world cup

The shuttle of the Iran World Cup team between Mexico and the United States took root Sunday in Tijuana with an accessory.

The players arrived in Tijuana wearing gold-colored lapel pins on their jackets acknowledging victims of a missile strike on an elementary school that took place Feb. 28 at the outset of the war in their country.

The pins simply read “#168” — replicating the hashtag of the number of people killed in the daytime strike in Minab in southern Iran. Most of the victims were girls attending Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School.

The Iran delegation flew on a private jet from Turkey to Tijuana. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said two weeks ago that the training base would be in Mexico instead of Tucson.

FIFA has not given a reason for the change, although delays have occurred in processing U.S. visas for some Iranian players and other members of the delegation that allegedly have ties to the Revolutionary Guard.

Iran is preparing to play its three group-stage games in the United States, with the first scheduled June 15 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium (called Los Angeles Stadium during the World Cup). Its second game, June 21 against Belgium, is also scheduled in L.A. and the third game will take place June 26 in Seattle against Egypt.

It is unclear whether FIFA — the governing body of the World Cup — would allow the pins to be worn by anyone on the sidelines during matches. That would include coaches and other team personnel in addition to players.

FIFA took no action in response to earlier displays of remembrance by the Iran players and has not commented on the legality of wearing the pins. FIFA regulations state that “equipment must not have any political, religious or personal slogans, statements or images.” The rule applies to players, coaches and officials on the sidelines during matches.

The Iran team twice acknowledged victims of the airstrike during the Iran national anthem before warmup matches in March. In the first, players held purple school backpacks decorated with bows. In the second, players held images of those who had died.

Before more recent warmup games, the Iran team stood with their right hands across their chests during the anthem. And earlier in March, some members of the Iran women’s soccer team remained quiet during the national anthem at an Asian Cup match, leading Iranian state TV to call them “wartime traitors.”

Video footage analyzed by investigative group Bellingcat appears to show a U.S. Tomahawk missile striking the school, which was adjacent to a compound associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and barracks for its naval brigade. The United States has not accepted responsibility for the attack, although the military is investigating.

Upon arriving in Tijuana, Iran team captain Ehsan Hajsafi criticized FIFA about the delay in obtaining visas.

“First of all, we’re very happy that the team has finally arrived, and we’re delighted about that,” Hajsafi told reporters. “Thank God, the team’s condition is very good.

“With everything that happened, visas were eventually issued. Personally, however, I do have a complaint about FIFA. Why did it take so long? As far as I understand, visas were issued only to the players and a few members of the coaching staff.”

Ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Hajsafi spoke boldly about the government crackdown on mass demonstrations in Iran.

“Before anything else, I would like to express my condolences to all of the bereaved families in Iran,” Hajsafi said. “They should know that we are with them, we support them and we sympathize with them. “We cannot deny the conditions — the conditions in my country are not good and the players know it also.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

NEW YORK — The World Cup, a 48-team, 104-match behemoth kicking off this week in Los Angeles and across 15 other cities in the United States, Mexico and Canada, presents an unprecedented security challenge, with more countries, games and a larger footprint than ever before.

It also comes against the backdrop of the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, mounting political violence in President Trump’s orbit and growing fears of artificial intelligence-fueled disruptions, creating a complex threat environment for authorities.

Overseeing the sprawling security apparatus is a legion of federal agencies, state and local police departments and private entities. Their responsibilities range from securing stadiums and fan zones to escorting teams and protecting dignitaries.

Their tools include hunter drones that can shoot nets over objects in restricted airspace, bag-inspecting robot dogs, giant X-ray trucks and thousands of AI-powered cameras trained on public spaces soon to be thronged by fans.

In the U.S., it’s “78 Super Bowls over 39 days,” said Andrew Giuliani, executive director of Trump’s World Cup task force, which is overseeing the multiagency effort.

“There’s never been a summer like this in American history from a security angle,” said Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. “We’re as prepared as we can be.”

Collaborative effort

The tournament has the same high-level federal security designation as the Super Bowl, just below a presidential inauguration or a national political convention, ensuring federal, state and local coordination. It coincides with other major events linked to the 250th anniversary of America’s founding.

So far, Giuliani said, there are no credible threats.

The Department of Homeland Security, focused on Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown and with a funding lapse only recently resolved, estimates that as many as 7 million people will visit the United States for the World Cup.

The U.S. Secret Service, under scrutiny after security breaches and attempts on Trump’s life, is in charge of protecting world leaders who show up to cheer on their countries. Trump has expressed interest in attending a match.

“I feel very comfortable where we’re at, and we feel like we have a zero-fail mission,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told Congress last week, noting that the Secret Service was understaffed by about 860 agents. “But it’s going to be complicated.”

Officials have indicated they are confident they can keep Trump safe because they will be integrating his usual security into the robust World Cup plan on days he may watch a match.

The FBI has spent two years developing its security plan, incorporating lessons from other major events such as the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York and testing them at smaller ones, including last weekend’s Israel Day parade in the city.

“We prepare for the worst day,” FBI Special Agent in Charge Amit Kachhia-Patel in New York told the Associated Press. “And that’s how we go into any single event.”

To help cover security costs, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has distributed $625 million to the 11 U.S. host cities. An additional $250 million is being directed toward tracking and neutralizing suspect drones.

The disbursement of those funds was held up by the department’s funding delay in Congress, which the Trump administration has argued hindered security planning.

Others involved in the planning effort said the federal government could have played a more hands-on role even before the partial shutdown.

John Cohen, a former senior Homeland Security official who has been briefing state leaders before the matches, said the government was largely absent from planning meetings last year and did not begin sharing threat intelligence with host regions until recently.

“With an event of this magnitude, one would expect the federal government would’ve played a more active role,” Cohen said. “It felt like a missed opportunity to showcase that collaboration.”

Evolving threats from drones and AI

In January, thousands of officials involved in World Cup security gathered for exercises simulating crowd surges, vehicle attacks and mass shootings.

A month later, the U.S. and Israel launched a war with Iran.

“The security picture fundamentally changed,” said Stefano Ritondale, chief intelligence officer at Artorias, a defense intelligence company not involved in the security preparations. “There’s a major difference in preparing for a lone-wolf radical who rams his car into a public place and a terrorist who is bankrolled by a foreign country we’re at war with.”

Among the greatest concerns are drones.

Since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022, drones have become a prominent weapon in conflicts including Russia’s war in Ukraine and Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

“If there is one threat that keeps me up at night, it is from drones,” said New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, whose department is partnering with the FBI on drone mitigation.

Drones are prohibited over stadiums and fan zones, and Kachhia-Patel said the FBI has a “full suite of options” to thwart incursions. They include agents monitoring the sky and a “variety of means” to safely down the devices, he said without elaborating.

Before this year’s World Cup, the growing sophistication of AI videos was a particular concern, with officials warning that state actors can harness the technology to sow misinformation and panic.

On match days, the FBI will activate joint operations centers in each host city, bringing together local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to monitor and investigate threats.

“If there’s a video that shows an explosion going off at a site, and it’s AI-generated, we have people on the ground who can validate whether or not that’s true,” Kachhia-Patel said.

Opportunity for private tech

Some AI companies have pitched themselves to police departments in host cities, promising to comb through data and surveillance on game days to prevent threats, including unruly fan behavior.

“We know sports fanaticism around here in terms of the NFL and baseball to some extent, but nothing like international soccer,” said Jake Becchina, a police spokesperson in Kansas City, Mo., which is hosting six matches.

The department has contracted with Peregrine Technologies, which promises to sift through police data and publicly available information such as team practice locations and the country affiliation of popular bars, to get ahead of possible conflict.

In Dallas, a recent $120-million tech upgrade will give local police body cameras capable of real-time translations, helping law enforcement communicate with international visitors soon to descend on the region.

Several drone detection and mitigation companies are joining efforts to help federal agencies secure the skies.

One of those companies, Fortem, has claimed to have signed a multimillion-dollar contract with the Department of Homeland Security before the World Cup for an unusual drone mitigation strategy: quadcopters that can shoot nets at encroaching drones to trap them in midair. A Homeland Security spokesman declined to discuss the contract.

Just as the teams will aim to perform their best on the pitch, Giuliani said the security planning was a unique chance to “show off American exceptionalism.”

“If we do our job right,” Giuliani added, “nobody will be talking about security at the World Cup.”

Offenhartz, Sisak and Santana write for the Associated Press. Offenhartz and Sisak reported from New York, Santana from Washington. AP writer Alanna Durkin Richer in Washington contributed to this report.

Iran’s national soccer team set off from Turkey for their World Cup training base in Mexico on Saturday, with some members of their entourage reportedly still without U.S. visas, before three group matches in the United States later this month.

The Iranian Football Federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 staff and officials without U.S. visas before games in Los Angeles and Seattle, according to Iranian state television.

It was unclear whether the federation’s president, Mehdi Taj, had been issued a visa.

The team’s participation in the World Cup has been complicated by the Iran war. Problems with processing visas had earlier led Iran to move its training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, Mexico, which is on the border with California.

The federation accused the U.S. of “vindictive behavior” in refusing visas for “key managerial and administrative members” of the team.

The decision had “effectively denied the Iranian national team the opportunity for a level playing field and a competition free from discrimination,” according to a statement on the federation’s website. It added that the federation would pursue the matter through world soccer authority FIFA.

The Iranian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, meanwhile, responded to an earlier social media post from U.S. Ambassador Tom Barrack, in which he congratulated his embassy staff for processing the Iran team’s visas.

“You cannot whitewash conduct that violates FIFA regulations and breaches the United States’ host obligations merely by praising yourselves,” the Iranian post read. “This represents the worst possible form of politically biased interference in sport.”

One U.S. official earlier told the Associated Press that all players on the Iranian team were approved for visas, while a second official said visas had been issued for players, coaches, trainers and some support staff. A third official suggested that some applicants affiliated with the team had been rejected for requesting visas “under false pretenses.”

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the visas publicly.

The squad has been preparing for the World Cup at a training camp in Antalya. The team said that it has already received visas from the Mexican Embassy in Ankara.

The players, dressed in blue blazers over white T-shirts, left the luxury Mardan Palace hotel in Antalya on Saturday afternoon. They boarded a private jet at the Mediterranean city’s airport and were due to fly directly to Mexico.

Iran plays its first two games in Inglewood against New Zealand on June 15, and Belgium six days later, then heads to Seattle to face Egypt on June 26. Iran and the U.S. could meet in the round of 32 on July 3 in Arlington, Texas, if both teams come second in their groups.

In March, U.S. President Donald Trump had discouraged Iran from participating in the tournament, saying he didn’t think it was “appropriate” and raising concerns over players’ “life and safety.” A day later, Iran’s national team pushed back, saying “no one can exclude” it from playing.

Iran finalized its team on Monday, including 17 home-based players whose clubs haven’t played since February because of the war. Star forward Sardar Azmoun was dropped in March, reportedly because of a social media post that angered Iranian authorities during the war.

Change in water bottle policy

FIFA announced that it will now allow fans to bring their own water bottles to some stadiums during the World Cup, adjusting a policy that had barred spectators from bringing refillable water bottles into the tournament’s 16 stadiums across North America, including some with limited or no shade from the sun.

FIFA in a social media post said fans will be permitted to bring one soft plastic 20-ounce, factory-sealed, disposable water bottle into any match taking place in the United States or Canada.

In a video released by FIFA, Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi said fans will still not be permitted to bring in hard sided, reusable water bottles “due to safety and security reasons.”

Going green

As the tournament opens on Thursday, 13 of the 16 stadiums have earned LEED certification, the world’s most widely used green building rating system, the U.S. Green Building Council said. Ten have been certified since 2024 through the rigorous process to ensure buildings meet strict sustainability standards. The council expects at least two of the three remaining stadiums to achieve certification in the coming weeks.

Together, the LEED-certified stadiums have installed over 11,500 solar panels to generate clean electricity. Because of the changes made, they will save over 100 million gallons of potable water annually and eliminate more than 5 million single use plastics annually, according to information shared by the stadiums. Four venues are reusing, recycling or composting nearly all waste, preventing it from reaching a landfill.

CHICAGO — Leroy Sané scored a tiebreaking goal in the 57th minute, giving Germany a 2-1 win over the United States in a friendly on Saturday and a nine-game winning streak heading into the World Cup.

