The Lead

Argentina and England Play for a Date With Spain

Spain is already through to Sunday's final after a 2-0 win over France in the first semifinal, which means tonight's Argentina-England match at Mercedes-Benz Stadium is really a play-in game for a shot at history. Argentina, the defending champion, faces an England side that has looked increasingly comfortable in knockout football, and the winner inherits a Spain team that just shut down Kylian Mbappé for 90 minutes.

The stakes are straightforward even if the tactics won't be: Argentina is defending a title, England is chasing its first since 1966, and neither team wants to spend Saturday in Miami playing for third place instead of Sunday in New Jersey playing for the trophy. Watch how each side manages its front line early, since Spain's semifinal blueprint, compress the middle and let opposing strikers run out of room, is now public information for whoever wins tonight.

The Rest of the Slate

Toronto Tempo

The Tempo fell 79-62 at home to the Washington Mystics, their third loss in what is now three meetings this season against the same opponent. Washington has taken all three matchups so far, and the Tempo will need to solve that specific matchup before the season series wraps up in the final meeting.

Argonauts

Toronto released veteran defensive lineman DeWayne Hendrix and signed Canadian offensive lineman Frank Vreugdenhil, a 40th overall pick who had been cut after training camp. The roster churn arrives days before a 2-3 Argonauts club visits a 2-3 Hamilton team Saturday, a game that will do more to define the season than either transaction.

Raptors

Kawhi Leonard has hired Harrison Gaines of SLASH Sports to handle extension talks with Toronto, a change in representation that arrives while his actual trade to the Raptors still sits in front of an NBA salary-cap investigation. Commissioner Adam Silver said before the Finals he wants the matter resolved soon, and until it is, extension talks and trade finalization are running on parallel, oddly disconnected tracks.

The Number

Days remaining until MLB's Aug. 3 trade deadline The Blue Jays sit inside a crowded AL Wild Card picture while Tampa Bay, of all teams, is shaping up as the division's most aggressive buyer. Nineteen days is enough time for the standings to shift twice over, and how Toronto reads its own position over the next week will decide whether it adds or watches the phone stay quiet.

What's On Tonight

            3:00 PM ET · Argentina vs England, World Cup Semifinal · FOX, Telemundo
          

Top Dog — Betting Angle

The pick: Argentina to advance past England. Defending champions who have already solved a knockout-stage low-scoring game once this tournament tend to solve it twice.

“Every semifinal winner inherits somebody else's game plan for free”