Cape Verde will take on Argentina after a remarkable run to the knockout rounds New format, new teams and fascinating storylines. But did the new World Cup group stage really work? Cape Verde achieved the unthinkable and qualified for the last 32 - knocking out Uruguay in the process. Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, may well have been thinking 'I told you so' as Cape Verde were one of the countries to benefit from expanding the tournament to 48 teams. But away from the good news stories, there was no real jeopardy for the major nations. That was partly caused by the need to send third-placed teams through and Fifa deciding to use head to head as the first group stage tiebreaker. It meant four teams won their groups with a game to spare, and five were eliminated. With more goals than any tournament since Sweden 1958, can Fifa claim it has been a success? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and cast your vote below. Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Kane trading blows in an electric race for the Golden Boot made plenty of headlines. That in itself was a gift for Fifa, with the world's most recognisable players all showing up and trying to outdo each other. But the World Cup is not just about the star names, certainly at the group stage. The colour and character of football from around the globe takes the focus. We did not get any shock defeats in meaningful games for the big teams, like Saudi Arabia beating eventual champions Argentina four years ago. But there were real stories. Cape Verde, an archipelagic country in the Atlantic Ocean, may not have come to the World Cup expecting to qualify for the knockout rounds. And they were written off by many before they got on the plane. After all, who could have imagined they would emerge from a group which included Uruguay and European champions Spain? That Cape Verde could take a point off Spain, and stop them scoring too, was remarkable. Not just that, they then drew 2-2 with Uruguay, too. The draw against Saudi Arabia in the final group game secured second placed in the group and a date with world champions Argentina in Miami on Friday. Ok, they might have been the only team to finish in the top two on three points, but they did what they needed to do. There could be no greater vindication of Infantino's plan. Cape Verde were the poster boys. Vozinha, their 40-year-old goalkeeper, is now a social media star thanks to his heroics against Spain. Starting the game with 50,000 followers on Instagram, that shot up to five million after full-time. At the latest count, he has 16.7m. And then his mother, who had been unable to attend the World Cup because of the high cost of obtaining a US visa, was able to fly in for the Uruguay game . It is a story which only the World Cup can create for a player like Vozinha, who has spent his career in Moldova, Cyprus, Slovakia and the Portuguese second division. Vozinha became a social media star after his performance against Spain The Caribbean island of Curacao, which became the smallest country ever to qualify, did not get through but they did claim a point against Ecuador. DR Congo's hard-fought 1–1 draw against Portugal helped them to emerge as one of the best third-placed teams. Haiti's Wilson Isidor produced a goal-of-the-tournament contender against Morocco, too. The expansion has allowed for other stories as well. Bosnia-Herzegovina, Canada, Ivory Coast and South Africa all made it to the knockout rounds for the first time. Though, of course, it is now much easier to do it with generally weaker groups and more teams going through. The first knockout round, with 32 teams, is the size of the old World Cup format. But predictably, the tournament has so far been dominated by the European and South American nations. Not so predictably, African nations have been superb, with nine of their 10 teams getting through to the last 32. Cape Verde's story was one reason for Fifa to celebrate this new format, but it might mask under-performance elsewhere. Is there the depth to justify it? All but one of Concacaf's 20 points were scored by the three co-hosts. Curacao, Haiti and Panama, who benefitted from the extra places, scored three goals and conceded 21. But it was disastrous for Asia. Nine teams and three victories from 27 matches, earning just 0.67 points per game. Only Australia and Japan made it through the group stage. Asia had double the automatic places for this tournament, up from four to eight, plus Iraq qualified through the play-offs. If Africa proved the worth of this new format, Asia and Concacaf showed the opposite. Great stories do not make a tournament, they are only part of it. And there is no getting away from it. The group stage lacked any jeopardy for the major nations. Of the 12 top seeds, only co-hosts Canada and Portugal failed to top their group. That was partly caused by the expansion to 12 groups, meaning it was very difficult for there to be a group which would create any peril for a top nation. Barring the surprise elimination of Uruguay, it was essentially a 72-game exercise in chipping away 16 of the smaller countries to create