World Cup recap: Spain, Portugal and Switzerland advance to round of 16

VANCOUVER — Breel Embolo and Dan Ndoye both scored and Switzerland advanced to the round of 16 at the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Algeria on Thursday night.

Switzerland will play the winner of Friday’s match between Colombia and Ghana in Kansas City, Missouri. The round-of-16 game is set for next Tuesday in Vancouver.

Switzerland has not won a knockout-round match since 1938 in France, but in 1954 the team won a playoff game to reach the quarterfinals.

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Although the Swiss reached the round of 16 at the past three World Cups, there was a smaller field of 32 teams in each of those tournaments, and they could get no further.

Algeria was eliminated after returning to the World Cup for the first time since 2014, when it advanced to the knockout round but fell to eventual champion Germany.

Algeria dominated the first 10 minutes before Johan Manzambi raced down the right side and crossed to Embolo for the tap-in. Embolo celebrated his 26th international goal with a knee slide.

Less than a minute into the second half, Ndoye scored with a blast from the top of the box that diving Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane couldn’t stop.

Fabian Rieder nearly got a third goal for Switzerland in the 81st minute but missed on the tap-in as the ball skirted across the face of Algeria’s goal.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino was at the game, his second of the day. Earlier his attended the match between Spain and Austria in Inglewood, California.

Algeria advanced as a third-place finisher after a 3-3 draw against Austria last Saturday in Kansas City. The result sent both teams through to the knockout round but eliminated Iran. Algeria captain Riyad Mahrez, 35, scored a pair of goals.

The Swiss got goals from Rubén Vargas and Manzambi to beat Canada 2-1 on Wednesday — spoiling Canada’s hopes of playing their first-ever knockout-round game on home soil. Instead, Switzerland got the return trip to Vancouver.

The Swiss also got a week off, during which time they returned to their training base in San Diego.

Manzambi, 20, has become the breakout star for Switzerland in the tournament, with a pair of goals and two assists. He played off the bench to start the World Cup, but earned a starting role in the team’s last two games.

Algeria head coach Vladimir Petkovic coached Switzerland from 2014-21 and led the team to the out of the group stage in the 2018 World Cup. He also was at the helm when the Swiss went to the quarterfinals of the European Championships in 2020.

Peterson writes for the Associated Press.

Switzerland 2, Algeria 0 — 46th minute

Dan Ndoye scored for Switzerland less than a minute into the second half to give the Swiss a commanding lead over Algeria in this round-of-32 match.

Algeria tried to clear the ball, but Ndoye gained control and sent a well-placed blast from the top of the box into the the lower left corner of the goal past a diving Luca Zidane.

Switzerland 1, Algeria 0 — Halftime

Breel Embolo scored in the 10th minute for Switzerland to give it a halftime lead over Algeria in this round-of-32 match.

Algeria had its moments. In the opening minutes before Switzerland’s goal, it played aggressively and was keeping the ball in and around the Switzerland box.

Coming out of the hydration break, Switzerland kept the ball on Algeria’s side of the pitch, attempting a couple shots. Algeria regained some of the momentum in the final minutes, getting a shot on goal in the 43rd minute, but it couldn’t test goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.

Algeria controlled the ball 60% of the half and had five shots, including two on goal. Switzerland had four shots, with two on goal.

Switzerland 1, Algeria 0 — 24th minute

Algeria has been putting pressure on the Switzerland defense since the start but hasn’t been able to create any strong scoring opportunities.

Heading into the first hydration break, Algeria has controlled the ball 64% of the match. It has three shots, including one on goal.

Switzerland has done more with the ball when controlling it, but it has been mostly evenly matched — outside of Johan Manzambi’s strong individual effort in the 10th minute that set up the first goal.

Switzerland 1, Algeria 0 — 10th minute

Switzerland’s Breel Embolo scored after a fantastic individual effort by Johan Manzambi to take an early lead against an Algeria team that started the match aggressively.

Manzambi drove into the box, holding off the Algeria defense, before passing at the goal line to find Embolo, who redirected the ball past goalkeeper Luca Zidane.

Unbeaten Switzerland is looking to win its first knockout game at the World Cup since 1954 against an Algeria team that finished third in its group.

Switzerland midfielder Johan Manzambi, the youngest player on the team at 20, has three of Swiss’ seven goals. Riyad Mahrez, 35, scored two goals against Austria in Algeria’s group play finale.

