YIS 07 10 26

Hey, I'm Chris Horvidell, and this is Yesterday in Sports, the show that gets you caught up on the biggest things that happened yesterday, why they mattered, and what you need to know before pretending you watched every second of it. Here we go. Welcome to Yesterday in Sports. I'm Chris Horvidell. We've got a busy show for you today, leading off with France moving into the World Cup semifinals, Coco Gauff falling in a Wimbledon classic, and the Detroit Tigers continuing to look like one of baseball's most complete teams. We're also getting a little help from our friends at Factor. More on that later. Let's start with the World Cup, where France is through to the semifinals after a 2-0 win over Morocco in Foxborough. Kylian Mbappe somehow managed to have both a frustrating night and a productive one. He had a first half penalty saved by Yacine Bono, but responded in the 60th minute, curling the opening goal into the far corner. Six minutes later, Ousmane Dembele made a 2-0, and at that point, France was in total control. The biggest takeaway is that France still hasn't really needed to reach its absolute ceiling. Morocco defended pretty well for about an hour, but it also created almost nothing going the other way. France stayed patient, stayed organized, and waited until the quality difference finally showed up. Mbappe continues to add to his tournament total, and Dembele gave France exactly what they need from a second attacking threat. When one player can miss a penalty, and his team still wins comfortably, it's normally a sign of a roster with a very high floor. France will face the winner of Spain and Belgium in the semifinal. It's obviously going to be a more difficult test, but Didier Deschamps has his team two wins away from another World Cup title. For Morocco, this is still a significant tournament. They've reached the quarterfinals after making the semifinals in 2022, and they'll co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. They've established themselves as a program that belongs in the conversation with the world's better teams. On Thursday though, France was simply better than them. At Wimbledon, we're getting an all Czech women's semifinal, but the path there included one of the tournament's best matches. Karolina Mokovna saved a match point and beat Coco Goff 6-2, 1-6, 7-6, taking the deciding tiebreaker 12-10. This match completely changed shape several times. Mokovna controlled the first set with her variety and creativity. Goff responded by dominating the second, then the third set became a physical and mental test with Mokovna visibly dealing with the discomfort, but still finding a way to be aggressive. Goff reached match point at 9-8 in the tiebreaker and had a chance to finish it, but she put a drop shot into the net. Mokovna eventually converted her second match point after 2 hours and 35 minutes. It's a brutal loss for Goff because she was one point away from her first Wimbledon final, but it was also easily her best performance of the tournament. She'd never made it past the fourth round of Wimbledon before this year, and she showed that her game can translate to grass at the championship level. Mokovna will face Linda Noskova, who beat Marta Kuszczuk 6-4, 6-4 in the second semifinal. Noskova is only 21 and had never played in a Grand Slam semifinal before Thursday. She looked completely calm, waited for Kuszczuk's level to drop at the end of both sets and took advantage. This will be the first all Czech women's Grand Slam semifinal, and it guarantees that a Czech player will win Wimbledon for the third time in four years. There's clearly something in the Czech development system that continues to produce players whose game fit to grass. They're generally comfortable changing pace, moving forward, defending creatively and playing something other than a straightforward baseline tennis match. Mokovna is the more experienced and varied player, but Noskova has now won 19 grass court matches over the last two seasons, reportedly the most of any player on the women's tour. This is not a random run anymore. To baseball where the Detroit Tigers won their 5th straight game, beating the Athletics 4-1 behind Frambois Valdez. Valdez gave Detroit 7 innings of one-run baseball, struck out 9, allowed only 4 hits. That's exactly why the Tigers brought him in. Detroit already have a strong young foundation, but Valdez gives the rotation a proven veteran who can work deep into games and control a lineup without everything needing to be perfect. The Tigers winning streak matters because this is the point of the season where contenders start separating from teams that are just hanging around. Detroit has pitching depth, a lineup that can score without relying on homers, and enough defensive quality to win lower scoring games. The Texas Rangers also moved into first place in the American League West with a 7-6 walk-off win over the Angels. Texas blew a late lead before Wyatt Langford singled home Alejandro Asuna in the bottom of the 9th. It wasn't clean, but the Rangers are now sitting on top of a division that has been one of the most unpredictable races in baseball. The Miami Marlins stayed hot too, winning their 6th straight game with a 4-2 victory over Seattle. Jansen Junk returned to the lineup and gave Miami a strong start, and the Marlins continue to be one of the season's more surprising teams. This is the value of getting into July with a legitimate winning streak. A team that looked like a possible seller can very quickly force its front office to reconsider what it wants to do with the trade deadline. In soccer transfer news, Newcastle signed 18-year-old midfielder Sean Sturr from Ajax on a five-year contract. Ajax said the total fee can reach about 27 million euros, which is a significant investment for a teenager who developed in their academy from the age of 7. Sturr is a Netherlands under-19 international who describes himself as a forward-playing midfielder who likes to operate between the lines. Newcastle lost Sandra Tonali earlier in the window, so adding another midfielder was necessary, although Sturr should be viewed as a long-term investment rather than an immediate replacement. There's also a developing MLS report involving Matt Turner. The Athletic and other sources are reporting that the New England Revolution are working to bring back Turner for another loan from Lyon, with an option to purchase. Turner has started all 14 of his MLS games this season, producing three clean sheets, 61 saves, and a 76.3% save percentage. He's also second in Revolution history in goalkeeper wins, saves, and starts. Nothing should be viewed as complete until the clubs announce it, but the move makes sense for everyone. Turner gets regular playing time, New England keeps a goalkeeper who's performed well, and the reported structure would allow the Revolution to keep him without using a designated player slot. We'll finish at the Tour de France, where Touristin Trahyon has been forced to withdraw after suffering a concussion and multiple fractured ribs in a crash. Trahyon collided with the back of a teammate's bike on the descent of the Col du Tourmalet. He was evaluated by the medical staff, continued riding, and finished the stage, but additional testing showed that he couldn't safely continue. It's a difficult end to an important Tour for Trahyon and UNO-X mobility. He took the yellow jersey after stage 4 and kept it through stage 5, giving the Norwegian team its first days leading the Tour. The cycling side is disappointing, but the medical side is more important. A concussion and multiple rib fractures aren't injuries where finishing the race should even enter the discussion. And after a day where recovery and preparation played such a major role, that's a pretty natural place to mention Factor. Meals arrive fresh, they're chef prepared and dietitian approved, they're ready in about 2 minutes whether you're looking for high protein, calorie smart, keto or vegan, and veggie options, it takes one daily decision off the board without having to turn dinner into another project. Check out factor75.com for more information. I'm Chris Horwidel and that's it for today's show about what happened yesterday. We'll see you tomorrow.