.

It is understood Rice still has not recovered fully from the illness – picked up in Mexico, where England beat the co-hosts 3-2 in the last 16 – but his condition has improved markedly over the past 48 hours.

As things stand, there is growing hope he will be well enough to start in Atlanta.

Rice is almost certain to rule himself fit for the semi-final given the enormity of the occasion.

But given the severity of the illness, England medics are set to make a late call on his availability.

And Tuchel will wait to see how rapidly his condition improves before making a final decision on whether to pick him.

In addition to his recovery from the sickness bug, Rice has also been carrying a neural problem for several months, affecting his lower back and hamstring.

The midfielder, who has 78 caps, has started all but one of England’s World Cup games so far, missing the 2-0 group-stage win over Panama because of an injury flare-up.

[BBC]

The US military says it has launched a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran, hours before a reinstated naval blockade of Iranian ports takes effect, as Washington and Tehran both stake claims to control the Strait of Hormuz.

US Central Command, the military’s regional command known as CENTCOM, said its latest strikes began at 4:45pm ET (20:45 GMT) on Monday, and were aimed at degrading Iran’s capacity to attack “innocent civilians and commercial shipping” in the strait.

Iranian state television and semi-official news agencies reported explosions throughout the night across the country’s southern coast, including the port city of Bandar Abbas, and on Kish and Qeshm islands, as well as the town of Jam in Bushehr province.

A projectile that struck western Bandar Abbas caused no casualties, the Fars news agency reported, citing the regional governor’s office.

Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian forces had struck several “violating” vessels in the strait, and that a US-made drone had been shot down near Bandar Abbas.

The United Arab Emirates said that two of its oil tankers had been hit by Iranian cruise missiles in Omani waters in the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE added that one Indian national crew member had been killed on one of the tankers, and that eight other people were wounded.

For its part, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it had also launched a wider retaliatory campaign against US allies and interests across the Gulf.

The Iranian army said on Monday that it had carried out a drone attack on US military targets in Kuwait. In a statement posted by state broadcaster IRIB, the army said it launched drones at a US Patriot missile system, fuel tanks, a watchtower, an ammunition depot and communication systems.

[Aljazeera]

India’s spinners made light work of England on the final day of the first ever women’s Test at Lord’s, wrapping up a 270-run victory within 95 minutes.

Sophie Ecclestone scored a defiant maiden international half-century but when she was bowled by Sneh Rana, giving the offspinner her fourth wicket for the innings and sixth for the match, India claimed the fourth-highest margin of victory by runs in women’s Tests.

Amy Jones added just two more runs to her over night score of 52 before she picked out Shafali Verma at midwicket on the 18th ball of the fourth day, giving Rana her third wicket for the innings and exposing the England tail.

On Sunday, India had asked England to chase a mammoth 457 runs in the fourth innings, thanks largely to Yastika Bhatia’s century which put her on the Lord’s Test batting honours board, alongside team-mate Kranti Gaud, who had already inked her name on the bowler’s board on day two.