World Cup 2026 live: latest scores, team news and updates from day 2

More from the Jude Bellingham press conference where the Real Madrid man has been speaking about his relationship with Morgan Rogers, with whom he is in direct competition for the No10 role. Rogers could be an option on the left wing, and Bellingham as a potential No8 or No9, and Thomas Tuchel has, on occasion, also played with two No10s in the same XI.

The pair, who grew up in the West Midlands — Rogers in Halesowen and Bellingham in Stourbridge — are childhood friends. Bellingham attended Rogers’ fifth birthday party.

“The manager made it very clear when he spoke that we’re playing for the same position,” Bellingham said. “I know that’s kind of eased up a little bit now, as he’s seen me play in more positions and Morgs play more positions. But I honestly have no kind of ill feeling when he’s playing and I’m not playing.

“I think that is a great representation of where we’re from, because I felt like if a group of people had someone who could achieve something really special, it was always [a case of] just push him, let him or her go and achieve what they can achieve and we’ll be there to support them. We get on like brothers, to be fair.”

Reader Hugh O’Donell, 70, from Glasgow is continuing his journey to Boston ahead of Scotland’s first game against Haiti on Sunday. O’Donell, who, along with his son-in-law Colin and grandson Oliver, joined the Tartan Army yesterday, had a quick stop in the Big Apple.

He said the train is about “80 per cent Scottish fans” and “the poor locals are bemused”.

“There are a couple of commuters trying to work on their laptops, but have now given up,” O’Donell said.

Jude Bellingham has said that every England player at this summer’s World Cup must feel loved, as he noted the team’s off-field dynamic was “a little bit wrong” at Euro 2024.

Harry Kane, the England captain, previously said that England’s 2024 squad was “light on leadership.” Despite England reaching the final, where they lost to Spain in extra-time, Gareth Southgate’s England appeared inhibited — something Bellingham hopes will not happen at the World Cup.

“At the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch,” Bellingham said, on the Lions’ Den, an in-camp video series produced by the FA, alongside team-mate Morgan Rogers. “I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have for a number of reasons.

“Expectation was part of it. We did well in 2018 and did well in Qatar, and when it came to that tournament we were seen as one of two or three teams that should win. We were not playing particularly well so even when we were winning you didn’t get the feeling you were as happy as you should be.”

The regulars among you will know that Times Sport produces regular treats for your ears in the form of the Game podcast — where our finest writers analyse and discuss the latest news and action, twice a week, all year round. During the World Cup it gets even better: we are producing daily podcasts to look back on the action and ahead to what is coming up, and today’s episode hosted by Tom Clarke is not to be missed. Tom Allnutt reflects on the opening match at the Azteca and Peter Rutzler gives us a run-down on the USA — how far will they go in the tournament, are the public following it and how much pressure is on Mauricio Pochettino?

● Listen: World Cup Day 1: The Azteca, Team USA and a cave

Now then. Obviously it’s a big night for Canada — third time at the men’s World Cup, starting off against Bosnia, etc etc. BUT. Tonight, at 2am, the nation that is hosting most of the games get their campaign up and running against Paraguay.

Our football writer Peter Rutzler says the game can be a weathervane for American prospects in their home tournament: “Paraguay are an obstinate opponent. They have restored a gritty, resilient identity under Gustavo Alfaro, the veteran Argentinian coach, who turned around their ailing qualifying campaign — they scored one goal in their first six games — to then go on and beat Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, as part of a run of one defeat in 12. They are not a pretty team, averaging 37 per cent possession in qualifying, the lowest in South America, but they arrive motivated to upset the host nation’s party. After all, this is their first World Cup in 16 years. They will be hard to beat.”

● Read in full: America expects but gritty Paraguay could spoil their big night

There were only four red cards in the whole of the Qatar 2022 — and only one straight red — but by the end of the opening match of World Cup 2026 there had already been three. Fifa has taken a more pragmatic approach to refereeing in previous tournaments but insiders say the three dismissals in Mexico v South Africa do not reflect a new get-tough approach.

It is understood that Fifa’s referees chief Pierluigi Collina has not an issued an edict to match officials to get tough on fouls — his pre-tournament focus has been very much about cracking down on time-wasting and wrestling at set-pieces.

Indeed Fifa has backed all three decisions by the Brazilian referee Wilson Sampaio, who sent off South Africa’s Yaya Sithole and Mexico’s César Montes for direct red cards for denying a goalscoring opportunity and Themba Zwane for violent conduct after swinging a forearm at his marker.

Mexico’s veteran goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa said his players had spoken beforehand about Sampaio’s no-nonsense approach. He told The Times: “Three red cards is a lot for a World Cup game for sure. But we spoke before the game that this was a tough referee, and I think it is a shame because Cesar Montes, he doesn’t deserve this.”

Firstly, if you thought you’d heard the last of the empty seats that Fifa reckons definitely had people in them and you just weren’t looking hard enough… think again.

To recap: Fifa said there was an attendance of 44,985 for last night’s match between South Korea and the Czech Republic in Guadalajara — just short of the 46,000 capacity, in other words. But there were swathes of empty seats around the stadium, renewing (or vindicating) concerns over ticket pricing and demand for the expanded tournament. The sight of unoccupied rows in a city with a deep-rooted football culture intensified criticism of Fifa’s commercial strategy. The Reuters news agency, which has contacted Fifa for comment, reported that some fans at the stadium blamed the high ticket prices for the rows of empty seats and criticised Fifa for its pricing model. This, you feel, is not going away.

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