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From Christian Pulisic and Antonee Robinson to Sergiño Dest and Folarin Balogun, the Socceroos will have their hands full in the Group D clashIn the so-called “Battle of Seattle”, the Socceroos face a range of threats against the USA on Friday (Saturday AEST): physical, technical and tactical. A draw will almost certainly secure a place in the round of 32 for the Socceroos and, after their heroics against Turkey, Australia can rightfully feel this is a game they can win. To do so, they will need to neutralise the most dangerous components of the USA menace.The focal point of the USA attack, and the face of the team across many of the advertisements screening during the World Cup, Pulisic has become a consistent performer for AC Milan since the end of his up-and-down stint Chelsea in 2023.The 27-year-old operates in an inverted left wing role, leaving him the scope to cut inside when the team has possession or drive wide on counter-attacks. Both strategies were evident in his electric first half display against Paraguay.Pulisic suffered a knock in that game and came off at half-time, but is due to play against Australia. He will pose a challenge for Alessandro Circati on the right-side of the Socceroos’ three central defenders. The young defender will not always be marking the American, but will be responsible for ensuring the right full-back – likely Jacob Italiano – and the right-sided central midfielder – probably Aiden O’Neill – are on Pulisic watch.The problem for Circati and the others on the Socceroos’ right flank is that they cannot worry about just Pulisic. The preference of Mauricio Pochettino to use wingbacks – which is not dissimilar to Tony Popovic’s preferred system – means Robinson becomes an outlet in possession and an attacking complement to Pulisic on the left side.The Socceroos are likely to concede the bulk of possession to the tournament hosts, leaving Connor Metcalfe – set to be Australia’s right winger again – as the first line of defence against Robinson. The American finished last season strongly for Fulham, and offers pace, endurance and capacity to overlap in an area targeted by Switzerland in the World Cup warm-up game and Turkey at the weekend. They both clearly saw something they liked down Australia’s right.Unfortunately for the Socceroos, the USA pose threats on both flanks. Dest is a skilful right-sided wingback or winger who helped PSV to the Dutch title. His duel with Jordy Bos, Australia’s dangerous left full-back, is set to be the game’s most compelling one-on-one contest. The pair played each other twice in the Eredivisie last season, and Bos’s Feyenoord – who finished second in the league – were beaten on both occasions.Of course, they will not always face down each other in possession. Both players will also be marked at times by opposition midfielders, but Dest’s tendency to attack is likely to place him in the proximity of Bos more often than not. The Australian’s ability to gain possession behind Dest, and force the Americans onto the back foot, will help relieve pressure in what is likely to be a 100-minute-long assault from the hosts.The striker scored twice against Paraguay, including a gorgeous second which highlights the risk for Australia. Balogun’s speed will test Australia’s loping central defence, whether that’s Harry Souttar in the middle, or on the left where Cam Burgess or perhaps Lucas Herrington will be called upon.The Socceroos conceded a similar goal to Balogun’s second against the USA in their friendly last year, when a quick free-kick in midfield found Burgess napping. That time it was Haji Wright – a likely substitute on Friday – who cut in and scored. The danger will be even more intense with Balogun, who finished with 19 goals in all competitions for Monaco last season.The midfielder looms as a lock-pick against what is likely to be Australia’s low block, even if he comes off the bench as he did against Paraguay. Reyna has the technical ability to find spaces for him and his teammates in between the lines, and the polish to make the most of half chances. His finish against Paraguay, with the outside of his right foot, was a delight.Paraguay came into the World Cup with a similar reputation to the Socceroos, as conservative and physical opponents. Despite the Paraguayans’ outstanding defensive record in South American qualifying, they were dismantled by an irresistible American display in the first half last week.The USA players can take credit, but the foundation of their success was coach Pochettino. The Argentinian – whose tactical nous helped Tottenham to their first Champions League final in 2019 – is not afraid to tweak his system to exploit opponents’ weaknesses. That pragmatism, together with the technical flexibility and athleticism of his squad, mean Australia will need to be prepared for surprises. Or, hopefully, have some of their own.