Algeria is playing in a World Cup knockout round for only the second time. Switzerland is making its seventh knockout-round appearance.

The winner will play either Colombia or Ghana in the round of 16 on Tuesday.

TORONTO — Goncalo Ramos headed in the stoppage-time winner as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in a wild finish that also included a Croatian goal disallowed for offside just before the final whistle in a World Cup round of 32 match on Thursday night.

The game featured a matchup 40-somethings Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, in his sixth World Cup, and Croatia’s Luka Modrić, making his fifth bid for a tournament title.

Ronaldo initially tied things up in the 68th minute on a penalty kick and give the megastar his first knockout stage goal at the World Cup before being subbed out in the 81st minute. But, it was Ramos who gave Portugal the victory and a berth in the round of 16.

Portugal moves on to face Spain on Monday.

“First half we dominated the game,” Ronaldo said. “In second half after the goal we get a little bit panic, but this is football.

“After the penalty, I think it was a little bit better for us. We created a few chances and I think at the end of the day we deserved to win the match.”

The game ended in controversy as Croatia thought it had tied things up 2-2 in the very last moments, but Mario Pasalic was called offside as VAR ruled no goal. Croatia fans threw bottles on the field and whistled in protest.

Croatia opened the scoring in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perisic scored off a cross from Josip Sanisic.

Ronaldo, booed loudly by Croatia fans every time he touched the ball, got his chance from the spot after Nikola Vlasic was called for a holding foul inside the box. Portugal’s megastar hitched his step and converted down the middle as the goalkeeper went to his right.

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Modrić led Croatia to second- and third-place finishes in 2018 and 2022, and the match carried the weight of the two aging stars each trying to realize the dream of winning the World Cup. Modrić is 40, while Ronaldo is 41.

The men, who were teammates at Real Madrid, shared a few smiles and an embrace ahead of the coin toss before the match. The two met on the pitch after the match, and hugged and exchanged a few words.

“I played with Luca so many years,” Ronaldo said. “We’re nearly the same age. I think he’s a legend of football. He’s still a legend of football.”

Linderman writes for the Associated Press.

Portugal 2, Croatia 1 — 94th minute

Goncalo Ramos beats a Croatia double-team and scores on a header off a perfect cross pass from Rafael Leao to give Portugal its first lead.

Portugal 1, Croatia 1 — 88th minute

After a flurry of chances for both sides in the first 25 minutes of the second half, it’s been an evenly played match over the last 10 minutes.

The best scoring chance came in the 87th minute when Portugal’s Renato Veiga sent a header just wide of the Croatia goal off a corner kick.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored on a penalty kick in the 68th minute, was subbed out for Ruben Neves in the 81st minute.

Portugal 1, Croatia 1 — 68th minute

Cristiano Ronaldo scored on a penalty kick past Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic to tie the score.

VAR determined Nikola Vlasic pulled down Renato Veiga in the box on a corner kick, leading to Ronaldo’s penalty kick.

Croatia 1, Portugal 0 — 61st minute

An apparent goal by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo was disallowed after a VAR check confirmed the on-field call of offsides.

Croatia 1, Portugal 1 — 53rd minute

Ivan Perisic scored after a cross pass went off the head of a Portugal defender Ruben Dias, allowing Perisic to corral the ball and score.

Perisic was left completely unmarked on the far side of the goal, giving him enough time to settle the ball and get off a shot.

After struggling to keep the ball out is box in the first half, Croatia has been the better team in the second half so far.

Three minutes after Perisic’s goal, Portugal’s Rafael Leao hit the crossbar with a shot. In the 59th minute, Croatian standout Luka Modric received a yellow card for a foul.

Portugal 0, Croatia 0 — 50th minute

After fending off an initial attack by Portugal to open the second half, Croatia nearly scored, with a shot from Nikola Vlasic hitting the side of the net in the 49th minute.

The scoring chance developed when a bad decision by Portugal to pass the ball back in the box to avoid Croatian pressure eventually led to a turnover.

Portugal 0, Croatia 0 — Halftime

Portugal had nine shots and controlled the ball for 69% of the time, but it was unable to score against a Croatia team that managed to limit scoring chances.

Croatia had three shots, including one on goal, but play was mostly centered on the Croatia box throughout the first 45 minutes.

Portugal, which had one shot on goal, was the stronger team in the first half, but it needs to find ways to generate better scoring chances in the box if it wants to avoid a potential upset.

