England came to New Jersey needing only a point to win Group L, made five changes, and spent an hour playing like a team that had already mentally checked into its knockout-round hotel. Panama sat deep in a low block with everyone behind the ball. England passed it sideways. For 62 minutes, the scoreboard sat … Read more
For a few moments, it looked like Iran had found the goal that would send it through. In the 93rd minute deep in stoppage time against Egypt, Shoja Khalilzadeh struck the ball into an empty net after a wild sequence inside the box. Iran celebrated like it had just scored the late winner that would … Read more
For about 20 seconds in Seattle, Iran had won their World Cup. Shoja Khalilzadeh bundled in a stoppage-time winner, the bench was halfway onto the pitch, and Team Melli were through. Then VAR drew its lines, and the celebration got erased by the width of a sleeve. Final score: Egypt 1, Iran 1. Mahmoud Saber … Read more
Spain came to Guadalajara needing a point and left with first place, the comfort of a No. 1 seed, and very little else to brag about. They had 68% of the ball and exactly one shot on target all night. That shot was a tame Álex Baena effort that Fernando Muslera somehow shoveled over his … Read more
Norway striker Erling Haaland and nine of the team’s other regular starters needed rest more than a first-place finish in their World Cup group. “It’s a no-brainer,” coach Ståle Solbakken said Friday after a 4-1 loss to France left the Norwegians in second place in the group. “The fans around Norway and also in the … Read more
Friday’s match for the top spot in Group I was a masterclass – led by maestro Ousmane Dembélé and his three goals – as France won 4-1 against Norway and earned three straight victories in the process. It’s the first time Les Bleus have won all three group matches since 1998, which is when they … Read more
In one of the most defensive games so far at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Australia and Paraguay played to a 0-0 draw at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium on Thursday night. While winning would have been a positive, neither team wanted to risk comprising its defense formations to squander a result. With each team … Read more
LOS ANGELES STADIUM — So much for a perfect group stage. After winning its first two games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the U.S. men’s national team finished the first round with a 3-2 defeat to already eliminated Türkiye on Thursday on literally the last kick of the ball. With the USA having already clinched … Read more
Japan came to Dallas needing a point and left with a place in the Round of 32 — and the quiet satisfaction of a prediction starting to materialize. I wrote about Japan being dark horses before a ball was kicked. Three games in, nobody’s laughing. Sweden got the draw they needed too, courtesy of a … Read more
Javier Aguirre has been saying for a while now that the key to the Mexican team’s success at the World Cup is that they are a family. This family, it seems, is on a historic journey. Mateo Chavez and Julian Quinones scored in a six-minute span early in the second half, and Mexico beat the … Read more