|
Background |
The
23rd FIFA World Cup Finals were awarded to three countries in North America,
United States, Canada and Mexico, on 13 June 2018.
A ban on co-hosting the World Cup was
lifted in 2026, it had been in place the 2002 Finals. In response, The
United (Canada, Mexico and United States) bid was announced on 10 April
2017, its only rival coming from Morocco, who were bidding for a fifth
World Cup, on 11 August 2017, having failed to secure the 1994, 1998, 2006
and 2010 tournaments.
Voting took place during
the 68th FIFA Congress in Moscow. It was delayed a year following the FIFA
corruption case in 2015, that resulted in the resignation of Sepp Blatter.
There was only one round of voting, with the United bid receiving 134 of
the 200 votes, Morocco receiving 65. Ghana were not permitted to vote. Iran
voted for 'None of the Above', whereas Cuba, Slovenia and Spain all
abstained.
The tournament is the first to include 48 teams, an idea
first put forward by France's Michel Platini in 2013.
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 |
|
The Draw |
The final draw for the 2026 World Cup was
held on 5 December 2025 at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC. Hosted
by comedian Kevin Hart and model Heidi Klum. Attended by US
President Donald Trump, and the First Lady, Melania Trump. The
Technical Draw was hosted by England's own Rio Ferdinand, and
assisted by Samantha Johnson, with the individual pots drawn Tom
Brady (Pot 1), Shaquille O'Neal (2), Aaron Judge (3) and Wayne
Gretzky (4). The venues and kick-off times were confirmed 24 hours
later.
|
Pot 1 (seeded) |
Pot 2 |
Pot 3 |
Pot 4 |
|
United States |
Croatia |
Panama |
Jordan |
|
Mexico |
Morocco |
Norway |
Cape Verde |
|
Canada |
Colombia |
Egypt |
Ghana |
|
Spain |
Uruguay |
Algeria |
Curaçao |
|
Argentina |
Switzerland |
Scotland |
Haiti |
|
France |
Japan |
Paraguay |
New Zealand |
|
England |
Senegal |
Côte d'Ivoire |
UEFA PO 1 |
|
Portugal |
Iran |
Tunisia |
UEFA PO 2 |
|
Brazil |
Korea Republic |
Uzbekistan |
UEFA PO 3 |
|
Netherlands |
Ecuador |
Qatar |
UEFA PO 4 |
|
Belgium |
Austria |
Saudi Arabia |
Confed PO 1 |
|
Germany |
Australia |
South Africa |
Confed PO 2 |
|
|
|
|
The Build-Up |
1
June - Thomas Tuchel and twenty members of his squad arrived in Florida
for their pre-World Cup training camp at West Palm Beach. Marcus
Rashford was already in Florida acclimatising to the heat, and the other
five players who had played in the European finals would follow in a few
days.
2 June - The first training session in the morning was held
in 32 degrees Celsius heat and 79% humidity. Jordan Henderson was quite
vocal, encouraging the other players to maintain the fast pace of the
exercise, despite the conditions.
"It's about building that capacity, to get used to the heat a little
bit." - The Times
6 June - England
beat New Zealand, 1-0 in Tampa.
"...a glorified training session in the baking Florida heat." -
Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
10 June - England
beat Costa Rica, 3-0 in Orlando.
"England faced durable opposition who were determined to give the
game a competitive edge with uncompromising tackling and stubborn
defence." - Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
11 June - Tuchel's
second eleven defeated Miami United, 6-0, behind closed doors at the
training headquarters.
13 June - The England squad arrived in Kansas
City, their base for the tournament.
15 June - Bukayo Saka said that he was willing
to gamble on his fitness after completing only one full ninety-minute
match since injuring his achilles in March.
16 June - Tino Livramento withdrew from the
squad with a calf injury. His replacement, Trevoh Chalobah would join up
with the squad after the first game. Tuchel was expecting the occasion
and tension to bring the best out of his squad, and captain, Harry Kane
was equally confident.
