.png)
5 hours ago
2
Key events
PA have just dropped a story that the Downing Street spokesperson was pressed by the No 10 lobby on exactly what Keir Starmer’s role was in the fixture time-change shenanigans at the weekend ahead of Mexico v England.
I must confess I am not entirely convinced this is the most pressing political issue of the day, nor, following the exchange, do I think anybody is any the wiser. With someone in media seemingly trying to draw out a comparison between Starmer’s indication he got involved and Donald Trump’s vocal intervention over Folarin Balogun, PA reports the spokesperson initially said:
The prime minister was clear that he was supportive of representations made by the FA regarding the practical implications of a proposed scheduling change for the team’s preparations. The final decision on fixture timings remained a matter for Fifa. But as we’ve consistently said, decisions on disciplinary matters and the application of rules of the game are for Fifa and for the relevant football authorities.
Asked what exactly the government did, and did they talk to the Mexican government or Fifa, the spokesperson said:
I’m not going to go into the internal processes behind it, but the prime minister has said that he was supportive of the representations made by the FA, and I think that’s on record that the FA have made representations about the scheduling change and the impact it would have potentially on the England team. But as I say, the final decision on that, the fixture timings remained a matter for Fifa.
I guess that does appear to rule out Starmer getting on the phone to Fifa to have a word about Jarell Quansah.
Peak audience of 9.1m for England match breaks BBC record for its time slot
England’s 3-2 World Cup win over Mexico in the early hours of Monday morning broke BBC viewing records, the corporation has said.
The match attracted a peak live audience of 9.1 million, despite not kicking off until 2am BST, with an average audience of 7.8 million.
PA reports that more than tripled the previous record for an event on the BBC screened between 2am and 4am, which had been set during the Rio Olympics in 2016.
The rerun of the match on BBC Two at 7am on Monday morning attracted a peak audience of 1.1 million, averaging at 900,000.
I wonder if this fella has got a ticket for the clash with Egypt later …
In non-World Cup news, the latest product of the Gray dynasty, 17-year-old Harry Gray, is going on loan to *checks notes* League One’s Sheffield Wednesday from Leeds United for the season.
“There were quite a few clubs interested but it was an easy decision because this is such a big club. It’s crazy to think about 24,000 season tickets in League One and the timing is perfect, as I have a full pre-season to settle in,” he told the club’s website.
French prosecutors have opened an investigation into aggravated public insult and incitement to hatred or violence after a Paraguay senator racially abused Kylian Mbappé following Paraguay’s loss to France at the World Cup.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told the Associated Press on Tuesday that it launched the probe after the national unit for combating online hate received a complaint from the French Football Federation (FFF).
Celeste Amarilla, a senator from Paraguay’s Liberal Radical Party, posted racist comments on social media after Mbappé converted the winning penalty in France’s victory over Paraguay on Saturday.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said “the remarks were allegedly made because of the victim’s actual or perceived origin, ethnicity, nationality, race, or religion.” These offenses were punishable by up to one year of imprisonment and a 45,000 euros fine ($51,000).
The FFF denounced Amarilla’s comments as “utterly abhorrent” and “unacceptable,” while French president Emmanuel Macron and sports minister Marina Ferrari voiced support for Mbappé.
One suspects that Fifa’s decision to waive Folarin Balogun’s suspension during the World Cup is going to have repercussions that will outlast the tournament. Javier Tebas Medrano, president of La Liga, has chucked his tuppence in on social media, calling it “the tip of the iceberg” of a credibility problem for Fifa. In a lengthy post he added:
When rules can be interpreted or modified as convenient; when the most consequential decisions are made without genuine dialogue and agreement with national/domestic leagues, which are the ones sustaining professional football 365 days a year (the vast majority of professional clubs and players do not participate in international competitions); when a unilateral agenda is imposed without listening to football’s main stakeholders, the problem stops being a specific resolution and becomes the system itself.
I did not think I would get through this stint without mentioning Folarin Balogun, and PA have a few words from the player at the centre of the red card non-suspension storm.
