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The arrival of then world champions Brazil for an exhibition match in conflict-torn Haiti brought the capital Port-au-Prince to a standstill in 2004."Are you sure the Brazilians are playing in Haiti? It sounds like the Brazilians are at home," Haitian journalist Pierre Richard Midy remembers his foreign friends asking him.It looked like it too. Waving Brazilian flags and wearing yellow and green shirts and face paint, thousands of locals lined the streets and climbed the trees for a better view of their heroes including Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos.With Haiti's sole men's World Cup appearance having been in 1974, fans had long turned to Brazil as their team to support on the biggest stage. Their passion has further increased in the past couple of decades through Brazil's key roles in supporting peacekeeping, humanitarian aid and migration.Haiti lost the match 6-0, but the United Nations (UN)-organised friendly was about so much more in a Caribbean island nation dominated by gang warfare. Midy recalls "an atmosphere of peace" and that gangs seemed "ready to turn the page and cease fire for two days".This year Haitians are preparing for the rare chance to not only support their own team at the World Cup, but also play against Brazil again.They are both in Group C, alongside Scotland and Morocco.Streets have been cleaned and Haitian flags hung with pride, while fans are finding creative ways to watch the action in a country where there is a chronic electricity shortage.Once again, football for them is about hope, not scorelines.Largely in the hands of gangs and grappling with a humanitarian crisis deepened by natural disasters, such as the 2010 earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people, Haiti is so dangerous that the national team have not played a home match for five years.Their coach has never set foot on the island, most of their players were born abroad and it will be hard for fans to be at the World Cup as US travel bans imposed by President Donald Trump's administration - together with cost - put the notion out of reach."We have many players who have never been in Haiti, so before the game starts, sometimes I used to share with them the reality of the country, the responsibility we have on our shoulders," said Haiti's all-time top scorer Duckens Nazon."When we put the shirt on, it's more than a normal game. We are the first independent black nation in the world. We have a lot of history. We have to assume this role."One player who knows the realities all too well is Woodensky Pierre, Haiti's only domestic-based player.The defensive midfielder was raised in the slum of Cite Soleil and plays for one of Haiti's biggest clubs, Violette AC, whose home ground - the Stade Sylvio Cator - had hosted Haiti's home matches until it was taken over by gangs two years ago.Violette became league champions a month before the World Cup, but in an illustration of what daily life is like in Haiti, the start of their final match was delayed by gunfire.Woodensky, as he is known, was initially called up by Sebastien Migne purely on the basis of online videos because the Haiti coach could not see him play in the flesh."This player is from one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods in Haiti. He plays with instinct because he learned early that hesitation costs you everything," said Midy."He is precious for Haitian people because we think he's the one to say, 'we are not dead, we have talent here'. He always says, 'I'm not only carrying the ball, I'm carrying the hopes where I come from'."Nazon hopes the example of Woodensky, and the team in general, can leave a legacy that inspires peace."This is what we try to share with the new generation," he said."You're not obligated to take weapons. You're not obligated to go with gangs or to deal or smoke drugs. There are so many ways to get out of the struggle."In 2021, the country was thrown into chaos by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, who has never been replaced, leaving Haiti's gangs to fill the void.According to Amnesty International, 5,600 people were reported killed in Haiti in 2024 alone. The population is estimated at about 11.5 million.Haiti have been playing their 'home' matches 500 miles away in Curacao.Sixteen of Haiti's players were born abroad, across five countries. The 26-man squad represents 25 clubs from 15 countries.The man who has woven these threads into a coherent outfit is Frenchman Migne, who was Cameroon's assistant coach at Qatar 2022."He's a magical coach," said Midy."When I'm watching the games of Haiti, I cannot explain how he does it. I asked him, he said, 'It's not me, it's the players. I don't have no secret. I just tell them put your heart in it.'"And that is exactly what Nazon, who was born in France to Haitian parents, does.His passion for the nation has earned him hero