Key events
We can check in the latest from the England camp where …
Reece James remains a doubt to play in the quarter-final.
And Sir Keir Starmer is promising a Bank Holiday if the Three Lions go on and win the whole thing.
Leander Schaerlaeckens
So now what? How are we supposed to think about this supposedly golden generation of the United States men’s national team who have fallen short of expectations at this World Cup on home soil?
How do we come to terms with the sense that this team beat Paraguay 4-1 in their opener – the most impressive performance in the program’s history – but also lost dismally against Belgium by the same scoreline in the last 16?
Next up … Leander Schaerlaeckens considers how to assess the performance of the USMNT at this tournament.
A mere 42 million people in the USA watched their defeat by Belgium, writes Leander: “more than any college football or NBA finals game ever, and more than any baseball game this century”.
A couple of weeks ago, all the talk was of Erling Haaland v Kylian Mbappé in the Norway v France Group I clash. As it turned out, Haaland was benched.
Now all the talk is of Haaland v Harry Kane and Norway v England in Miami. In the absence of any fitness calamities, safe to say both will start.
Refresh your memory of the group stage with Barney Ronay’s report of Norway 1-4 France:
“Does anyone at the World Cup have the defensive strength to deny this hyper-mobile, supremely varied French attack? Not, it turns out, a second-string Norway, who were torn apart in the first half in Boston, as Ousmane Dembélé scored a beautifully precise 25-minute hat-trick en route to a 4-1 win. France now top Group I and will play their last-32 tie in New Jersey on Tuesday. Norway will play Côte d’Ivoire in Texas.
“This was a fun, freewheeling game, with the feel of a tournament formality, big third-place playoff energy. But it wasn’t quite that. Certainly nothing that happened here in the absence of the rested Erling Haaland will help nourish Norway’s late-stage tournament hopes, which are real but tentative, and which can only have been damaged by the sight of France’s attack using the corners of Egil Selvik’s goal for shooting practice in a jarringly open, defensively chaotic first half.”
If you would like to chip in with an email, please send it here.
Tom Garry
An inquest into the death of the Sheffield United midfielder Maddy Cusack has been adjourned again to an unspecified date, nearly three years after she died on 20 September 2023, aged 27.
The hearing, which began on 29 June and has heard eight full days of evidence, had been scheduled to conclude listening to evidence on Friday before the coroner would return to Chesterfield coroner’s court to deliver her conclusions on 27 July, but on Thursday it was confirmed the proceedings had been delayed. It is understood this relates to additional documents having been lodged.
Cheers Will, hello everyone. What is occurring at the World Cup and beyond?
Right then … Luke McLaughlin has been cracking his knuckles for the past half an hour in preparation for his stint on the blog.
I will see you later.
“Is Quansah not playing? Starmer has not called Gianni?” asks Krishnamoorthy.
Not just yet …
No more playful dances. No more taunting social media posts. Belgium is done celebrating its victory over the host United States and hard at work on extending its World Cup run on American soil.
The Red Devils trained in the Los Angeles area on Wednesday with the memory still fresh of their 4-1 thrashing of the Americans in Seattle on Monday. After surviving a test from Senegal with a thrilling comeback and then thoroughly dominating the U.S. in its first two knockout games, Belgium faces its toughest challenge yet against unbeaten Spain in the quarterfinals on Friday.
But this tumultuous World Cup run has sparked something in this Belgian team, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois believes.
“We gained a lot of confidence, because we knew it was going to be a hard game against America,” Courtois said at the LA Galaxy’s suburban stadium. “They’re obviously the home team with a full stadium (that’s) with them, so it’s nice to perform in a good way defensive, offensively, and just play our game.”
Belgium went into the U.S. matchup with a world of indignant motivation after star American forward Folarin Balogun’s one-game red-card suspension was curiously lifted by FIFA . The Red Devils took it out on an outclassed American team and then celebrated gleefully, both on the pitch and in the dressing room.
