While You Were Sleeping: All the Thursday night World Cup action and what is to come Friday
Nilson Angulo fires home for Ecuador and gets the comeback and their World Cup dreams underway. Picture: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty
The Netherlands finished the World Cup group stage on top of Group F as they chalked up a comfortable 3-1 victory over Tunisia in Kansas City.
The Dutch started at a red-hot pace, taking just seven minutes to establish a 2-0 lead.
Ronald Koeman’s side went ahead in the third minute courtesy of an Ellyes Skhiri own goal, after he lashed out at a cross and inadvertently tipped the ball into the back of his own net.
Brian Brobbey doubled the advantage minutes later, turning home Virgil van Dijk’s headed knockdown from a free-kick.
Read the full match report here.
A Dahmen; Y Valery, M Talbi, A Abdi, M Hamida (M Ouanes 68'); E Skhiri, R Khedira (M Mahmoud 67'); A Slimane (E Achouri 68'), H Mejbri, I Gharbi (F Chaouat 75'); H Mastouri.
B Verbruggen; D Dumfries, JP van Hecke, V van Dijk, N Aké; R Gravenberch, F De Jong (T Koopmeiners 72'), T Reijnders (J Kluivert 72'); D Malen (C Summerville 72'), B Brobbey (M Depay 77'), C Gakpo.
Katia Garcia (Mexico).
B Brobbey (Netherlands).
"I'm not sure if we're the favourites. It will be a big game. They are a good team with a lot of quality, and they can score easily... It's clear we will be meeting a strong opponent."
The own goal by Ellyes Skhiri was the second fastest own goal in World Cup history, after Sead Kolasinac scored in his own goal, playing for Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Argentina in 2014 (2 minutes, 11 seconds) - OptaAnalyst.
The Netherlands came into the World Cup with little to no buzz, which is odd when you consider the star-power Ronald Koeman's squad possesses. Those critics may be singing a different tune now, though. Despite an opening round draw to a tricky Japanese outfit, Oranje laid down a marker by thrashing Sweden 5-1 and did likewise against admittedly inferior opposition on Thursday.
They have world class players in every area of the pitch particulary going forward where they have the services of Gravenberch, De Jong, Reijnders, Malen, Gakpo, Depay, Summerville, Kluivert and Brobbey. They're certainly too good to be considered dark horses, but of the top brass they are the the unsung and cannot be underestimated any further.
The Netherlands face Morocco in the round of 32, and undoubtedly have the firepower to hurt the African champions who themselves will be looking to improve on their 4th place finish at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
It's Oranje as far as the eye can see in Kansas City... Netherlands always bring the party! 🧡🇳🇱🎉 pic.twitter.com/A0LKxZilb2
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 25, 2026
Japan and Sweden booked their places in the knockout phase of the World Cup as they drew 1-1 in their final Group F clash in Dallas.
The point sends Japan through in second place behind the Netherlands with Sweden top of the third-place teams, dealing another blow to Scotland’s hopes of reaching the last 32.
Read the full match report here.
Z Suzuki; A Seko (T Watanabe 75'), K Itakura (S Tanaguchi 39'), H Ito; Y Suguwara, D Kamada, A Tanaka, K Nakamura (Y Nagatomo 75'); R Doan (J Ito 67'), D Maeda, A Ueda (K Ogawa 66').
S Tanaguchi.
J Zetterstrom; G Lagerbielke, I Hien (L Bergvall 37'), V Lindelof (C Starfelt 87'); A Bernhardsson (D Svensson 75'), E Stroud (K Sema 75'), Y Ayari, G Gudmundsson (B Nygren 88'); A Elanga, V Gyokeres, A Isak.
I Hien, V Gyokeres.
Iván Barton (El Salvador).
A Elanga (Sweden).
"You make a change and we lose and you guys (journalists) are coming after me, that's the life. But, at the same time, I've been doing this for quite a while and you have to do what you think is right, and I'll live and die by that."
Japan’s 39-year-old Yūto Nagatomo is the first Asian player to compete in five World Cups - OptaAnalyst.
A 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia in round 1 - which included a goal and two assists for Alexander Isak plus a goal/assist combo for Viktor Gyokeres - had Swedish fans salivating at the potential link up between their 'deadly duo'.
Fast forward 180 minutes and the name on Blue and Yellow lips is another Premier League attacker. Anthony Elanga's wonder goal may have to compete with his own teammate Yasin Ayari for goal of the tournament but his showings in Sweden's last two group games confirm Sweden have a secret weapon in the Newcastle forward.
Of course - after narrowly squeezing into the knockouts - the ideal scenario for Graham Potter would a (continued) seemless linkup between all three forward players.
Netherlands top Group F, as Japan finish runners-up ✅#FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 26, 2026
Turkey ended their goal drought as substitute Kaan Ayhan steered in a winner deep into stoppage time to secure a 3-2 win over the United States.
