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The wait is nearly over. Six days before the start of the World Cup, the United States get one final chance to cut their teeth on elite opposition as Mauricio Pochettino’s side plays host to Germany before an expected capacity crowd at Soldier Field, the soon-to-be-former home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears.The Americans arrive with some momentum after last week’s entertaining 3-2 victory over Senegal in Charlotte, where goals from Sergiño Dest, Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun helped the USMNT quell a second-half fightback from Sadio Mané and co. Today’s challenge, at least on paper, stands to be more imposing. Germany, the four-time world champions sitting at 10th in Fifa rankings, provide the kind of measuring-stick opponent the United States are likely to encounter should they advance to the knockout stage later this month. The teams have met three times at the World Cup, most memorably in the Americans’ controversial 1-0 quarter-final defeat in 2002. (Try mentioning Torsten Frings to US supporters of a certain age.)Pochettino makes five changes from the Senegal win, with Matt Freese starting in goal alongside Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, Miles Robinson and Balogun. Tim Ream captains the side, while Pulisic earns his 86th cap and enters within one goal of Eric Wynalda for fourth place on the USMNT’s all-time scoring table.The lineups are in. We should be under way in just about half an hour.

World Cup News

The New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, briefly stepped away from City Hall to tackle the ultimate soccer challenge: predicting the entire World Cup bracket In the Guardian's exclusive interactive game. From shocking early exits to his definitive pick for the final, see how Mamdani maps out the world’s biggest tournamentBracketology: predict a path to World Cup victory Continue reading...

World Cup News

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSteven McKenzieBBC ScotlandThe World Cup is forecast to result in rare late night and early morning peaks in energy demand, according to the company that runs the UK's power network.Scotland's group matches will come during what are usually the quietest hours for electricity use - including a 02:00 kick-off.England's group games will be late night in terms of UK time, with the latest of them kicking off at 22:00.The National Energy System Operator (Neso) said each of Scotland and England's group games could see about 600MW more electricity being used nationally - the equivalent of the total electricity demand for Glasgow and Leeds combined.Millions of TVs - and kettles being boiled for a half-time caffeine boost - along with fridges being opened and closed as people get cold drinks and snacks would cause surges, said Neso.Neso's job is to make sure supply meets the UK's essential energy demands every day of the week.Analysts at its Electricity National Control Centre have been forecasting what could happen during the World Cup, which starts later this month.Scotland's first game, against Haiti on 14 June, kicks off at 02:00, followed by 23:00 starts against Morocco on 19 June and Brazil on 24 June.England's matches against Croatia on 17 June and Ghana on 23 June both kick off at 21:00, before taking on Panama on 27 June at 22:00.Both countries will play their group games in the US.Neso said England's opening match against Croatia would likely draw the biggest audience.It said energy demand could rise by as much as 800MW - higher than the 600MW spike during England's 1966 World Cup win.Neso said demand would be expected to increase even more the further England and Scotland go in the tournament, with the biggest games attracting the most viewers.The current record was set during England's 1990 semi-final against West Germany, when a missed penalty in the shootout was followed by a 2,800MW surge - the equivalent to more than a million kettles being switched on at once.Highest demand is expected to be at half-time and full-time, and Neso said its control room was ready to use technologies such as battery farms and pumped hydro storage schemes to keep the system balanced.And it said this year's World Cup was likely to be the "cleanest" with about 40–50% of the electricity used expected to come from renewables.Neso said it was a "big change" from USA 94 when TVs were largely powered by electricity from coal-fired power stations.Director of system operations, Craig Dyke, said engineers would be working "around the clock" to balance supply and demand.He said: "Whether you're cheering on the home nations, your sweepstake side, or for me - wishing Wales were there - this year's World Cup has more games than ever before, meaning we're likely to see a surge in electricity demand across the longer tournament."While what happens on the pitch can always throw up surprises, watching this year's World Cup will almost certainly be powered by the cleanest electricity in history.Over the years, other TV moments have caused power surges.They include a 2001 episode of EastEnders when millions of viewers tuned in to watch the shooting of hardman Phil Mitchell.