He told reporters after the match “Of course, it’s controversial when the decision is overturned. We accepted the decision when I saw the red card, and we accepted the decision when we were told I could play. I was not involved in the process. It had nothing to do with me personally.”
He also said that he had spoken to Belgium’s coach Rudi Garcia after the match. Garcia had previously said that Balogun “didn’t do anything wrong” during the controversy.
The 25-year-old, who plays for Monaco, will be disappointed that he has become one of the biggest stories of the tournament, but for off-field reasons beyond his control.
Martin Belam
Hi everyone, good afternoon/morning/evening. Having spent months lamenting this horrible bloated new World Cup format with too many games, I cannot tell you the horror with which I am contemplating that tomorrow there is NO FOOTBALL! Before then we have Argentina v Egypt to enjoy, and Switzerland v Colombia. I am slightly dreading the latter as I am haunted by having sat through a fair share of incredibly dull tournament knock-out matches featuring the Swiss during my lifetime. Let’s hope tonight isn’t one of them.
“Who wants to bet with me that Roberto Martínez will get the Spain job next?” emails Shaun Wilkinson. “Nobody outside of Boris Johnson has failed upwards so consistently and successfully. I feel very sorry for the Portuguese players who have missed probably their best chance to win a World Cup thanks to the spinelessness of their manager. Gonçalo Ramos must be especially devastated and angry.”
And with that, my stint is done, and I’ll hand you over to Martin Belam. Laters.
On this day in World Cup history, 1974: A final that won’t be repeated this year, West Germany beating Johan Cruyff’s feted Dutch team in Munich. Here’s Der Kaiser soaking it all up.
Ed Aarons
We’re a little over five hours from Egypt’s biggest ever World Cup game, a showdown against the defending champions, Argentina, in Atlanta – and a rare head to head between two legends. Ed Aarons sets the scene.
As Mohamed Salah savoured the feeling of Egypt’s historic victory over Australia, the narrative had already moved on. The former Liverpool forward could not contain his delight after his scuffed penalty helped to seal a redemptive shootout triumph in Dallas for the Pharaohs on Friday.
“I decided last minute. I am more experienced than others and I wanted to give them confidence,” said Salah, who had missed in Egypt’s last two shootouts, including the World Cup qualifying playoff against Senegal four years ago.
“I don’t know if it’s my last World Cup, but I had to do it. Today was one of the best days of my life.”
It’s lively below the line today, unsurprisingly. Here’s some political bracketology from Rscully:
Can you picture Trump handing the trophy to the far right’s bete noire Kylian Mbappé, as the LA stadium resounds with the anti-Trump boos of 80,000 Californians? Cos I can’t. He’s going to skip out for sure.
I hate to be That Guy, but I can’t either – because the final’s in New Jersey, not LA.
While FullHD offers a take on another of this World Cup’s themes/bugbears:
I wish this Messi v Salah v Mbappe v Haaland or whoever it is stuff would stop. It’s profoundly silly and disrespectful in a team sport.
It’s always worth a check-in on the player interactive …
Thanks Luke, greetings everyone. Donald Trump’s dignity-torching nonsense over Balogun has offered an open goal to columnists. Marina Hyde doesn’t miss from that distance.
A lot of people rightly feel sorry for Balogun, who never asked to find the president’s malevolently gelatinous form supposedly in his corner. In fact, presumably the London-raised Balogun particularly didn’t, given he’s precisely the sort of chap whose birthright citizenship Trump would have done anything to limit until the supreme court finally struck down his attempts to do so last week. But, to quote a phrase, it is what it is.
No one, however, feels remotely sorry for Fifa president Infantino, to whom the focus must now decisively shift. Infantino produced some extreme bullshit explanation for why Fifa’s supposedly independent judicial bodies triggered the opaque Article 27 and overturned the ban, which I saw ran in one US publication under a headline including the words “Infantino defends Fifa’s integrity” Sorry, Fifa’s what?
