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Argentinian’s legacy has no need for another World Cup but return allows hosts to witness his international curtain callIt’s a moment more iconic than any other in the 30-year history of Major League Soccer. Lionel Messi, then 36, standing over a free kick 30 yards from goal, days after completing a shock move to the United States. On that night in the summer of 2023, deep into the dying moments of his US debut, Inter Miami were in need of a miracle.With one brilliant stroke of his left foot, Messi delivered. His game-winning free kick, placed just out of reach of the opposing goalkeeper, was a work of art. It rolled back the years, reminiscent of the brilliance that had by then already solidified his stature as the greatest player in the history of the sport. Those in attendance who weren’t screaming were simply wide-eyed and slack jawed, in disbelief at what they’d seen.To many who were there that night, Messi’s mere presence in Major League Soccer was more surreal than what they’d just witnessed. The Argentina legend was of course a staple in the US by 2023 but he’d largely been kept at arm’s length. He was readily available on television, his genius almost always narrated by Ray Hudson’s hyperbolic prose, and Americans would occasionally visit with Messi in person as well, almost always in the form of a meaningless summer friendly every year or two.Now in the twilight of his career, Messi had shirked other leagues and offers and had come to the US to retire. What has followed has been a complicated yet unquestionably successful two-and-a-half years, with Miami winning their first league championship and solidifying themselves as the standard-bearers in MLS.A funny thing also happened along the way.When Messi joined up with Miami, he was months removed from his crowning achievement – winning the 2022 World Cup – and he’d suggested repeatedly that the tournament would be his final one. Up until that point, the only true, meaningful moment of Messi’s international career Americans had witnessed in person had been his brief retirement from the national team after the 2016 Copa América Centenario, when a tearful Messi broke down to the media after losing the final.Messi, of course, did return to the Albiceleste and offered Americans another chance to watch his magic on the international stage during the 2024 Copa América, which he won. Despite some frustrations, he also enjoyed his club football at Miami and his everyday life in the US tremendously. Slowly, it began to feel more and more possible he’d feature in his sixth World Cup this summer, and American fans began to realize they’d get an entirely unexpected chance to watch the diminutive forward’s international curtain call in person.Messi follows in the footsteps of Pelé, who came to the US in the mid-70s, and David Beckham, who did so three decades later. Unlike those two, Messi only ever came here to play football, not to proselytize the game to the American masses. He’s expanded his commercial footprint here, certainly, but Messi never needed to conquer American club soccer to do so. His face and name alone would have sufficed. His presence here at times feels more like a gift than anything else.Argentina are favored by few to repeat as champions this year, often thrown behind Spain, France and even England, at times, as contenders. He is approaching Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goals record of 16 (Messi has 13) and could log his 200th international cap during the tournament. The appeal of watching Messi win another World Cup feels undeniable. It has little to do with his legacy. Any suggestion that Messi needs to win another title to solidify that feels genuinely farcical.He does feel well equipped to perform this summer, in no small part because his time in MLS has already exposed him to many of the stadiums he’ll play in and, more importantly, because he’s already grown accustomed to the absurdities of traveling thousands of miles between matches, as is frequently the case in the American top flight. He has been at ease in the US, telling reporters last week he is “savoring every moment” of his swan song with Argentina as the end approaches.The US is savoring every moment of Messi’s North American curtain call as well.Messi, put simply, is in extra time at this point, and winning another championship would only solidify his legend. Entirely unburdened, the Argentinian is playing his final World Cup free from the expectations that come with being a precocious wunderkind, in competition for the best player in the world, or a legend of the game looking for one last piece to balance his trophy cabinet. That sort of freedom can liberate and empower a player, but players of Messi’s ilk often need those expectations to continue to perform.How Messi responds this summer remains to be seen, but we will get our first glimpse at him on Tuesday evening in Kansas City, as his US denouement continues.

