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World Cup 2026: England turn on the style; Fifa denies ticketless fans breached security – live | World Cup 2026
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Shall we dip into the BTL comments … Well, why not? The first and third of these are about England: apologies in advance.
The defence is getting a lot of stick for those two goals, but in truth it was the failure of the midfield to get control that led to them. There were too many occasions when there were wide open spaces, loose passes, possession lost in dangerous areas. But the worst aspect was the passivity, the lack of serious pressing. England haven’t got great central defenders so midfield protection is vital.
One of the positive things about the first round of matches has been the refereeing, they’ve clearly decided to officiate with a light touch and it’s so much better for the game when they don’t blow up for every little bit of contact. Players have already realised they’re not getting free kicks by exaggerating every touch and they’re getting short shrift if they’re rolling about on the floor for no reason. Add in the fact that VAR isn’t trying to re-referee every game and I think they’ve got it pretty much spot on so far with their approach. Let’s hope it continues.
For a first game I thought England were fine. The fact we had some gears we could go through and some real power to bring off the bench bodes well. And it’s nice to see a bit of oomph after the years of Southgate tedium. Not sure Stones as first choice centrehalf is sustainable though – he’s not played all season and for all his silkiness I think will just be phased out for the more mobile Guehi.
Good too to see England’s two best players (Kane and Bellingham) actually looking fit and sharp. They were both shadows of themselves in the last tournament and if we’re going to do anything here we’ll need both with energy at the sharp end of the knock-outs.
There was more than a touch of “jibbing in” for England’s opener, if eyewitness reports of lax security and ticket checks are to be believed. And why shouldn’t they be?
Fifa has played down reports that ticketless England supporters were able to gain entry for the World Cup opener against Croatia after evading security checks at the Dallas Stadium.
An unspecified number of fans without tickets are said to have made their way into the ground despite a huge security operation being put in place at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington. Officials said that snipers were in place inside the stadium, with the Arlington police department deploying “highly trained personnel and specialised resources” at the venue.
But despite those measures and some fans having paid thousands of pounds for tickets, there were widespread reports of supporters without tickets gaining access.
The England midfielder Jude Bellingham believes playing with a “chip on my shoulder” will bring the best out of him at the World Cup.
Bellingham scored the vital third goal as Thomas Tuchel’s side opened their campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia in the Group L clash in Dallas.
There were uncertainty surrounding Bellingham’s inclusion in Tuchel’s squad for the tournament in North America after missing the September and October camps through injury.
That followed last summer’s international window which ended in Tuchel saying his mother found Bellingham’s behaviour “repulsive”, while his ability (or perceived lack thereof) to buy into Tuchel’s “brotherhood” has also come under scrutiny.
Bellingham was chosen ahead of his friend Morgan Rogers in the No 10 position, before switching to a deeper role, and made an early mark in the tournament.
“For me personally, it was nice to put some of the noise aside and just show my country and my teammates how committed I am to help us try to win football matches,” he told BBC Sport.
“It was a great team performance. Second half, we got things right, first half we got the intensity right, but not quite with the ball and second half we put it all together nicely.
“To contribute, to help my team and help my country is one of the biggest honours and regardless of the noise outside, that honour doesn’t change for me at all.
“It has been a tough season for me but I am feeling fresh and sharp and stronger.
“I have got a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. That helps me a lot to find that focus early in the game and to find that intensity.
“I know that it’s part of being a footballer and I don’t hold a grudge against anyone who says bad things about me because sometimes I do deserve it.
“Today, it was nice to try to show people and remind people what I’m about.” PA Media
A fresh England line hot off the wires coming right up …
If by some bizarre chance you missed it, here’s a gallery of some of the best images from England 4-2 Croatia:
And here is reaction from Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Tommy Tuchel:

Jonathan Liew
I fell asleep at some point during the Netherlands v Japan game. It had been a hot and drowsy day by the shores of Lake Annecy, a square and heavy heat, where the sun and the driving and the food and the boxed wine gently squeeze all the life from your body, like air being pressed out of a juice carton.
I remember Virgil van Dijk angling a header into the far corner, and when I came to it was 2-1, and everyone was heading to bed, drunk on tiredness, drunk on life, drunk on drink.
Not all of my friends care for football in any case, and so the World Cup had become a kind of mood music, something to fill the silences in conversation. Through the long and meandering chat about home renovations and Andy Burnham, an indistinct French voice occasionally cut through from a different universe. Maeda. Gravenberch. The Low Countries tempted to attain the final for the first time since 2010. My French isn’t great. Someone prised open a bottle of Heineken. Bodies draped themselves over the couch, fingers scrolled through phones, the immaculate decadence of boredom.

Jacob Steinberg
When Thomas Tuchel won the Champions League with Chelsea in 2021 the success was built on unflinching defensive rigour and midfield discipline. Five years on, though, Tuchel’s England displayed neither of those qualities during a dreadful first half in Dallas. They kept losing the ball in dangerous areas, struggled to maintain their shape without the ball and were rocking when Croatia stung them with a second equaliser just before half-time.
The vibe could hardly have been less convincing. Anthony Barry, Tuchel’s No 2, let rip in an interview with ITV, accusing England of doing all the wrong things, of playing with “a nervous energy”, of making everything “confused and complicated” against opponents well versed in making their craft and experience in midfield count.
Of course, England got away with it in the end, the response in the second half astonishing, Barry’s words no doubt delivered in even stronger terms by Tuchel in the dressing room. Yet while they won their opening game in Group L thanks to a moment of breathtaking power from Jude Bellingham and a late breakaway goal from Marcus Rashford, the overall display was far from good enough.
If you think everything in England’s garden is rosy after banging in four goals against Croatia, Jacob Steinberg has some news for you …
There really is quite a lot of football occurring.
Ghana celebrated a 1-0 win against Panama in Toronto, joining England atop Group L:
And in Group K, Jonathan Wilson witnessed Colombia beating Uzbekistan 3-1, down in Mexico City:
“Let’s have it off,” one excited England fan told Sky Sports News outside the stadium after England’s victory.
Doesn’t he mean “Let’s have it”?
I wish I could say I will be speaking from a position of authority on England’s win against Croatia, but I was on a plane, coming home from Spain.
Therefore, your emails, in which you tell me what happened, and offer your first-class analysis, are going to be particularly important this morning. Get involved.
Mexican military forces intercepted and brought down a drone that flew near the South Korea team’s training camp ahead of its World Cup match against Mexico, a federal official told the Associated Press.
Military forces used specialised equipment to detect an “unregistered drone” near the South Korean camp, prompting them to “neutralise” it, the Mexican federal agent said.
Preamble
England are quite good, it would seem, after their opening Group L 4-2 win against Croatia:
While the rest of the world waits for England to be bad – or at least suffer a heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat against Argentina, or someone – their fans are certainly going to enjoy the next few weeks …
Let’s all talk about the World Cup!
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Spain v Saudi Arabia: World Cup 2026 – live | World Cup 2026
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In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
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