Preview - Group F: Netherlands v Japan

Sun, 14 Jun, 2026

Preview - Group F: Netherlands v Japan

Arlington: Ko Itakura will lead Japan into their FIFA World Cup 2026 opener against the Netherlands in Group F on Sunday after the Ajax Amsterdam defender was handed the captain's armband by head coach Hajime Moriyasu.

Itakura takes over from Wataru Endo following the Liverpool midfielder's withdrawal from the squad and his subsequent retirement from international football having failed to fully recover from a foot injury.

https://www.the-afc.com/en/more/photo/3177832

Group B: Qatar 1-1 Switzerland

Sun, 14 Jun, 2026

Group B: Qatar 1-1 Switzerland

Santa Clara: Qatar's Boualem Khoukhi stunned Switzerland with a late equaliser as the sides played out a 1-1 draw in their opening Group B match at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Saturday.

A Breel Embolo penalty had broken the deadlock for Switzerland early in the first half in the San Francisco Bay Area, before the wasteful favourites were made to pay as Qatar earned their first ever point at a FIFA World Cup.

Group C: Brazil 1-1 Morocco

Sun, 14 Jun, 2026

Group C: Brazil 1-1 Morocco

East Rutherford: Vinicius Junior scored a brilliant equaliser for Brazil in a 1-1 draw with Morocco on Saturday as the five-time FIFA World Cup winners made an uncertain start to the tournament in New Jersey.

Ismael Saibari ran through to give Morocco a 21st-minute lead with a clever scoop in the Group C opener, but Vinicius produced a moment of magic to ensure Brazil came away with a point.

Hong: Intensive preparations paid off for Korea Republic

Sat, 13 Jun, 2026

Hong: Intensive preparations paid off for Korea Republic

Zapopan: Hong Myung-bo attributed Korea Republic's high altitude training for the thrilling 2-1 win against Czechia in their opening FIFA World Cup Group A tie on Thursday.

The East Asian side fought back after going behind with goals from Hwang In-beom and Oh Hyeon-gyu securing their first opening match win on the global stage since 2010.

Group D: United States 4-1 Paraguay

Sat, 13 Jun, 2026

Group D: United States 4-1 Paraguay

Inglewood: The United States could scarcely have scripted a better start to their FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign as a Folarin Balogun brace and Gio Reyna curler fired the co-hosts to a 4-1 drubbing of Paraguay in Los Angeles on Friday.

The hosts took the lead in the tournament's first game on US soil within seven minutes thanks to an own goal, and by the end of an utterly dominant half the home fans were in dreamland, their side up by three.

Tom Cruise, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paris Hilton were among a sold-out 70,492 crowd as the US piled wave after wave of attacks on the South Americans, with Reyna polishing off the win late in stoppage time after Mauricio had pulled one back.

The win and emphatic scoreline puts the US in a favourable position already to progress from Group D, which also contains Australia and Turkey.

Group B: Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sat, 13 Jun, 2026

Group B: Canada 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ontario: Co-hosts Canada grabbed a second-half equaliser to draw 1-1 with Bosnia-Herzegovina in their FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B opener on Friday.

Cyle Larin got Canada's goal after Jovo Lukic put Bosnia ahead with a header in the 21st minute in Toronto.
 
The result gave Canada its first point in World Cup history. Canadian sides had a perfect record of futility at two previous tournament appearances in 1986 and 2022, with six losses.