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Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix: Formula One 2026 – live | Formula One 2026
Key events
Lap 42/66: Ferrari take their chance to bring Hamilton in for a 3rd stop. It’s all going to plan for them, it seems. Right on cue, the virtual safety car ends.
Lap 41/66: Virtual safety car! Alonso comes off on to the grass and what is probably his final F1 race at Barcelona is over. Verstappen dips into the pits and comes out in front of a Haas, producing some angry fist shaking from their crew.
Lap 40/66: Russell sneaks past Leclerc into 2nd after the Ferrari driver had made life a bit difficult. Leclerc comes in to pit.
Lap 39/66: “It’s the critical moment. We have our chance,” Ferrari tell Hamilton over the radio. He will do another 7 laps on these tyres before coming in for a third time. Could their strategy pay off?
Lap 38/66: Antonelli returns to the track just ahead of 5th-place Norris, with Russell ahead in 3rd. Everyone’s on hard tyres now but Hamilton out in front. Leclerc holds 2nd.
Lap 37/66: Hamilton has got the bit between his teeth. He’s already pitted twice and is chipping away at Antonelli’s lead from second. The Italian pits, a lap after Russell.
Lap 36/66: Mercedes call Russell in first for fresh tyres, leaving Antonelli out.
Lap 35/66: Russell and Antonelli continue to do things amicably out in front.
Halfway point
Lap 34/66: The top 10 after the halfway point
1 G Russell (Mercedes)
2 K Antonelli (Mercedes)
3 L Norris (McLaren)
4 L Hamilton (Ferrari)
5 C Leclerc (Ferrari)
6 O Piastri (McLaren)
7 M Verstappen (Red Bull)
8 I Hadjar (Red Bull)
9 L Lawson (Racing Bulls)
10 P Gasly (Alpine)
Lap 33/66: Russell defends Antonelli’s first attack on turn one! The Italian hangs back to prepare himself for another assault. “Let’s not take any risks,” he is told on the Mercedes radio.
Lap 32/66: Antonelli can have a go at Russell now with Sainz out the way in front of them. Leclerc lets a flying Hamilton pass him into 4th.
Lap 31/66: Antonelli has closed the gap to leader Russell to less than just over half a second.
Lap 30/66: Antonelli is on his last warning for track limits. Verstappen heads into the pits too and comes back out in 7th.
Lap 29/66: Hamilton takes Piastri on the outside to move into 6th, both cars avoiding a loitering Perez in the process.
Lap 28/66: Hamilton slots into 7th on his return to the track, a second or two behind Piastri. There is a very sizable gap back to Hajdar in 8th.
Lap 27/66: Ferrari go for a 3-stop strategy as Hamilton dips into the pits, locking up a bit. He’ll swap to medium tyres. Let’s see how everyone else reacts.
Lap 26/66: Bortoleto heads past Ocon into 14th. Antonelli is almost within striking distance of Hamilton in 2nd.
Lap 25/66: Gasly joins the fight for 9th. Hülkenberg gets a bit sweary on the Audi radio as Lawson holds his ground.
Lap 24/66: Hülkenberg has a go at Lawson for 9th and the Racing Bulls driver defends well.
Lap 23/66: “Leclerc is still very much in our race behind,” Red Bull tell Verstappen, with around 3.5sec the gap which is closing all the time.
Lap 22/66: At least a couple of seconds separate the top 7 and nobody is really under any pressure at the moment. Antonelli is gradually gaining on Hamilton in 2nd with the gap around 3.5sec.
Lap 21/66: Ferrari tell Hamilton “we are on plan C”, which doesn’t sound ideal. He’s still around 2sec behind Russell and has the fastest lap so far. Hajdar goes past Lindblad into 8th.
Lap 20/66: Gasly moves past Colapinto into 12th on Alpine team orders. Bearman goes past Alonso, who is now bringing up the rear.
Lap 19/66: Bearman comes in. Lindblad, Hadjar and Lawson hold the final three points spots. The top 7 are 15sec clear of the rest.
Luke McLaughlin
I was out on the grid and in the pit lane before the race – getting close to the cars on the baking tarmac was uniquely memorable – as was brushing past Novak Djokovic in the scrum around George Russell’s and Lewis Hamilton’s cars at the front of the grid.
Russell has been very quick all weekend and comfortably held off the challenge of Hamilton into turn one. Now it’s a question of tyre management, tyre strategy and the other minor detail of driving the car around 14 turns of the 4.657km circuit. Kimi Antonelli will lead the drivers’ standings no matter what this evening but it would be a major statement from Russell if he can bring it home.
Lap 18/66: Hadjar deals with Bearman with a minimum of fuss to move into 9th. Russell is, of course, back in the lead. Hamilton is just short of 2sec back.
