2026 — The Tournament Of A Lifetime

World Cup News

The rise and rise of 'Meatball' McGinn In the days following Unai Emery's appointment as Aston Villa head coach, captain John McGinn was north of the border catching up with some old friends. Some classic west of Scotland pessimism had set in. "He's going to think 'Who's this wee Scottish guy?'" he told his mates in a panic, fearing the worst about his place in how the Spaniard would reshape Villa. If he was to replay that scene in his head almost four years on, he would surely find it difficult not to chuckle at his own expense. McGinn lifted Villa's first major silverware in 30 years last month and the 31-year-old has just enjoyed his highest-scoring season at club level. It is the latest in a line of success stories McGinn has been integral to. At St Mirren he was part of their first cup triumph in 26 years while he played the full 90 minutes when Hibernian ended their 114-year wait for another Scottish Cup. He will feature in his nation's first men's World Cup match in 28 years on Sunday (02:00 BST) after playing a key role in back-to-back European Championship qualifications. Whatever jersey he has on, success seems to follow the all-action midfielder. It feels more like a direct relationship than pure coincidence. Defying the odds and hitting new heights has been the tale of a relentless ascent - although it is one that was a millimetre away from cruelly ending before it had really started. BBC Scotland charts the rise of a modern-day Scotland great, from Clydebank council pitches to football's grandest stage. Set up BBC Sport website and app to show you more Scotland this World Cup The chances of a youngster in the UK achieving their dream of making it in the professional game are lower than 1%, so it is quite something for McGinn and his two older brothers to have all managed it. Paul, a former postman, played at Queen's Park alongside Scotland internationals Andy Robertson and Lawrence Shankland. He is now captain of a thriving Motherwell side. His other older brother, Stephen, who also played for St Mirren, seems destined for a successful coaching career given the impressive work he has done as part of Falkirk's backroom team. His late grandfather, Jack, was Scottish FA president and Celtic chairman. His mum, Mary, taught her youngest son at school and even coached his school team. Born and raised in a working-class area on the outskirts of Glasgow, McGinn takes pride in the fact his rise has taken a different path from many Premier League players. He buzzed about the streets of Clydebank while his brothers tried to make their way in the game. 'No ball games' signs posed a problem - as they did for many 90s kids on west of Scotland council estates - but McGinn chose to rebel. Well, his mum did. After pestering the local council into submission, two sets of goals were hammered into a nearby patch of gravel where the McGinn brothers, extended family and friends could run wild. Without that persistence from mum, who knows where the careers of her sons would have gone, if anywhere. McGinn spent day and night dreaming of becoming Celtic great Henrik Larsson on that red ash pitch. Then it became Shunsuke Nakamura. But when Stephen broke into the St Mirren side, John had a new hero. Within minutes of the gates opening in Paisley, McGinn was sitting front row to see his big brother warm up. Watching those experiences drove him and, within a few years, he was in St Mirren's first team. "He was a revelation," said former manager Danny Lennon. "He wasn't the biggest, but he had the heart of a lion," added the ex-Buddies boss, who led the Paisley club to their 2013 League Cup triumph. McGinn thought his career had peaked that night, which ended with the youngster being carried out of a Glasgow pub and bundled into a taxi home. The idea that McGinn's career had hit its ceiling could not have been further off the mark, but he was lucky to have one at all two years later. A training-ground prank went horribly wrong when St Mirren team-mate Steven Thompson injured McGinn by piercing his thigh with a spiked pole. McGinn revealed he would have "bled out in a minute" had he been punctured a millimetre closer to his femoral artery. A breakthrough spell at St Mirren came to an end in 2015, and he joined a Hibs side then in the second tier after potential moves to Wigan and Houston Dynamo failed to materialise. He experienced Scottish Cup glory with Alan Stubbs, but his game went to a new level under Neil Lennon, who described McGinn as "the fulcrum" of his team. But the former Celtic boss knew how to give his star man tough love. Boasting the reputation of the Championship's top performer, Lennon told McGinn "you're not even the best player in your house" in the aftermath of a defeat to brother Stephen's St Mirren. He was later fined for taking a shortcut home by leaving Paisley with his family rather than travelling on the team bus back to Leith. McGinn was at a McDonald's drive-through when a furious Lennon phoned. With Stephen in the car with him, McGinn was told it was the "closest you've got to your brother all night". Kevin Bridges: In Search of the Beautiful Game Together with Scott Allan and Dylan McGeouch, Lennon's Hibs midfield became one of the most formidable in the country after their promotion back to the top flight. "Some of the games there would be boys on his shoulders trying to get the ball off him and he would never lose it," his former team-mate Allan tells BBC Scotland. "I was expecting him to be all action and a wee bit loose with the ball, but I was most surprised about how good he was technically. "That's not mentioned enough, but that's because you always see his fight and drive." In post-match father-son debriefs, Allan's dad had no problem letting his boy know he had underperformed. With McGinn, however, it was different, mainly because it rarely happened. "My dad would always say to me: 'John can't have a bad game, he's always involved'," Allan recalls. "And the way he uses his bum to protect the ball... I show my own son that when he's playing football. It's such a bizarre thing to say, but it's such a crucial tool." That ability to eliminate players using his backside to repel opposition players has become a trademark move. His physique had been questioned and he has conceded he is "no stick man" and "will never be ripped to shreds". He just wanted to be noticed for using his body "in a unique way" - and Villa did, paying £2.75m for his services as Celtic failed to stump up the cash. That now looks a colossal misstep from the Scottish champions, given the bargain McGinn has proved to be south of the border. Previous imageNext imageSlide 1 of 3, John McGinn, McGinn has been part of unprecedented success at each of his clubs, most recently winning the Europa League with VillaEnd of image galleryA crunching tackle at the Holte End against Wigan on his Villa debut endeared him to the support. His first goal, a wonder strike against Sheffield Wednesday, came a month later. He ended his first campaign in Birmingham by scoring the winner in the Championship play-off final against Derby at Wembley. It is poignant that the lad responsible for taking Villa back to the Premier League in 2019 went on to lift the Europa League as captain seven years later. He has become a legend at the club with more still to give, but it is his bubbly, larger-than-life character that sets him apart from most. When revealing to BBC Sport in 2022 why he was given the nickname 'Meatball', he said it was born from him having a "big, round head" with a buzzcut during his days at St Mirren. Last week, he was comfortable admitting to BBC Scotland that he had packed a European plug adapter for his summer trip to the US. McGinn does not take himself too seriously - possibly because he knows if he did that he would be brought crashing back down to earth by his grounded family and friends. "He's the same person he is now as he was back then," Allan adds. "That's a huge credit to himself and his parents." McGinn was called up and capped for his nation when playing in Scotland's second tier. That is rare. His ability helped earn him that, of course, but it was an off-field moment that Gordon Strachan noticed when spying on the Under-21s that told the head coach he was right for his squad. With the kit man struggling to remove equipment from the team bus, McGinn was the only player to offer a helping hand as his team-mates headed straight for the training pitch. "That told me right away what he is about - he looks after people," Strachan said. McGinn has recently received praise from fans for voicing concerns to Kevin Bridges about World Cup ticket and travel costs in a new BBC documentary. Those issues were brought up as McGinn waited for his full Scottish breakfast - with an "extra tattie scone" - being cooked up in his local Clydebank cafe. After 10 years, 86 caps and 10 goals, there is a scenario in which this man of the people retires as Scotland's men's leading scorer and most-capped player. He is 16 appearances off the record set by Sir Kenny Dalglish, whose joint landmark goals tally with Denis Law is 10 better than McGinn's. The problem he has as far as the caps milestone is concerned, is his captain Andy Robertson is above him and showing no signs of exiting the national side. Robertson's rise has rightly been given the fairytale treatment, but McGinn's is on a similar scale. McGinn is 31 but his story still has pages to fill. Another Champions League campaign is on the way in a Villa side buoyed by long-awaited silverware. First, however, there is a World Cup to savour. McGinn is a Harry Potter fanatic, but there is no fiction about the story of the boy from Clydebank who will in the coming weeks attempt to sprinkle more magic on the career of his dreams. Everything you need to know about the World Cup