status, regardless of his 44 goals in 80 games, according to Midy."We call him the chuchu of Haiti," he says, referring to the French term of endearment."Haitian people always see in him, an example of someone who feels more Haitian than every person born and raised in Haiti."His team-mate Hannes Delcroix, the former Burnley defender, was born there but was adopted by a Belgian family when he was two.He has never returned and only in recent years has established contact with his mother and sisters."I have never seen them before in real life, but through the phone, we call now and then," he said. "It's a strange feeling in the beginning of course because you don't have any bond, any connection."I think I just wanted to know first if she is OK, she is healthy, if everyone is safe. If there's anything I can help, this kind of stuff."Perhaps this reconnection with his biological family is what moved him to pledge his international allegiance to Haiti in 2025."You come to a point that you ask yourself, what do you want now and for which country do you want to play? And for me, that case was Haiti," said the 27-year-old, who played once for Belgium in 2020.The cynical view is that Delcroix may only have picked Haiti because they were on the brink of World Cup qualification, but he says it has become a voyage of self-discovery."It was always in the back of my head that I could play for Haiti. The first time when we got together, I felt like I was not alone," he said."When I'm with the Haitian team, it helps a lot to understand more about the culture and the language. I don't speak Creole so that's something I really want to dig into."The team had planned to wear a shirt featuring an image of that battle but were forced to change the design just days before the World Cup after being told it failed to comply with Fifa rules that ban "political, religious, or personal messages or slogans" on kit.Changing the kit design is not the only way they have had to adapt, with fans in Haiti having to improvise to even be able to watch the matches.Midy explains that during previous World Cups young people have pooled resources to rent or buy a small generator or create their own fan zones, while families with independent energy systems opened their doors to friends and neighbours and turned their living rooms into vibrant football hubs."This year, however, the excitement has reached another level," he said. "Across popular neighbourhoods, organisations and local groups are distributing kits that include televisions and solar-powered inverter systems to help residents follow the tournament."While the players have not played at home since a 1-0 defeat by Canada in 2021, they have still enjoyed support at matches in various places on their travels, such is the scale of the Haitian diaspora, which is estimated to number nearly two million.At last week's World Cup warm-up against Peru in Miami, where there is a Little Haiti neighbourhood, South Florida's Haitian diaspora helped sell out the Nu Stadium.They will be hoping for similar support in Boston, where they play their opener against Scotland on Saturday (02:00 BST Sunday) and which is home to one of the largest Haitian diasporas in the United States.That match is where the magnitude of being at a World Cup will sink in for Nazon."I think I still haven't realised yet, and I speak also with many of my team-mates, and they feel the same thing," said the striker, who counts St Mirren, Coventry City and Oldham Athletic among the 13 clubs for whom he has played."The point where we're going to really realise, I think it's going to be when the first game is going to start. Yo guys, we are in the World Cup now!"Their second match is against Brazil. In the past, there might have been more Haitians supporting Brazil but Duckens Nazon says the national team deserves the country's full support."It's really crazy that in your country before, there was more supporting another country," he said."They had nothing to grab before and say, 'I'm proud' or 'I have my national team'. But now they have a national team who play the World Cup so they should be proud. They can like Brazil, they can like other teams, but only support us."And with that support comes the hope that football could once again be a circuit breaker in the violence back home."All the gang leaders are soccer lovers," Midy said."After the qualification [for the World Cup], I saw videos of the gang leaders celebrating like everyone on the streets, with music."Duckens Nazon remembers similar scenes after Haiti reached the semi-finals of the regional Concacaf Gold Cup in 2019."They showed us some videos. It was crazy. I never see this in my life. So many people outside - gang people and civilians together - just enjoying the moment," he said."For sure during the World Cup, this is going to happen. But we want to bring this spirit and this environment forever, not only for one, two, three games."