In the most viral moment, many players did the simplistic dance associated with U.S. President Donald Trump and performed by numerous athletes across the sports world in recent months, including American star Christian Pulisic. AP
Ashifa Kassam
As players in the World Cup shore up their tactics and hone their teamwork skills ahead of the quarter-finals, a chorus of voices have warned that the rise of divisive political rhetoric is translating into an intensifying challenge for players on the pitch: a surge in racism.
“There’s a huge issue,” said Samuel Okafor, the chief executive of Kick It Out, a UK-based organisation that seeks to tackle discrimination in football. “The political climate that we’re facing is clearly finding its way into football. And it’s making a huge difference in the levels of abuse we’re seeing – people are certainly being emboldened now more than ever.”
Jesse Gerritsen on how Norway completely changed their football landscape.
In 2007 the Norges idrettsforbund (NIF), Norway’s governing body for sport, revised the eight “rights” it had first adopted in 1987 to protect the participation, safety and joy of every child playing sport. The rules are mandatory for every coach and club registered with the NIF, and they read like heresy to those embedded in the talent-funnel culture found almost everywhere else in world sport.
Under the age of nine, children play only local club matches. There are no results lists, no league tables and no trophies. Regional competition opens at age 11, though scores and rankings stay off limits. Only at 13 can a Norwegian athlete take part in anything resembling a national championship.
France national team uses ICE deportation planes for World Cup travel
The French men’s national soccer team, whose star Kylian Mbappé is one of the world’s most outspoken athletes against far-right politicians, has been using a charter airplane company that is at the heart of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.
Images of the team posted on social media and flight tracking data show the French team have used Global Crossing Airlines (GlobalX) for at least three domestic flights between their World Cup games and base camp in Boston. That same airline charter company has operated more than half of ICE’s removal flights in 2024 and 2025.
Dan Burn believes England must be far better than they were against Mexico to beat Norway and would relish the challenge of keeping Erling Haaland quiet.
A place in the World Cup semi-finals is on offer in the Miami heat this weekend as the Scandinavian surprise package take on Thomas Tuchel’s men buoyed by last Sunday’s 2-1 victory against Brazil.
England overcame hostility, altitude and Jarell Quansah’s red card later that day to beat Mexico 3-2 at the electric Estadio Azteca, where Burn played a key role off the bench.
The towering defender helped Tuchel’s 10 men batten down the hatches and knows far more is required if they are to avoid an agonising quarter-final exit against Norway.
“It does not surprise us at all how well they’ve done, to be honest,” Burn told talkSPORT. “I saw how well they did in qualification. They had a tough group with Italy in it and topped that, and scored however many goals, so it doesn’t surprise us that they’re doing well, even beating Brazil. I know Brazil were favourites for that but when you’ve got players like Haaland and (Martin) Ødegaard, and people that can affect the game, it doesn’t surprise us that they’re at this stage.
“It is one of them where we’re going to have to be top level all over the pitch and put in probably a lot better performance than we did against Mexico to get through, but it’s something that we’re prepared for.
“The manager had a meeting (Wednesday) morning and sort of said like ‘Mexico is done now’. We’ve sort of sat and took the praise and everything for it, but it means nothing really if we don’t beat Norway.
“Now it’s focusing on that. It’ll be different conditions – we’ll not have the altitude, but we’ll have the heat – and you know with Erling he only needs one touch in the box to score, so everyone’s going to have to be on it.” PA Media
Are we all working on the assumption that England will only make one change for Saturday’s quarter against Norway? With Reece James struggling, one suspects Djed Spence will slot straight in to replace the suspended Jarell Quansah.
Eleven of Manchester United’s first-team players are back in training today. Must be fun mixing it for the kids and waiting for others to be eliminated from the World Cup. This does not feel like it will be the perfect pre-season preparations for many clubs.
People email in every single day asking what Nick Ames is up to, so I will provide the answer …
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
The wonderful Luke Entwistle on France v Morocco and the intertwined existence of the two countries.
When Ayyoub Bouaddi steps on to the pitch in Boston for the World Cup quarter-final on Thursday, he will do so in a Morocco shirt. Just 101 days prior, he was wearing a France kit as he captained the U21 side to a 2-1 win over Iceland in a European Championship qualifier.