I can’t believe it’s come to this, but we’re now officially in the nihilistic “Bring back Blatter” era. Former Fifa president Sepp Blatter – last seen looking like he was sleeping in his car yet somehow finally contriving to be cleared of corruption charges on appeal last year – yesterday launched a two-footed attack on his successor over the whole business. “Red cards are not overturned by political phone calls,” he stated. By what then? Sacks of cash and luxury watches? Apparently not. “They are overturned by rules, evidence and independent bodies,” Blatter thundered. Wow, who knew, etc.
That’s all from me, for now, Tom Davies is stepping into the breach.
A David Squires cartoon on – you guessed it – Mexico 2-3 England!
Louise Taylor
Newcastle are close to completing the signing of Sean Steur from Ajax for around £23m. The two-footed central midfielder is only 18 but has been widely hyped as the Amsterdam club’s brightest emerging midfield talent since Frenkie de Jong.
While De Jong has graduated to Barcelona, Steur, who can operate as a No 6 or a No 8, seems almost certainly Tyneside bound. At St James’ Park he is likely to start next season competing with Lewis Miley to fill Sandro Tonali’s old central midfield role and will be given time to adjust to the Premier League’s physicality.
Next: How about some away-from-the-World-Cup transfer news? OK.
The Folarin Balogun red-card controversy escalated quickly after word got out of Donald Trump’s intervention. Here’s how the story developed over the past couple of days:
Nick Ames had a chat with Max Rushden about Mexico v England on the latest instalment of World Cup Daily:
“You still feel a little bit drained … it was just a game of football, but it was edge-of-the-seat, tense stuff for 101 minutes … the atmosphere was everything people say about the Azteca – it was intense, it was thrilling.
“The Mexicans, they were so passionate and into their team … but they were mingling with England fans afterwards and I only saw really lovely things, in terms of the hospitality and the way people got on … and obviously it was an all-time classic of a football match.
“Being able to cover these two games at the Azteca, [Mexico] against Ecuador and England, I think they’ve been the best things I’ve done in my career. It’s been absolutely magical.”
A spot of non-World Cup news from the managerial merry-go-round:
Paris FC have appointed the former Chelsea head coach Liam Rosenior as manager on a contract until June 2028, the Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday.
The 41-year-old Englishman succeeds Antoine Kombouaré, who guided them to an 11th-placed finish last season.
“Liam Rosenior brings together all the qualities we were looking for,” the sporting director Marco Neppe said in a statement.
“He is a modern, demanding coach and recognised for his ability to help both the players and the team progress. Beyond his tactical skills, we were particularly attracted by his management qualities and his ability to unite a group around a clear vision.“
Rosenior returns to French football after leaving RC Strasbourg, whom he managed from 2024 to 2026, before taking charge of Chelsea in January after Enzo Maresca’s departure.
His spell at Stamford Bridge was short-lived, with the club ending his contrac less than four months after handing him a deal until 2032. Paris FC said Rosenior will begin work on Thursday.
I just spotted this photo of Fabio Cannavaro and Marco Materazzi celebrating with the World Cup in Rome, in 2006. Well, why not post it here?
Fifa accuses Uefa of hypocrisy over Balogun row
Matt Hughes
Fifa has hit back at Uefa in the war of words over the lifting of the USA striker Folarin Balogun’s suspension by accusing it of hypocrisy in its condemnation of the decision.
In a statement attributed to the chair of Fifa’s disciplinary committee, Mohammad Al Kamali, published before the USA’s last-16 defeat by Belgium, Fifa insisted that “the overturning of red cards is a common disciplinary measure” in Uefa-affiliated leagues, “yet this has never raised concerns about crossing any ‘red line’”.
Fifa’s statement defended the controversial decision to lift Balogun’s ban, describing it as “a balanced measure” and “nothing new in the modern game”.
Ståle Solbakken, the Norway head coach, was asked about his assessment of England in his press conference yesterday.
“We have to study England before I can answer that,” he said. “Obviously we have seen them in previous games in the tournament. They will be a very strong opponent ... hopefully it will be an even and tight game.”
And on Erling Haaland: “He’s the best player inside the penalty area in world football today. He has a great physique, he’s mentally strong, and it doesn’t really matter who he plays against, he is always there, he is dangerous.”
