Game On: Sports News, Highlights & Commentary
- FIFA rescinded Folarin Balogun's red card, making him available v Belgium; one year probation if a similar infringement occurs.
- Dozens of Mexico fans used loudspeakers and fireworks outside England's hotel; heavy police ring, players supplied earplugs; Thomas Tuchel downplayed impact.
- Brazil v Norway preview: Brazil gaining momentum after a comeback win; Vinicius Junior named the key player to watch.
- Mexico v England: Mexico unbeaten with four wins and no goals conceded; England inconsistent; bookmakers still favor Harry Kane.
Key events
And now it’s time to close this blog down, for hot World Cup action draws closer. Thanks for your time and comments, and now you can hop over to our Brazil v Norway MBM, where Tom Lutz will accompany you through the buildup and game. Bye.
Donald Trump’s first World Cup wade-in, thanking Fifa for rescinding Balogun’s red card, is going to set hares running all over the shop. Here’s what he said, on his Truth Social site: “Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!”
We are going to hear a lot more about this.
Back to France now, and some analysis from Paul MacInnes on yesterday’s spicy match against Paraguay, which – among other things – showed Didier Deschamps’s team can be frustrated.
Without wanting to diminish the effectiveness of Paraguay’s dark arts, and especially the performance of the highly collapsible Matías Galarza, it served Mbappé and his teammates to make the story about the scrap. This was the least convincing performance by the French at this World Cup. They didn’t register a shot on target until the 55th minute and only had one more – the winning penalty – before a final attacking flourish led to Mbappé being denied by the Paraguay keeper Orlando Gill on three occasions in an extended period of added time.
A couple of pieces to get you in the mood for Brazil v Norway, one of the ties of the round. Kick-off a little over a couple of hours away now.
Here’s Rodrygo, no less, on the meaning of football in Brazil
And Lars Sivertson on how Norway have lived up to their billing:
Donald Trump has helpfully thanked Fifa for rescinding Falorin Balogun’s red card, a subject on which Craig Tower has emailed.
As a USMNT fan, I’m elated, but this doesn’t look good for Fifa which yet again comes off as doubly arbitrary and capricious. It also leads one to wonder if the Orange Man may have called in a favor from Infantino to celebrate the 250th in the name of birthright citizenship and the enduring contributions of the fine people of Nigeria to American glory – wait somehow that last bit sounds a bit out of step with his rhetoric. Nevermind.
Here’s some video of the commotion outside the England hotel last night. Perhaps they should have gone incognito, hired a battered brand-free charabanc to an out-of-town backpackers hostel and bedded down there.
And here’s a comment on the commotion outside the England hotel, from reader Daniel Vergara.
Kind of odd to leave out that Italian players had their sleep similarly disrupted in England ahead of the 2021 Euro final, wouldn’t you say? Something about geese and ganders comes to mind
Before we go full-in with the footballing festivities around Brazil v Norway and Mexico v England, another flag-up for a couple of excellent pieces of World Cup-related reportage you may have missed this weekend. First up, Nick Ames on the travails of life in Port Arthur, Texas, sitting in the shadows of big Fifa partner Aramco’s pollutant-belching plant.
And here’s Philippe Auclair on how a Bruno Fernandes deepfake was used by an illegal online casino.
And to support reporting like this, why not consider a modest contribution?
Fifa rescinds Balogun red card
Alexander Abnos
Folarin Balogun’s red card and one-game suspension received in the United States’ previous World Cup game has been rescinded and the striker will be available to play in Monday’s last-16 game against Belgium, Fifa announced on Sunday.
In a statement, the Fifa disciplinary committee said that they made the decision in line with Article 27 of the Fifa Disciplinary Code, which allows them the authority to rescind things like red cards and other disciplinary measures. As a result, Balogun will be on a probationary period of one year. If, during that year, Balogun commits what the code refers to as “another infringement of a similar nature and gravity,” the rescinding of the suspension will be revoked and Balogun will then need to serve his one-game ban.
Newcastle sign Bazoumana Touré – reports
Newcastle have reportedly completed the £43m signing of the Côte d’Ivoire forward Bazoumana Touré from Hoffenheim. Touré is seen as a possible replacement for Anthony Gordon, and played three of Côte d’Ivoire’s four games in this year’s World Cup.
On this day in World Cup history, 1994. You want omens? Mexico got knocked out in the last 16 of a tournament held on the American continent, a game that featured a goal frame being knocked over and a penalty shootout. Make of that what you will. Who could be England’s Hristo Stoichkov?