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The tournament favorites were far from their best in their first half against a strong Senegal side. Their star forward made sure things finished fineAfter the whistle blew for half-time, Kylian Mbappé ran to the player tunnel at a good clip, followed by Ousmane Dembélé. Behind them, the rest of the French team were in no such hurry, sauntering off the pitch. The forward widely considered the best in the world – or at least the most famous in the Non-Ronaldo-and-Messi Division – and the reigning Ballon d’Or winner had much to discuss.The scoreless first half Tuesday against a Senegal side who had organized and pressed cohesively and forged much the better chances, including a clipped post, was a disjointed mess for the 2018 World Cup champions and the 2022 runners-up. But having the world’s best corps of forwards means getting to comprehensively beat the (former) African champions 3-1 despite spending the first hour looking like your front four had never played together before. And possibly didn’t even know one another’s names.Because France have Mbappé. And Dembélé. And Michael Olise.It seemed there was little connective tissue holding the French attack together in the first half. Olise roamed every which way from his right flank, once nearly traveling to the other touch line just to get involved in the play, but couldn’t figure out how to affect the game. Désiré Doué hardly factored on the left. And then there was the slapstick series of misunderstandings between Dembélé, playing in the pocket, and Mbappé up front.The latter was nearly sprung in the fourth minute, served by Adrien Rabiot – French manager Didier Deschamps’ longtime and much-maligned pet playmaker. Mbappé received the ball with his right ass cheek, which evidently lacked the suppleness of his feet. He exchanged several hopeful balls with Dembélé, but their partnership never quite seemed to produce any real peril for the Senegalese defense, which enjoyed a pleasant afternoon of casual work on a sunny day that was neither hot nor humid.Olise, sticking to the right for once, eviscerated El Hadji Malick Diouf late in the first half and set off into the vacant corridor. He and Mbappé seemed to lock eyes but never entirely worked out who was going where. Nothing was working.Mbappé and Dembélé, the main protagonists up the middle, were having a very miserable time, gesticulating at one another, willing the other to just read their minds already. The French looked every bit like a team with an innately defensive manager who had set up his attackers in positions or roles they don’t play for their clubs. They were a collective in search of ideas and solutions, aware that they were far too good to look this bad.And yet. The Senegalese pressed and cut right through the French lines to create several good chances. Nicolas Jackson’s shot off Mike Maignan’s near post followed an Mbappé turnover upfield. When Mbappé lost the ball yet again on a hideous turnover, a French journalist in the press box could no longer contain himself. “Oh la la la la la laaah,” he moaned. Really.“From time to time, you do have a rough start,” Deschamps said. “It’s quite hard to meet the high expectation at a World Cup.”Whatever message was delivered at the intermission worked. So too did switching Olise to the middle and Dembélé to the right. Deschamps’ men dialed up their intensity and finally managed to slip the right sprockets into the correct gears around the hour mark.Olise was denied by Senegal keeper Édouard Mendy. So was Mbappé. And Sadio Mané was spared what seemed a stone-cold penalty kick on Mbappé, when even the assistance of VAR could not convince referee Alireza Faghani to make the right call.No matter. In the 64th minute, Olise spun into space centrally and rolled a beautiful through ball against the grain for Mbappé, who couldn’t quite get a toe to it. Nonetheless, they had found another at last. Proof of concept.Two minutes later, the two connected for much the same play. Mbappé made a run across goal and Olise found him with a splendid diagonal pass, paced and placed just so. Mbappé slotted past Mendy. The goal equalled Olivier Giroud’s all-time France scoring record at 57.After a smashed finish from Jackson was ruled offside, Rabiot scampered into the vacant midfield on a break in the 82nd minute and sent Bradley Barcola, fresh on to the pitch for Dembélé, through on goal and the substitute finished with a delicate chip.The 18-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye blasted Senegal on to the scoreboard, but Olise and Mbappé had one final treat for the 82,000 congregants in New Jersey. At the death, Olise fought through a Senegalese scrum and fed Mbappé up the middle about 30 yards from goal.And then Mbappé did the sort of thing that makes a nation pin its hopes on you, that moves children to beg their parents for your jersey, that compels a manager to leave you on the field even when you’ve had an objectively ugly game. He turned and, without any questioning or compunction about the propriety of even trying such a thing, unloosed a shot that swerved past Mendy. Fifty-eight international goals. 