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Move comes after thrashing in opening game in MexicoTunisia still to face Japan and Netherlands in Group FTunisia sacked their head coach, Sabri Lamouchi, on Monday after ⁠a 5-1 defeat by Sweden in their first World Cup game. The Tunisian ⁠football federation ⁠announced ​his dismissal on its Instagram account.“An agreement has been officially reached ⁠to dismiss coach Sabri Lamouchi,” the statement said. “Plans are under way ‌to appoint ‌Mondher Kebaier as the national team ‌coach [on an interim basis].”Tunisia will face Japan on Saturday in the same stadium in Guadalupe where they lost to Sweden before finishing ​their group games against the Netherlands in Kansas City.Lamouchi, 54, was hired in January and was ⁠already under fire after a 5-0 defeat by ​Belgium in a ​pre-tournament friendly ​in Brussels.The ‌Frenchman previously ​managed ​Côte d’Ivoire at the 2014 World Cup but failed to advance beyond the group stage in Brazil.

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Paul Okon-Engstler’s emotions before making his World Cup debut for Australia belied the performance that followed against Turkey in VancouverLost in the celebrations of Australia’s victory over Turkey was its poignant opening and the image of young Paul Okon-Engstler, wiping away tears brought on by his World Cup debut.The 21-year-old was one of the surprises to be named in Tony Popovic’s starting XI, as the coach chose to leave veteran Jackson Irvine on the bench. To those watching on the broadcast, Okon-Engstler made an impact even before the first whistle, when his surging emotions underscored the enormity of the occasion.“I don’t know if you can call those tears,” he said after the match, offering a chuckle. “But yeah, obviously very, very emotional just for me and my family.”In the cavernous BC Place in Vancouver, as the broadcast cameras panned across the Socceroos during the anthem, Okon-Engstler was the most affected of all of the Australians. His eyes welled up and at the end, the midfielder wiped away the tears – or whatever they were – from his face.It was not the rousing bars of Advance Australia Fair that triggered him, however. “In the tunnel, honestly, just walking out and seeing all our fans and the noise and the crowd and just seeing all the Fifa signage… it really hit me that I’m at a World Cup and I’m at the highest stage that any footballer dreams of. Just so happy, I was stoked.”Okon-Engstler would go on to play a crucial role in the victory. His assist for Nestory Irankunda has been widely praised, but he proved a crucial cog in a Socceroos machine that prevented the highly-fancied Turkish players from getting a breakthrough. “The way we defended and we fought as a team was just so special and I think that this group has so much more left to show,” he said.His effectiveness was an endorsement for the A-League Men, where he has been a key contributor for runners-up Sydney FC over the past season. Even close observers of the domestic competition, however, may have been surprised by how comfortable he looked on football’s biggest stage.The performance also dismissed once and for all any allegations of nepotism, given his father – Paul Okon – is an assistant coach for the Socceroos. The 54-year-old was a star in Belgium for Club Brugge and played for Leeds and Middlesbrough in the Premier League during the 1990s.Okon Snr had an experience not dissimilar to his son’s in Vancouver. Following the second goal he shared an embrace with head coach Tony Popovic, his long-time Socceroos team-mate. It was an acknowledgment of his own arrival at the World Cup.“We go a long way back and he’s passionate, he’s emotional,” Popovic said. “For me, playing his son is special. I play him because he deserves to play. I love the kid. I’ve loved him since, well, 12 months ago when I first brought him in. I knew there was a special talent there and he proved it today. And it was just a special moment with two close friends embracing.”Popovic – two years younger than his long-time friend – held on as a player just long enough to be involved in the Socceroos’ 2006 Germany campaign, their first since 1974. Okon Snr was one of the fine Australian players of the 1990s who never got to play at a World Cup. The closest he came was the playoff loss against Uruguay in 2001.He told SBS he and his son shared their own moment before the game, but it was one of coach and player rather than father and son. “My chat with him would have been like the chat with any other player in the team, and that was: ‘You’ve got a job to do, make sure you do it, and we have full confidence in your ability, and now’s the moment you’ve been waiting for it for a long time. It’s what you’ve dreamed of’, Okon Snr said. “Of course, yeah. I just happened to be his father.”

