Key events
On a bad day for Marcelo Bielsa, he’s getting some love BTL …
Leeds fan. Bielsa fan. It’s been awful seeing him being so brutally honest with himself, to the point that I don’t want to watch the interviews with him. He acknowledges his mistakes & always takes full responsibility. He is a complete one-off. He’s had a huge influence on football but importantly, he’s had a huge influence on the players he’s managed. Ask the Leeds players. Ask the fans. Always polite, kind & interested in people. We were so, so lucky at Leeds to have in him in our midst.
Talking about Panama’s survivors from the 2018 game – England have four players still around from their starting XI in Nizhny Novgorod: Pickford, Stones, Henderson, Kane.
Their XI that day? Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire; Trippier, Loftus-Cheek, Henderson, Lingard, Young; Sterling, Kane. Goals: Kane (3), Stones (2), Lingard
From the archive …
Ewan Murray
Roberto Martínez’s pre-match press conference ahead of Portugal against Colombia was briefly interrupted by Dua Lipa music being piped into the room at Miami Stadium. While this caused some red faces among Fifa officials, Martínez clearly found the incident very amusing.
Tickets for this fixture have been changing hands at close to 10 times their original value, with Colombian representation in this part of Florida particularly high. Martínez revealed he secured tickets for family members last November through knowledge they would become scarce. “In a difficult moment for the world, football still brings unity,” said Martínez. “I hope that tomorrow, football wins.
“We are very well prepared but we respect, a lot, the idea of facing Colombia. There is confidence and focus in what we want to do.”
When asked a question by a journalist from Venezuela, Martínez endearingly and immediately referenced the earthquake scenario there. “My feelings are with your country in this moment of hardship,” said Martínez. “Our hearts are with you.”
Panama’s tournament may be over but they’re still after their first World Cup point(s) – Thomas Christiansen’s side have given a good account of themselves in narrow defeats to Ghana and Croatia.
There are a few survivors from their 6-1 defeat to England at the 2018 World Cup, with Michael Murillo, Yoel Bárcenas and José Luis Rodríguez, but this is a stronger side overall. Norwich centre-back José Córdoba is the only player in the squad who plays his club football in England.
England fans have made it to the Big Apple – and they’ll hope to return in July – for the game against Panama this evening (10pm BST, 5pm EST).
Thomas Tuchel has a decision to make at right-back, with Reece James out with a hamstring injury and Tino Livramento already back home. Djed Spence, mostly used at left-back for club and country in recent months, and Trevoh Chalobah are in the running for a start.
And who will start at centre-back? Konsa and Guéhi, like against Ghana? Konsa and Stones, like against Croatia? Or Stones and Guéhi, like at Euro 2024?
Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke are under pressure, with Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka pushing for their starting places. Could there be some rotation elsewhere? Eberechi Eze and Morgan Rogers aren’t bad, you know.
Jonathan Wilson has more on Marcelo Bielsa’s World Cup woes after Uruguay went out in a blaze of fire …
Four senior Uruguay players – Rochet, Manuel Ugarte, Rodrigo Bentancur and Federico Valverde – had requested a meeting with Bielsa before Friday’s game to complain about training, which they said was so ferocious it had led to injuries. They also suggested a change of approach against Spain, playing in a low block and looking to counter. That, of course, is utterly antithetical to Bielsa, who not only denied their request but called a team meeting at which he addressed the players for 48 minutes, telling them that he intended to mirror Spain and explaining why he had brought injured but loyal players to the World Cup.
Summary
Here’s what’s going on in World Cup-land today …
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Iran’s coach, Amir Ghalenoei, has called on Gianni Infantino to “stand up to” the US after reiterating his belief that the co-hosts have treated his team “very unfairly”
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Belgium and Egypt sealed qualification from Group G ahead of Iran, who must wait to see if they progress from third place
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Debutants Cape Verde booked their spot in the knockouts with a goalless draw with Saudi Arabia and will face Argentina next.
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Marcelo Bielsa will leave his job as Uruguay coach after they were knocked out following defeat to Spain, saying he “has not left anything” to football in the country.
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England take on Panama later today without the injured Reece James, who will miss at least two matches with a hamstirng injury.
Iran coach tells Infantino to “stand up to” co-hosts US
Ben Fisher
Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, has said Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, must “stand up” to the US after reiterating his belief that the co-hosts have treated his team “very unfairly”.
Iran will qualify for the World Cup knockout stage for the first time if results go their way in the next 24 hours, but after a dramatic draw against Egypt in Seattle, in which Shoja Khalilzadeh had a stoppage-time winner ruled offside and Saeid Ezatolah headed against the bar, they were left frustrated with more than just the result.