3-1.“He told me that he didn’t want to strike in a friendly match but wanted to score in a real match,” Deschamps joked about Mbappé’s record-setting goals. “He wanted to do it here.”No Frenchman on the field will remember this game as one of their best. Senegal, meanwhile, were good. Very good at times. And still. Mbappé. And Olise. Also Dembélé. The sorts of players who give their side, and themselves, a vast margin for error.“Kylian was efficient, ruthlessly efficient,” Deschamps said. “People will still criticize him. He’s an iconic player, I’ve always said that. He can sometimes miss a game but on one action he can really tip the scales.”There were smiles and hugs now. Mbappé led Les Bleus to the sea of French fans to thank them for their support. The first-half grimaces, all the poor touches, the passes played to the wrong foot, the routes misread, the signals crossed, all of it long forgotten.The French would be just fine. Because they have, well, all of them.

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Manager confident match will showcase side’s abilities‘We should play brave and to the strengths of the players’Thomas Tuchel has said the occasion and tension will bring the best out of England when they open their World Cup campaign with an ­awkward game against Croatia on Wednesday.England cruised through ­qualifying, but have a patchy record against top opposition and much to prove before their first encounter in Group L. They have faced top-20 sides on three occasions under Tuchel, drawing with Uruguay and losing to Japan and Senegal.Yet Tuchel is confident ­England will have a different mindset in a competitive game. The German cannot wait for his first World Cup to begin and believes his side will be ready for the challenge posed by ­Croatia under the Dallas Stadium roof.“Because it’s not a friendly match, we will not try stuff,” England’s head coach said. “We will rely on us and the occasion and the tension will bring out the best in us.”Tuchel’s aim is for England to play with the intensity of a Premier League side. “We should play brave and play to the strengths of the players,” he said. “I feel clearly that the players want it and that they are successful in club football like this.“They compete in the ­strongest league, most of them. The others who are not in the league ­compete in the highest level in Europe and ­Champions League and they play in brave and active teams. It makes things excited and creates a ­certain energy and we need a connection with our fans who are here, with the fans at home, to create something special.”England’s carefully planned buildup involved them ­acclimatising to the heat by flying to a Florida for a pre-tournament training camp two weeks ago. They have stepped up preparations at their base in Kansas City and Tuchel, who is expected to start Jude Bellingham over Morgan Rogers at No 10, feels his players require no special messaging about their World Cup starting here.“They know,” he said. “I don’t feel any emotional fuel is needed to make everyone clear what is happening. We know.“I see it even as an advantage that we’re very focused on what we can influence. We don’t put it in the ­bigger picture – just put it where it is. Go day by day, influence what you can ­influence. If we can stay there, I think we have an even ­better chance to compete and perform on our highest level.”England could overpower an ­ageing Croatia side, but they must be wary of the craft of Mateo Kovacic and the 40-year-old Luka Modric in midfield. The 37-year-old Ivan ­Perisic is another danger and scored in ­Croatia’s semi-final win over ­England at the 2018 World Cup.“It is a very difficult start,” Tuchel said. “It is an experienced team, an experienced coach, in tournament knockout football. It’s a top football nation and a very strong opponent. The centre of gravity in their game has dropped a bit, into a back three, we expect.“From a midfield three, which was the core of Croatia, it has only Kovacic and Modric still there. They’re ­playing in a midfield two now. They play with fluid No 10s and wing-backs. But the core is still Modric and Kovacic.