World Cup News

Jesse Marsch leads a hopeful squad aiming to capture the nation’s attention after a false start last time out Canada’s best had about as close to a day off as you get in Jesse Marsch’s world Wednesday morning. The national team have taken over the training campus of Toronto FC in the city’s northern crust and Matchday-minus-2 was a light session, jogging pace mostly, players doing some limbering, and a lot of looking. The place is pancake flat, as you’d expect from a disused airport, so looming over the whole area is Rogers Stadium, an outdoor concert venue which rose out of the runway and holds 52,000 people ...for now. Noted poet of life and football Liam Gallagher helped inaugurate it last August when he saluted fans in “those stupid fucking stands up there that were built about 30 fucking minutes ago”. Rogers Stadium is temporary. The 17,000 seats added to BMO Field downtown to turn it into Toronto Stadium for its World Cup moment this summer are, also, temporary. The getting has been awfully good for the scaffolding men and rivet women of Canada in recent times. What the football public here crave now and over the next five and a half weeks is something permanent. A legacy which can last. Marsch and his players do too, desperately so. The most gifted squad Canada have ever assembled sometimes talk about having already turned their homeland into a football country. At others they reference it as an ambition. The truth is somewhere in the middle – a work in progress, one which maybe feels closer to its start than finish. Which makes Friday afternoon’s World Cup opener, and all that follows, so precious. Four years ago Canada’s men made their World Cup return after nearly four decades and it was the most fleeting of things. They were the first country sent home, the only team to join hosts Qatar in putting a zero on the board. John Herdman’s claim that he’d already turned Canada into a football nation looked as naive as his tactics proved on the biggest stage. “Ahhhh. That was one of our biggest regrets in Qatar,” defender Alistair Johnston told the Guardian this week. “We knew the whole country was right there. We couldn’t give them something to really grasp on to and ride the coat tails of. This summer now, we’re so much more experienced, less naive, less deer in the headlights. We’re ready for this moment and, this time, instead of having to feel that passion halfway around the world, it’s going to be right there in the stands, in the streets.” Johnston and his teammates felt it up close on Monday with a raucous community training session, hundreds of schoolchildren creating one hell of a din. They were loudest when Canada’s captain came by, “Phonzieee, Phonzieee!” the cry. Alphonso Davies is the face of this golden generation, a prolific winner with Bayern Munich. In Qatar he scored Canada’s first World Cup goal, the liftoff moment until Croatia scored four in reply. Along with Celtic’s Johnston, Jonathan David at Juventus, Tajon Buchanan and Tani Oluwaseyi at Villarreal, Ismaël Koné at Sassuolo and a clutch of others, Davies spends his club days among Europe’s upper end. In two whirlwind years under Marsch, upwards of a third of this squad have earned moves from MLS to Europe or from smaller European outposts into big five leagues. Interest has grown and grown. The run to the Copa América semi-finals months after Marsch took charge relit the fire after the post-Qatar lull. The American’s magnetism and willingness to push back against US President Donald Trump’s 51st State rhetoric won new fans. Expectations have risen and so a team that under Herdman carried a ceremonial sword as a symbol (gimmick?) of their warrior spirit now find themselves with a double-edged one. As co-hosts, the draw and schedule was soft and favourable. In Group B, Marsch’s team kicks off against Bosnia and Herzegovina here Friday before making for Vancouver to face Qatar and Switzerland. A golden path, staying home through two knockout rounds, is on offer if they can top the group. Marsch has spoken of achieving that goal, of his “people’s team lighting the country on fire”. Recently, the team’s profile has rocketed anew. Rapper Drake designed Nike tournament tracksuits for them. Canadian NHL and NFL stars attended training last week in Montreal. Prime minister Mark Carney has been in the dressing room. Actor Simu Liu, singer Alanis Morissette and hockey hero Sidney Crosby are ambassadors. It’s head-spinning; not long ago, Canada Soccer had to pay TV networks just to show national team games. Crosby gave Canada its signature sporting national team moment with his Olympic golden goal in 2010. It’s what Johnston and others have pointed to when they speak about legacy. Yet as their moment finally approaches, things around the team feel as if they’ve tightened slightly. Davies’s fitness is a fragile thing. Friday will come too soon for him. Moïse Bombito, Canada’s best defender and a key piece of the high-pressure, high-risk Marsch system, could be ruled out of the entire tournament on its eve. Luc de Fougerolles, a 20-year-old veteran of just 44 games of professional football, will slot in to replace him. Scoring from open play has become a huge issue – it’s happened just twice in the last nine games. On Friday night against Ireland, Canada created countless chances and butchered a buffet’s worth. Marsch began his post-match press conference with a directive: “I’m going to be positive, guys … if you ask me negative questions, I’ll move on.” Not quite the walls closing in but a sense of something shifting. When playmaker Koné skipped Wednesday’s training there was a brief panic of further serious injury issues, even a disciplinary problem. The fever pit that is the online community of Canadian football was briefly afire. It turned out to be, well, fever. Marsch likes his team to play with a chip on its shoulder. He certainly has one from being spurned by US Soccer for its own head coach opening. No first goal at this World Cup looms larger than the one in Friday’s home opener. Marsch has insisted Canada will score it. After that the firsts line up to be knocked down: a first tournament point, a maiden win, a first knockout game, even a first knockout victory. Getting to the last 32 feels like a bare minimum for this home summer to be remembered as a success. Perhaps the last-minute jitteriness is both natural and, ultimately, temporary too. Overcoming it is essential if Marsch and Canada are to make their point a permanent one.