Lap 17/66: This time Leclerc follows orders and pits, coming back out with a healthy gap on 7th-place Piastri. Both Williams are under investigation for a start-line procedure.
Lap 16/66: Leclerc opts to stay out for another lap but Russell is shaving time off his lead. Hajdar comes in and sneaks ahead of 12th-place Hülkenberg after returning to the track.
Lap 15/66: “You’ve exposed me to Kimi now,” says Russell but his nerves will be calmed by the sight of Antonelli heading for the pits now too. Leclerc leads the way and, behind him, it’s the same five that led the grid to start with – in the same order.
Lap 14/66: Norris comes in as well. Verstappen has got some mediums on and Hamilton opts for hards. Russell is getting a fit fidgety on the team radio at coming in so early.
Lap 13/66: Russell responds to Ferrari’s strategy by coming into the pits himself to swap his mediums for hards. Antonelli leads the way for the moment.
Lap 12/66: Alonso gets off the mark with a pass on Bottas at the back of the field. That’ll be popular.
Lap 11/66: “I’m wobbling on the straight. It’s quite impressive,” says Verstappen. He and Hamilton both come into the pits.
Lap 10/66: Hadjar eventually gets past Lindblad into 10th. Leclerc is gaining on Verstappen and is now within half a second.
Lap 9/66: Lindblad holds on to the last points place for the time being against Hadjar. Norris complains that he’s “sliding everywhere” on the McLaren radio – and he’s not alone.
Lap 8/66: Hajdar sets his sights on Lindblad in 10th next.
Lap 7/66: There’s a 3sec gap between Russell and Hamilton. Hadjar goes past a sliding Colapinto into 11th. Leclerc and Piastri battle for sixth and it’s the Ferrari driver who goes past on the outside and holds it.
Lap 6/66: Hülkenberg is under investigation for his overtake on Lindblad and possibly leaving the track to gain an advantage. Stroll’s afternoon appears over as he comes into the pits. Hadjar moves past Gasly into 12th.
Lap 5/66: Verstappen’s soft tyres haven’t propelled him forward either, still in fifth and he’s not exactly making ground up on Norris in fourth.
Lap 4/66: An early attack from Hamilton on his soft tyres is yet to materialise as Russell extends his lead bit by bit.
Lap 3/66: Hadjar starts to move back up the field, moving past Sainz with ease. Leclerc was a big mover too, up to 7th from his starting spot of 10th. It’s as you were with the top five.
Lap 2/66: Lindblad had moved as high as 9th on that first lap before Hülkenberg takes the place back. Hadjar has tumbled almost 10 places after a nightmare start.
Lights out!
Russell holds off the challenge from Hamilton on turn one! Antonelli also stays ahead of Norris.
Photograph: David Davies/PA
The drivers head out for their formation lap. It’s a scorching day in Catalonia. Interestingly, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen are both starting on soft tyres. That’s brave!
George Russell does a grid interview from his scooter: “In these conditions it’s never going to be nice and comfortable. Lewis is on form and Kimi … nothing seems to stop him at the moment. I need to try and make amends.”
Lando Norris’s feet are on the ground for his interview: “We’re here to race. We want to try and win, so I’m going to go for that. But at the same time we’re against some fast cars, so we’ll play it as we should.
The drivers line up for the Spanish national anthem, with a Spain flag and the Catalan senyera unfurled on track. Carlos Sainz is the other home favourite involved today, back in 16th with Williams.
The umbrellas come down, the boiler suits come off. It’s almost time for the formation lap.
The trackside DJ is playing One More Time by Daft Punk, no doubt not a coincidence on what is expected to be Fernando Alonso’s 23rd and final F1 race at Barcelona.
The 44-year-old has won here on two occasions (with Renault in 2006 and Ferrari in 2013), with another five podiums to his name. Just coaxing his Aston Martin home today would be enough, you imagine, but that won’t bother the thousands waving Spanish flags in the stands, including his own grandstand.
I’m not sure about the DJ’s back-up dancers, clad from head to toe in material with a Park Güell-themed stone pattern. Very mysterious.
“Hi William,” writes a very formal Tomas Barbosa. “What do you think the tyre strategies will be today? I heard rumours of a 3 stop?”
I will bow to the expertise of Pirelli’s head of motorsport, Dario Marrafuschi:
We expect at least a two-stop strategy – at least two stops. In theory, we expect that the best strategy is medium-hard-hard, also because teams have saved the hard tyres and we think they probably wanted to have those tyres as an option for the race.
The common sense lets us think that the two stops with medium-hard-hard could be an option with a first stop between 15 and 21 and the second between 38 and 44.
For someone like Max Verstappen, starting 5th on the grid, a three-stop strategy might be a little bit quicker – but then again you run the risk of overheating those soft tyres when overtaking towards the end of the race. Track temperatures reached around 50C for qualifying yesterday!
