2 hours ago
11
Key events
Some non-World Cup news but it could be big for the Premier League season next campaign:
These are the teams who have qualified for the last 32 so far:
-
Argentina
-
France
-
Germany
-
Mexico
-
Norway
-
USA
-
Colombia
-
Canada
-
Switzerland
-
Brazil
-
Morocco
-
South Africa
-
Bosnia and Herzegovina
-
Côte d’Ivoire
-
Ecuador
-
Netherlands
-
Japan
-
Sweden
-
Australia
The US team may have topped the group but they lost their final group match 3-2 against Turkey. Mauricio Pochettino pushed back against criticism levied at him in the press conference, read more:
A new edition of the Football Daily is here and ready for you to consume the reaction to the latest twists and turns at the tournament:
'We could call it racist', Fae on Schweinsteiger's comments
Côte d’Ivoire qualified for the World Cup knockout stage for the first time yesterday after a brilliant 2-0 performance against Curaçao. In the press conference after the achievement though, manager Emerse Fae was asked about comments made by former German player Bastian Schweinsteiger.
Schweinsteiger spoke about Côte d’Ivoire before Germany’s win over them in the group stage and said on their style of play:
“A bit African football, a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics. We must be prepared for it to be unpredictable.
Fae said in response to the comments:
I think it’s sad. Schweinsteiger was a very good player; I have always loved him as a midfielder and the way he understood football. When I heard his comments, I was disappointed in the man.
It is odd he would speak that way. We could call it racist, if we were calling a spade a spade. I don’t agree with him, but I have no other solution other than to work with things as they are. All I can show is that on the pitch African teams are not just physical, we are technical and tactical.
I can only hope it is a clumsy statement, rather than something going on in his mind. If that’s what he thinks, he is free to do so.
Schweinsteiger has not addressed the backlash over his comments publicly, according to reports.
Senegal need a big win over Iraq to ensure they are through to the knockout stage with their tournament not going quite to plan yet. The two will play later on with a kick-off of 8pm BST/3pm ET/7pm GMT.
Goal celebrations are also individual to the player so if you were to be in a World Cup squad and scored for your country, what celebration would you do? Email me and let me know.
Australia are also through to the last 32 and here is how some of their fans have been supporting them:
Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland will go head-to-head later on as France take on Norway and they have both scored the same amount of goals so far this tournament with four. They could go top of the Golden Boot standings this evening but who is currently there? Have a look:
Ecuador fans’ nerves will be eased for now but that is not the case for all the nations yet as all of the knockout spots have not been allocated. Here is how the third-place spots are shaking out:
Ecuador's national holiday for reaching last 32
Ecuador fans were celebrating their team’s emphatic win over Germany to secure a spot in the last 32 anyway but they have been given an added sweetner of a national holiday.
The country’s president Daniel Noboa said on X: “Thanks to the players and the coach who, despite the criticism, the insults, and the tough moments they went through, managed to recover and give this immense joy to the entire country. Tomorrow, a holiday!”
Ecuador have qualified as one of the best eight third-placed teams, reaching the World Cup knockout stages for only the second time. They last reached the stage at the 2006 tournament in Germany.
England fans, this may bring back some painful memories. Thirty years ago England were knocked out of Euros 96, relive it if you dare:
Ben Fisher
Iran and Egypt attempted to sidestep questions about their reluctance to take part in the designated “Pride Match” celebrating the LGBTQ+ community in Seattle, as Fifa confirmed it will permit rainbow flags to be displayed inside the stadium.
Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has been at pains to make clear planned festivities are being arranged by Seattle’s organising committee to coincide with the annual Pride weekend and that they have “nothing to do with the match itself”.
Barney Ronay
Thank goodness this is Dallas and not Gijon. There was ultimately no disgrace in a draw that served everyone, even if one might have forgiven Graham Potter and Hajime Moriyasu for shaking hands at half-time. At that point most onlookers may have fancied calling it all off too but a much sparkier second half served up two moments to cherish and left Sweden, who had risked throwing such a promising campaign away, certain of a spot in the last 32.
Sweden secured their place in the last 32 but Anthony Elanga, who scored against Japan, forgot a draw would see them through. Cameras caught him looking sad after the final whistle and manager Graham Potter explained:
It couldn’t have been any clearer for him, so he’s obviously thinking about something else. Bless him.
So yesterday’s results saw five more teams qualify for the knockout stage and you can catch up on all of the action across the reports:
Here is that piece for you now:
Preamble
Hello and welcome to today’s World Cup news blog where we will recap yesterday’s action, as well as teeing up today’s games and any news that drops in between.
Several teams qualified for the knockout stage yesterday including Sweden and Côte d’Ivoire. The implications of those has seen teams like Scotland are hanging on by a thread to remain in the competition.
Côte d’Ivoire will play either Norway or France as they finished runner-up in their group and their opponent will be decided later on as the two teams go head-to-head. The match up all eyes will be on though is between Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé.
The two strikers will want to make the difference for their squads and there is a great piece on that which I will share with you soon. Let’s go.