Portugal 0, Croatia 0 — 34th minute

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo nearly scored on a header in the 30th minute following a deflected cross pass into the box, but the ball went wide of the goal.

In the 33rd minute, Nuno Mendes got a scoring chance from the side of the box, but Croatia blocked the shot.

Portugal has eight shots, with one on goal. Croatia has three shots with one on goal. Portugal has possessed the ball for 65% of the match so far.

Portugal 0, Croatia 0 — 13th minute

Croatia successfully blocked a free kick just outside the box by Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo to keep the match scoreless in the opening minutes.

Play mostly has been centered on the Croatia box, with Portugal applying plenty of pressure and controlling the ball close to 60% of the time. Each team has a shot on goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal look to advance to the round of 16 against a tough Croatia team that reached the World Cup semifinals in 2018 and 2022.

Portugal, a quarterfinalist in 2022, is coming off a scoreless draw against Colombia that gave it second in its group. Croatia defeated Ghana in its group finale to finish second in its group.

In a sport of headers and constant collisions, a fractured jaw would seem like a tournament-ending injury.

Not so much at the 2026 World Cup.

Austria defender Stefan Posch and England defender Djed Spence stand out on the field for the black jaw braces they have been wearing in matches.

Jaw braces the latest in protective gear for injured players

Players have long had to wear face protections for injuries like fractured cheek bones or broken noses.

Frances’ Kylian Mbappé wore a face mask during the 2024 European Championship after breaking his nose in the opening match. Former Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech wore a helmet for years after a near fatal collision and skull injury during a match.

The jaw braces Spence and Posch wear are custom-fit devices that wrap around the back of the neck, over the top of the head and under the chin to keep the jaw stable through the wear and tear of a game.

Playing through the pain

Spence wears his after suffering a fractured jaw in one of Tottenham’s final matches of the Premier League season, when he took a flying elbow to the face on a header.

Instead of surgery that might knock him off the World Cup squad, Spence opted for the brace. Before the tournament, he called it uncomfortable, but necessary.

“Luckily I play football with my feet and not my jaw. So I was all good,” Spence said before the World Cup.

He has played in all four England games so far, and started the round of 32 win over Congo. England plays Mexico on Saturday in the round of 16.

Posch had little time to adjust to his new headgear. He was injured in a collision with a Jordan defender in Austria’s 3-1 win in first match of the tournament.

Austria feared it would lose him for the rest of the World Cup, but two trips to Los Angeles to get fitted for the brace had him back on the pitch in time for the next match against Argentina.

Posch’s tournament ended Thursday with Austria’s 3-0 loss Spain.

Vertuno writes for the Associated Press.

Spain 3, Austria 0, final

Austria had no answers for Spain’s superior athleticism and ball control.

And the Spaniards controlled the game with another relatively quiet day from its biggest star.

Spanish star Lamine Yamal was replaced in the lineup in the 85th minute without scoring.

In the 89th minute, Marc Cucurella found a lot of space on the left side of the field and connected with Mikel Oyarzabal in the center of the box. Oyarzabal slotted home a right-footed shot for Spain’s third goal. It was the second time the duo connected today.

Spain controlled possession through stoppage time and celebrated the win.

The Spaniards extended their unbeaten match streak to 34 games and their win streak over European teams to 35 dating back to 2023.

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Spain 2, Austria 0, 68th minute

An array of Spain shots and passes near the box have been blocked, but the most routine of plays led to the team’s second goal.

Álex Baena delivered a cross to the center of the box and Pedro Porro headed it home for Spain’s second goal in the 66th minute.

It was a breakthrough for a team that had been frustrated trying to finish runs.

Spain continued to keep possession primarily on Austria’s side of the field early in the second half, but the Spaniards were holding onto the ball a touch longer than they should and allowing Austria to break up plays in the box.

In the 54th minute, Pau Cubarsí found Rodri for a strong shot from outside the box, but it was blocked.

After making two more substitutions, Austria finally mounted a run in the second half. Marcel Sabitzer delivered a pass to the center of the penalty area and Sasa Kalajdzic’s header was off target in the 61st minute.

Fans again booed the hydration that started in the 68th minute.

Spain 1, Austria 0, 47th minute

The second half has kicked off at SoFi Stadium.

Austria made two substitutions, sending in midfielders Carney Chukwuemeka and Floridan Grillitsch.