World Cup News

On a veranda at the Scotland squad hotel, captain Graeme Souness is discussing the players he is trying to sign for Rangers. Manager Alex Ferguson is in his room mulling over interest from Arsenal and Tottenham. And thousands of miles away, Kenny Dalglish - the country's most-capped player - is sitting idle. To say the national team's Mexico 1986 campaign was infused with intrigue would be doing the dictionary a disservice. After all, this was a campaign in which the manager died in the dressing room before qualification was clinched. His replacement was the greatest the game has ever seen. Three future national team bosses were on bibs and cones duty. The player-managers of two of Britain's biggest clubs were named in the squad. As, belatedly, was a striker from European Cup finalists Barcelona. And the Scottish FA president almost sparked a diplomatic incident by labelling opponents "scum". Furthermore, in the build-up you had players drinking mudslingers with Rod Stewart, hanging out of stretch limos on Sunset Boulevard, appearing on Grandstand drunk and - apparently - heckling John McEnroe at the Australian Open. Scotland had set up that tie on a wretched night in Cardiff, their joy stolen by the death of Jock Stein in the immediate aftermath of a 1-1 draw with Wales. That left assistant Ferguson to take charge for the play-off, leading the side to a 2-0 aggregate win after a goalless meeting down under. Goalkeeper Alan Rough remembers "a right good carry on" on the flight home after a four-day trip that included a night out at a Scottish social club, intoxicated striker David Speedie having to be carried back to the hotel for a live BBC interview with David Coleman, and the same player passing out from sunstroke after a putting competition got a little too heated. Speedie would be excluded from Ferguson's squad for the finals, but it was the absence of another name that caused controversy. Alan Hansen had won the English double with Liverpool but failed to make the final 22, with the then-Aberdeen manager preferring Pittodrie partnership Willie Miller and Alex McLeish. "I don't think Alan had been playing much," says Miller. "I don't know if conversations were had but it's a long way to go if you're not starting." Within days, Hansen's close friend and Liverpool player-manager Kenny Dalglish - 35 and preparing for a fourth finals - withdrew with a knee problem. Some said the two events were not unrelated. Dalglish's place would be taken by Barcelona's Steve Archibald as the squad travelled to Santa Fe in New Mexico for an altitude training camp. Those involved speak fondly of those two weeks, which started with an irate Ferguson demanding the Scottish FA suits vacate their first-class seats on the plane for the players, and ended with an eventful two-day stay in Los Angeles. Winger Eamonn Bannon recalls scoring twice in a friendly against "Mickey Mouse local team" LA Heat before a reunion with his brother. Others tell conflicting tales about meeting with Rod Stewart... Miller believes his invitation got lost in the post; coach Craig Brown said Ferguson gave the players the night off on the condition they didn't go to a party at the singer's house; Bannon reckons a select group were permitted to show face and were a little worse for wear the next day. "It was fantastic," he says. "We never made Rod's house, though. We met him at some restaurant and he started making us mudslingers. Within an hour, we were all half cut and he disappeared. "Then a stretch limo turned up to take us home. There was a phone in it and I'll never forget wee Charlie Nicholas hanging out of the sunroof calling his maw in Maryhill while we were driving down Sunset Boulevard." After all that, Scotland were the last team to arrive in Mexico and took up residence in the middle of an Aztec heritage site. Miller describes it as "a wee bit more spartan" than the squad had grown accustomed to, while Bannon remembers a hairy police escort from the airport and "individual rooms that were like little caves with a tiny window". But the focus was on the opening game with Denmark. They might have been among the best in Europe but the Danes were also adept at the other side of the game, successfully hobbling Nicholas, whose selection with Paul Sturrock caused Archibald to storm out of a team meeting in a huff. As it was, the Scots were left to rue their profligacy as Preben Elkjaer Larsen's goal gave the Danes victory. "I always thought the first game was the one," says Rough. "You have to take something, especially with West Germany next." After impressing from the bench, Bannon started against Franz Beckenbauer's side in a game best remembered for Gordon Strachan's attempt to hurdle the hoarding after giving Scotland an early lead. Miller describes it as "like playing on a different planet"; Bannon remembers being unable to muster the energy to join the celebrations for Strachan's 18th-minute goal; while third-choice goalkeeper Rough "had the Ambre Solaire on" in the stands. Archibald had been restored to the XI, with Strachan playing off him. The ploy was designed to deceive the Germans, but it later emerged they had managed to watch a Scotland closed training session. "Wee Berti Vogts told us he tried to get in but was turned away," the late Brown previously said of the then Germany assistant and future Scotland boss. "But then he saw a guy going into the stadium to set up a Coca-Cola stall, so he took a shot of his uniform and barrow and rolled it in so he could watch." Two defeats in two games left Scotland needing to beat Uruguay to advance to the last 16 and Ferguson with a decision to make. Captain Souness, by then 33, had struggled with the heat and the altitude and, after a meeting of the coaches, it was agreed he would be left out. The manager went to the midfielder's room to break the news, which was apparently met without fuss. A couple of months before, it had been announced Souness would be leaving Sampdoria to revolutionise Rangers. A Rangers side that would threaten Ferguson's Aberdeen and a Dundee United team represented in Mexico by five players. Neither Miller nor Bannon recalls any tensions as a consequence, although the former suggests the dynamic had shifted given more than half the squad were Scotland-based, and the latter recalls whispered conversations between the captain and defender Richard Gough, who would arrive at Ibrox the next summer. "His room was two doors down from mine and I chatted to him a lot," says Rough. "He told me he was trying to sign Chris Woods and Terry Butcher, who were both in the England squad, and I just laughed. "But you could see he was really trying to learn about the Scottish game." Being confined to the sidelines for the final game with Uruguay would afford Souness further opportunity to do so, with seven domestic-based players in the XI. And they would face just 10 South Americans for almost the whole contest, after Jose Batista was dismissed inside a minute for assaulting Strachan. Bannon "didn't think wee Gordon was going to get up" after what Miller calls a "savaging", while Rough says such treatment extended to the Uruguay fans, who spat and threw coins at the Scotland bench. So incensed was Scottish FA president Ernie Walker, he told the global media that "we found ourselves on the field with cheats and cowards and we were associated with the scum of world football". None of that changed the fact Ferguson's side were unable to muster the goal that would have put them through. The best chance fell to Liverpool's Steve Nicol, but his effort was clawed clear and the Scots were out after a goalless draw. There would be further disappointment for Rough after he arrived home. An imposing hi-fi, bought "for a right few bob" by himself and room-mate Graeme Sharp, became the prize for the winner of a series of inter-squad games. Rough was the victor and lugged the device all the way home as a present for his son. "He was delighted," he recalls. "Then he plugged it in and it blew up." Goalkeepers: Leighton (Aberdeen), Goram (Oldham Ath), Rough (Hibernian) Defenders: Albiston (Man Utd), Gough (Dundee Utd), Malpas (Dundee Utd), McLeish (Aberdeen), Miller (Aberdeen), Narey (Dundee Utd) Midfielders: Aitken (Celtic), Bannon (Dundee Utd), Bett (Aberdeen), Cooper (Rangers), McStay (Celtic), Nicol (Liverpool), Souness (Sampdoria) Strachan (Man Utd) Forwards: Archibald (Barcelona), McAvennie (West Ham), Nicholas (Arsenal), Sharp (Everton), Sturrock (Dundee Utd)

