The Guardian

⚽ Kick-off: 12pm local/1pm EST/6pm BST/3am AEST ⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Sarah Portugal v Uzebeksitan is not the only game happening today, here is the full fixture list: Portugal v Uzebekistan England v Ghana Panama v Croatia Colombia v DR Congo Continue reading...

Australian veteran says four-year ban is a ‘disgrace’ ITIA says strong testing means unpredictable timing Ajla Tomljanovic has described the lengthy doping ban administered to Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon singles champion, as a disgrace and she has accused the tennis anti-doping authorities of being out to get players even when they have done nothing wrong. The International Tennis Int…

Some staff in Fifa’s US office favoured different strategy Fifa says policy agreed ‘with all areas of the organisation’ A number of Fifa’s US-based staff advised against the use of dynamic pricing at the World Cup but were overruled by the world governing body’s leadership, according to multiple sources involved in delivering the tournament. The Guardian has been told that some staff in Fifa’s US…

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! In 10 of the past 12 World Cups, six goals has been the standard to bag yourself the Golden Boot. Usually a goal per game will suffice. In fact, on two occasions (in 2006 and 2010) a mere five strikes has been enough. Yet a quick glance at the current 2026 Geopolitics World Cup Golden Boot standings after most teams have played two games sees Li…

Sanjay Patel owns more than 75% of SMP73’s shares County say work was done before his appointment The England and Wales Cricket Board is planning to review a payment of £1.75m from Yorkshire to a company controlled by their chief executive, Sanjay Patel, for consultancy work relating to the Hundred sale. The club’s 2025 accounts, which were circulated to members last month, show that Patel’s comp…

From that crunch classic in Paris to the Red Roses’ trailblazing and Rhys Carré’s try, our pick of the moments that made the 2026-27 season Best games attended 1) 14 March, France 48-46 England . Thirteen tries – including four for Louis Bielle-Biarrey – and a last-gasp winning penalty from Thomas Ramos. Truly magnifique . Continue reading...

AJ Dybantsa is widely expected to have his name called first on Tuesday. But which other young stars are worth keeping an eye on? AJ Dybantsa looked like a pro among college kids in his lone season at BYU, becoming just the fifth Division I player in the last 40 years to average more than 25 points per game while shooting better than 51%. Even beyond the numbers, Dybantsa’s natural length and abi…

Missed penalty merely delayed the inevitable before forward scored the goals to go past Miroslav Klose’s World Cup goals record There stood 38-year-old Lionel Messi by the penalty spot, poised for yet another flashbulb moment in a career already overflowing with them. Just a few days removed from his first World Cup hat-trick – one that had thrust him into co-ownership of the all-time tournament …

Our cartoonist on the heroes, villains and superstar performances in week two of the tournament Buy a cartoon | Some of David’s favourite works And his latest book, Chaos in the Box: get it now Continue reading...

⚽ All the latest news from day 13 of the tournament ⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail us The Guardian’s Pablo Iglesias Maurer dives into everything Messi with boots on the ground as history was made at Dallas Stadium (aka Jerry World) last night. The great one on his exploits: “It feels special, but like I’ve always said it does. Like I’ve said other times, I enjoy playing, havin…

Major tournaments bring people together and Scotland’s welcome presence adds to the case for a 48-team event I could watch videos of the Scots online for hours. Wearing kilts, they marched through Boston playing bagpipes. In the stadium, the Tartan Army roared their team to victory against Haiti , their first World Cup win in 36 years. Afterwards they went to a baseball game and, singing and wear…

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Alexander Abnos and Mark Langdon as Lionel Messi becomes the all-time top goalscorer at World Cups, while there’s a huge storm delay in France 3-0 Iraq Continue reading...

Vinyl has baffled youngsters at the team’s hotel but spells of opening victory against Croatia showed side in the groove Inside the foyer of the England team hotel in Kansas City, along with the TV screens that show the World Cup matches, there is an anachronism. It is a record player and it is worth reporting there were younger members of the squad who looked genuinely baffled by it. What were t…

Argentina forward wants to ‘fulfil dream’ by departing Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG linked with 26-year-old Julián Alvarez has said he wants to ⁠leave Atlético Madrid to “fulfil his dream” following reported interest from Barcelona, Real Madrid ⁠and Paris Saint-⁠Germain. “I ​spoke with people at the club [Atlético], with those I had to speak with, ⁠and the best thing for everyone is a transfer …

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Anyone brave enough to predict the Geopolitics World Cup knockout bracket before the tournament would have clocked that Argentina could meet Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay in the last 32 and thought: “Cor, that’ll be fun”. But nothing seems to be very fun for the two-time winners at the moment. After narrowly avoiding defeat by Saudi Arabia in their o…