ISTANBUL — Turkish state broadcaster TRT has removed a commentator from its World Cup roster after he mixed up Iran and New Zealand‘s teams. TRT said in a statement late on Tuesday that the commentator, identified by Turkish media as Murat Ekrem Çimen, had been withdrawn from the World Cup broadcast team in the U.S. pending investigation. It added that he would not continue to comment on matches during the…
The four World Cup matches on Tuesday set a new record for the most attended day in the history of the tournament. A new mark of 281,223 eclipsed the previous record of 277,070 set at the 1994 World Cup in the United States, which also featured four matches. The combined figure came from matches between France and Senegal (80,545), Argentina and Algeria (69,045), Austria and Jordan (68,527) and Iraq and…
Lyndon Dykes confirmed his Scotland team-mates’ preference for his shaved-head look after recently returning to a familiar appearance for the World Cup. The 30-year-old Charlton striker has alternated his hairstyle over the years but arrived in North America with his hair again shorn. Dykes came off the bench in the 1-0 opening Group C win against Haiti in Boston on Saturday night and hopes for more game time on Friday…
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has said that Cristiano Ronaldo is showing so much intensity and enthusiasm in training it seems as though he is preparing for his first World Cup, not a record-equalling sixth tournament. Once he appears in Portugal’s first game, Ronaldo will join Argentina captain Lionel Messi as the only men to play in six World Cups. Despite being a European Champion and five-time Champions League winner,…
The referee set to officiate England‘s World Cup opener against Croatia, Clement Turpin, was once referred to by head coach Thomas Tuchel as a “Grade E” official. So who is Turpin and why did Tuchel give him a “one out of 10” rating? The French official sent the German off during Bayern Munich‘s quarterfinal second leg against Manchester City in 2023, after he was shown two yellow cards. “Two things…
Argentina national team manager Lionel Scaloni was left in awe after Lionel Messi‘s hat trick propelled La Albiceleste to a 3-0 victory over Algeria in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup. “At a loss for words about Leo. What can I say? He’s incredible,” Scaloni said after the match. Messi made history on Tuesday night when tying the record for most World Cup goals at 16 with Miroslav…
ALAMEDA, California — Awer Mabil believes that a viral video documenting the diversity of the Socceroos found an audience in an Australian community that saw their own experiences reflected in it. And in Refugee Week, the South Sudanese-refugee has sent a message to displaced people the world over that they are not alone, and that “everything is possible.” Mabil, 30, was front and centre in a video distributed by Australian…
Roberto Martinez strongly hinted on Tuesday that the World Cup would be his final tournament as Portugal‘s head coach. “It’s not news. We’ve talked about this many times in Portugal”, Martinez said about the reports of his departure after the World Cup. “Maybe it’s new elsewhere, but in Portugal we’ve discussed it a lot already. The focus remains continuing the work we’ve done over the last three and a half…
KANSAS CITY, Kansas — Lionel Messi made history Tuesday night when tying the record for most World Cup goals at 16 with Miroslav Kolse after scoring a hat trick staking Argentina to a 3-0 lead over Algeria before coming off late in the second half. The hat trick was Messi’s 11th of his international career, but first at the World Cup, and he is now the oldest player to score…