Meanwhile, Aaron Timms has been digging into the myth or legend that is the German “superfan” Freddy, a boosterist presence on social media in the early stages of the tournament. Whoever he is, says Aaron, he is also the tournament’s most revealing character.
It’s worth reflecting on the suspicion raised by an “overnight” viral success like Freddy, the nagging sense that many feel that something about this whole myth of virgin contact with the New World’s naked splendor is not quite right. Is Freddy actually German? Is his name even Freddy? It’s possible that the answers to both of these questions are “yes”, but nothing can be taken for granted in the age of permaslop and perpetual astroturfing.
In other England World Cup news, from Lord’s, Australia have been set 151 to win the Women’s World T20 final after England’s slightly under par 150 for 4. James Wallace has much more.
Thanks Michael. Afternoon/evening/morning to you all, wherever you happen to be (probably) sweltering. And the latest on the weather situation in Mexico City is that while rain is forecast, there is a low risk of thunder and lightning, so we might get some sleep at least on this side of the Atlantic.
I will hand over now to Tom Davies, who will guide you through the next couple of hours.
Football Daily is live!
Jacob Steinberg
Hello from Mexico City. We landed last night. I’ve not tried a 5km run yet but I have to say that – just like Thomas Tuchel – I do have a light headache, presumably because of the altitude.
Hopefully the England players are feeling better than me. The big question is who Thomas Tuchel starts at right-back against Mexico. Reece James didn’t train yesterday and is likely to be on for a place on the bench at most after missing the last two games with a hamstring problem. However there are also doubts over whether Djed Spence starts. He has a minor muscular issue and might not be risked, which means Tuchel could have to start Jarell Quansah, assuming he’s ready to go after returning from a twisted ankle.
The alternatives are Declan Rice but means taking him out of midfield, which feels a bad idea, or moving Ezri Konsa to right-back and bringing in John Stones.
It’s USA v Belgium on Monday (or 1am BST on Tuesday for those in the UK) and Jeff Rueter has this piece on potential tactical tweaks for USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
We also have news on Belgium, who say they will need ‘balls’ to nullify home crowd in Seattle.
“I’m surprised no-one is talking about hypoxia chambers, like their cousins hyperbaric chambers, are very common with elite athletes,” emails Aran Scutcher. “As I understand it they can be tents that you sleep in, or exercise in. Given the improvements are useful for endurance also at ground level, one would imagine the England players have being using these for the whole tournament.”
Time now to hand the blog to Michael Butler. Thanks for reading!
Hello everyone! England fans, what’s your sleep plan tonight? I am desperate to watch Norway v Brazil but might try and have a tactical nap before midnight (BST). An option for those in the UK not staying up to watch Mexico v England: BBC2 are offering a full re-run at 07:10 with no spoilers.
Mexico fans try to disturb England’s sleep
It’s approaching 9am in Mexico City. So, did England manage to get any sleep last night? A couple of reports below. Yes, there was noise but overall we can file this under nothing out of the ordinary.
From the AP wire:
Despite police blockades, dozens of Mexican fans gathered outside the England national team’s hotel until the early hours of Sunday morning, hoping to disrupt players’ sleep ahead of their World Cup round-of-16 match against co-host Mexico.
Armed with loudspeakers, horns and fireworks, the crowd gathered outside the JW Marriott hotel in Santa Fe, in the western part of Mexico City and did its best to disturb the guests.
Earlier in the week, “El Tri” supporters deployed the same tactics before a crucial match against Ecuador — Mexico won 2–0 — prompting the Ecuadorian football federation to file a formal complaint with organizers.
England manager Thomas Tuchel anticipated the disruption but downplayed its potential impact. “We have a 6pm (Sunday) kickoff, so if we miss some hours of sleep, we’ll make them up in the late morning,” Tuchel said on Saturday.
These late-night hotel “serenades” are an entrenched and polarizing tradition in Latin American football. While they began as a passionate display of support for the home team, they have increasingly evolved into a psychological weapon designed to deprive opponents of sleep.
The Daily Mail also had extra detail.
“Chanting ‘Mexico, Mexico, Mexico’ the supporters numbering around 50 were kept at bay by a heavy police presence which had thrown ring of steel around the complex.
“Armed with riot shields and helmets, the security forces easily outnumbered the fans with around 300 officers involved in the operation.
