Key events
Sean Ingle
The eve of Italia 90. Gazza’s tears, England’s heartache, and the cascading emotions of a World Cup that sang and ultimately stung still lie ahead. For now, the sports scientist tasked with acclimatising Bobby Robson’s side to the Italian summer is using cutting-edge technology to assess each player’s fitness: a BBC microcomputer, a dot-matrix printer, and a few clunky Polar heart-rate monitors.
Some in the England setup initially regard Prof John Brewer, the Football Association’s first head of human performance, with suspicion. But after monitoring the squad with a bleep test at Lilleshall before they fly to Italy, again when they arrive, and for a third time after a fortnight’s training in the hottest part of the day, Brewer can prove to the players they have adapted to the heat, and can play their familiar high-tempo game.
Matt Hughes
Gianni Infantino is planning to attend two World Cup games each day where possible for the rest of the tournament despite the huge distances involved.
The Fifa president has access to a private jet provided by Qatar Airways as a value-in-kind element of its sponsorship deal with the world governing body, which will come in useful as Infantino journeys across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Read more:
Klopp criticised for Nagelsmann jibe
Jurgen Klopp has been criticised for a comment he made about the Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann.
The former Liverpool manager is a pundit at the World Cup and he was critical of Germany’s starting line-up before their opener.
He said he would have chosen a different XI and added “luckily, Julian Nagelsmann is still picking the team – for now.”
Klopp has been linked to the Germany job since 2024.
Former German players have criticised Klopp, including Lothar Matthaeus who said: “Jurgen should know better. His comments aren’t going to make Nagelsmann’s job any easier. I’d like to see what he would have said if, before an important Champions League match, a pundit had advised him to leave one of his key players on the bench.”
Stefan Effenberg, who played for Germany 35 times, added the comments “unacceptable”.
“You can make a remark like that over a beer at the bar, but certainly not in front of millions of television viewers. It’s a definite ’no go’.”
Klopp has now apologised for the comment: “I could have slapped myself across the face for saying that.
“It just slipped out casually – it has absolutely no significance.”
There will be more reaction from yesterday’s matches throughout today but which fixtures are on today? Here’s a full list:
France v Senegal (8pm BST/3pm ET/12pm PT)
Iraq v Norway (11pm BST/6pm ET/3pm PT)
Argentina v Algeria (2am BST/9pm ET/6pm PT)
Eva Corlett
On a cold winter afternoon in Wellington, dozens gathered at the Four Kings sports bar to watch New Zealand’s football team, the All Whites, take on Iran.
The politics and hostilities surrounding Iran’s World Cup opener may have dominated attention in the lead up to the match, but in New Zealand, fans on both sides turned out for one reason: the love of the game.
“It’s hugely significant,” said Andy Brown. “It’s all about football, it’s the World Cup and how good is it to see New Zealand there now? I saw them in 82 as a young’n and I can’t believe its happening again.
New Zealand are the lowest ranked team in the competition, sitting at No 85 according to Fifa, compared to world No 21 Iran.
It was an electrifying match – Iran and New Zealand slugged it out under the global spotlight, the match ending in a 2-2 draw that had supporters on both sides coiled with anticipation until the final moments.
The Iran captain Mehdi Taremi, midfielder Mohammad Mohebi, and head coach Amir Ghalenoei hit out at Fifa and hinted at resentment toward the US government after being told they needed to leave Los Angeles immediately after Monday night’s 2-2 draw against New Zealand in the World Cup.
“Everything is like disaster, actually, for us,” said Taremi, who added that Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, visited the team in the dressing room and they expressed their concerns to him directly.
Ghalenoei said the way they have been treated by Fifa makes them “the most oppressed” team at the tournament.
“After the game today they said to us, ‘You have to leave immediately,’” Ghalenoi said. “Whereas today it’s very important for us to have recovery.
“We’ve been asked to get on a plane and return to our camp in Tijuana and we are really troubled by that. They are forcing us to go back early. They are making the situation more and more difficult, more hurdles, but we’re not going to let that stop us from doing our best.”
Iran player’s visa expires after opener
The Iran winger Mehdi Torabi’s US visa has expired after the team’s opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday, according to state media.
The player only had a single-entry visa instead of a multiple-entry with Iran staying in Mexico and travelling into the US for their matches.
“Following the national team’s trip to Los Angeles for the match against New Zealand and the conclusion of that game, Torabi’s visa has now expired,” the state news agency IRNA reported.
The Iranian Football Federation “has taken steps to obtain a new visa for Torabi, so that he can accompany the national team in its upcoming matches”, it added.
World Cup organisers and the US have not yet commented.
Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who was named player of the match after making seven saves in his side’s 0-0 draw against Spain, was in tears at full time. The mother of Cape Verde’s World Cup hero was not there to see history made because she could not afford the visa to the US.
The goalkeeper described the game as the moment he had been working towards his “entire life” and said he wished he could have shared the moment with his late grandparents and his mother.
“I cried because I grew up with my grandparents and unfortunately they were not here; they died a few years ago,” he said. “They were everything for me, for my life. I also cried because my mum didn’t manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money we had to pay for the visa, we didn’t manage to [get it done] on time. I would like her to be here, but I’m also very happy.”
Thank you Yara and hello everyone. Well yesterday’s action may not have seen any winners with four draws but there was undoutedly drama and history made. The highlight for many would have been Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw to Spain with the African nation winning their first-ever World Cup point. It was the performance of goalkeeper Vozinha which stoodout and first up I will bring you some news on the 40-year-old.
That is all from me today. Here is Sarah Rendell for the next bit.
‘I’m not a model,’ says Bielsa in spiky exchange with reporter
Uruguay: Marcelo Bielsa was involved in an awkward exchange with a reporter after his side’s 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia which concluded with the Uruguay coach saying: “I’m not a model.”
The 70-year-old Argentine was miffed after a journalist asked him about an official Fifa portrait. The colourful Bielsa – nicknamed El Loco (mad man) – was asked why he was looking downwards in the promotional video rather than straight into the lens. There have been suggestions it might be some kind of protest.
“I don’t have to give any explanation, the picture was taken the way it was taken,” Bielsa said. “I’m not a model.” Rather than leave it there, Bielsa continued: “No, no, I have no answer for that. Should I also explain why I don’t look to the people who are speaking to me at this moment?”
Bielsa was then asked a different question, but he refused to let it go. “There is a limit in terms of what we need to explain,” he told his post-match press conference.
“If I’m wearing glasses, why am I wearing glasses? You look somebody in the eye, why do you do that? There is nothing wrong about wearing glasses or looking into somebody’s eyes or looking down.”
Asia: Jordan are feeling pride not pressure ahead of their debut against Austria and will fight to prove their worth in a new chapter in the country’s football history, the captain Ehsan Haddad said. Known for their strong counterattacking, Jordan scored 32 goals in qualifying and are seeking to become the first team to reach the knockout stage in a debut appearance since Slovakia’s feat in 2010.
“We are participating for the first time in our history. It is a great source of pride for us. This is pride more than pressure. It was the dream to be here,” Haddad said. “We have self-confidence,” he said. “The pressure that we used to feel got us here. So let us see where it’s going to lead us to.”
Uzbekistan also step on to stage for the first time when they face Colombia in their Group K opener, a meeting that represents the biggest moment in the country’s football history. After years of near misses in Asian qualifying, they finally secured a place at the finals by finishing second in their Asian group.
Fabio Cannavaro, Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning captain and former Ballon d’Or winner, coaches Uzbekistan, bringing an elite tournament pedigree to a squad lacking international experience. Much will depend on defensive organisation, with the Manchester City centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov expected to be a key figure, while the captain Eldor Shomurodov offers experience and threat in attack.
Donald Trump: The US president is in France for the G7 summit where he is meeting with world leaders. The US-Iran agreement will be high on the agenda after Trump clashed with and threatened key allies. Why am I mentioning this in the Geopolitics World Cup blog? Because the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, took a punt and opted to give Trump a belated 80th birthday gift: a Germany football top with the number 47 on the back and “Trump” written on it. It is quite rare for Trump to endorse anything that is not branded “USA! USA! USA! but he seemed pleased.
Algeria: The Desert Warriors will hope to harness strong backing from local supporters when they open their campaign against the defending champions Argentina. Residents of Lawrence, Kansas have fallen in love with Algeria, who have made their base camp in the city 40 miles west of Kansas City and Petkovic praised the north African team’s newfound fans for their warm welcome.
Videos of Algeria’s unexpected support in Lawrence have gone viral, showing emotional scenes of fans – many dressed in Algeria scarves, some fighting back tears – embracing the team and the World Cup atmosphere. Here is more from Daniel Sperry in Lawrence:
Lawrence is located a little over 40 miles from Kansas City, a roughly 40-minute drive from the Metropolitan area that is hosting the base camps of Argentina, the Netherlands, and England for the World Cup. All three are staying at boutique hotels around the city. Algeria? Well, they chose the humble Lawrence DoubleTree.
So where did this come from? According to Stan Herd, a local artist, you have to go back to April, when it was officially announced that Lawrence would host Algeria. “I think everybody’s surprised at it,” Herd said. “We’re not.”