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If there were a shift in world football power, it may look something like the impressive results from South Korea, Japan, Qatar and AustraliaDaichi Kamada’s late equaliser for Japan against the Netherlands on Sunday did not merely mean that the scoreline more accurately reflected the game. It also extended to four the unbeaten run of teams from the Asian confederation against Europe at this tournament. There is a degree of contingency to that record, and nobody should draw definitive conclusions from the first week of a World Cup, but equally if there were a shift in the power dynamics of world football, it might look a bit like this.The tone was set on day one with South Korea’s victory over Czech Republic. It perhaps shouldn’t have come as a surprise to anybody who saw their qualifying playoff semi-final against Ireland that the Czechs would be so ponderous and lumbering, a side that understood the value of dead balls and long throws and little else. But still, the ease with which South Korea passed their way around them was striking. If Son Heung-min had been the player he was three or four years ago, the Korean victory would have been far more emphatic.The other AFC win over Europe saw Australia beat Turkey. Again, nobody could really claim that this Turkey, who dragged their way to qualification with 1-0 wins over Romania and Kosovo in the Uefa playoffs, really represent the pride of Europe. Nor was there any great sense that they’d been outplayed by Australia. Rather, Turkey had 30 shots but came up against an inspired goalkeeper in Patrick Beach, who made eight saves. But still, Australia had a smart gameplan that worked, and it wasn’t quite the smash and grab the stats may make it appear.Qatar’s draw with Switzerland can be attributed less to clever strategy. They sat in, seemed content to keep the score down and got away with it as Switzerland wasted chance after chance. Even the goal Switzerland did score – via a first-half Breel Embolo penalty – was controversial, the semi-automated offside apparently breaking down at the key moment. Miro Muheim’s injury-time own goal gifted Qatar a point, but it was not one they had ever looked likely to achieve. Switzerland had 26 shots to Qatar’s six and, on another day, could have won by three or four. So, again, it would be hard to portray that as a victory that demonstrated any sort of Asian superiority.The really intriguing game was that draw between Japan and the Netherlands. Even without three key players in Kaoru Mitoma, Wataru Endo and Takumi Minamino, Japan are highly fancied and they showed exactly why. There have been two real heavyweight clashes so far in this World Cup: Brazil v Morocco and the Netherlands v Japan. Both finished level. In both, it was the up-and-coming side who probably shaded the game. And in both cases, the up-and-coming side seemed to be playing the style of football more usually associated with their opponents.Morocco played with a fluency and verve, confident in possession, a pleasing smoothness to their passing. Japan interchanged positions and, although they had only 40% possession, there was a purpose and precision to their attacks that was redolent of the Dutch at their best. But crucially, there was no sense of inferiority.That’s something the Japan coach, Hajime Moriyasu, has stressed over the past few months. He is worried that his side have a mental block about progressing further than the last 16 and has chosen to address it by speaking of his side as potential champions. That may be a psychological ploy to jolt his players through the last-16 barrier but equally, if the Netherlands are contenders, why not Japan?The left wing-back Keito Nakamura, who scored the first goal, was one of two Japan starters to achieve a 90% pass accuracy, along with the defender Hiroki Ito. Kamada was aggressive and intelligent in the centre of midfield. Junya Ito came off the bench to offer creative edge. The 23-year-old Zion Suzuki may live up to predictions that he will be the best ever Japanese keeper. If there was a slight disappointment, it was the centre-forward Ayase Ueda, who struggled to impose himself, but he showed at Feyenoord last season just how effective he can be.AFC teams have in the past perhaps been guilty of lacking belief against Uefa sides, but no longer. Japan celebrated the equaliser as any side that has snatched a draw should, but the disappointment when they fell behind was clear. First and second in this group play second and first in the Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti group. It’s an indication of how far both Morocco and Japan have come that it’s not at all clear that it would be easier to face them than Brazil or the Netherlands.Four games are nowhere near sufficient for grand sweeping statements, but perhaps the best Asian sides are drawing closer to Europe.This is an extract from Soccer Desk: World Cup edition, a newsletter from the Guardian US that will run regularly during the tournament. Subscribe for free here.

