World Cup 2026 LIVE!
The World Cup is off and running as all three tournament co-hosts have each played their first games. Canada came from a goal down to draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, thus earning their first-ever point at football’s global tournament after previous finals appearances in 1986 and 2022 both featured a clean sweep of defeats.
Then over at the SoFI Stadium in California, USA thumped Paraguay 4-1 to kick off Group D. Much is expected of Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT this summer, and Florian Balogun was the star of the show as he netted twice to move top of the goalscoring charts at this early stage.
Proceedings got underway on Thursday, with Mexico brushing aside South Africa 2-0 in a game that featured three red cards before Group A rivals South Korea came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1 amid scores of empty seats in Guadalajara. England have experienced some trouble upon arriving at their training base in Kansas City as they gear up for Wednesday’s Group L opener against Croatia, having beaten Miami United 6-0 in a training friendly to follow their easy win over Costa Rica. Follow the latest World Cup news and updates live below!
World Cup 2026 latest news
Live updates
Watch: Ronaldo arrives
Cristiano Ronaldo has arrived, 20 years on from his first World Cup!
Scotland bid to banish group stage hoodoo as long World Cup exile ends
In a few hours’ time, a fleet of 20 chartered mustard-yellow school buses will travel from Boston into Massachusetts suburbia, carrying a small army of kilted Scots to a football match nearly three decades in the making.
It is 28 years since Scotland’s most recent World Cup fixture - a 3-0 defeat by Morocco in Saint-Etienne - and their longest-ever hiatus from the sport’s greatest tournament is now over, at long last.
Scotland’s bar for success at this competition is clear. In eight previous finals, they have never managed to escape the group stage.
Heading into the expanded 2026 edition, where a third-place finish should be sufficient to see them through, that is the bare minimum.
Still to come
Two games will be played tonight and a further two in the early hours of Sunday morning as the World Cup heats up.
The first offering will see 2022 hosts Qatar take on a nation with plenty of tournament experience in Switzerland. Kick-off at the Levi’s Stadium is 8pm BST (UK time).
Then it’s over to the MetLife Stadium for Brazil vs Morocco at 11pm BST.
Much is expected of the five-time world champions, now managed by Carlo Ancelotti, but facing Africa's best will not be easy.
Attentions then turn to Scotland's first World Cup fixture since 1998 as they take on minnows Haiti at 2am on Sunday morning.
Australia vs Turkey is in the 5am slot for all the hardcore football fans in the UK.
Police make arrests as England World Cup boots stolen from Kansas City base
England’s World Cup preparations have been hit by the theft of team equipment including boots and balls from the side’s Kansas City base.
Thomas Tuchel’s side arrive in the Midwest on Saturday afternoon as World Cup preparations go up a notch following a warm weather camp in Florida.
But the team have been given an unexpected headache, with the boots of star players, balls and training equipment understood to have been discovered stolen ahead of training at Swope Soccer Village.
USA off to a dream start
The United States pulverised Paraguay as they opened their home World Cup campaign with a statement victory in front of a galaxy of stars including former England captain David Beckham and Tom Cruise.
Monaco forward Folarin Balogun, a former England Under-21 international, scored two well-taken first-half goals as Mauricio Pochettino’s side served early notice of their capabilities in a convincing 4-1 win.
Canada snatch draw against Bosnia
Les Rouges were hoping to avoid a seventh defeat on the global stage as they began their home tournament at the BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, having lost all six of their previous matches across their two World Cup appearances.
Canada and USA prepare for opening World Cup games
After Mexico’s 2-0 victory over South Africa last night in a one-sided opening game in Group A that featured no fewer than three red cards at the Estadio Azteca, it’s time for the remaining co-hosts to enter the fray on day two.
It’s over to Toronto Stadium (BMO Field) first later on as Canada go in search of their first-ever World Cup point in Group B as they begin their third finals against a Bosnia and Herzegovina team who are appearing on football’s grandest stage for only the second time and first since Brazil 2014.
Attentions will then swiftly fall upon Los Angeles Stadium (SoFI Stadium) in California, where it will be the turn of the USA to raise the curtain on Group D as they meet a tough Paraguay side who are back in the World Cup for the first time since 2010.
There will be further opening ceremonies taking place ahead of both of those games, following the initial show in Mexico City on Thursday that featured performances from the likes of Shakira and Burna Boy.
Canada’s ceremony will include Michael Buble, Alanis Morissette and Will Arnett, while the American version is set to feature Katy Perry as well as Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema, Tyla and Dan + Shay.
England thump local team
England officially begin their World Cup campaign next week and preparations for the tournament have now been finalised.
The Three Lions have been based in the United States for over a week now, playing two contrasting warm-up friendlies against New Zealand and Costa Rica.
Harry Kane scored the only goal as England laboured to victory over New Zealand, but there was a marked improvement in the 3-0 win over Costa Rica with Declan Rice, Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins all on target.
In an exercise for Thomas Tuchel’s side to fine-tune certain combinations and to run through set-piece routines ahead of facing Croatia on June 17, a friendly took place against Miami United at Palm Beach Gardens on Thursday.
Embarrassment for hosts as thousands of seats left empty at Korea v Czechia match
Football fans have been left seething as huge numbers of empty seats were seen during one of the opening games of the World Cup.
Large swathes of the stadium in Guadalajara were vacant during South Korea’s clash with Czech Republic in the early hours on Friday morning, amid controversy surrounding Fifa’s ticket prices.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino defended the dynamic pricing policy at a press conference on the eve of the tournament.
The governing body has come under fire due to their pricing strategy, and are facing legal action from New York, New Jersey and California following allegations that fans were left confused over inflated ticket prices.
South Korea win
Substitute Oh Hyeon-Gu gave South Korea a winning start to the World Cup as they came from behind to beat Czechia 2-1.
Oh struck 11 minutes from time after In-Beom Hwang’s moment of magic had cancelled out Czech captain Ladislav Krejci’s header in Guadalajara.