Bouaddi had been coveted by Morocco and, speaking before that game, he said he needed some time to consider his international future. “I don’t want to rush things,” added the Lille midfielder. Six weeks later, he was named in the Morocco squad for the World Cup. “A big loss,” is how Hubert Fournier, the technical director of the French national team, described it. “A lost treasure,” said L’Équipe.
Jonathan Liew
Away from the World Cup, Jonathan Liew has reviewed Tottenham’s rather expensive summer transfer business.
Naturally, it would be premature to link the sale of a significant portion of Joe Lewis’s art collection to the lavish summer transfer spending of the football club he owns. But of course money is money, and in a summer where Tottenham Hotspur are spending an unprecedented £230m in the transfer market, funded in large part through cash injections from the Lewis family, the connections make themselves. Are Tottenham’s owners selling off the family heirlooms to pay for Jan Paul van Hecke? And on a wider level, what exactly are the Premier League’s 17th-best club playing at here?
Morgan Rogers has called Ezri Konsa “one of the best centre-backs in football” and has backed his Aston Villa team-mate to keep Erling Haaland quiet in England’s World Cup quarter-final with Norway.
No player has played more minutes under Thomas Tuchel than Konsa, who has opened mainly at centre-back but also in both full-back positions.
He put in a warrior-like performance to help the 10 men of England triumph in the last-16 tie with co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca on Sunday and it comes on the back of several years of high-class performances for Aston Villa.
Rogers, who leans on his Villa team-mate for support, says that Konsa is under-rated and one of the best defenders on show. Asked whether Konsa gets enough credit, Rogers replied: “No, nowhere near. I think he’s one of the best centre-backs in football, if I’m honest, I think at this World Cup.
“I think the ability that he’s got, he can do everything as a centre-back, never gets beaten in the air, strong in the tackle, unbelievable on the ball. Honestly, I don’t know a flaw in his game, and I think that’s helped Villa that probably a bigger club has not taken him in the last few years. I think that’s helped us, because I honestly don’t know a problem in his game, really.
“It’s nice that he gets the recognition and he can compete on the world stage, and everyone can see how good he actually is. I think he does go under the radar massively and in these conversations of the best centre-backs, he is right up there.” PA Media
Jonny Weeks
Our very own Jonny Weeks has been doing clever things with photos from across the World Cup.
Check them out!
The Guardian’s biggest brains have put them together as they ponder some of the biggest questions in World Cup history.
Get in the mood for the quarter finals with some stats.
From xG to sprints, there is something for everyone.
David Smith
Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House’s World Cup taskforce, has defended Donald Trump’s lobbying of Fifa to lift the suspension of US player Folarin Balogun for Monday’s game against Belgium.
The US president claimed that Brazilian referee Raphael Claus, who showed Balogun a red card in the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina, was “a little bit suspect, if you check his past”. This was apparently a reference to a match-fixing investigation by Brazil’s senate in 2024 that examined how referees were assigned to games but did not accuse Claus of wrongdoing.
England defender John Stones was proud of his injury prank that caught out boss Thomas Tuchel during the celebrations of Sunday’s historic win over Mexico.
Stones teamed up with midfielder Declan Rice to dupe Tuchel into thinking he had injured his shoulder in the dressing room. The German, who had just seen Jordan Henderson go to hospital with a wrist injury suffered after the match, shot a worried glance only for the centre-half to break out into a dance.
Tuchel went up to hug and laugh with Stones in a clip that has been viewed almost 40 million times on X.
Jokingly asked how his shoulder was feeling, Stones said in the latest episode of Lion’s Den: “It’s feeling better now, it’s feeling better – it has its ups and downs. I tried to keep a straight face as I was doing it because I saw he (Thomas) was concerned and thinking, ‘has he actually hurt himself?’. Especially after what Hendo (Henderson) had just done outside, he didn’t know what was going to come but it was good vibes in there. I didn’t think it would get that much traction to be fair.”
Stones was encouraged by teammate Elliot Anderson to use the dance as a celebration if he scores in the remainder of the tournament, but he promised a new move. “I’ve got another one coming,” he said. PA Media
Allow Instagram content?
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.
