World Cup 2026: England to face DRC, South Korea president blasts team – as it happened
Key events
Time to sign off – but join Daniel Harris later for live coverage of South Africa v Canada as the knockout stages begin. Thanks for joining us, and bye for now. We’ll leave you with the latest Football Daily.
Refreshment news from the England camp.
CoreCtrl is an electrolyte-based powder taken with water designed to support the body’s natural thermoregulation by adding the key ingredient L-taurine, a naturally occurring amino acid-like compound. Scientists have found that L-taurine helps reduce the temperature at which the human body begins to sweat, facilitating heat loss.
There are suggestions, as yet unconfirmed, that Manuel Ugarte, a player Manchester United expected to sell this summer, has torn a cruciate ligament. That’s a huge blow for player and club if correct.
It’s a World Cup of diasporas, and here’s a report from Sydney on Algeria’s fans.
Just before half-time, cheers can be heard coming from upstairs, to the confusion of those downstairs. The live stream is behind. After a minute the goal is finally shown: the cafe jumps for joy and a chant of “one, two, three, we love Algeria” roars from both floors of the cafe.
This could be a considerable vote winner.
It looks like the president of South Korea has thrown down the gauntlet. Quite impressive, that. Should we expect a very public rant from Andy Burnham if England fail to beat Congo on Wednesday?
Jonathan Wilson has run the rule over the wider implications of “the 32”.
The question of whether a side from outside Europe or South America could win the World Cup has been asked with increasing urgency since Cameroon reached the quarter-finals in 1990 and Nigeria and Cameroon claimed Olympic gold in 1996 and 2000. At this tournament, the two most credible candidates take on members of the incumbent elite in the last 32 on Monday: Japan play Brazil and Morocco the Netherlands (who, despite never having won the World Cup, have been in three finals and, by dint of geography and economics, are still representative of the old order).
Japan and Morocco impressed in the buildup and have – broadly speaking – maintained their form in the group stage, but they have reached this point via very different routes.
Huge news from the world of cricket, follow it here.
The bookmaker, Stake, has published a social media post stating that Canadian rap star Drake has placed $770,000 on Canada to beat South Africa at odds of 1.30, to win $1,001,000.
(By little coincidence, Drake receives an endorsement of $100 million per annum from the gambling firm Stake as an ambassador of the online casino.)
The Press Association has published its selection of candidates to succeed Steve Clarke as Scotland managers.
Always handy to have, where to watch the start of the knockouts.
Iran had originally planned to have a senior federation official speak at the team’s training session on Saturday night. That appearance was canceled after DR Congo’s comeback. Then the training session itself was called off entirely. Just like that, 2026 Team Melli had played their last moments as a team.
The knockouts begin, and here come penalties. Will they be required when Canada play South Africa in the first game of “the 32”.
One of the studies with the largest sample — more than 1,700 penalties across four seasons from 2015-16 to 2018-19 — is a 2020 paper published in the International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport.
The lead author, Mikael Jamil, and his colleagues compared the effectiveness of a wide range of techniques and other factors on penalty success across the top men’s divisions in England, Spain, Germany and Italy. One of the most interesting findings was that effective techniques actually varied depending on the country – for example, shots down the middle were statistically associated with successful penalties in the Premier League, but in La Liga, the bottom-left and bottom-right corners were the hotspots.
Transfer news: Brighton have agreed a deal with Leeds for defender Pascal Struijk, according to reports. The Seagulls are looking to strengthen again following the sale of centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke to Tottenham in a £52million deal.
Struijk, who joined Leeds from Ajax in January 2018, made 34 appearances in the Premier League last season. A deal between the two clubs in the region of £20m is widely reported to have been agreed. Brighton declined to comment when contacted by the Press Association on Sunday afternoon. (PA Media)
As Billy suggested, the early favourite for the Scotland job is Ange Postecoglou, who would be the classic choice of a manager diametrically opposite to the predecessor. Considering the midfield talent the Scots boast, then attack seems the better option than defence.
Good afternoon, how are your predictions going? Cape Verde the coupon busters, as are the exits of South Korea, Uruguay and perhaps Turkey.
That’ll do from me. John Brewin takes the reins.
We’ve had some suggestions for Scotland’s new manager …
Come on Scotland the Moyesiah is ready and waiting for a call.
Don’t be shy now.
Big Sam with his 100% international record is the only manager who can rescue Scotland from Clarkeball…..
Surely’s it’s Ange Postecoglou, right?
