Players of Japan pose for a team photo before during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F match between Japan and Sweden at Dallas Stadium on June 25, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP Sweden salvaged a 1-1 draw with Japan as both sides confirmed their progress to the World … Read more
Players line up before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group F match between Tunisia and Netherlands at Kansas City Stadium on June 25, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP The Netherlands overcame sorry Tunisia 3-1 on Thursday to top World Cup Group F, avoiding a tricky encounter with Brazil … Read more
Ivory Coast’s Nicolas Pepe in action with Curacao’s Leandro Bacuna Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Nicolas Pepe’s double sealed Ivory Coast’s first trip to the World Cup elimination rounds with a 2-0 victory over Curacao on Thursday (June 25, 2026) to finish second in Group E. For manager Emerse Fae, the feat ends a wait … Read more
Germany’s Joshua Kimmich in action with Ecuador’s Nilson Angulo on June 25, 2026 | Photo Credit: Reuters An increasingly desperate Ecuador stunned Germany 2-1 in their final Group E game on Thursday (June 25, 2026) to drag their World Cup campaign out of the flames and qualify for a place in the last 32. Needing … Read more
General view inside the stadium as both teams line up during the national anthems before the match on June 25, 2026 | Photo Credit: Reuters This live blog is now closed Nicolas Pepe scored twice as Ivory Coast beat Curacao 2-0 on Thursday to reach the World Cup knockout rounds for the first time ever … Read more
A Mexican fan carries Merlin the duck in Mexico City on June 18, 2026. Merlin is a two-year-old duck that captured the country’s attention when it appeared on the street wearing the national team’s jersey alongside its owner, a street vendor. | Photo Credit: AFP One of the biggest folk heroes of this World Cup, … Read more
The technology’s value was evident when the France-Iraq clash was delayed due to rain. | Photo Credit: Reuters For nearly 90 minutes, Cape Verde frustrated Spain. Spain, one of the tournament favourites, unleashed 27 shots and dominated possession, yet the scoreboard at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta read 0-0 at full-time. It was one of … Read more
General view inside the stadium as Ecuador and Germany players line up during the national anthems before the match on June 25, 2026 | Photo Credit: Reuters This live blog is now closed. Ecuador beat Germany 2-1 on Thursday to reach the World Cup knockout phase for the second time, while Ivory Coast saw off … Read more
The strangest journeys are not made by people but by affections. They cross oceans without passports, survive languages they do not speak and arrive in places they were never expected to reach. Somewhere along that improbable route, Lionel Messi travelled from Rosario to a narrow lane in Ichhapur, where a tea seller painted his house … Read more
Mexico players throw Guillermo Ochoa in the air as they celebrate his first appearance in his sixth World Cup. | Photo Credit: Reuters In the 77th minute, finally, it was Guillermo Ochoa’s time. Supporters had chanted for the legendary goalkeeper as he entered the pitch for warmups on Wednesday (June 25, 2026). They shouted “Memo” … Read more
Brazil’s Neymar Jr. celebrates with Vinicius Junior after the World Cup match against Scotland, on June 24, 2026 | Photo Credit: Imagn Images via REUTERS Carlo Ancelotti told Brazil fans to keep their feet on the ground after Neymar made his long-awaited World Cup return and Vinicius Jr sparkled again as the five-times champions swept … Read more
Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi (9) and Gessime Yassine (16) celebrate with others after Yassine scored his side’s fourth goal during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Morocco and Haiti in Atlanta, on June 24, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP Soufiane Rahimi and Gessime Yassine came off the bench to help Morocco rally for a … Read more
South Africa’s Thapelo Maseko celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s first goal during the World Cup Group A match against South Korea in Guadalupe, near Monterrey, Mexico, on June 24, 2026 | Photo Credit: AP South Africa celebrated a first World Cup knockout berth with jubilant scenes on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) after Thapelo … Read more
Mexico’s Alvaro Fidalgo celebrates scoring his side’s third goal against Czechia during a World Cup Group A match in Mexico City, on June 24, 2026 | Photo Credit: AP Mexico continued their perfect start to the World Cup with a 3-0 romp against a hapless Czech Republic on Wednesday, finishing their group-stage campaign with a … Read more
Brazil’s Vinicius Junior celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during the World Cup Group C match against Scotland in Miami Gardens, Florida, on June 24, 2026 | Photo Credit: AP Brazil sambaed their way into the World Cup knockout stages with a commanding 3-0 win over Scotland on Wednesday (June 24, 2026), as Vinicius … Read more