“Then they have Perisic, who is always a threat with the crosses. That is one of the most dangerous crossers in world football, maybe – left foot, right foot, he does not even need space to put a cross in. It is ­remarkable. And they are strong in set pieces”.England have been working on their own set-pieces and looked in good shape when they thrashed Costa Rica last week.There are few selection headaches for Tuchel. He must decide whether to risk Bukayo Saka, with the winger troubled by an achilles problem. Noni Madueke is an option to start instead of his Arsenal teammate while Ezri Konsa and John Stones are expected to get the nod over Marc Guéhi in central defence.The full-back Tino Livramento is out of the tournament after ­suffering a muscular injury in ­training; Tuche said scans indicated the Newcastle man would be out for four-to-five weeks. ­Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah has been called up in his place, a move that will free up Jarell Quansah to be a full-back option on both sides, together with Djed Spence. Chalobah will come in as a centre-half option.The squad will play a behind-closed-doors game at their Kansas City base on Thursday, Tuchel said, to keep the players who do not get many minutes against Croatia ticking over. The opposition could be the local MLS team, Sporting Kansas City. England did the same thing after their friendly against Costa Rica last Wednesday, when they had a training match against Miami United in Florida the next day. England’s second World Cup group game is not until Tuesday, against Ghana at Boston Stadium.“It is true that we try to play an in-house match after Croatia to use the time [well], we have many days [before the Ghana game],” Tuchel said. “It can give the players who don’t play minutes an extra match load. We did it after the Costa Rica game and we do it one last time on the day after Croatia.”

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England’s ‘footballaholic’ head coach may not be motivated by a fan’s passion but he is more than just a gun for hireIdentity lies at the heart of the World Cup. Who are we and how do we play? Does our academy system work better than yours? What do your coaching pathways look like compared with ours? And do you still get a bit emotional every time you watch that BBC montage of England’s penalty shootout win over Colombia at the 2018 World Cup?Maybe not if you happen to be Thomas Tuchel. This is not a man weighed down by the ghosts of England tournaments past. There is no missed penalty haunting this gangly German intellectual in his sleep, no costly red card in a knockout tie stalking his nightmares. For Tuchel, meaning is found merely in the pursuit of victory. At first glance there is no deeper cultural connection here and, for all the breezy talk of putting a second star on the shirt, there are times when it is hard to understand why Tuchel wants to bring an end to England men’s 60 years of hurt this summer.Of course, winning the World Cup would look good on the CV. The attraction of the job is obvious. The rewards are vast and the players are elite. Yet even if it makes sense on a sporting level, it is still fascinating to consider the wider motivation for Tuchel given it is safe to assume he was not supporting England when they lost those semi-finals to the Germans at Italia 90 and Euro 96.It comes back to the idea that what separates international football from the club game is playing for something bigger. For some, the aim is to go down as a legend in your own country, but Tuchel is not from England. He will not sing the national anthem when England face Croatia in their opening game in Group L in Dallas on Thursday. Will there be criticism from the usual suspects? Perhaps, but Tuchel is unlikely to care. He knows the words – “It is not so difficult,” he said with a grin – and explained that he still feels too shy to join in when the music strikes up.Tuchel’s predecessor brought a different energy. Gareth Southgate almost treated the England job as a higher calling. He spoke about politics and behaved like a man trying to heal the nation. Southgate wrote an open letter about society’s divisions and ended up being played by Joseph Fiennes in the stage and television versions of Dear England.There is none of that with Tuchel. His title is head coach rather than manager. He is not interested in talking about politics and his background means he is never going to become as overwhelmed by the job as Southgate was by the end of his time in charge.Still, though, there are layers to Tuchel. As a young coach he rose through the German pressing school. He has been described as a “footballaholic” and is bright, engaging and funny. His eccentric streak appeals to England’s love of a maverick, yet the willingness to speak his mind can sometimes feel very un-English. It is hard, for instance, to picture Southgate ever calling one of his players repulsive.