"The messaging will be to go with freedom. We have an extremely
strong team, a physical team, so go out and use that." -
The Times
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|
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First Phase Table
Group L |
|
Team |
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
F
|
A
|
GD
|
Pts
|
 |
|
England |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
6 |
2 |
+4 |
7 |
3 |
|
Croatia |
3 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
=0 |
6 |
3 |
|
Ghana |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
=0 |
4 |
2 |
|
Panama |
3 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
-4 |
0 |
5 |
|
17 June 2026 - all DST |
3.00pm -
England 4 Croatia 2 [2-2]
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
(70,389) |
Kane
(2 (1 pen)), Bellingham, Rashford
Baturina, Musa |
7.00pm -
Ghana 1 Panama 0 [0-0]
BMO Field, Toronto
(42,942) |
Yirenkyi |
"TUCHEL'S CALL FOR
BRAVERY GETS PERFECT RESPONSE
"This was not just a game of
two halves but a game played at half-time too, where Thomas
Tuchel excoriated his players for showing "fear" and
forgetting their identity.
"...England roared back out,
and blew Croatia away, powered by Jude Bellingham, and Eliot
Anderson, and more bravery - in the form of substitutions -
from their boss.
"...Bellingham...a fusion of power,
pace, control and courage."
- Jonathan Northcroft, The
Times, 18 June 2026
"Strap yourselves in for a white-knuckle ride in this World
Cup.
"Twice they threw away the lead and were a complete
mess at the back at times..."
- John Cross, Daily Express/Mirror, 18 June 2026
"Drama in Dallas, but England take care of
business, and they set the tone for what is to come."
- Sam Matterface, ITV commentator
"It
had a few dicey moments, but it had some very, very good
moments, as well." - John Murray, BBC Radio 5
Live commentator
"...why, oh why, do they have to
put us through such agonies?" - Mike Payne,
EnglandFootballOnline.com
"The manager
gave us a speech at half-time, just to say, look, if we
lose, we lose in our way and I think you saw that in the way
we come out in the second half, we went 'full gas' and they
couldn't live with it, and that's the level we have to set
for every game." - Harry Kane
"...we are exhausted, but don't get me wrong, I love
exhausted players in the dressing room, and I think we
needed this strong opponent. It's pressure, it's the first
game of the tournament, we got our win, so today, it's only
positives, and tomorrow/day after tomorrow, we fix all the
other stuff." - Thomas Tuchel
BBC PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Harry Kane - 8.32
|
23 June 2026 - all DST |
4.00pm -
England 0 Ghana 0 [0-0]
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
(63,983) |
|
7.00pm -
Panama 0 Croatia 1 [0-0]
BMO Field, Toronto
(43,036) |
Budimir |
ENGLAND'S LIONS ARE
MUZZLED IN REALITY CHECK
"Welcome to a hell Tuchel, for all his smarts, has struggled to
solve as England boss. The low block. The nuggety, committed,
organised underdog who parks themselves in front of goal and
challenges you to find the wit and patience to get through."
- Jonathan Northcroft, The Times,
24 June 2026
"...the Three Lions were sloppy,
wasteful and frustrating as Ghana thwarted Tuchel's men in a dull,
numbingly painful performance..."
- John Cross, Daily Express/Mirror, 24 June 2026
"It is in these circumstances that a touch of X-factor is
needed to make the breakthrough and England simply did not possess
it here.
"England's head coach tried all his alternatives to
inject life into a display that was too slow and too predictable..."
- Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
"...Ghana's defending
beat England's attacking." - Mike Payne,
EnglandFootballOnline.com
"...it's that pesky
second-game syndrome again." - Guy Mowbray, BBC
commentator
"...it's been an exercise in
frustration..." - John Murray, BBC Radio 5 Live
commentator
BBC PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Declan Rice - 6.41
|
27 June 2026 - all DST |
5.00pm -
Panama 0 England 2 [0-0]
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
(80,663) |
Bellingham, Kane |
5.00pm -
Croatia 2 Ghana 1 [1-0]
Lincoln Financial Field,
Philadelphia
(68,324) |
Sučić, Vlašić
Luckassen |
JUDE BELLINGHAM COMES ALIVE WHEN
ENGLAND NEED HIM MOST
"Bellingham...stepped up and made the difference again.
