Weekend News Roundup 21/08: World Cup & more

Monday 21 August 2023 by Jonathan Victoria  News

The last weekend had a fair amount in store - including some actual sun for much of the UK!

Aside from that, there were champions crowned across the sporting world, a new movie sitting atop the box office, and details on a highly anticipated return for a popular TV show. 

Join us as we take a look at all that in today's Monday news roundup.

Spain beat England for World Cup glory

Spain enjoyed a convincing victory over England in the World Cup final to become champions for the first time in their history.

Their win makes them the second nation to be world champions in the men’s and women’s senior teams (Germany was the first to achieve this).

It was a tough loss for the Lionesses, who left it all out there but were second-best on the day, even after Mary Earps saved a penalty that would’ve put the game to bed.

This now marks two final losses in a row for head coach Sarina Wiegman, after losing with the Netherlands in 2019. 

That being said, what she and the Lionesses have achieved is still incredibly commendable and more success is sure to come their way in the future.

David Tennant new-old 14th Doctor

David Tennant will be returning as the Fourteenth Doctor in the upcoming three special Doctor Who 60th-anniversary run.

Tennant was previously the Tenth Doctor and his tenure in the role was met with widespread love from fans, claiming his incarnation to be the best Doctor.

Now the actor will be returning to the role, but he has teased fans to not expect the same Doctor from his previous time.

Speaking to Doctor Who Magazine (via RadioTimes), Tennant stated:

“The Doctor's been three different people in the meantime, so I’m not necessarily the same version of the Doctor that I was before. I’m not the Tenth Doctor now, I’m the Fourteenth.”

It will be exciting to see the beloved Doctor back at the helm for the specials before Tennant hands the reigns over to the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education).

Team USA qualification places set for Ryder Cup

USA’s Ryder Cup team is now half-filled after the completion of the final rank-point scoring event, the BMW Championship.

Brian Harman and Patrick Cantlay both had their spots fairly secured before the tournament, but it was Max Homa and Xander Schauffele who snuck into the automatic places, dumping out PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka at the final hurdle.

Koepka’s place on the team is now in limbo after missing out on an automatic spot, but he is still expected to be picked by captain Zach Johnson, who will announce his six picks on 29th August.

The winner of the BMW Championship, Viktor Hovland, also earned his place in the Ryder Cup for Team Europe with his victory, joining Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm so far in the team.

Djokovic bests Alcaraz in Cincinnati

Novak Djokovic was able to beat Carlos Alcaraz this time around to claim the Cincinnati Open championship trophy.

The two played out another thrilling and close affair, going the full three sets and tie-breakers for the two that Djokovic won.

The Serbian struggled with the heat during the match, and afterwards, both he and his Spanish opponent looked exhausted.

The champion would go on to state that it was one of the toughest matches of his career. Alcaraz was distraught after his loss, too, as he was seen crying into his towel straight after the match as well as during his runner-up speech.

On the women’s side, Coco Gauff pulled off a stunning run and victory for her third title this year. It puts her in good standings as one of the favourites for the upcoming US Open.

Blue Beetle dethrones Barbie at the box office

The DCEU’s latest adventure, Blue Beetle, toppled Barbie at the box office, knocking it off the top spot that it has held for the past four weeks.

Despite this, Blue Beetle’s $25.4m opening was not something to massively celebrate, as it is a weaker total than that of other recent DCEU films such as The Suicide Squad ($26.2m) and Birds of Prey ($33m).

Blue Beetle is a bit of a confusing one in terms of where it lies in DC cinema, as it is part of the ending of the outgoing DCEU but also part of the beginning of the incoming DCU, which will be headed by James Gunn and Peter Safran.