“Thomas is almost Latin in the way he speaks,” the FA’s technical director, John McDermott, said in Inside England, a book about the team’s journey over the past decade. “There’s a warmth and there’s a tactileness. He comes alive when he’s speaking about the team, the players, the games.”Tuchel did not click with the French media when he managed Paris Saint-Germain and has a reputation for being a hothead in Germany. He fell out with Joshua Kimmich at Bayern Munich and has always sounded ambivalent when talking about German football.England is where he most comes alive. It felt right for Tuchel when he became Chelsea’s manager in January 2021 and led them to Champions League glory four months later. Lockdown measures were still in place, but the 52-year-old talked enthusiastically about wanting to discover London’s bookshops and best coffee spots. “It’s the country, it’s the humour, it’s the way of life,” Tuchel once said of his love of England as a country.He is not putting it on. He likes zooming around the capital on Lime bikes. He has found his favourite gastropub and when he was younger he loved to pretend to be Chris Waddle “with the collar up in my garden” after watching the England winger during the 1990 World Cup.Perhaps Tuchel’s desire to lead England to glory is not such a mystery. Unlike Fabio Capello, he gets the culture. His favourite novel? TC Boyle’s Water Music, a story about a London thief and a Scottish explorer as they seek the source of the Niger River in Africa in the 18th century. The impression is that Tuchel feels a connection with England. Asked if he is an anglophile, he says: “I can’t explain it but it felt like this from the first weeks at Chelsea. It just felt so good to be in the country and a part of the Premier League. Every day was a gift almost.“What the league brings out of players and what the fans expect from the players, the coach made me feel very comfortable. I liked it from the first day. I cannot say often enough, it’s an honour for me to be England head coach. I feel basically at home when I land. I would say now: ‘I fly home.’ I fly home to my home in London. It feels like home when I land in London and I’m in England.”This is more than an expensive gun for hire. Tuchel cares. The longer he stays the less he feels like an outsider.

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Striker will lead England against Croatia at the home of the Dallas Cowboys, seeking to right the wrongs of Qatar 2022There has long been something about the mentality of US sports stars that has appealed to Harry Kane. The England captain sees it as something specific to them: a unique brand of never-say-die spirit. It leans into a broader notion – that anyone can achieve success if they want it badly enough, if they pursue it with all their heart. It is known as the American dream.Kane was introduced to it all in 2011 at the start of his professional career, when the path was anything but smooth at his boyhood club, Tottenham. He had started to become interested in the NFL and there was something about the New England Patriots quarterback, Tom Brady, that transfixed him.Kane watched The Brady 6 documentary. It told the story of how nobody wanted Brady in the 2000 NFL draft. Six other quarterbacks were taken before the Patriots made him the 199th pick. When the show came out, Brady had led the team to three Super Bowls. He would do so on a further four occasions, with Kane travelling to Atlanta in 2019 to watch the Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams for No 6.Brady invited Kane to the team party afterwards and there is a lovely photograph of them together, Kane wearing a Patriots replica jersey, Brady’s No 12 across the front. The pair have remained in touch ever since. But it is not just Brady, even if he is the principle inspiration. Kane follows other NFL players and other American sports personalities.For Kane, it is the US in general. He is at ease in the country. He remembers going there on his first pre-season tour with Spurs in 2012, when the club played a game in New York and Kane was recognised in the streets. There are a lot of Tottenham fans in the Big Apple. Kane has been drawn back time and again, mainly to New York and Florida, where he loves the golf courses.In New York, he appeared on the Jimmy Fallon show in 2022 and Good Morning America a year later when he talked of wanting to be an NFL kicker after he retired from football. He first mentioned that in 2019 and his words are worth reprinting. “It goes back to that drive to be the best,” he said. “Even if I download a game on my phone, can I be the best in the world? If you play in the Premier League and the World Cup, and you then play in the NFL, would you be considered one of the greatest sportsmen ever?”Kane has lived his version of the American dream on the other side of the pond. The breakthrough at Spurs in 2014. The inexorable rise to become the face of the England team; the record goalscorer. The big money move to Bayern Munich in 2023. The titles with the Bundesliga club.“People didn’t expect much from Tom Brady,” Kane says. “Seeing the way he went about his business, his journey from the start … to go on and be the greatest ever player in his sport is maybe reminiscent of me earlier in my career. In that people doubted me and I worked hard to turn that around.