Spain begin their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign tonight in Group H against debutants Cape Verde in Atlanta, arriving as heavy favourites.

Yasin Ayari opened the scoring early in the Mexican city of Guadalupe with a thunderbolt from distance and Alexander Isak doubled Sweden's lead in the 30th minute.

Romanticism, Samba nostalgia, and the weight of a record five World Cup titles -- all of it met a sobering dose of reality as Brazil began their Hexa campaign with a 1-1 draw against Morocco at the New York-New Jersey Stadium on Sunday.

As has become widely associated with Japanese football culture, fans collected trash in large plastic bags, carefully restoring their seating areas long after the final whistle.

Iran have arrived at the tournament under the shadow of a bitter diplomatic row, after the United States -- in military conflict with Iran for months -- refused to issue visas for some team support staff.

Brazil now sit second on 238, while Argentina are a distant third with 152.

The Ivorians will meet Germany in their next Group E match on June 20. Germany thrashed debutants Curacao 7-1 earlier in the day.

A match that had bubbled away in the first period sparked into life in the second half.

Germany won their first opening match at a World Cup since lifting the trophy in 2014 as they eased to a 7-1 win against debutants Curacao in their opening Group E match in Houston on Sunday.

The Iranian community in Tijuana is tiny - around 20 people - and much smaller than that of Los Angeles, which is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.

When the announcement of the player of the match came, a few eyebrows were raised. Many felt the award should have gone to Morocco's 18-year-old midfield sensation Ayyoub Bouaddi instead of Brazil's Vinicius Junior after a pulsating 1-1 draw in New Jersey on Sunday.

From different corners of the globe, rivalries turn into friendships, strangers become family, and millions of voices unite in a single shared passion.

“Brazil and Argentina fans in Bangladesh and around the world often treat a draw like a defeat. They simply can’t accept it,” said Masud Parvez Kaiser, former Bangladesh national football team coach and an avid Brazil supporter.

Brazil, 1-0 down against a team on a 29-match unbeaten run, nevertheless needed their poster boy to step up. He did just that, grabbing a gorgeous goal that earned Carlo Ancelotti’s the Selecao a crucial point.

The smallest nation by population in the tournament comes face-to-face with the four-time winners on Sunday when tiny Curacao play Germany in a true World Cup fairytale.

Since watching the 2018 FIFA World Cup from the stands in Russia as a football-loving child, Ayoub Bouaddi had dreamt of one day gracing football’s grandest stage himself.

Roberto Mancini has left Al Sadd, the Qatar Stars League champions announced on Saturday, with the 61-year-old coach widely expected to return to the Italy national team.

Australia scored a stunning 2-0 upset over Turkey in their World Cup Group D opener on Saturday as coach Tony Popovic's bold selection gamble paid off.

In a physically exhausting tournament, a single accurate cross toward a dominant striker may become more valuable than a beautifully constructed twenty-pass sequence.

In 1994, the USA needed fortune to announce themselves. This time, they delivered a definitive statement of intent.