a knockout competition. But this is about the format and not the teams themselves. That third-placed teams could qualify removed much of the risk. Even Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz, whose team went through in third, agreed and called the new format "vulgar and ordinary". Fifa also changed the first tiebreaker for teams level on points from goal difference to head to head. Rather than every country having something to play for on matchday three, nine were basically fulfilling a fixture - four guaranteed to top the group, and five eliminated. Had Fifa stuck with goal difference, every team would still have been in play. Then there was the lack of a real competitive edge. Ecuador's 2-1 win over Germany was one highlight, but would it have happened if Die Mannschaft had not already won the group? Not that Ecuador will care, nor should they. Even the headline-grabbing draws were mostly one-sided, cat-and-mouse games of attack versus defence. At the 2022 World Cup, only five group games were won by three or more goals. At this World Cup, it was 18 matches. It is why this tournament has the most goals per game, 2.99, for a group stage since the 32-team format began in 1998. The next highest was Brazil 2014 with 2.83. It is on track to have the highest goals-per-game rate since the 3.60 of the 1958 World Cup - but it is some way short of the incredible 5.38 of the whole 1954 tournament. That the game had nothing riding on it for Germany didn't matter to Ecuador, who qualified for the World Cup knockout rounds for only the second time Spare a thought for Scotland and South Korea. Two countries who finished on three points on Wednesday but had to wait around until Saturday evening before their elimination was confirmed. The unfairness of the third-place competition was fully laid bare, greatly weighted in favour of groups which finish later. Senegal, for instance, knew they had to go for goals against Iraq to get their goal difference into the positive. They took the final spot among the third-placed teams after a 5-0 win. It also allowed teams in second and third, on three points and at risk of elimination, to play out a draw and both go through. Australia and Paraguay did have attacking intent in their match but few were surprised when it finished as a 0-0 draw. Then Austria and Algeria drew 3-3 in the very last match to eliminate Iran. Both teams knew they were through with a draw and eliminated with a defeat. This was at least an end-to-end game for the most part, but no side had a shot after the 68th minute, following the hydration break That was until stoppage time, when Algeria took the lead only for Austria to level. There is not much you can do about it, teams cannot all play at the same time. But it did feel unjust that the luck of the group stage draw could have such an impact on the potential to qualify in third. The group stage has felt like a warm-up event for the real event, almost like its own standalone qualifying tournament. Now we are in to the knockout rounds. The World Cup really starts now. 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Jules Pritchard said many pensioners were "surviving rather than living" People at a community centre in one of the most deprived parts of Lancashire said they are afraid they will not be able to afford a 13.5% hike in energy bills next month. Average household energy bills will rise by £221 from 1 July, a 13.5% increase on the previous quarter and 79% higher than before the energy crisis began in winter 2020/21, under the latest cap announced by energy regulator Ofgem. "It will affect a lot of people in Bacup, particularly the elderly," Jules Pritchard, class leader at the ABD Centre in the Rossendale Valley, said. A government representative said tackling the affordability crisis is its "number one priority". Alison Grant said price increases were "relentless" Bacup has the highest levels of deprivation in the Rossendale Valley according to English indices of deprivation 2025 , external statistics. "They're trying to survive and I think a lot of them are surviving rather than living, which is a very sad place to be," said Pritchard, who teaches an arts and craft class to around 20 people. "You've worked all your life, you shouldn't just be surviving, you should be living comfortably and the way the world is at the moment, that's not happening." Community centre user Alison Grant, 61, from Weir said she was "very anxious and very worried". "I don't know where the money will come from," she said. "I have a meter and a smart meter, but you might as well call it an anxiety meter. "You're watching it constantly to see how much is on the meter until your next payday." Volunteers at the centre help to run a weekly luncheon The increase for those on variable deals comes as the higher wholesale costs, faced by suppliers, feeds through to bills. The conflict in Iran scuppered Bank of England UK inflation targets of 2% over the next five years. Regulator Ofgem said the war means a household using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £221 more a year, with an annual bill of £1,862. "It's a juggling act," Alison