Infantino visited Iran’s dressing room after their Group G opener against New Zealand, telling the squad “you are stronger than everything”, but while Ghalenoei maintains Infantino has tried his utmost to help them, ultimately little has changed since the tournament began. The head coach previously described Iran as the “most oppressed” team at the World Cup.
“I know Mr Infantino has tried his best to minimise the problems as much as possible but it was the host that wasn’t very good to us,” Ghalenoei said in his post-match press conference. “I urge Fifa to not let the hosts treat teams and players the same way in the future. I hope Mr Infantino will actually stand up to such behaviour.”
Transfer news: Fulham have signed teenage forward Jonah Kusi-Asare on a permanent deal after a promising loan spell last season. The 18-year-old Swede made 10 first-team appearances after joining on loan from Bayern Munich in September 2025 and he has now left the Bundesliga champions to sign a five-year contract at Craven Cottage.
Marc Guéhi insists he was fine with being left out of England’s opening World Cup clash against Croatia but is ready to help the team secure top spot in Group L. Guéhi was left on the bench as Thomas Tuchel paired John Stones and Ezri Konsa together for the 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas, but he came into the side for Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with Ghana.
The Manchester City defender looks set to keep his spot for the group finale in New Jersey later today and is ready to play any role asked of him by Tuchel.
Asked if it was hard to be left out, he replied: “No, it wasn’t difficult. I said before that, to be honest, it didn’t really matter who played. As long as the team does well, we’re all here for one goal. We all know what that is. So, as long as the team does well, it’s the most important thing. But I’m glad to have been given the opportunity last game to help the team, and I’ll take whatever role I’m given.” PA Media
Continental breakdown: Let’s have a look at how each confederation has fared with the group stage coming to a close …
Europe (Uefa)
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Through to last 32 – 11/16 so far (plus maybe Austria, Croatia and Scotland)
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Eliminated – 2/16 so far (Czechia and Turkey)
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Qualification rate – 69-88%
South America (Conmebol)
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Through to last 32 – 5/6 confirmed
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Eliminated – 1/6 (Uruguay)
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Qualification rate – 83%
Africa (Caf)
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Through to last 32 – 6/10 so far (plus maybe Algeria, DR Congo, and Senegal)
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Eliminated – 1/10 so far (Tunisia)
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Qualification rate – 60-90%
Asia (AFC)
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Through to last 32 – 2/9 so far (plus maybe Iran, South Korea and Uzbekistan)
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Eliminated – 4/9 so far (Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia)
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Qualification rate – 22-55%
Oceania (OFC)
It’s starting to look rather bleak for the Asian sides in this tournament.
Qatar, Saudi, Jordan have all been eliminated. Uzbekistan are as good as out as they would need to beat DR Congo by 8 to have a chance of advancing.
Iran and Korea both finished 3rd in the groups but both are looking increasingly unlikely to get through due to their goal differences.
It looks likely that only Japan and Australia will advance. Unfortunately for Japan they have a terrible draw in the next round against Brazil. Australia will also start underdogs against Egypt.
Seems there is a very real possibility that no team from the Asian confederation will make it through to the R16.
Speaking of Gijón, Algeria are seeking to get one over on Austria for the way they were dumped out of the 1982 World Cup. Austria and West Germany played out a mutually beneficial result at El Molinón that meant they both progressed at Algeria’s expense.
Ironically Algeria and Austria can both qualify for the last 32 if they play out a draw in Group J later.
Maher Mezahi breaks down what this game means:
A generational faultline runs through how Algerians are approaching Saturday night’s fixture in Kansas City (a 3am BST Sunday kick-off). For supporters old enough to remember 1982, eliminating Austria would carry a satisfaction far beyond three points. For younger fans, the grievance is inherited and less raw.
Rogorn goes in two-footed on the 64-team World Cup naysayers …
I’m OK with a 32-team World cup, but here are some reasons in favour of a 64-team World Cup:
-More teams and fans taking part. This is the number 1 reason some people are against the enlargement, but I think it’s the number 1 reason to do it. If you support a nation that doesn’t qualify all the time, you know how it feels.
-It’s never going back down to 32, and no-one likes 48. While 48 (or 24 in the Euros) does produce some drama of its own through the uncertainty of the third-place qualifiers, most people would happily go without it. Plus, there is a simple way to all but guarantee that every match matters in an “only the top 2 go through” setting.
-The 64-team tournament wouldn’t be any longer than it is right now with 48. It would have a few more matches in the group stage, for a total of 128 games, compared to 104 now, and it would mean 6 games a day, but no team would play more than 8 games, all told. In fact, 32 teams would play 3 games only, 16 would play 4, 8 would play 5, 4 would play 6 and only the four semifinalists would play 8 (assuming we keep the third-place match).
