World Cup - Soccer Wiretap

Colombia defeated Uzbekistan 3-1 on Wednesday at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, with second-half goals from Luis Diaz and Jaminton Campaz pulling the South Americans clear after Uzbekistan briefly leveled the score.

Daniel Munoz opened the scoring for Colombia six minutes before halftime, steering home a cross from Diaz after timing his run from the fullback position. Abbosbek Fayzullaev equalized for Uzbekistan on the hour mark, heading in a rebound after goalkeeper Camilo Vargas initially saved Eldor Shomurodov's volley.

Colombia regained the lead just five minutes later when Diaz converted after the team won back possession in midfield, beating goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov. Substitute Campaz sealed the result nine minutes into stoppage time, heading in a cross from Cucho Hernandez. Colombia finished with a 1.62-to-1.16 advantage in xG (expected goals).

The match featured an early physical exchange, with Colombia's Johan Mojica booked after seven minutes. Diaz struck the post earlier in the half and was later fouled by Manchester City defender Abdukodir Khusanov, who also picked up a yellow card.

Uzbekistan, making their World Cup debut, pushed forward with greater urgency after halftime and created several chances, including a stoppage-time effort from teenager Bekhruz Karimov that crashed off the crossbar.

Colombia entered the tournament with the 21st-most valuable roster among all 48 nations at $350.46 million, per Transfermarkt, compared to Uzbekistan's 35th-ranked squad at $98.13 million.

Caleb Yirenkyi scored in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to give Ghana a 1-0 victory over Panama on Wednesday at a rainy BMO Field in their World Cup Group L opener.

Brandon Thomas-Asante broke loose down the left flank late and drove a low ball across the goal mouth, which Yirenkyi tapped in to spark a celebration among his teammates. The result denied Panama its first point of the tournament. Ghana finished with a 1.31-to-0.75 edge in expected goals over Panama.

Chances were scarce for much of the match. Panama forward Cecilio Waterman produced the only shot on target in the first half, latching onto a cross from Amir Murillo before goalkeeper Ati-Zigi palmed the effort away. Ati-Zigi departed at halftime after absorbing several hard collisions and was replaced by Benjamin Asare.

Ghana played the match without midfielder Thomas Partey, who was denied entry into Canada while awaiting trial in England on rape charges.

The game opened up after the hour mark, with both sides generating more shots. In the 65th minute, Thomas-Asante slipped through Panama's defense and squared a pass toward Jordan Ayew, but Jiovany Ramos recovered to make a tackle and deny the tap-in.

The victory moves Ghana level with England atop Group L, after England defeated Croatia 4-2 earlier Wednesday. Ghana entered the tournament with the 25th-most valuable roster among all 48 nations at $269.50 million, per Transfermarkt, compared to Panama's 42nd-ranked squad at $39.73 million.

Harry Kane revealed that a halftime address from England manager Thomas Tuchel drove the team's second-half turnaround in a 2026 FIFA World Cup opening 4-2 victory over Croatia, with the manager urging his players to shed their nerves and show the world what they were capable of.

Kane scored twice in the first half, equaling Gary Lineker's record for goals scored by an England player at the World Cup finals, but Croatia equalized twice before the break to level the match.

"He told us to take the shackles off, calm down and let's go," said Kane. "He said what's the worst that can happen? Show the world who we can be.

"We came out in the second half full gas and they couldn't live with it, and that's the level we have to set in every game. The way we controlled the game once we went ahead, we never really looked like we were in danger and then scored on the counterattack. We had a spell where we could have scored three or four."

Jude Bellingham restored England's lead in the second half before Marcus Rashford sealed the win as a substitute. Bellingham described the halftime intervention as measured rather than dramatic.

"It wasn't one of those where it was a big drama or standing up and shouting; it was what the team needed," said Bellingham. "We have a mature group with great leaders in there; everyone knew the level we had to get to."

Tuchel acknowledged his players had overthought the occasion in the opening half but was encouraged by their response.

"I told them to calm down," said Tuchel. "I want them to be brave, courageous and tenacious on the front foot. And just go for it."

Midfielder Declan Rice was substituted as a precaution after feeling discomfort in his lower back and upper hamstring, with Tuchel expressing hope the issue is not serious.

Harry Kane scored twice to tie the English record for men's World Cup goals, Jude Bellingham added another early in the second half, and England defeated Croatia 4-2 on Wednesday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

England dominated in xG (expected goals), finishing with a 2.80-to-0.71 advantage.

Martin Baturina and Petar Musa each answered a first-half Kane goal in a rematch of the 2018 semifinal, with Musa scoring on the final play before halftime to level the score. Bellingham broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half, running onto a long pass and finishing past Dominik Livakovic off the far post. Marcus Rashford added a fourth goal in the 85th minute.

Kane converted a retaken penalty for his first goal after a video review nullified an initial save by Livakovic. He then headed in a Declan Rice corner to reach 10 World Cup goals, matching Gary Lineker's English record set across the 1986 and 1990 tournaments. Kane, 32, became just the second Englishman after David Beckham to score in three separate World Cups.