Last 32 schedule – in full
Here’s what’s coming up over the next six days …
Today
South Africa v Canada, Los Angeles (noon local time, 8pm BST, 5am AEST)
Monday
Brazil v Japan, Houston (noon local, 6pm BST, 3am AEST)
Germany v Paraguay, Boston (4.30pm local, 9.30pm BST, 6.30am AEST)
Netherlands v Morocco, Monterrey (5pm local, 2am BST, 11am AEST)
Tuesday
Côte d’Ivoire v Norway, Dallas (noon local, 6pm BST, 3am AEST)
France v Sweden, New York (5pm local, 10pm BST, 7am AEST)
Mexico v Ecuador, Mexico City (5pm local, 2am BST, 11am AEST)
Wednesday
England v DR Congo, Atlanta (noon local, 5pm BST, 2am AEST)
Belgium v Senegal, Seattle (1pm local, 8pm BST, 5am AEST)
USA v Bosnia and Herzegovina, San Franciso (5pm local, 1am BST, 10am AEST)
Thursday
Spain v Austria, Los Angeles (noon local, 8pm BST, 5am AEST)
Portugal v Croatia, Toronto (7pm local, 12am BST, 9am AEST)
Switzerland v Algeria, Vancouver (8pm local, 4am BST, 1pm AEST)
Friday
Australia v Egypt, Dallas (1pm local, 7pm BST, 4am AEST)
Argentina v Cape Verde, Miami (6pm local, 11pm BST, 8am AEST)
Colombia v Ghana, Kansas City (8.30pm local, 2.30am BST, 11.30am AEST)
Guadalajara is the first host city to bow out, having only been slated for four group games. Philadelphia will host a last-16 tie.
“Nice little fact,” writes Louise on email, “Brian Brobbey (Netherlands) and Derrick Luckassen (Ghana) are the first brothers to score for different countries at the WC.”
This is news to me, I have to say – but very interesting. Other pairs of brothers to score at the same World Cup are …
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Ottmar and Fritz Walter (West Germany, 1954)
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Willy and Rene van de Kerkhof (Netherlands, 1978)
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Michael and Brian Laudrup (Denmark, 1998)
Sócrates (1982) and Raí (1994) scored for Brazil at different tournaments.
More shouts for goal(s) of the tournament so far …
Highlights for me include Mbappé’s second against Senegal. Sorry I know it’s just what he does so no big deal. But I just loved it.
Also, if you’re looking for power the two scored by P.Gueye are strong contenders for being erm strong.
We watched Senegal/Iraq instead of France after the Norway teamsheet came out. Incidentally Iraq defended the cut ins from the right better than Norway did against Dembélé I reckon but they were just too good (one was Gueye’s first and the other one by Ndiaye was really good). I dont think anything could have stopped Gueye’s second one either it was going so fast. Vital goals too as it turned out…
Croatia’s first against us was quality. I’m pretty sure I went woooaah when that went in. aside from that…..
McGinn’s rocket does it for me.
-sighs-
Are there any players you have really enjoyed watching who you didn’t know befo
re?
May have already been mentioned in the comments, but Ayyoub Bouaddi, the 18 year old Moroccan defensive midfielder has been an absolute revelation.
A popular answer, for sure.
More from the South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, and his tirade against the national team setup on X, per Reuters …
He appears to hit out at the head coach, Hong Myung-bo, after his team’s group stage exit.
I am not just taken aback by this unexpected outcome, I am utterly baffled.
Once again, it has been proven that personnel decisions are everything. When ‘us versus them’ is prioritised over competence, and an incompetent person is selected as a leader, the outcome is as clear as day.
The reason such botched appointments – which fail to distinguish between public and private interests and prioritise personal gain over the public good – are possible is that it is impossible or difficult to monitor, check, and hold those with appointment authority accountable.
The failure to qualify … which has left the public feeling disheartened, appears to be the result of organisational and personnel failures.
I ask that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism thoroughly investigate the exact circumstances of this incident, analyse its causes, and develop measures to prevent recurrence and ensure improvement.
There have been so many games it’s not easy to keep up/remember them all.
So, can anyone think of a better goal in the group stage than Isidor’s thunderbastard for Haiti v Morocco ?
Kevin Pina’s free-kick for Cape Verde against Uruguay, even if 40-year-old Fernando Muslera was in goal?
Both of Kylian Mbappé’s goals against Senegal were very nice, for different reasons.
As consolations go, Ermin Mahmic for Bosnia and Herzegovina against Switzerland was pretty wonderful.
