UK News
King launches Space Agency project on final day in Bermuda
The King concludes his visit to the British overseas territory after landing from the US on Thursday.
Source link
Key events
If you prefer your World Cup roundups in written form, Dominic Booth has you covered.
An old footballing adage tells us that no World Cup is quite complete without a gutsy run of results from the host nation(s), who dutifully go deep in the tournament to stir up local fervour. See South Korea in 2002 for a prime example: a plucky and at times controversial slalom to the semi-finals before being crushed by a traditional heavyweight. Way back when, a host nation winning the whole thing was commonplace, occurring in five of the first 11 World Cups when Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), England (1966), West Germany (1974) and Argentina (1978) triumphed on home soil. Nowadays, thanks to Fifa’s completely altruistic desire to spread the game globally, the prospect of a host nation actually lifting the trophy is somewhat diminished, with South Africa and Qatar crashing out in the group stage in recent-ish years.
With nearly two hours to kick-off, you have plenty of time to catch up with Max and Barry’s game of four quarters.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and welcome to live coverage of match 31 of the 2026 World Cup between Brazil and Haiti. Kick-off in this Group C clash at Philadelphia Stadium is 8:30pm local time (1:30am BST/10:30am AEST).
On paper this is a mismatch of historic proportions.
The Selecao have five stars above their crest, Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout, and the Champions League-winning skipper wearing the captain’s armband. Haiti have only played four matches at the finals, lost them all, and are managed by a Frenchman who has been in charge for two years without ever setting foot in the country.
But the team in gold were, to put it charitably, rusty, in their opening draw with Morocco, and Les Grenadiers were spirited in defeat to Scotland.
Anything other than a comprehensive Brazilian victory would set alarm bells ringing in the home of jogo bonito. It is 24 years and five World Cups since the country last tasted success. They have never gone longer between open top bus parades.
I’ll be back shortly with team news and a roundup of all the matchday action so far. In the meantime you can keep an eye on Scotland v Morocco and email any thoughts about the World Cup to jonathan.howcroft.freelance@theguardian.com.
The deaths of teenagers Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans sparked a night of violence in Cardiff in 2023.
Source link
Key events
Ewan Murray
Scotland’s switch to three/five man defence is no surprise. The inclusion of Nathan Patterson at right wing back instead of Aaron Hickey will turn heads, however. There have been no reports of a Hickey fitness, albeit his minutes are typically managed after a significant injury that saw him miss more than a year at Brentford. Hickey was short of his best against Haiti and received a yellow card, with those elements perhaps the simple explanation for this switch.
The exact shape of Scotland’s midfield will be intriguing. Ryan Christie plays in a deeper role for Bournemouth than typically for Scotland. Christie, one of three changes to the starting XI, is likely to be used to support Che Adams in attack.
Scotland’s team shirts are embroidered inside the neck with a message from Joe Jordan. “I came from a small place and set out in my life and career to go the furthest I could,” it reads. “For me that was playing for my country in World Cups.”
Scotland look to be 5-4-1, or even 4-5-1. Morocco will again play 4-2-3-1, by the looks of it.
Ewan Murray
Ally McCoist, who scored the winner for Scotland against Switzerland at Euro 96, is wandering around the media centre in Boston wearing his country’s strip from that very era. Scotland were denied a place in the knock-out stage of that tournament on goal difference (or, as far as Scots are concerned, because David Seaman let a Patrick Kluivert shot through his legs at Wembley as England beat the Netherlands 4-1).
There are shades of 1996 around Scotland’s scenario here. A narrow win over Haiti leaves Steve Clarke’s team with at least the possibility of being in a goal difference scrap for the last 32. Scotland could almost certainly avoid that anxiety with the claiming of a point from this game against a hotly-tipped Moroccan team. Morocco are rightly the heavy favourites. Scotland have to prove the cliche true in showing they are better as the underdog. Easier said than done.
Three changes for Scotland: Kieran Tierney, Nathan Patterson and Ryan Christie wil start with Aaron Hickey, Ben Gannon-Doak and Lawrence Shankland on the bench. That suggests a formation change. Morocco are unchanged from the Brazil game.
The teams
Scotland: Gunn, Hanley, Hendry, Tierney, Patterson, McTominay, Ferguson, Robertson, McGinn, Christie, Adams. Subs: Kelly, Gordon, Hickey, Fletcher, Dykes, Stewart, Souttar, Hyam, Doak, Hirst, Shankland, McLean, Ralston, Curtis, McKenna.
Morocco: Bounou, Hakimi, Diop, Riad, Mazraoui, El Aynaoui, Bouaddi, Diaz, Ounahi, El Khannous, Saibari. Subs: Mohamedi, Tagnaouti, Amrabat, Saadane, Talbi, Rahimi, El Ouahdi, El Mourabet, Yassine, Sbai, Belammari, El Kaabi, Amaimouni-Echghouyab, Halhal, Saleh-Eddine.