‘The worst car and the worst engine’
Fernando Alonso says this will probably be his last F1 race in front of his home fans in Barcelona. The Aston Martin driver starts from the pits today, being outqualified by teammate Lance Stroll for the first time in 42 races.
The Spanish veteran was, er, not happy yesterday:
We knew we have the worst car and the worst engine and we’ve been very clear in every race so far that we have to work.
We repeat the same thing and it’s exhausting. We’re last, we know it, and we have no problem admitting it.
We have the worst engine, very poor energy deployment, gearbox problems and aerodynamic problems. We’re waiting for the second half of the year, and I hope we can improve a bit when the new car arrives.
A reminder of how qualifying went down yesterday …
Russell was in high spirits:
Really happy to be back in my groove. It’s been a difficult few races, obviously bad luck, and some poor performances in there, but I went back to an approach I knew works for me.
Car setup, mentality … Going back to basics. These cars are so complicated … it’s challenging to get on top of things, especially when I’ve got a guy like this [Antonelli] next to me performing so well … I’m just glad to feel myself again, feel at one with the car again.
Starting grid
Here’s how we line up in Catalonia today:
1 George Russell (Mercedes)
2 Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari)
3 Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)
4 Lando Norris (McLaren)
5 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
6 Isack Hadjar (Red Bull)
7 Oscar Piastri (McLaren)
8 Liam Lawson (Racing Bulls)
9 Nico Hülkenberg (Audi)
10 Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)
11 Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)
12 Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi)
13 Franco Colapinto (Alpine)
14 Pierre Gasly (Alpine)
15 Ollie Bearman (Haas)
16 Carlos Sainz (Williams)
17 Esteban Ocon (Haas)
18 Alex Albon (Williams)
19 Sergio Pérez (Cadillac)
20 Valtteri Bottas (Cadillac)
21 Lance Stroll (Aston Martin)
Pit-lane Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin)
Preamble
Hello, welcome, benvinguts. Is this the day George Russell reignites his title challenge? The Mercedes driver said he felt “like my old self again” after beating Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton to pole at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya yesterday and today is looking to win his first grand prix since the opener in Australia.
Kimi Antonelli, flying the sporting flag for Italy this summer in the absence of the Azzurri at the World Cup, starts third on the grid and leads the drivers’ standings by a whopping 66 points after five race wins on the spin, capped with victory at Monaco last weekend.
It’s lights out in Catalonia at 2pm (BST), so let’s all inject a bit of variety into our lives before another onslaught of football. Whether you’re a bleary-eyed Scot just waking up or an Australian toasting the Socceroos before bed, join me for lap-by-lap coverage and get in touch via email as the action unfolds. Anem
Key events
Change for Curacao: Antonisse replaces Hansen.
The great Rob Smyth is up and away over here…
I’m excited for this one, but we’ve got another 45 to go here. If Curacao score next, you never know.
Half-time email: “There’s another reason why members of the fourth estate should be cheering on the little island this month, reckons Justin Kavanagh. “That lovely Caribbean blue Curaçao drink is the key ingredient of a very fine cocktail called a Journalist, also involving gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice and Angostura bitters. I made one last week and didn’t regret it.”
It sounds a lot more civilised than the flaming blue lamborghinis of my youth, which I’d like to regret but don’t.
Half-time reading: a piece on a shock defeat for Germany and one of the most iconic goals of the 90s.
HALF-TIME: Germany 3-1 Curacao
A terrifically entertaining half of World Cup FootballTM. Germany are clear now, but everything we saw in the first tells us the second will be a lot of fun too.
GOAL! Germany 3-1 Curacao (Havertz pen 45+5)
Havertz ambles up and pauses; Room dives left, and Havertz rolls into the right corner. But it was fun while it lasted, and we’ve got ourselves an eternal moment that’ll stay with us whatever happens from here.
PENALTY TO GERMANY!
45+4 min Nmecha, inside the box, shapes to shoot and Bazoer buys it, sliding in, as the ball is moved one more. He doesn’t fall immediately but when he realises he’ll not be able to get his effort off, he collapses, and the ref has no option but to point to the spot.
45+2 min Chong finds Comenencia, who doesn’t give it back, but Curacao continue probing, Hansen’s eventual shot blocked. I’m really enjoying their conviction on the counter.
45+1 min We’ll have four additional minutes.
45 min Again, Musiala beats men, and though the ball is half-cleared, Wirtz tees-up Pavlovic, whose shot is blocked by Leandro Bacuna.
44 min Another Germany corner, this time from the left, and again, Scholtterbeck is the target, leaing at the back post to head back in, winning another … which comes to nowt.
44 min This has been a hugely enjoyable half. Germany have played pretty well, but the way they play – and in particular, their rest defence, which is aggressive and high – necessarily leaves space for opponents to exploit.
