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Key events
Romelu Lukaku continued his comeback for Belgium with 25 minutes off the bench as they enjoyed a 5-0 victory over 10-man Tunisia earlier today.
In Belgium’s final warmup fixture before they head to the United States for the World Cup, Leandro Trossard, Charles De Ketelaere, Kevin De Bruyne, Dodi Lukebakio and Nicolas Raskin scored the goals as Lukaku grabbed an assist.
Lukaku did not make a single start for Napoli in Serie A this season, but is in a race to get fit for the World Cup and netted against Croatia on his return on Tuesday.
More injury news, I’m afraid. This time it is former Brighton man Julio Enciso who has been left waiting nervously on his fitness for Paraguay’s World Cup campaign. The Strasbourg forward was taken off on a stretcher in tears in his national team’s 4-0 warmup victory over Nicaragua in Asuncion.
Paraguay head coach Gustavo Alfaro confirmed Enciso will undergo tests and said he remained “hopeful” that the injury was not muscular.
“Julio suffered two simultaneous injuries; a tight hamstring from impact and then on his waist, which affected his quadriceps area,” Alfaro said. “He was concerned and that’s why he came off.
“When he took the first hit, he signaled to me and I told him to come off. He replied that it was loosening up, but then he took another blow to the waist and that’s when he felt the injury,.
“We hope Julio is all right and he can be ready to return for the opener against the US.”
Paraguay, who’ll play their group matches in California, face the hosts in their Group D opener next Friday in Inglewood before taking on Turkey on 19 June. Australia are the South American nation’s final group stage opponents, when they face off on 25 June at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Unfortunate injury news coming out of the Argentina camp, the AFA has confirmed that Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi will miss the World Cup after suffering a calf injury on his right leg during training.
In a post on X, the AFA said Balerdi has sustained a muscle injury in his right leg that has ruled him out of the tournament. There is no word yet who will replace the 27 year old.
The World Cup guides are coming thick and fast. France is the latest.
That’s all from me today. Tom Bassam is back now for the final stretch of this live blog.
Mexico is planning to increase the police and security presence around Zocalo plaza in Mexico City to ensure the World Cup Fan Fest can go ahead amid growing social unrest and public protests.
Much of the city’s historic centre, including the Catedral Metropolitana and Aztec ruin Templo Mayor, is locked down, but the president Claudia Sheinbaum’s government is adamant that Zocalo will remain open throughout the tournament.
Local reports have claimed that a crowd of up to 100,000 is expected at the official Fifa Fan Fest when Mexico kicks off the World Cup against South Africa at the Azteca Stadium next Thursday, raising security concerns in a city that is in the grip of a wide range of protests.
Be sure to check out The Guardian’s World Cup player guide. Every star set to appear at the tournament this summer has been covered – that is 1,248 in total!
Thomas Tuchel has indicated that Ollie Watkins will be Harry Kane’s understudy during the World Cup, with Ivan Toney seen as more of a wildcard to use in specific situations. All three players could feature at some point when England face New Zealand this evening.
Tuchel said: “I think Ollie is more the guy we need to start for Harry, if we think Harry should not start a match. He can keep the intensity up, to keep the press going.
“Ivan is kind of a finisher for us. Maybe it’s a special task to take the attention off Harry. Then we have a second striker who’s very, very good in the box. He’s a good penalty taker. He trains on a high level. I’m very happy with him. He just showed that it was right to take him. He has a brilliant attitude. We have some options but Harry is, of course, the main guy in front.”
Thiago Rabelo spoke to Brazil legend Romário this week – and the former striker made quite the statement about his playing career…
Some huge names will miss out on the World Cup this summer. Yara El-Shaboury has assembled a starting XI of those absent, including the likes of Gianluigi Donnarumma, Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
Fifa has cancelled World Cup tickets issued to about 60 fans who mistakenly got them for free because of a website error, and soccer’s governing body is now asking for them to be paid in full.
The tickets were “allocated at no charge [0 USD] due to a prior payment issue during the checkout process,” Fifa said in a statement Thursday.
