Group L: Croatia 2-1 Ghana

Sun, 28 Jun, 2026

Group L: Croatia 2-1 Ghana

Philadelphia: Croatia beat Ghana 2-1 to claim second spot in Group L on Saturday to secure their passage to the last 32 of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Petar Sucic opened the scoring in the first half before a resurgent Ghana dominated the second period, eventually levelling courtesy of Derrick Luckassen.

 

But the 2018 runners-up showed their grit to dig out a late winner from the head of Nikola Vlasic as they set up a knockout clash with the second-placed side from Group K in Toronto on Thursday.

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Bielsa accepts blame for exit, but says Uruguay deserved more

Sat, 27 Jun, 2026

Bielsa accepts blame for exit, but says Uruguay deserved more

Guadalajara: Marcelo Bielsa said Uruguay deserved more from all three of their FIFA World Cup 2026bgames, but accepted the critics that will come his way after the two-time winners crashed out in the group stage.

Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera's mistake condemned Bielsa's side to an early exit in a 1-0 defeat to Spain on Friday after disappointing draws against Cabo Verde and Saudi Arabia.

Norway's Solbakken defends decision to bench Haaland, Odegaard against France

Sat, 27 Jun, 2026

Norway's Solbakken defends decision to bench Haaland, Odegaard against France

Foxborough: Norway head coach Stale Solbakken defended his decision to leave out star duo Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard in Friday's 4-1 FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I defeat against France, saying it was a "no-brainer".

Solbakken said the relatively quick turnaround from Monday's win over Senegal was the key factor, adding that Haaland and Odegaard were "team players, so they know what is best for the team."

Group G: Egypt 1-1 IR Iran

Sat, 27 Jun, 2026

Group G: Egypt 1-1 IR Iran

Seattle: Islamic Republic of Iran must wait to discover their fate after playing to a 1-1 draw with Egypt in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group G match on Friday.

Iran - who had a goal heartbreakingly ruled out for offside in the dying seconds - finished third in the group and will only know if the point is enough to take them through to the knockout stage for the first time as one of the eight best third-placed sides.

Egypt, meanwhile, secured their place in the knockout phase for the first time in their history and will face Australia in the Round of 32.

Group G: New Zealand 1-5 Belgium

Sat, 27 Jun, 2026

Group G: New Zealand 1-5 Belgium

Vancouver: Belgium defeated New Zealand 5-1 to book their place in the knockout rounds of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday, securing their first win of the tournament to finish on top of Group G in Vancouver.

A double strike from Arsenal's Leandro Trossard and goals from Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Saelemaekers carried the Red Devils into the last 32 in first place ahead of Egypt on goal difference.
 
Egypt claimed the runners-up spot after a 1-1 draw with Islamic Republic of Iran in Seattle. The Central Asian side finished third in the group.

Cote d'Ivoire see no limits after creating history

Sat, 27 Jun, 2026

Cote d'Ivoire see no limits after creating history

Philadelphia: Cote d'Ivoire forward Nicolas Pepe believes the Elephants can keep on going at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after beating Curacao 2-0 on Thursday to reach the knockout rounds for the first time in their history.

Cote d'Ivoire finished in second place in Group E with six points, only behind table-toppers Germany on head-to-head - they beat Ecuador 1-0 in their opening game before losing 2-1 to the Germans.