Kai Havertz put the four-time champions in front with a header from a free kick in the second minute but Antonee Robinson tied the score in the 37th with a left-foot volley from the top of the arc following Christian Pulisic’s corner kick.

Sané scored off a short pass from Havertz, a diagonal shot between the legs of Miles Robinson that appeared to take a slight deflection off the defender and beat goalkeeper Matt Freese to the far post.

The 16th-ranked United States has lost nine straight games to European opponents dating to 2022.

Hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1994, the Americans open against Paraguay on Friday, then play Australia and Turkey. The U.S. hadn’t lost its last match heading into a World Cup since 2002.

No. 10 Germany starts against Curaçao on June 14 in a group that includes Ivory Coast and Ecuador.

The match drew a sellout crowd of 63,636 to Soldier Field, site of the 1994 World Cup opener. Chicago refused to bid to host 2026 World Cup matches, citing what it said was a lack of financial assurances by FIFA.

The U.S. played without top defender Chris Richards, sidelined since tearing a pair of left ankle ligaments on May 17.

Germany was missing 18-year-old midfielder Lennart Karl, ruled out for the World Cup after injuring a thigh in training. Oliver Baumann started in goal as Manuel Neuer rested while recovering from a calf muscle issue.

Freese started in goal for the 15th time in 18 matches.

Die Mannschaft went ahead after Tyler Adams’ foul just outside the penalty area. Joshua Kimmich’s free kick was headed in by Havertz at the top of the 6-yard box for his 22nd international goal,

Robinson scored his fifth international goal after Jonathan Tah’s headed clearance attempt on Pulisic’s corner kick went just outside the area. Robinson celebrated with a cartwheel and a backflip.

A few hours after Lionel Messi and the Argentine World Cup team checked into their training base in Kansas City, a series of thunderstorms pounded the area, knocking out power, felling trees and bringing flood and tornado warnings.

Hardly ideal conditions for the world’s biggest soccer tournament. Yet that’s likely just the opening salvo of a disruptive weather system that could affect the 38-day competition, which kicks off next week with games in Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

“It’s pretty safe to say climate change is going to have a mark on this World Cup,” said Kaitlyn Trudeau, a senior research associate of climate science for Sacramento-based Climate Central. “With climate change we know it’s not just going to be hotter, but it’s also going to increase the humidity as well.”

And that could make this summer’s World Cup one of the last of its kind. Tournament soccer in June and July has been a tradition dating to the first World Cup in 1930, but since then global temperatures in June have warmed by 1.89 degrees, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That may not sound like a lot, but it takes many days and nights of extreme heat to move the needle that much.

“It can be a very dangerous situation,” Trudeau said.

As a result, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has already begun discussions on moving the start of the tournament from June to March or October after 2030. In the meantime, early kickoffs, cooling breaks, air-conditioned stadiums and regular weather-related delays will necessarily become common features of the tournament, according to “Pitches in Peril,” a detailed report on the impact of climate change on global soccer, released in the run-up to the World Cup.

“Football’s all of a sudden starting to reckon with the new climate realities,” said Elliot Arthur-Worsop, founding director of Football For Future, a pioneering U.K. nonprofit and co-publisher of “Pitches in Peril.”

“Extreme weather events are becoming more unpredictable,” he said. “The players, the spectators and the officials, they’re all at risk here, especially when it comes to extreme heat. How can we future-proof the game?

“Adaptation looks like moving the entire tournament to another time of year to deal with the extreme weather. Short term it could be moving the kickoff times, it could be introducing more drink breaks, having more heat protocols and safety regulations.”

Some climatologists fear summer events like the World Cup and Olympic Games are just one heatwave away from a major weather-related tragedy. In fact, Arthur-Worsop said his group’s study found that this men’s World Cup, the first held in North America in 32 years, will likely be the last played here.

“By the time the cycle of awarding the hosting rights would possibly come back, our climate projections show that the tournament in its current form would be unplayable due to extreme weather events,” he said. “Not only heat, but other compounding threats such as extreme wind and flooding and wildfires.”

Trudeau worries that whatever adaptations are eventually adopted won’t keep pace with a rapidly warming planet.

“We are basically pushing ourselves to a limit,” she said. “I’m not saying we’re going to absolutely lose the World Cup. But we are making it so much harder to find time to safely enjoy these kinds of events.

“This is not a safe environment and we should not be putting people’s lives at risk just to watch a game.”

FIFA did move the 2022 World Cup, pushing the start of the tournament in Qatar from June to November. Even then the games had to be played in air-conditioned stadiums, though. Three of the 16 venues to be used this summer — in Atlanta, Houston and Arlington, Texas — are domed and climate-controlled.

But the next World Cup, to be held in 2030, will be played mostly in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, where June and July temperatures frequently top 95 degrees. And just one of the likely venues is climate-controlled.

As for this summer’s tournament, a 2025 study published in the International Journal of Biometeorology found that conditions in 14 of the 16 World Cup host cities are likely to exceed the extreme Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) threshold, an advanced index used to measure how the human body experiences heat stress.

But you don’t have to do complicated math to know it’s hot because there’s also the “feels like” index, which registers how your body feels the heat. That can be vastly different from the reading on a thermometer. In Miami, for example, where seven World Cup games will be played, humidity will make an air temperature of 90 degrees “feel like” 109 degrees.

Under those conditions, it becomes more difficult for the body to cool itself.

“We talk about temperatures all the time, but that is only one part of the equation. It’s not including the amount of heat that you might feel from humidity,” Trudeau said. “It’s so important because once it gets too humid, then our body’s main cooling mechanism, sweating, is no longer possible.

“These are the kinds of situations where you have to be really careful. Not just players, but also people who maybe work at the stadiums, people who are watching the matches. It can be a very dangerous situation.”

Playing games in the cooler evening hours could alleviate that but FIFA, in a nod to TV viewers in Europe, scheduled 40 of the tournament’s 104 games, including the majority of games in the knockout rounds, to kick off at 3 p.m. or earlier local time. And though mandatory three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half have been added, Trudeau questions their impact.

“That’s kind of silly to be like, ‘Oh, we’re going to give an extra water break. But we’re going to be doing it at the hottest time of the day,’” she said. “It kind of sends mixed messages, right? What is the main priority of FIFA here? Is it to get the most views and the most revenue and the most whatever? Or is it to actually protect these players?

“We should not be having these in the hottest parts of the world at the hottest times of day,” she continued. “It’s just common sense.”

FIFA defended the schedule, saying in a statement that climate-related risks are assessed as part of overall tournament planning and managed in close coordination with the host cities, stadium authorities and national agencies.

“Building on experience from recent tournaments, a tiered heat-mitigation model will apply,” the statement continued. “When forecasts indicate elevated temperatures, venues will activate additional cooling capacity, including shaded areas, misting systems, cooling buses and expanded water distribution. Work-rest cycles for staff and volunteers are adapted accordingly, and first-aid readiness is reinforced with clear triage and escalation pathways for suspected heat illness. These measures scale dynamically based on real-time conditions before and during each event.”

Last summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, a 63-game tournament played in the U.S. as a kind of dress rehearsal for this year’s event, gives an indication of the problems ahead. That tournament was plagued not just by high heat and humidity, but also by thunderstorms and lightning that paused or delayed a half-dozen matches in Orlando, Fla.; Nashville; Cincinnati; Charlotte, N.C.; and East Rutherford, N.J.

“The heat is incredible,” said Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who played in last summer’s tournament with Chelsea. “I got a bit dizzy during a play. I had to lie down on the ground because I was really dizzy.

“Playing in this temperature is very dangerous.”

But if health risks are the primary concern of summer sporting events on a warming planet, they aren’t the only ones. The weather also affects the quality of play, said Norwegian defender Julian Ryerson, who played for Borussia Dortmund in last summer’s club tournament.

“Football is different when you play in this humidity and heat,” he said. “It is really tough. You take some precautions. That’s the only way to go about it.”

As the planet continues to bake, there are also increasingly fewer ways of going about staging a World Cup. You can play it nontraditional times and in nontraditional places. You can play it indoors in air-conditioned stadiums.

Or you can not play it at all.

“We’re running out of options,” Trudeau said. “We have to understand that unless we are going to address human-caused climate change, you’re going to start losing these things that are culturally important to us or economically important.

“We cannot keep doing these things at the rate we’re doing them and the times that we’re doing them in the ways that we’re doing them while we also continue to warm the planet.”

Previous World Cup appearances: 0
Player to watch: Mousa Tamari
FIFA world ranking: 63

Jordan are appearing at the World Cup finals for the first time, with their Moroccan coach Jamal Sellami hoping that his players can emulate the heroics of The Atlas Lions four years ago.

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“In big competitions, many teams can surprise. My country, Morocco, ‌reached the semifinals in the last World Cup,” the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying during a training camp in Antalya, Turkiye, in late March.

“That gives us belief.”

While a run to the semifinals might be a little bit optimistic, Jordan are coming into the tournament on a good run of form.

The Middle East nation reached the final of the 2023 Asian Cup, losing to hosts Qatar, and also played Morocco in the final of the 2025 Arab Cup, agonisingly falling short in a 3-2 defeat after extra time.

Jordan also scored 32 goals in World Cup qualifying, marking their highest tally in a single qualification campaign. But eight of those goals were scored by Yazan Alnemat, who will miss this summer’s tournament due to injury.

Sellami takes Jordan into the big time

The Al-Nashama, or the “noble ones”, have developed into a significant force in Arab football since Sellami took over as coach in June 2024 and built on the work of his predecessor, compatriot Hussein Ammouta.

Sellami believes the team he has built can deliver a shock similar to Algeria beating Germany in 1982, Cameroon stunning reigning champions Argentina in 1990, and Senegal repeating the feat against holders France in 2002.

“These results open horizons of hope and ambition for the fans, so they can dream,” Sellami, who played for Morocco at the 1998 World Cup, told Arabic sports channel TFK.

“And we too have the right to dream and to strive to be a strong team and present ourselves well,” he added.

The 55-year-old former midfielder has built a well-structured, disciplined team that utilises their wealth of creative forward talent to hit opponents on the break with lightning-quick transitions.

Star striker misses out

While Jordan’s qualifying campaign gives them plenty of hope for this summer’s tournament, their team in North America will be missing a big part of what made them such a force in Asian qualifying.

Forward Yazan Alnemat contributed eight goals, but will miss the World Cup finals after suffering an ACL injury in the Arab Cup quarterfinals last December.

“Yazan is a player who cannot be replaced,” conceded Sellami. “But we will find a combination for the team that can still be dangerous to the opponent, and that also gives us balance in our defensive performance.”

Alnemat’s likely replacement, Ali Olwan, has recovered from an Achilles injury sufficiently to take his place in Sellami’s extended squad. He contributed nine goals in qualifying, highlighting Jordan’s depth in attacking options.

‘Jordan’s Messi’ hopes to shine

Captain Mousa Tamari is one of Jordan’s biggest attacking threats and will be looking to torment defenders on the right wing.

The 28-year-old Rennes midfielder is the only Jordan player who competes in one of Europe’s top five leagues and has enjoyed a strong season in France, scoring seven goals and grabbing 11 assists in 36 appearances for the Ligue 1 outfit.

He’s also been a key player at international level, scoring 23 goals in 76 appearances for the Jordan national team.

If Jordan are to upset the odd’s at this summer’s World Cup, they will need to rely heavily on the man known as “Jordan’s Messi”.

How does Jordan’s group look?

Defending champions Argentina provide formidable opposition in Jordan’s final game in Group J, with the real Messi squaring up against his Jordanian counterpart.

Sellami’s side will face Austria in their opening match in San Francisco, with the European nation making their first appearance at the World Cup since 1998.

Jordan are the lowest-ranked team in their group, but perhaps their best opportunity of success will come against the second-lowest-ranked side, Algeria.

The African side recorded eight wins in World Cup qualifying and will look to Riyad Mahrez to provide goals and assists.

Jordan’s group stage match dates and kickoff times:

⚽ June 16: Austria v Jordan (San Francisco Bay Area, US), 9pm (04:00 GMT on June 17).

⚽ June 22: Jordan v Algeria (San Francisco Bay Area, US), 8pm (03:00 GMT on June 23).

