Thank you all for joining us today.
Enjoy this evening’s matches. Join Daniel Harris for Portugal v DR Congo.
John McGinn is a Baz Luhrmann fan.
What’s happening in the world of transfers? There’s one way to find out …
Cast your eyes on today’s Football Daily …
Rain is not a huge problem when you have a massive roof …
Fulham vice chairman. director of football operations Tony Khan says the club have been engaged in “a few great conversations” in their search for a new manager – with two leading candidates having now emerged.
The Cottagers are searching for a new head coach after Marco Silva ended his five-year spell in west London to join Benfica as a replacement for Jose Mourinho.
Former Real Madrid boss Alvaro Arbeloa is understood to be one of those in talks over the Fulham vacancy after the 43-year-old left the Spanish giants. paving the way for Mourinho’s return to the Bernabeu.
Coventry boss Frank Lampard is another to have been linked with the job. along with Portuguese coach Hugo Oliveira, who previously worked at Fulham as part of Silva’s backroom staff before taking over at Famalicao in December 2024.
While not being drawn on any specific names. Khan revealed there had been “several” meetings with two candidates as Fulham look to get things set in place ahead of a return to pre-season training.
“It is something we are working on. we have been actively talking and working to find somebody to come in,” Khan said in an interview with FFCtv, admitting the club’s expectation had been Silva would sign a new deal to stay on.
“There has been a lot of names mentioned. it is interesting because it is going very well and there has been a few great conversations in particular. We have got a few people that the board is talking to that are very exciting. interesting candidates.” PA Media
Ian Wright seems be permanently living his best life.
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'.
Falkirk have sold Barney Stewart to West Brom for a club record transfer fee just over 18 months after the forward was playing non-league football with Heriot-Watt University.
The 22-year-old has signed a four-year contract with the EFL Championship side after the two clubs agreed a deal “with potential for significant add-ons” for the Bairns.
After being unearthed by manager John McGlynn in 2024 while playing in the East of Scotland League as a student. Stewart enjoyed a stunning rise over the past season as he returned from a fruitful loan stint at Dunfermline in January to notch nine goals for Falkirk in the second half of the campaign.
“During his time with Falkirk, Barney became a fan favourite, not just for his ability on the pitch,. also for his personality off it,” said a Falkirk statement announcing the transfer. His energy, positivity,. enthusiasm were infectious, making him a well-liked and important member of what is an extremely tight-knit dressing room.
“Barney leaves with the best wishes of everyone at Falkirk Football Club. We wish him the very best of luck in the next stage of what we all believe will be a very successful career.” PA
I realise many of the readers at this time may worry. we have run out of hot content to ram down your throats.
To those pessimists, I offer the best article of the day.
I keep debating if Marcus Rashford will be a huge influence for England. He has a point to prove in a summer when his future is in limbo. Barcelona will not sign him. Manchester United are not too keen on having him back but a good World Cup will generate plenty of interest.
It is a few hours to kick off in Houston where Portugal will face DR Congo … and it’s raining!
Thanks Tom. I am back from a primary school sports day where I saw some performance. reminded me of England at major tournaments.
And with that, it’s time for another switch. We’re playing rolling subs here, and Will Unwin is back on the touchline and ready to return to the fray. Bye.
In a few hours’ time Democratic Republic of the Congo will play their first World Cup finals game in 52 years. a daunting opener against Portugal. But amid serious adversity they’re determined to make the most of the occasion. Nick Ames reports.
While Aaron Barton assesses the state of Portugal, and the importance of Vitinha and Bruno Fernandes.
On this day in World Cup history: back to 2010 today. banter-era France went down 2-0 to a decent Mexico side (as in 2002 and 2006, El Tri should have gone further than they did that year). This day in 1994 was also when the first US World Cup kicked off, Germany beating Bolivia. that Diana Ross penalty miss.
France’s ultimately impressive win over Senegal last night spotlighted positives. negatives about their approach – namely how best to deploy Ousmane Dembélé, Kylian Mbappé and Michael Olise.