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Liam Kelly looks perplexed after being told he has been singled out by some team-mates as Scotland's "hype man"."Aye, that happens naturally when you don't play a lot of games," he jokes. "You need to bring something to the party."The 30-year-old, with three caps to his name, is World Cup-bound as Scotland's third-choice goalkeeper after playing three games for Rangers in the past season.An injury crisis would need to occur for his handful of international appearances to increase in the United States, but his underrated influence in the squad does not go unnoticed."I don't do anything special," he tells BBC Scotland. "When the boys go into the game, I just want them to give it their full whack, know what I mean?"Don't disappoint the opposition by bringing half measures - just go for it."Discourse around squad selections can often get bogged down by people demanding that players who are playing and in form must be picked.But is there enough said about having a lad who will be relentless in bringing vibes to the group?"Liam's in there because he's a very good third goalkeeper," said head coach Steve Clarke.The Scotland boss adds: "He's good around the squad" - tick - "his character's good" - tick - "the players respect him" - tick - and "he works ever so hard in camp" - tick.Oh, and he apparently "shaves Grant Hanley's back", according to Kenny McLean. For the sake of Kelly - and our imaginations - we can all hope that is a joke.McLean also told BBC Scotland that Rangers' back-up goalkeeper is the "most positive guy you will meet".Perhaps the red-tinted sunglasses he wears at night to help replenish his melatonin have something to do with that.When Norwich midfielder McLean scored that goal against Denmark in November, Kelly was one of the first to empty the Scotland bench and lead the chasing pack.He shares a strong bond with the 34-year-old and other senior figures within the group, such as Andy Robertson. He sits beside the captain on international commutes.Nobody has a bad word to say about the former Motherwell player and optimism just always seems to be oozing out of him despite two seasons of limited minutes.Game time was not a problem at Fir Park, where Kelly was first choice for four years before moving back to Rangers, where he started his career as a young prospect.Long-time pal and former team-mate Andy Halliday played with him at both clubs.He remembers Kelly's impact in the Motherwell dressing room, controlling fines, organising days out and running a Traitors-like card game, which some of the Scotland squad got involved in during Sunday's long-haul flight to the US."That's just his way of making sure everyone bonds together," Halliday tells BBC Scotland.At Rangers, his first impressions of the then teenage Kelly were his character standing out despite his age. "Typical Glasgow boy, gallus," he adds.The fact Kelly's three closest mates at Ibrox at that time - Halliday, Lee Wallace and Kenny Miller - were all of an older age told the former midfielder a lot about his personality.And Halliday is in no doubt that the goalkeeper's nature will be having a positive impact among the Scotland squad, even if time on the park will inevitably be restricted."He's opinionated in a good way, whether he's playing or not," Halliday tells BBC Scotland. "Experienced players will go to Liam and have chats around the game."Liam will accept himself his role won't involve many minutes on the pitch. A lot of it will involve what he can bring off the pitch."Everything you need to know about the World Cup

World Cup News

ShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJames W KellyLondonFootball fans who were at Wembley Stadium on 30 July 1966 have marked the nearly 60 years since the England men's team's greatest sporting triumph, recalling a day of "magic, nerves, and yet unrepeated history".Three men who witnessed England's 4-2 victory over West Germany in the World Cup final came together at Hendon Hall in north London, where England's squad were based during the tournament under manager Alf Ramsey.A hotel until 2018, Hendon Hall has since been converted into a care home.As part of Care Home Open Week, residents and guests gathered in the building's Bobby Moore Bar, surrounded by World Cup memorabilia, for a special rerun of the full match.Among those watching was Jeff Goldston, who secured a spot directly behind the goal at Wembley on that fateful afternoon."My ticket for the final was 10 shillings and sixpence, which is 55p," Goldston told the room. Adjusted for inflation, he researched that the ticket would cost £8 in today's economy."It is astonishing how things have changed," he said.Recalling the heart-stopping moment Geoff Hurst completed his hat-trick to seal England's 4-2 win, Goldston said: "I was literally behind the net."Hurst was running towards me, and then he just hit it, and the net bulged towards me and everybody just went mad. It was just incredible."The screening brought back the intense anxiety felt by the 93,000-strong crowd as West Germany scored a last-minute equaliser to force extra time.Edward Cohen, an 87-year-old Hendon Hall resident and former judge, remembered the collective shock in the stadium."And then to our horror... Head in hands time. Head in hands time, and, 'Oh, no,'" Cohen said.The match is partly remembered for Geoff Hurst's controversial second goal which struck the underside of the crossbar.Goldston admitted: "We saw it hit the underside of the bar, but we didn't know anything after that. We didn't know it had gone in."Cohen, who watched the drama unfold from just 12 rows from the front, added: "I couldn't see whether the ball was over the line or not."But who am I to say? The linesman makes the decision, and the referee agreed it, so there it was."Also in the audience was fellow resident Sidney Perez, who recounted the early tension of the afternoon."We were 1-0 down fairly early on. It was exciting but worrying," he said.The screening concluded with Kenneth Wolstenholme's iconic commentary line: "Some people are on the pitch! They think it's all over... it is now!"For Cohen, the screening brought back a long-running family joke about where the match ranks among the best moments of his life.Addressing the room, he said: "Marion went around telling our friends that Edward says that he's had three magnificent days in his lifetime: the day we got married, the day our first child was born, and the day England won the World Cup. But not necessarily in that order."Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk

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Do you have an affinity for world champions Argentina or perhaps a connection with debutants Uzbekistan?The World Cup starts on Thursday, 11 June and if you are a neutral in need of a team, or just fancy following a second side, we have got you covered.Answer our questions and we will tell you your team!After more quizzes? Go to our dedicated Football Quizzes and Sports Quizzes pages and sign up for notifications to get the latest quizzes sent straight to your device.What information do we collect from this quiz?Related topicsFootballFIFA World Cup 2026Play more quizzesQuiz: Name every nation at the 2026 World CupWorld Cup quiz: Name every player in England's squadWorld Cup quiz: Name every player in Scotland's squad

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Australia midfielder takes aim at ‘rubbish’ from United States punditsFormer US defender Alexi Lalas called Socceroos an ‘average team’Socceroos midfielder Connor Metcalfe has heard every barb coming Australia’s way from the United States – and he’s had a gutful of it. Since Australia were drawn in Group D along with the co-hosts in December, the Socceroos have proved the punching bag for pundits based in the USA.Former striker Landon Donovan labelled Socceroos coach Tony Popovic as “smug” and tipped the Australians to finish fourth behind the US, Turkey and Paraguay and exit in the group stage. “Thanks for coming, Aussies and your smug coach – you can get back on the Qantas airplane and head back home, pal,” he quipped.CBS pundit Mike Grella described the Australia fixture as a “lay-up” for Mauricio Pochettino’s world No 16 American side. This week, former US international Alexi Lalas threw more fuel on the fire when he described the Socceroos as an “average team” after the 27th-ranked side’s 1-0 loss to Mexico.While coach Popovic has laughed off the jibes coming Australia’s way, it’s clearly given fuel to the fire for his players. But there are still almost two weeks until that clash on 19 June (20 June AEST), with Australia focused on a friendly against Switzerland then their opener against Turkey.“I mean, I’ve seen all the US stuff, and I’m just sick of it, to be honest - I just am,” Metcalfe said on the eve of the friendly on Saturday. “Like all this talk – it’s just – let’s just wait for the game, whatever happens, happens.“It’s just so much rubbish and I’m just sick of it. So we’ll just wait and we’ll play - it’ll be a good game. We had a friendly against them. It was tense, it was feisty, and probably going to be the exact same.”In that game, in Colorado in October, the US dealt Australia their first defeat under Popovic.The 2-1 defeat was a fiery, physical game, with US defender Chris Richards at one point ready to square up to Socceroo Jason Geria after skipper Christian Pulisic was injured in a challenge.Popovic declared Cristian Volpato “fit and available” to face Switzerland and expected him to get minutes, after the attacker arrived in camp too late to play Mexico. The Socceroos boss said Volpato was looking his best since switching his allegiance from Italy and joining the camp, having needed to get up to speed as his conditioning was behind other players.“There’s no doubts about him as a person or as a player,” Popovic said. “We’ve just got to get him fit. He hasn’t played a lot of football and he had eight to nine days off before he joined us.“He’s working hard. He’s trying to get up to speed and we’ve seen some good inroads in the last couple of days.”Metcalfe batted away a question regarding whether Volpato’s late change of allegiance had been an issue within the squad.“It’s been pretty smooth sailing. I mean, he’s come in, he’s a really nice, relaxed guy,” he said. “We see it online and we know the past and what’s been done, but we’re not here to talk about that. Whatever’s said is done, so it’s fine.”