said. "My food's gone up, the petrol for my car to get me to work. It's relentless." According to the Office for National Statistics , external , 66% of adults reported their cost of living had increased compared with a month ago with the most commonly reported reasons being the price of food shopping, the price of fuel, and gas or electricity bills. "Whoever you are your shopping bill has gone up," June Divine, who runs a weekly luncheon where people can eat at cost price, said. "Everything has just rocketed." Lottery money and church donations help to keep food prices at the centre low In a statement a government representative said: "We have taken £150 of costs off energy bills for the years ahead and extended the Warm Home Discount to around six million households. "We are also freezing fuel duty, rail fares, and prescriptions, increasing the minimum wage, and cutting VAT on family activities and children's meals this summer." Tell us which stories we should cover in Lancashire Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook , external , X , external and Instagram , external . You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. How you can save money on your energy bill ABD Centre

When five Wimbledon titles in one weekend changed British tennis It was July 2016. We had just been to the polls over Brexit. Leicester City were Premier League champions. England held the Ashes. And on the grass courts of Wimbledon, British tennis was at its peak. Home players had won a record five of that year's prizes at the All England Club – and few will forget Andy Murray kissing, hugging and lifting the golden men's singles trophy for a second time. Murray - now Sir Andy - will return to SW19 this week in the coaching box, working with Jack Draper, one of the many British players in this year's draw who were inspired by his exploits on that day. A decade on, we revisit the greatest weekend in British tennis through the eyes of those who were there. Three hours before Murray's final started on Centre Court fans packed into a small outside court to watch the very first wheelchair singles final. That court has just 276 seats but there were many more people peering over from the top of the neighbouring one as Gordon Reid took on Sweden's Paralympic champion Stefan Olsson. Reid, who had won the wheelchair doubles title with Alfie Hewett the previous day for the first of the 24 Grand Slam titles they have now won together, remembers there was "a real positivity and a real buzz around the British players that weekend". He'd had to move hotels the previous night because of a party next door. A sleepless night averted, he went on to win 6-1 6-4. The champagne flowed. Mainly all over him as his friends and family drenched him as he made his way to the media centre after the match. And there were soon more celebrations as Jordanne Whiley became the second Briton to win that day when she and Yui Kamiji won their third consecutive Wimbledon women's wheelchair doubles title. At this point Murray was in the early stages of his final on Centre Court. Gordon Reid has now won 30 Grand Slam titles This video can not be played 'Wimbledon champion again' - relive Murray's 2016 triumph Murray reckons his memory of some of his tennis matches and tournaments is getting a little hazy. Not this one, though. He's watched championship point "a few times" since. In an era where many of his Grand Slam title attempts had been thwarted by Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, he had found himself in the less familiar position of being favourite in a major final. Federer had been stunned by Milos Raonic in the semi-finals, while Djokovic had suffered a shock third-round defeat and Nadal was absent through injury. But on top of this or even regardless of this, Murray was in phenomenal form. He had dropped only two sets on his way to the final and had been runner-up at the two other Grand Slams so far that year, as well as winning Queen's and the Italian Open. He had also won Wimbledon three years earlier to finally take off the annual pressure to end a more-than-seven-decade-long wait for a British men's champion. In the face of all that, his opponent had no chance. By the time Murray got his first break in the opening set, Lewis Hamilton had just won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and there was never any question a fantastic weekend for the nation was not going to get even better. Murray duly delivered, winning 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-2). Asked what his memories of the moment were, in typically understated fashion he remembers "hitting an approach shot with my forehand into Raonic's backhand and him missing the passing shot into the net". He doesn't mention the tears of joy he cried into his towel repeatedly, or the famous trophy he hugged so hard that he looked like he never wanted to let go – even in the ice bath later. And he didn't know then yet why he really, really needed to savour those moments. Murray sealed victory in two hours and 47 minutes By 2016, Centre Court was used to seeing Murray letting out his emotions Even Murray's usually