Local organisers wanted to make sure that the country felt welcome in their city, according to Herd. So much so, they’ve commissioned artwork, and signs appear on the lamp-posts with the phrase “1,2,3, Viva l’Algérie!” Even McDonald’s drive-thru windows have signs welcoming Algeria and football fans to Lawrence.
Herd says Lawrence is “a blue city in a red state”. The city of nearly 100,000 is home to 27,000 college students from the University of Kansas. Roughly 30% of that student population is minorities or international students.
France: Right, on to what is ahead. France and their potent attack featuring Kylian Mbappé, the former Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and flying winger Michael Olise open their account against Senegal in New Jersey.
The French will be desperate to avoid any repetition of the opening-day defeat by the Senegalese that they suffered at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, a result which led to the then-reigning champions crashing out in the group stage. Luke Entwistle looks back on that unfortunate loss for Les Bleus and how the relationship between Mbappé and Dembélé must be positive from the off.
Mbappé’s relationship on the pitch with Ousmane Dembélé is perhaps a bigger issue. Dembélé has never delivered his best football for the national team; lest we forget his calamitous performance in the World Cup final four years ago, when he was hooked at half-time. Dembélé’s recent Ballon d’Or win has led to a clamour for him to picked in the No 9 position – where he has thrived since his reconversion at PSG under Luis Enrique – but that spot is occupied by Mbappé at international level.
When asked about Mbappé’s role as centre-forward, Deschamps’ retort is quite simple. Luis Enrique, Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa have all made the same decision at club level over the last three years. Repositioning him at this late juncture would be illogical. But Dembélé’s struggles on the right of the attack and inability to create a partnership with the France captain are feeding a national debate akin to the one in England in 2006, when there were similar concerns about the ability to fit Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard into the same team.
And a look back on memory lane for that 2002 match – it truly was global news.
World Cup Daily: Our team with the mics are on the ground giving you a podcast daily. In the latest episode Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Barney Ronay, Dan Bardell and Sid Lowe to discuss all those draws. Have a listen.
Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay: Magic City did not have much enthusiasm for this Group H encounter with Matt Hughes reporting:
Miami has more Instagram influencers per capita than Los Angeles and New York, which suggests that Fifa should have recruited some of them to help shift tickets rather than the ubiquitous IShowSpeed, whose hyperactivity has begun to irritate some A-list guests in Fifa’s VVIP areas.
As their city is built on celebrity and glamour Miami residents are not easily impressed, and even sports fans are spoilt for choice. The Hard Rock Stadium has hosted six Super Bowls and is a regular staging post on the Formula One circuit, so a group stage World Cup game featuring two goal-shy sides was never going to be a red letter day.
On to the football: Maximiliano Araújo rescued a point for La Celeste to deny Saudi Arabia another famous World Cup win as the sides drew 1-1 in Miami.
Saudi Arabia, who shocked the eventual winners Argentina in their opener at the last World Cup, went ahead through Abdulelah al-Amri in the first half but came under sustained pressure late on and failed to hold out against the two-time winners.
Uruguay dominated possession after the interval, with Manuel Ugarte hitting the post with a low effort from distance after an hour. The pressure finally told with 10 minutes remaining as Araujo steered home an equaliser from close range after Federico Viñas header had been saved by Mohammed al-Owais.
Belgium 1-1 Egypt: It was another strong result for an African nation though it could have been better had Romelu Lukaku not forced Egypt into an own goal within seconds of entering the game as the favoured Belgium escaped with a draw in at Seattle.
Emam Ashour scored his first international goal with a superb strike from 20 yards out to give Egypt a 1-0 lead in the 19th minute. The Egypt head coach, Hossam Hassan, opted to play Mohamed Salah centrally on the his 34th birthday and the move worked out well from the outset. After drawing an early yellow card, Salah delivered a clinical pass to a central Ashour. The midfielder used his first touch to set up the shot with his right foot, which he buried in the lower left corner of the net past the outstretched right arm of Thibaut Courtois.
Lukaku entering in the 66th minute and 23 seconds later the Napoli striker split two defenders off a cross from Thomas Meunier and forced the own goal as the ball deflected off Mohamed Hany’s foot in a pile in front of Mostafa Shobeir. “He’s a target man,” the Belgium midfielder Youri Tielemans said. “He needs to build up his fitness, which is understandable after being out for the season, but he helps us in this way.”
Spain 0-0 Cape Verde: Sid Lowe’s opening words of his match report from the Atlanta Stadium were “Wow, just wow” and that somehow feels like an understatement. After all, the European champions Spain were held to a shock 0-0 draw by tiny World Cup debutants Cape Verde.