“Fifa regrets the error and any inconvenience caused,” it said. “The tickets requested by these fans remain reserved, and the affected fans have been invited to complete payment of the correct amount.”
It is the latest glitch in an often controversial World Cup ticketing program that the attorneys general of New York and New Jersey are investigating for possible violations of consumer protection laws.
The mispriced tickets were sold through the official World Cup site on 21 May, Fifa said in an email message to buyers. That date was more than three months after Fifa president Gianni Infantino said all 104 World Cup games had sold out.
Have you got your World Cup wall chart yet? Well, if you haven’t, feel free to print this one out in time for kick-off next week!
There are plenty of international friendlies taking place today. Here are some of them…
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Portugal v Chile
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United States v Germany
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Switzerland v Australia
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Brazil v Egypt
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Bolivia v Scotland
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England v New Zealand
Steve Clarke believes Haiti’s routing of New Zealand could be useful as a means of dispelling Scottish arrogance towards their first World Cup opponents. The 4-0 win for Haiti in Florida turned heads in Scotland, when a victory for Clarke’s team over the 82nd-ranked team in the world seen as essential for progression from a Group C that also includes Morocco and Brazil. Scotland take on Haiti in Boston next Saturday.
Marlon is not the only one with a predicted England v France final. Richard says:
“I too have an England/France final.”
Marlon has messaged in after predicting the route to the World Cup final using our Bracketology…
“England beating France in the final. Yeah, right.”
Right, that’s it from me for now. Emillia is back to keep you updated on the latest goings on in football.
Jacob Steinberg
Tuchel confident ‘sharp’ Kane is in perfect form to lead England at World Cup
Thomas Tuchel has said that Harry Kane is in top shape and ready to lead England to glory at the World Cup. The Bayern Munich striker has been short of fitness at previous major tournaments but he has enjoyed a brilliant season in Germany and has looked in peak physical condition in training this week.
England have prepared for the intense heat expected at the World Cup by heading to Florida to acclimatise to the weather and have been working in testing conditions at their pre-tournament base in West Palm Beach.
Tuchel is focused on recovery and knows that the team’s hopes of glory will rest heavily on Kane staying injury-free. The country’s record goalscorer remains a talismanic figure, despite struggling for form and fitness at Euro 2024, and has the backing of his manager before England cross Florida to face New Zealand in Tampa in their first warm-up game on Saturday.
“He looks in top shape,” Tuchel said. “He looks lean, sharp and he trains at the highest level. We had a defensive training session today and he was leading the intensity. He is so used to the high press from Bayern Munich and the intensive game that they play in the opponents’ half. He is leading by example. I think he is in the best shape.
“He is ready to go. We don’t have to be worried about him at all, even if it is hot in June. He has showed me the whole week that he is ready. He is our key player.”
More from Jacob Steinberg in Florida here:
Barney Ronay
Power and glory: World Cup promises a spectacle impossible to ignore
This is the end, of our elaborate plans, the end. Of everything that stands, the end. It seems fitting that football’s latest stopping point on its voyage upriver into the blank parts of the map, a mission so choice that when it’s over you may never want another one, should be a World Cup overseen by a haunted-looking man with a messiah complex, out there operating beyond the pale of acceptable sporting governance, the warrior-poet Swiss lawyer football never knew it needed.
The 2026 World Cup in the US, Mexico and Canada will finally kick off in earnest on 11 June at the Azteca Stadium. From there the tournament will unspool across 39 days, 16 host cities, 104 matches and a 6,000-mile span from Mexico City in the south to Vancouver in the north to Boston in the east. Ten years in the making, the end product of a century of powerplay and hyper-grift, this is by almost any metric not just the largest sporting event ever staged, but the largest event, as we say in America, period.
How football explains the world, part 95. It has been estimated the tournament will generate $80bn (£59.7bn) in global economic output across its full timeline, roughly equivalent to the GDP of Belarus. Basically, if the World Cup were a country someone would have stationed nuclear weapons on it by now. Here we have big sport in its final global form. But also, in the spirit of the times, a spectacle configured in the image of a single opportunist overlord.
