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?

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!

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.

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.

turntable_blues

05 July 2026 1:43pm

@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.

stooze

05 July 2026 1:22pm

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.

Paraguay’s antics last night have taken me back to 2006, when the Netherlands and Portugal were competing to see who could end up with the fewest players on the pitch. Yep, the Battle of Nuremberg, where four players were sent off, with 16 yellows shown. This is worth a watch just for the ultra-dramatic voiceover.

Plenty going on BTL: would be great to hear what everyone’s game of the tournament has been. I’ll go with anything including France – every time Michael Olise gets a hold of the ball, I’m locked in.

Krishnamoorthy v writes in:

While, understandably, the whole focus is on the England Mexico match, the earlier one of Brazil Norway will be a cracker. This Brazil team does not have the aura with some of their best teams and individual brilliance is sort of restricted to Allison and Vinicius. I have been saying this all along and I will repeat - if this Brazil team prevails over Norway or goes all the way or even lift the trophy it would be due to one of the sharpest minds in the football world - Don ‘Cool’ Carlo!

He really is the coolest.

England have played Mexico once before at the World Cup … back in 1966. Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt scored in a 2-0 group-stage victory for the eventual winners. Charlton’s strike was proper.

Aramco’s branding will also be in your face when England play Australia today in the Women’s T20 World Cup final at Lord’s.

Um, what?

The England head coach was also asked by a local journalist to confirm wild suggestions that they had used Viagra as a means of mastering the altitude, drawing laughter from Tuchel and Jordan Henderson, who addressed the media with him. “The information didn’t reach me, that is not true,” Tuchel said.

Hello, all. Philippe Diallo, the president of the French football federation, has condemned “in the strongest possible terms” remarks made by former Paraguay goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert.

I’m on a raised chair and the altitude is getting to me so I’ll hand you now to Taha Hashim for more updates. Mexico v England kick-off countdown clock: 14 hours to go!

The pod squad are here with their daily offering. Max and Barry are joined by Archie Rhind-Tutt, Barney Ronay and Philippe Auclair. A masterclass in the dark arts from Paraguay, Mexico v England preview, Barney’s tales from Miami and your questions answered. Have a listen.

A visual history of England in the Azteca. Look carefully and you’ll notice that Peter Beardsley isn’t the only one with his front teeth missing.

To further reduce altitude panic, here’s the Memory Lane I wrote for Football Daily yesterday. Hopefully Motty’s words will help put England fans at ease.

MEMORY LANE

While that game against Argentina in the 1986 World Cup is the one we associate with England in the Azteca, it’s worth a reminder that the Three Lions do have winning form in Mexico’s iconic home stadium. Fresh from a hat-trick against Poland in the final group game, Gary Lineker scored twice in a 3-0 win against Paraguay in the last 16. Just before two Gary Stevens were involved in the buildup to Lineker’s second goal, the BBC’s John Motson chirped: “England have adjusted ever so well … 6,000 feet higher up than we were [the group games took place in Monterrey, a mere 1,800 feet above sea level] but we’re running as hard and as well as the Paraguayans.” Lineker quickly checked to see if he was offside before celebrating with the Tottenham Gary Stevens and a mass of white England shirts in the crowd of 98,728.

Here’s England’s Jordan Henderson on training in the altitude of Mexico City. Is it a problem?

“You can feel it a little bit, you can feel something. I felt it a little bit, even when you just land and you come to the hotel and you’re just walking around, you can feel something.

“And then today, in training, for me personally I felt that maybe in the first 10-15 minutes and then once training got going I stopped thinking about it so much and just concentrated on training.

“So hopefully when the game comes tomorrow, once the lads have done the warm-up and they’ve got going then the full focus is just on the game, and that’s all the focus is on.”

Co-host count: one down, two remain. Can England eliminate Mexico? And how about Belgium knocking out the USA? Here’s Alexander Abnos on the game in Seattle on Monday.

“This won’t be the first meeting between the sides in 2026. In March, Belgium humbled the US 5-2 in Atlanta – a result that created significant doubt about the Americans’ prospects at this World Cup.

De Cuyper warned against drawing too many conclusions from Belgium’s victory in March, saying the scoreline gave the game a “distorted picture”. He also praised Senne Lammens’s performance in that match, saying the result could have been different without the goalkeeper.”

Mbappe v Galarza gallery. You all wanted it.

Here’s French boss Didier Deschamps on the win over Paraguay.