⚽ June 27: Jordan v Argentina (Dallas, Texas, US), 9pm (02:00 GMT on June 28).

Al Jazeera’s prediction:

A fight for third in their group, but ultimately, qualification for the knockouts may be a stretch for Jordan.

Full squad

Goalkeepers: Yazeed Abulaila (Al-Hussein), Abdullah al-Fakhouri (Al-Wehdat), Noor Bani Attiah (Al-Faisaly).

Defenders: Abdallah Nasib (Al-Zawraa), Ehsan Haddad, Saed al-Rosan, Saleem Obaid (Al-Hussein), Yazan al-Arab (FC Seoul), Mohammad Abualnadi (Selangor), Husam Abu Dahab, Anas Banawi (Al-Faisaly), Mohannad Abu Taha (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya), Mohammad Abu Hasheesh (Al-Karma).

Midfielders: Noor Al-Rawabdeh (Selangor), Nizar al-Rashdan (Qatar), Ibrahim Saadeh (Al-Karma), Rajaei Ayed, Mahmoud Al-Mardi (Al-Hussein), Amer Jamous (Al-Zawraa), Mohammad al-Dawoud (Al-Wehdat).

Forwards: Mousa Tamari (Rennes), Odeh al-Fakhouri (Pyramids), Mohammad Abu Zrayq (Raja Casablanca), Ali Azaizeh (Al-Shabab), Ibrahim Sabra (Lokomotiva Zagreb), Ali Olwan (Al-Sailiya).

Nearly 2,000 food and beverage workers at SoFi Stadium voted overwhelmingly Friday to authorize a strike just a week before the venue will stage the first World Cup game on U.S. soil in more than three decades.

Negotiations on a labor contract between Unite Here Local 11, the union representing the cooks, dishwashers, concession workers and bartenders at SoFi and, Legends Global, the stadium’s food-service operator, are expected to continue Monday despite the vote. But Kurt Petersen, the union’s co-president, said if an agreement isn’t reached workers will walk off the job and the 70,000 fans arriving for the June 12 match between the U.S. and Paraguay will be greeted by hundreds of picketers.

Union members have been working without a contract for a year and Petersen said Unite Here is demanding salary increases, protection against subcontracting and job loss through automation, and are protesting the collection of sensitive private information such as nationality and home addresses that FIFA, organizer of the World Cup, said it needs to accreditate workers.

Workers are also demanding the right to walk off the job if federal immigration enforcement enters the stadium and creates a reasonable fear for their safety. Ninety-six percent of the vote was in favor of strike authorization.

Legends Global, the stadium’s food-service operator, responded to the vote with a statement.

“Legends Global has presented progressive wage proposals to Unite Here Local 11 throughout our negotiations and remains confident an agreement is within reach,” it read. “While we expect a contract will be finalized in time, a contingency staffing plan is in place to ensure seamless operations and no disruption to fans. We remain committed to delivering an outstanding hospitality experience at the FIFA World Cup matches.”

That contingency plan would involve hiring replacement workers who would have to undergo the same detailed accreditation procedures demanded by FIFA, plus job training. SoFi Stadium is scheduled to play host to eight World Cup matches, including two of the U.S. team’s three group-stage games. The first of those is on June 12 when the U.S. faces Paraguay in its World Cup opener.

Petersen said the union is looking for “substantial increases” in hourly pay, to more than $30 an hour. Legends’ most recent proposal calls for wage freezes for some workers and a 25-cent hourly increase for cooks and dishwashers, the union said.

But perhaps the biggest sticking point is FIFA’s demand for workers’ sensitive personal information, including Social Security numbers and fingerprints, to process background checks. Under California privacy laws, workers have the right to know exactly what personal information their employer collects, how it will be used, and who it will be shared with. Local 11 said its members fears such information, if collected, could be made available to the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

According to Petersen, when workers were originally hired by Legends they submitted the documentation necessary for employment, and under the current collective bargaining agreement the company does not have the right to request it again for FIFA.

FIFA has refused to comment on the contract talks, saying they are “between Legends Global and Unite Here Local 11.” But its insistence on collecting personal information is something Legends cannot address during contract talks, which makes a resolution impossible.

FIFA said it was partnering with the governments of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the three countries in which the 39-day tournament will be played, “to enhance safety and security of all workers, staff, team members, vendors, journalists, volunteers, and spectators by mitigating potential insider threats. … Such name checks do not constitute pre-employment checks.”

All data collected during the name-check process, FIFA said, will be processed “in accordance with applicable data protection and privacy laws, and will be deleted by FIFA as soon as it is no longer needed for purposes of adjudicating requests for credentialed access to FIFA-controlled spaces.

Making a rib stop on the way to a game and then eating your barbecue inside your car — or, better, on the hood of your car if you don’t want sauce-stained seats — has been a classic move since the days the Lakers used to play at the Forum in Inglewood. Lately, however, it’s getting harder to find old-school L.A. barbecue — the wood-smoked ribs and links and small ends that have long powered this city. Luckily, Inglewood is home to two outposts from the first family of L.A. barbecue: Woody’s (see separate entry), started by the late Woodrow “Woody” Phillips and Phillips Bar-B-Que from Woody’s cousin Foster Phillips, who still inspires younger pitmasters. Where Woody’s has patio seating, Phillips, in traditional barbecue style, is a take-out-only shop with a tightly packed parking lot off Centinela Avenue. It’s the only location that remains after the 2024 closure of Phillips’ Crenshaw spot. Recently, I stopped in for pork ribs so tender the meat easily came free from the bone; small ends, a meaty cut Phillips helped popularize; plus sides of greens and an especially cheesy macaroni and cheese. If you order your rib sauce hot, it may not be as spicy as it was in the old days, but it still has the sweet taste of nostalgia.

The artist who painted a giant mural on a building in downtown Dallas of life-sized swimming whales has filed a $25 million lawsuit against soccer’s international governing body and others, saying they illegally painted over his work to promote the city’s upcoming World Cup matches.

The artist Wyland says he hand-painted the sprawling mural that covered roughly 17,000 square feet across two of the building’s walls.

The mural stood for nearly three decades before workers began painting over it last month, causing an uproar among residents who admired the mural’s grand scale and message of ocean conservation.

The area’s World Cup organizing committee said in a statement that, in place of Wyland’s mural, new artwork is planned “that captures this current historical moment and reflects the energy, unity, and global spirit surrounding the World Cup 2026.” It said a portion of Wyland’s mural would be preserved.

Wyland filed suit Monday in U.S District Court in Dallas saying that World Cup organizers, along with the building’s owner and management company, painted over his mural without his consent or even notifying him. He says their actions violated a 1990 federal law passed to protect visual artists from destruction of publicly displayed works.

Wyland is seeking at least $25 million in damages. His lawsuit says world soccer’s governing body, FIFA, and other defendants “hastily and irrevocably destroyed a civic landmark” to promote the World Cup.

“Though FIFA claims they were working to develop art for the host city, in truth, they defaced an historic fixture of the host city,” the artist’s lawsuit says.

A FIFA spokesperson said Tuesday the federation “has no involvement in this whatsoever” and referred a reporter to the tournament’s local organizing committee.

A spokesperson for the North Texas FWC Organizing Committee declined to comment. The committee isn’t named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

A spokesperson for Slate Asset Management, which manages the building where the mural was painted over, said in a statement that local World Cup organizers asked Slate in March to donate the mural space for “a new public art installation.”

“Slate is not being compensated in any way for the use of the wall space and was told by the local groups that Mr. Wyland had been notified,” the management company’s spokesperson said in an email.

Dallas is hosting more World Cup matches than any of the other sites in the event co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with nine matches set to be played at AT&T Stadium in suburban Arlington, home of the Dallas Cowboys.

Wyland’s Dallas mural, titled “Whaling Wall 82,” was finished in 1999 and is among more than 100 similar murals known as Whaling Walls the artist painted around the world to promote the conservation of ocean life.

An online petition protesting the mural’s destruction and calling for protecting of public artwork in Dallas has received more than 2,600 signatures.

Wyland’s lawsuit alleges violations of the Visual Artists Rights Act, a 1990 federal law that protects artwork of “recognized stature” even if someone else owns the physical artwork.

A judge cited that law in 2018 when he ordered a property owner to pay a group of New York graffiti artists $6.7 million for whitewashing dozens of their spray-painted murals on buildings that once housed a factory in Queens. The ruling was upheld on appeal.

Bynum writes for the Associated Press. Bynum reported from Savannah, Ga.

WASHINGTON — When nearly all the scheduled musical performers pulled out of a concert series marking America’s 250th anniversary — fearing the event had become too closely tied to President Trump — he responded by making it official.

Trump announced he’d now be the headlining act of the Great American State Fair.

That put to rest any possible scenario where a president who has built his personal and political persona on seizing the spotlight might cede the stage to avoid overshadowing a national celebration bigger than himself. It also offered a peek into how the president is likely to approach hosting the upcoming World Cup.

From his reality shows before becoming a politician, to hours spent entertaining at events in ways planned and impromptu, to proudly showing off his various properties and efforts to overhaul the White House, the president relishes hosting. Last year he even jokingly mused about leaving the presidency to do it again full time on TV.

Trump can be a gracious, personable and highly watchable master of ceremonies — but he’s also one who tends to make every event about himself.

“The president has an outsized personality,” said Timothy Naftali, former director of Richard Nixon’s presidential library and professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “There’s a predictability to the way in which the president frames his actions — or any actions around any event associated with him — and that’s just part of who he is, and his makeup and his professional background.”

Exhibit A is the fair, which begins June 25 and was supposed to feature concerts but now will be kicked off by a Trump rally. That will follow a UFC bout at the White House on June 14. Trump is a longtime cage match fan and the event marks his 80th birthday, but the president has sought to bill it as part of the anniversary festivities.

Many presidents relished hosting — but not like this

Andrew Jackson threw open the White House for an 1829 Inauguration Day bash so unruly that staff eventually dispersed the crowd by moving tubs of whiskey and ice cream to the lawn. Franklin D. Roosevelt mixed pre-dinner cocktails for friends and aides at White House gatherings he playfully dubbed “The Children’s Hour.” Audrey Hepburn was among the luminaries Ronald Reagan hosted at the White House.

Trump frequently had first-term dinners with business leaders but has more fully embraced the role since returning to the White House. He built a patio area similar to one at his Mar-a-Lago estate and frequently travels to Florida and his properties in Bedminster, New Jersey, and Sterling, Virginia, to headline fundraisers and other swanky gatherings.

Asked if Trump might overshadow events meant to bring the country and the world together, White House spokesman Davis Ingle pointed to the president’s efforts to lead extensive renovations at the White House and around Washington. He said in a statement that the “historic beautification” gives the city “the glory it deserves during our nation’s historic semiquincentennial celebration — something everyone should celebrate.”

Still, Trump has found unprecedented ways to inject himself into the anniversary.

The State Department is issuing passports with the president’s picture and officials have designed a new $250 bill with his likeness. The Trump Organization, being run by Trump’s children while he’s president, applied to trademark “Trump 250” logos and other merchandise.

The U.S. Mint is also producing a 24-karat gold commemorative coin with Trump’s face, though that recalls a half-dollar silver coin bearing the likeness of President Calvin Coolidge to help mark America’s 150th anniversary in 1926.

Past presidents had starring anniversary roles

Ulysses S. Grant opened a Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia to mark the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1876. Richard Nixon, in 1971, inaugurated a five-year “Bicentennial Era” ahead of the 200-year mark, though he resigned before the big day arrived.

Nixon’s successor, Gerald Ford, then in the midst of an ultimately unsuccessful reelection campaign, began the week of July 4, 1976, by inaugurating the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum and attending a Kennedy Center event featuring Bob Hope, OJ Simpson and others reading patriotic texts.

On Independence Day, Ford spoke at historic Valley Forge, then traveled to Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, declaring, “Liberty is a living flame to be fed, not dead ashes to be revered.“ He also went to New York Harbor for a tall ship parade, presided over naturalization ceremonies at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello estate and hosted a state dinner for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Still, “while Ford certainly hoped to use the bicentennial to promote his reelection campaign, he didn’t do it in such a self-aggrandizing, self-centered, narcissistic way,” said Marc Stein, a history professor at San Francisco State University and author of “Bicentennial: A Revolutionary History of the 1970s.”