World Cup News

Watching 108 hours of football is not for everyone but there are some crackers in the group stage, including Scotland v Brazil, Netherlands v Japan and France v Senegal The days of watching every game at the World Cup are long gone for most of us. The expansion to 48 teams means 72 group games will be played just to narrow the competition down to 32 sides – the number we have had at the last seven tournaments. Fans will have to sit through 108 hours of group-stage football – plus a lot of injury time and drinks breaks – just to get to the number of teams we have become accustomed to since 1998. Given the unsociable kick-off times for many supporters across the world, it is going to be difficult to watch every game. So, with that in mind, we have picked a more manageable number to make sure you watch during the group stage. A repeat of the opening game of the 2010 World Cup, Mexico and South Africa get the tournament under way at the Estadio Azteca, an epic stadium in Mexico City that is steeped in history. It hosted the World Cup finals of 1970, which was won by Pelé’s Brazil, and 1986, which was won by Argentina, as well as England’s quarter-final defeat in the latter tournament at the hands (and feet) of Diego Maradona. The 2010 meeting between the teams is remembered most for Siphiwe Tshabalala’s extraordinary “goal for all Africa” that opened the scoring at the tournament. With Mexico on home soil, expect just as vibrant and passionate a crowd as there was in Johannesburg 16 years ago. The backdrop of a packed 87,500-seat stadium should guarantee a spectacle. The expanded format means the best sides are spread out over 12 groups. But, even so, we only have to wait until the third day of the tournament for a truly eye-catching affair. Brazil, five times champions, face the surprise 2022 semi-finalists, Morocco, in a game that promises plenty. Brazil’s squad is stacked with attacking quality – Carlo Ancelotti has selected six midfielders and nine forwards – and they have been playing a gung-ho 4-2-4 formation recently. Meanwhile, Morocco approached the recent Africa Cup of Nations with a new, more attacking ethos, and we may see them on the front foot at this tournament more than we did in Qatar. That could all make for an enthralling meeting in New Jersey. The opening game in Group F is another that grabs the attention. The Netherlands are not exactly outsiders given how much talent they have in their squad, but their 1-0 defeat to Algeria in a warm-up friendly shows they have their problems. Japan probably will not be winning the World Cup, even if the manager, Hajime Moriyasu, insists they can, but they have previous experience when it comes to slaying World Cup giants and could pose a problem for the Netherlands. At Qatar 2022, they won group games against Germany and Spain. A win here would throw this group wide open and give them a good chance of topping the group – as they did in 2022. The Opta supercomputer gives them a 26.7% chance of doing so, but that would shoot up with a victory in their opener. They may go for it. The European champions – and our favourites to win the World Cup – kick off their campaign against minnows who are making their debut in the competition. Cape Verde is one of the smallest countries ever to have its team qualify and the side have made it to this tournament against the odds. Of all the games in the group stage, this one is right up there among the biggest contenders for a thrashing. After all, Spain were pretty convincing in their opening game at the last World Cup, a 7-0 victory over Costa Rica. These two sides have met only once before and it was a momentous game. France kicked off their World Cup defence in 2002 with a 1-0 defeat by Senegal, a result that sent shockwaves through the game and was the start of a disastrous campaign for the French. France dominated that game but could not find a way through, and they may be out for revenge in their opener in Group I this time around. It will be impossible to avoid the vast amount of narrative surrounding this one. Iraq are back for a second shot at the World Cup, returning for the first time since 1986, when they lost all three of their games and made an early exit. They will want to make a better impression when they kick off their 2026 campaign in Boston. Norway, however, will provide a real challenge. They were the top-scoring side in European qualifying, scoring eight goals more than anyone else (37), and they are led by a group of genuine stars, including Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, Alexander Sørloth and Jørgen Strand Larsen. Norway are possible dark horses to win the World Cup and could make a statement in their opener. Ecuador enjoyed an exceptional qualifying campaign in the South American group. They finished second to Argentina after losing just two of their 18 games and conceding just five goals. Their mean defence makes them a good shout to be this year’s surprise package. They may be forced to attack against the debutants of Curaçao, the smallest country ever to make it to the World Cup. Curaçao will have already played Germany and may need a result in this game themselves. Plus, whatever they do on the pitch, they could be the feelgood story of the entire tournament, which would make for a good watch. Scotland are back at the World Cup for the first time this century and their fans will be travelling to North America in their droves. The game against Brazil will have been marked in everyone’s calendars since the draw was made. It is a rematch of the opening game of the tournament the last time Scotland played in the World Cup, in 1998. Scotland have been at major tournaments since then, though, most recently at Euro 2024, when they were given a harsh welcome by Germany with a 5-1 mauling in their first match. Lessons should have been learned from that game and hopefully Scotland will make a better fist of it this time around. They have never made it out of the group stage of a major tournament in 12 attempts. Is this the time they finally manage it? This is not exactly a match that screams World Cup pedigree. The Democratic Republic of the Congo have only played at the tournament once, in 1974 under their former name Zaire, and Uzbekistan have never qualified before. Neither team will harbour many hopes of finishing in the top two positions in Group K, with Portugal and Colombia likely to dominate. However, their chances of progressing as one of the best third-place teams may depend on this game. This is their final game of the group stage and both teams might just need to go for broke, making this one worth staying up for. Jordan are one of the weakest teams at the World Cup and Argentina are the reigning champions so this could be another contender for a record-breaking World Cup winning margin. However, Argentina lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia at the last World Cup despite allowing their opponents just 0.15 xG. And the holders have failed to make it out of the group stage in four of the last six editions (France in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018). The new format makes elimination extremely unlikely for Argentina, but the weight of expectation has affected others in strange ways.