England partied once more to Wonderwall and with every passing game
there seem fewer maybes, he is gonna be the one that saves them."
- Jonathan Northcroft, The Times/Sunday Times (web edition),
28 June 2026
"England were labouring, struggling to create a chance...
"England were struggling badly. But that is when big players step up."
- John Cross, Sunday People, 28 June 2026
"England
were below-par for long periods and once more looked vulnerable at the
back...
"...it was Bellingham who took on the role, with quality and
sheer force of will, to drag England out of a situation...
"England
simply cannot afford to be as open against sides of greater quality or
the punishment will be heavy, perhaps terminal in the World Cup
context." - Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
"Too many errors, too much losing possession, too much poor control and
too disjointed at times." - Mike Payne,
EnglandFootballOnline.com
"Jude Bellingham didn't
believe he deserved to be Player of the Match v Ghana, but he was
undoubtedly the difference between the two teams here." -
World Soccer
"It is the concrete jungle where dreams
are made of and England's dream is still alive after an afternoon in New
York...there's still a bit of construction work to do." -
Sam Matterface, ITV commentator
BBC PLAYER OF THE
MATCH: Jude Bellingham - 7.42
|
|
|
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|
The
Second Phase |
|
28 June 2026 - DST |
12.00noon -
South Africa 0 Canada 1 [0-0]
SoFi
Stadium, Inglewood (69,237) |
Eustaquio |
|
29 June 2026
- all DST |
12.00noon -
Brazil 2 Japan 1 [0-1]
NRG Stadium, Houston
(68,777) |
Casemiro, Martinelli
Sano |
4.30pm -
Germany 1 Paraguay 1 [0-1]ᴭᵀ
3-4 on
penalty-kicks
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
(63,945) |
Havertz
Enciso |
|
Penalty Shoot-out:-
Kai Havertz 0-0, Maurício 0-1, Joshua Kimmich
1-1, Gustavo Gómez 1-2, Jamal Musiala 2-2,
Matías Galarza 2-3,
Nick Woltemade 2-3, Antonio Sanabria 2-3, Nadiem Amiri 3-3, Fabián Balbuena 3-3, Jonathan Tah
3-3, José Canale 3-4. |
7.00pm -
Netherlands 1 Morocco 1 [0-0]ᴭᵀ
2-3 on
penalty-kicks
Estadio BBVA, Guadalupe (51,243) |
Gakpo
Diop |
|
Penalty Shoot-out - Teun Koopmeiners 1-0, Neil El Aynaoui
1-0, Justin Kluivert 1-0, Soufiane Rahimi 1-1, Wout Weghorst
2-1, Chemsdine Talbi 2-2, Quinten Timber 2-2, Achraf Hakimi
2-2, Crysencio Summerville 2-2, Ismael Saibari 2-3. |
|
30 June 2026 |
12.00noon DST -
Côte D'Ivoire 1 Norway 2 [0-1]
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
(69,665) |
Diallo
Nusa, Haaland |
5.00pm DST -
France 3 Sweden 0 [1-0]
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
(80,663) |
Mbappé
(2), Barcola |
7.00pm CST -
Mexico 2 Ecuador 0 [2-0]
Estadio Banorte,
Ciudad de México (80,824) |
Quiñones, Jiménez |
 Piero
Hincapié |
|
1 July 2026 - all DST |
12.00noon -
England 2 DR Congo 1
[0-1]
Mercedes-Benz
Stadium, Atlanta (68,239) |
Kane (2)
Cipenga |
1.00pm -