“Although noisy, they were kept a good 500 metres back from the hotel making it hard for them to disturb the sleep of England players sleep and they had been given earplugs as well as a precaution.”
Videos show a band playing and fireworks repeatedly going off.
A mini-preview of today’s two World Cup games, courtesy of Graham Ruthven. So we’ve only had 90 matches so far then.
Brazil v Norway (Match 91)
Time (BST): 9pm
Stadium: MetLife Stadium (New York/New Jersey)
Brazil are far from a perfect team, but Carlo Ancelotti is finding solutions to their problems. The comeback win over Japan in the round of 32 highlighted the quality of a team that was written off by some early in the tournament. This might not be a vintage Brazil outfit, but with Ancelotti in charge they have momentum.
Norway also have momentum after seeing off Ivory Coast in the last round. Most encouraging for Stale Solbakken was that Haaland and Martin Odegaard didn’t even play all that way. Instead, the likes of Antonio Nusa and Oscar Bobb stepped up to get Norway through. They’re more than just a one (or two) man team.
Player to watch: Vinicius Junior, Brazil – There will be no shortage of star power in New Jersey for this match, but Vinicius could be the most electrifying, and influential, player for either team. If the winger turns up, Brazil could have the edge.
Mexico v England (Match 92)
Time (BST): 1am
Stadium: Estadio Azteca (Mexico City)
Four games, four wins. Eight goals scored, zero conceded. Mexico’s progress to this point has been serene and Javier Aguirre’s side have genuine hope that their World Cup will continue for at least one more round. El Tri are still targeting ‘quinto partido’ even if it’s now a ‘sexto partido’ in the expanded format.
England’s World Cup campaign has been a rough one so far. Indeed, Tuchel’s team have yet to find top form, struggling through games against Ghana, Panama and DR Congo. And yet the Three Lions still have the talent to be a factor towards the end of the tournament. This will be their biggest test so far.
Player to watch: Harry Kane, England – Were it not for Kane, DR Congo might have set up a last 16 meeting with Mexico instead of England. The Bayern Munich striker might be the best player in the world in his position right now.
Some fallout from Canada’s World Cup exit after the co-hosts were beaten 3-0 By Morocco last night. Reflections here from Toronto-based journalist Eoin O’Callaghan.
Lots of fury still in the air about Paraguay’s antics against France. Sort of understandable but it wasn’t eactly the Battle of Santiago, was it. For perspective, read Simon Burnton’s recall of that infamous clash from the 1962 World Cup. It includes the dramatic introduction from David Coleman in the BBC’s broadcast.
“Good evening. The game you are about to see is the most stupid, appalling, disgusting and disgraceful exhibition of football in the history of the game. This is the first time these countries have met; we hope it will be the last. The national motto of Chile reads, By Reason or By Force. Today, the Chileans weren’t prepared to be reasonable, the Italians only used force, and the result was a disaster for the World Cup. If the World Cup is going to survive in its present form something has got to be done about teams that play like this. Indeed, after seeing the film tonight, you at home may well think that teams that play in this manner ought to be expelled immediately from the competition.”
If you’re taking the “stay wired” approach to preparing for the England game, we have a plethora of live blogs to keep the grey matter firing. Take a look at all this lot!
Oh, one other curio from ITV’s England v Argentina 1986 FIFA World Cup classic. As well as winning the Golden Boot that year, Gary Lineker was also planning ahead for a career in broadcasting.
After some studio chat, anchor Brian Moore tells us: “He (Lineker) insisted on the same pre-match build-up and that includes, as he did against Paraguay, a message for all of us back here.”
The camera then cuts to Lineker, who stares into camera and says: “Here we are at the Aztec, we’re going to give it all we’ve got. Be sure and join us here on ITV after the break.”
The delivery is a little monotone and I think he means to say “to join us” but it’s a bit like discovering an early demo from a now iconic band.
For Australian-based fans of the English Premier League, football and sleep deprivation walk hand-in-hand. Christopher Knaus watched every minute of Liverpool’s 2024/25 title campaign so knows a thing or too about how to survive the carnage of through the night viewing. Ahead of the 1am kick-off in Mexico City, this is worth a read.