Is it a plus for Norway that Haaland plays in England? “I think it doesn’t hurt us that he plays there, but I don’t think that’s a big thing for him or for us... he plays national games, Champions League games Premier League games in the same manner, so I don’t think that really matters.”
'They have Messi, but we have Salah'
In a little over seven hours’ time, Lionel Messi and Mohamed Salah will go into battle in Atalanta. Argentina, the reigning champions, meet Egypt for a place in the quarter-finals.
“We aren’t focusing on Messi,” said Egypt’s national team director Ibrahim Hassan. “We tell the players to go out there, play their game and block out the stature of who they are up against. They might have Messi, but we have Mohamed Salah – and we have 26 Messis of our own.”
Ed Aarons previews one of today’s big games:
Jennifer Rankin
And Maximus has spoken. The official Instagram account of the Belgian prime minister’s cat has offered a typically oblique response to the national team’s triumph over the US, following Donald Trump’s controversial intervention.
Maximus, the beloved cat of Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever, was shown on Instagram lying on a rug holding a soft toy in the image of the US president. “I slept really well last night. And you?” reads the speech bubble in Dutch.
Maximus’ Instagram account is managed by De Weve’s team and often strays into political territory, with sardonic, albeit indirect comments on fellow politicians or events.
De Wever’s spokesperson on Monday declined to comment on Trump’s controversial and successful lobbying to overturn a red card given to US striker Falorin Balogun. Instead local media were referred to another Maximus post, which offered a picture of the cat crouching by a red card: “Red card: I am going to play anyway!” read the speech bubble.
De Wever and Trump will attend the Nato summit starting in Ankara later on Tuesday, although the Belgian leader will be on less comfortable ground. Belgium has pledged to meet Nato’s 5% of GDP defence spending target, but was forecast to meet the 2% spending target only in 2025 after years of delay.
The match official labelled “suspect” by US president Donald Trump has been praised by Fifa referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina.
Trump criticised the Brazilian referee Raphael Claus after he sent off US striker Folarin Balogun following a VAR review in the last-32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Balogun’s red card was controversially suspended on Sunday, allowing him to play in the 4-1 defeat by Belgium on Monday.
Fifa issued a statement praising Claus as “one of the world’s leading professional referees and a valued member of Team One (the referees team) at the Fifa World Cup”.
It added: “Throughout his career, he has consistently demonstrated the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.”
Collina said: “Raphael Claus is refereeing at his second Fifa World Cup having been with us in Qatar in 2022. He is an experienced and highly respected referee and we maintain full confidence in him as a trusted match official.”
Claus could be a contender to referee the final, with Brazil having exited the tournament.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino, who was personally called by Trump to “review” the Balogun red card, offered up a general tribute to the match officials without mentioning Claus by name.
The Swiss wrote on Instagram: “The Fifa World Cup 2026 has been an overwhelming success and a major contributor to this is our fantastic group of match officials – Team One. The tournament is being officiated by the best in the world, selected through a rigorous process which considered their skills, consistency, and quality over a sustained period.
“Once more, I reiterate that we must respect the referees and respect the rules that govern our game. It is very simple and cannot ever be overstated – without referees, there is no football.” PA Media
Paul MacInnes
Erling Haaland saves his best content for Snapchat. Norway’s No 9, fresh off another decisive double to dispatch Brazil from the World Cup, posted clips overnight of what looked like a party on the team bus. Haaland was delirious, staggering around in the aisle, singing along to a largely forgotten summer tune by a French DJ called Kungs. “We are never going home,” runs the chorus.
Norway will go home at some point, maybe even on Saturday when they play England in a World Cup quarter-final in Miami. But there can be no doubt that the country, the team, the supporters and their superstar have been making the most of their time in the US. From the longboat rowing ceremony, to the accumulation of cowboy gear (T-shirt: “Y’all can kiss my Dallas”), to Haaland’s performative taking-it-all-in pose – hands on hips, eyes raised to the horizon, bemused smile – they’ve been loving every minute of it.