“In terms of the US, it’s how open it is from the athlete and media point of view. Everyone wears their heart on their sleeve and they are maybe more honest in how they talk in the media. I enjoy being here. I’ve had good experiences in pre-season. I come here on holiday a bit to play golf. It’s been good memories.”Kane’s real American dream will begin at Dallas Stadium on Wednesday when he leads England out for their World Cup opener against Croatia. It feels appropriate that it is an NFL arena, the home of the Dallas Cowboys. Albeit not as appropriate as if it were the Patriots’ Gillette Stadium in Foxborough. England play their second group game there against Ghana next Tuesday. “That’s probably the one I’m excited to go to being a Patriots fan,” Kane says. “I’ve never been to the Gillette Stadium before.”There is certainly excitement for Kane and yet it is underpinned by conviction. There is something about the way he carries himself these days. The humility endures; a product of his upbringing, his struggles. But there is an awareness of his place in the global game, especially after the season he has had – 61 goals in 51 appearances for Bayern and a second Bundesliga title. The DFB-Pokal, too.Kane had played in five major finals – three for Spurs, including one in the Champions League; two for England, both at the European Championship. He lost all five, failing to score in any of them. In May, he bagged a second-half hat-trick in Bayern’s 3-0 win over Stuttgart.The 32-year-old has never been so prolific. His previous best for a season at club level was the 44 he got for Bayern in 2023-24. He is getting better with age and there is talk of the Ballon d’Or if the World Cup goes well. Of greatness. After winning nothing at Spurs, Kane knows he is viewed differently. It is a source of strength.“There’s a different feeling, for sure,” Kane says. “For me to have that weight off my shoulders [having won things at Bayern] is important. Especially this year having the trophies and having the cup final where I scored a hat-trick – my first big moment in a final. The perception around me has probably changed in the last few years.”Kane will win his 115th cap against Croatia, moving him to joint-third on the all-time England list, level with David Beckham, one of his heroes. Kane went to the same school in Chingford, east London. Only Peter Shilton (125) and Wayne Rooney (120) have played more for England. Of Kane’s 79 goals for his country, nine have come in the knockout rounds of World Cups and Euros. No other player in history has more than eight. Kane, on eight, is closing in on Gary Lineker’s World Cup record of 10 for England.“I’m coming into this tournament in the best way possible; the best place physically and mentally,” Kane says. “Throughout a career, there aren’t loads of times when all the pieces of the puzzle will come together at the right moment. Talking now, I feel like I’m in that place.“With every tournament, I always feel under pressure being the goalscorer … people expect you to score and help the team and I guess this year is no different. But I’m comfortable having that responsibility. I’m probably even more comfortable going into this year because of the way the season was for me.”Kane dwelt for a moment on the famous photograph of him as an 11-year-old with Beckham in 2005. It was at the launch of Beckham’s football academy. Also in the picture was Katie Goodland – Kane’s future wife. “Looking back on that with me and him and obviously my wife there, who was just a friend at the time … it’s a pretty crazy picture.”Kane’s journey with England has taken in five previous tournaments, starting with Euro 2016, and he found himself admitting that he holds on to the low points more tightly. The lowest was his critical penalty miss in the quarter-final loss to France at the 2022 World Cup.“The downs have almost motivated me [more] to be better, going back to the last World Cup and the disappointment with the way that ended,” he says. “After the time it took me to process it all and move on, it gave me an extra bite, an extra edge to really improve and push on.”Kane is more about looking ahead. The ultimate dream bubbles. What will be his final words in the dressing room before the team steps out against Croatia? “The messaging will be to go with freedom,” he says. “We have an extremely strong team, a physical team. That’s going to be a big aspect of our game, so go out there and use that. We’re here to go far, that’s our goal.“The only regrets you can have coming away from tournaments is that you didn’t go for it. You can make mistakes. You can miss penalties like I’ve missed. But I don’t think those are the moments that stop you from sleeping at night.“It’s the ones where you feel like you could have given more, you could have been a bit more free, you could have just gone for it. When you lose, you lose anyway. I’d rather lose giving it everything, showing my best abilities, whether you make mistakes or not. The message is just to be free and don’t be afraid of any outcome. Then, we’ll have a great chance.”