42 min Musiala is so good in tight spaces – he and Kobbie Mainoo are the two I currently watch and find myself shocked they’ve come out of one with the ball, while also not being shocked at all. He bets tow on the edge, but then overhits the delicate pass required to put Havertz in.
40 min “Watching Germany v Curacao,” says Peter Rehwaldt, I can’t help but be struck by the math. If each team gets half the tickets at the stadium (yes, I know that’s not how it works, but bear with me), you could put around 1/4 to 1/3 of the whole Curacao population in the stands…”
Based on what I’ve seen of those who are there, that’d be a pretty decent party.
GOAL! Germany 2-1 Curacao (Schlotterbeck 38)
This time, Kimmich’s delivery is good and no one follows Schlotterbeck, attacking the near post from the far; he glances back the way he ran, and not only does he have his first Germany goal, he has a World Cup goal. No one can ever take that away from him, just as Comenencia will forever be known for the joy he bestowed.
37 min The Germany players won’t be panicking, but they’ll be fearing the shame. They have, though, won a corner down the right.
34 min “Nibble nibble” returns Jeffrey Lilley. “This is what it’s all about. Yeah, it could still end 10-1 for the Germans, but they got nibbled by the minnow … who will now have the confidence to go for a bite.”
Yup, it’s the beauty of a low-scoring game – the underdog has a chance in a way that other team sports don’t really allow. Football is quite good, in my opinion.
32 min It’s getting untidy at the back, but Curacao are doing enough, Musiala threading a delectable pass into the box for Sane, who collects, then swivels into a shot … blocked brilliantly by Fonville, the rebound eluding Havertz.
30 min Germany are back dictating, working the ball across the face of the penalty area for Pavlovic, who shoots hard and low from the edge … but Comenecia blocks. What a few minutes he’s having and, for the rest of his life, he’ll be known as the man who scored Curacao’s first World Cup goal. I’d like to describe how he’s feeling, but it’s completely beyond my comprehension; my eyeballs are sweating even thinking about it.
29 min Room fists the corner away but Gerany sustain the attack, Sane attacking Obsipo on the outside, down the right … and the tackle is perfect, risky but beautifully timed. The resultant corner comes to nothing.
28 min And the delivery is excellent, flighted towards Schlotterbeck on the far side of the box, and he’s up, the connection is decent … and Room tips over.
27 min We get going again and Germany win a free-kick down the right, not far from the by-line; Kimmich is behind it.
26 min “I know exactly which bar and drink you’re referring to here, after having had it once you wouldn’t soon forget,” says Dave Cross. “I was so naive at that age I assumed it was a popular drink and asked for it at bars here in Toronto, obviously to impress my fellow university students with my knowledge of how to get blitheringly drunk. More than one bartender gave me a confused stare and simply said no.”
Probably for the best. After three, a couple of my mates decided it’d be a good idea to play a game entailing alternate straight punches to the jaw. That turned out not to be the case.
24 min Time for a water break.
23 min Now Locadia goes at Tah on the outside, looking like he’s gone by only to be eased into the turf. Suddenly, this is a contest!
GOOOOOAAAAAALLLL! Germany 1-1 Curacao (Comenencia 21)
Do not adjust your screen! This is actually happening! And you know what? It’s almost been coming! Again, Curacao attack, slipping a pass into the box, and when the ball breaks to Locadia, he shoots, the effort blocked, but Comenencia arrives on to it, his shot flicks off a Kimmich, the deflection taking it over Neuer’s hands, and CURACAO HAVE LEVELLED IT AGAINST GERMANY! THIS IS WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT, AND IMAGINE THE SOUTH CARIBBEAN RIGHT ABOUT NOW!
20 min Better from Curacao, attacking down the right with Hansen, whose cross is intercepted by Chong, leaping to take it away from the man behind. But they’ve men forward and, when the ball breaks to Leandro Bacuna, on the edge, he lashes an effort high and wide.
19 min Curacao win a free-kick in the centre-circle, but instead of getting the big men and the ball launched, they go backwards. I’m sure they’re keen to keep the score social, but they’ve got to take every opportunity to it down the other end.
17 min Curacao heads must be spinning, lungs burning. This what they wanted, and the challenge is every bit as intense as they’d have imagined. But it’s only 1-0, and the numbers Germany are committing forward might just offer them a chance on the counter.
15 min Wirtz moves infield off the left, Brown’s run down the outside helping to create the space, and he too unfurls a curler, the shot flying just wide. If Germany score in the next 15 or so, this could get messy.
14 min “Top wind-up player joins top wind-up manager – makes sense,”.says Charles Antaki on Cucurella to Madrid. “Robbie Savage next to join the club. Others checking emails.”
