that s it, so goodbye from me. now on bbc one, let sjoin our news teams where you are. have a very good afternoon. good afternoon. you re watching bbc news. i m ben croucher with a sports update for you. we ll start with football, where manchester city host liverpool this evening in the last of the league cup fourth round matches. in recent seasons, heated clashes on and off the field have grabbed the headlines, but both clubs have called for calm. as for the football, it s their first match since the world cup and with the likes of erling haaland and riyad mahrez fully rested having not played in qatar, city boss pep guardiola feels those returning from the world cup are that much sharper. they combine so good, perfectly. they combine so good, perfectly. they compete, they train every day, and we have holidays, that s why it
the time is 1:33pm. i m ben croucher with a sports update for you. we ll start. where else? ..but at the world cup. the first of the semi finals is less than six hours away now. 2018 finalists croatia against two time winners argentina. but the hype around this one is centred around two players, one of whom we may see grace this grandest of stages for the very last time. joe lynskey looks ahead. for one great of the game, the last four will be their last stand. lionel messi is 35 and luka modric, 37. still, for argentina and croatia, so much depends on them. for argentina, it has been a world cup on a cliff edge. defeat to saudi arabia meant no room for more slip ups. and messi said it s his final chance. but in four games since then, a nation swelled around its star. messi, it had to be! they beat australia 2 1 and then the netherlands on penalties in a heated quarterfinal.