BBC will be relatively happy with their England v Ghana viewing figures – though. as the Guardian’s Matt Hughes points out, the key number is the same as watched the Croatia game on the ITV channel.
There was a peak of 15.4 million for England’s second group stage match against Ghana on BBC One. BBC iPlayer.
There was a record 8.3 million digital requests for the match on BBC iPlayer. the BBC Sport website & app - the highest of any major football tournament on the BBC.
Fans continued to choose the BBC’s UHD format with a record breaking 1.3 million concurrent streams.
BBC Sport’s live page on the website. app had over 10 million page views with audiences following the late-night match.
BBC Sport’s new 3D Experience continues to provide audiences with an alternative way to watch the World Cup with the feature used 300k times during England v Ghana alone. 2.2 million times during the tournament so far.
“If Ben N thinks England are a mediocre side,” r etorts Peter Mumola. I suspect he hasn’t watched much of Mexico. Of course, they’re one of the hosts, but I think their ceiling is well below England’s.”
I agree with that. Mexico could absolutely beat them, but they’d need to no-show. Should they meet, most likely, some combination of Harry Kane and England’s athletic power proves to be too much.
Norway are another team I’m absolutely rattling to see in the knockouts. But before that. I’m excited to see how they go against France – though I think there’s a strong chance both managers rotate. Either way, though, with Sander Berge. Martin Ødegaard in their midfield, with Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland up front, they’re a threat to pretty much anyone.
Norway’s success at the World Cup has triggered euphoria at home, but the team’s trademark “Viking row” celebration is beginning to test the patience of their Scandinavian neighbours, drawing shrugs from Sweden. envy from Denmark.
The “Viking row” celebration has become a phenomenon at the World Cup, with captain Martin Odegaard even leading the players, coaching staff. supporters in a synchronised performance after the final whistle in their 3-2 win over Senegal, with Norwegian fans later trying to get the King of Norway to join in during the subsequent celebrations.
For the Swedes. however, their neighbours’ celebration is more of a nuisance than a novelty, with some finding the rowing simulation too reminiscent of the “thunderclap” made famous by Iceland fans in previous tournaments.
“I am never going to do it. We just sigh. Perhaps mostly at the TV crew who choose to zoom in on it every single time,” Sweden defender Gustaf Lagerbielke told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday. “It is very similar to the Icelandic volcano, after all. But, whatever floats your boat.“ Other members of the Swedish squad were similarly underwhelmed.
“It is probably starting to get a bit overused. It feels like they run it every time they get the chance. But it does work well for them, after all,” teammate Elliot Stroud added. Yet while the Swedes can remain focused on their own camp. the Danes, absent from the tournament after a qualification play-off defeat to the Czech Republic, are finding the Norwegian euphoria much harder to stomach.
“It is bordering on Nordic adult bullying. The Norwegians are currently experiencing the party of their lives. And what is more. in the company of a national team that can actually play football,” Danish journalist Johnny Wojciech Kokborg wrote in the tabloid B.T.
“The fact is — unfortunately — that the Norwegians could end up hurting a lot of teams. But most of all. it hurts us Danes to admit that we are no longer the best in the Nordic region.“
He added: “It is simply unbearable. You are mocking us, Norway.”
This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'.
It’s going down in Miami tonight. Imagine if Scotland get a result!
I feel similarly about Senegal, so impressive against France. If Ismaïla Sarr scores that chance just before half-time. when in front of a gaping net, who knows; now, even a win over Iraq might not be enough. And what a travesty that’d be – they’re a top-16 team, not one of the 16 worst.
I mentioned Côte d’Ivoire a few minutes ago – they’re another team I’m really looking forward to seeing assuming they do enough against Curaçao to make the knockouts. Simon Adingra opting not to shoot first time. give them the win over Germany might come back to haunt them, but I really enjoy the bravery and aggression in their play.