Tell you what, though: since he started managing, Savage’s co-commentary has become really good. You can tell he’s become obsessed with the tactical side of the game, and he’s pretty good at communicating it.
12 min Gosh, Nmecha shoots again, from the edge, but straight at Room.
11 min I keep trying to publish emails but Germany keep trying to score. How rude. This time, it’s Musiala finding Sane, who dips inside, doesn’t catch all of his shot, and the ball trickles wide of the far post – via deflection, I think, but the ref signals a goalkick and we’re only checking VAR when that happens the other way around, to avoid a goal coming from an error.
8 min Nmecha fancies this, pulling right and lashing a shot that won’t quite curl back in sufficiently. But I’m afraid Curacao are in trouble.
7 min “As an Icelander, I’m rooting for my fellow islanders” writes Kári Tulinius. “I know how thrilling it is for a country with a small population to make the World Cup. One of the beauties of international football is that it’s just eleven against eleven, and a nation of thousands can compete with a nation of millions with some hope of success. I can’t claim any connection to Curaçao, beyond having enjoyed my share of Blue Bols, but I’ll be rooting for them throughout. Come on you Blue Wave!”
I first came across Curacao at a bar in Jerusalem called the Tavern, which was famous for a drink called Polish Butterfly that contained it, grain alcohol and grenadine. It was served with a pint of water, such was the burning effect, and three was enough to bid one a good night, sleep tight.
GREAT GOAL! Germany 1-0 Curacao (Nmecha 6)
Germany looked poised to score when a ball into the box found Nmecha, whose shot was blocked by Obispo, but Nagelsman’s men come again, Nmecha playing short to Wirtz on the edge. He rolls studs over the ball and he return is perfectly weighted, glanced off the side of the foot with no-look disguise and, from 17 yards, a curling finish, punched into the far side-netting, halfway up, secures the lead.
3 min Germany move down the left with Brown beating his man and nudging across the box … but there’s no on able to profit. So Curacao get it forward quickly and, though they can’t threaten, we can see they plan to attack when the opportunity presents itself.
1 min Gosh, the camera angle in Houston is vertiginously high, White Hart Lane and the some; we’ve been denied their away kit, but Curacao look banging in their blue and yellow.
1 min Curacao get us under way. They’re here!
“This game is one of the reasons I love the World Cup,” says Jeffrey Lilley. An established power versus a debutante that most people don’t know much about. It’s fascinating for many reasons. It looks like a mismatch but I’ve seen Germany get nibbled, and sometimes bitten, by supposed minnows before.”
And even so, this one would be unprecedented. What I also love – and the Scotland game showed the same aspect – is what just being involved means to those for whom it’s not de rigueur. Georgia at the last Euros is another example of the same; I can’t think of many times I’ve seen that level of fervency.
A real turn-up for the books…
I was broadly fine with the water breaks because player safety has to be paramount, but already, it looks like the opportunity to show ads it what’s really going on here, and the change to the nature of the game, halting momentum and allowing for a reset, is not acceptable.
Anthem time…
Our teams are tunnelled … and here they come!
“I mean, Scotland scored four against Curaçao in a recent friendly so, you know, I don’t think Germany are in too much danger here,” begins Simon McMahon. “But we also conceded first and only really took control once the South Caribbeans had gone down to 10 so, you know, maybe it’s not a foregone conclusion. But anything other than a win for Germany would be up there with the biggest World Cup shocks of all time.”
I expect Curacao to be organised and to believe in what they’re doing – in the past, enough to beat Scotland. The shock here is that they managed to get the job done.
“The smallest country, but lots of fans in the Netherlands, writes Louise Devries. “Many of us have been in Curaçao. We know all the players as they (-1) were born here and play(ed) here. About 8 players wore the oranje shirt in youth selections. Chong was expected once to get in Oranje. Great to see him play in the WC. He is the one to watch.
Hup Blauwe Golf!”
Yes, Chong is the only player born on the island. He’s got some pace and trickery, and I guess it makes sense that he play centrally so they can get him on the ball as often as possible.
In other football news, it seems that Marc Cucurella is leaving Chelsea for Real Madrid. I’m a little surprised by that – he’s a decent player, but there are better left-backs around.
Here’s today’s Football Daily.
Email! “Tiny Curaçao has just 158,000 citizens, apparently,” says Justin Kavanagh. “So after tonight (assuming they throw on at least four subs), one in every 10,500 Curaçao’s will have played against Germany at a World Cup finals.”
It’s amazing isn’t it? With the expansion of the competition, Curaçao saw the glimmer of an opportunity, backed themselves by appointing first Guus Hiddink then Patrick Kluivert, and Advocaat finished the job. There’ll be a decent atmosphere on the island this lunchtime, I shouldn’t wonder.