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What about Algeria? Even Maher Mezahi isn’t sure what to expect.double quotation markAlgeria are one of this World Cup’s great unknowns. On paper, this team has an impressive recent record: a friendly victory over the Netherlands made it 21 wins, four draws and three defeats from 28 matches under Vladimir Petkovic, with 67 goals scored. The problem is that it has been achieved against generally poor-quality opposition. Algeria’s qualifying campaign was a breeze, with Guinea and Mozambique – both considered Pot C sides on the continent – being their sternest tests.We can be pretty sure Petkovic will lean on his players’ technical quality, play attractive football, but leave gaps in behind the defence. What we don’t know is which players will be called upon for half the starting positions.

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Midfielder did not declare rape charges against himTeam face Panama in World Cup in Toronto on WednesdayA judge in Canada has rejected Thomas Partey’s appeal to enter the country after the Ghana midfielder was denied entry for the World Cup.On Tuesday, Justice Roger Lafrenière, who heard the emergency application in Ottawa, rejected Partey’s request to override temporarily a decision by immigration officials. The Black Stars are due to in Toronto for the team’s opening match against Panama on Wednesday.In his judgement, Lafrenière sided with Canada’s immigration rules and said Partey failed to show grounds for emergency relief.At issue are the seven counts of rape and one count of sexual assault Parey faces in the United Kingdom. He has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in London next year.In its rejection of his application, Canada has said immigration decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and that hosting the World Cup does not change the country’s immigration laws. Lafrenière said granting Partey relief would have “lawfully rendered inadmissibility finding and ⁠facilitate his entry for a specific event”.Notably, documents filed in court showed Partey had claimed he had not been charged with any criminal charges in any country when applying to enter Canada before the tournament. Partey was previously asked by Canadian immigration officials to clarify the charges he was facing in the UK.In an affidavit filed with the court, Partey pledged to remain under the supervision of team officials if permitted to enter Canada. He also promised to would leave the country in accordance with the tournament schedule.“I have not been convicted of any offence. I have pleaded not guilty, and I remain presumed innocent,” Partey said.The midfielder also said being unable to travel to Canada would “materially affect” Ghana’s ability to play in the tournament. “This is the first time that my country has qualified at the World Cup,” he also said in the affidavit. Ghana qualified for the previous tournament in Qatar, where Partey played in three games.Before the ruling, Ghana’s head coach, Carlos Queiroz, said he was prepared to “play with the cards that are in front of me”. He told reporters: “We are waiting for a decision. When the decision come, we are ready. We are ready to make the final approach to the game.”Partey was permitted to enter the United States for Ghana’s training camp and upcoming World Cup matches. He will be able to play in the two matches against England and Croatia, in Boston and Philadelphia.