Ford, added Naftali, “knew when to step out of the limelight and make sure the focus was on what mattered, which was the United States of America and the Declaration of Independence.”

Trump, by contrast, “generally has contempt for norms” and rarely mentions “the great sweep of history,” Naftali said.

Dueling anniversary planners as Trump pushes to revise history

Congress charged a national organization, America250, with planning commemorative events. Ahead of the 2024 election, the group drafted a memo asking whomever the incoming president was to mobilize federal agencies and welcoming presidential involvement in events and initiatives.

Asked about Trump, America250 Chair Rosie Rios said the group “has had a very supportive and collaborative relationship with the organizations planning initiatives on behalf of the president.”

But Rios’ organization is separate from Freedom 250, a mix of public and private partnerships which the Trump administration established to fund and prepare anniversary events — which has caused confusion.

America250 aims to “inspire our fellow Americans to reflect on our past, strengthen our love of country, and renew our commitment to the ideals of democracy through programs that educate, engage, and unite us as a nation.”

That might seem a departure from the “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” executive order Trump signed last year. It sought to beat back a “revisionist movement” responsible for “replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”

Stein, now serving a one-year term as president of the Organization of American Historians, is helping organize “We Want More History,” a push to coordinate local events celebrating the public’s love for the subject in fact-based ways.

He said Trump’s version of history is “closer to propaganda, and it’s closer to cheerleading.”

World Cup gives Trump another platform to play host

The president has similarly taken his exceeding-normal-limits approach to the soccer tournament the U.S. is co-hosting with Mexico and Canada.

He created a federal World Cup task force, and leads it. He collected a peace prize from soccer’s governing body, FIFA, and said he’d be on stage to present the tournament’s golden trophy to the winning team.

Trump even oversaw the tournament’s draw at the Kennedy Center, which he’s sought to rename for himself, sparking legal challenges.

He returned to the same building to headline December’s Kennedy Center Honors, noting, “We never had a president hosting the awards before.” He later posted on social media, “Would you like me to leave the Presidency in order to make ‘hosting’ a full time job?”

Naftali noted, “Whatever filters there were in the first term — and there weren’t many — are gone.”

“It’s undiluted Donald Trump.”

Weissert writes for the Associated Press.

Previous World Cup appearances: 6
Best performance: Fourth place (2022)
First appearance: 1970 (Mexico)
Top goal scorer: Youssef En-Nesyri (3)
Most appearances: Achraf Hakimi, Hakim Ziyech (10)
Player to watch: Brahim Diaz
FIFA world ranking: 8

The FIFA World Cup begins on June 11. You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated World Cup 2026 page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary, and keep up to date with group standings, real-time match results and schedules.

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Four years ago, the Morocco made history by becoming the first African and Arab team to reach the World Cup semifinals in Qatar, eliminating Spain and Portugal along the way, before narrowly losing to France.

They come into the 2026 edition again boasting a strong squad and hoping to replicate – or go even further – than their sensational 2022 run.

However, the Atlas Lions also find themselves in rather more chaotic circumstances this time around with a managerial departure less than three months out from the tournament, and bruised by a wild Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final that provoked a diplomatic row with Senegal.

AFCON hangover

The squad is still dealing with the fallout from one of the most incendiary episodes in African football history.

January’s final in Rabat descended into chaos when Senegal’s players walked off the pitch in protest after Morocco were awarded a contentious stoppage-time penalty following a VAR review with the game at 0-0.

The decision to award the spot kick sparked trouble among the Senegal fans in the crowd. Eighteen spectators were were later jailed following the disruption.

After Senegal finally returned to the pitch after a lengthy delay, Real Madrid and Morocco star Brahim Diaz missed the penalty with a poor attempt at a panenka. Senegal went on to win the game 1-0 with a goal in extra-time.

However, the saga did not end there. In March, CAF stripped Senegal of the title and awarded it to Morocco, ruling that Senegal had forfeited the game by leaving the pitch.

Senegal have appealed at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), and have made allegations against CAF and Morocco.

For the Atlas Lions, being belatedly crowned champions by officials has done little to ease the pain as well as a sense of injustice, and the ongoing saga continues to leave a toxic fallout for the team.

The Regragui saga

Walid Regragui, the coach who masterminded the 2022 run, parted ways with the team in March.

It is likely that he ultimately paid the price after the manner of Morocco’s narrow defeat to Senegal in the AFCON final on home soil, as well as reported arguments between him and the country’s football federation over the direction of the team.

His replacement, Mohamed Ouahbi, led Morocco’s Under-20 side to the 2025 Youth World Cup title as the federation said a “strategic decision” was behind the appointment.

“It’s a desire not to waste time and to take a different direction,” a source close to the federation told the AFP news agency.

But for Ouahbi, 49, stepping up to a first senior World Cup under such acrimonious circumstances is an extremely challenging task – especially as he has only ever managed youth teams in his career.

“I’m not here to build, because the foundations are already in place. I’m here to keep performing,” Ouahbi said after his appointment.

Whether the new coach has the authority and tactical acuity to thrive at the highest level remains to be seen, and it will be a bit of a baptism of fire.

Brahim Diaz hopes to shake off panenka nightmare

Up until that penalty miss, talented forward Brahim Diaz had been the best player at the tournament, driving Morocco to the final as he won the Golden Boot with five goals.

The Real Madrid playmaker is quick, clever and capable of producing something out of nothing – giving Morocco a touch of genuine magic between the lines.

He may be carrying a psychological weight into this tournament after the AFCON final fracas, but Morocco will hope he will channel that frustration into having an outstanding World Cup.

Teenage star Bouaddi makes the cut

While much of the squad is fairly well established, the exciting 18-year-old Lille midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi, who has switched allegiances after representing France at junior level, made the squad.

“A dream come true, but above all the start of a new chapter, with even more work, rigour and responsibilities,” Bouaddi said on X.

“I am aware of the privilege I have to defend ‌these colours, and I will give everything to represent my country in the best possible way.

“A thought also for France. My choice in no way diminishes the pride and gratitude for having been able to wear that jersey in my youth.”

Perhaps surprisingly, Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored the winning goal against Portugal in the 2022 quarterfinal, did not make the cut.

Elsewhere, Bilal El Khannouss is a highly technical and creative attacking midfielder, while Sofyan Amrabat gives the side combative energy in defence.

Marseille defender Nayef Aguerd has been selected, despite not playing since March due to injury.

Hakimi: The world’s best right back?

Last season, the PSG right back scored 11 goals and provided 14 assists en route to helping his club win a historic treble of the Champions League, Ligue 1 and the French Cup – he was subsequently named CAF African Player of the Year.

This season has been less productive so far in terms of goals and assists. Hakimi increasingly attracts intense attention from opponents keen to neutralise his threat. His season has also been overshadowed by issues off the pitch as it was announced earlier this year that he will stand trial for rape in France – allegations which Hakimi denies.

Despite the off-field issues and reduced returns this season, his overlapping runs, delivery and goalscoring threat – on top of his defensive prowess – arguably means he remains the best right back in the world.

How does Morocco’s group look?

Group C certainly has its challenges for Morocco, not least in their opening game against Brazil. While the Brazilians no longer quite hold the fear factor of previous tournaments, they are still packed with quality.

Nevertheless, Morocco will fancy their chances of getting something from that game and sending a statement to their rivals.

Easier ties await after that, and although an improving Scotland are no pushovers and Haiti could provide an unknown quantity, Morocco should be winning both of those games if they are to mount a serious push for the title.

Morocco also faced Brazil and Scotland in the France 1998 World Cup. The Atlas Lions put in a respectable performance then – recording a 3-0 win over Scotland while losing by the same score to Brazil and drawing with Norway – but finished third in the group and failed to progress to the round of 16.

Morocco’s group matches at the World Cup

⚽ June 13: Brazil vs Morocco (New Jersey, US), 6pm ET (22:00 GMT).
⚽ June 19: Scotland vs Morocco (Boston, US), 6pm ET (22:00 GMT).
⚽ June 24: Morocco vs Haiti (Atlanta, Georgia), 6pm ET (22:00 GMT).

Al Jazeera’s prediction

Last 16.

An inexperienced coach and turmoil around the squad will probably lead them to fall short of matching their 2022 exploits.

Morocco’s World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal), Munir Mohamedi (RS Berkane), Ahmed Tagnaouti (Royal Armed Forces).

Defenders: Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV Eindhoven), Youssef Belammari (Al Ahly), ‌Nayef Aguerd (Marseille), Chadi Riad (Crystal Palace), Issa Diop (West Ham United), Redouane Halhal (KV Mechelen), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St-Germain), Zakaria El Ouahdi (Genk).

Midfielders: Samir El Mourabet (Strasbourg), Ayyoub Bouaddi (Lille), Neil El Aynaoui (Roma), Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Bilal El Khannouss (Stuttgart), Ismael ‌Saibari (PSV ‌Eindhoven).

Forwards: Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiacos), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Yassine Gessime (Strasbourg), Ayoub Amaimouni-Echghouyabe (Eintracht Frankfurt).

NewsFeed

Cape Verde’s national football team has arrived in the US ahead to take part in their first ever FIFA World Cup. Players filmed themselves dancing in the aisle of the plane and were cheered on the tarmac.

Previous World Cup appearances: 16
Best performance: Winners (1966)
First appearance: 1950 (Brazil)
Top goal scorer: Gary Lineker (10)
Most appearances: Peter Shilton (18)
Player to watch: Harry Kane
FIFA world ranking: 4
Fixtures: Croatia (June 17, Dallas), Ghana (June 23, Boston), Panama (June 27, New York)

It has now been 60 years of hurt for England, who lifted their only World Cup title in 1966. But while the Three Lions are certainly genuine contenders this time around, they come into the 2026 edition in a rather unsettled mood.

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The Three Lions strolled through their group, becoming the first European team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup as they booked their place with two games to spare.

However, it’s fair to say that it was not the toughest group, and their performances in recent friendlies have drawn boos from fairly unenthused Wembley crowds, not least the defeats to Senegal and Japan.

Can England get a tune out of the likes of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane? Can the Three Lions find a way back to playing entertaining football? And does coach Thomas Tuchel actually know his best team?

Tuchel gambles on ‘chemistry’

The German manager’s squad selection raised a few eyebrows as several key names were left out amid a few surprise inclusions.

Chelsea’s Cole Palmer and Man City’s Phil Foden, two of England’s most creative players, did not make the cut after disappointing seasons, while Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold and Man United’s Harry Maguire also missed out.

Meanwhile, striker Ivan Toney – who plays for Saudi Arabia for Al-Ahli and has barely featured for England under Tuchel – has made the squad, along with some other debatable choices in Tottenham’s Djed Spence, Brentford’s 35-year-old midfielder Jordan Henderson, and Bayer Leverkusen defender Jarell Quansah.

Nine members of the 26-man squad have no previous tournament experience.

Tuchel defended his selections by stressing the importance of unity.

“From day one, we were clear that we are trying to select and build the best possible team, which is not necessarily to select and collect the 26 most talented players,” Tuchel told reporters.

“Teams win championships. It’s as simple as that. Everything I know and hear about international football is that it is about the team and the chemistry.”

Unimpressed fans

England’s previous boss Gareth Southgate had his detractors, namely over in-game decisions and for presiding over some pretty stodgy, risk-averse football at times. But he did take England to the finals of two European Championships, as well as a World Cup semifinal in 2018.

In addition to contending with this record, the former Chelsea and PSG boss Tuchel has also faced criticism over the failure to improve England’s style of play, which is still often marred by slow, sideways passes.

And while it’s logical to experiment, it’s also not clear he really knows his best team, and attempts to play a false nine or two number 10s have not come off.

Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that Tuchel is an elite manager and his solid, well-organised England side won their group with a 100 percent record (eight wins from eight), including tough wins away at Serbia and Albania, and conceded zero goals in the process.

Amid some consternation among the tabloid press over appointing a German to the role, Tuchel would delight in confounding the naysayers by leading the England men’s side to a first major trophy since 1966.

The Kane conundrum

Despite winning the golden boot at the 2018 World Cup, England have often failed to get the best out of their captain and record goalscorer at major tournaments.