impassive coach Ivan Lendl had cracked and had tears in his eyes along with the rest of Centre Court and the country at the magnitude of the achievement. "Feel good?" Sue Barker opened her on-court interview with the new champion. "Er, yeah" replied Murray in possibly the understatement of his life. He thanked his team and family before blundering into acknowledging the prime minister in the Royal Box. Cue boos for David Cameron, who had a couple of weeks earlier announced his plans to stand down in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. Murray defused the situation adeptly, declaring: "Playing at a Wimbledon final is tough and I certainly wouldn't want to be Prime Minister, it's a tough job." Cheers resumed before Murray headed on to the balcony of the Wimbledon pavilion to show off his trophy to the thousands of fans below, stopping to sign autographs and pose for selfies. Within hours, the then 29-year-old Murray was already looking to the future, saying he felt his best tennis was ahead of him. He was not entirely wrong. A few weeks later he became the first double Olympic singles champion and by the end of the year was world number one. But then in 2017 came the hip injury that required major surgery and ultimately denied him the chance of adding to those major titles despite the valiant efforts over the next seven years. Asked what he would now tell his 2016 self at Wimbledon, he replied: "Appreciate that moment for a long time because they're gone very quickly." Thankfully, having said that his 2013 triumph was more a relief than anything else, this victory was one he was determined to enjoy – and he stayed up all night to do just that. But more on that later, there was still one more British trophy to win… Having got his hands on the trophy for the second time, Murray did not want to let it go Heather Watson had been following Murray's match on the television screens in the locker room while trying to focus on preparations for her own chance at a piece of history. She remembers the day very clearly. "I woke up and I thought, 'Well, today's the day I win Wimbledon'. Like, there was no doubt in my mind, which in sports, you just don't feel that way usually," she said. And, partnered with Finland's Henri Kontinen, she did just that, becoming the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since Jo Durie won the mixed doubles at the 1991 Australian Open. "All these years later, it's one of the best days of my life," said Watson. She still looks at the trophy every day, saying she'd even just polished it a couple of days ago because Wimbledon was approaching. It was the fifth trophy for British players that weekend and also the first time since 1937 that home players had won two of Wimbledon's five traditional trophies. This called for a huge party. Kontinen and Watson had never even played together before this tournament "It's sort of a whirlwind," Watson says of the moments after lifting the final trophy of the weekend. "You go straight into the locker room, shower, you've done your press, and there's a rack of ball gowns, shoes, bags, accessories, and you just pick your outfit… hair and make-up. "You then go straight to the ball … and that is an experience all in itself." Murray had said beforehand that there was no way he would be doing the traditional dance with the women's champion "unless I've had a few glasses of champagne". The evidence points to exactly this happening. Watson is certain she remembers him dancing with Serena Williams, and Murray himself revealed a few years later that he had been sick in a taxi on the way back from his night out. Hewett, who was 18 at the time and took his grandad with him to the ball, remembers being excited by the "fancy red carpet", while Reid says he shared a "cool moment" where Murray sought out his fellow Scot to congratulate him and invite him to the after-party. "Unfortunately our paths got lost when we were getting in the cars. Maybe [that was] better for the head the next day though," he laughed. Watson, though, carried on celebrating through the night with Murray. "I think we partied till 7am that night. And then we actually had to leave at 7am. I didn't even realise the time because I was having that much of a good time," she said. "Henri said to me, 'Heather, I've got to go. My flight's in an hour.' I was like, oh my God." While Murray is back as a coach this year, Serena Williams returns as a player The hangovers from the party have long been slept off but the after-effects of that golden weekend for British tennis are still being felt today. Murray went on to win another five tour titles that year, including the ATP Finals that secured the world number one spot and set a new standard for the next generation. While no-one has come close to emulating that since, there have been other successes over the past decade, including Emma Raducanu ending Britain's 44-year wait for a female Grand Slam singles champion with her 2021 US Open victory and a strengthening in depth within British tennis particularly in the men's game. In 2016 there were three men in the top 200 of the singles world rankings, which has