News summary
Here’s what’s happened in the last 12 hours or so …
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Steve Clarke has resigned as Scotland head coach after their World Cup exit was confirmed
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DR Congo set up a last-32 date with England after qualifying as a best third-place team with a win over Uzbekistan
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Colombia held Portugal to send Roberto Martínez’s side on a collision course with Spain on the other side of the draw
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Iran and South Korea were knocked out after Austria’s late equaliser in their 3-3 draw with Algeria sent both teams through
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The South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, apologised to the country after their exit in scathing remarks about the team
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Argentina’s Lionel Messi extended his lead in the Golden Boot standings with a goal off the bench against Jordan
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Switzerland and Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka is attracting interest from Chelsea
To answer that question about which ‘unknown’ has impressed, in that first Canada match I was asking myself who is this Ismaël Koné, I want him in my team (Liverpool).
And then that happened.
Oh, man. Mind you, I think Anderlecht’s Nathan Saliba has done a very good job filling in for him in midfield.
Henderson: ‘Very special’ to play at record fourth World Cup
Jordan Henderson became the first England player to play at four men’s World Cups when he came on against Panama. The 36-year-old came on as a late substitute in Saturday’s 2-0 win which ensured England progressed as Group L winners, setting up a last-32 tie with DR Congo.
Henderson made his World Cup bow in 2014 when Roy Hodgson’s side crashed out at the group stage but was then involved in runs to the semi-finals in 2018 and quarter-finals four years later.
“Time goes very quickly,” he said. “It’s very special to represent my country at four World Cups. I’m just delighted to be a part of this team and it’s still as special now as it was when I made my debut.”
England did what they needed to get out of a tricky group as winners, securing a safer-looking path to the latter stages than had they finished second.
“Knockout football is just about staying calm in this moment, believing in what we’ve achieved so far to get here,” Henderson said.
“We’ve got an incredible squad of players, it’s been a decent start in the group. Winning the group is not easy, so first and foremost I think the lads deserve a bit of credit for that. Now we’re starting the business end, knockout football, it’ll only get tougher from here.” PA Media
Golden Boot: Here are the standings after the group stage …
And there are new names at the top of the all-time list this tournament …
Knockout teams by confederation
Here’s how many teams from each confederation have made it through to the knockouts. Europe and South America have done well but Africa perhaps the most impressive. Asia, not so much.
A reminder – Australia are part of the Asian confederation and have been since 2006.
Europe (Uefa)
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Through to last 32 – 13/16
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Eliminated – 3/16 (Czechia, Scotland and Turkey)
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Qualification rate – 81%
South America (Conmebol)
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Through to last 32 – 5/6
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Eliminated – 1/6 (Uruguay)
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Qualification rate – 83%
Africa (Caf)
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Through to last 32 – 9/10
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Eliminated – 1/10 (Tunisia)
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Qualification rate – 90%
Asia (AFC)
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Through to last 32 – 2/9
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Eliminated – 7/9 (Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Uzbekistan)
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Qualification rate – 22%
North America (Concacaf)
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Through to last 32 – 3/6 (all three co-hosts)
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Eliminated – 3/6 (Curaçao, Haiti and Panama)
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Qualification rate – 50%
Oceania (OFC)
Some England chat BTL …
Thoughts from last night’s game:
Firstly, Panama played well. They were over-matched but they showed it is possible to defend solidly against a superior team, yet still be positive. It was infinitely better to watch than Tuesday’s dross.
For England…
1. We desperately need Reece James back.
2. O’Rielly as inverted fb leaves us vulnerable to quick counters. Someone will exploit that.
3. Saka and Rashford were miles better than Gordon and Madueke.
4. I was not at all clear who was playing where in midfield in this game. It was Lampard / Gerrard, The Revenge. We need Rice back.
5. Speaking of Gerrard, Jude Bellingham is the player Stevie G *thought* he was.
I sense Tuchel is a little frustrated. I think by the way he has set up the team and talked that he wants to free them (primarily from themselves), but it seems England still plays a little timdly. The ball that should go forward gets sent sideways or backwards, and players appear unwilling to take risks. This could be a Premiership team´s approach to a long season and fine margins, but I think Tuchel understands that a knockout competition requires players to release themselves from the seasonal mindset and start taking some calculated risks…It´s not happening at the moment. the defence looks shaky and I am not sure what is wrong with Pickford: all windmill arms and nervous energy…
When Harry Kane broke Rooney’s goal record we had a chat in the pub about how many he could score. 75 was about as far as anyone would go. He is just 8 shy of 90 now and still hasn’t played as many games as Rooney did.
Nobody alive will see that record broken when he finally stops playing for his country. Every goal he scores from now on, enjoy it. Because you will never see his like again in an England shirt.