World Cup News

Storms causing delays to some of the warm-up matches this week have already shown how extreme weather will affect this World Cup. And with more storms forecast, some of the opening games are likely to be affected with the biggest risk to play coming by Monday. Scotland start their campaign in a pleasantly warm and dry Boston on Saturday night (Sunday morning UK time). Then for England, the Texas heat may be uncomfortable for fans leading up to their first match against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday. For Thursday's opening match in Mexico City, it is likely it will be the altitude not the weather that players and fans will notice. How could extreme weather affect World Cup 2026? AttributionSportPublished9 hours agoOpening match in MexicoThe World Cup officially kicks off on Thursday afternoon (20:00 BST) in Mexico City. South Africa will be taking on one of the hosts Mexico. While the weather forecast shows showers, these shouldn't be particularly heavy. Temperatures will be around average of 23C (73F). Mexico City is however the highest World Cup host city, at around 2,200 metres above sea level. At this altitude the air is thinner and means that there is around 25% less effective oxygen per breath and therefore will have an impact on the players. Thinner air also means that the football will travel faster and further, have less curve and behave more unpredictably. On Monday, Saudi Arabia take on Uruguay at 18:00 ET in Miami where the temperature will be around 30C (86F). With high humidity forecast, it will feel more like 40C (104F). According to the heat index used by Fifa and other sporting organisations to measure how temperature affects the health and body of a person - called the Wet Bulb Global Temperature (WBGT) - a value of above 28C (82F) is widely considered the threshold at which heat stress becomes a significant concern for elite athletes. On Monday, the WBGT is forecast to be around 30C in Miami. This represents a high-risk or extreme environment at a level that Fifpro considers to be unsafe for play. Storms are also in the forecast. If they were to develop within eight miles of the stadium, the match would need to be suspended for at least 30 minutes. This allows players, officials and fans to seek shelter and stay safe from threat of being struck by lightning. Play can resume 30 minutes after the last lightning strike in the area. Texas is one of the hottest states in the US and England fans waiting for their team's first match to begin will be experiencing typical hot weather on Wednesday afternoon. Temperatures into the low thirties are expected and while it should be dry and sunny, there is a chance cloud cover could increase with a few showers. While no thunderstorms are currently forecast, the cloud cover and increased atmospheric moisture will raise the humidity. The 'feels like' temperature is therefore expected to approach 40C. However, the Dallas stadium is one of the World Cup stadiums with a retractable roof and air-conditioning. This will make it much more comfortable - and safer - for players and fans when inside the stadium during the game. Scotland's first game is against Haiti, taking place in Boston on Saturday evening local time - 02:00 BST on Sunday. While it will feel pretty warm with a temperature of around 25C (77F), this is typical for the time of year, and similar to a warm summer day in the UK. To see the latest weather for these and all other World Cup locations, check the searchable forecast here or use the BBC Weather app. How thunderstorms and lightning could impact games at World Cup

World Cup News

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleRichard BakerYorkshireThe largest ever FIFA World Cup kicks off later, taking place across the USA, Canada and Mexico. World Cup fever is well and truly here, with England looking to remedy 60 years of hurt and 47 other countries looking to stop them. Whilst you could watch all 104 games from the comfort of your own home, there are venues all over Yorkshire showing the action from across the pond. In Leeds, The Brotherhood of Pursuits and Pleasures is aiming to show all 104 games live - from the group stages to the final in New Jersey on 19 July. Fans can watch the action across more than 25 screens amongst "packed-out crowds and an electric matchday buzz" in their city centre venue on New Briggate. The venue will show the 01:00, 02:00 and 03:00 GMT kick off matches with its late licence running until 03:00. Owner Seema Dhiman said they would determine how popular the 05:00 matches are before applying for a later licence and the possibility of staying open until the early morning. For England and Scotland's group stage games - live musicians, playing themed music will add to the atmosphere. Dhiman said: "We're a sports bar through and through. When I set up The Brotherhood, it was about sport and nothing else. It'll always come first." Despite the challenges of hosting all 104 games, Dhiman insisted there was no other option. "It wasn't even a decision, it's just what we do," she added. Dhiman said her Leeds venue sold out of tickets for England and Scotland's matches two months ago. An estimated 55 million additional pints are likely to be poured if England make it to the World Cup Final, according to the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA). James Hawkins from the BBPA said the the trade body had been working closely with the government to allow pubs to open during matches into the night. Last month, the association said 161 pubs closed in the first three months of the year across England, Scotland and Wales, equating to the loss of about 2,400 jobs. Earlier this year, the government announced business rates support for pubs after warnings from the sector that further tax changes could lead to more closures. The 15% tax relief for pubs and music venues came into effect in April. Elsewhere, the 02 Academy in Leeds will be staging a large fan park for England's group stage games, hosted by 4TheFans, who claim to be the biggest fan park organisers in the country. Tickets start at £5, whilst a table ticket is also available for £20. Those with more hope than others can buy a ticket for the knockout games already - with a money-back guarantee. At the West End Gold Club in Halifax, their 1906 Club House will be showing the Three Lions in action. The club house will offer free entry alongside drinks and snacks, and if the action on the screens isn't running to script - they are putting on a sweepstake with a chance to win a free "bucket of beer" to keep spirits high. It may be the summer break, but Huddersfield Town will reopen the doors of their Accu Stadium , this time for England's games. Fans can watch the action on big screens in their H Town internal fan zone, with doors open two hours before kick-off. Under 12s go free, whilst adults tickets are priced at £5 to cheer on the Three Lions in their 750-capacity room. Kapital Beer Hall & Restaurant in Sheffield will also be showing every game live across big screens over two floors alongside a pre-match DJ. With its 300-person capacity, the venue is one of the largest in Sheffield to show the football and will offer fans a "European beer hall experience", organisers say. No booking is required but, naturally, arriving early for England's matches is recommended. Many say football is more art and theatre than sport, so fittingly Rotherham's historical Empire Theatre will be screening all England's group fixtures. The theatre, which opened in 1913 and recently underwent restoration, will offer free tickets for the games, whilst fans can take advantage of the two-pint pitchers on sale once inside. Penistone Church FC , the non-league club where England's John Stones started his career, will also be showing the action. The departing Manchester City defender, also known by the nom de plumes of "Penistone Pirlo" and the "Barnsley Beckenbauer" played for PCFC before being scouted by the Tykes. They will be showing the football on several large screens in their clubhouse. The Lysander Arms in York is also promising to show all 104 World Cup games at their pub, complete with a beer garden. The action will be spread across five screens and walk-ins are welcome too. Food from their outdoor Burger Shack and Pizza Oven is also available. Across the city, cocktail bar Manahatta are putting on a two-hour bottomless brunch for all of the three England group stage matches. Fans have to order a main meal to enjoy the bottomless drinks during the game, whilst a live DJ will keep the music flowing behind all the sporting action. Domestic interest in the World Cup starts first with Scotland, who face Haiti in their opener, whilst England's first group match will see them face Croatia (All times BST). Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds , catch up with the latest episode of Look North .

