World Cup news

Canada captain Alphonso Davies has been ruled out of his country’s World Cup opening fixture against Bosnia-Herzegovina. Head coach Jesse Marsch confirmed that the Bayern Munich left-back is still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in May. Despite the massive setback, the co-hosts remain hopeful of his return later in the group stage.

Ousmane Dembele has leapt to the defence of Kylian Mbappe, claiming criticism of the France captain has become excessive. The Paris Saint-Germain forward argued that scrutiny surrounding his international team-mate often goes beyond football and overlooks the pressure that comes with being one of the game's biggest stars.

Germany kicks off its World Cup campaign on Sunday against Curaçao. The visitors' right-back, Joshua Brenet, has a criminal record and a prior run-in with Julian Nagelsmann.

Tottenham-bound defender Marcos Senesi has been officially drafted into Argentina's final 26-man World Cup squad as a late replacement for the injured Leonardo Balerdi. The versatile centre-back is heading to the United States to join Lionel Messi and the rest of the squad at their base camp, marking the end of a whirlwind week for the player.

Violent clashes erupted outside the Estadio Azteca on Thursday night, marring the opening match of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City. Riot police deployed tear gas after coming under attack from projectiles, overshadowing co-hosts Mexico's subsequent victory on the pitch as long-standing local political tensions spilled over into the tournament's security perimeter.

Kylian Mbappe has urged Didier Deschamps to bow out of international football on a high rather than take charge of another national team after the 2026 World Cup. The France captain admitted he is trying to influence his manager's future plans and described a potential move to Italy as "awful" as Les Bleus prepare for one final campaign under their long-serving coach.

For England, the time for talk is almost over. Soon, all that will matter is the task at hand: Winning the 2026 World Cup. The Football Association (FA) and manager Thomas Tuchel have spoken forthrightly about that being their only objective in North America, and as the days tick down to the Three Lions getting their campaign underway, there is no reason to believe that they can't achieve their ultimate goal.

There were just seconds to go in Liverpool's 1-0 win over Manchester City at Anfield on October 16, 2022 when Diogo Jota pulled up with a muscular problem that left the Portuguese in agony. Jurgen Klopp feared the worst right away: "If Diogo stays down it is never good." And it wasn't. Jota had sustained a calf injury that would sideline him for months, rather than weeks, thus ruling him out of Portugal's 2022 World Cup campaign.

GOAL explains how fans can watch and live stream the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Comprehensive match preview of Czech Republic vs South Africa at World Cup 2026. We talk tactics, team news and more.

The Asian powerhouse kicked off their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought win over Miroslav Koubek's men

The Feyenoord man made the difference to give his nation a perfect start to the showpiece across Mexico, USA and Canada

GOAL brings you everything you need to know about USA vs Paraguay at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mexico made history in their World Cup opener, but Cesar Montes’ red card left a sour note. GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from El Tri’s 2-0 win.

Find out where to watch the Mexico national team throughout FIFA World Cup 2026.

Find out where to watch the South Africa national team throughout FIFA World Cup 2026.

Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has hailed the impact of Carlo Ancelotti since his arrival as Brazil head coach, claiming the Italian has completely "transformed" the atmosphere in the dressing room. Ahead of their World Cup opener, the Selecao No.1 admitted the squad had endured a testing time before the former Real Madrid boss took the reins.