Harry Kane – England’s greatest World Cup striker?
South Korean president hits out at ‘incompetent people’ in team setup after exit
South Korea’s turbulent World Cup ended at the group phase on Saturday. After three days of anxious waiting to see if they would squeeze into the knockout rounds as one of the eight third-placed finishers, results went against South Korea to send them home.
Hong Myung-bo’s side had the last 32 within grasp only to suffer a shock 1-0 loss to lower-ranked South Africa on Wednesday. Hong caused a surprise when he dropped the attacking talisman Son to the bench in a gamble that backfired.
The criticism back home has been fierce, with Hong firmly in the firing line. Yonhap News Agency called South Korea’s premature exit “dismal”.
“The national team suffered the humiliation of a 2026 World Cup group-stage exit after three days of agonising hope,” Yonhap said.
The South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, weighed in on the team’s elimination, taking direct aim at head coach Hong and questioning the selection process that put him in charge.
“When loyalty and factionalism are valued over competence, and incompetent people are appointed to leadership positions, the outcome is all but inevitable,” Lee said in a post on X.
“I offer my deepest apologies to the public for the profound disappointment caused by this unacceptable outcome. We will move swiftly to reform sports administration to ensure that nothing like this happens again.”
South Korea’s tournament was overshadowed by a row between the squad and local media, while a drone also buzzed a crucial training session before the Mexico defeat.
Son Heung-min, who now plays for Los Angeles FC, has hinted in the past at international retirement. The daily Sports Chosun expects that to be it now for the captain, who has carried South Korea so often and scored 56 goals for his country. “Son Heung-min’s final World Cup ends in heartbreak,” a headline said. He turns 34 next month. AFP
I love the btl here. You still get rabid comments, ludicrous points & pretentious crap but you also get humour, knowledge & genuine respect between a lot of the posters. The World Cup is proving to be a wonderful source of all of the above 🙂
Maybe something for you all to discuss, reflecting on the group stage – are there any players you have really enjoyed watching who you didn’t know before?
For me there are Ibrahim Maza (Algeria), Christ Inao (Côte d’Ivoire), Martin Baturina (Croatia), Kerim Alajbegovic (Bosnia H), to name a few
We’ve got some knockout predictions coming in already BTL …
Ok, from examining the last 32 fixtures, I think the quarter finals will be the following:
France v netherlands
Spain v usa
England v norway
Argentina v colombia
Always room for a side to spring a surprise, or for one of the big teams to collapse, but thats how I see it panning out.
Scotland are done, so I get to relax and enjoy the tournament now without wondering if a missed Egyptian chance is a good or a bad thing.
Long may the goals continue!
As for Steve Clarke, he did very well to get qualification for tournaments back to being normal for scotland. This cannot be overstated, when he came in it had been 21 years since we had made a tournament and of the ten we missed there were maybe three, at best, we even got close to qualifying for. We have made three in the last four and not needed any additonal nations league playoff help for the last two. But we have been very poor at the tournaments. Not solely his fault, a lot of players failed to show up, but time to move on. Id see if Moyes fancied the challenge
Argentina v Colombia would be proper fun.
Then compare that with England’s side of the draw, there are only two other top 10 nations:
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Argentina (1)
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England (4)
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Brazil (6)
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Colombia (13)
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Mexico (14)
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Japan (18)
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Switzerland (19)
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Ecuador (23)
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Australia (27)
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Algeria (28)
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Egypt (29)
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Norway (31)
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Côte d’Ivoire (33)
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DR Congo (46)
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Cape Verde (67)
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Ghana (73)
It’s worth looking at how lopsided the knockout bracket is in terms of world ranking …
First half of the draw:
So that’s seven of the world’s top 10 all on one side.
Billy Munday is here to see you through the next little while.
England reaction.
Tuchel is confident England can play much better than they did against Ghana and Panama and stressed the importance of building confidence among his squad.
“These players are used to these moments – they play Champions League and Europa League to the end,” the head coach said. “They know what it takes. We will step up. The bigger the games get, the bigger we will get.
“There is no problem growing into a tournament like this. We have strong belief and trust in each other. It is important we keep believing in what we can influence and what we can improve. The most important thing is not to be afraid and be brave.”
The transfer drum keeps beating. And this is an odd move, even if Xhaka and Alonso have worked together before.
It is likely to be another busy summer at Stamford Bridge. Marc Cucurella has been sold to Real Madrid, who could also try to sign the Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernández. Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign the Atalanta right-back Marco Palestra and are fielding interest in Trevoh Chalobah from Como.