This is Gianni Infantino’s world now, a man who carries with him at all times that oddly alluring sense of complete conviction in his own inauthenticity, whirling his arms like a Las Vegas illusionist, doling out favours on a round of applause, beaming piously around the walnut table of power, even as his own peace prize overlord initiates eight separate military actions inside a year, and all the while saying things like joy, love, unity, hope. Or as Shakira might put it, Dai, dai, ikou, dale, allez, let’s go.
Read Barney Ronay’s column in full here:
Here’s a little Süper Lig update for you, Vincenzo Italiano has been appointed coach of Besiktas.
The 48-year-old Italian has agreed a two-year deal to coach the Turkish giants, albeit one that has not won a league title since 2021.
The former coach of Serie A clubs Fiorentina and Bologna, becomes the 11th manager at Besiktas in the past five years, following Frenchman Valerien Ismael, Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Klopp’s agent shoots down ‘annoying’ talk of Real Madrid move
Jürgen Klopp’s agent has dismissed talk of the former Liverpool manager filling the vacant post at Real Madrid should Enrique Riquelme become the club’s next president.
Marc Kosicke rejected Riquelme’s statement that the German, who left Anfield for a job as Red Bull’s head of global football, would become head coach after releasing a statement confirming him as first choice if elected on Sunday.
In a post on social media, Kosicke was quoted as saying: “It’s annoying! Jürgen Klopp is happy in his role at Red Bull and has no ambitions to work as a coach at a club.”
A statement from Riquelme’s office, reported on Sky Sports, read: “We know that Jürgen Klopp has publicly stated that he has no intention of returning to the dugout in the short term, and that he has turned down numerous offers. That is precisely why we believe the challenge of Real Madrid is different. Because there are great clubs, but there is only one Real Madrid. There is only one institution capable of uniting tradition and future, values and ambition, passion and excellence.
“For that reason, if the members grant me their trust this Sunday, on Monday 8 June, Raúl González Blanco [Enrique’s proposed sporting director] will contact Jürgen Klopp to convey to him personally our sporting project and our wish for him to be the one to lead, from the bench, our new era at Real Madrid.”
Some women’s international football to update you on, Australia suffered a shock home defeat against Mexico. Here’s the AAP snap report from Newcastle, New South Wales:
Coach Joe Montemurro bemoaned the Matildas’ bad decision-making in a shock 1-0 added-time loss to Mexico on home soil.
A disjointed Matildas side fluffed their lines in front of goal at McDonald Jones Stadium, while Alice Soto threaded the ball beautifully to help Diana Ordonez nab the match-winner.
World rankings had the full-strength hosts as heavy favourites, with the Matildas welcoming Steph Catley, Emily van Egmond, Mary Fowler and Ellie Carpenter back to the starting lineup for the 15th-ranked side on Saturday night.
But none of Australia’s established stars could find the match-winner from 19 shots at goal to world No.28 Mexico’s 12 in front of 23,167 fans.
It was the Matildas’ first game on home soil since their 1-0 Asian Cup final loss to Japan in March, having pulled off a clean sweep of their FIFA Series matches against Malawi and Kenya in April.
Montemurro’s review of the defeat was simple: “We didn’t score goals.
“The attacking third – I’ve said it many, many times – it’s so difficult to work, to coach because it’s feeling, it’s the moment.
“There are many, many things that happen in those areas and the decisions were wrong. It’s as simple as that.”
And with that, it’s time for me to get some lunch. Tom Bassam will be with you for the next hour.
I have spoken to others who feel the same. Perhaps it may be something to do with the fact the Premier League season ended just two weeks ago, and the Champions League final was just last weekend. Too much football?
I usually love the WC and count down the days until it begins. This time around I genuinely forgot there was a WC looming.
You can also see what Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York City, picked in the video below.
I ended up with Spain win. Let me know what you got.