Where is the game? It’s not easy to find an obvious weakness in Germany’s defensive set up, but both full-backs like to get forward and Kimmich can often be found inverting, so I’d be looking to target the space they leave. Otherwise, runs in behind the centre-backs that get them turned and facing their own goal might work, so too set-pieces.
Germany, meanwhile, will keep the ball moving, with Musiala and Wirtz looking to pick holes. I wonder if they might lack a bit of natural width, Wirtz not being a winger and Sane playing on the right, but they can always change things and look to put crosses in – they’ve got Nick Woltemade and Deniz Undav on the bench, both of whom can change things.
Stop press: Wikipedia advises me Chong’s full name is Tahith Jose Girigorio Djorkaef Chong and yes, he is named after the Bolton legend, who his dad loved at Inter.
As for Curaçao, Advocaat has resisted the urge to go with a back five – it hamstrung South Africa against Mexico, for what thats worth – to match up against Germany. Leandro Bacuna, of course, played for Villa in the Premier League, while Tahith Chong, who played for Man United a few times and is now at Sheffield United.
Manuel Neuer, meanwhile, becomes Germany’s oldest World Cup player, coming out of international retirement at the age of 40. If I was Dick Advocaat, I’d be trying to put him under pressure as soon as possible.
Looking at the Germany team, it’s pretty much as expected. I might’ve gone with Antonio Rudiger not Jonathan Tah, but there’s some serious footballing chops in that back four while, in front of them, Aleksandar Pavlovic is a potential superstar. It’s a shame Lennart Karl is injured, but Jamal Musiala will be the creative hub, while the slower pace of international football – all the more so given the temperatures – might just suit Floran Wirtz, who has plenty to prove. And up front, though Kai Havertz isn’t everyone’s idea of a centre-forward, he’s a big-game player with the feet and cunning to bring those behind him into play.
Great news: Emma Hayes is in the ITV studio. There aren’t many better pundits, and she’s currently extolling Mauricio Pochettino who, for the first time since he was at Spurs, has players who fit his high-energy, ego-free style of football. I quite fancy USA to do well; don’t be surprised if they beat more vaunted opponents.
The teams
Germany (4-2-3-1): Neuer; Kimmich, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Brown; Pavlovic, Nmecha; Sane, Musiala, Wirtz; Havertz. Subs: Baumann, Nubel, Rudiger, Anton, Goretzka, Leweling, Woltemade, Gross, Beier, Stiller, Amiri, Raum, Thiaw, Ouedraogo, Undav.
Curaçao (4-2-3-1): Room; Floranus, Bazoer, Obispo, Fonville; Comenencia, Leandro Bacuna; Hansen, Chong Juninho Bacuna; Locadia. Subs: Bodak, Doornbusch, Sambo, Gaari, van Eijma, Roemeratoe, Antonisse, Noslin, Gorre, Martha, Margaritha, Kuwas, Kastaneer, Brenet, Felida.
Referee: Jalal Jayed (Morocco)
Preamble
There’s a concept in Jewish practice and learning that we call “lishma”; for its own sake. Roughly, it means that, in their purest expression, commandments aren’t fulfilled and texts aren’t studied for performative purposes, nor for any kind of reward or benefit, but in pursuit of truth and connection with the divine.
You can feel a segue coming, right? Well, here it is: the group stage of this World Cup features 72 matches to eliminate just 16 teams, which means those of us with no financial interest in proceedings watch them knowing the majority have little bearing on who stays and who goes, never mind who lifts the trophy at the end. Rather, we’re here for the simple beauty of football and joy of the competition.
But what beauty and what joy! Curaçao have never previously qualified for this competition and now they have, they’re its smallest ever participant, by population – less than 160,000 – and area – 171 square miles. Dick Advocaat, their manager, left in February to look after his ill daughter, but happily her condition improved so he’s back at the helm; we can be certain his team will be organised and ready.
Germany, meanwhile, have endured a miserable time at the World Cup since winning it in 2014 – in both Russia and Qatar, they were eliminated in the group stages, losing to Mexico and South Korea, then Japan. This is not what is expected from or of Turniermannschaft, the tournament team and, with a blue-chip coach now in charge, they’ll surely improve on those that pair of embarrassments.
Whether they’ve the firepower to go all the way, though, remains to be seen. At the back, they look strong and in midfield, they’ve so many options it’s ridiculous, but up front, they lack a reliable scorer – though, given the creative brilliance of what’s behind, the retired and 48-year-old Miroslav Klose would probably have fancied himself to bag a few, even if his signature somersault is probably harder to perform.
That being the case, it’s hard to see any outcome here other than a convincing Germany win. But if Curaçao can start well, things might just get tense and, if they do, our attention will shift from enjoying whatever the game throws at us to contemplating one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history. And if that happens, celebrations in the south Caribbean will give the term “lishma” an entirely new aspect.