Belgium 3 Senegal 2 [0-1]ᴭᵀ
Lumen Field, Seattle
(66,925) |
Lukaku, Tielemans (2 1 pen))
Diarra,
I.Sarr |
5.00pm -
United States 2 Bosnia & Herzegovina 0
[1-0]
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara
(68,827) |
Balogun, Tillman |
|
Folarin
Balogun |
|
2 July 2026 - all DST |
12.00noon -
Spain 3 Austria 0 [1-0]
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
(70,492) |
Oyarzabal (2), Porro |
7.00pm -
Portugal 2 Croatia 1 [0-0]
BMO Field, Toronto
(43,036) |
Ronaldo (pen), Ramos
Perišić |
8.00pm -
Switzerland 2 Algeria 0 [1-0]
BC Place, Vancouver
(52,497) |
Embolo, Ndoye |
|
3 July 2026 - all DST |
1.00pm -
Australia 1 Egypt 1 [0-1]ᴭᵀ
2-4 on
penalty-kicks
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
(70,244) |
Hany OG
Ashour |
|
Penalty Shoot-out - Harry Souttar
0-0, Mahmoud Sober 0-1, Jackson Irvine
1-1, Ramy Rabia 1-2, A Mabil 2-2,
Mohamed Salah 2-3, Lucas Herrington 2-3, Hossam
Abdelmaguid 2-4. |
6.00pm -
Argentina 3 Cape Verde 2[1-0]ᴭᵀ
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
(64,478) |
Messi, Ls.Martínez, Diney OG
Duarte, Cabrel |
8.30pm -
Colombia 1 Ghana 0 [1-0]
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
(69,045) |
Arias |
NO CONTROL, DEFENCE ALL
AT SEA - BUT RESCUED BY TRUE GREAT
"...by hook, crook and Harry, Thomas Tuchel's team somehow made
it to the last 16 of the World Cup.
"No composure in defence, no
control in midfield, no accuracy in attack and dysfunction as a
whole.
"...Kane saw everything first, moved first and as he
reached the ball first, time seemed to stand still. You could see
him, working out the angles, choosing his spot, deciding the exact
contact he needed to make. Then the execution... You just knew he
wouldn't miss.
"...how far can he - and Bellingham - really carry
them?
"Trent Alexander-Arnold and
Cole Palmer would surely have provided some of the intelligence in
possession lacking here."
- Jonathan Northcroft, The Times,
2 July 2026
"From the depths of despair and
humiliation, Captain Marvel saved England again.
"The Three Lions
were ragged, sloppy and wasteful. DR Congo gave them the fright of
their lives. But then up stepped Kane - it was just wonderful.
"The centre-halves Marc Guéhi and Ezri Konsa looked like
strangers at times."
- John Cross, Daily Express/Mirror, 2 July 2026
"England were spared one of the biggest humiliations in
their World Cup history by Harry Kane's two late goals.
"...a
largely dreadful performance...
"...ragged disorganisation,
vulnerable defence and the lack of the quality that went before Kane
performed his rescue act."
- Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
"Is it the
travelling, is it the manager, is it the heat, is it the line-up?
What is causing so many of our top players to look so poor?" - Mike Payne,
EnglandFootballOnline.com
"...great cheers
from the vast majority inside the stadium in Atlanta, who have gone
through 'the lot' this afternoon in Georgia.