Austria has to work to disrupt more of Spain’s possession and dominance in the box, with Spain owning 65% of possession in the first half and beating Austria 6-0 in shots on goal.

Spain 1, Austria 0, halftime

Spain nearly tacked on another goal during first-half stoppage time.

After Spain earned a free kick Álex Baena curled a shot into a shot past the Austria wall, but it hit the post in the second minute of stoppage time. Austria failed to clear the ball and Lamine Yamal took a shot at close range that goalkeeper Alexander Schlager saved.

Schlager finished the first half with five saves.

Spain 1, Austria 0, 36th minute

After many near misses, Spain finally earned its first goal in the 36th minute when Marc Cucurella passed into the center of the box and Mikel Oyarzabal slotted the ball home.

It was the least dramatic of all of Spain’s runs toward goal so far this game, but it was the most successful.

In the 29th minute, Cucurella appeared to score when the ball pinballed around the penalty area, but his goal was waived off after the referee confirm Spain tackled Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager before the shot.

The pro-Spain crowd and Spain’s players were unhappy with the call, but there was obvious impermissible contact on the play.

In the 33rd minute, Spain was weaving through the Austria box and Oyarzabal delivered a powerful shot Schlager dove to stop. The crowd oohed while watching what seemed like a sure goal for the Spanish magician waiting for his World Cup breakout moment.

Yamal had a another look at goal, but his shot was off target and he was ruled offside in the 35th minute.

A minute later, Spain finally found the back of the net.

Spain 0, Austria 0, 23rd minute

Austria weather an early surge from Spain.

In the sixth minute, Austria had a brief run at goal, but Michael Gregoritsch was offside.

Spain spent extensive time in front of Austria’s goal early in the game, with a shot by Dani Olmo blocked in the eighth minute and a header by Aymeric Laporte seconds later sailing off target.

Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal have been stressing the Austria defense early.

In the 17th minute, Austria broke up Spain’s stretch controlling the ball and earned a good look at goal. A well placed cross from Marcel Sabitzer was delivered into the penalty area from the left side of the field, but no one from Austria broke free to meet it and the ball sailed wide right of the goal.

Spain countered two minutes later, with a ball lofted toward goal that Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager stretched out to catch to end the scoring threat.

The crowd booed when the referees signaled for the hydration break in the 23rd minute.

Spain 0, Austia 0, 2nd minute

Spain versus Austria has kicked off at SoFi Stadium, with the crowd favoring Spain.

In the first minute, Alex Baena set up Lamine Yamal on a uqick run through Austria’s defense. Yamal’s shot from outside the box was caught by Austria goalkeeper Alexander Schlager.

Yamal is arguably the biggest star this World Cup not to deliver a breakout game yet, mostly because the team has been careful as he returns from injury. But Yamal is starting and the early burst is a promising sign for the Spaniards.

After the total failure that was Mexico’s participation in the Qatar 2022 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage, the future looked very dire for “El Tri.” By 2024, the situation had worsened after another international failure at the Copa América. The 2026 World Cup co-hosts had even more pressure now. In a crisis-control move, the Mexico Football Federation opted to bring back its proven problem solver, head coach “El Vasco” Javier Aguirre, for a third stint.

In a short time, Aguirre was able to shape “El Tri” into a competitive squad by breaking from his usual approach. The man who shockingly demoted then-24-year-old goalkeeper Guillermo “Memo” Ochoa in favor of a more experienced player prior to the 2010 World Cup was now relying on upstarts.

SEATTLE — If a pregnant Nigerian woman had been allowed to board a plane 25 years ago, the U.S. team’s path through this summer’s World Cup may have unfolded much differently. Instead, a gate agent turned her away, insisting it wasn’t safe for her to fly from New York to London.

So Florence Balogun returned to Brooklyn, where she had been visiting relatives, and waited for her second son to be born. And when Folarin arrived a few weeks later, entering the world just hours before Independence Day dawned, he did so as an American citizen.

It was that quirk of fate that allowed Balogun, who lived just two months in the U.S., to represent the country on soccer’s biggest stage.

SEATTLE — Growing up the son of an NFL wide receiver, Alex Freeman said he felt a lot of pressure to play the American version of football, not the one the rest of the world plays.

“I always got asked if football was the path,” he said last summer. “But I always had a secret love for soccer.”

And he had to keep it a secret because he wasn’t sure his father Antonio, a Super Bowl winner with the Green Bay Packers, would understand.

