The World Cup 2026 is almost upon us with just a day to go until the opening match in Mexico City – and Fifa president Gianni Infantino will give his pre-tournament press conference this evening.
Four years ago, this very press conference, Infantino made his infamous comments ahead of the Qatar World Cup, saying: “Today I feel Qatari. Today I feel Arabic. Today I feel African. Today I feel gay. Today I feel disabled. Today I feel [like] a migrant worker.” This time, there are plenty of issues for Infantino to address once again, including the sorry saga of a Somali referee denied a visa to enter the United States, with the Trump administration claiming that Omar Abdulkadir Artan was sent home because of links to “suspected members of terror organisations”. The Fifa boss’s response to the problems will be fascinating.
Meanwhile, England have been rocked by a Bukayo Saka injury worry on tournament eve. Thomas Tuchel’s side conclude their World Cup preparations for the tournament with a friendly against Costa Rica in Florida tonight, and the England manager revealed he had concerns over Saka’s readiness to play a full part in the campaign as he manages an achilles issue.
Follow all of the latest news and more with our live blog below:
Iran threaten to stop matches – reports
Iran have threatened to halt their matches at the World Cup if unauthorised flags are displayed or chants considered offensive are heard inside stadiums, according to reports from Tehran quoting sports minister Ahmad Donyamali.
“We have informed Fifa that if unofficial flags are brought or slogans against the national team are chanted in the stadiums where Iran plays in the World Cup, the team manager will definitely be responsible for stopping the match,” Donyamali reportedly said. “We have been assured that no disruptive incidents will occur in the stadium during the match against Egypt.”
It was previously reported that of officials from Iran and Egypt had both demanded no messages of support for the LGBT community are displayed when they meet in Seattle on June 26
Iran open their Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 and face Belgium on June 21.
Why World Cup games could face long delays due to lightning strikes
Anyone unfortunate enough to have watched much of the Club World Cup last year will have noted a couple of long weather delays that disrupted the tournament. Such a scenario could occur again over the next few weeks:
England’s potential route to 2026 World Cup final revealed after draw
Time to get ahead of ourselves – here’s England’s possible route to the World Cup final, which I’m sure will go down well after a shock group stage exit.
England will ‘physically push’ against Costa Rica in final World Cup warm-up says Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel says that England’s players are ready to ‘push’ through the rest of their pre-camp as they continue their preparations for the start of the World Cup 2026.
What role will Bukayo Saka play tonight?
Thomas Tuchel was pretty cautious over Bukayo Saka’s fitness ahead of England’s clash with Costa Rica, warning that the Arsenal forward would have to be managed during the tournament.
“We still have to take care a little bit about Bukayo, who had an injury in the March camp and carried it through, of course, into his club campaign,” Tuchel said. “He was available and made himself available in the end of the season, and did this brilliantly, but he was managed in-between matches and that continues a little bit at the very moment, so we’re building him up.”
Key England questions ahead of World Cup: Who plays at No 10?
Will Thomas Tuchel tip his hand with his England selection tonight? The manager now has a full squad with which to work, and his choice at No 10 might be indicative with Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers battling for one spot.
Why England’s Djed Spence will have to wear protective mask for World Cup
It’s about six hours until England kick off their final World Cup warm-up against Costa Rica in Miami, with Djed Spence likely to feature again after providing the assist for Harry Kane against New Zealand. The Tottenham full-back is playing through a broken jaw, and is set to wear a protective mask for the duration of the tournament.
Gianni Infantino hit with criminal complaint days before start of World Cup
Former Uefa president Platini, one of the most gifted footballers of the 1970s and 1980s, had been favourite to succeed Sepp Blatter as Fifa chief in 2016 until the launch of an ethics probe into a payment he received from Blatter in 2011.
Platini was banned for eight years by Fifa’s ethics committee in 2015 – a sanction which was later reduced to four years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Inside the world of Gianni Infantino: ‘The ass-kissing of Trump got us nowhere’
Gianni Infantino has attempted to wield the influence that comes with his position on the geopolitical stage – but not, perhaps, positively.
Fifa and Gianni Infantino have questions to answer after the scandalous treatment of Omar Abdulkadir Artan
How Giannni Infantino deals with the questions related to the refused entry for referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan will be an item of obvious interest. Miguel Delaney has several of his own to put to the Fifa president.