-There are at least 64 competitive teams in the world. Just have a look at the top 64 in the FIFA rankings and see who wouldn’t belong in the tournament. The very rarefied top few can still outclass most others, but that has always been the case throughout history. Besides, if anyone has been an embarrassment in the 2026 WC it hasn’t been Cape Verde or Haiti. Who had Tunisia to concede five in a game and 12 in 3, or Spain to draw a blank against Cape Verde? Quality, you say? Make a list of the worst matches of this tournament (or any other) and then let’s see what illustrious names they feature. Decades of watching football has taught us that no-one knows how “good” or “bad” any next game featuring any teams of any “quality” is going to be.
-“Bloated”? Just pick and choose your games, the same you do during the club season. Some people watch Cambridge United, some people watch Real Oviedo, some people watch Sunderland, some people watch Inter Milan, most people don’t watch any of them. And they’re fine. The club season is the definition of bloated! And we manage to get through it. I do like watching EVERY game of a World Cup and Euros, and I have done it for decades. But my individual capacity for watching footie should not be the yardstick to measure how many hundreds of players and millions of fans are left out of the party. In fact, you’re probably picking and choosing your games already for this very World Cup.
-The next World Cup, 2030, with six hosts already chosen, would be ideal for 64 teams. With 64 teams playing, 16 groups of 4 would be needed, so, say Uruguay gets to host 2 whole groups, Paraguay 2, Argentina 2, Morocco 3, Portugal 3, Spain 4. The South American groups start first, and their advantage of having extra days before the knockout stage starts would be balanced by their need to use that time to fly to Europe/Africa for the remainder of the tournament, from the round of 32 on. This would also remedy the pitiful current decision by FIFA that hosting three matches in Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina counts as CONMEBOL hosting a World Cup. 2034 could be a problem for Saudi Arabia on its own, and this might be why Gianni is still treading gingerly, because the Saudis might not want to have to share their tournament with anyone else if they can’t cope with 64.
-After that, most countries would not be able to host a 64 on their own, but co-hosting is well established now, and rotation could get some imagination too. How about a Mediterranean World Cup across Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia, hosting two groups each, for example, or a CONCACAF-CONMEBOL effort all the way from Canada to Chile? Other confederations could do this too.
-Carbon footprint, I hear you say? Just stop moving teams around for every game. Spreading the 2021 Euros around the whole continent was a great idea, but UEFA mangled the execution badly by having teams jet to and fro all the time. For every group, find two stadia which are reasonably close to one another (Gijón and Oviedo, for example, at Spain ’82, or Vienna and Budapest in continental terms) and play the whole group phase there only. Teams would be better rested from less travel, fans could plan a whole week-long stay for the duration of the group stages at least, then close un-needed venues gradually to converge on just four or five grounds for the latter stages.
Two weeks in Gijón and Oviedo sounds idyllic to me. It’s a shame neither are due to host in 2030.
Obviously the best third-place teams is nothing new in tournament football – it’s been in place at recent Euros and Afcons. But when the World Cup is this bloated and teams are given such short notice about who they will face in the next round (Paraguay found out just hours ago that they are playing Germany on Monday; as unlikely as it is, Scotland and their fans might have to trek to Mexico City on Tuesday), you’d think Fifa would have a rethink.
That rethink looks inevitable though … 64 teams for 2030. Anyone in favour?
32 teams split into 8 groups of 4. 2 progress from the group to the knockout stages, 2 are eliminated without dangling in limbo. Please.
Careful. A 64 team wc with top 2 going through gets you to the same stage this WC is about to get to, a knockout stage with one extra round and no limbo.
I mean, thats only 4 more groups, right? incoming Infantino suggestion right there to counter your ‘limbo’ issue.
I think of this as the World Cup ‘finals’.
Anything more than 32 teams just feels like glorified qualifying to me. All of these games and the reduced jeopardy in the group stages is diluting it – for me at least. Infantino will spin anything out for revenue.
Thanks Taha. There’s lots of Scotland talk BTL …
Just pack your bags Scotland. It was fun from a fan point of view. And we owe Clarke some gratitude. But, for me, having watched them in world cups since 1974, this is the worst I have felt about the team. The excellent Cape Verde result just emphasizes how crap the players and manager have been. I don’t want to sound like Ewan Murray but I think it’s the only conclusion.
The amazing thing about the Scotland situation from my point of view is even with the first Brazilian goal the other night, that was them done.
All those pre-tournament simulations about minus one being fine, minus two probably being OK, simply ignored that when one team (ie. Ecuador) needs a result and another (ie. Germany) don’t, they usually get it. Or that when both teams (Australia and Paraguay) need the same result, that’s what’ll transpire. Or that teams playing later in the final round would know exactly what they needed… and like Senegal yesterday, get it.