SEATTLE — Cristian Roldan and Haji Wright grew up less than three years and 30 miles apart, Roldan in Pico Rivera and Wright in Culver City. The odds that they would go on to become teammates on not one, but two, U.S. World Cup teams seem astronomical.

Yet despite starting at the same time and place and arriving together at the same destination, the two players followed completely different paths to get there.

Wright joined the Galaxy’s academy at 14 and signed with Schalke of the top tier German Bundesliga days after his 18th birthday. Roldan was still playing for El Rancho, when he was 17, making him the only member of the U.S. World Cup team to play four years at a public high school.

Daiki Kaneko had only 24 hours before his World Cup journey took him to Dallas, where his home country’s squad will take on Sweden.

The Japanese soccer fan was making the most of it on Tuesday in Inglewood, snapping pictures of SoFi Stadium before taking in a different kind of monument: a space-age, two-story branch of the chicken chain Raising Cane’s, complete with a 308-square-foot screen, a mirrored dog sculpture and a massive halo hovering around the exterior.

Brenda Jaimes pushed her way through an ecstatic crowd in downtown Santa Ana Thursday night, stopping in the middle of Fourth Street and calling attention to herself by shouting, “Me! Me!”

An hour earlier, Mexico beat South Korea 1-0 in the World Cup. Jaimes, a 22-year-old Santa Ana resident, was one of thousands of people who crowded into the neighborhood’s many bars and restaurants to watch the thrilling victory then spilled onto the streets to party.

Fans blew horns and spun noisemakers, chanting “México!” and “¡Sí se puede!” They brandished the Mexican flag seemingly everywhere: on banners, painted on cheeks, emblazoned on Jaimes’ tube top. They stood on the back of trucks and boogied.

Playing in goal for the U.S. men’s national soccer team is a little like playing right field for the Yankees. You’re following a long line of great players, making the comparisons — and the high expectations — unavoidable.

Matt Freese is the latest to be thrown into that crucible. But he considers that pressure to be a privilege, not a problem.

“I wouldn’t say it’s intimidating, I would say it’s inspiring,” he said before the U.S. training session Tuesday morning in Irvine. “It’s a long line of goalkeepers that I’ve looked up to for my whole life — and there were some before my life as well.”

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Mauricio Pochettino’s team continues to do things in this summer’s World Cup that no U.S. team has ever done before.

Its three wins are the most in a single tournament. So are the 10 goals in four games. It has the best goal differential ever and its two shutouts ties a record.

A bowl of lemons sits on a table in the conference room Mauricio Pochettino has turned into an office at the U.S. men’s soccer team’s beachfront resort in south Orange County. The citrus fruit, the coach believes, has the spiritual ability to absorb negative energy. On the corner of another table, the flame from a candle flickers.

“I like candles,” says Pochettino, who believes they release therapeutic fragrances and create a calming environment.

But it is the massive, blood-red mural covering the entire south side of the room that truly reveals what Pochettino believes. In the center of the wall, just behind the coach’s desk, white block letters spell out “Why Not” above a script “U.S.,” which, despite the periods, is meant to be read as “us.”

Christian Pulisic is back. Back like Captain America, revived and ready to go after being put on ice for a spell, needed to save the day.

Forget everything else about Thursday’s match against Turkey at SoFi Stadium and marinate on that.

Never mind the United States’ 3-2 loss in their final World Cup Group D match; the result was inconsequential. The Americans knew they were going through to the round of 32, and more, they’d already won the group. No pressure is a privilege, well-earned.

Remember when we were sure the World Cup would suffer from all the issues that had everyone seeing red before the first ball was kicked?

And remember when we were certain soccer could never catch on in this country?

Despite controversies over visas and ticket prices and transportation, and in spite of consternation over expansion and new rules, the game has, as usual, proved too good to fail.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — What do you mean U.S. forward Folarin Balogun got red-carded? For that?

As a nation, we’re pretty new to all this. And this VAR abomination we’ve all now been introduced to? Thanks, we hate it.

I rose from my living room couch before Mexico’s World Cup match against Czechia when the Telemundo announcer stated it was time for the Mexican national anthem.

The public address system at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City played a short string intro. My back straightened. I pressed my right hand against my chest horizontally in the traditional gesture that accompanies the tune. And then I recited the opening lyrics to a song I’ve heard all my life but that I only began committing to memory this month:

Mexicanos al grito de guerra / El acero aprestad y bridón / Y retiemble en sus centros la tierra / Al sonoro rugir del cañon

“Do you have an extra ticket?” a man shouted outside SoFi Stadium last Thursday.