By the end of a long season, Kane is frequently struggling for fitness and contending with knocks, and often comes into major tournaments looking off the pace.

However, if England can field a relatively fresh Kane in North America, the 33-year-old should be high on confidence following his best-ever season in front of goal.

Kane has averaged more than a goal a game on his way to scoring 61 times in 51 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich, who were crowned Bundesliga champions in April but were defeated by PSG in the Champions League semifinal.

England’s captain also has his country’s World Cup scoring record in sight as he needs just two more strikes to equal Gary Lineker’s record of 10 goals in the tournament.

The battle for number 10

Bellingham is perhaps the most effective out of several talented England number 10s, but the 22-year-old has had a frustrating club season as he has contended with injuries and his side’s frequently poor form, and accordingly, his England appearances have also been sporadic recently.

Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers may have staked a strong claim to start ahead of him based on appearances under Tuchel and his sparkling club form.

Bellingham can also play further back in midfield, but assuming that Declan Rice and Eliot Anderson are fairly nailed on as holding midfielders, there may not be a space for him there either. So the Real Madrid player may have to initially look to make an impact from the bench.

Have England finally solved their perennial left-back weakness?

England have probably not had a truly world-class left-back since Ashley Cole. However, that may be about to change with the rapid rise of Nico O’Reilly.

The 21-year-old Manchester City player also offers an attacking threat as he has grabbed seven goals and three assists in the Premier League this season, and scored a brace as City won the League Cup final.

While some of these goals have come from midfield, O’Reilly looks to have the defensive skills and positional nous to become a world-class full back – although he’s still a work in progress.

How does their group look?

Group L contains some tricky opponents, and England face a particularly tough opener against 11th-ranked Croatia, who beat England in the 2018 semifinal.

Panama are ranked a perhaps surprisingly high 33rd and beat the United States en route to becoming CONCACAF Nations League runners-up last year.

And while 74th-ranked Ghana are the four-seeded underdogs, they could also pose a stiff test as they boast the likes of Antoine Semenyo and Mohammed Kudus.

England’s group stage match dates and kickoff times:

⚽ June 17: England vs. Croatia (Arlington, Texas, US), 4pm (20:00 GMT)
⚽ June 23: England vs. Ghana (Foxborough, Massachusetts, US), 4pm (20:00 GMT)
⚽ June 27: Panama vs. England (East Rutherford, New Jersey, US), 5pm (21:00 GMT)

Al Jazeera’s prediction

Quarterfinals.

Is it coming home? Probably not, but England still expects.

Full squad

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), James Trafford (Man City)

Defenders: Reece ‌James (Chelsea), ‌Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), John Stones (Man City), Marc Guehi (Man City), Dan Burn (Newcastle), Nico O’Reilly (Man City), Djed Spence (Tottenham), Tino Livramento (Newcastle)

Midfielders: Declan Rice (Arsenal), Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Kobbie Mainoo (Man Utd), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Ivan Toney (Al-Ahli), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Noni Madueke (Arsenal)

Laurie Pinto works on some of the biggest deals across the sports landscape, and the investor strategies he encounters are game-changing.

With the 2026 World Cup around the corner, the sports finance sector is heating up — and few advisers are at the center of more high-stakes talks than Laurie Pinto.

From cross-border M&A and private equity-style ownership structures to discreet football club deals, Pinto has spent decades navigating the intersection of finance and sport.

Through his eponymous firm, Pinto Capital LLP, he has advised everyone from Premier League clubs to emerging teams seeking new capital and international growth opportunities.

Pinto took part in this month’s Global Salon series, where he discussed the surging influence of American investors in European football and why sports franchises are increasingly viewed as scalable global assets.

He also weighs in on the future of cricket, the limits of SPAC-driven sports deals, and how geopolitical instability — from capital scrutiny to regional conflict — is reshaping the economics of today’s athletic events.

Global Finance: Set the stage for us. We’re just weeks away from the World Cup, and the atmosphere feels volatile. Fans are frustrated by skyrocketing ticket prices and logistical hurdles, and U.S. Soccer’s sporting director recently resigned. Is this one of the more chaotic build-ups you’ve seen in modern sports finance?

Laurie Pinto: It’s fast-moving, and tickets are incredibly expensive—the cheapest for the final is $5,000. Are things chaotic? Yes, fans are coming from 42 countries with vastly different expectations. Big football events always face skepticism. Qatar’s alcohol and LGBTQ restrictions sparked fears, but the tournament ran smoothly. Russia and Germany had logistical challenges, too. So I see this as part of the normal practice from naysayers. What’s different here is scale for the U.S.: This is a pivotal moment for soccer, especially for kids. Prices for tickets, flights, and hotels are eye-wateringly high, but that’s normal for major events.

GF: Has “Welcome to Wrexham” changed investor behavior?

Pinto: Ryan Reynolds has had a huge impact on English football, but American investors were already noticing the documentary “Sunderland ’Til I Die,” which drew 66 million viewers and I think was the second most-watched sports documentary on Netflix, after “The Last Dance” [about Michael Jordan and the Bulls]. That opened the eyes of American investors to the fact that these clubs have 100 years of history, amazingly sticky fan bases, great pedigree, and are affordable. If you want to buy into an American sport, name any franchise you can buy for under $8 billion. It’s hard, and there aren’t that many people who can stroke checks for $8 billion.

Americans also understand marketing and the creator economy. They say, “We can help manage these businesses better, both on the pitch and off the pitch.” American sports are an asset class and are incredibly professionally managed compared to the UK and Europe. And if you can transplant some of that expertise, you can take some of these loss-making clubs and make them profitable, and then the valuation goes up dramatically.

GF: With your cross-border experience, how do geopolitical factors like regulation and capital controls affect sports deals?

Pinto: What they do is, there’s an immense amount of KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering). It’s not just a matter of “who is the buyer?” It’s more about “what is your source of funds?” and “who is the ultimate beneficial owner or UBO?” You see deals for clubs where their GP/LP structures are like private equity, and the LPs are the ultimate beneficial owners.

Private equity guys structure their investments that way, and they take a carry on the performance. They help manage the investment. And that’s a very commonplace thing in American sport and is becoming increasingly common in the UK and Europe. There’s no capital control, but there is a deep sense to make sure there isn’t money laundering going on. And can the people really afford it? And is it really their money? Because if people don’t disclose where their money comes from, generally, it’s not for a good reason.

GF: Have you seen a major shift in how clubs are valued in recent years? Is there a pre- and post-Ryan Reynolds era?

Pinto: About 10 years ago, there was no valuation methodology. Now, clubs are valued at multiples of revenue, even if they are loss-making. Intangible assets are better monetized through apps, second-screen connectivity, surge pricing, AI—more personalized user experiences, scalable and multilingual, enhancing valuation.

The lifetime value (LTV) of a fan is important. Consulting groups estimate £100–£2,000 per fan. Manchester United has a billion fans, worth roughly $10 billion. At smaller clubs, the value of a fan is even higher; in Sunderland, stadiums are always full, rain or shine. Loyalty is much higher, affecting valuation metrics. Swansea City AFC, pre-Luka Modric and Snoop Dog, had 500,000 fans; now they claim connections to over 100 million.

GF: Do you expect U.S. entities buying into top UK divisions to change the product, and if so, how?

Pinto: It’s already changing. The off-pitch professionalism is increasing—how clubs monetize non-match days, preseason tours, overseas fans, etc. Americanization brings deeper expertise. Big clubs benefit, and even smaller clubs in League One or League Two can become profitable quickly. Private equity investing in sport isn’t an issue; U.S. investors are comfortable with leverage, more so than Europeans.

GF: In recent years, we’ve seen several sports teams list on stock exchanges, often with mixed results and significant volatility. At the same time, SPACs emerged in the U.S. with ambitions to buy football clubs, including lower-tier European teams. What’s your take?

Pinto: A SPAC will pursue any deal that makes economic sense for its sponsors, but it’s very difficult for a SPAC to buy a UK or European soccer club because it takes so long for them to get to the vote, and the vote might not even happen, and the soccer club will give away all the optionality. John Textor’s Eagle Football would’ve been the best SPAC, with holdings including Lyon, Botafogo and Crystal Palace. They looked at it with James Dinan of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks and York Capital, but that didn’t get over the line. SPACs just take so long to get done.

GF: What new sports investing trends are you noticing?

Pinto: What we are starting to see are new platforms that try to create exposure without traditional ownership. Some firms are building instruments that resemble CFDs or synthetic shares in clubs, and I’ve been working with a platform called Vestible, which is exploring sports investment access in a different way.

The idea is to give investors economic exposure to performance without requiring full ownership obligations—things like governance, operational responsibilities, or capital calls. There’s also growing interest in fractional ownership and tokenized models, often linked to fan engagement or loyalty programs. These concepts are interesting, and they have a place, but they haven’t yet broken into mainstream investor behavior.

GF: Cricket is hugely popular in countries like India but hasn’t really taken off here. Given its unique global footprint, how easy is it for a sport like that to expand in the U.S.?

Pinto: I am super positive on cricket, which is the second-biggest sport on Earth. It’s the fastest-growing women’s sport on Earth. It’s also the most in-game bet on sport on Earth. When they had the World Cup in New York in 2024, I believe it was a big success. Winning a game meant it went from the back pages to the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Suddenly, one’s looking at the economics of cricket. We’ve been very active in cricket. It has largely been an Indian subcontinent game, but it’s exciting, it’s fun, and I see cricket growing in the States.

Major League cricket has few full storms, but I think it’s coming. San Francisco Unicorns, the guys you want to watch in terms of how to get it right, but you’re seeing a lot of money going into cricket right now from NFL owners. Two of the richest guys in America tried, but failed, to buy into Indian cricket less than a month ago—the Walton family and the Ford family, the owners of the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions. The Glazers, who own Tampa Bay, have been buying into cricket, and I can assure you other owners have been talking to us about it, too.

GF: Do you know why?

Pinto: Because they see exactly the same demographics you see in the NFL. It’s a very big domestic fan base, with very few games. But each game is a huge occasion, with massive television deals and a huge moat around it, which means it can’t get challenged. Go to any park in New York on a weekend, and you will see people playing some version of either 20/20 or over 50. The challenge is for a game to really catch on; it needs to start with the kids, and this is why the NBA is so successful: you don’t need any equipment to play basketball. You just need a ball. And you can play it at any level and still enjoy it. Culturally, at the moment, cricket is nowhere near that in America.

GF: We have a lot of basketball talent here, with college programs, NIL deals, and players going overseas. When will European basketball reach the same competitive level as the NBA—or U.S. soccer could match European clubs in popularity?

Pinto: Will NBA Europe be successful? They just finished the first round of franchise bidding, but it’s been slow. Timing was terrible—the war in Iran disrupted three of the major bidders, all Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds. It’s hard to spend aggressively overseas when people back home are in bomb shelters. Give me the war’s end date, and I’ll tell you when that money comes back.

That said, European basketball is bigger than many realize. Many European players are thriving in the NBA. I went to the Paris Games last year—amazing, electric atmosphere. There are lots of talented French and Australian players making an impact. Do I think Europe will ever match the NBA in scale? No. Soccer dominates there. NBA Europe is growing, but it still has a long way to go.

Netflix’s latest worldwide wager is a menu of programming designed to feed the building fútbol frenzy that will explode in mid-June, when the FIFA World Cup begins. They might even win some Stateside converts ahead of the platform’s presentation of the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Nations League finals in 2027 and 2029.

“We say our goal is to entertain the world; in order to [do that], we need to entertain every single country” where Netflix has a presence, says Francisco Ramos, the streamer’s vice president of original content, Latin America. “Our superpower is that we’re so deeply rooted into local storytelling, then that becomes global.

“Netflix is uniquely qualified at building global audiences” for international sports content, he says. “We are very conscious and deliberate about it.”

Not that original sports content is anything new for the streamer; its first-ever original international series, “Club de Cuervos,” was a Mexican dramedy about a soccer club. But this salvo is precision-guided to hit as about 5 billion viewers get hyped for the global tournament.

“Four years ago, during the World Cup, we launched [an Argentine] documentary called ‘Sean eternos: Campeones de América’ [‘Captains of the World’], and it was massive, and then Argentina ended up winning a few months later,” says Ramos. “Right now, as the World Cup arrives, it’s very passionate.”