World Cup News

Cecilio Waterman (right) and Alberto Quintero embark on their first World Cup tournament in their mid-30s. Photograph: Eliezer Aizprua/EPAAfter impressive showings in recent major tournaments, Thomas Christiansen’s players are aiming to prove a point on the global stage This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. La Marea Roja arrive in full voice. After their historic World Cup debut at Russia 2018, they mean business this time round, and want to progress from the group. With Michael Murillo leading from the back, the midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla providing a creative spark and the captain, Aníbal Godoy, still the heart and soul of the team, Panama are ready to write a new chapter. This is a more mature side than the one from 2018. Under the coach, Thomas Christiansen, the team have developed a pragmatic style of play with an organised defence, quick transitions and plenty of physicality. They usually play 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 with Murillo the leading figure at right-back, but that could shift to a back five against stronger opponents. There is a double pivot of Godoy, who wins the ball, and Carrasquilla, who can use it. In attack, Ismael Díaz and José Rodríguez are sharp-shooting speedsters. Panama topped their Concacaf group in qualifying, conceding just four goals in the final group phase and sealing their spot at the finals with a 3-0 win against El Salvador last November. They’ve improved in possession and arrive in North America full of confidence off the back of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2024 Copa América and the final of the 2023 Gold Cup. “Our faith moves mountains,” Christiansen said. “To be at the World Cup for the second time, we want to improve on 2018 and compete like never before.” Godoy agrees: “We will give everything. This group is united and hungry to make history.” The realistic aim is to make it out of the group. Christiansen will want to prove they have the discipline to avoid a repeat of the 2018 6-1 thrashing by England, who are group opponents once more. A spot in the last 16 is the dream. The dressing room believes it is possible. Thomas Christiansen has been in charge since 2020. The Dane started his playing career in Barcelona’s B team and spent much of it in Spain. He shone as a coach in Cyprus before stints with Leeds and Union Saint-Gilloise. The 53-year-old has transformed Panama into a competitive team, taking them to the 2023 Gold Cup final, 2024 Copa América quarter-finals and now their second World Cup. “We want to compete and get out of the group. The selección is more than ready,” Christiansen says. His team will not fear anybody. Michael Murillo is Panama’s talisman. The 30-year-old Besiktas right-back has more than 90 caps and has played in MLS, Belgium, France and now Turkey. Quick off the mark, good one-on-one and a threat in the opposing box, he will be key to any success. His leadership and experience in top leagues has made him a captain without the armband. He grew up in Colón, sharing a room with his mother and siblings but, while baseball was the family’s favourite sport, he chose football and wanted to provide. Now a national treasure, he has never forgotten his roots. “Be proud of your family, fight for your family and believe in your family,” he says. José Rodríguez lost his father at the age of 10 but the youngster from Panama City found the strength to dream big through football and his family. The winger with lightning speed has made a name for himself in Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Serbia. He isn’t afraid to try his luck from distance either, scoring via a deflection off Tunisia’s Yassine Meriah in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup. The 27-year-old, now playing in Mexico, has found a mentor in Thomas Christiansen. “I’m very grateful to ‘El Profe’ … we know each other very well and we’re like a family,” Rodríguez has said. With more than 150 caps – a national record – Aníbal Godoy is the most experienced member of this Panama squad. At the age of 36 he remains the person Christiansen can rely on to do the dirty work: winning the ball back, covering space and organising those around him. The San Diego midfielder isn’t one to grab the headlines but his graft allows others such as Adalberto Carrasquilla to shine. Godoy is highly respected within the Panama dressing room – it would not be the same without him. La Marea Roja (the Red Wave) are some of the most passionate fans in Concacaf. They are loud and proud, but respectful too. After eight years of waiting for another opportunity to go to a World Cup finals tournament, they will travel in their numbers: Copa Airlines – who flew the team out in a red and white plane – are putting on special flights to the US, Canada and Mexico. Watch out for the sombreros. Tense, over the Panama canal. Last year Trump said: “We’re going to take it back or something very powerful is going to happen.” He accused Panama of violating the treaty of neutrality and allowing Chinese influence. The Panamanian government strongly rejected Trump’s words. Neither Christiansen nor the players will go near the subject, with the federation prioritising national pride. The supporters have criticised the high prices of tickets and transport in the US but largely stayed away from the broader controversy. The canal issue is sensitive, but the national team are going to play football, not politics. Written by José Miguel Domínguez Flores for Chepebomba.com and the podcast Punto Y Pelota Mentira No Es.

World Cup News

Ryan Christie was the last Scotland player to touch the ball at Euro 2024. He brought it down, was dispossessed, then referee Facundo Tello blew his whistle before he had the chance to take the throw-in against Hungary. It was familiar agony again for Scotland, their exit confirmed by a 1-0 defeat to a 100th-minute goal. Deflation and disappointment was etched on the players' faces, while the Tartan Army were devastated in the Stuttgart stands. It is hurt the squad are still carrying two years on as they enter their first World Cup in 28 years. "A few of us left that thinking 'what could have been'," Christie said on The Wayne Rooney Show. "So I think this time we've got a bit of a chip on our shoulder that we are going to do something at this tournament. "We are absolutely desperate to be the first team to get out of the group stage, take that extra step and create a bit more history." Two years ago Scotland faced hosts Germany in the tournament opener, a 5-1 defeat that Christie vividly recalls as a "humbling" experience. It's one he points to when discussing the Scots' Group C schedule and rounding it off with the "iconic" game against Brazil. "Everybody's at the World Cup on merit, so there are no easy games," the Bournemouth midfielder said. "I don't think we're expecting that. "But it gives us the chance to get off to a good start. You probably look at the group and that's the easiest on paper. "You'd rather face them than Brazil first. I know that from facing Germany at the opening of the last Euros. That was a humbling experience. "I'm still having nightmares about that. But hopefully we can learn from that experience and start this one a bit better." Scotland's Super Mario and social butterfly who emerged from Man Utd cocoon It's down to the standards set by Christie, his team-mates and head coach Steve Clarke - who "completely changed the set-up" of the national team. "When I first joined international football, I know I was a bit younger and probably a bit quieter, but I was counting down the days until I could go back home," the 31-year-old explained. "It's the polar opposite now. If we're meeting up on a Monday, everyone flies up on the Saturday night to spend an extra day with each other - it's brilliant." Key to that is the trust Clarke has in his players. Most know he's as loyal as they come on the pitch, but off it is as important for Christie. "He puts a big amount of trust in us in terms of if we have a day off and play golf or something, there's full trust that we're not going to take advantage," he added. "Boys that are going to the World Cup now have been on a journey of five, six, seven years with the manager. "I think after the Denmark game was one of the rare times I've seen him properly smiling and enjoy himself a little bit, which was cool to see. For us as players, we knew how much it would mean to him to tick that off his list. "For me, he's got to go down as one of the great, great Scottish managers of all time." Everything you need to know about the World Cup