grown to eight now. There has also been a huge upturn in doubles – in the 10 years before 2016 there had been only two Grand Slam doubles trophies won by Britons, while in the decade since there have been 20. Watson's title was one of three won by Britons that year, with Murray's brother Jamie winning the other two and also ending the year as doubles world number one. "Even though it's an individual sport, there's no doubt that having someone who does set the bar high helps and even just shows you what's possible," said former British number one Kyle Edmund. The influence of that great weekend of British success at Wimbledon is also being felt in wheelchair tennis, where a Court 17 final in front of a couple of hundred fans has grown to a Court One showpiece in front of thousands. The 'Murray effect' has been widely viewed as contributing to increases in participation at grassroots level, with the LTA last year reporting the highest ever figures for adult annual participation of 5.8 million and four million children playing tennis each year. British tennis' governing body has also stepped up its investment, including a £250m injection over the past decade into refurbishing public courts, raising the number of covered and floodlit courts and making it easier to book online. And, even though Murray has been retired for two years, his influence is still been felt on court, whether through his formal coaching of Jack Draper or his informal mentoring of up-and-coming players. "I feel like I can reach out to him. I played nine holes of golf with him in December and got to chat and ask him questions," British number eight Jack Pinnington Jones said. There are 21 British players in the main singles draws at Wimbledon this year, including for the first time since 1999 three who have progressed from qualifying, and it remains to be seen what that will bring. But 2016? Well, in the words of Hewett: "Wow, what a year." Additional reporting by Kate McKenna and Jonathan Jurejko

Jules Bal (right) set up Wee Knob of Butter five years ago with his business partner Kieran Woods Jules Bal says he has noticed a change in the way Scots regard their relationship with food and thinks people are increasingly prepared to pay extra for it. The 34-year-old French national, who co-owns a small artisanal butter manufacturing firm in Glasgow, is among a chorus of people concerned about the push for cheaper food to address the cost-of-living crisis. He says that in his homeland there is much more focus on quality and that people are most concerned about where the product originates and what it tastes like. It's an argument that appears to run counter to recent calls to make some foods more affordable. In its recent manifesto for the Holyrood election the SNP promised a price cap on "a basket of essential food items" including bread, milk and eggs. The pledge was criticised by farmers and food producers, but the Scottish government said it had a "public health responsibility" to provide an affordable nutritious diet. The butter is hand made and supplied to high-end restaurants across Scotland Jules was born in the French city of La Rochelle - which sits on the coast of the Bay of Biscay - and moved to Scotland at the age of 14. He was taught by his father who worked as a chef in "high-end" restaurants so he "grew up in a kitchen". Wee Knob of Butter was created in 2021 with his friend Kieran Woods and began with them selling their product once a month at a market. Their butter is now supplied to a range of exclusive Scottish restaurants, is sold by mail order and is even served on the Royal Scotsman pullman train. "In France, we like to take our time with our food," Jules said. "We like to have a strong relationship with our food as well and that quality is not necessarily a luxury. It's just something that we just expect to have as a family. "But Scotland is really coming up. People really care about where their food comes from. Now, people are taking more time to go and shop at local markets to make sure they get quality produce." The amount of our household income which goes on what we eat has changed significantly over the years. According to the UK government's Living Costs and Food Survey , external , the proportion of total spending earmarked for food has halved in the 60 years to 2016 from 33% to just 16%. Experts say some of that is driven by industrialisation of farming which reduces production costs, alongside supermarkets using their buying power to keep prices low. But food historian Peter Gilchrist says many of us have lost the connection to how food is produced. Food historian Peter Gilchrist believes many of us have lost our connection with food production "At the end of the day, you're buying packaged goods," he said. "You're not going into your greengrocer and asking 'what is fresh, what's in season, what's your best products?' You really only have one option; you go in with a trolley and you shop." Gilchrist believes that during a crisis, governments have to step in to ensure that food is "accessible and affordable" as they have in the past but he says intervention needs to go beyond price caps. He