Auston Trusty and Sebastian Berhalter scored early in each half for the co-hosts in Los Angeles, either side of goals from Arda Guler and Baris Yilmaz, but Ayhan had the final say to restore some Turkish pride despite finishing bottom of Group D.
Read the full match report here.
U Cakir; Z Celik (C Soyuncu 84'), O Kabak, A Bardakci, E Elmali; S Ozcan, O Kokcu (K Ayhan 88'); O Aydin (M Muldur 90'), A Guler, K Yildiz (C Uzun 84'); B Yilmaz (I Kahveci 90').
M Turner; J Scally (A Freeman 77'), A Trusty, M Robinson, M McKenzie; S Berhalter, W McKennie (M Tillman 86'); T Weah (C Pulisic 58'), G Reyna (S Dest 76'), B Aaronson (A Zendejas 77'); R Pepi.
S Berhalter.
Mustapha Ghorbal (Algeria).
Arda Guler (Turkey).
Auston Trusty’s goal was the 173rd in this year’s FIFA World Cup, surpassing the 2022 edition (172) for the most in the history of the competition - OptaAnalyst.
Australia booked their place in the World Cup's round of 32 on Thursday with a cagey 0-0 draw against Paraguay that left the South Americans facing a nervous wait to see if they will advance.
In a physical, scrappy contest at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium, Paraguay pushed late after being dominated early but it ended with the Socceroos making the tournament's knockout phase for a third time, four years after reaching the last 16 in Qatar.
Tony Popovic's team sealed second place in Group D behind co-hosts the United States and will meet the second-placed team in Group G, which remains wide open before Egypt face Iran and Belgium meet New Zealand on Friday.
Read full match report here.
O Gill; J Caceres, G Velazquez, G Gomez, O Alderete (J Canale 84'), A Maidana (Mauricio 45'); D Gomez (D Bobadilla 90'), A Cubas, M Galarza (J Alonzo 90'), J Enciso; G Avalos (A Arce 67').
D Gomez.
P Beach; A Circati, H Souttar, L Herrington; A Behich, A O'Neill, J Irvine (P Okon-Engstler 84'), J Bos; C Metcalfe, C Volpato (A Hrustic 58'), N Irankunda (T Yengi 84').
J Irivine.
Clément Turpin (France).
Aiden O'Neill (Australia).
This match finished with a total of 0.83 expected goals between these teams (Paraguay 0.25, Australia 0.58), the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to finish below 1.0 xG - OptaAnalyst.
How the Group D standings finish 📊#FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 26, 2026
Nicolas Pepe scored twice as Ivory Coast reached the World Cup knockout stages for the first time thanks to a 2-0 victory which eliminated tournament debutants Curacao.
Pepe gave his country a seventh-minute lead in Philadelphia, slotting in from close range following Yan Diomande’s cut back. Forward Pepe, who plays for Spanish side Villarreal, collected a pass from Ibrahim Sangare to double his tally in the 64th minute.
Read the full match report here.
Group E draws to a close and two more teams secure their place in the Round of 32 🇩🇪🇪🇨 #FIFAWorldCup
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 25, 2026
Ecuador produced a rousing fightback to come from behind and beat Germany 2-1 in their final Group E match in New Jersey to put themselves into the last 32 of the World Cup.
Leroy Sane had fired Germany, who were already qualified as group winners, into an early lead before Nilson Angulo soon had Ecuador level after nine minutes. Gonzalo Plata stabbed in the winner with 13 minutes left to leave the South Americans on four points and top of the third-place rankings.
"It's a touch of Ecuador gold" ✨🇪🇨
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 25, 2026
Gonzalo Plata gives Ecuador the lead and the stadium goes wild! pic.twitter.com/1ngc5oibRe
Also, we have to wonder why this wasn't given as at least a foul.
No foul given… somehow. 🫣 pic.twitter.com/CwMr1CJ02l
— No Context World Cup (@NoContextEPL) June 25, 2026
Read the full match report here.
The 2026 World Cup is already setting sports gambling records before the knockout stage has even begun, with an increased number of teams and market-favourable kickoff times raising industry expectations that it could become the all-time biggest betting event.
The expanded 48-nation, 104-match World Cup is set to far surpass betting volumes of the 2022 tournament in Qatar, according to some industry leaders and experts, helped by more regulated gambling, deeper product offerings and the scale of the business in co-host the United States.
Flutter Entertainment (FLTRF.L), opens new tab, whose brands include FanDuel, Paddy Power, Betfair, Sisal, Sportsbet and Sky Bet, said that, beyond the U.S., the larger tournament meant greater engagement in markets where it has a strong presence, including Britain, Spain, Brazil, Australia and Canada.