World Cup News

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJames McClairWest MidlandsKicking off their World Cup campaign against Croatia, England are hoping to become world champions for a second time and end 60 years of hurt. But the man who was responsible for tending to any pain for players before they lifted the Jules Rimet trophy hailed from Malvern, Worcestershire. Dr Neil Phillips, who died in 2015 aged 83, was the team doctor for the famed 1966 winning squad and worked with stars like Bobby Moore and Sir Geoff Hurst. "He was so proud to be doctor to the England football team," his daughter Annie Onions recalls ahead of this summer's tournament in North America. "What amazed him when he was on the pitch in 1966 before the final [was that] he was from Wales, his favourite sports were cricket and rugby, he spent six months doing gynaecology as part of his training, and he ends up doctor to the England World Cup team." "It was always a pinch me moment [for him] standing there on that pitch and being part of it," she added. Phillips' role landed him an appearance on Top of the Pops alongside the Three Lions squad when their World Cup song, 'Back Home', shot to fame four years on from their World Cup triumph. His bond with England skipper Moore was one of the highlights of his stint with the national team. Onions said she remembered trips to the West Ham legend's leather factory in London during her childhood whenever the family visited the capital. "I had a bright red waistcoat in suede with all the tassels at the bottom," she said. "From a very early age I was in love with Bobby Moore, I thought he was the greatest thing in the world and going there was just fabulous." However, the job did not come without challenges, particularly as part of a small team, with Phillips even having to use his holiday allowance to tend to the team during competitions. "Now when they go to the World Cup, they have this whole entourage of psychologists and physiotherapists," Onions said. "Then it was just Sir Alf Ramsey, my dad and Les Cocker – that was it." Speaking to the BBC in 2010, Phillips was intent on the secret to England's one and only victory on the world stage. "I know how we did it, and it was all due to one man - Alf Ramsey," he said at the time. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds , Facebook , X and Instagram .

World Cup News

Surrounded by rolling fields and winding roads, and hidden away at the back of the Jamberoo Pub, is a moving tribute to Australian football As the Socceroos and Australian football fans make a pilgrimage to North America filled with uncertainty over what the next few weeks might bring, it is all too easy to forget who and what laid the foundations for the team’s sixth successive trip to a World Cup. For while the current crop of Socceroos are out to chart their own course at this year’s global showpiece, where their adventures will ultimately be recorded and remembered remains up in the air. The Jamberoo Pub is a 90-minute drive south of Sydney and a step back in time. A facade that pays homage to the Tudor era reveals nothing of the stories inside just waiting to be told. Yet for well informed football fans, and those who unwittingly stumble across it, the town holds special significance. Surrounded by rolling green fields and winding roads, and hidden away at the back of a pub, is one of the most momentous places in Australian football – the Johnny Warren Museum. The front room of the pub gives the first hint of what lies within. Sporting souvenirs decorate the walls and ceilings, fighting for space alongside football jerseys, scarves and flags as sunlight flickers through the window. A story begins to unfold down the spine of the building, with a long hallway decked out in posters, portraits, photos and newspaper clippings mostly featuring the Australian football pioneer Warren. At the end of the corridor is a football fever dream. An exhibition honouring Warren and the successes and struggles he encountered in a life dedicated to being a footballer, coach, commentator and chief advocate for the game in Australia. The Jamberoo Pub is co-owned and run by Jamie Warren, nephew of Johnny, who has taken up the mantle of promoting the world game through memorabilia and memories. As curator, tour guide and publican, Jamie’s pride in his family’s critical role in the sport’s history in Australia is evident as he recalls in fine detail the stories behind each item. There is no centrepiece to a collection that jumps back and forth between eras and continues to evolve – occasional additions are made as the Socceroos and Matildas find greater success on the global stage. But a portrait of Johnny bearing his catchcry “I told you so” – the words he uttered just weeks before his death in 2004 when asked what he wanted his legacy to be – is positioned to jump into view as soon as visitors walk into the expansive main room. A Socceroos poster signed by every player from the groundbreaking 1974 World Cup squad is its own snapshot of time – complete with haircuts ubiquitous to the period. Similarly rare items are usually held in more secure surroundings. One of Jamie’s favourite pieces links the 1974 squad with the players that finally ended the Socceroos’ 32-year wait to return to the World Cup. “Rale Rasic gave us that one,” Jamie says in casual reference to the coach of the first Australia team to qualify for the tournament, before he runs through the players like they are old family friends. “There’s Peter Wilson, John Watkiss, Harry Williams, Ray Richards, Manfred Schaefer, I think … Jimmy Rooney, Jimmy Mackay, Attila Abonyi and uncle John.” One of the oldest photos in the collection is of a five-year-old Johnny playing as a goalkeeper in his first match. Many of the items only resurfaced for an exhibition in the lead in to the 2006 World Cup called From Botany to Berlin – a nod to Johnny’s home town and the location of the Socceroos’ tournament debut in West Germany. “It was a wonderful tribute to John and a really exciting period for football in Australia,” Jamie says. “It was kind of devastating at the same time that he wasn’t here to enjoy all of that.” The scrapbooks, brooches, trophies, medals and awards from Johnny’s time with the Socceroos and clubs like St George-Budapest are dotted around the museum room, while his MBE has pride of place behind the main bar. Parts of the collection are occasionally put on display at other venues but Jamie is yet to hear from FA about a more permanent exhibition or other steps being taken to preserve the sport’s rich history. “It’s every man for himself, unfortunately,” he says. “The A-League has the Johnny Warren medal though, which is nice recognition and something that keeps the connection to the past.” The Jamberoo Pub will host watch parties for each Socceroos match as a new chapter in Australian football is written at the 2026 World Cup. The seismic shift in Australian football that Warren fought so hard for across his 61 years may even edge closer over the next few weeks. In the meantime the building blocks remain waiting to be explored in the back room of a small country pub.