What’s that? More England content? Go on then. Just in case you missed these:
John Stones had to know the question was coming. With Mexico vanquished after one of the great England nights, the focus had turned in part to the quarter‑final against Norway in Miami on Saturday and some bloke up front with a ponytail. Stones knows Erling Haaland, having spent the past four seasons with him at Manchester City, but this was not a time for him to engage on the nitty-gritty of how to stop him.
Thomas Tuchel called the standard of refereeing at the World Cup unreliable and erratic as he insisted England are capable of going all the way following their dramatic 3-2 victory against Mexico.
“I’m sorry Tim Ream,” emails Charlie. “I can’t believe the Balogun decision didn’t have an impact on such a flat performance from a team that has been so energetic up until now … it must have affected them to see the rest of the world turn on them due to the actions of Trump and Fifa, and some of the players must have been asking themselves, “is this who we are? … They can’t say it out loud, but the performance told us everything.”
One thing to remember though, it fits Trump's agenda to turn the world against the US, all the better to get Americans to support MAGA. This whole rescinding of the red card issue has been a 'win' for Trump.
The end of a very disappointing World Cup for Portugal.
I thought at the start of the tournament they were one of five teams capable of winning it, but in the end they never really got going.
The spectre of an ageing and well past his prime Ronaldo really hung over them as well as the stubborn inflexibility Martinez, who should have been able to do a lot better with this group of players, having also underwhelmed in his time with Belgium.
Do Colombia have the World Cup's best fans?
Mexico City, Guadalajara, Miami, Kansas City – Colombia’s World Cup journey has gradually been heading north for three weeks. Thousands of their supporters now descend on Vancouver looking to see Néstor Lorenzo’s side try to reach their first quarter-final in 12 years when they face Switzerland on Tuesday. After Mexico and the United States, “yellow fever” is about to hit Canada.
This sort of fan migration, which has filled host cities with vibrant colour and joy, has not been seen since that last quarter-final in 2014, when Colombia supporters travelled in massive numbers to Brazil, not only owing to its proximity but also to the fact that the selección had not qualified for a World Cup for almost a generation before. James Rodríguez, the breakout star of that tournament, addressed the fans before travelling to North America as captain this year as there had been trouble when Colombia were in the US for the 2024 Copa América.
“They should know that we always give everything and that this positive energy – in the right spirit, by posting on social media as well – is contagious,” said Rodríguez. “You feel it and I simply ask them to bring those good vibes, keep them going and that they do things properly.”
France’s Kylian Mbappé has hit back at a Paraguayan senator, describing her as a “despicable woman” after she launched a racist attack on him. Mbappé’s penalty proved the difference in an ill-tempered match as France beat Paraguay 1-0 in Philadelphia on Saturday to advance to the quarter-finals.
Celeste Amarilla wrote a long tirade on X, describing Mbappé as a “colonised Cameroonian, desperately trying to pass himself off as French” and as a “brute who had not learned to write”. Paraguay’s players should have slapped him after the match, she added.
Mbappé, the France captain, responded with a strongly worded statement defending not only himself, but also the Paraguay players. “Madame Celeste Amarilla, you are a despicable woman and unworthy of your position. You do not represent Paraguay, that country which has sweated passion and honour throughout the competition,” he wrote.
Let’s talk about everyone’s favourite subject: England!
What a game that was against Mexico, by the way. I feel asleep about 1am (BST), woke up with England winning 2-1, just before Quansah got sent off and all hell broke loose. England’s defending in the final 20 minutes or so was an absolute work of art (thank you Dan Burn), even if Mexico’s attacking play lacked a certain amount of imagination. A magnificent performance by the players, not to mention Thomas Tuchel, who I feared had gone too early with the: ‘Play a back five, and just hack the ball anywhere’ strategy.
Here’s a piece in which Guardian readers recount their experience of a famous night.
“When I was 18, I vividly remember Gazza’s tears [in the 1990 World Cup] but this was more dramatic.”
OK, I just watched the highlights of USA 1-4 Belgium.