Mateo Chávez and Julián Quiñones scored goals in six minutes early in the second half, and Mexico beat the Czech Republic 3-0 on Wednesday night (June 24, 2026) to win all three of its World Cup group-stage matches for the first time. The 22-year-old Chávez, in his first World Cup, opened the scoring in the … Read more
South Africa advanced to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time with a 1-0 victory over South Korea on Wednesday night (June 24, 2026). Thapelo Maseko scored in the 63rd minute off a precise cross from Tshepang Moremi and South Africa finished in second place in Group A behind Mexico, which … Read more
Canada’s Derek Cornelius in action with Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi and Remo Freuler on June 24, 2026. Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Rubén Vargas and Johan Manzambi both scored to give Switzerland a 2-1 victory over Canada on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) at the World Cup as both teams advanced to the knockout round. Promise David … Read more
Qatar’s Pedro Miguel in action with Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Sead Kolasinac at Seattle Stadium, Seattle, Washington, U.S. on June 24, 2026 | Photo Credit: Reuters Bosnia-Herzegovina eliminated Qatar and boosted its chances of advancing at the World Cup with a 3-1 victory in a Group B match on Wednesday (June 24, 2026). With the victory, … Read more
Haiti’s Lenny Joseph (16) celebrates after Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, right, scored an own goal during the World Cup Group C soccer match between Morocco and Haiti in Atlanta, on June 24, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP (This live blog is now closed) Morocco came from behind twice in a highly entertaining first half before … Read more
Ben Gannon-Doak #17 of Scotland competes for the ball against Lucas Paqueta #20 of Brazil during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group C match between Scotland and Brazil at Miami Stadium on June 24, 2026 in Miami Gardens, Florida. | Photo Credit: Getty Images via AFP (This live blog is now closed) Vinicius Junior scored … Read more
Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi (9) celebrates after scoring during the World Cup Group B soccer match between Switzerland and Canada in Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 24, 2026 | Photo Credit: AP This live blog is now closed. Ruben Vargas and Johan Manzambi struck second-half goals for Switzerland as they beat Canada 2-1 on Wednesday to … Read more
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Edin Dzeko, Ermedin Demirovic, Ivan Basic and Esmir Bajraktarevic celebrate their second goal an own goal scored by Qatar’s Sultan Albrake. Photo: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters This liveblog is now closed Bosnia and Herzegovina kept their World Cup dreams alive and ended Qatar’s in a 3-1 Group B victory rich in incident, … Read more
It is the fifth minute of stoppage time. There is a 1-0 lead to protect. There is qualification for the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup to seal. With barely a minute left for the final whistle, the practical thing for mere mortals to do would be to take the ball to a distant … Read more
Iran’s ISNA news agency, citing the federation, said team members were waiting for Mehdi Taremi (pictured) and assistant coach Saeed Alhoei to rejoin the group. File. | Photo Credit: Reuters U.S. host officials “caused problems” for Iran forward Mehdi Taremi and assistant coach Saeed Alhoei, delaying their delegation as they travelled to Seattle for the … Read more
Formally dressed in a traditional Qatari bisht, Dr. Nasser Mohamed strolled past a crowd of several hundred people outside Chase Center as the England-CroatiaFIFA World Cup match was shown high above on the big screen. His gold-and-black robe featured a flourish: rainbow piping down each sleeve and the words “love” and “freedom” written in Arabic. … Read more
Pele is the youngest player to score a goal, youngest to score a hat-trick and youngest to score a goal in final in the history World Cup Football. Published – June 24, 2026 05:05 pm IST Read Comments Copy link Email Facebook Twitter Telegram LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit
Ronaldo netted a brace against Uzbekistan. | Photo Credit: Reuters For about eight months, the goals had stopped coming in international football. By Cristiano Ronaldo’s standards, that drought felt almost unnatural. His last international goal had come on October 14, 2025, against Hungary, and after a below-par performance in Portugal’s opening World Cup game against … Read more
Sweden’s Alexander Isak, right, celebrates with Viktor Gyokeres after he scored to put Sweden up 3-1 during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Sweden and Tunisia in Guadalupe, near Monterrey, Mexico, Sunday, June 14, 2026. | Photo Credit: AP Group F remains delicately poised heading into the final round of matches in the … Read more
Argentina’s Lionel Messi. File | Photo Credit: AP The FIFA World Cup 2026 group stages are turning out to be a goal fest. Also read | FIFA World Cup 2026: Messi breaks all-time scoring record with 17th goal Lionel Messi’s first goal in Argentina’s match against Austria saw him overtake Miroslav Klose as the tournament’s … Read more