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The smallest nation ever to compete in the tournament celebrate the long adventure that got them there, and remember those who cannot be there to enjoy it with themAngelo Cijntje can look back now and smile. It was September 2023 and Curaçao’s trip from Trinidad to Martinique for a Concacaf Nations League game had been complicated on matchday by the lack of a charter flight. “A small propeller plane had to shuttle back and forth, flying players over in groups of six,” Cijntje, the performance coach, says. “The starting XI made it on time, but the subs came in while the game was under way. Their luggage didn’t make it, so they had nothing but their boots, shin pads and maybe a pair of socks.”Wouter Jansen, Curaçao’s team coordinator, was also part of that trip. “It’s worthy of a film,” he says. “Those are the kind of adventures you never forget.”Curaçao are about to embark on unforgettable adventures of a very different kind. Remarkably, less than three years after that propeller plane made its way across the Caribbean Sea for the team to lose 1-0 in front of 913 people, they face Germany in Houston on Sunday in their first World Cup match. It marks the end of a long and not always smooth journey.It is one that began in earnest in about 2003 when Cijntje and Jansen, then playing in the Dutch second division, got a call from the president of the Netherlands Antilles football federation, which included Curaçao as a Dutch colony. Jean Francisca had been scouting players with Curaçaoan roots and spotted that Cijntje and Jansen were born in Willemstad, the capital. On the phone he outlined an ambition to qualify for a major tournament. Both signed up but what they found in Willemstad on their first call-up offers another indication of how far things have come.“The hotel wasn’t properly arranged, the sessions weren’t structured and we didn’t have training kits,” Cijntje says. “I’d be training in red socks, the player next to me in blue, one in red shorts, another in something else – one wearing Beltona, another maybe Nike. It was a bit of everything. Those were the first steps.”The project gathered pace when Curaçao left the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 to become an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The following year Curaçao became a Fifa member and from 2015 several Dutch coaches were appointed, starting with Patrick Kluivert, whose mother is Curaçaoan. More Dutch-born players joined, including Netherlands youth internationals such as Eloy Room, who had a deep connection with Curaçao, his father’s country.When Room was young, his mum gave him a book about Curaçao’s sporting history that featured Ergilio Hato, a goalkeeper who in 1952 was part of the first Netherlands Antilles team to play at the Olympics. “I would read that book every night,” says Room, an aspiring goalkeeper then and his country’s World Cup No 1 now. “I told my mother: ‘It would be great if I could become a legend for Curaçao too.’”He has managed that. Hato inspired generations – the national stadium in Willemstad bears his name – and Room made Hato’s nickname, Pantera Negra (Black Panther), his first tattoo. “Every time I look at it, it gives me a boost,” he says.Curaçao is the smallest nation, by population (about 156,000) and land area (171 square miles), to have qualified for a World Cup. Cijntje and Jansen joined the backroom staff in 2022, but their spell has not been without hiccups. That year the former Feyenoord and Ajax player Dean Gorré, whose son Kenji is part of the World Cup squad, became the technical director and he says a period of board instability created problems.“Hotel rooms were sometimes not paid, with players occasionally even having to pay for their flight tickets upfront,” he says. “It was a low point, but it also made the squad more resilient and tighter as a group. Nothing could faze them any more.”Dick Advocaat’s appointment as head coach in January 2024 marked another turning point. “More resources were invested in the national team,” Cijntje says, “with sponsors involved and better conditions as a result, which had positive knock-on effects, such as attracting more players like [PSV’s] Armando Obispo and Tahith Chong [of Sheffield United, the only player in the squad born in Curaçao].”Curaçao were well prepared for World Cup qualifying and had an advantage with the co-hosts, the United States, Mexico and Canada, taking places automatically. “That became a real trigger for all of us, like: ‘If there’s a chance to reach the World Cup, it’s now,’” Room says.Qualification was secured via a 0-0 draw in Jamaica, with Gorré in temporary charge while Advocaat was absent for family reasons. Players and staff celebrated with a few hundred supporters who had travelled to Jamaica and were welcomed back in Willemstad on an open-top bus that carried them through streets lined with tens of thousands of fans.The squad is close-knit, embodied in how they honour Jairzinho Pieter, a goalkeeper who died of a heart attack while away on international duty in 2019. “He was the one who always brought the atmosphere,” Room says.Room explains that Pieter led their daily prayer, something they do now with the captain, Leandro Bacuna, laying a necklace that belonged to Pieter in the huddle. “His passing was very heavy at the time and it is still very difficult,” Room says.“That made the dream of reaching the World Cup come even more to life, because it was also truly his dream. It gave us even more motivation.