Oh dear. Dear oh dear. Deary me. Horrible defending by the co-hosts. Shambles!
BTL comments about BalogunGate, and other stuff, including soccer.
Can't help but feel this is not really about the football, is it? I feel sorry for the US players and the genuine fans, and I also can't help but feel that much of this, being beyond their control, has left a rather bad smell in the air and an unpleasant taste in the mouth.
Geopolitically, the US is despised around the world, and that's what's really at the heart of this, isn't it?
I don’t even think it’s about the red card business, either. Ronaldo’s suspension was deferred for this World Cup, and Bellingham’s disciplinary action was suspended for the European Championships, and there have been other decisions stretching way back into the past. But the trouble is, when you have a US administration that makes a habit of making itself the ‘main character’ all the time and is, to say the least, hardly taciturn (Calvin Coolidge, where are you now?) or inconspicuous, then this is how we get here.
It is little solace to the genuine US fans or their team, but perhaps this might be a good moment for reflection. As for the rest of the world, piling on the US team and their supporters when it’s not really them with whom you have a bone to pick is not necessarily the most magnanimous or sporting way to behave, either, is it?
I actually feel pretty bad for the United States players. It's not their fault they were dragged into all this, and became the enemy of the piece. Hosting a world cup and playing for your country on home soil, should be a dream for any player, but Trump ruined everything for them from start to finish.
Right, lets try to keep things focused on the football:
The USA pretty much failed to turn up yesterday, have to assume that the Balogun events affected them. Belgium were good for the first time this tournament, they scraped past senegal but were far too good for the US team, who have to view this world cup as a missed opportunity. Belgium got their midfield balance just right and quite simply looked better than their opponents, who were completely flat.
Spain and Portugal were two good sides who cancelled each other out, Spain probably just about deserved it.
With the exception of the mexico v england game, the round of 16 games havent been great so far, not a patch on the round of 32. Heres hoping tonights games redress the balance, looking forward to the quarter finals though, three great looking ties so far.
“I am sad to leave like this but I have given everything, always given my best,” Ronaldo said. “I go with a clear conscience. This is football, it is the life of a footballer. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. You have to carry on. It was my last World Cup, yes, but as far as the rest of it is concerned: there will be time to think, to be with my family, [I will] not make decisions in the heat of the moment.”
It was noticeable that none of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal teammates looked remotely interested in consoling, congratulating or interacting with him in any way in the aftermath of their defeat by Spain.
Enough said, in terms of the impact he has on the dressing room. It makes complete sense to put up with gynormous egos if they are also world-class players, of course, but not so much when they are so far past their best.
We thought Qatar 2022 might be his last hurrah, World Cup-wise, but this is surely it?
If you would like to offer an opinion on any of this, you can email me here.
In podcast news, Max Rushden hosted World Cup Daily with the stellar lineup of Barry Glendenning, Archie Rhind-Tutt, Nick Ames and Sid Lowe.
They pick over defeats for the USA and Portugal, reflect further on England’s memorable win against Mexico, and indulge in some first-class banter on the way:
Belgium: 'Overturn this'
“Overturn this” is pretty good from Belgium’s social media team, it must be said.
Although not in the same league as “where’s you ham now?” from Barcelona v Metz, in the 1984-85 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Alexander Abnos was on the scene in Seattle to witness the USA go out against Belgium. Here’s his match report:
And some reaction from inside the co-hosts camp: Tim Ream, the USA captain, insisted the Folarin Balogun red-card farrago ‘had no impact’:
Preamble
Hello sports fans.
USA, the co-hosts, have been knocked out after a thumping 4-1 last-16 defeat by Belgium in Seattle. They insist the Donald Trump-induced Folarin Balogun red-card furore had nothing to do with the result.
Portugal are out too, the 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup ending in tears after a 1-0 defeat by Spain in Dallas.
Argentina v Egypt and Switzerland v Colombia will round off the last 16 later, which will leave eight teams standing on the road to the final on 19 July. (Barring any unprecedented political interventions, of course …)
What does this all mean? Let’s talk about soccer/association football/the World Cup.