“I suspect this is quite a mediocre England side, with, furthermore, a positively not very good defence, writes Ben N. “If they win the group they will probably struggle to make it past Mexico in the last 16. Would say on Ghana. while they are getting bigged up to some extent (as reflected in the player ratings), and, yes, they should have had a penalty, they otherwise, to state the obvious, didn’t do much, except try to stop England playing. They achieved that, but it is dull as all heck. As such, I’m not bothered they were denied the penalty. Carlos Quieroz is like the Darth Maul of football management, an out of time, second-rate, bad guy. I feel that’s over generous, because Darth Maul was actually quite good,. I cannot remember any other Darths, beyond the obvious (Darth Vader = Jose Mourinho?). Anyway, you get the idea.”
I think that’s harsh on Quieroz, who is elite at setting up a defence,. less so at the rest of the stuff. As for England, I think they’re a lot better than mediocre,. I don’t like the midfield balance, nor the attacking options for when things don’t go to plan – a problem entirely self-inflicted. The players were there, they were just left at home.
Nevertheless, they are potential winners, but an outside shot – I don’t think their defence could cope with France’s attack, though I’d give it a better chance if Harry Maguire. Lewis Hall were in it.
Of course, what USA don’t have that Spurs had is the goals of Harry Kane. But over the course of a tournament, relative to a season, it’s possible to spread them around or win narrowly, just as it is for one player to hit a seam unsustainable over the stretch. enough to influence a cup competition.
lSo how do we think USA will fare in this competition? I really like their chances of going deep, if you don’t mind my slipping into local sportese: they’re settled, confident. physical while, for the first time since he was at Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino has a squad with the capacity and desire to do what is required to make his football effective. No one will relish facing them, and that’s even before we consider home advantage.
Like Mr Pleat and I imagine, pretty much everyone else, I’m taken with Ayyoub Bouaddi. I do. though want to see more incisive forward passing from him – to be the complete midfielder, it’s essential, the absence of it a major reason England didn’t create much against Ghana. Morocco aren’t anyone’s idea of prolific scorers, which may be by design but, as they move through the tournament, they’ll need to find a way of altering that – they can’t rely on penalties, which got them past Spain. Portugal in 2022.
I’ve a name i’d like to add to that list. This boy is a player.
Hello, hello. It’s good to be back, good to be back.
Looking at this week’s The Knowledge. below, I’m reminded of, topically enough, being in the away end when Ghana visited Wembley in 2011. Daniel Welbeck made his England debut that night and. as a British-Ghanaian, was given all sorts of aggravation from the visiting support.
However, Welbz was already doing his best for the motherland – when he broke into the Manchester United team, he was still living with his parents, so would bring Ghanaian rice, stew. meat into training for Wayne Rooney and Tom Cleverley. I’m absolutely certain that changed their lives – it certainly did mine when I started seeing my wife, also British-Ghanaian.
Thanks Tom and high again everyone. We’re six hours away from football…
Right, that’s my stint in the chair done. Time to hand back over to Daniel Harris to lighten your long hot afternoon/morning/evening.
Seattle’s LGBTQ community members say they hope that this Friday’s World Cup “Pride Match” between Egypt. Iran, two countries where homosexuality is criminalised, can be an opportunity to change minds. Seattle revels in its reputation as a welcoming place. Pride flags are visible all over the city, all year round. Its June Pride weekend is one of the biggest in the United States.
So, before December’s World Cup draw, it was only natural that local organisers designated the 26 June match to be held in the city as a “Pride Match.“ Then the draw happened —. the two teams scheduled to play the game were Egypt and Iran.
Egypt’s Football Association urged global soccer governing body Fifa to prevent any Pride-related activities, arguing such events clashed with the Muslim-majority country’s cultural. religious values. The governing body in Iran, where same-sex relations can carry the death penalty, filed an objection with Fifa.
But in Seattle, there is no question that the Pride Match will go ahead as planned. “The World Cup is going to come. go in three weeks,” Hedda McLendon, from Seattle’s local World Cup organising committee, told Reuters. “The Pride celebration.. has happened on this weekend for 50-plus years. It is going to happen this weekend, it is going to happen long after the World Cup.” Reuters
Seems a strange day for Derek MacInnes to be conducting his first press conference as Rangers manager, with Scottish focus on Miami later in the day,. then the Old Firm have always lived in their own bubble (and a large chunk of the Tartan Army have no time for either of them, to put it mildly).