The FIFA World Cup Classics on ITV are well worth a view. For very obvious reasons, I watched the England v Argentina 1986 Azteca showdown a couple of days ago and it’s fascinating viewing. For most England fans, our collective memories have distilled this classic encounter down to a handful of moments: the ‘Hand of God goal’, Barry Davies’ BBC commentary for Maradona’s second goal – ‘Oh, you have to say that’s magnificent!” – and John Barnes’ brilliant cameo that results in Gary Lineker pulling one back and then somehow not converting a second header from the winger’s left-flank delivery. In my mind, nothing happened between those two Barnes crosses but watch it back and straight from the kick-off after Lineker’s goal, Maradona does a double dragback pirouette to take out all of England’s midfield and then exchanges passes with sub Carlos Tapia, who blasts his shot against the inside of the post. I had absolutely no recall of that!
And, of course, the ITV coverage seems unfamiliar too as Brian Moore hosts a panel featuring Kevin Keegan, Mick Channon and Jimmy Greaves. There are loads of other random nuggets. Despite three second-half goals and other stoppages, the full-time whistle goes at 91 minutes and two seconds while Jim Rosenthal’s on-pitch interview with England boss at full-time Bobby Robson is eye-opening too. Robson does no more than call Maradona’s first goal “dubious” (did he see it properly?) and even back in the studio Keegan describes what pundits would now lose their minds over as “the old pro’s trick”. Overall, the emphasis seems to be very much on it being no disgrace that England lost to a very good team. All very English!
The scene last night outside the Marriott Santa Fe hotel where England are staying. Hardly a baying crowd, is it. More a bunch of young ones getting stuff for their TikToks. Maybe the hardcore don’t know the way to Santa Fe? It’s currently 07:20 in Mexico City.
It’s probably reasonable to ask this: who are the favourites to win in Mexico City tonight? With home advantage, all the talk of altitude and the hosts’ record so far of four wins out of four with no goals conceded, many give the edge to Mexico.
It’s fairly tight but the bookies make England favourites. Note that the draw odds are shorter than they’d be for a standard game.
7/5 England
2/1 Mexico
2/1 Draw
Thanks Taha. Tick. Tick. Tick. Now just 11 hours until Azteca time. Are we (in the UK) planning a pre-match snooze? Will have to be an early one as it’s Brazil v Norway at 9pm BST.
Time for me to head – David Tindall’s back to take the reins.
Kylian Mbappé’s opener was such a simple, pure statement of speed and power.
@Taha The best game so far? The second halves of Cabo Verde–Argentina and Portugal–Croatia were what people now call absolute cinema, but for me France’s performance against Sweden stands above them all.
I genuinely didn’t expect football to still have the power to mesmerise me, to put me in real awe, yet this France proved me wrong.
The live blog thingy asks for people’s game of the tournament so far…
Croatia v Portugal for me.
Just a shame we were denied more of it by micro-analysis of a (maybe) brush of a bloke’s hair in the dying seconds, and denied a couple of other wonderful goals that were only a shoulder offside, in both cases.
Should have been 3-3 going into extra-time, but even as it stood at the end (2-1 to Portugal) it was still a magnificent, completely gripping game of football.
What an email from Martin Bolme:
As an anglophile norwegian this is the biggest day of football since we beat Brazil in the 1998 WC.
But I am also a bit fatigued. And then there is all the Spurs news. As usual in Norway in the 80s and 90s we would pick an english team and I landed on Tottenham in 1991 with Erik the Viking (who’s son plays for Norway), Gazza and Lineker.
So on one hand I think there is too much football, too much transfer gossip, to much ro-ing. But at the same time Norway just might make it to RD16 in our first World Cup in 28 years. Might even meet England
And then there’s Tottenhams transfer-fest. My head cannot process this.
Are we getting more? Like Kroupi? Or Savinho?
Are we winning the league, Taha? That’s my question and I could have started with that. Sorry.
But are we? I know we are not, but at least tell me something positive about the PL season too come.
Tell me Norway will beat Brazil, England will beat Mexico and Spurs will win the league.
Say it!
Martin, Norway will beat Brazil, England will beat Mexico and Spurs will – ah, sorry, let’s be real. I reckon they’ll be better off than 17th, though.
Pete Higginson’s prepped for tonight.
Wolverhampton.
My plan is to make a hot chilli con carne at 6 followed by a five hour snooze with alarm set to Midnight.
I’ve got a horrible feeling Mexico will batter us with two goals in the first twenty minutes as we acclimatise and Wolves’ Jimenez will score.
So predicting 2-2, extra time and a win on penalties.
I, for one, am just looking forward to the end of the altitude discourse.
I am thoroughly enjoying Barney’s World Cup diary.
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