"We should be used
to this by now. They've done it in the hardest way possible." - Guy Mowbray, BBC
commentator
"...Harry Kane has dug England
out of trouble here in Atlanta." - John Murray, BBC Radio 5 Live
commentator
"The team didn't accept defeat. I felt no doubt from
the players." - Thomas Tuchel
BBC PLAYER OF THE MATCH (England): Jude Bellingham
- 6.05
|
|
Round
of thirty-two |
|
|
|
Round
of sixteen |
|
4 July 2026 - all DST |
12.00noon -
Canada 0 Morocco 3 [0-0]
NRG Stadium, Houston
(68,777) |
Ounahi (2), Rahimi |
5.00pm -
Paraguay
0
France 1 [0-0]
Lincoln Financial Field,
Philadelphia
(68,324) |
Mbappe (pen) |
|
5 July 2026 |
4.00pm DST -
Brazil 1 Norway 2 [0-0]
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford
(80,663)
|
Neymar
Haaland (2) |
7.00pm CST -
Mexico
2 England 3 [1-2]
Estadio Banorte,
Ciudad de México
(-) |
Quiñones, Jiménez (pen)
Bellingham
(2), Kane (pen) |
|
Jarell
Quansah |
|
6 July 2026 - all DST |
2.00pm -
Portugal
0 Spain 1 [0-1]
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
(70,649) |
Merino |
5.00pm -
United States
1 Belgium 4 [1-2]
Lumen Field, Seattle
(66,925) |
Tillman
De Ketelaere (2), Vanaken,
Lukaku |
|
7 July 2026 - all DST |
12.00noon -
Argentina 3 Egypt 2 [0-1]
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
(68,239) |
Romero, Messi, Fernández
Ibrahim, Ziko |
1.00pm -
Switzerland 0 Colombia 0 [0-0]ᴭᵀ
4-3 on
penalty-kicks
BC Place, Vancouver
(52,497) |
|
|
Penalty Shoot-out -
Juan Fernando Quintero
0-1,
Granit Xhaka 1-1, Davinson Sánchez 1-1, Zeki Amdouni
2-1, Jaminton Campaz 2-2, Manuel Akanji 2-2,
Cucho Hernández 2-2, Cedric Itten 3-2, Luis Diaz
3-3, Rubén Vargas 4-3. |
TEN-MAN ENGLAND
WALK THROUGH FIRE TO BEAT MEXICO IN ALL-TIME CLASSIC
"...one of the most draining, testing and yet epic and magical
nights in their history.
"...it
was something all of us there will take to the grave.
"The toughest, greatest away victory in 154 years of the
England national team."
- Jonathan Northcroft, The Times
(web edition),
6 July 2026
"...one of the all-time great performances from an
England player.
"...England produced arguably
their greatest victory on foreign soil. This was without
doubt Bellingham's finest hour."
- John Cross, Daily Express/Mirror, 7 July 2026
"...a night of sheer sporting theatre.
"...a display
of maturity, quality and grit that will give them huge
confidence and belief."
- Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
"...the right
attitude, passion, urgency, fight, determination,
character and a will to win like no other " - Mike Payne,
EnglandFootballOnline.com
"It is one of the
greatest results in England's World Cup history! Mexico
do not lose here, not on their patch, not in their
temple! They do tonight!" - Guy Mowbray, BBC
commentator
"Forty years on from the 'Hand
of God', Thomas Tuchel said that this stadium, it was
time for England to make peace with it." - John Murray, BBC Radio 5 Live
commentator
"...Tuchel has forged a reputation for plotting
against-the-odds victories, and the German had to do so
again here as the Three Lions overcame a fired-up home
team, a raucous, hostile crowd, and the thin-air
altitude to roll into the quarter-finals.
"...frantic, nerve-jangling final stages."
- World Soccer
"...this team
that did it on pure will...full credit, very proud.
"The
referees are just not good enough.
"Everything went
against us and we just refused to give in.