The World Cup has been drawing fans from around the globe. But for many, getting a seat in the stadium has come at a steep price.

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Some were lucky enough to nab $400 to $500 tickets through official World Cup lotteries, others paid thousands of dollars to catch the action IRL. Tickets for the upcoming USA versus Turkey match were selling for more than $1,400 on resale sites.

The demand has been so high that authorities have been warning fans about how to avoid ticket scams.

As crowds flocked into the stadium, we asked attendees about how much they paid to get into the most-watched sporting event in the world. Here’s what they shared.

SANTA CLARA — The U.S. cannot appeal Folarin Balogun’s red card and ensuing suspension for the Americans’ round of 16 match against Belgium, U.S. soccer officials confirmed.

FIFA rules governing the 2026 World Cup, first cited by the Athletic, state that “a sending-off automatically incurs suspension from the subsequent match. The FIFA judicial bodies may impose additional match suspensions and other disciplinary measures.”

¿Y si sí?

As Mexico moves to the Round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup following its Tuesday night 2-0 win over Ecuador — advancing in the knockout stage of the tournament for the first time in 40 years — El Tri fans have rallied behind a unifying phrase: “¿Y si sí?”

The simple three-word expression — which roughly translates to “What if… yes?” — has given Mexico supporters all over the world renewed hope: What if Mexico wins the World Cup?

Some kids grow up with video games and summer camp. Sebastian Berhalter grew up with the World Cup.

He was 13 months old when his father, Gregg, played in the tournament for the first time and 5 when his dad was called back. And four years ago, when Sebastian was already a professional in his own right, he went to Qatar to watch his father coach the U.S. to the round of 16.

Yet none of that prepared the younger Berhalter for his own World Cup debut earlier this month.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Folarin Balogun was still learning to walk the last time the U.S. won a knockout round game in a World Cup. On Wednesday, he helped lead the Americans to another with his goal in the waning seconds of the first half, sparking a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina that sends the team on to the round of 16 of this summer’s tournament.

The other goal came from Malik Tillman in the 82nd minute. The Americans have scored multiple goals in every game of the tournament for the first time ever, also setting a national record with 10 goals overall in the tournament.

The U.S. will face Belgium in the next round Monday in Seattle. Belgium advanced with a 3-2 win over Senegal in extra time.

Group play is over and it’s knockout time at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The round of 32 is underway, with Canada, Brazil, Paraguay and Morocco winning their respective matches and moving on to the round of 16.

Here’s everything you need to know about World Cup knockout stage matches being played Tuesday and Wednesday across the U.S., Mexico and Canada (all times Pacific).

The first 21 days of the 2026 FIFA World Cup offered plenty of memorable moments.

Check out The Times’ daily recaps ahead of Thursday’s three-game slate:

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Soccer

FIFA World Cup Day 5 recap: Spain plays to a draw with Cape Verde

Follow along for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday. Get the latest news, results, standings and highlights from the 48-team tournament.

June 15, 2026

Soccer

FIFA World Cup Day 4 recap: Sweden dominates; Netherlands plays to draw

Follow along for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Sunday. Get the latest news, results and highlights from the 48-team, 39-day tournament.

June 14, 2026

Soccer

FIFA World Cup Day 3 recap: Australia and Scotland win their openers

Follow along for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday. Get the latest news, results and highlights from the 48-team, 39-day tournament.

June 13, 2026

Soccer

FIFA World Cup Day 2 recap: Canada plays to draw; U.S. wins its opener

Follow along for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday. Get the latest news, results and highlights from the 48-team, 39-day tournament.

June 12, 2026

Soccer

World Cup recap: U.S. defeats Paraguay with dominant offensive display

Folarin Balogun scores twice and Christian Pulisic sets up two goals to lead the U.S. to a 4-1 win in its World Cup opener over Paraguay on Friday.

June 12, 2026

Soccer

FIFA World Cup Day 1 recap: Mexico and South Korea open with victories

Follow along for live updates from the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday. Get the latest news, results and highlights from the 48-team, 39-day tournament.

June 11, 2026

Soccer

World Cup: Mexico defeats South Africa in game marred by 3 red cards

Mexico defeats South Africa 2-0 in a game that featured three red cards. Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez scored for Mexico in front of 80,824 fans.

June 11, 2026