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There have never been more brilliant footballers in the world than there are now – one reason it’s so hard to pick a winner of this competition. Knockout ties often come down to which individual delivers – or fails to deliver – at the crucial moment and, with so many countries boasting numerous individuals able to turn a game and humans being inherently unreliable, we can’t know which of them will be grooved – or heartbreakingly, hilariously inept – when the time comes.But it remains the case that Spain, though not obvious champions, are the hardest team to beat. Things have changed since they won three consecutive competitions 2008-12 – you can’t dominate possession to the same absurd extent once you no longer have Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta – club’s football’s greatest midfield – plus Xabi Alonso, plus another midfielder or two in lieu of strikers.Yet Rodri and Pedri are pretty handy replacements and, though the control they bring isn’t the same, it’s been replaced with the thrust their champion sides lacked. Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams – both expected to be absent today, a precautionary move as they recover from injury – give them a threat in behind and on the outside, while Mikel Oyarzabal, likely to play in between them, is in sensational form at both club and international level.All of which makes this a tricky – but inspiring – assignment for Cape Verde, making their tournament debut. They qualified top of their group, finishing above a Cameroon side featuring Bryan Mbeumo and Carlos Baleba among others, with only one player – Villarreal defender Logan Costa – playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues. This tells us they’re a settled, organised side and, while they’re better at the back than up front, they’ll be a threat on the counter. As Dailon Livramento, their star attacker said, “We got ourselves into the World Cup, now it’s time to have fun together.”That attitude makes them a danger even if a comfortable Spain win remains the likeliest outcome here. When, in years to come, we look back on this competition, one of its eternal, affirming memories will be Curaçao’s goal against Germany and Cape Verde are more than capable of delivering us another moment of emotional intensity the like of which only World Cup football can. And really, that’s why we’re here: we can worry about who wins the thing later.Kick-off: 3pm local, 5pm BST, 12p EDT, 2am AEST.

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Ståle Solbakken’s fast, flexible side are far from the no-frills unit that last made the World Cup but new challenges awaitIf Norway’s highly fancied generation need a warning from history they need only look back 32 years and study the lessons from another searing, suspenseful American summer. They had raced through qualifying at England’s expense to reach their first World Cup since 1938; their top players were starting to make it in the Premier League and through the euphoria shone a confidence that a place in the knockout stage, at least, was there to be seized.“When we got there we didn’t manage to even get close to the quality of play we had produced in qualification,” remembers Lars Bohinen, one of the silkier elements in a side that, under Egil Olsen, became renowned for an uncompromising and no-frills approach. “That’s the biggest disappointment when I talk now to my old teammates. We never got near to performing at the level we needed.”In fact Norway were a shade unfortunate. Planted in a strength-sapping group alongside Mexico, Republic of Ireland and Italy, they finished fourth despite the teams finishing level on points and goal difference. Their failure came in attack; Olsen’s side were eliminated because they only scored once, beating Mexico before ultimately running aground in a famously sweltering goalless draw against Jack Charlton’s team at Giants Stadium.This year’s Group I does not look much easier. But the dynamic of Norwegian football is different now; the not entirely inaccurate picture of burly Vikings replaced by elite, technically supreme talents in the moulds of Martin Ødegaard and Antonio Nusa. There is an Erling Haaland-shaped spearhead to convert chances that flow more frequently in Ståle Solbakken’s fast, flexible setup.“Back then we played much more direct, physical football,” Bohinen says. “Now we can control the game with the ball and that’s a big difference.“The players’ technical level has increased and so has the speed. It’s a result of many years professionalising the academies at Norwegian clubs. They have better coaches, better infrastructure, better pitches, more possibilities for more people.”Artificial turf, in place from the remotest Arctic Circle locations down to the Oslo suburbs, means the harshest conditions can be surmounted. The class of 1994 did not enjoy that luxury although Bohinen points out that their qualifying campaign, in which England were stunningly dispatched with in a 2-0 win at Ullevaal, was not simply a route one exhibition. He feels they reverted more to the long ball once they reached the World Cup, where the “Flo Pass” – a crossfield ball generally aimed from the left-back Stig Inge Bjørnebye to the giant centre-forward Jostein Flo, who would pull out to the right – earned renown.