"There's
still a disconnect...from the best version of us that I
see to what we actually put on the pitch...in terms of
ball-possession, finding spaces, there's still a
disconnect, but there's no disconnect in committing and
doing what is needed to overcome anything that is thrown
to this team. I think it's a team that everyone can be
really proud of." - Thomas Tuchel
BBC PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Jude Bellingham - 9.5
|
|
|
|
Quarter Finals |
|
9 July 2026 - DST |
4.00pm -
France 2 Morocco 0 [0-0]
Gillette Stadium, Foxborough
(63,811) |
Mbappe, Dembélé |
|
10 July 2026 - DST |
12.00noon -
Spain 2 Belgium 1 [1-1]
SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
(70,492) |
Fabián Ruiz, Merino
De Ketelaere |
|
11 July 2026 - all DST |
5.00pm -
Norway
1 England 2
[1-1]
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
(64,478) |
Schjelderup
Bellingham
(2) |
8.00pm -
Argentina
3 Switzerland 1 [1-0]
Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City
(69,045) |
Mac Allister, Alvarez, Lt.Martínez
Ndoye
|
|
Breel
Embolo |
JUDE BELLINGHAM
STRIKES TWICE AS ENGLAND BEAT NORWAY TO REACH SEMI-FINALS
"England are...riding a runaway train called Jude Bellingham.
It is thrilling, it's like nothing we've seen before and it
is ploughing through everything, leaving opponents,
doubters, records, logic, in its wake.
"...yet another
difference-making two-goal performance from a 23-year-old
who may already be the best big-game player his country has
had.
"...a performance
where England stamped very little authority on a match but
filled it with sweat and guts."
- Jonathan Northcroft, The Times
(web edition),
11 July 2026
"It was comfortably the hottest temperature that
England have played in so far at this World Cup. Arguably
ever."
- John Cross, Sunday People, 12 July 2026
"It takes Bellingham's tally to six goals at this World Cup
as he continues on what almost looks like a personal mission
to bring glory to England."
- Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
"The England
performance was poor to say the least, but when you think
about it we cannot expect super flowing football from our
team with all that they have had to face in this marathon of
a tournament. The heat, the weather, the travelling, the
injuries, the refereeing and the antics of some of our
opponents has made this unbearably difficult." - Mike Payne,
EnglandFootballOnline.com
"It's another
special summer following England, and today, they've been
given a helping hand from a very special player.
"The
hate, the history, Haaland; England took it all on in Miami
and they are marching forward once again!" -
Sam Matterface, ITV
commentator
"...let me tell you, there are
some shattered bodies down there in both white England
shirts and red Norway shirts." - John Murray, BBC Radio 5 Live
commentator
"Skittish at times defensively and too inclined to rely
on unproductive square balls, the Three Lions were not at
their best by any means." - World Soccer
"We made life very, very difficult for ourselves
today.
"I'm not happy with the performance...sloppy, a
lot of technical mistakes, not fast enough." - Thomas Tuchel
"Character, perseverance, even when things
weren't working, we found a way to win the game again.
"It's difficult out there, it's a tough shift."
- Jude Bellingham
BBC PLAYER OF THE
MATCH: Jude Bellingham - 8.88
|
|
|
|
Semi
Finals |
|
14 July 2026 - DST |
2.00pm -
France 0 Spain
2 [0-1]
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
(70,176) |
Oyarzabal
(pen), Porro |
|
15 July 2026 - DST |
3.00pm -
England 1 Argentina 2 [0-0]
Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
(68,239) |
Gordon
Fernández, Lt.Martínez |
 ENGLAND
GAVE THEIR ALL BUT ARE STILL LEVELS APART
"For 30 minutes...almost unliveable in their tension...it
seemed England would do it.
"...they were about to tether the Goat.
"...as
always seems the case when England go behind in these very
biggest games - they had no foothold, no control, no hope
of coming back.
"They came with physicality, aggression
and youth to combat an older Argentinian side."
- Jonathan Northcroft, The Times,
16 July 2026
"It was within their grasp and they let it slip away.
This was their chance. This was their moment. And yet,
ultimately, it was Argentina who showed more courage and a
stronger mentality than the Three Lions could muster.
"Tuchel sadly has no one else this time to blame but
himself. The manager took the team to within touching
distance - and then blew it."
-
John Cross, Daily Express/Mirror, 16 July 2026
"...a feisty first half littered with 19 fouls, as
American referee Ismail Elfath struggled to keep control.
"From a position of relative control...Tuchel and England
conceded the initiative with devastating consequences.