More Brazil now, and Carlo Ancelotti says Scotland need to be respected, as PA Media reports. “It will be a difficult game. Scotland has quality, they are fighters, they are well organised,” said the Brazil manager. They have good players, [Scott] McTominay, [John] McGinn that are experienced players. Easy games at the World Cup were finished a long time ago. We are ready to play a difficult game.
As, inevitably, for Neymar, Ancelotti said: “He is available, he trained very well this week, he is fit. able and ready to play. We are very happy that he is back, he is a high-quality player.”
“He can play half the time or the whole 90 minutes. He is very well, he worked very, hard so he is ready.
“His attitude is very good, he is in very good spirits, he’s a good player. team-mate, he’s very serious and we want to put him back to play as soon as possible. He brings experience and knowledge, he is doing very well.”
One player who will miss out is Raphinha, who sustained a hamstring injury in Brazil’s 3-0 win over Haiti.
One of the tastiest fixtures of the final round of first-phase fixtures is Group J’s Algeria-Austria face-off on Sunday in Kansas City, the first meeting of the countries since the notorious “anschluss” match between West Germany. Austria, when the teams played out at walking pace the 1-0 win for the former that would take both through, at Algeria’s expense. Forty-four years on, both sides could similarly play out a draw to progress. As Finchleyjohn points out BTL:
double quotation mark The Group stages conclude with Group J … By then, the 3rd place qualification requirements will be crystal clear, so a “Disgrace of Kansas City” between Algeria. Austria is a looming probability. An uneventful draw would see both through, likely at the expense of a team with 3 points. a negative goal difference. Are the Scottish media, players, management and fans prepared for potentially being sent home in this manner?
I actually reckon it’s worth lumping on a swashbuckling attackfest – 4-2 Austria (Algeria’s defence has looked wobbly so far). Don’t thank me.
As healthy multiple national identities become more acknowledged. this week’s Knowledge looks at international players not celebrating goals against countries with whom they have a connection. in the light of Sweden’s Yasin Ayari not celebrating scoring against Tunisia.
“It might just be the massive pedant in me,” admits Steve on email. “but was anyone else irrationally enraged by the commentator chortling over Queiroz’s ‘spin’ last night with his ‘we don’t lose, we win or learn’ as if Queiroz had made some silly phrase up?
“For a start it’s something Mourinho said in a football context a few years ago so it’s hardly new,. he himself stole it from Nelson Mandela. I’d put money on how if Kane had quoted Mourinho quoting Mandela it’d be seen as Churchill-esque iron spirit too. not ‘spin’.”
We’re a year out from the next Fifa World Cup, the 2027 edition of the Women’s World Cup in Brazil,. enthusiasm is mounting, as Júlia Belas Trindade documents in this week’s Moving the Goalposts newsletter:
double quotation mark “Brazilian women’s football has a history marked by great struggle. resilience, … It was built by women who dared to play football during periods when it was banned, and also in the years that followed, when they still faced many barriers. Listening to, valuing and honouring these stories is essential if we are to make historical amends.”
The US knows how to fill its stadiums, and official crowds are heading towards record levels, reports Reuters:
double quotation mark World Cup attendances are on track for record highs despite daunting ticket prices. Trump administration travel restrictions. Experts say it is less a reflection of America’s fondness for soccer,. more a measure of its love of spectacle.
Through 44 matches. total attendance topped 2.85 million, with the average stadium about 99.6% full, according to a Reuters analysis based on Fifa data.
“Americans like big events,” said Dan Rascher, a sports economics expert at the University of San Francisco. “They want to be there for the big moments.“
While this year’s World Cup is bigger than its predecessors – totalling 104 matches. up from 64 – attendance is on pace to break the all-time record well before this year’s 64th game. The existing mark of nearly 3.6 million spectators was set in 1994, the last time the U.S. hosted.
“Part of it is that we have these gigantic stadiums,” said Victor Matheson, an economist. sports business expert at the College of the Holy Cross.
But stadiums in 2026 are also fuller, on a percentage basis, than nearly any World Cup this century, with the possible exception of Germany’s in 2006, according to FIFA annual reports. a Reuters attendance analysis.