And wasn’t the latter magnificent in the second half? Olise’s was the best 45 minutes produced by any individual player thus far, for my money.
Anyway, Luke Entwistle has produced this sharp analysis of last night’s game.
Colour me underwhelmed, by the way, by the predictable trumpeting by Fifa of “attendance records”. There haven’t been that many four-game days in past World Cup so yesterday’s 281,223, while impressive, isn’t earth-shattering. Nor is the news. this World Cup is on track to surpass the tournament’s best cumulative record attendance of 3.5 million in 1994. Of course it is – it’s double the size of that World Cup.
Hyundai will be targeted by protesters at a rally before the group A game between Mexico. South Korea in Guadalajara on Thursday, due to the World Cup sponsor’s business dealings with the South American mining company Ternium.
A 2025 report from environmental group Mighty Earth criticised Hyundai’s involvement in what they described as a “dirty steel supply chain”. as the South Korean motor company is a major buyer of iron ore from Ternium for use in steel production. Ternium has faced repeated criticisms for its destructive environmental impact. corporate governance policies from campaign groups, as well as its alleged links to the disappearance of two Mexican activists.
A rally will take place at the Plaza de La Liberación in Guadalajara. to highlight the fate of Mexico’s so-called 130,000 disappeared, some of whom worked in the mining industry.
Thanks Martin and up the O’s. But summer transfer inactivity angst must wait for other platforms, for we have Leo Messi reaction to report on. This from Reuters on the personal reasons behind his response.
double quotation mark An emotional Lionel Messi was wiping his tears with his shirt after scoring Argentina’s first goal against Algeria in the World Cup. a strike that marked the beginning of a memorable performance where he netted thrice to secure a 3-0 win. But while his first World Cup hat-trick had many Argentine fans in tears of joy. Messi said he was crying for a personal reason unrelated to the sport. “Why did I cry? It was something completely unrelated to football. I went through some difficult days,” said Messi, who is playing in a record sixth World Cup, after Tuesday’s match.
“But I’m grateful to the entire delegation. my teammates because they were always by my side, giving me a lot of strength to help me get through it.” Messi, who turns 39 next week, has equalled Miroslav Klose’s record of scoring 16 goals at the World Cup. Argentina will continue their title defence with a Group J game against Austria on Monday.
And now in one of the rarest-of-rare handovers. we go from one Leyton Orient season ticket holder to another, as Tom Davies is picking up the next stint. I will be back here again tomorrow afternoon after my jaunt to Brighton. Enjoy the games tonight/tomorrow!
It is far too early in the tournament for England fans to be getting into flare-inserting antics yet,. there are other ways of drawing attention. In the case of Toby Clark that has been spending “a little over eight-and-a-half hours” sculpting an England badge using stones found on a beach near Lowestoft. Suffolk. It kept him out of trouble I suppose.
Talking of badges. I noticed in the comments people discussing which side at the World Cup has the finest badge, with Côte d’Ivoire getting mentioned, despite the open question of whether an elephant playing the ball with its trunk would count as the equivalent of a handball.
I mentioned earlier that Hearts will face Austrian side Sturm Graz in the second qualifying round of the Champions League,. then face one of Lyon, Bodø/Glimt, Olympiacos, Fenerbahçe or Górnik Zabrze for a place in the league stage if they progress.
Motherwell. Hibernian have also learned their European opponents, this time in the second qualifying round of the Conference League, PA reports.
Motherwell. who are still searching for a new manager after Jens Berthel left to take charge of Toulouse, will face Havnar Bóltfelag of the Faroe Islands.
The two teams met in the UEFA Cup in 1994, with the Scottish side winning 7-1 on aggregate. The first leg is due to take place at Fir Park on July 23, with the return a week later.
Hibs, who reached the Conference League play-off round last year, will face the winner of the first qualifying-round tie between FK Vllaznia of Albania. Kosovan side FC Malisheva.
I was very taken with this picture on the wires of thousands of Jordanians gathering in the 6,000-seat. 2nd-century Roman amphitheatre in Amman to watch Jordan v Austria. It isn’t quite loads of beers going up in the air at a Boxpark is it?