"We're expecting the World Cup to be the biggest betting event of all time given the extended format as well as the benefit of it being partly hosted in our key market, the U.S.," a Flutter spokesperson said.
The world's largest online betting company expects to have around 10 million customers across its different platforms and to manage 100,000 bets per minute globally at peak World Cup moments.
"Overall, we expect staking to be at least double what we experienced in Qatar."
Macquarie forecasts total World Cup wagers above $50 billion globally, beating the $35 billion for the 2022 edition. A key driver of the increase is the changing regulatory landscape in the U.S., where access to legal betting has risen to 65% of the population from around 40% in 2022.
The 2026 World Cup on Thursday became the best-attended in the tournament's history, surpassing the 1994 record of nearly 3.6 million spectators, FIFA said.
The announcement came during the second half of Germany's match against Ecuador in East Rutherford, NJ, as jumbotrons flashed with the new all-time high - 3,605,357 - to uproarious applause.
With 48 matches remaining in the World Cup, total attendance could conceivably nearly double the 1994 record, which came during an era in which the World Cup contained only 52 matches. Stadiums have been more than 99% full on average.
Well-documented high ticket prices, along with President Donald Trump's administration travel restrictions on certain nations, mean there may be many people who wished to be at the tournament but could not attend, said economist Victor Matheson, a sports business expert at the College of the Holy Cross.
But there were plenty of fans ready to take their spots. "Americans ... want to be there for the big moments," said Dan Rascher, a sports economics expert at the University of San Francisco.
AFCON champions Senegal were dealt a tough hand when the World Cup draw was made. To be facing Iraq on their final matchday certainly didn’t help the Lions of Teranga. Indeed, Senegal’s chances of securing a spot in the knockout stages are now slim at best.
They need to go all guns blazing when they face Iraq on Friday. Having fallen to defeats to France and Norway, it means only victory will do if they are to progress beyond the group stages. Even then, a win may not be enough. It means that Senegal’s World Cup journey may end with a whimper rather than a bang.
Norway’s Group I meeting with France could prove decisive in the race for the World Cup Golden Boot. The clash in Boston will pit Erling Haaland against Kylian Mbappe as two of the world’s best strikers lock horns.
The duo have bagged four goals apiece in North America this summer having each hit respective braces against Senegal and Iraq. And as the pair seek to fire their respective nation as far as possible on the other side of the Atlantic, personal glory is also at stake. The strikers were separated by just two league goals last season. It’s another close-run encounter to determine football’s best hitman.
There is a very good chance that the inaugural winners of the World Cup will crash out of the 2026 edition at the group stages. La Celeste have underwhelmed in their opening two tournament matches having been held to draws by Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde. They were forced to come from behind in both games to rescue a result.
And now they round off their group campaign with a game against European champions Spain. La Roja are unlikely to go easy on Uruguay as they look to book their round-of-32 spot as group winners in order to secure an easier knockout stage opponent. It could prove the end of the line for Marcelo Bielsa’s men.
It’s been a memorable World Cup debut for Cape Verde for all the right reasons.
They held Euro 2024 champions Spain to a draw in their first ever match with an exceptional backs-to-the-wall showing. They then rescued a late point against Uruguay to leave them with a great opportunity to secure a round-of-32 place.
The meeting with Saudi Arabia is arguably their easiest in the group stages. That’s not to say the Middle East nation will be pushovers, rather both Spain and Uruguay posed a tougher threat. The issue for Cape Verde, however, will be that the team that finishes second takes on Argentina in the next stage. Do they go for glory against Saudi Arabia, or risk finishing as one of the best third-placed teams to face Mexico?
Jeremy Doku sat out Belgium’s 0-0 draw with Iran on matchday two to witness the birth of his first child. It was a decision sanctioned by the Belgian FA and widely praised former and current sport stars.
“Someone labelled it disgusting. For a start, that’s not a way to label a birth,” Aston Villa and England striker Ollie Watkins said after Doku’s choice to jet across the pond was criticised by TV presenter France Pierron. Either way, the Manchester City man is back with the Belgium squad, and the Red Devils need their wing-wizard firing on all cylinders as Rudi Garcia’s disappointing side seek to book a round-of-32 place.
Despite protestations from both Egypt and Iran, the first ever World Cup Pride Match will go ahead as planned when the two teams meet in Seattle. The two nations have been historically anti-LGBTQ+, and have spent months protesting the match.
Nevertheless, the Seattle organising committee are sticking to their guns. FIFA have ruled that pride flags are allowed in the stadiums, this despite Iran’s threats to stop games. “We anticipate a lot of rainbow flags in the stadium and T-shirts with rainbow flags on them,” Hedda McLendon, Seattle FQC26’s senior vice president of legacy, said. “Let’s welcome people to Seattle. It’s the World Cup.”
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