“It wasn’t easy. If we’d taken one of our chances late in the game, it would have been a much more comfortable finish. Paraguay use every trick in the book. It’s not necessarily the kind of football people enjoy watching, but we stayed focused and that’s not easy to do.” Fair play. And fair play to Mbappe for just laughing at the constant attempts to foul him. Wrong target I guess.

By the way, while Paraguay’s players received no bookings between them (a sort of beauty in that; it makes for a great line), the French picked up three. Here’s how:

Bradley Barcola (roughing)
Manu Kone (tripping)
Michael Olise (Unsportsmanlike conduct)

Paraguay’s players did absolutely none of that. Definitely not.

Many of you BTL are very cross with referee Ilgiz Tantashev after his performance in the France v Paraguay game. I’d argue that it wasn’t his finest hour but at least he got through the full 90 minutes…

(From AP wires 2024): “The first substitution made in the Olympics men’s soccer semifinal match between Morocco and Spain on Monday was the referee. The ref, Ilgiz Tantashev of Uzbekistan, limped off the field 15 minutes into the match shortly after he was inadvertently knocked down by Spain defender Marc Pubill near midfield. Pubill appeared to be pushed by a Moroccan player. He tumbled forward and into Tantashev’s right leg. Play was stopped for a few minutes while Tantashev received treatment. But the referee couldn’t continue and was replaced by fourth official Glenn Nyberg of Sweden.”

That Paraguay display against France, eh! Absolute pure shithousery. And the fact that no Paraguay player was booked should easily make the list of ‘Top 10 Extraordinary Things at the 2026 World Cup’. Watch the game back and explain how Matias Galarza and Juan Caceres don’t pick up about 12 yellow cards between them. The absolute rogues. Genuinely remarkable stuff. Let’s not ride the high horse though. I’m more thinking a documentary in about 20 years’ time when Mbappe is reunited with the pair of them in a bar in Paris/Asunción and they all have a good laugh about it.

Talking of Harry Kane, here’s Jacob Steinberg’s piece on the England striker. Can he be the difference maker again when the Three Lions take on Mexico?

“This is a modern great who stands the test of time. They had this debate on the Stick to Football podcast this week; it did not feel ridiculous when Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott had Kane up there with Bobby Moore and Sir Bobby Charlton in England’s top three.”

Kylian Mbappe has pulled level with Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot charts. Both icons have seven after the Frenchman tucked away the winning penalty against Paraguay.

Erling Haaland (5), Harry Kane (5) and Vinícius Júnior (4) all have the chance to close the gap in the next 24 hours. And also look out for Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal (4) creeping up on the rails.

Seven has already beaten the top scorer’s tally from 10 of the last 12 World Cups.

Brazil star Rodrygo is back home after sampling the World Cup in the United States. In his latest column for us, he notices the differences between a country enjoying the World Cup and one obsessed by it. A reminder that Brazil play Norway in the last-16 today. Kick-off 9pm BST.

“The rhythm of life in Brazil – the “land of football” as we call it – is dictated by the team’s progress in the World Cup. Work schedules are affected, as are the operations of certain public services. Daily life doesn’t stop, but we go to great lengths to shape it around Brazil’s matches. Afterwards, as one of our sayings goes, we “play catchup” with everyday life.”

Maybe life doesn’t begin at 40 but it doesn’t mean the end for a world-class footballer. So says Emma Hayes in her latest World Cup column.

It’s Q&A time with none other than Luis de la Fuente! Spain’s manager answers your questions on advice for Lamine Yamal, the hardest thing about being a coach and how the current team compares to the winners of 2010. Sid Lowe has pieced it all together.

Canada boss Jesse Marsch is a polarising figure. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking his first name is ‘Theinsufferable’ if scrolling and asking around. Were Canada the better side, as he claims here? You have to enjoy the response of Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi. “It takes some nerve to say that when you lose 3-0.” Quotes here after Morocco’s clinical display of finishing.

It’s just gone 1.30am in Mexico City. Is there a cacophony of noise outside the hotel? Are England’s players managing any sleep? The game kicks off at 6pm local time or, as those in the UK know, 1am BST. Here’s David Hytner’s latest report from Mexico City.

“England stepped off their seventh flight in 12 days on Friday and are about to play their fourth game in 13 days. The period was always going to be a grind; one simply to plot a course through.”

Our reporters are in Mexico City for the big one and between running 5ks to show the effects of altitude, they’ve also written some words. Let’s start with Nick Ames, who has quotes from both managers: England’s Thomas Tuchel and Mexico’s Javier Aguirre.