The World Cup 2026 is underway but the sight of thousands of empty seats during South Korea’s win over Czech Republic, combined with irritation at the “mandatory” water breaks during each match, have taken some of the shine off the opening games.
Amid controversy surrounding the ticket prices at the World Cup, with Fifa president Gianni Infantino defending the dynamic pricing policy on the eve of the tournament, thousands of empty red seats could be seen throughout the stadium during South Korea’s win.
After Mexico grabbed a big win over South Africa, in a match that saw three red cards, today is the turn for the other co-hosts; Canada take on Bosnia and Herzegovina before the USA battle Paraguay in the late kick-off. Donald Trump looks set not to attend.
Meanwhile, USA coach Mauricio Pochettino has said he doesn’t like the three-minute water breaks that will take place during each half of each game, regardless of how hot the stadium is. “When the conditions are good it is not necessary to have water breaks,” he said.
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The science of winning the World Cup – inside Thomas Tuchel’s psychological overhaul of England
One of the factors the England manager has been most obsessed with is building the right chemistry, but there is now much more to it than gut feelings about personality. There is a science to it, writes Miguel Delaney in his latest Inside Football newsletter
The true meaning behind the ‘Trumpification’ of the 2026 World Cup
It is the biggest World Cup in history – but one figure looms larger still over it. Miguel Delaney explains how Donald Trump has defined this tournament from conception to culmination.
World Cup task force CEO confirms Donald Trump will not attend opening game
Andrew Giuliani, the World Cup task force’s CEO, has confirmed Donald Trump’s plans for tonight’s opening game between the United States and Paraguay. “He’s not going to end up attending the opening game,” Giuliani told TalkSport. “As we’ve said, his scheduling is tight. But I know he’s going to be engaged throughout this World Cup.
“But the one thing, having known President Trump for now 30 years, what I can tell you is: expect the unexpected. Always expect a cliffhanger with him. Throughout the course of this tournament, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see him engage more and more with the World Cup.”
Instead, secretary of state Mark Rubio will travel from Washington with transport secretary Sean Duffy and secretary of homeland security Markwayne Mullin.
What’s happening? Alarming poll finds that half of Americans do not care about the World Cup
The World Cup is underway and, according to a new poll, many Americans don’t really care.
More than 4 in 10 American respondents to a new poll from Emerson College said they weren’t interested in this year’s tournament.
The survey was conducted on June 7 and 8 — just days before the starting matches — and found that 45 percent of the 1,200 respondents said they had no interest in the event.
After decades trying to win the World Cup, shouldn’t the USA be better at football by now?
USA are four-time champions in the women’s game but as the 2026 tournament begins on home soil, are they any closer to winning the men’s World Cup?
Jude Bellingham reveals major issue hampered England at Euro 2024
Jude Bellingham has admitted that England “got things a little bit wrong” off the pitch at Euro 2024 – but believes the experience will help them as they bid for World Cup success.
“At the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch,” the Real Madrid midfielder said on England’s Lions’ Den show.
“I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have for a number of reasons. Expectation was part of it – we had done well in 2018 and done well in Qatar [for the 2022 World Cup] and when it came to that tournament we were seen as one of two or three teams that should win it.
“We were not playing particularly well so even when we were winning you didn’t get the feeling you were as happy as you should be.
“There has to be that element of relentless and wanting to win but it is the nature of football that wins go out of the system quickly and we should hold on to that moment a little more.”
World Cup task force CEO confirms Donald Trump will not attend opening game
Andrew Giuliani, the World Cup task force’s CEO, has confirmed Donald Trump’s plans for tonight’s opening game between the United States and Paraguay. “He’s not going to end up attending the opening game,” Giuliani told TalkSport. “As we’ve said, his scheduling is tight. But I know he’s going to be engaged throughout this World Cup.
“But the one thing, having known President Trump for now 30 years, what I can tell you is: expect the unexpected. Always expect a cliffhanger with him. Throughout the course of this tournament, it wouldn’t surprise me if we see him engage more and more with the World Cup.”
Instead, secretary of state Mark Rubio will travel from Washington with transport secretary Sean Duffy and secretary of homeland security Markwayne Mullin.
Who are England’s modern-day WAGs at this year’s World Cup?
As the biggest football tournament kicks off, 20 years on from the arrival of the infamous troop in Baden-Baden in 2006, Olivia Petter takes a look at the very different partners supporting England’s footballers today – from lawyers and nurses to childhood sweethearts
Well, for starters, they’re not likely to be called WAGs at all. The wives and girlfriends of this year’s England team tend to skew more on the low-key side of things, not least because many of them have fairly intense jobs themselves. Consider Naima Corbin, a nurse who is married to Arsenal midfielder Eberechi Eze and works in intensive care. There is also Mia-Florence McClenaghan (dating Reece James), who recently graduated from Royal Holloway with a law degree, and Olivia Kate Parvia (dating Elliot Anderson), a paralegal.
Why Scott McTominay has been kept away from Scotland squad ahead of World Cup opener
Scott McTominay has been kept separate from the rest of the Scotland squad with the midfielder a doubt for their World Cup opener against Haiti.
McTominay missed training on Thursday at Scotland’s base in Charlotte as he deals with an upset stomach, and was not on the team bus as it arrived at a hotel in Boston ahead of Saturday night’s fixture.
The Napoli midfielder was instead accompanied by a doctor as a precautionary measure as Steve Clarke looks to avoid the possibility of the illness spreading through his squad.
The 29-year-old shapes as a key figure at the World Cup as Clarke’s side look to navigate out of a tough group also including Brazil and Morocco.