Author: Drew Blank

Hours before the biggest match of its World Cup campaign, the United States got Folarin Balogun back. FIFA suspended his automatic ban for a one-year probationary period, leaving the red card on his record but allowing him to face Belgium in the Round of 16. Referee Raphael Claus sent him off in the 64th minute of the 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina after VAR sent him to the monitor for contact with Tarik Muharemovic’s ankle. Balogun had already scored, giving him three goals at the tournament and making him the American leader in the scoring column. The ruling instantly…

For weeks, it was the unspoken truth hovering over the Portuguese camp. Now Cristiano Ronaldo has finally said it aloud: this is his last World Cup. As Portugal face Spain in Dallas, that admission will shadow every tactical choice, substitution, and missed chance. Ronaldo is 41, playing in a record 6th World Cup, and still carrying real weight after scoring 3 times in the tournament. If selected, he will extend his men’s international record to 233 appearances. Yet this is not just a farewell story. Portugal nearly went out against Croatia before Ronaldo levelled from the spot and Gonçalo Ramos…

Sixteen years after a teenage Neymar made his Brazil debut in New Jersey, his World Cup story appeared to end on the same ground in a very different mood. Brazil’s 2-1 defeat to Norway in the Round of 16 was not just another upset. It was a hard stop for a team carrying familiar expectations and a painful closing scene for its most gifted player of the modern era. Coming off the bench as Brazil chased the game, Neymar converted a stoppage-time penalty to cut the deficit. By then, Erling Haaland had already changed the night with two second-half goals.…

The air was thin, the noise was relentless, and England spent the final stretch of this World Cup tie fighting for oxygen as much as possession. Yet Thomas Tuchel’s side survived the Azteca, beating Mexico 3 to 2 in a Round of 16 match that swung from control to chaos. Jude Bellingham changed the game with two goals in 98 seconds late in the first half. Harry Kane then gave England the cushion they badly needed from the penalty spot after Jarell Quansah’s red card left them with 10 men. Mexico refused to fold. Julián Quiñones dragged the hosts back…

Forget the noise around Cristiano Ronaldo and Lamine Yamal for a second. When Spain and Portugal walk into Dallas Stadium in Arlington, the match will still carry all the heat of an Iberian derby. Yet the true battleground lies in the center of the pitch. Spain arrive after a 3-0 win over Austria, their sharpest performance of the tournament so far. Portugal come in through a far messier 2-1 escape against Croatia, where a late Croatian equalizer was ruled out after a tense offside check. The contrast matters. Spain look cleaner, calmer, and more balanced. Portugal look dangerous, stubborn, and…

Brazil has five World Cup stars stitched above its crest, but it still has exactly zero victories against Norway. On Sunday in New Jersey, Erling Haaland is looking to keep it that way. Carlo Ancelotti’s side navigated Group C unbeaten, with wins over Scotland and Haiti and a draw against Morocco. Yet Brazil looked vulnerable in the Round of 32, needing a stoppage-time fightback to beat Japan 2-1. Norway took the harder road in Group I, finishing second after wins over Iraq and Senegal and a defeat to France. Ståle Solbakken’s team then edged Ivory Coast 2-1, securing Norway’s first…

If England are to reach the World Cup quarterfinals, they must first survive 90 minutes inside the Azteca, a 2,240-meter cauldron where air, noise and history all lean toward Mexico. FIFA lists the venue as Mexico City Stadium for the tournament, but to football people, this remains the Estadio Azteca. England walk into a 6 p.m. local time Round of 16 kickoff with a problem that goes beyond selection. Thomas Tuchel’s side escaped the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a 2-1 win only after Harry Kane’s late brace saved their campaign. Before that, England looked tense, hurried and loose.…

France did not glide into the World Cup quarterfinals. They sweated through a 39-degree Philadelphia furnace, dragged Paraguay through a bruising knockout fight, and escaped because Kylian Mbappe found the one moment that mattered. Now comes Morocco. The history is impossible to ignore, even if Morocco coach Mohamed Ouahbi has tried to strip away the revenge language. France ended Morocco’s historic 2022 run in the semifinal, when Theo Hernandez scored early and Randal Kolo Muani sealed the match late. That night stopped the first African and Arab side ever to reach a World Cup semifinal. This time, Morocco arrive with…

For 45 minutes in Houston, Canada looked capable of dragging Morocco into deep trouble. The co-host pressed high, attacked with speed, and forced one of the tournament’s most settled teams into a messy opening half. Morocco did not register an attempt until the 28th minute and lost Ismael Saibari to a hamstring injury in the 22nd, with Soufiane Rahimi replacing him far earlier than planned. Canada had the noise, the tempo, and the first clear chances. What it did not have was Alphonso Davies at full speed or the finishing touch to punish Morocco before the break. Ounahi changed everything…

Brazil have five World Cup stars above their crest, but against Norway they still have no win. That strange record now follows Carlo Ancelotti’s side into a last 16 tie in New Jersey, where Erling Haaland turns an old statistical curiosity into a live tactical problem. Norway have beaten Brazil twice and drawn twice across four senior meetings. Their most famous result came at the 1998 World Cup, when Norway won 2-1. Brazil last faced Norway in a 1-1 draw in 2006, which means this streak has sat untouched for 20 years. The favourites arrive with greater depth and better…