Four nations made debuts at the 2026 World Cup, with Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan gracing the grandest stage in international football for the first time. It was the tournament with the most newcomers since 2006 and Cape Verde achieved the feat of ending a 16-year wait for a debutant to reach the knockout stages, before succumbing to Lionel Messi's Argentina in a classic.
We are now just hours away from the start of the 2026 World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico, with all 48 teams having made their way to North America with dreams of glory driving them. All of the pre-qualifying favourites made it safely through, including Spain, Brazil, England, France and defending champions Argentina.
Mexico recovered from an early scare in Toluca to overwhelm Serbia, with Alvaro Fidalgo and Brian Gutierrez among the standouts as El Tri wrapped up their World Cup preparations in style.
With Mexico’s World Cup opener against South Africa looming, El Tri’s friendly vs Serbia gives Javier Aguirre one last chance to settle his XI, sharpen the attack and answer key questions around Alvaro Fidalgo, Alexis Vega, Roberto Alvarado, and Guillermo Ochoa.
At just 17 years of age, Vasilije Kostov is rewriting the record books at the highest level of Serbian football. The latest jewel to emerge from Red Star Belgrade's famed academy, the attacking midfielder is defying all logic as he puts Europe's elite on red alert with a stellar individual campaign for his country's biggest club.
Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera has been called up to the Spain squad for the first time ahead of their international friendlies against Serbia and Egypt. Luis de la Fuente has also called Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia into his squad ahead of his potential debut, as Spain ramp up preparations for the 2026 World Cup.
Mexico have announced three additional friendlies against Australia, Ghana, and Serbia as part of their final preparations for the 2026 World Cup. El Tri will open the tournament on June 11 against South Africa at the Estadio Azteca. The matches are designed to limit travel and fine-tune the squad before the global showcase on home soil.
A touching post-match moment inside the Wembley dressing room showed Manchester City star John Stones presenting team-mate Nico O’Reilly with his first England cap, delivering a heartfelt speech in the aftermath of the 20-year-old's dream debut. The exchange came after England’s 2-0 win over Serbia, with cameras capturing O’Reilly’s pride as team-mates applauded the milestone.
England beat Serbia 2-0 on Thursday in their first World Cup qualifying game since securing a spot at next summer's tournament finals. The result meant very little to the Three Lions, whose players are now competing with one another for a place on the plane to North America as members of Thomas Tuchel's 26-man squad.
Jude Bellingham is expected to start from the bench in England's Word Cup qualifier against Serbia. Thomas Tuchel is set to name a strong starting lineup, with Morgan Rodgers retaining the No.10 position ahead of the Real Madrid star. Bellingham was left out of the German's squad during the October international window, after he missed the opening months of the season following shoulder surgery.
Thomas Tuchel has called up two new players to the November England squad after seeing Anthony Gordon and Nick Pope withdraw with injuries. Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is also a major doubt for the World Cup qualifying matches against Serbia and Albania, though he has reported to the camp. Gordon did not travel to Brentford for Newcastle's last Premier League game, while Pope had to be substituted in the second half.
Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi was hailed as the "best team-mate" by Thomas Tuchel after his heroics for England following his failed transfer to Liverpool last week. Guehi was on the verge of securing a move to Anfield on deadline day but Palace pulled the plug on the deal in the 11th hour. Despite the disappointment, Guehi gave his best for the Three Lions and scored in their thumping 5-0 win over Serbia.
Thomas Tuchel has surprisingly axed Arsenal star Myles Lewis-Skelly from the England squad that will face Serbia on Tuesday. Lewis-Skelly played the full 90 minutes of England's World Cup qualifying clash with Andorra on Saturday as Tuchel's side ground out an unconvincing 2-0 victory.
Serbia
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