"Argentina improved when they moved away from the dark
arts that characterised their first-half performance,
simply overpowering England as they shrunk into their
defensive shell with wave after wave of late attacks."
- Phil McNulty, bbc.co.uk
"...here was a rerun of that semi-final defeat to
Croatia: a collective panic, a fear of the ball, a fear of
leading because eyes were now clock-watching and minds on
the final. Play the game in front of you - Argentina did.
"...his substitutions and instructions produced a
carbon-copy of Southgate's greatest failing.
"Allowing
Messi to hurl crosses in was dancing with the devil..."
- Dom Smith, London Standard
"The trouble was, when Argentina concentrate on their
football they are a good team and can play some
devastating football, so why do they insist on roughing up
their opponents first?"
- Mike Payne, EnglandFootballOnline.com
"The wait, the pain, goes on for English football.
More semi-final sorrow and Argentina do what they always
do, what they do better than possibly any international
team that has ever gone before. They are now six out of
six in World Cup semi-finals..."
- Guy Mowbray, BBC commentator
"Thomas Tuchel, the man who was taken on by the
Football Association to win the World Cup, well, he's
fallen short in the most dramatic of circumstances..."
- John Murray, BBC Radio 5 Live commentator
"England very much had the whip hand, only to almost
immediately surrender it, sitting deeper and deeper in
defence - maintaining just 12% possession between their
opener and Argentina's eventual winner - and inviting the
Albiceleste to lay siege to their goal.
"Tuchel's defensive dam inevitably burst."
- World Soccer
"Argentina have been there and done it and it
probably showed."
- Dan Burn
"We smelt blood and we went for it."
- Lionel Scaloni, Argentina coach
"Of course we wanted to go for the second goal but I
did not have the feeling that offensive substitutions
would help. We stayed in our 4-4-2 but we became passive,
more and more passive."
- Thomas Tuchel
BBC PLAYER OF THE
MATCH: Djed Spence - 7.87
|
|
|
|
Third Place
Play-off |
|
18 July 2026 - DST |
5.00pm -
France 4 England 6 [0-4]
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
(64,478) |
Mbappé (2), Barcola, Dembélé
Rice,
Konsa, Saka (3 (1 pen)), Bellingham |
BUKAYO SAKA HAT-TRICK
HELPS ENGLAND RESTORE SOME PRIDE IN CRAZY THRILLER
"...trading blows like two heavyweights looking to restore some
pride after brutal knock-outs in their previous bouts.
"France...were strangely dormant. Their defenders almost
asleep."
- Matt Lawton, The Times (web edition), 18 July 2026
"Where had this England team been hiding all
tournament? They played with a freedom and style which
just blew France away in a glorious first half.
"Well,
maybe it was more about the pressure being off."
-
John Cross, Sunday People, 19 July 2026
"The match nobody wanted to play in became the match
nobody wanted to end."
- Emma Smith, bbc.co.uk
"What a game, what a mess, what a finish!"
- Mike Payne, EnglandFootballOnline.com
"Winners and losers can both smile, but it is
officially England's second most successful World Cup
ever.
"This has been the most extraordinary game you
can imagine."
- Steve Wilson, BBC commentator
"I don't think these players have ever played in a
game like this; utterly, utterly astonishing.
- Jonathan Pearce, BBC Radio 5 Live commentator
"...an extraordinary topsy-turvy game in Miami.
Not bad for a fixture that nobody apparently wanted to
play in."
- World Soccer
"Not sure if we had more control. We just had fresher
legs and quality players again."
- Thomas Tuchel
BBC PLAYER OF THE
MATCH: Bukayo Saka - 8.78
|
|
|
|
The
2026 Final |
|
19 July 2026 - DST |
3.00pm DST -
Spain 1 Argentina 0 [0-0]ᴭᵀ
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford (80,663) |
Ferran Torres |
|
Enzo
Fernández |
|
|
|
|
England
Football Online