As is my wont I was having a look around at Croatian online media to see if there was some interesting coverage, but mostly what I discovered is that their leading tabloid website crashes my browser,. that another paper has covered a chimpanzee from Kent predicting that England will win. A cynic would say these “psychic” animals are just a way of drumming up publicity for your wildlife park, but I’ll make an exception in this case because Jane, who lives at Wingham Wildlife Park near Canterbury, was abandoned by her mother, is only four months old,. is beyond adorable.
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'.
Lionel Messi, in his 200th cap, scored three goals. tied with Germany’s Miroslav Klose as the leading all-time World Cup goalscorer with 16. “It’s just a statistic,” he said, while also name-checking Kylian Mbappé, who moved on to 14 World Cup goals yesterday.
In non-World Cup news, the opening rounds of the Intertoto Cup Champions League actually take place before the World Cup finishes,. somebody in Nyon has been shuffling balls around to work out who is playing whom. Hearts will face Austrian side Sturm Graz in the second qualifying round,. if they get through that will face one of Lyon, Bodø/Glimt, Olympiacos, Fenerbahçe or Górnik Zabrze to try and reach the league stage.
In the first qualifying round, which was drawn yesterday, readers may have interest in The New Saints facing Azerbaijan’s Sabah FK, Shamrock Rovers have drawn Floriana of Malta, Larne have landed Tre Fiori from San Marino,. Gibraltar’s perennial champions Lincoln Red Imps have got Inter Club d’Escaldes from Andorra.
My plans for today include listening to Portugal v DRC on a train to Brighton, seeing Maxïmo Park. then watching England v Croatia at Chalk, then listening to Ghana v Panama on the train back up to London. I may give Uzbekistan v Colombia a miss in the interests of actually getting to work tomorrow with my eyes open. You, probably, have other plans,. here is Graham Ruthven with the details of the what, where, when and how to watch of today’s matches.
The prime minister Sir Keir Starmer says England can “dare to dream”. he does not want to jinx the team’s chance of success at the World Cup by dangling the carrot of a Bank Holiday if they win the tournament.
Starmer will watch England’s opening match Croatia at Downing Street on Wednesday night after returning from the G7 in Evian les-Bains.
“I’m not gonna jinx the World Cup but. you know, the last time we won the World Cup it was a Labour government,” Starmer said after being asked if he would call a Bank Holiday should England bring the trophy home. “And so it’s absolutely clear that we only win World Cups under a Labour government. So let’s hope that this is the next opportunity. He’s got a great squad. This is going to be a good game tonight, probably the hardest in the group games this evening.
“We’re looking forward to seeing the starting lineup what it’s going to be. And don’t take it that the lineups in the friendlies are going to be the starting lineup for tonight.”
Arsenal supporter Starmer attended the 2024 European Championship final defeat to Spain. “Tonight we can dare to dream again, because we have a brilliant three lions squad, packed with all the talent. experience to get that second star on the shirt,” Starmer said. “Like every England fan, I’ll be roaring on Thomas Tuchel, Harry Kane, and the entire England squad. Come on England!”
Thank you very much for joining for this first stint of the day. The incomparable Martin Belam is heading your way for further buildup, then I will be back a bit later.
Turkish state broadcaster TRT has removed a commentator from its World Cup roster after he mixed up Iran. New Zealand teams.
TRT said in a statement late on Tuesday that the commentator. identified by Turkish media as Murat Ekrem Çimen, had been withdrawn from the World Cup broadcast team in the U.S. pending investigation. It added that he would not continue to comment on matches during the tournament.
According to reports in Turkish media, Cimen referred to Iran’s attacks as New Zealand’s. described New Zealand’s moves as Iran’s during the opening minutes of the broadcast. The teams shared a 2-2 draw on Monday night in Group G.
TRT said the mistake was “unacceptable” under its broadcasting standards. “We apologize to our viewers and the public for this error,” it said. “It is unacceptable for TRT. someone with over 30 years of experience in sports broadcasting would make such a mistake.” AP
Discussion
Sign in to join the thread, react, and share images.