World Cup News

Shirts had included imagery evoking Haitian revolution Winter Olympics team also had to redesign uniforms Haiti have been made to find new jerseys on the eve of the 2026 World Cup, after Fifa deemed certain elements to be too political in nature. The Concacaf qualifiers are set to open their group stage against Scotland on Saturday. In a statement responding to the decision, kit manufacturer Saeta confirmed that it had worked with Fifa to ensure the design would meet requirements, even having “successfully implemented the requested modifications” during the mandatory review process. “Working in close collaboration with the Haitian Football Federation,” Saeta’s statement elaborated, “our objective throughout the process was to create a jersey that celebrated the pride, resilience and spirit of the Haitian People. Several concepts were developed and refined over a number of months and submitted through Fifa’s standard approval process. The final design presented by Saeta was intended as a tribute to the men and women who contribute every day to Haiti’s future and was not intended as a political statement.” “During the review process, Fifa determined that certain visual elements could be interpreted differently under its equipment regulations and ultimately requested modifications to the design,” the manufacturer’s statement continued. “While this interpretation differed from our intention, Saeta respected the process and implemented the final requirements communicated by Fifa. We remain proud to have contributed, alongside the Haitian Football Federation, to this historic moment for Haitian football and wish the team every success at the Fifa World Cup.” Haiti’s jerseys come in blue (home), white (away) and red (third) with red collars and sleeves and the national team’s badge in the center of the shirt. The point of contention resided on the shirt’s right hip, which depicted silhouettes inspired by the Battle of Vertières and the Haitian revolution. In 1803, revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who later became the nation’s first emperor, tore the white band off of a French flag to create a new flag for “the world’s first free Black republic”. The moment is commemorated throughout the nation every 18 May as Haitian Flag Day. The iconography appears on all three of Haiti’s shirts released by Saeta released ahead of the tournament. All three versions are sold out on the Saeta website. The manufacturer does not appear to be priming to release a batch of alternative shirts. Fifa’s online shop only offers two pieces of Haiti-specific merchandise: a trucker hat and a scarf. Haiti advanced from Concacaf World Cup qualifying for the first time since 1974, and wore the now-banned shirts during pre-tournament friendlies against New Zealand and Peru last week. In photos from Fifa’s official World Cup portrait sessions taken on Tuesday, players were wearing jerseys that did not feature the iconography. This is the second time this year that a Haitian team have had to change uniform designs in an international tournament. The International Olympic Committee also required Haiti’s ski suits to be redesigned at the last minute before the Winter Olympics in Milan, as designer Stella Jean’s imagery (which also depicted a revolutionary) apparently breached rules about designs and athlete expression.

World Cup News

The Ghanaian government has raised more than $3m for fans to travel to North America. Photograph: Kara Thomas/Focus Images Ltd/ShutterstockAntoine Semenyo will need help from his supporting cast but there is plenty of excitement about a 20-year-old midfielder likened to Michael Essien This article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. Ghana’s performance in a warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff gave a sense of what their new coach, Carlos Queiroz, might be up to. The first half was not surprising – a leaky, low block with poorly coordinated pressing that brought back memories of the dysfunctional team Otto Addo had left behind. The second half was markedly different: a well-coordinated mid-block with synchronised pressing and better protection for the full-backs. In terms of structure, Queiroz favours a back four – as opposed to Otto’s back three. In Cardiff, he started with a double pivot of Elisha Owusu and a remarkably off-the-pace Thomas Partey, whose withdrawal in the second half for Caleb Yirenkyi seemed significant. The midfield pairing of Yirenkyi, who scored Ghana’s goal, and Kwasi Sibo brought a lot of dynamism and intensity. Out wide, Ernest Nuamah and Christopher Bonsu Baah have pushed themselves to the front of the queue for the right-wing spot. While Baah excelled on the left against Wales, Antoine Semenyo is expected to have that spot under lock and key. That will probably leave Iñaki Williams, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Abdul Fatawu waiting in the wings. Ghana’s main concern is a lack of goals up front. Jordan Ayew, who directly contributed to 14 goals during qualifying, scored just six times for Leicester last season. More worryingly, Ayew started just over half the games for a side that was relegated to League One. The hope is that Manchester City’s Semenyo, who registered 17 goals and four assists in the Premier League, will inspire Ghana in attack. Ghana – drawn with England, Croatia and Panama in Group L – have enough talent to make an impact in North America. Their best showing so far at a World Cup? The quarter-finals in 2010. Carlos Queiroz has coaching experience at Real Madrid and Manchester United, and has worked at the World Cup on four occasions – 2010 with Portugal, and 2014, 2018, and 2022 with Iran. But the Portuguese describes his latest job as the most difficult yet. “After eight national teams and a couple of important competitions, this is the biggest challenge of my entire career, and I am ready for that,” Queiroz said. “When you work for Ghana, they don’t expect anything different than win, win, win. That is why it is the biggest challenge.” In a parallel universe right now, Antoine Semenyo is heading to the World Cup with England, probably as a starter. But the London-born forward will be wearing Ghana’s gold shirt in Foxborough on 23 June, when the Black Stars face the Three Lions. In truth, Semenyo’s international career has not gone according to plan, with three goals in 34 appearances a poor return. But his 17 goals and four assists for Bournemouth and Manchester City this season, plus the winner in the FA Cup final, make him one of the most formidable, in-form forwards in Europe and he should be Ghana’s main threat. Caleb Yirenkyi has been compared with Michael Essien and it’s not hard to see why with his range of tackling, passing and ability to drive the ball forward into the opposition half. He combines athleticism with technical ability and is effective at both ends of the pitch. In January a reported move to Brighton fell through, but there will be no shortage of suitors for the 20-year-old Nordsjælland midfielder. His club and international teammate Prince Amoako told Joy Sports in January: “He doesn’t see himself the way we see him because he’s a very humble guy. But Caleb is insane, he’s crazily good. He’s a superstar, and I tell him so every time.” After failing to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations – the first Afcon they missed for more than 20 years – Ghana turned to Benjamin Asare , who became the first goalkeeper from the Ghana Premier League to start a competitive fixture for the national team since 2015. He was not particularly brilliant but saved the shots expected of him and restored confidence in an otherwise charitable backline. There are still concerns about his command over crosses, but his quick reflexes, agility, and impressive distribution are the reason a defence that conceded 13 goals in nine competitive games before he arrived suddenly went on a mean streak, conceding just once in six World Cup qualifiers. The Ghana Supporters Union may be the most colourful set of fans you will see this summer. With their powerful live band, they produce an electrifying atmosphere wherever they go. Fifa will not allow musical instruments in the grounds but, as they’ve shown in similar circumstances in the past, the Supporters Union will still bring the energy and Ghana’s unique, morale-lifting “jama” (a highly energetic, rhythmic and chant-like music). Ghana’s government is funding for thousands of supporters to travel to the tournament, raising more than $3m. Wary. Ghana has faced tariffs on goods, rows over visas and recently walked away from a big US health and aid deal, saying US negotiators had demanded access to the private health data of citizens. But the government, which last year agreed to accept people deported from the US by Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration, treads a careful path. As for Carlos Queiroz – his long history of working for Iran may add to the sensitivity, but don’t expect big statements. In 2022 as Iran coach he refused to engage with the political heat around their game against USA in Qatar, saying: “Our mission is here to create entertainment, to make people happy. To bring smiles to all people for 90 minutes.” Written by Victor Atsu Tamakloe for Myjoyonline.com.