There are some stunning images in this here gallery on the different ways fans around the world are watching the World Cup. Am a particular fan of the big screen in a Stuttgart church. Fill yer boots …
A delve below the line now,. English failings, on the pitch and in the stands, are still exercising many of you. Here’s ChrisBedford:
double quotation mark At one point the BBC highlighted that Guehi. Konsa had both made more passes than the entire Ghana team.
They didn’t point out that most of these were sideways from one to the other. back, over and over again.
While Chris282 has a valid cringe about one song sung by England’s fans:
double quotation mark I especially enjoyed the England fans singing “Rule Britania.. Britons never, never, never will be slaves” to two teams, one composed of Ghanaians. the other largely composed of players with some Afro-Caribbean heritage. Those back in the studio didn’t try. unpick that one but I’d have been grateful if they’d had a go at explaining the thought processes there.
Some transfer news now: the Yorkshire Evening Post is reporting. Leeds have sealed an agreement to sign Harry Wilson from Fulham. The Wales midfielder becomes a free agent on 1 July. has interest from Aston Villa and Everton but it now looks as if Daniel Farke has sealed a handy deal to bring Wilson to Elland Road.
My pleas for pessimism are granted: here’s Tom Sanderson on the mood in Brazil:
double quotation mark Expectations back home are low. Brazil could face Japan or the Netherlands in the next round. then possibly Germany or France in the last-16 depending on results. A quarter-final showdown with England can’t be ruled out either.
On the subject of Brazil v Scotland. here’s Stephen Pye on one of the Scots’ most famous World Cup goals: the best Scotland team to go to a World Cup, for my money.
World Cup gripe: I’ve just been watching Sky Sports do vox pops with Brazil. Scotland fans in Miami and Glasgow and every single one of them predicted a favourable result for their team? Do they sound like the sort of people you go to matches with week-in, week-out? Where’s the gloom. pessimism and “I’ve got a bad feeling about today” that you’d get in every pub or cafe before any football match in the real world?
Away from the men’s World Cup, an important legal ruling in the women’s game, as Tom Garry reports
double quotation mark Lazio Women unlawfully ended the Swedish footballer Maja Göthberg’s time at the club because of her pregnancy. the court of arbitration for sport (Cas) has ruled, ordering the Italian club to pay compensation.
The landmark case revolved around Fifa’s maternity regulations, which were enhanced in 2024. This was the first case in which Cas found a club unlawfully ended an employment relationship because of a player’s pregnancy and. significantly, the court found in the players’ favour even though she had not signed her proposed new contract at the time.
Göthberg had helped Lazio win promotion to Italy’s top tier in the 2023-24 campaign, before entering contract negotiations. No deal was signed but both parties had agreed on the key terms of the 28-year-old’s contract. Before signing, Göthberg discovered she was pregnant. Despite not being obliged to inform Lazio of her pregnancy at that stage. the former Sweden youth international chose to tell the club. Cas heard that Lazio then withdrew from the contract agreement. Cas also heard that Göthberg’s teammates had been informed of her pregnancy without her consent.
On this day in World Cup history: who can forget this one, from 2014?
Thanks Daniel. Not sure “chill” is the easiest thing to do right now amid this oppressive London swelter (the only way in. I felt jealous of anyone in Boston Stadium yesterday was of the murky drizzle they were all blessed with).
Nevertheless, we persist,. look ahead to what is surely the busiest day of any World Cup ever: has there ever been six games in a single tournament day before? Am looking forward to Switzerland v Canada first off – I’ve enjoyed the attacking cut of each’s jib so far. particularly that of the co-hosts.
Righto, that’s me done for now. I’ll be back this afternoon but, in the meantime, here’s Tom Davies to chill with you for the next bit.
Of course, this won’t be the first time we’ve seen Scotland take on Brazil, needing a result to progress.
The Tartan Army in Miami is one of those pairings no one would ever have thought to make,. now we have it, we can see it’s immense.
I’m not certain where Neymar fits into Ancelotti’s XI,. Clarke is right to be respectful of a player who, bafflingly, doesn’t seem to get the vast quantities of respect he deserves. But behind closed doors, he’s not one I’d especially fear.
Discussion
Sign in to join the thread, react, and share images.