Spain, regarded as one of the strong pre-tournament favourites, had been expected to cruise past Cape Verde in their Group H opener but despite enjoying 74% possession and laying siege to the Cape Verde goal, the 2010 world champions were unable to find a breakthrough against the underdogs from the volcanic archipelago of just 525,000 people. Not even the introduction off the bench of Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal could engineer a goal for Luis de la Fuente’s men.
When the final whistle blew, Cape Verde’s players and supporters celebrated wildly after securing an improbable point in their first ever World Cup match. “The dream came true,” the goalkeeper Vozinha told reporters. “We competed against Spain, one of the best teams in the world. We are very happy and proud of all the players and people of Cape Verde.”
Meanwhile, the Spain head coach, De la Fuente, insisted there was no reason to hit the panic button – and still confidently backed his squad to reach the final. “We are completely calm, convinced that there is a long way to go. As we see it, we have seven games left,” he said.
Tunisia replace sacked Lamouchi with Renard
Tunisia have sacked the head coach Sabri Lamouchi and replaced him with fellow Frenchman Hervé Renard after their 5-1 defeat by Sweden in their World Cup opener in Monterrey.
Lamouchi, the first coaching casualty of the tournament, was appointed in January on a contract until 2028. He leaves the post with matches to come against Japan and the Netherlands.
Tunisia won just one of their five games under Lamouchi, beating Haiti 1-0 in March, while losing 1-0 to Austria and being thrashed 5-0 by Belgium in a pair of World Cup warm-up matches this month.
The Tunisian Football Federation (FTF) said Renard would take charge until the end of Tunisia’s World Cup campaign. “The agreement also stipulates that negotiations will be opened after the World Cup campaign to consider a long-term partnership based on specific sporting objectives,” their statement said.
The country’s state-owned broadcaster Television Tunisienne reported that Renard would arrive in Monterrey later on Tuesday to link up with the squad.
Renard, twice an Africa Cup of Nations winner, coached Saudi Arabia at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and led them to a famous victory over eventual champions Argentina in the group stage. He left to coach the French women’s team at the World Cup in 2023 and the Paris Olympics, before returning to Saudi Arabia and helping the men’s side qualify for a third successive World Cup. He was then replaced by Georgios Donis in the buildup to the tournament.
Iran 2-2 New Zealand: It was a heavy match for Iran’s players as they played out a 2-2 draw against New Zealand after a backdrop of strife in the buildup to their tournament. After the match, the Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei hit out at Fifa and hinted at resentment toward the US government after being told they needed to leave Los Angeles immediately.
We’ve spent so much time commuting in the air. They didn’t even give us time to recover after the game today. They said we had to leave immediately. It’s very important for us to have time for recovery and yet we were asked to return to Tijuana and we are really troubled by that.
We do not know why they are returning us. I think it’s very strange. It seems like others are doing the planning for us, decisions are made elsewhere, we were supposed to arrive two nights before the game and we were not permitted, we were supposed to stay tonight and return tomorrow lunchtime but I have no idea why, and they haven’t told us.
Our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup. The federation is absent here. Our media isn’t here. Our management team, many of them aren’t here. We used to have a part of a coaching team to help with substitutions but we didn’t have that. Many in the technical area had to deal with that.
The Iran captain Mehdi Taremi described their treatment as a “disaster” and revealed the Fifa president Gianni Infantino had been in the dressing room, offering to “help” the team. Footage of Infantino published on X sees him telling the players “you are stronger than everything” adding that the team were “writing history, the whole world is watching you”.
Infantino is also understood to have told the players he would do what he could to ensure more of the Iranian delegation, who did not receive visas, could travel to the USA for their remaining group games.
Preamble
We are officially 2/3 of the way through the first group games of the 2026 World Cup. How are we feeling? Excited, thrilled, enjoying the football? Tired, overwhelmed, exhausted? All of the above? Wherever you fall, strap in because there is so, so much to get to.
Reaction from Spain 0-0 Cape Verde, Belgium 1-1 Egypt, Saudi Arabia 1-1 Uruguay and Iran 2-2 New Zealand (you get a draw, you get a draw, everyone gets a draw) before looking ahead to France v Senegal, Iraq v Norway, Argentina v Algeria and Austria v Jordan. How will our 2022 finalists fare? How about the African champions (or are they?) Or the fresh faces from Asia? This World Cup has already had a few surprises and, given the sheer number of games, I expect more to come.
Have any thoughts on the performances we have seen? Or on what is to come? What is your World Cup setup? Are you watching from home or did you manage to nab tickets? Let me know along with any predictions, questions, comments or complaints via email.