Krishnamoorthy emails: “Good morning. Yesterday felt like the first day after MD 38. Did not know what to do in the evening. If reports are to be believed Argentina / Messi voodoo dolls are the number one items on the online shopping platforms in Egypt.”
I had a very peaceful night, it was nice.
Osasu Obayiuwana
Morocco are looking to create more history, which would take their greatest ever shock.
Over the past six decades, Morocco have achieved several performance milestones for Africa at the World Cup. The first country to qualify directly, for the 1970 finals in Mexico, they returned in 1986 and became the first team from the continent to make the last 16, then made that impressive semi-final run in Qatar four years ago.
Even if the Atlas Lions fail to match their 2022 performance, by losing to France on Thursday , they have made tournament history as the first African team to reach the quarter-finals at successive World Cups.
We shall begin properly by looking ahead to France v Morocco. We must all hope that we are not talking about the match officials come full-time because that would be rather tedious.
Meanwhile, Rob Draper has looked into Michael Olise’s background to find out how he went from Hayes to the world stage.
“We were playing Sparta Prague in the European Under-21 Cup,” Flanagan says. “I got there at half‑time. Michael was about 17 and on the bench. I sat in front of [the former Crystal Palace and West Ham player] Hayden Mullins, who used to work for us and who I got on well with. Michael came on with 17 minutes to go. Within five minutes Hayden leaned over to me and said: ‘Who the fuck is that?!’ I just started laughing. And Hayden said: ‘Come on then, tell me, where did you find this one?’ So I explained the story …”
Collina defends World Cup refereeing
Fifa refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina defended the officiating in Argentina’s 3-2 victory over Egypt in the World Cup round of 16, dismissing allegations of bias and saying match officials operated with complete independence.
In an interview published on inside.fifa.com on Thursday, Collina said criticism of referees was part of football but he condemned the questioning of the officials’ integrity after Egypt complained about the officiating following the defeat.
“Constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina said. “Nobody can question the integrity of the Fifa World Cup match officials … Nobody can claim that Fifa refereeing can be influenced by anyone, not even by the Fifa president (Gianni Infantino).”
Egypt exited the tournament but claimed they had been treated unfairly after Argentina overturned a 2-0 deficit to snatch victory with a stoppage-time winner from Enzo Fernandez.
Coach Hossam Hassan alleged after the match there may have been pressure on the referee to keep Argentina in the tournament. And the Egyptian Football Association said “several key incidents raised serious concerns and left profound questions about the consistency and fairness of decisions that directly influenced the course of the game.”
Egypt argued that Mostafa Zico’s second-half strike was incorrectly ruled out for what it described as a non-existent foul in the build-up. Egypt were also incensed that a challenge on Mohamed Salah was not penalised moments before Argentina launched the move that produced the winning goal.
Collina said VAR had correctly recommended overturning Zico’s goal after identifying a foul by Marwan Attia on Argentina defender Lisandro Martinez during the attacking possession phase. “We believe that a foul is a foul,” Collina said. “Regardless of whether the foul appears ’obvious’, if the referee did not see it on the field of play, the VAR can intervene.”
Collina also defended the decision not to award Egypt a penalty before Argentina’s winner, saying both the referee and VAR judged the contact between Salah and Julian Alvarez to be “normal football contact”. “Stepping on an opponent’s foot is a foul, whereas a defender who touches the ball first and then makes normal football contact has not committed a foul,” he said. Reuters
Preamble
As the Flight of the Conchords once said: “It’s business time.”
The elongated tournament has needlessly been dragged out but it finally feels like the competition has begun in earnest. A few big boys have gone, a few more have been given scares and we are left with eight of the elite.
The first quarter-final is France v Morocco, which feels like fitting way to kick things off. Didier Deschamps’s side have looked the best in class throughout the tournament, even if they did have to suffer to beat a miserable Paraguay side.
Morocco got an easier ride against Canada, which was a fair reward for knocking out Netherlands. This is a huge step up in quality for the Moroccans, who lost to the French in the semi-finals four years ago. On their way to the final four they sent Spain and Portugal packing, so will not be afraid on this occasion.
There will be plenty more aside going on in the USA, which we will keep you abreast of.