“I truly believe that in the deciding match against Jamaica, Pieter was with me, because the ball hit the crossbar and the post – it just wouldn’t go in. People in Curaçao also say that Pieter was there, alongside Ergilio Hato. We basically had three men in goal.”The team’s spirit is rooted in humility. “We just take regular commercial flights and wait at the baggage carousel for our suitcases to arrive,” says Jansen. In hotels, the players like to mingle with other guests, so when Advocaat once suggested a specially prepared meal in a meeting room, they opted to join the all-inclusive buffet. “They don’t mind when people want to take photos with them either,” says Jansen. “That’s part of who we are.”The openness became clear when Fifa asked Curaçao what requirements they had for their World Cup stay. “We don’t have any,” was Jansen’s reply. He was told a separate entrance could be arranged at the hotel and room keys prepared in advance. “I said: ‘All of that isn’t necessary,’” Jansen says. “We’re just used to walking in through the reception in the lobby and if we have to wait a bit, that’s no problem. We’re used to hotels where the rooms still need to be prepared. And nobody complains. That took them [Fifa] a bit by surprise.”But what about security, Fifa then asked. “Security?” Jansen responded. “We really don’t need security; we’re more than happy to give out an autograph.”Curaçao sprung another surprise when Fifa inquired about when open training sessions for media and fans should be planned. “Honestly, everyone is welcome with us,” Jansen replied. “And the public can even come on to the pitch after training.”At Curaçao’s base in Boca Raton, Florida, family and friends are allowed to stay. “Because it will be such a unique moment, we wanted to allow everyone to bring their relatives,” Jansen says. “We go there with a smile and leave with a smile. We’ve already won the World Cup just by being there. Some people think our setup is unprofessional but I’m like: ‘No, within our own limitations, we are actually very professional.’ Because we truly do everything together. That’s what makes it great.”In February Advocaat stepped down to be with his ill daughter and was replaced by Fred Rutten. But when her situation improved, a push gathered momentum to bring Advocaat back and he returned in May.Reaching the World Cup will have a significant impact for Curaçao. Gorré, who is focused on developing high-performance structures, says it will lift football development and much beyond. “It has already had an impact on tourism and that will only increase,” Gorré says.Cijntje also expects wider benefits, saying: “The realisation may start to sink in that the impossible is possible, if you go for it and work hard for it. I think it will be an inspiration for the next generation.”

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The United States are no longer a workmanlike outfit built on grit and grind – and Mauricio Pochettino says they are ‘winning a lot of fans’To find a precedent for the United States’ win over Paraguay, one must return to a time when World Cup teams were forced to drop out due to the Great Depression, and the ones who did make it arrived via ship, playing with a leather ball held together by seam and laces.The dominant 4-1 win matched a 96-year-old landmark – the largest margin of victory for the USA in a men’s World Cup game (they won 3-0 twice in the inaugural 1930 tournament, against Belgium and, in a neat bit of symmetry, Paraguay).Friday’s four-goal romp also marked the most goals scored by the USA at a men’s World Cup. It featured a 3-0 first-half blitz that matches the previous most unexpected 45 minutes of World Cup soccer played in the modern history of the program: the 3-0 lead built in 2002 against Portugal, a result the ESPN commentator Jack Edwards famously guaranteed was “stopping traffic all over Europe”.The result will live on in the record books for these reasons. But it will hold a special place in the hearts and minds of US fans because of the ethereal, less-fungible stuff.“I think we are winning a lot of fans, and adding fans for this sport,” Mauricio Pochettino said of his side’s performance. “I think it was a great match; was amazing for our fans to see this type of game.”No longer were the USA the same workmanlike outfit that had featured at previous World Cups, white-knuckling through on the strength of their grit and grind (though they showed some of that too, not letting a second-half Paraguay goal knock them off course).The iconic element of the USA’s opening victory was the very manner of it. Combinations flowed freely in midfield, defenders were split and dragged with alacrity. Neat finishes off moves well-worked enough to make the opening Paraguayan own goal an afterthought. Oohs and aahs stirred in the sold-out crowd of 70,492 at Los Angeles Stadium.“It’s pretty special to watch,” said Christian Pulisic, who was on a heater of his own before being pulled at half-time due to a knock picked up in the first half, and later brushed off as nothing serious. “It’s fun to look around and know that there’s different guys that can pull off these different skills and moves and things going on. It’s great. I feel like there’s such a good connection between us right now.”The USA midfielders tied Paraguay’s defensive unit in knots with rotations, in a manner that the Paraguay manager, Gustavo Alfaro, compared with “floating”. “This is a team that is complex, because they have answers to every element you throw at them,” Alfaro said. “We knew they were a very complex rival. We knew they have coordination, broadness, triangulations, and we were not ready … They dominated technically, tactically and physically as well.”One could call it, by some distance, the best World Cup performance ever by a USA men’s team. And it contained within it two of the best individual performances by US players at a World Cup.Pulisic became USA’s leader for World Cup assists and was dangerous throughout his 45 minutes. And in Folarin Balogun’s double, the US has its first multi-goal scorer in a single World Cup game since 1930 – that year again – when Bert Patenaude put three past, you guessed it, Paraguay.But in the same breath as he praised Pulisic and Balogun, Pochettino emphasized the collective nature of the performance, naming every starter on the pitch in quick succession, calling their performances “amazing”.“You want to push me to talk about names, and it’s about the team … the collective approach,” he said. “Of course, we have talented players that you can observe … but one thing we need to praise is the collective effort.”It was a collective approach that led to what Balogun called a “dreamy night” in Southern California. “I felt like it was a real statement.”“I’m not one to speculate,” Pulisic said. “I haven’t seen all of them.”

