World Cup 2026: Everything you missed overnight and what's coming up on Monday
Egyptian player crowd around goalscorer Mo Salah to celebrate after the forward put his country ahead. Picture: Fran Santiago/Getty Images)
Belgium were left frustrated once again as they lost more ground in the race for the knockout stages with a draw against Iran. It could have been worse too for the Red Devils, who had defender Nathan Ngoy sent off for dragging down opposition captain Mehdi Taremi in a clear goalscoring opportunity after 66 minutes.
Iran were controversially disallowed a goal scored by Mehdi Taremi in the first half too. Taremi thought he had avoided offside in a well worked move from a short free kick but the linesman saw otherwise.
Read the full match report here.
T Courtois; T Meunier (T Castagne 58'), N Ngoy, B Mechele, M De Cuyper; N Raskin (H Vanaken 58'), Y Tielemans; A Saelemaekers (D Lukébakio 58'), K De Bruyne (M Fernandez 87'), L Trossard; R Lukaku (A Theate 73').
R Lukaku; N Ngoy.
A Beiranvand; S Hardani (A Jahanbakhsh 45'), H Kanani, S Khalilzadeh, A Nemati, E Hajsafi (M Mohammadi 66'); R Rezaeian, S Ghoddos (S Shahriar 79'), S Ezatolahi (A Hosseinzadeh 85'), M Mohebbi (M Torabi 66'); M Taremi.
S Ezatolahi.
Dario Herrera.
A Beiranvand (Iran).
"We were in war conditions for six months; we didn't have our league operating. Many teams cancelled the games they would play against us. We came to the World Cup in the worst conditions possible. Playing without a loss in two games is a great achievement. It will be written in our footballing history. I don't think any team in the world could have sustained such conditions and play like this."
"We could have won by three goals against Iran but we weren't efficient enough. We had many attempts and when you don't score, you don't win a match."
With an average age of 32 years and 181 days, Iran named the oldest starting XI by any side on record (from 1966) for a FIFA World Cup match - OptaAnalyst.
Alireza Beiranvand's spectacular stop to deny Belgium's Maxim De Cuyper will go down as one of the saves of the tournament no doubt - although it may fall into the worst miss category too - but it also continues the underdog saviour trend we have seen headline every other day at the 2026 edition. Vozinha and Al Uwais on Monday, Room on Saturday. What next? These surprise heroes are the gift that keep on giving. “Beiranvand is one of our greatest goalkeepers in the history of Iranian football,” said Iran head coach Amir Ghalenoei. “He is extremely experienced, intelligent and he had one of his best days. He had the right concentration and he gave us one very valuable point".
Even after his Manchester City chapter came to an end, Kevin DeBruyne was still inspiring awe in football fans across the world. The Belgian playmaker remains the key man, but it's evident his creativity isn't meeting the end product. This lack of execution is dearly harming the Belgians World Cup dreams and as the minutes frustratingly fly by, the probability of the golden era of Belgian football missing out on a trophy only gets greater. End product - and leadership - needed quickly.
Cape Verde managed another shock result in Miami as they held Uruguay to a draw thanks to a second half goal from substitute Helio Varela, putting another point on the board for the tournaments cult heroes.
Cape Verde opened the scoring after Kevin Pina's free kick flew low past Fernando Muslera from 35 yards out.
Uruguay moved up a gear before the break, Maxi Araujo and Agustin Canobbio scoring two quick-fire goals before the whistle to put the South Americans on the front foot.
Cape Verde came out firing in the second half and more than deserved their equaliser that came courtesy of a Uruguayan defensive error.
Read the full match report here.
Vozinha; S Moreira, R Lopes, D Borges, S Lopes Cabral; K Pina (L Duarte 71'), R Mendes, Arcanjo (D Duarte 45'), J Monteiro (JS Monteiro 80'), G Rodrigues (H Varela 58'); G Tavares (N Da Costa 58').
D Borges, S Lopes Cabral.
F Muslera; G Varela, S Caceres, M Olivera, J Sanabria; M Ugarte (N de la Cruz 70'); A Canobbio, R Bentancur, F Valverde, M Araújo (B Rodriguez 81'); F Vinas (D Nunez 70').
M Olivera, R Bentancur.
E Eskas.
K Pina (Cape Verde).
ABSOLUTE SCENES!🔥@BBCNews crossed live to Cape Verde at the very moment they scored their first ever World Cup goal to take the lead over Uruguay😱 pic.twitter.com/68cn1O1UKK
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 21, 2026
"We would like to compete at the highest level and that's what we've been doing in these two games. We're here to try to achieve a new dream, which is to qualify for the second round. I think it's legitimate for us to think that way."