It’s not just Latin America that’s being targeted with new programming: There’s a trio of documentaries about Jamie Vardy, Liverpool’s 2005 Champions League-winning team and footballer-turned-actor Vinnie Jones under the “Untold UK” banner; “Poldi,” on German superstar Lukas Podolski; and “The Bus: A French Football Mutiny,” about the national team’s rocky 2010 World Cup journey.

The World Cup-contending squad

For fans, the slate offers documentaries on landmark moments in Cup history (“USA ’94: Brazil’s Return to Glory”), superstar players (“Emi Martínez: The Kid Who Stops Time” and “James”) and even up-and-comers in a prestigious amateur tournament in Brazil (“The Root of the Game”).

But for the uninitiated, apart from the streamer’s FIFA soccer simulation game coming this summer, the gateway drug may be “Ronaldinho: The One and Only.” The doc spotlights one of the most improvisational and dynamic players ever, soccer’s Magic Johnson. The legendary attacking midfielder was a wizard on the pitch and a charisma machine off it.

“Ronaldinho retired from soccer [in 2018], and he’s still in the mainstream. He has 80 million followers on Instagram,” says Luis Ara, director of “Ronaldinho” and “USA ‘94.” “You have [superstars Lionel] Messi and Neymar [da Silva Santos Júnior] talking about him like he’s God.

“He was always so cool … for him, it was not only about winning a game; it was also about entertaining the people.”

Scripted offerings include the feature “Mexico ’86,” starring a wildly hustling Diego Luna. It’s a nasty comedy about the wheeling and dealing (and outright bribery) that landed Mexico the right to host its second World Cup. Non-soccer fans might enjoy the snarky dialogue and bare-knuckled machinations — it plays like a Spanish-language, soccer-themed “Succession” or “Marty Supreme.”

“Brazil ’70: The Third Star” is a miniseries about that country’s campaign to win a third World Cup, led by a name even non-fans know: Pelé. Rodrigo Santoro stars as Coach João Saldanha.

“Brazil was in the midst of the dictatorship; they had to somehow generate some sort of national pride,” says Ramos. “The only thing that unites Brazilians 100% is their team. It becomes this compelling thing about how society is so intertwined with sports, and how sports are so intertwined with politics in Latin America.”

Is converting new American fans a realistic goal?

When soccer is the No. 1 sport in so many nations, why isn’t it bigger here?

It might have to do with the U.S. not having been a major player on the world stage, at least on the men’s side. The men’s team’s highest World Cup finish in the modern era is the quarterfinals in 2002, while U.S. women’s teams have won a record four World Cups. But the men have qualified for the tournament this year — which will be played partially in the States — and analysts say the team has improved, though they’re no one’s favorites to win it all.

Ramos says if American audiences stop seeing it as a competition between football and fútbol, they might come to appreciate soccer’s nuances.

“Take a look at the last 20 minutes of the World Cup four years ago, between France and Argentina. It’s the most extraordinary, beautiful art of people moving, and moving in extraordinary coordination. It’s like, the most-watched online thing ever.”

Beyond Netflix’s big bet on the World Cup slate, it’s not hard to get Ramos and Ara to make further wagers on this year’s tournament.

“Four teams have huge chances to win: Spain, France, Argentina and Brazil,” says Ara. “My heart is with Uruguay, but I don’t know if we’re gonna have a chance. Because of my bond with Brazil nowadays, I wish they could win again. A player once said to me, ‘Brazil is the second national team for any fútbol supporter.’ ”

“Oh my God, I will get in trouble,” says Ramos. “I’m Mexican, and it takes place in Mexico [and the U.S. and Canada], but … I’m gonna go with Argentina. My No. 2 would be Brazil.”

Brooke Mayo was just 4 when she started playing soccer. She was about 4½ when she started fantasizing about participating in the World Cup.

“I just fell in love with the game,” she said. “Like any soccer player, you dream about the World Cup, you know?”

That dream came true three years ago, though not quite in the way Mayo had imagined. Although she took part in four matches at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, she did so as an assistant referee, not a player, running up and down the field with a flag in her hand, not a ball at her feet.

Yet Mayo made history just the same, joining Tori Penso and Kathryn Nesbitt as the first American officials to work a World Cup final as a trio. More importantly, they performed so well they have been invited to officiate in the men’s World Cup this summer, where they will make more history as just the second all-female crew to work a game in the men’s tournament.

And while Mayo appreciates the barrier breaking, for the three women it’s just another day at the office.

“For us, it’s just business as usual,” she said. “I think there’s still a lot of places in the world that need to see this and that’s why it’s still important. But our colleagues are used to seeing women around.”

Mark Geiger, a two-time World Cup referee who is now general manager of the Professional Referee Organization (PRO), which manages officials for MLS, agrees. After decades of seeing U.S. and Canadian referees given little respect by FIFA — nor by international soccer in general — Geiger says the biggest takeaway from this summer’s tournament isn’t the gender of the domestic officials selected, but rather the number, 11, making it the largest contingent to work a World Cup.

In addition to Mayo, Penso and Nesbitt, the list includes Ismail Elfath, Armando Villarreal, Kyle Atkins, Corey Parker and Drew Fischer, who took part in the 2022 men’s tournament. Nesbitt, Elfath, Parker and Atkins all worked the final of that World Cup four years ago, Elfath as the fourth official, Nesbitt as the reserve assistant referee and Parker and Atkins as video assistant referees.

With Mayo’s team working the 2023 women’s final — alongside Villarreal, who was in the video booth — seven MLS officials have worked the last two World Cup finals and at least one PRO official has been assigned to 19 of the 32 knockout games in the most recent men’s and women’s tournaments.

No other league or country in the world is even close to that.

“Over the past few years I think we’ve shown that the quality of football and the quality of the officiating in the United States and Canada is at a really high level,” said Geiger, who made history of his own in 2014 when he became the first American center referee to work a Round-of-16 match in the men’s World Cup.

“We are in the normal conversation of knockout-stage games, we’re in the normal conversation for Tori to do the final. It’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

Another thing that makes this World Cup special for the PRO officials is that with the U.S., Mexico and Canada sharing host duties, the tournament will be played at home. The only other time the men’s World Cup was played in the U.S., in 1994, Arturo Angeles, a Mexican-born naturalized citizen, was the only American referee selected and he supervised just one group-play game.

“Any World Cup game anywhere is going to be special on some level,” said Fischer, a 45-year-old Canadian who has been a FIFA referee for 11 years. “It’s definitely a special feeling when you get to play host. It’s a little bit of welcoming the world into your backyard.

“There’s a certain hometown pride. So I’m definitely looking forward to that aspect of it.”

Joe Dickerson, U.S. Soccer’s reigning male referee of the year, received the FIFA international badge he needed to work major competitions just three years ago. Yet he will be a replay official in this World Cup, the first one he was eligible to work.

“This kind of happened so fast in the last couple of years,” said Dickerson, who became a professional referee in 2013, then began targeting the World Cup when it was awarded to the U.S., Mexico and Canada in 2018. “To work the biggest sporting event in the world in front of friends and family is really cool. And being a part of the celebration of culture happening in your own country and, as much as we can, celebrate our own culture, is really cool.”

It also makes things much easier on family and friends. When Mayo officiated her first group-stage game in the 2023 tournament in New Zealand, her wife, Falon Catalano, flew in for the match.

“I told her like hey, it’s our first World Cup. So she came to that and then went home,” said Mayo, 37, who wasn’t sure she’d get another game.

When she was assigned the England-Australia semifinal in Sydney, she called Catalano back.

“I said ‘this might be the biggest appointment in my entire career, in Australia in front of 75,000 fans. You’ve got to come to this,’” she pleaded.

So Catalano came then went before Mayo found out she would be doing the final. That led to another call. “I said, ‘well, you’ve gotta come back.’”

An exhausted and broke Catalano said no to the expense and fatigue of another 38-hour round trip, but after a group of MLS officials passed the hat to buy the ticket, Catalano surprised Mayo by making the match after all.

Making it to the semifinals — much less the final — was far from guaranteed since the World Cup is a meritocracy for officials as well as for the players. In fact, it’s harder to make the final as an official: There will be 170 officials from 50 countries taking part in this summer’s tournament as opposed to 1,248 players — or one referee for every 13 players.

“A lot of people underestimate how difficult it is for us to get there,” said Dickerson.

Referees are graded after every game and those who don’t measure up in their first match don’t work another one. Those who excel, however, continue to advance — as Mayo did in 2023.

“Just like teams try to kind of hit their stride in a tournament setting, that was similar with us. We just went in there focused on only one game in front of us,” she Mayo, who got her FIFA badge in 2018. “Our goal was to earn another game after that, do everything we can to clean up our communication. We’re like micro-managing ‘how could we have done this better?’

“You are just operating in sync. You’re spending every minute together. You’re together at breakfast. You’re together at training. You’re together at lunch. You’re traveling together. By the end, if they even sigh on the field, I know what that means.”

Mayo, like most officials, came to the game as a player — one good enough to play four years at Tennessee Tech. As a teenager she was moonlighting as a referee, raising enough money to fund a trip to South Africa to watch the 2010 World Cup as a fan.

“But I didn’t take reffing seriously,” she said. “Once I finished playing, I missed that competitive edge. When I realized I could do it in reffing, I was like, ‘Oh, this scratches that itch that I miss.”

Taking part in a World Cup remained a dream, however, and she got to scratch that itch three years ago. Now she’s working the tournament at home, where her family, who live in Colorado, will be just a few hours away should there be any frantic last-minute flights to catch.

Having already worked one World Cup final, anything short of the final this summer could feel like a failure.

“It’s a lot of skill, but it’s also a lot of luck. You have to be in the right place at the right time,” Mayo said. “There’s not that much that separates people at the top.

“We’re up against amazing referees. We’re going to fight for every game, one game at a time, knock it out of the park and hope for the best.”

Belgian defender Thomas Meunier caused debate recently after saying that France has the footballing talent to put out three teams capable of winning the World Cup.

Could Les Bleus, who are co-favourites with Spain in this summer’s World Cup, really lift the title with their second- or third-string team? Maybe not, but their talent is certainly Mariana Trench-deep.

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Consider this: According to transfermarkt.com, a lineup of French players that didn’t make the 26-man cut would rank in value among the top five teams – ahead of Portugal, Brazil, the Netherlands and reigning champions Argentina.

Lucas Chevalier 30 million euros ($35m); Pierre Kalulu 32 million, Jeremy Jacquet 55 million, Leny Yoro 50 million, Adrien Truffert 25 million; Boubacar Kamara 40 million, Eduardo Camavinga 50 million; Dilani Bakwa 28 million, Senny Mayulu 40 million or Khephren Thuram 40 million, Mousa Diaby 28 million; Junior Kroupi 40 million. = 418 million [38 million average]

So, how did Les Bleus get to this point?

It started with frustration after French teams consistently fell short on the biggest stage from the 1930s to the 1970s. The solution, national team manager Georges Boulogne said in the early 1970s, would be for the French Football Federation to create training academies known as Centres de Formation.

“France had not won any trophies, and it was decided they needed to create a new structure,” INF (Institut National du Football) Clairefontaine administrator Franck Bentolila told Al Jazeera.

The government backed the programme, viewing it as promoting French ideals through sports, as well as a recipe for winning trophies.

A total of 16 centres were set up, the first opening in 1974 with the main site in Vichy. It recruited widely, drawing young players from the entire country, plus overseas departments. The centres laid a foundation, preparing players for professional careers and the national team.

The record was initially mixed. In the 1980s, France won the European Championship and Olympic Games titles (both in 1984) and reached two World Cup semifinals, but then failed to qualify for the 1990 and 1994 World Cups.

But by 1998, everything fell into place, with the so-called “Black-Blanc-Beur” squad winning the World Cup at home. The multiethnic group represented the changing nature of French society, as well as validating the federation’s development programme. Bentolila said coach Aime Jacquet dedicated the victory to “all the amateur clubs and academies – it’s also your trophy”.

“The [1980s] period with [Michel] Platini, [Alain] Giresse, [Jean] Tigana, had a lot of talent, but we don’t win a World Cup,” Bernard Lama, a goalkeeper who captained the national team in the 1990s, told Al Jazeera.