I think it’ll ease the pressure on Clarke – because the argument has already become “so we lost to Morocco and Brazil, what did anyone expect?” Even if they’d scored two more against Haiti, they’d still have gone out. Cue the SFA having yet another excuse to hide behind, do and learn precisely nothing… and for most of Scottish football to instantly return to obsessing over the Old Firm.
The bit I’m confused with is why so many Scots are being so down on the team.
We lost to Brazil and Morocco. The 5th and 6th ranked teams in the world.
It would have been an equivalent shock for Haiti to beat us, as for us to beat either of these teams.
Not entirely sure how with 12 groups we got one with 2 of the teams in the top 6 in the world.
Time for Billy Munday to hop on. I’ll see you all again in a few hours.
In Group K Portugal need a win against Colombia to finish top. Four points is enough to get through as a third-placed team, so DR Congo will advance should they beat Uzbekistan.
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Colombia v Portugal, Miami – 7.30pm local time, Sunday 12.30am BST
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DR Congo v Uzbekistan, Atlanta – same time
Why not warm up for England’s World Cup clash with England’s Test match? This’ll end up as a five-day humdinger.
Elliot Anderson is another off the Wallsend Boys production line.
Who’s up today? We go to Group L first, with England and Ghana already through – though Croatia could end up first with a victory and a point for Panama against Thomas Tuchel’s side.
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Panama v England, New Jersey – 5pm local time, 10pm BST
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Croatia v Ghana, Philadelphia – same time
Following the Department of Homeland Security on social media is a bit like wandering through a casino at 4am. Sooner or later, you’ll see something that makes you go: How did we get here?
There was one of those moments earlier this month. Days after the US opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 romp over Paraguay, DHS marked the occasion by posting an image of Chris Richards, Sergiño Dest and Folarin Balogun exulting beneath the headline “DEFEND THE HOMELAND” and the caption “OUR SOIL”.
The irony of the message – posted on the emancipation holiday Juneteenth, of all days – was unmissable. The same department that turned back a leading referee from Somalia, that has kept Iran’s players on a day-to-day visa footing in this tournament, that has in effect tried to sabotage the conditions under which this World Cup takes place, now finds itself reveling in it.
The latest World Cup Daily is up – get it in your ears.
Confirmed last 32 matches so far
Here are the confirmed last-32 clashes. I’m liking the look of Netherlands-Morocco and Brazil-Japan.
England, as it stands, will face Senegal, who they beat in the last 16 in Qatar.
Our US team were busy with your questions on Thursday.
What are Scotland’s chances of qualifying for the next round? Opta’s supercomputer reckons they’ve got a 0.05% shot.
Amid all the joy, there’s the treatment of Iran. They were denied permission to stay in Seattle after their draw against Egypt, reports Ben Fisher.
We’ve got to have another look at Cape Verde’s celebrations.
What’s that? You want some #OnThisDay #WorldCup #Content? Well, it’s been eight years since South Korea knocked out Germany, the defending champions, in the group stage.
Jonathan Wilson was there:
This, then, is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. There are certain events so apocalyptic that it feels they cannot just happen. They should be signalled beneath thunderous skies as owls catch falcons and horses turn and eat themselves. At the very least there should be a sense of fury, of thwarted effort, of energies exhausted. And yet Germany went out of the World Cup in the first round for the first time in 80 years on a pleasantly sunny afternoon with barely a flicker of resistance. There was no Sturm. There was no Drang.
So who comes in for Reece James, out of England’s clash with Panama and the last-32 tie, too? Jarell Quansah, Ezri Konsa, Djed Spence and Trevoh Chalobah are all options for Thomas Tuchel to consider.
The views from North America:
Iran have copied Cape Verde with three draws … but they thought they’d won it against Egypt. Their future at the tournament remains uncertain.
Marcelo Bielsa gives it straight. Uruguay have failed to make it past the group stage for the second World Cup in a row.
I have not left anything to Uruguayan football. A coach who has been in a country for three years and not got results cannot say he has made a contribution. Fourth place in the qualifiers has no value and nor does third at the Copa América and there is no need to even define this performance [at the World Cup]. My time doesn’t say anything.
Even if Panama pull off an all-timer of an upset, England are through.
Cape Verde’s head coach, Bubista, reflects on his side’s achievement.
We have shown that nothing is impossible. We have represented our country but we also represent Africa and small countries around the world.
Preamble
Winning is overrated. Cape Verde have got the love of the neutrals and – crucially – a place in the last 32 by drawing all three of their group games. That’s right, the nation with a population of just over 500,000 are through to the knockouts with a second-placed finish, a remarkable feat by the debutants. Up next? Leo Messi and his mates. It’s the story of the tournament. We’ll talk about that and all of the other results from last night, and look at what’s to come. It never stops.
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