Kick-off: 12pm local, 1pm EDT, 6pm BST, 3am (Mon) AEST
The three-day metal festival has put on a show at Donington Park in Leicestershire.
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Middle East crisis live: Trump says Israel should not have attacked Beirut but warns against retaliation | US-Israel war on Iran
Trump says Israel’s attack on Beirut ‘should not have happened’
In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump has criticised Israel for attacking the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier today seeing as Washington and Tehran are “so close” to a peace deal.
Trump said there should be no more attacks on Lebanon, something Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is very unlikely to accept. He also warned Hezbollah, the Iran backed Lebanese militant group, of striking across the border into Israel.
Trump said:
This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.
We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!
Key events
Israel’s foreign ministry said in an X post that “Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, is the one that attacked Israel again this morning, completely unprovoked”.
“Hezbollah constantly fires at Israeli civilians,” it said, adding that these attacks have continued “even after the ceasefire”.
“It was Hezbollah that launched an unprovoked attack on Israel in March, acting under the orders of its Iranian masters,” it said.
The statement came in response to comments that were made Sunday by Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, who said Israel’s latest strikes on Beirut show the US is not fulfilling its commitments.
“The Zionists’ incursion into Dahiyeh has once again shown that America either lacks the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so. By giving the green light to the regime, you cannot gain concessions. The game of bad cop and good cop is outdated,” Ghalibaf wrote. “If you lack the will and ability to fulfill your commitments, speaking of continuing the path is not possible”.
Israel’s army said in a social media post that “several suspected aerial targets” fell a short while ago in the north of the country, near the Lebanese border.
“No injuries were reported, and the incident is under review,” it added.
Trump says Israel’s attack on Beirut ‘should not have happened’
In a Truth Social post, Donald Trump has criticised Israel for attacking the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital Beirut earlier today seeing as Washington and Tehran are “so close” to a peace deal.
Trump said there should be no more attacks on Lebanon, something Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is very unlikely to accept. He also warned Hezbollah, the Iran backed Lebanese militant group, of striking across the border into Israel.
Trump said:
This morning’s attack on Beirut should not have happened, particularly on a special day when we are so close to a Peace Deal with Iran. Israel has the right to defend itself against threats, but the attack it was responding to was very small and meaningless, nobody was hurt, injured, or killed, and should not disrupt this important process.
We are very close to a Deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace — Let’s not blow it!
Despite Iran’s cautious statements, the US ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told ABC News’s ‘This Week’ programme that Donald Trump and his vice-president JD Vance have every “intent” for an agreement with Tehran to be signed today.
“I’ll leave the actual details and timing to the White House,” he said. “The Iranians are incredibly difficult negotiators coupled with the fact that they’re having a very hard time getting guidance from their supreme leader.”
“I’m confident, the team is confident,” Waltz added. “I’ll let the final details be announced by them. I don’t want to get ahead of the president or the vice president, but they have every intent of getting this done today.”
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The proposed deal calls for reopening the strait of Hormuz and lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, sources on either side of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program would take place afterwards.
According to Iranian officials, the agreement would end conflict on all fronts, including Lebanon, and ensure the release of $24bn (£18bn) of Iran’s frozen assets, as my colleagues note in this story.
It would also set a 60-day period for negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme, offer the suspension of sanctions on the sale of Iran’s oil and petrochemical products, allow Iran to levy service charges on passage through the strait of Hormuz and lift the US naval blockade on Iranian ports, which has been in place since 13 April.
Iranian media says US-Iran deal not yet finalised
Citing a source “close” to the Iranian negotiating team, the Fars news agency is reporting that the emerging US-Iran deal is yet to be finalised and that “no agreement will definitely be signed at the time Trump announced”.
Donald Trump announced yesterday that a deal is scheduled to be signed at some point today, though Tehran has cast doubt on the timings. Qatari negotiators reportedly flew to Tehran this morning to help facilitate the finalisation of the agreement – but Israel’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon are likely to complicate diplomatic efforts.
The Israeli military said it was preparing for a possible retaliatory attack “in the coming hours”, after carrying out a deadly strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs earlier on Sunday.
“Following the IDF strike in Beirut … the IDF is preparing for potential fire toward the territory of the state of Israel in the coming hours,” the military said.
Israel’s military chief, Eyal Zamir, said the military is “closely monitoring developments” across the region. “Lebanon is our main center of gravity, but we are also preparing for developments in other arenas,” Zamir was quoted as having said during a meeting with commanders at the Northern Command.
Egypt’s president, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is expected to have a meeting with Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit.
The summit, which is taking place in Évian-les-Bains, on France’s eastern border with Switzerland, will start tomorrow and last three days.