“We had that pass going left to right,” Bohinen says. “Then we had to pick up the second balls from those duels. From then we had to try to get close to goal as soon as possible. That was the whole aim really: get close to goal quickly. And in the heat of the States, it was too much.”There were a handful of roses among the thorns, including Bohinen, a classy midfielder well remembered for his spells at Nottingham Forest, Blackburn and Derby. “It was easier to stand out because there were not so many who had those qualities at the time,” he says. Even if the ball was frequently sent over his head, he still scored 10 times for the national team. “But now we have a lot of players, some of them really good dribblers, who have a strong technical base and make very few mistakes on that front. It’s a change for the better.”But if Norway’s ball players can hold their own against France, Senegal and Tuesday’s opponents Iraq, an unintentional corollary may be a less aggressive defensive posture. They only conceded five times in a perfect qualifying campaign but were not seriously tested, a disappointing Italy their closest rivals. Bohinen believes the focus on creating a silkier Norwegian footballer has meant centre-backs with the ruggedness of Erland Johnsen or Henning Berg have become unfashionable.“We have a fantastic attacking force but we don’t produce defenders any more, everyone wants to be ball players,” he says. “It’s reflected in the national team because that’s our weakest link. We’ve created a lot of offensive, technical players but now we may be paying a price for that.”Kylian Mbappé will be among those hoping to discover Bohinen is correct. But Norway appear far better prepared for setbacks than in 1994, when the intensity of their approach backfired. “What we all agree on is that we trained too hard,” Bohinen says. “The competition for places was so big and we trained too long in the heat, as if it wasn’t for a tournament but for one game. We didn’t have any energy left when we played. We also spent hours going to the embassy and standing around, meeting the ambassadors and people from different industries. It took too much energy and focus away from what’s important.”Those mistakes are unlikely to recur in Greensboro, where Solbakken has been tuning them up from the sanctuary of the local University of North Carolina campus. Solbakken took aim last week at the political problems that clouded the tournament’s buildup but controversies within his own camp have been nonexistent. Perhaps the dance moves Haaland exhibited during a training session last Thursday reflected a cooler, calmer, slicker Norway who feel more comfortable in their modern skin.“The euphoria felt bigger when we qualified in ’94,” Bohinen says. “We had been complete outsiders. Now there’s a little bit more expectation.” Soon Norway will find out if their drastically revamped 2026 model is capable of handling it.

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VAR official Shaun Evans made ‘OK’ sign with right handResembles white power symbol used in far-right circlesFifa’s discrimination monitor at the World Cup called for a video assistant referee (VAR) to be removed for appearing to make a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign.When the official broadcast of Germany’s opening game against Curaçao on Sunday cut pre-game to show the team of VAR officials, Shaun Evans from Australia made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg. Though the game was played in Houston, VAR officials work in Dallas at the World Cup broadcast centre. In 2019, the gesture – with thumb and forefinger touched in a circle and other fingers outstretched – was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” the Fare network, a longtime partner of Fifa and Uefa, the European football governing body, to monitor racist and discriminatory chants, flags and symbols at international games, said in a statement. “Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” it added, also describing the gesture as “neo-Nazi.”It was unclear if Evans, working at his first game at the World Cup, was making a political gesture or playing a children’s game prank.The “gotcha” or “circle game” is where someone flashes an upside down OK sign below their waist and punches the shoulder of anyone who looks at it. It was appropriated a decade ago as a signal for white supremacy that started as a hoax on the far-right online messageboard 4chan.In 2019 when the sign was designated as a hate symbol, Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Centre on Extremism, said context is key to interpreting whether an “OK” symbol is hateful or harmless. At the time, he said: “There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add.”Evans is among 30 VAR officials selected by Fifa to work at the World Cup being played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?” Fare said. “We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”

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Gareth Southgate was looking to the future when he dropped midfielder but, as Jude Bellingham says, the veteran’s influence is indispensableThe cat is well truly out of the bag. Nobody expected the conversation to be quite so revealing when Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers sat on the Lions’ Den sofa last week. Content controlled by the Football Association was an unlikely place for Bellingham to drop a few truth bombs, but the England midfielder was not minded to hold back when it was time to discuss his experience at Euro 2024.“It didn’t feel like there was any kind of hierarchy,” the 22-year-old said. “I think at the Euros we got some things a little bit wrong off the pitch. I don’t feel like the group connected as well as it could have – for a number of reasons.”And there it was. That there were issues within the camp two years ago was not exactly a jaw-dropping revelation but to hear one of the squad’s most important players being open about it before England attempt to win the World Cup was significant.