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]

Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin ⁠Khalifa Al Thani, the architect of Qatar’s remarkable transformation into an ultra-wealthy modern nation with global influence, has been laid to rest in Doha following his death at the age of 74.

Sheikh Hamad’s death was announced on Sunday morning, and his simple funeral ceremony was held after the daily evening prayer at sunset at the Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque in the capital.

Mourners wearing traditional Qatari dress stood with their hands clasped in front of them during a funeral prayer, facing the shrouded body of Sheikh Hamad.

Afterwards, close family members, including his son and successor as emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, carried his body out of the mosque. Sheikh Hamad was laid to rest at the Lusail Cemetery north of Doha.

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi said the ceremony was “a humble event” and Sheikh Hamad was “buried in a simple grave”.

“The simplicity really is in keeping with Islamic tradition but also emblematic of how the father emir carried himself in his life,” Basravi said. “He did not concern himself with the trappings of wealth but was focused on the welfare of his own people.”

During Sheikh Hamad’s reign from 1995 to 2013, Qatar’s gross domestic product rose more than 24-fold, largely because of his focus on developing the country’s massive gas resources. By 2006, the small nation had become the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

[Aljazeera]