Referee: Ilgiz Tantashev (Uzbekistan)
With the USA team winning well against Australia, feels like all three host teams will go through. The hosts in 2010 and 2022 didn’t get through the groups but good for business, right? Nice piece from the excellent Joe Callaghan.
In putting himself out front and centre Marsch has, arguably, given his players the room to feel their way into the roles, before meeting the moment. Out there in the rest of the world, some may already be tiring of Marsch’s excesses but Canada is revelling in his leadership. Thursday was both catharsis and crisis and Marsch led the country through both and left windmilling his arms for more.
Tony Barr gets in touch with a question: “D’you think there’s a lot of ‘we mustn’t underestimate the Scots’ doing the rounds on the Moroccan TV pre-game chat, or is that peculiar to English pundits when your lot are up against lower opposition?
”Either way, I like to think the Moroccan Alan Shearer (Hamdallah?) is telling someone right now that Scotland ‘ iinahum laysuu ‘aghbia’’.”
Weather watch: it’s *just* 26 degrees in Foxboro, with some clouds in the sky. What counts as a heatwave in Largs, to put it another way.
The transfer market never stops and Ayyoub Bouaddi has been linked with just about everybody since his showing against Brazil. He’s a Lille player at present, but unlikely to be one beyond the closure of the window.
Ouahbi was referring to Bouaddi’s performance in a 1-0 victory against Ancelotti’s Madrid in October 2024 on the day he turned 17, which ended with Lille’s supporters singing happy birthday to him on the pitch.
That ensured that every big club in Europe has been tracking his progress since. Arsenal are in preliminary talks to sign a player believed to be valued at about £70m by Lille; Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are thought to have registered an interest and Liverpool had scouts watching him on Saturday.
Against Brazil, it was noticeable the Morocco fans were significantly louder. That should make the atmosphere one to remember in Foxboro.
Steve Clarke is not a man to overstate things and he was typically realistic in his assessment of the Moroccans.
“We are under no illusion about the size of the task. I feel Morocco are a really, really good side. They reached the last four of the last World Cup and I have a feeling this Morocco team is slightly better than that, so that gives you an idea of the task ahead. They have power, they have pace, they have little bits of skill that can open up a game. For me they are the real deal, a top side. We will have to be at our very best to compete.
“It is a big challenge for us. We give them a lot of respect. We expect they will probably have more of the ball, more possession. We have to make sure that when we have the ball we can be a threat to Morocco.”
Scott McTominay did not have his best game against Haiti but he remains his team’s key man.
You need only walk in the vicinity of Hampden Park to learn of McTominay’s standing as a Scotland player. Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law have never been depicted on portraits on the gable end of terraced flats close to the national stadium. McTominay, a player born in England, produced such an iconic moment against Denmark last November that it will sit as an artistic reference point for ever more.
Paul MacInnes has been out and about with the Scotland fans.
Just 10 days since they first began arriving in New England, Scotland fans have managed to bring yet another nation under their thrall. Carrying a letter of support from FC Cologne, the last place to fall for the Scots two years ago, they have charmed, amused and fascinated the locals in Boston and beyond. Following the antics of the Scottish fans, their discovery of tailgating or their dancing at the baseball, appears to have become an American pastime, with clips ubiquitous on everyone’s social media feeds.
Preamble
The Tartan Army have been making friends in Boston, and they were able to celebrate a first win since 1990 when beating Haiti on Saturday . The Concacaf team proved nothing like an Iran from 1978 or Costa Rica from 1990. Not that Scotland were particularly impressive, and there were Caledonian nerves jangling all evening. Will John McGinn’s deflected goal be the high point? Here comes a real challenge in the shape of the African champions* (Cas ruling permitting) Morocco, a team who were much the better team in their opening match with Brazil. And were semi-finalists last time out, though this is a far more expansive team that the battling outfit from Qatar. If the equation for qualification is four points then a draw here would be handy. Exiting the group stage via the front door for the first time would be within Scotland’s grasp. It’s on? Well, that’s what we’re about to find out.
Kick-off is 6pm ET/11pm UK time/8am AEST. Join me.
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoRyan Bridge speaks of London arrest after Oxford incident
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoNew video call system to help domestic abuse victims
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoOxfordshire Lib Dems lose another councillor amid ‘serious concerns’
-
Oxford News3 weeks agoOxfordshire families invited to free day of fun in Bicester
-
Crime & Safety3 weeks agoPhotos as 1979 Pontiac Firebird ‘bursts in flames’ at Tesco
-
Business & Technology3 weeks agoNew ‘high-quality’ mushroom business launched in Oxford
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoNHS IT outages disrupt 274,620 patient interactions
-
Student Life3 weeks agoTransgender rights protest in central Oxford following updated EHRC guidance