"Even with the goals that we conceded, we should have won. So, as far as I see it, we need to turn up against Spain and we have the need and the obligation to beat them."
Cape Verde are the first debutant country to go undefeated in their first two FIFA World Cup matches (D2) since Senegal in 2002 (W1 D1).
One-third of the games played at the 2026 World Cup have been draws (12 out of 36 games). Granted more games are being played than ever before, but there has to be a reason for this. The minnows are supremely disciplined and deploying the 'park the bus' tactic? Possibly, although many of them have come out, scored goals and taken points at this early stage - like Cape Verde who scored two well-deserved goals against a much stronger Uruguay side. Players are struggling to get up to speed after long, intense seasons with club? Maybe. With what is on the line and how the format rewards avoiding defeat, teams are going out not to lose rather than going out to win? Also possible. An amalgamation of all three? More than likely.
Maxi Araujo has now contributed two goals to the Uruguay effort, and vital tournament saving goals at that. Infact, he has become the first player to score in each of Uruguay’s first two matches at a single FIFA World Cup since Oscar Miguez achieved the feat in 1954 against Czechoslovakia and Scotland. He is also the first player to be involved in three goals across Uruguay’s opening two matches of a single FIFA World Cup on record (since 1966).
The wide player has operated almost as a striker for La Celeste, turning up in the right places at the right moments across the team's opening two matches. It's hard to believe the 26-year-old Montevidean is deployed as a left-back for Sporting Lisbon on occassion. The Uruguyans may not have the caliber of Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan or Edinson Cavani as striking options in their ranks anymore, but if they are to go far in this tournament it will more than likely be because of Araujo. Uruguay have underperformed, but Araujo has shown up when it counts.
Egypt turned the tides in the second half to beat New Zealand in Vancouver thanks to strikes from Mo Salah and Trezeguet, securing a first ever World Cup win for the North African nation. Finn Surman put the All Whites ahead on the quarter-hour, nodding in from a Tim Payne corner.
It took Egypt until nearly the hour mark to equalise, another header this time from Mostafa Zico.
Not long after Salah collected the ball on the right, received a one-two with Zico and slid the ball under Max Crocombe with his favoured left to give the Egyptians the lead.
Trezeguet scored the game's third header four minutes after coming off the bench to secure all three points.
Read the full match report here.
M Crocombe; T Payne (T Bindon 85'), F Surman, M Boxall, L Cacace (J Randall 76'); J Bell, M Stamenic; C McCowatt (B Old 66'), S Singh (R Thomas 76'), E Just (F De Vries 85'); C Wood.
C McCowatt, S Singh.
M Shobeir; M Hany, Y Ibrahim, H Fathy (R Rabia 41'), A Fatouh; M Attia, M Lasheen; M Zico (H Abdelkarim 76'), M Salah (H Abdelmaguid 85'), E Ashour (Zizo 85'); O Marmoush (M Trezeguet 76').
M Lasheen.
O Ali.
M Salah (Egypt).
"The stadium felt as if we were in Egypt. The fans made it feel as though we were playing in Egypt, and I told the players, 'We're playing in Egypt.' The stadium was full, like Cairo Stadium."
"You can't just focus on one player, and he (Salah) can pop up with a goal at any time and he showed that. He's a good player, you have to keep an eye on him, but there's also a lot of other boys in that team that create problems and eventually they scored goals as well."
This was only the second time that Egypt have scored more than once in a FIFA World Cup match (1934 vs Hungary in their first game in the tournament) - OptaAnalyst.
It was only a matter of time but Mo Salah is up and running at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and so are Egypt. Despite going one down in the first half, the Egyptians, led by Salah, never dropped their heads. So, it was fitting that the goal to turn The Pharoahs fortunes around would come from the Egyptian King himself.
The goal was Salah, through and through, using trickery and patience to beat his man, playing a neat one-two and finessing the ball with his wand of a left foot into the New Zealand net. He is a player who has looked out of sorts for club and country of late but this may be the moment to finally spark the 34-year-old veteran into life.
An Ayase Ueda double and goals from Daichi Kamada and Junya Ito helped Japan cruise past Tunisia in Guadalupe. The Africans never got up to speed and were second best in every aspect as the Japanese went level on points with the Netherlands in Group F.