Before the news broke of David Sullivan’s departure from West Ham, I asked which nation you think will win the World Cup. Jack has messaged in to say:
“I can’t look past Spain for the WC. Quality in depth in every position, mixing pragmatism and skill, coming off the back of a Euros win and an even better Yamal.
“I don’t know whether they can be considered a dark horse but I’d give my underrated team pick to Brazil. Still a deeply flawed team full of trauma, but I think Ancelloti is the exact manager to lead Brazil to the hexa.”
Well, that was a bit of unpredicted news. Anyway, let’s get back to talking all things World Cup.
Of course, if there are any more developments we will bring them to you.
More on Sullivan’s resignation:
David Sullivan’s exit comes almost two weeks after West Ham were relegated from the Premier League. Here is what Jacob Steinberg had to say about that…
West Ham have also released a statement on Sullivan’s resignation.
It reads: “West Ham United can confirm that Joint-Chair David Sullivan has stepped down from his position with immediate effect.
“Mr Sullivan has also resigned as a director of both WH Holding Limited and West Ham United Football Club, having been made aware of the impending publication of serious historic allegations. It is understood none of the allegations relate to West Ham United or any of its operations.
“Through his own legal representatives Mr Sullivan denies any illegal conduct and has taken the decision to step down in order to avoid disruption to the Club while he addresses the matter privately.
“Interim Chief Executive Officer Karim Virani, reporting into the current Board of Directors, will continue to be responsible for leading the Club’s day-to-day operations. The Club will provide an update on the future structure of the Board of Directors in due course, but will make no further comment at this time.”
The full statement from David Sullivan:
“I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published.
“The false allegations levelled against me have been sensationalised by the media. After a lifetime spent building businesses in the adult industry in which I have met thousands of women, it is sadly inevitable that a small number of improper conduct claims are being made against me. I categorically deny these claims.
“I am a private man, and those who personally and professionally know the real David Sullivan, not the caricature invented by the tabloids, know exactly who I am and what I stand for. I am absolutely not the person the media has decided to paint me as.
“I have not been provided with any proper explanation as to how these individuals or their claims were independently verified or assessed for credibility prior to publication. I believe that the entire process has been fundamentally unfair and completely lacking in any due impartiality. I will be suing the BBC for libel, along with any other media outlet that repeats any libelous allegations.
“None of these allegations relate to my more than 30 years in football; West Ham United has been one of the greatest passions and privileges of my life. I care deeply about the club, its supporters, its players, its staff, and its future. At what is already a challenging and important time for the club, I refuse to allow personal matters concerning me to become an unnecessary distraction or a source of instability.
“Therefore, after very careful consideration and with a heavy heart, I have decided to resign as Joint-Chair and Director of West Ham United FC with immediate effect.
“This has been an incredibly painful decision to make, but it is one made out of love, respect, and responsibility toward a football club and a fan base that deserve absolute unity and focus moving forward.
“I am stepping down to apply my full energy and attention on fighting these false allegations. I have officially engaged my legal team and we are preparing to issue legal proceedings in respect of each and every false complaint that has been made against me. I will be seeking full redress, legally and publicly, on every single front.
“As I depart, I want to thank everyone connected with West Ham United, past and present, for the loyalty, friendship, memories and European adventures and successes that I will carry with me forever. West Ham United will always remain close to my heart, and I have total confidence that the Board of Directors and interim Chief Executive Officer Karim Virani will do everything they can to take the club forward in the right direction. I wish everyone connected with the club every success in the future.
“I will not be making further public comment at this stage, but I reserve all legal rights available to me in relation to any false or defamatory allegations.”
David Sullivan steps down as West Ham chairman
David Sullivan has announced his resignation as joint-chair and director of West Ham with immediate effect in a statement.
He said: “I have recently become aware that factually incorrect and entirely false, decades-old allegations concerning my personal life are due to be broadcast and published…”
Speaking of predictions, you can guess the pathways to the final with our special bracketology page. Be sure to save it for the tournament so that you can see how you got on.
