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 is the tournament with the most newcomers since 2006 and Cape Verde have achieved the feat of ending a 16-year wait for a debutant to reach the knockout stages, with the African nation to face Lionel Messi's Argentina on Friday.
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.
Maldives U23
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