Spain did similar levels of damage to Saudi Arabia in Group H, demolishing the Green Falcons by four and topping the group. Lamine Yamal opened the Spanish account after 10 minutes, scoring his first World Cup goal after coming onto Mikel Oyarzabal's low cross to the back post. Oyarzabal bagged a three minute brace midway through the first period to all but secure the three points. Days on from his move to Real Madrid, Marc Cucurella scored the European champions' fourth, early in the second half. Read full match report here.
Paraguay's outspoken coach Gustavo Alfaro took aim at football's business elites on Sunday, accusing them of commercial intrusion on the World Cup and sidelining fans with exorbitant ticket costs in a sport that has its roots in poverty.
In unscheduled remarks to media during a training session, Alfaro promised his team would do everything to reach the next round and hoped more fans from Paraguay could travel to support them, alongside a diaspora who had turned out so far.
"People I know are having a very hard time, because travelling these days is very difficult, very expensive, the World Cups are blown out of proportion, the costs, everything else, and that's why sometimes you understand the sacrifice people make to pay for a ticket," he said.
"The essence of football is lost. And football can't be a business, it has to be football... a very select group get to enjoy it," he said.
"Football, we all own it, primarily the poorest, because the cheapest toy to play with was a ball, which was sometimes hard to afford, but 22 people could play with just one toy. So the power of football is immense. And that's what we must defend," Alfaro added.
England striker Ollie Watkins has defended Belgium winger Jeremy Doku's wish to leave the World Cup to be present for the birth of his first child, arguing that family matters should take precedence over football.
Watkins, a father of two, dismissed criticism of the Manchester City player after L'Equipe television presenter France Pierron referred to childbirth as a "disgusting moment ... where the dad is completely useless."
Pierron said she was outraged by Doku's decision.
"I think for a start (disgusting) is not a way to label a birth," Watkins said on Sunday. "It only happens once, your first child. Welcoming them into the world is a blessing, and you don't get that opportunity (again).
"There's a lot of times where you're away from family and friends during the season, and it's very difficult periods. So, to miss that would be tough."
Defending champions Argentina can take a major step towards the knockout stage when they face Austria in their second World Cup Group J match on Monday, after both sides opened their campaigns with convincing victories.
A victory would leave Argentina on the brink of the Round of 32 and could secure top spot in the group if Jordan fail to beat Algeria in the day's other Group J match.
The build-up has also been coloured by Algeria's complaint to FIFA's refereeing commission over several decisions in Argentina's opening victory, including an incident in which Messi escaped punishment after a challenge on captain Aissa Mandi before going on to score his hat-trick.
Argentina have not publicly commented on the complaint and will be focused on extending their winning start.
France may be the overwhelming favourites but they will be bracing themselves for a big battle, France defender William Saliba said.
The French, 2022 World Cup finalists and world champions four years earlier, are on three points following a 3-1 victory over Senegal. Iraq lost their opener 4-1 to group leaders Norway after a strong start to the game.
Saliba and his teammates, who sharply criticised the quality of the pitch in their first match in New York/New Jersey Stadium, are hoping for an improved version for their game in Philadelphia.
"I was a bit surprised by the quality of the pitch," Saliba said. "The pitch felt like it was artificial and hard but we were obliged to play. It is clear that the grass was not top. Obviously it is the same for both teams but it was not top."
Norway coach Stale Solbakken is taking a skeptical view of a mathematical model that put his team's World Cup knockout round chances at a near-certain 99 percent following their emphatic 4-1 opening win over Iraq.
The Norwegian Computing Centre, an independent non-profit research foundation, has carried out 100,000 simulations and updates the prognosis every 10 minutes on its website.
Yet Solbakken believes his side still needs at least a draw against Senegal or France in their last two matches to guarantee progression.
"I think we should think that we need to take one more point to be absolutely sure of progressing. I think the Norwegian Computing Centre is calculating the wrong way, it could be a huge blow (if the calculation is wrong)," the 58-year-old said
Jordan against Algeria might not seem like a mouthwatering World Cup clash but a lot could be riding on the Group J game in California that may turn out to be rich in jeopardy with implications for all four teams.
The permutations are complex, but depending on the outcome of Monday's earlier match between Argentina and Austria in Texas, defeat for either Algeria or Jordan could mean their World Cup exit after only two games.
Al-Nashama, or the "noble ones", have little choice but to go all out against Algeria where a draw might require heroics in their last group game against defending champions Argentina, and a loss could see their early elimination.
Ali Olwan, scorer of Jordan's first-ever World Cup goal, said his side would build on their attacking performance, learn from defensive lapses and deliver more against Algeria.
"The smart one learns from his mistakes and doesn't repeat them," he said. "I promise you that in the next match, God willing, we will give our best and be better."
Reuters
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