The penalty stemmed from a foul by Luka Modric, 40, who extended his own Croatian record by featuring in his fifth World Cup. Livakovic made roughly half a dozen saves during a frantic England attack late in the first half.

The defeat ended a six-game unbeaten run for Croatia in World Cup group stage matches dating to 2014.

England carried the second-most valuable roster among all 48 World Cup nations entering the tournament at $1.507 billion, per Transfermarkt, compared to Croatia's 17th-ranked squad at $448.16 million. 

England face Ghana next in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Croatia meet Panama in Toronto, with both matches on Tuesday.

England have the third best probability to win the tournament, according to the latest World Cup odds.

United States Men's National Team attacker Christian Pulisic trained separately from the main group Wednesday, raising doubt about his availability for Friday's 2026 FIFA World Cup Group D match against Australia in Seattle.

Pulisic, who sustained a calf injury last week and aggravated it during the United States' 4-1 victory over Paraguay on Friday, worked out with a member of the training staff after beginning the session in the team's field-side gym. A U.S. Soccer spokesperson confirmed Wednesday marked an improvement over Tuesday, when Pulisic did not take the field at all.

With roughly 48 hours until kickoff, concern is growing within the camp over his fitness. As a point of comparison, defender Chris Richards had returned to full training at this stage last week while managing an ankle injury.

Defender Antonee Robinson expressed confidence the squad has sufficient depth to cope without Pulisic if needed.

"He's not been training fully with the group yet. We've still got a couple of days to see where he is at," said Robinson. "And you know, thankfully, we've got a lot of boys on the bench eager and ready to get involved and helping the team and with a lot of quality.

"So it's a long tournament. If we don't have him back for the game, then you know, we're gonna make sure we have him back for the rest of the way, because we're gonna need him cause we're gonna need everyone, but hopefully we have everyone fit."

Giovanni Reyna, Alejandro Zendejas, Timothy Weah and Brenden Aaronson are among the options available to step in should Pulisic be ruled out.

"If that opportunity comes, I'll always be ready," said Aaronson. "I'm always ready to start games, play games, give my best and give my all."

Congo DR secured the first point in program history Wednesday, holding pre-tournament favorite Portugal to a 1-1 draw in Houston in front of 68,777 fans at NRG Stadium.

Portugal entered the tournament with the fourth-most valuable roster among all 48 nations at $1.173 billion, per Transfermarkt, compared to Congo DR's 32nd-ranked squad at $165.49 million. Congo DR outperformed Portugal in expected goals, finishing with a 0.82-to-0.64 edge.

Joao Neves headed Portugal in front in the sixth minute, converting a cross from Pedro Neto. Congo DR equalized in first-half stoppage time through Yoane Wissa, who headed home a cross from Arthur Masuaku for the country's first-ever World Cup goal. Joao Cancelo had a bicycle-kick effort ruled offside in the 55th minute, while Cedric Bakambu rattled the post for Congo DR shortly after.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Lionel Messi as the only players to appear in six World Cups, becoming, at 41 years and 132 days old, the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match. He missed two clear chances wide right in the 68th and 73rd minutes and finished without a shot on target, extending his scoreless run in the competition to five matches. Bruno Fernandes also sent a 90th-minute attempt wide for Portugal.

Congo DR is competing in just its second World Cup, returning for the first time since 1974, when the nation played under the name Zaire. That tournament ended in three defeats without scoring a goal, against Scotland, Yugoslavia and Brazil.

The draw made Congo DR the second African nation to earn an unexpected result against European opposition this week, following Cape Verde's scoreless draw with Spain on Monday.

Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi was arrested by French police on May 29 on suspicion of spot-fixing, less than two weeks before the 2026 FIFA World Cup, The Athletic has revealed. The 23-year-old has since started for Ivory Coast at the tournament.

The Marseille public prosecutor's office confirmed the arrest in a statement to The Athletic.

"We can confirm that a 23-year-old football player, competing in France's Ligue 1, was arrested on May 29 as part of an investigation opened by the Marseille public prosecutor's office into allegations of organized fraud, organized sports corruption, handling of proceeds of crime and money laundering," a spokesperson said. "He was released after he was interviewed in police custody. The investigations remain ongoing."

The probe began after France's Ligue de Football Professionnel received notifications of unusual betting activity surrounding Nice's Ligue 1 fixture against Metz on May 17, specifically wagers placed on Wahi to receive a yellow card. Wahi was booked in the 35th minute of that match following a late challenge on a Metz defender.

The caution triggered an automatic one-match suspension, ruling Wahi out of Nice's relegation playoff first leg against Saint-Etienne. Three days later, he returned to score twice in a 4-1 victory and was named man of the match before anti-corruption specialists arrested him afterward.

Wahi has not been charged with any crime. He traveled to the United States and started Ivory Coast's 1-0 Group E victory over Ecuador in Philadelphia on Sunday, hitting the crossbar before being substituted in the 55th minute. Manchester United winger Amad Diallo scored the winning goal in the 90th minute.