David Wall gets in touch: “I think people are unrealistic in their expectations of England. They did pretty much what everyone asked for before the game yesterday. They attacked from wide, they ran at their opponents rather than just turning back and moving the ball to someone else (in particular Rashford and Saka), they attempted more attacking passes, they put more forwards on the field in place of the second defensive midfielder, etc.
“But all of those things are more risky: sometimes your opponent will tackle you, more of those passes will be off-target, and you’ll leave yourself more open to counter-attacks. But you can’t demand that people only take the risks that come off and not those that don’t. You have to accept that there will be a drop in accuracy when people take risks. But if you keep taking them, which is what England did, then sometimes they will come off, which is what happened. In that respect, I thought it was a positive performance, albeit an inaccurate one. “
Joe Callaghan on the co-host’s first ever foray into the knockouts.
Against one of the lowest-ranked teams to survive the group stage, Davies and Marsch have an opportunity to add another first to the pile they’ve achieved this month. They can also heal a wound which opened at this same sweeping fever dream of a bowl last March. With its more traditional name then, SoFi Stadium was the scene of the ACL tear which began both Davies’s injury nightmare and a fraught relationship between the national team, its coach, captain and Davies’s club, Bayern Munich. Perhaps harmony can lead to more history.
Ewan Murray
Roberto Martinez says Portugal’s players need not be overawed by paying tribute to Diogo Jota during Thursday’s last 32 clash against Croatia but that his team remain massively incentivised to win the World Cup for their late forward. The game between Portugal and Croatia falls just a day short of the first anniversary of Jota’s death, when aged just 28.
“I think every day is difficult,” said Martinez, the Portugal head coach, when asked whether the Croatia tie would have added resonance. “You are training and there are always moments when Diogo Jota comes into our memory. I wouldn’t say the anniversary is especially difficult. It is a little bit of a celebration, we need to honour Diogo. it is a moment to cherish.
“We won the Nations League with him, he is probably the sign and the light of the biggest stimulation we have. We want to win the World Cup for him. The anniversary means the game needs to be Diogo Jota’s game. It is not a difficult moment. When he is with us we are a stronger team. When we don’t win a game, we reference that his desire and his belief is always in our presence.”
In the aftermath of the 0-0 draw with Colombia, Martinez shrugged aside the question over whether he should limit the minutes of Cristiano Ronaldo. In a match where Portugal were second best, Ronaldo struggled. Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland have had their game time managed during this World Cup’s group phase. “We don’t compare players in our team with other players,” said Martinez. “That would be quite childish and unprofessional.”
England reaction from our writers in New York/New Jersey.
Bellingham can be dismissed a little by some as a player of moments. Is that bad? Moments win games. Bellingham is 22 and still finding his final form. He promises to do these things, walks and talks like he might do them. But then he also does them, which seems important. With England paddling here, he had the will and the craft to take out the spoons and rattle something off on his knee just when they needed it most.
Tuchel’s reaction to the Ghana stalemate was to frontload the attack, to leave Elliot Anderson as the only shield in front of a panicked back four. It felt light and breezy before kick-off. The big question was whether Tuchel had taken inspiration from Lee Carsley. Was it going to be fun? Were England about to wow the world by blending Carsball with Germanic control? Was there even any need for Rice any more? At last: an England manager who was finally ready to lift the handbrake and put all the fun guys on the pitch.
After two wins in their first two games, Germany have emerged from a World Cup group phase for the first time since 2014, when they went on to lift the trophy. Their 7-1 win over Curaçao was the biggest win of the tournament so far. Why do things still feel so unsettled, so unsatisfactory? In large part, it is a malaise encapsulated by two men: one inside the camp, one very much not.
Get your power rankings here.
The pod squad is here from Los Angeles.
Steve Clarke has resigned as Scotland’s head coach, with the decision announced within an hour of confirmation the country had been eliminated from the World Cup. Clarke, who had been in post since 2019, signed a four-year contract extension shortly before the tournament. The manner of Scotland’s exit has led to a sharp rethink from the 62-year-old.
Group L saw three teams go through.
So did Group K.
Group J reached its conclusion.
The third-place race reached its conclusion with heartbreak for not only the Scots. Iran will so rue a late goal against Egypt being denied by VAR.
Preamble
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. wherever you are.
The last 32 are decided, and there’s been further developments in the resignation of Steve Clarke following Scotland’s exit being confirmed.
This is where the real action is decided, and there’s just one game to be played, South Africa v Canada in Los Angeles, the co-hosts asked to cross the border.
Buildup to that and so much more. Join me.