A spokesperson for the Egyptian presidency said Egypt’s participation “underscores its pivotal role in advancing development and stability efforts in the Middle East”. “During the summit, President El-Sisi is scheduled to hold a multitude of bilateral meetings with participating world leaders on the sidelines of the summit, prominently featuring a bilateral meeting with US President Donald Trump,” the statement added.
Lebanon’s state-run National News agency is reporting that Israel carried out a “large bombing operation” in the southern Lebanese town of Haddatha this afternoon. No casualties or injuries were immediately reported. We will monitor for developments on this.
Iran military official reportedly says Beirut attack will not go ‘unanswered’
A senior Iranian military official has warned that Israel’s strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs would not go “unanswered” by Tehran, according to local media (see post at 11.45 for more details on the attack).
“Without a doubt, these crimes will not go unanswered,” Brigadier General Mohammad Jafar Asadi, deputy commander of Iran’s highest military command, told Defa Press news agency.
The IDF notified the US Central Command (Centcom) about its strike on Beirut’s Dahiyeh district shortly before the attack took place, according to Axios’ global affairs correspondent Barak Ravid.
Iran says that any Israeli attack on Beirut is a violation of the ceasefire with the US and could therefore derail ongoing peace talks.
Analysts say Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to sabotage the talks for his own political purposes. He clearly seems reluctant to stop the attacks on Lebanon, which the military says are only targeting Hezbollah fighters and sites, even though the strikes regularly kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure.
According to a statement on the Iranian foreign minister’s official Telegram account, Abbas Araghchi highlighted the fact that many observers now argue that his country has emerged more powerful from the war than the before (principally because it has shown its ability to impact the global economy through control of the strategic strait of Hormuz, and attack US-allied Gulf countries, which are incredibly vulnerable despite the fact they are meant to be safeguarded under an American security blanket).
“This change in perspective is not simply due to the country’s defense capabilities; rather, it is rooted in the steadfastness, solidarity, and resistance of the Iranian nation, which were the main support of the country in difficult days,” Araghchi wrote.
The Iranian foreign minister also spoke of Iran’s importance in relation to regional security going forward. He wrote in his post: “The experience of the recent war showed that regional security cannot be based on eliminating or ignoring Iran.”
“The countries of the region have gradually come to the realisation that sustainable security, economic development, and regional stability are only possible through cooperation, understanding, and consideration of the common interests of all countries in the region, including the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Iran’s top negotiator says Israeli attack on Beirut suburbs shows US lacks will or ability to fulfill commitments
Iran’s top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Sunday that Israel’s attack on Beirut’s southern suburbs showed the United States either lacked the will to fulfill its commitments or the ability to do so, Reuters reports.
In a post on X, he said continuing on the current path would be impossible if commitments could not be fulfilled.
The deputy commander of Iran’s top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, said on Sunday that Israeli “crimes” in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital will not go unanswered, according to state media.
The comments follow Israeli strikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs that Israel claimed targeted Iran’s Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Summary of the day so far
Here are summary of today’s development’s so far as we wait for any concrete details on a potential peace deal between the US and Iran:
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The Israeli military has launched strikes on Beirut it claimed were targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. Smoke has been seen rising over the capital.
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Lebanon civil defence says three people were killed in the strikes.
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The attacks follow the IDF telling people in 29 villages in southern Lebanon to leave their homes ahead of strikes.
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The attack on Beirut were launched despite ongoing efforts to secure a peace deal between the US and Iran. On Saturday night Trump said the two countries would sign the deal on Sunday
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However sources told Iranian media that Tehran had ‘not yet’ made a final decision on signing the deal.
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This follows Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, advising caution on Saturday. “We will have to wait and see about the exact date of the signing of the memorandum of understanding, although it will not be tomorrow,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. “The possibility of this happening in the coming days cannot be ruled out.”
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Qatari mediators have traveled to Tehran on Sunday to finalise the agreement according to sources, suggesting there is more detail to be resolved.
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No concrete details have emerged on the deal, but it is reported that Iran has agreed not to produce or acquire a nuclear weapon under a draft memorandum of understanding between Iran’s leaders and the US, according to a senior Iranian official speaking to the Reuters news agency.
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Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, said on Saturday Islamabad was preparing for an electronic signing within 24 hours to be followed by technical-level talks next week. “We are closer to a peace deal than ever before,” Sharif wrote on social media.
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Pro-government night-time rallies continue across Iran, and have now been held for more than 100 nights, with some people protesting an agreement with the US. A resident in the north-eastern city of Mashhad told Reuters in Dubai that some protesters chanted: “Death to the compromiser,” in an apparent reference to the foreign minister Abbas Araqchi.
Some images from today’s Israeli strikes on Beirut. The strikes are second strikes on the capital in a week.
There was no immediate comment from Hezbollah on the Israeli statement regarding strikes on Beirut, but the group said it launched missiles and drones towards Israeli troops in southern Lebanon.
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