As always, feel free to message in today with any thoughts, feelings and observations. You can also leave a comment below the line.
Today’s question is: Who will win the World Cup?
Iran has slammed World Cup co-hosts the United States over what it called “discriminatory treatment” by not granting visas for some members of the Iranian national team’s delegation to attend the tournament.
Fifa has again amended its water bottle policy for the World Cup in North America, allowing fans to bring in one sealed, disposable 20-ounce (590ml) bottle into stadiums.
Ticket holders had previously been permitted an empty, transparent and reusable bottle up to one litre but an update earlier this week confirmed reusable bottles were no longer permitted.
Thomas Tuchel admitted he was “a little bit worried” about the state of the pitch that his England stars will be playing on when they face New Zealand tonight. A photo of the patchy playing surface went viral on social media this week, sparking concern from fans.
Meanwhile, Tuchel said: “It will not affect my team selection because what I have heard until now is that it should be OK and we want it, of course, to be OK.
“I saw just a photo from a colleague that made me a little bit worried and concerned, but let’s decide when we are there. If there are any issues, we can always react to it. The plan is tomorrow to play 45, 45 minutes with two complete teams, to expose everyone to the same amount of minutes.
“Then we can continue the next three days with the same load of training. That is the plan, and at the moment we stick to the plan.”
Thomas Tuchel has claimed that Harry Kane is ready to lead England to glory at the World Cup. The Bayern Munich striker has been short of fitness at previous major tournaments but looks in peak physical condition in the build-up to this one.
Tuchel said: “He looks in top shape. He looks lean, sharp and he trains at the highest level. We had a defensive training session today and he was leading the intensity. He is so used to the high press from Bayern Munich and the intensive game that they play in the opponents’ half. He is leading by example. I think he is in the best shape.
“He is ready to go. We don’t have to be worried about him at all, even if it is hot in June. He has showed me the whole week that he is ready. He is our key player.”
Tom Garry
As the game ticked into second-half stoppage time, Spain were almost showboating, Aitana Bonmatí flicking the ball around the pitch with grace, style and a swagger that sent out an emphatic message: Spain are significantly better than England.
On a balmy evening in Palma, the world champions taught the European champions a painful lesson. The scoreline was one thing but, more alarmingly, the undeniable gulf in technical ability between the teams gave the Lionesses a brutal reality check, a year out from the Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Sarina Wiegman admitted she “expected a different game” between the Lionesses and Spain last night. The England manager said: “Of course it hurts. I expected a totally different game. I expected a very tight game, a very competitive game, but it was different tonight, so that’s of course really disappointing and that hurts.”
She went on to add: “We were really struggling to keep the ball and find the passes further away or in behind. They played really well and we didn’t play so well. Out of possession, we were really struggling to stay compact, especially in our own half … our connections weren’t so good and they found the space we left straight away.”
Some stats/facts for you on last night’s game:
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It was England’s heaviest defeat in 17 years. They had not lost by a four-goal margin since the Euro 2009 final – a 6-2 loss to Germany.
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It was the first time the Lionesses had conceded four goals in a World Cup qualifier.
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Prior to the match, England had not lost a qualifier since November 2002.
Let’s start by looking back at what happened last night. England suffered their worst defeat under Sarina Wiegman in a 4-0 thrashing by Spain. If you missed it, be sure to read the match report below…
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! England kick off their final World Cup preparations with a warm-up match against New Zealand tonight. The Three Lions arrived in Florida on Monday and have been acclimatising to the (very) warm weather. Some concerns have already been raised about the pitch they will play on, however. We will touch on that a bit more later on.
Meanwhile, the Lionesses suffered a dent in their World Cup qualification hopes last night with a 4-0 loss to Spain. England needed just a draw from the clash to punch their ticket to Brazil, but they will now likely have to go through additional qualifiers.
Scotland are also in action later today as they face Bolivia. We’ll be looking ahead to that as we get closer to kick-off.
All of that and more to come!
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