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This was an ominous start from the World Cup favourites. A sputtering first-half performance gave way to a second period characterised by a combination of physical intensity and technical ability that few club sides, never mind nations, can match. Add on a record-equalling, then surpassing, couple of goals for Kylian Mbappé and some superlative playmaking from Michael Olise and this was very much a job well done for Les Bleus.After Mbappé tucked away a superb Olise pass just after the hour, a match that had started as a keenly fought contest faded away into a procession.The substitute Bradley Barcola doubled the lead in the last 10 minutes before a chaotic period of added time gave Senegal brief hope before a second goal for Mbappé, his 58th for France, which made him his country’s all-time leading goalscorer, ahead of Olivier Giroud.With numerous New York Knicks players in the stands of the MetLife Stadium there was a golden aura lingering over proceedings before kick-off.The best openings in the first 25 minutes, or hints thereof, went to France, Ousmane Dembélé almost threading a pass to Mbappé in the box in the 11th minute, only for the captain to fail to get the ball under control. There was some casual chest control from Kalidou Koulibaly in the 14th minute that ceded possession dangerously, but ultimately to no harm to Édouard Mendy. In the 24th minute, the former Chelsea keeper was nearly robbed on the edge of his own box by Dembélé but just held on.After surviving this initial scrappy passage, Senegal began to assert themselves more and created the first chance proper in the 25th minute.A sliding tackle from El Hadji Malick Diouf seized possession and his quick ball sent Nicolas Jackson clear down the left. He sped into the box and got his shot off which hit the inside of the near post and a diving Mike Maignan was fortunate to see it deflect wide off his heel.The hydration break followed almost immediately and after that Senegal were the better side, composed off the ball and increasingly dangerous on the break. Just before half-time they should have taken the lead, but after Sadio Mané ghosted into the France box and laid the ball off, Ismaïla Sarr made a poor contact and his shot sailed over the bar.France were lacking a clear attacking identity, but also a physical intensity and it was no surprise to see them return after the interval fired up and more assertive off the ball. Desiré Doué got his first shot off immediately after the restart but bent the ball around a post. Five minutes later the Paris Saint-Germain forward started his own break that almost put Mbappé through, only for the ball to be taken off his toe.Then Olise had his moment, a turnover in midfield resulting in the Bayern Munich winger clear one-on-one with Mendy, only for the keeper to make a crucial sprawling save. Four minutes later and, this time, Olise sent Mbappé clear but again Mendy was out to get a crucial contact on the shot.By the hour mark the game had decisively changed, France were the dominant team and a goal felt like it could arrive at any minute. So when Mbappé burst down the right and forced Mané into a sliding challenge inside the box, there was a collective holding of the breath. The referee, Alireza Faghani, awarded a corner, video replays seemed to suggest a foul, but after Faghani was directed towards the monitor, he chose not to change his mind to the surprise of almost everyone in the ground.The decision, however unusual, did not affect the direction of this match as Olise and Mbappé continued to purr. Almost immediately Olise burst through the middle of the pitch and slipped a ball beyond the Senegal defence which Mbappé just could not reach. No matter, because the next time the ball came to Olise, around 30 yards out, he bisected two lines of the opposition with a superlative pass cutting right to left across the field. Coming left to right, meanwhile, was Mbappé. He beat everyone to Olise’s pass, turned back on himself and slotted a first-time shot into the net with consummate ease.Jackson had a couple of efforts for Senegal after the opener and blazed one of them into the top corner only to be ruled offside. But the sense that this contest had been decided was strong as Les Bleus continued to play at a level their opponents couldn’t reach.Dembélé was withdrawn for Barcola, a closer for club and country, and he eliminated all doubt when running on to another diagonal through ball, this time from Adrien Rabiot who had burst through the growing gaps in midfield, and chipped calmly past Mendy.The game may have been decided but there was more action to come in a frenetic period of added time. First, the substitute Ibrahim Mbaye slammed in a shot which Maignan could not stop. Then Mbappé, not to be outdone, blasted one from range too, which Mendy might have done better with. One down, seven more to go.

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Hello all, and I hope you’re all enjoying the debate over the no-call in the France-Senegal match (unanimous view in the referees’ message board I frequent: correct no-call) and also the goal that followed.Follow along with Daniel Harris, and I’ll be back with a proper preamble when that one has ended.