“The difference with our generation, all the guys were from academies. And we were hungry to win a title. And, also, we had one exceptional talent with Zinedine Zidane.”

France went on to lift the 2018 World Cup and were runners-up in 2006 and 2022.

‘We have players who can make a difference’

Lama traces France’s success to the combination of the centres, with the contribution of immigration.

“You have people coming from overseas – Africa, French Guyana, Martinique – they give us two things, music and sports,” Lama said.

“And, now, there is a sub-generation coming from overseas, and they are French. [Ousmane] Dembele, [Desire] Doue, they are French, they are not naturalised, they grew up in France, the majority around Paris.

“And they are hungry, you understand, for a lot of reasons. But, also, it’s not only a question of work; the first thing is they have talent.”

Lama sees a danger in football, more broadly, of players becoming overly drilled and “robotic”, but France has many exceptions who can give them an edge.

“We are lucky to still have these players who are capable of making the difference,” Lama said. “Maybe that is why we are so good, we have players like [Kylian] Mbappe, Dembele, Doue. They hate to lose and, physically and technically, they can make the difference, individually.

“And that is the force of the national team, and also PSG, our capacity to score. Today, we have maybe four or five guys – [Maghnes] Akliouche, [Rayan] Cherki, a different kind of talent. When you have that explosion of talent, it gives the coach more solutions, offensive solutions.”

Most national team members, no matter their background, have gone through the academies, but their development starts long before that.

“It’s cultural,” Bentolila said. “In America, when you are young, you have a basketball in your hands, or a football in your hands. In France, you have a football at your feet when you are a baby – and free access to facilities.”

That part of the formula sounds similar to many countries. Is there a secret to French development, or are they just doing it better than most?

“The secrets,” said longtime coach and scout Stephane Nado, “are a combination of hard work, structure and organisation.”

Nado said: “The player is the centre, the heart, of the project. The player will receive education. And we will not take them away from their family. It is important for them to keep their roots, important psychologically. This is why France is one of the best in the world at developing players for export.”

Training at Clairefontaine blends street game skills with organisation, including “lots of 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2”, Bentolila said. “You have to fight. You’re good at dribbling and first touch, now you organise possession, 5 vs 2. As soon as you get the ball, you have to have good control. We do that a lot.”

Clairefontaine is now focusing on younger age groups, ceding responsibility for older players to clubs. And development is expanding beyond the centres and established club academies, Bentolila said.

“Paris and Sao Paulo are the best areas in the world for talent,” Bentolila said. “Why? Private academies. It is an amazing situation. Kids, eight- and nine-year-olds, playing every day. Amateur coaches offer not a meal, but a snack at 4 o’clock. Then, they do homework and training sessions. When they are 12 years old, they play like Mbappe.

“In Paris, you have amateur clubs nobody knows, and they can beat [the youth teams of] Barcelona and professional clubs. They are better than PSG, Paris FC. So many players – they play anywhere, any time, eight years old against 10 years old. They are like soldiers, they fight every day, and they are good because they play under pressure.”

In the 1980s, Les Bleus were dubbed “The Brazilians of Europe”. It’s taken a while, but France appears to have lived up to the moniker. And they’ve gone about it their own way.

“Brazilian coaches [used to] tell me, ‘In our country, we are poor, but we can succeed in football or music. So, we start the day with football,’” Bentolila said.

“In France, we go to school, first, and, after, practise football. We do it every day and, like Brazil, we play a lot, and play well.”

Previous World Cup appearances: 11
Best performance: Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
First appearance: 1934 (Italy)
Top goal scorer: Johnny Rep (7)
Most appearances: Wesley Sneijder, Robin van Persie (17)
Player to watch: Tijjani Reijnders
FIFA world ranking: 7

The Netherlands have never fulfilled their potential at the World Cup – they lost all three finals they reached (1974, 1978, 2010). The 1988 Euro winning cohort did not even come close to replicating their European success on the global stage.

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But while previous golden generations repeatedly fell short, this more unheralded side should not be discounted too hastily.

The Dutch were unbeaten across their eight qualifiers, although Poland held them to draws.

With commanding defenders, a midfield of genuine class, and enough attacking options to cause problems for any defence, this Netherlands side have a outside chance of lifting the trophy for the first time.

Reijnders: the midfield heartbeat

Man City’s Tijjani Reijnders has steadily established himself as one of the finest midfielders in Europe over the last few seasons season and arrives at this tournament in fine fettle.

After two outstanding years at AC Milan, where he was named Serie A Best Midfielder of the season, he joined City in 2025 and has adapted well to life under Pep Guardiola, even if he is not always in the starting XI.

While he has grabbed five goals and two assists across 28 Premier League appearances this season, these relatively modest headline numbers do not tell the full story of his influence – especially at the international level.

Reijnders is the Netherlands’s all-action man – he gets forward and links defence and attack, breaks up opponents’ attacks, and is a classy, assured presence on the ball.

Generally, when he plays well, so do the Netherlands.

A solid core

Liverpool legend Virgil van Dijk may not quite be the force he was a few years ago, but he remains a world-class, richly experienced centre back.

He leads a talented defence that also features the likes of Micky van de Ven, Jurrien Timber and Jan Paul van Hecke.

Ahead of them, Ryan Gravenberch, outstanding for Liverpool over the last couple of seasons, shields the defence and is also capable of mounting dangerous forays forward.

His teammate Cody Gakpo offers a significant threat out wide and in front of goal, and has been one of Liverpool’s better performers in a poor season for the 2024/25 Premier League champions.

Injury worries

The Netherlands received a huge blow in April when playmaker Xavi Simons ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament playing for Tottenham. Arguably the most important creative Dutch player, he will be on the sidelines for months and has no chance of making the tournament.

Memphis Depay, now his nation’s all-time leading scorer with 55 goals in 108 caps, usually provides the focal point up front, although his inconsistency has been a source of frustration for clubs and country alike.

He was named in the squad, despite ⁠only two substitute appearances for his Brazilian club Corinthians over the past two months, as he has struggled to recover from a hamstring injury.

“I selected Memphis because of who he still is. I don’t see anyone else in that position who can do it. I ⁠believe he can be an asset, but he does have ⁠to get through the coming period well,” coach Ronald Koeman said.

Arsenal defender Timber is also a concern as a groin injury has kept him on the sidelines since March, and he will certainly need time to get match-sharp.

“We have Ian Maatsen ‌and Lutsharel Geertruida on the standby list for Timber. The situation with him is that he was supposed to train with Arsenal today, to assess for the weekend. ‌They ‌have the Champions League final on Saturday. It remains to be seen whether he will be fit for that match,” Koeman said.

Koeman’s second chance

This is Koeman’s second stint in charge of the national team, having previously managed them from 2018 to 2020.

After the Dutch failed to reach Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, Koeman secured qualification for Euro 2020, but left before the tournament to manage Barcelona.

After struggling in his recent club roles, Koeman returns to take the reins again. He was a popular figure with the players during his last stint and commands respect as a legend of Dutch football, and he will face a tough task to balance his world-class talent with a squad that is patchy in places.

He will be hoping at least to not have to deal with the fractious egos and strong personalities that undermined very strong Dutch sides in the past. This current squad does not outwardly appear to be as combustible as previous iterations.

How does their group look?

Group F should offer the Netherlands a relatively comfortable route to the last 32.

The toughest game is likely to be the opener against Japan, themselves a talented side considered to be dark horses, who recently defeated England at Wembley in a friendly.

Sweden had a terrible qualifying campaign but qualified through the playoffs via the Nations League, and nevertheless have plenty of dangerous players, such as Victor Gyokeres and Anthony Elanga.

The final group game against Tunisia should be more straightforward, as the North Africans lack real star quality – although they tend to be obdurate opponents that are hard to break down in major tournaments.

Netherlands’ group stage matches

⚽ June 14: Netherlands vs Japan (Dallas, United States), 4pm ET (20:00 GMT)
⚽ June 20: Netherlands vs Sweden (Houston, United States) 1pm ET (17:00 GMT)
⚽ June 24: Tunisia vs Netherlands (Kansas City, United States), 7pm ET (23:00 GMT)

Al Jazeera’s prediction

Last 16.

While the Dutch boast undoubted talent, it does not elite enough or cohere enough into a team that is bigger than the sum of its parts.

Netherlands World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Bart Verbruggen (Brighton), Robin Roefs (Sunderland), Mark Flekken (Bayer Leverkusen).

Defenders: Jurrien Timber (Arsenal), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Jorrel ‌Hato (Chelsea), Denzel Dumfries (Inter), Jan Paul van Hecke (Brighton).

Midfielders: Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Tijjani Reijnders (Manchester City), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Teun Koopmeiners (Juventus), Marten de Roon (Atalanta), Quinten Timber (Marseille), ‌Guus ‌Til (PSV Eindhoven), Mats Wieffer (Brighton).

Forwards: Brian Brobbey (Sunderland), Memphis Depay (Corinthians), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Justin Kluivert (Bournemouth), Noa Lang (Galatasaray), Donyell Malen (Roma), Crysencio Summerville (West Ham), Wout Weghorst (Ajax).

Almost exactly one year ago, I speculated about how President Trump could sabotage the World Cup and the L.A. Olympics.

Since then, speculation has congealed into reality.

By almost any measure, tourism to the United States has cratered. Overall, it was down 5.5% last year from the year before. Visitors from Canada, traditionally the largest pipeline of foreign tourism, plummeted 21%.

That’s the largest drop from any country, according to statistics from the Commerce Department’s International Trade Administration cited by the Congressional Research Service. The runner-up is Germany, with a decline of 11.3%.

Expectations have faded that this summer’s World Cup games, which begin in the U.S. on June 12 with USA vs. Paraguay at SoFi Stadium, would buoy the flow of foreign visitors. Hotel bookings show that hasn’t happened, as my colleague Caroline Petrow-Cohen reports. According to an April survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Assn., hotel operators in all 11 of the U.S. host cities say that bookings are below their expectations.

Those figures bode ill for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, whose organizers are also counting on a robust flow of foreign visitors.

More than 65% of the Los Angeles hotels responding to the survey reported dashed expectations, the association said. That wasn’t the worst result; the percentage was higher in five host cities, led by Kansas City, where nearly 90% of survey respondents reported booking paces below expectations.

The association identifies several reasons for the lackluster bookings, including botched planning by FIFA, the World Cup’s governing body. But much of the blame falls on issues created by one person: President Donald Trump. These include “increased gas and jet fuel prices,” which are artifacts of Trump’s Iran war and its upward pressure on oil prices.

The survey also points to concerns about visa availability and the treatment of foreign visitors once they land in the U.S. or cross the border.

The administration has disavowed any intention to interfere with the World Cup or the Olympics.

“Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, the FIFA 2026 World Cup will no doubt be one of the greatest and most spectacular events in the history of mankind,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle told me by email.

“International visitors who legally come to the United States for the World Cup have nothing to worry about,” the Department of Homeland Security said. “What makes someone a target for immigration enforcement is whether or not they are illegally in the U.S. — full stop.”

Trump pledged in 2018, when FIFA was weighing bids to host the 2028 World Cup, that “all eligible athletes, officials and fans from all countries around the world would be able to enter the United States without discrimination.” But concerns remain that family members of participating athletes might face restrictions on entering the U.S.

Those concerns could hardly be assuaged by a comment from Vice President JD Vance, chair of a government task force overseeing preparations for the World Cup, at a 2025 meeting attended by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Vance said the U.S. wants foreign visitors “to come, we want them to celebrate, we want them to watch the games. But when the time is up, we want them to go home, otherwise they will have to talk to Secretary Noem.” (Trump subsequently ousted Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, replacing her with former Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma.)

Trump also committed himself to safeguarding the L.A. Olympics, stating, “I’m going to be supportive in every way possible and make them the greatest games.”

Yet America’s standing as a world-class tourist destination has plainly soured under Trump.

“Even with global anticipation building, the path to the U.S. for many World Cup travelers feels increasingly less like a red-carpet welcome,” the Hotel & Lodging Assn. observed.

“There is a perception that international travelers may face lengthy visa wait times, increased visa fees, and lingering uncertainty around entry processing. For those who do make the journey, concerns do not end at the border — questions about airport security screening wait times and airport congestion add another layer of hesitation.”