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Germany forward Lennart Karl has been ruled out of the 2026 World Cup with a thigh injury.The highly rated 18-year-old suffered the issue in Germany's final training session before a warm-up game against World Cup co-hosts United States.Bayern Munich's Karl started in Germany's 4-0 win against Finland in a friendly on Sunday, during which he set up one of the goals, but he will now be replaced by RB Leipzig's Assan Ouedraogo."I feel incredibly sorry for Lenny," said Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann."It's a huge shock for him and all of us that he's missing the World Cup. It's only a small consolation that he's young and has many tournaments ahead of him. We would have loved to have him on the team."With Assan Ouedraogo, we're now getting a player who, like Lenny, had a fantastic start with us. He's also highly talented and we expect him to play with courage and freedom."The game against the US is Germany's last before they start their World Cup campaign against Curacao on 14 June.Nagelsmann's side then have further Group E games against Ivory Coast on 20 June and Ecuador on 25 June.The rise of Bayern's 'special' teen Karl who 'plays Messi style'Everything you need to know about the World Cup

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Though four-time winners, Germany's last World Cup knockout match was the victorious final of 2014. Two group exits followed, painting a picture of faded glory.But hosting Euro 2024 touched up the colours somewhat. It reminded many of the 2006 World Cup, that sun-blessed home tournament which ushered in a fresh, young, creative team that the nation adopted as its self-image.Once more there was optimism, there was flamboyance, there was.... another 119th-minute heartbreak at the hands of the eventual champions.Last year's Nations League Finals were a reality check, and they then lost to Slovakia in qualifying. So the picture is complex. At the last two World Cups they lost their opening game and failed to recover.So all eyes on Curacao on 14 June in Houston – will Germany have a problem?Elite attacking midfielders, such as Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz roaming and creating, is Germany's strongest department.The 11th-hour return of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer has soothed concerns at the other end.Musiala is unlikely to be 100% fit and the candidates to play striker have had mixed seasons, through injury or being played out of position.Finding the right balance from the double midfield pivot will also be a challenge.However, the greatest obstacle to progress could be that France are looming in the last 16.Much hinges on the fitness of Bayern Munich playmaker Jamal Musiala, who returned to action in January after breaking his leg and dislocating an ankle at the Club World Cup last summer. He played his first 90 minutes since March against Finland on 31 May.Whether to play with a recognised striker or not has been a debate in Germany for years. The current plan is a 4-2-3-1, with Arsenal's Kai Havertz up top.The last remaining link with the 2014 triumph, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer shocked and/or delighted much of the nation by coming out of international retirement for one last World Cup, his fifth.It's a decade since Julian Nagelsmann, then 28, took over at Hoffenheim and led them into the Champions League. He then took Leipzig to the semi-finals, but at Bayern he was sacked. He is 16 months younger than goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.They recovered from an opening defeat in Slovakia – only their fourth-ever loss in World Cup qualifying – to win four in a row and top the group.All of Germany's matches will also be covered live on the BBC Sport website and app with updates, analysis, and fan reaction. Come and be part of it!With no traditional centre forward in the Germany squad, the excited recipient of the Number 9 jersey is Stuttgart winger Jamie Leweling.Upon hearing the news, he changed his profile pic on Instagram to an image of his face, with Ronaldo's (in)famous triangle haircut from 2002.Ultimately, it was a Japanese cross, kept in play by millimetres before being bundled into the Spanish net, that caused Germany's group-stage exit from Qatar 2022. The thickness of a thermally-bonded polyurethane panel – the difference between going on, and going home.But even the most die-hard fan of Die Mannschaft would accept there were more macro factors at play to explain Germany's second World Cup failure in a row.Some commentators said their traditional values, centred around physicality, were outdated, and that the coaching system should instead promote freedom of expression. In defence of tradition, Germany legend Bastian Schweinsteiger blamed former Bayern coach Pep Guardiola for importing "short-pass" football into the Bundesliga, which spread contagiously, wiping out those traditional values.It's doubtful any of the old guard, who triumphed through mental fortitude and reliability, would ever have imagined a German World Cup campaign unravelling in chaos as the goalkeeper lost possession while dribbling around the edge of the opposition box, as Manuel Neuer did in 2018.So coach Julian Nagelsmann has had to wrestle with the arguments above – what should his Germany be? The available evidence suggests a marriage of flair and solid fundamentals. The former, at least, shouldn't be a problem.How have Germany's done at previous World Cups?Germany's tally of eight finals is a record. Since winning their fourth World Cup in 2014 they have gone out of the group stage in both Russia and Qatar, winning only one game at each tournament.