FIFA did not respond to questions from The Athletic regarding whether it knew of Wahi's arrest before Sunday's match or whether his eligibility to participate could be affected. Ivory Coast faces Group E leaders Germany in Toronto on Saturday.

Austria secured its first World Cup victory in 36 years with a 3-1 win over Jordan on Tuesday, spoiling the tournament debut for the Middle Eastern nation in a back-and-forth Group J encounter.

Austria entered the tournament with the 24th-most valuable roster among all 48 nations at $278.53 million, per Transfermarkt, compared to Jordan's 47th-ranked squad at $23.58 million. Austria held a commanding 1.66-to-0.53 xG edge over the course of the match.

Romano Schmid opened the scoring in the 20th minute, finishing a sharp build-up play with a right-footed strike into the top corner after a pass from Xaver Schlager. Ali Olwan answered for Jordan in the 50th minute, beating goalkeeper Alexander Schlager with a right-footed shot on the counterattack that briefly leveled the score.

An own goal off a corner kick, deflecting in via Jordanian defender Yazan Al Arab, restored Austria's lead in the 76th minute. Substitute Marko Arnautovic had an earlier goal disallowed by VAR for a handball before converting a stoppage-time penalty to seal the 3-1 result.

The victory marked Austria's first World Cup win since defeating the United States in 1990, ending a six-tournament absence from the competition. Jordan fell short in its bid to become the first nation to win a World Cup debut since Senegal beat defending champion France in 2002.

Jordan returns to Santa Clara to face Algeria next Monday. Austria will meet Lionel Messi and Argentina in the Dallas area the same day.

Lionel Messi scored a hat trick Tuesday to tie the all-time World Cup goals record at 16, leading Argentina to a 3-0 Group victory over Algeria at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. Argentina held a 1.23-to-0.31 xG advantage in the match.

Argentina entered the tournament with the eighth-most valuable roster among all 48 nations at $940.13 million, per Transfermarkt, compared to Algeria's 23rd-ranked squad at $295.44 million. 

Messi opened the scoring in the first half with a left-footed strike from just outside the penalty area, then added two more in the second half before departing to a standing ovation from the crowd. The performance marked his 200th appearance for Argentina and his first World Cup hat trick in six tournaments, making him the oldest player to score three goals in a single World Cup match.

By taking the field, Messi also became the first player in history to appear at six World Cups, surpassing the record of five shared by Cristiano Ronaldo, Antonio Carbajal, Andres Guardado, Rafael Marquez and Lothar Matthaus. His 16 World Cup goals draw level with Germany's Miroslav Klose, the previous record holder. The hat trick was the 11th of his international career.

The result also gave Messi 17 World Cup victories, tying Klose's record in that category as well.

"It's an honor being up there for what it means, being alongside Klose and [Brazil's] Ronaldo, who is there also. But it doesn't mean anything," Messi said after the game. "[Kylian] Mbappé is there, too, he scored twice today. At the end of the day, they are stats and nothing more.

"It's an honor to compete with them, but it doesn't mean anything. For me, Ronaldo, who I watched and is one of the greats, is not at the top. So, it's just stats."

Thousands of supporters wearing his No. 10 jersey filled the stadium, while a watch party in Kansas City's downtown Power & Light District featured a goat dressed in an Argentina jersey alongside former NFL quarterback Jameis Winston.

Argentina face Austria next in Dallas on June 22.

England head coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed the team will hold a behind-closed-doors friendly in Kansas City on Thursday, with sources telling ESPN that talks are ongoing with MLS club Sporting Kansas City as the likely opponent.

The match is scheduled for the day after England's Group L opener against Croatia in Dallas. The Three Lions face a six-day gap before their second World Cup fixture against Ghana in Boston, and Tuchel indicated the friendly is designed to maintain match sharpness for players with limited minutes.

"It is true that we try to play an in-house match after the match against Croatia. It is simply to use the time," said Tuchel. "We have many days in between the matches and we can give the players who have not played so many minutes tomorrow just a load and an actual match load and not only from training.

"We did this after the match against Costa Rica and I think we will do it one last time on the day after the Croatia game."

England used the same approach last week, defeating Miami FC 6-0 in West Palm Beach following their win over Costa Rica in Orlando.

Tuchel was also forced to make a late squad adjustment after Tino Livramento sustained a calf injury in training Sunday. Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah was called up as his replacement, though he will not be available against Croatia.

"Tino was of course very disappointed and very sad," said Tuchel. "It was kind of a little shock in training. When he stopped training, he straight away had the feeling that this can be an injury that cost him the tournament and he was unfortunately right.

"After assessment we got the information that it's an injury of about four or five weeks, which is unfortunately too long to keep on like rebuilding and reintegrating him into the squad, so we took the decision to send him home.

"He was of course disappointed and so were we. He was a key player, in good shape and available for both sides for us as a full-back.

"We called Trevoh Chalobah because then we free up Jarell Quansah as full-back on both sides and Djed Spence can play both sides as full-back, so Trevoh comes as a centre back alternative and gives us full coverage in the back four."