None of this should come as a surprise. As I projected last June, two administration initiatives in particular were poised to affect the World Cup and Olympics. The first was Trump’s crackdown on immigration.

Immigration agents, I noted, were acting as though they had carte blanche to detain people suspected of being in the U.S. illegally, conducting raids that sometimes swept up American citizens. That was before the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles, Minneapolis and other communities where immigration agents were accused of targeting specific ethnic and racial groups. And it was before the shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis by immigration agents worsened their image as lawless thugs.

By then, however, stories had surfaced of foreign tourists being detained for weeks, even months, without explanation or apparent cause. A 65-year-old British woman named Karen Newman traveling on a valid tourist visa was arrested in September 2025 at the Montana border, shackled and held for six weeks in an ICE detention center. Other stories involved a German tourist who said she was held by ICE for 45 days, some of that time in solitary confinement; and a New Zealand woman who was detained with her 6-year-old son for three weeks.

The Department of Homeland Security didn’t deny that these incidents had occurred, though in relation to the New Zealand woman, whose visa had been only partially renewed, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said, “When someone with an expired parole leaves the country and tries to re-enter the US, they will be stopped in compliance with our laws and regulations.”

The other policy that could interfere with the World Cup and Olympics are Trump’s travel bans and restrictions, which as of January covered 75 countries, including Brazil, Russia and 26 African countries.

Stringent regulations for some visa applicants — notably those coming to the U.S. to study or for work-study programs and their dependents — have further clouded America’s image as a destination. Applicants for those visas are required to open their social media accounts for the last five years for inspection by visa officers.

And Homeland Security Secretary Mullin last month raised the prospect of withdrawing customs officers from airports in so-called sanctuary cities, a move that would effectively shut down international flights at those airports.

The change couldn’t happen in time to affect the World Cup, but it could happen before the 2028 Olympics. Mullin’s idea didn’t win immediate favor with other members of Trump’s cabinet, including Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

Last year, the Department of Justice published a list of nearly three dozen states, cities and counties it defined as “sanctuary jurisdictions” because they “obstruct or limit local law enforcement cooperation” with ICE. Most are led by Democrats. They include California, and the cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Berkeley.

It’s true that immigration policies and rising travel costs are only part of the problem. The Hotel & Lodging Assn. also flayed FIFA for having block-booked hotel rooms in venue cities. These blocks “manufactured artificial demand by locking up large pools of inventory well ahead of the tournament,” the hotel group complained. The practice upended hotels’ planning by prompting them to increase staff and begin World Cup-themed renovations, preparing for crowds that may have been overestimated from the outset.

The block-booking “masked softer underlying traveler demand,” the association said, “with FIFA returning some blocks without a single reservation having been made.”

The hoteliers also groused that New Jersey and Philadelphia had proposed raising sales or lodging taxes in order to squeeze visitors. New Jersey lawmakers have proposed a short-term increase in its sales tax to 9.6% from 6.6% and in its lodging tax to 7.5% from 5%. Philadelphia is planning to raise its hotel tax to 10.5% from 8.5%.

None of this means that ticket sales for the World Cup won’t be healthy. FIFA has said that 5 million tickets have already been sold for the matches, even though the average price for even the cheapest seats at some venues tops $500. As my colleague Kevin Baxter has reported, fans are beginning to feel mulcted. That’s so especially because ticket buyers only learned the specific location of their seats after plunking down their money, at which point they discovered that they were placed in sections nowhere as desirable as they expected.

Iran is moving its World Cup training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, the president of the country’s soccer federation said Saturday, removing one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer’s tournament.

Iran is scheduled to open World Cup play at SoFi Stadium, facing New Zealand on June 15. It will play Belgium in Inglewood six days later before finishing the group stage against Egypt in Seattle. But there had been questions over the Iranian team’s security in the U.S. after American and Israeli attacks on the country began nearly four months ago.

This World Cup will be the first in which a qualifying team will play in a host country with which it was at war. In March, shortly after the war began, Iranian officials began to question whether they should travel to the U.S. for the tournament — doubts that increased after President Trump posted on social media to say he did not believe it was appropriate for Iran to come “for their own life and safety.”

Because the World Cup is being shared with Mexico and Canada, Iran requested permission to move its base across the border, a request Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said Saturday had been granted.

FIFA, the World Cup organizer, did not immediately confirm to move.

“All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved [by] FIFA,” Taj said in his statement obtained by the Associated Press. “Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

Iran’s federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. Taj that the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights.”

Tijuana is about 50 minutes by air from LAX, about 55 minutes quicker than a flight from Tucson. Iranians have been banned by the U.S. government from receiving visas to enter the U.S., although exceptions are to be made for athletes, coaches, and support personnel involved in the World Cup.

The world’s best football players will travel to North America this summer for the most anticipated sporting event of the year: the FIFA World Cup 2026.

While the 48-team tournament will feature young prodigies and veterans alike, some stars will not be at the tournament, having missed out due to injuries or because their nations failed to qualify.

Al Jazeera takes a look at the top stars who will not be at the World Cup:

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (Georgia)

One of the most feared wingers in European football, Kvaratskhelia will not be on the plane to North America as his country, Georgia, failed to qualify for the finals in June and July.

The Paris Saint-Germain winger, the standout player in the Champions League this season, is yet to play at a World Cup. His last major tournament with Georgia ended in a round-of-16 run at Euro 2024.

Robert Lewandowski (Poland)

A teary-eyed Lewandowski left the pitch after Poland’s final World Cup qualifier on March 31 as the nation narrowly missed out on the 2026 edition. The 37-year-old Barcelona striker even hinted at international retirement after the failure to qualify but has yet to confirm the decision.

Lewandowski has played a record 165 games for Poland, beginning with a goal on his debut against San Marino in 2008 when he was 20. His 89 goals are nearly twice as many as any other Polish player, but he has played at the World Cup only twice with a last-16 finish in 2022 being the best result.

Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sandro Tonali (Italy)

Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time means the tournament will be devoid of some of the finest Azzurri talents, including star goalkeeper Donnarumma and midfielder Tonali.

After suffering a shock penalty shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the playoffs, Italy became the first former champions to miss three World Cup finals in a row. The last time the Italians played at a World Cup was in 2014 when they crashed out in the group stage in Brazil.

“The World Cup curse”, as described by the Italian media, will keep Donnarumma – one of the best goalkeepers in the world – and Tonali away from playing at the world’s biggest football tournament.

Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman (Nigeria)

After Italy, Nigeria are the biggest nation to miss out on a ticket to the World Cup 2026, thanks to an abysmal qualifying campaign. The Super Eagles had dreamed of soaring high in North America, but their wings were clipped after a shock penalty shootout defeat to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the African playoffs.

Nigeria’s failure to make it to the World Cup means fans will miss out on watching Lookman, arguably their best player at AFCON 2025, and Osimhen, one of the most feared strikers in Africa.

The dynamic duo of Lookman and Osimhen has often brought joy to Nigerian fans, whose team is missing successive World Cup finals for the first time in 36 years.

Hugo Ekitike (France)

France forward Ekitike’s dreams of making his World Cup debut were shattered when he ruptured his Achilles tendon while playing for Liverpool against PSG in April.

The injury, which could sideline him until January 2027, saw the 23-year-old leave the pitch in tears on a stretcher during the second leg of a Champions League quarterfinal tie at Anfield.

At the start of the 2025-2026 season, Ekitike was far behind in the France pecking order, but an impressive season at Liverpool, which saw him score 17 goals in all competitions until his injury, had put him in the running to be picked by coach Didier Deschamps for the World Cup.

Estevao and Rodrygo (Brazil)

One of the brightest talents in global football, winger Estevao was set for his much-awaited World Cup debut until a hamstring injury crushed his dream. The 19-year-old suffered a grade four hamstring injury while playing for his club, Chelsea, in April, which ultimately kept him out of Brazil’s World Cup squad.

Joining Chelsea from Palmeiras in May 2024, Estevao’s eight goals and four assists in his debut season in England caught everyone’s attention. The teenage sensation had also established himself as a regular member of Brazil’s squad under Carlo Ancelotti.

Alongside Estevao, Real Madrid winger Rodrygo, who made five appearances for Brazil at the 2022 World Cup, will not be at this year’s edition after suffering a torn meniscus and ACL in his right knee.

The 25-year-old picked up the injury while playing for Madrid in March and is expected to be out until the end of 2026.

Xavi Simons (Netherlands)

Attacking midfielder Simons will not be with the Netherlands at the World Cup 2026 after he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury while playing for his club, Tottenham Hotspur, against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Premier League game.

Simons, 23, ⁠was expected to be a key figure in Ronald Koeman’s Netherlands squad for what would have been his second World Cup after his debut in ⁠2022.

He has earned 34 caps, most recently featuring in friendlies in March.

Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon)

Cameroon’s failure to qualify for the World Cup came as a surprise as the Indomitable Lions hold the African record for the most appearances with eight overall.

After losing to DR Congo in the semifinals of the African playoffs, Cameroon’s World Cup dreams died and, with them, Mbeumo’s chances of playing in North America.

Mbeumo has had a decent season at Manchester United, scoring 10 goals and bagging three assists across all competitions.

Honourable mentions

A few other high-profile players will also miss the tournament.

Spain midfielder Fermin Lopez misses out after requiring surgery on a fracture in his right foot while Germany’s Serge Gnabry has been ruled out with a torn adductor muscle in his right thigh.

England have omitted Cole Palmer and Phil Foden from their squad after both had disappointing seasons.

Japan’s Takumi Minamino was left out after suffering an ACL tear while Kaoru Mitoma also misses out after suffering a hamstring injury.

Defender Eder Militao was dropped from Brazil’s squad after undergoing surgery for a hamstring injury while Ancelotti also dropped forwards Joao Pedro and Richarlison.

Slovenia goalkeeper and captain Jan Oblak will be absent after they failed to qualify, and central midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai faces a similar fate after Hungary missed out too.

Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold also left out, while Saudi-based Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney the surprise inclusion.

Cole Palmer and Phil Foden were among a number of high-profile names excluded by Thomas Tuchel from England’s World Cup squad.

Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold was also left out of the squad announced on Friday, with Saudi-based Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney the surprise inclusion.

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Tuchel, a Champions League winner during his time at Chelsea, has been hired to end England’s 60-year wait to win a major international tournament.

The former Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich boss has made a series of bold calls, which will be harshly judged if the Three Lions fall short of glory in the coming weeks.

Foden and Palmer played a major role in England’s run to the final of Euro 2024.

However, Manchester City’s Foden and Chelsea playmaker Palmer have paid the price for poor seasons with their clubs.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White and Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin have also been overlooked, despite being two of the highest-scoring Englishmen in the Premier League this season.

Veteran Brentford midfielder and former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has been included at the expense of Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton.

Tuchel said telling players they would not be on the plane to the United States had been tough.

“It was difficult, sometimes painfully difficult and like even in the phone calls I felt the emotion,” he said.

“So I called all players that were with us in camp at least one time, I called them, I wanted to show at least the appreciation and the respect for what they have done.”

Tuchel said he could not wait to be on the plane and “be a coach”.

“Now I’m feeling in between relieved and excited and ready to go because once you get the energy back and once you see the excitement of the players that you chose and then once the decisions are made it gives you a certain edge, it gives clarity,” he said.

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire said on Thursday he was shocked at not being included.

“I was confident I could [have] played a major part this summer for my country after the season I’ve had,” the 33-year-old posted on social media.

“I’ve been left shocked and gutted by the decision.”

Maguire’s Manchester United teammate Luke Shaw has also been overlooked.

Tuchel has taken a risk on centre-back John Stones despite his lack of involvement at Manchester City during an injury-hit season.

Toney made an impact off the bench at the Euros two years ago, but has played only two minutes of international football since moving to Saudi Arabia in 2024.

England kick off their World Cup campaign against Croatia in Dallas on June 17, before playing Ghana on June 23 and Panama four days later.

England’s 2026 World Cup squad

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Dean Henderson, James Trafford.

Defenders: Reece James, Tino Livramento, Dan Burn, Marc Guehi, John Stones, Nico O’Reilly, Ezri Konsa, Jarell Quansah, Djed Spence.

Midfielders: Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze.

Forwards: Harry Kane, Ivan Toney, Ollie Watkins, Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Gordon.