added: "We can try to fix our food systems and ensure that schools have home economic teachers so that every young person knows how to cook with those capped grocery items, that we have a better education about what is grown locally and what is quality Scottish produce." First Minister John Swinney says food price caps are a public health responsibility Although average spending on food amounts to about 16% of total household budgets, those on lower incomes can be paying a much larger proportion on feeding themselves. That concerns Prof Alex Johnstone, a nutrition scientist from Aberdeen University's Rowett Institute, who says prices have already risen by 40% over the past five years. She has calculated that some people will need to spend around half of their disposable income on their food shop and that for families with children, the figure increases to about 85%. Johnstone added: "That means that these families are 'food insecure' - they're living with food poverty and not able to afford and access a healthy diet." She said that if there was a cost cap, it needed to cover a range of foods which were healthy, environmentally sustainable and culturally acceptable, including healthy ready-meals in recognition of lower-income households also often being time-poor. Farmers have long been concerned by the squeeze placed on their profit margins by demands for cheaper food, high animal welfare standards and more environmental stewardship. The pig sector in particular has been struggling because of an outbreak of African swine fever in Spain which has heavily affected the country's exports and led to a glut of pork hitting the European markets. It means Scottish pig farmers are losing up to £1,000 per sow place, according to NFU Scotland. Former president Martin Kennedy has been a long-time advocate of increased food prices to make farm businesses more profitable. He said: "If we keep putting pressure on the primary producers they'll just simply say we can't do this any more and we'll rely more and more on imports." Kennedy, who farms at Aberfeldy in Perthshire, said there was too much focus on delivering "cheap" food which could lead to an increase in imports produced under conditions which would be illegal in Scotland. "If your priority is really about health and having enough affordable food, then we should be really focusing on the good food that we produce here throughout the UK which is recognised, particularly here in Scotland, as high quality," he added. 'Six eggs used to be £1' - why everyday essentials cost so much more now Supermarkets hit back over pressure to cap price of milk, bread and eggs The Royal Highland Show, a highlight of the agricultural calendar, is a showcase for Scottish farm animals and food. It features an area called Scotland's Larder in which different regions take turns to highlight and sell food which originates from that area. This year is was the turn of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, with Rora Dairy, near Peterhead, exhibiting for the first time, alongside dozens of other small food producers. The company makes additive-free organic yogurt from milk produced by its own herd of cows which is sold in some supermarkets, including Sainsbury's and Morrisons. Owner Jane Mackie says demand for organic dairy is growing year-on-year, particularly in milk, with that growth happening faster in England than Scotland. She believes consumers could consider eating products such as yogurt less often, but choosing higher-quality options like organic as a treat when they do. Rora Dairy near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire produces additive free organic yogurts Jane added: "We're not educating people well enough to realise that they could feed their children differently. "It's much cheaper to be feeding them a chicken McNugget than it is to be home cooking food and I think that's a real issue. "I think we have to realise that it's important for our society and long-term health benefits to know that spending a little bit more money on your food is a good thing." In 2022, the Scottish government passed legislation called the Good Food Nation Scotland Act , external which aims to ensure that people "eat well" and benefit from "reliable and dignified access" to nutritious, affordable, enjoyable, and age-appropriate food. The SNP manifesto commitment to capping some food prices was dismissed as a "potty gimmick" by some retailers. But First Minister John Swinney insisted it was a "moral outrage" that some people could not afford to feed themselves properly. He told BBC Scotland News: "I admire and respect the quality within Scottish agriculture but I've also got to be mindful for the genuine hardship that families are facing in delivering an affordable shop." Swinney said that was the reason his government was bringing forward legislation to introduce price caps. Farmers are facing increasing demands to deliver for nature and the environment, as well as consumers. There is genuine concern from food producers that we're in a "race to the bottom" which, they fear, could result in an influx of cheap imports pricing them out of the market.