“We weren’t playing particularly well, which doesn’t help,” Bellingham said. “Even when we were winning we didn’t get the feeling that we were as happy as we should be. You want to win, but the nature of football is that wins go out of the system very quickly.”England never held on to the feeling. The vibe was off and the lack of connection was palpable. England were confused and the warning signs were there when they set off for Germany, summed up by Gareth Southgate having to take Harry Kane for a walk around Tottenham’s training ground to explain the thinking behind his squad for the tournament.The generous description of Southgate’s decisions would be bold. A more accurate assessment, though, is that he completely lost sight of who he was as a manager. After putting so much store into creating the right culture around the camp, there was shock when he picked a host of youngsters with little experience of international football and dropped Harry Maguire, Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford and, most importantly of all, Jordan Henderson.England never found a way to operate without Henderson’s leadership. They toiled before their luck ran out in their defeat to Spain in the final. Bellingham produced brilliant moments but there were times when petulance crept into his game. The impression was of a kid who needed a senior pro to put an arm around his shoulder. Henderson, who is extremely protective of Bellingham, was missed; no wonder Kane was so relieved when Thomas Tuchel decided his first big call after replacing Southgate as head coach would be to bring the former Liverpool midfielder back into the fold.Tuchel had spent a lot of time trying to understand why England played with such little identity. The German listened and concluded that creating the right atmosphere off the pitch would be much easier with Henderson around to keep standards high in the dressing room.Henderson turns 36 when England face Croatia in their opening game at the World Cup on Wednesday. The Brentford midfielder is not a starter and has lost some of his running power. The accusation is that Henderson is only in the US to lay out the cones and act as Bellingham’s minder. Plenty of fans felt his international career should have been over when he left Liverpool for the Saudi Pro League in 2023.Those views persist. Why not look to the future and pick Adam Wharton? The answer lies in how much Henderson is respected by his teammates. Tuchel has looked into group dynamics. He has repeatedly talked about creating a brotherhood and has noted that players come out of their shell when Henderson is in the camp.Bellingham and Rogers used their Lions’ Den appearance to call Henderson the best person they have ever met in football. Both talked about how much he does behind the scenes. Henderson is the glue holding everything together and he exuded authority when he spoke to the media for 25 minutes at England’s training base in Kansas City on Monday.He defended Bellingham, saying external perceptions of the 22-year-old’s character are well off beam. He was effusive about the influence of Declan Rice, who has been named England’s new vice-captain. “It’s important to make sure the culture off the pitch is good but that’s not down to one person,” Henderson said. “Everyone has a role to play. It’s creating a culture to keep driving each other forward.”Henderson brought the intensity when England played Miami FC in a behind closed doors friendly last Thursday. A day before, he had watched from the sidelines as Tuchel’s side crushed Costa Rica in Tampa. “When I look back at pre-tournament games, that is the very best I’ve seen,” Henderson said. “It’s about taking that into Croatia.”Tuchel says pressing is key to England’s identity. Bellingham, selected over Rogers at No 10, was exceptional without the ball. He was key to an excellent display and looks to be in a much better place than at the Euros.England know all too well that tournaments can hinge on making sure the mood in the camp is right. Tuchel has focused so much on character. He has picked hungry players. He wants healthy competition. His decision not to select Maguire looked smart when the defender spoke out about his omission on social media. Henderson no doubt resents the idea he is little more than a glorified cheerleader. He will feel he can still contribute on the pitch, even if his role is to come off the bench to help with game management.Even so, it is impossible not to feel that Henderson’s leadership behind the scenes will be crucial. Southgate underestimated him. Having initially stood by Henderson after his move to Saudi Arabia, he changed his mind just before the Euros and decided he was no longer fit enough to merit selection.Southgate lost sight of Henderson’s personality. Listening to Bellingham, it is clear to see why Tuchel did not make the same mistake.

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Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Alex Abnos and Ben Fisher as the Netherlands and Japan play out a cracker in Dallas, while Germany put seven past CuraçaoRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.On the podcast today: Netherlands v Japan comes to life in the second half with all four goals in their 2-2 draw coming after the break. The Netherlands took the lead twice but Japan equalised with a late header just as everyone was questioning their decision to keep crossing into the box.Elsewhere; Curaçao had their moment, equalising against Germany. However the Germans were ultimately too good and put seven past the debutants. Ivory Coast squeeze past an unlucky Ecuador who hit the bar three times.Plus, more reflections on a historic night for Australia, a preview of tomorrow’s action and your questions answered.You can also find Football Weekly on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.