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CommentsIt feels a little strange to be watching this World Cup from a TV studio, and not being involved on the pitch.Until this summer, I had been at every major finals with France since 2012 - four Euro Championships and three World Cups. Now, I am enjoying this tournament in a different role, as a BBC Sport pundit.France is still my team, of course. I am the number one fan of the French national side, and I wish them all the best, but 2024 was the right time for me to retire from international football.You need to know when to stop and, for me, that was the time. I was 37, the manager did not play me so much at those Euros and, also, I could see the numbers and the quality of the strikers coming through.I would be lying if I say I don't miss playing for France, and I have felt nostalgic this week, thinking about those past tournaments, but it is not like I have any regrets not being with them this time.I went to see them play against Northern Ireland on Monday in Lille, which is my club's stadium, and I was so proud of the team - to see them, and the fans.The expectations of the supporters is something you can't really see when you are on the pitch and focused on the game, but it is different now I am one of them.I want the same thing too - I just wish for them to bring the third star, for a third World Cup win, back home. That's the dream for everyone.I have some good friends playing for different teams at this World Cup, not just France.One of the players I know best and appreciate most is Christian Pulisic of the USA, who was my team-mate at Chelsea and AC Milan.I was not surprised at how well he played against Paraguay because I think that he has got what it takes to take the US team to the next level over the next few weeks - hopefully the calf problem that meant he came off at half-time is nothing serious.He was just a young kid when he came to Chelsea from Borussia Dortmund in 2019 but even then he was an important player for his national team and they put a lot of hope, and also pressure, on him.At Milan we used to call him by his nickname, 'Captain America' because even when he wasn't wearing the USA armband he was their star player, with the biggest profile.He had a big responsibility because he was the main face of their team and he was also successful in Europe. It is the same now, even though he has only had a so-so season for Milan. He started well, but then the team collapsed and did not qualify for the Champions League, and he went a few months without scoring.But, whatever is going on with him at his club side, there always seems to be this expectation around Christian to deliver for the USA, and criticism when he doesn't.Mental strength is massive for every player and I think he has been through some tough moments, with injuries or when he or the team has not been doing well, but they have all helped to make him the person he is and now he is ready to face this challenge.Some people felt he was wrong to skip last summer's Gold Cup, when he told Mauricio Pochettino he needed to rest, but I felt then it was important to trust him because he knew his body better than anyone.He was obviously thinking then about this summer, and the most important thing was what happened now.Because he didn't play in that Gold Cup, there is probably even more expectation around him now for the World Cup, but I think he is aware of that, and he's ready for the responsibility, mentally and physically. At 27, he is still young but he is more mature now.Critics of Mbappe have gone 'too far', says DembeleHe is a very caring guy, who looks out for people, but he's also someone who I've always had a really good laugh with. We hit it off straight away.It was the same on the pitch. Straightaway, I loved playing with him at Chelsea. We had a great understanding and our games complimented each other so well.I played as a target man and I needed some pace and movement around me - someone like him playing in the pocket between the lines and getting on the ball, looking for me and feeding off my flick-ons. Christian reminded me of Eden Hazard, with the way he took on opponents and found it easy to dribble past people.He had so much talent, he just needed a nice environment around him - a good atmosphere in the team and also he needs to be loved, and appreciated, for him to be confident and play with freedom.That was the difference between him and Eden - the way Eden was, he just played football for fun and he did not question himself too much. He was so relaxed while, sometimes, I felt like Christian was putting too much pressure on himself. He had too many things in his head.It meant he played within himself sometimes for Chelsea, not expressing his talent, but it was different when he joined me at Milan in 2023. I said to the boys that he was going to be a proper plus for the team and he seemed to elevate his game and play with that confidence he needed.He grew in Italy because he got older and got more experience. It was good for him at first to play in the Premier League against tough teams and tough defenders, and then also he has learned from being in Serie A where as an attacker you face some teams who, tactically, are just focused on you.When Milan played with Rafael Leao, Christian and myself up front, we complimented each other a lot, and that is the kind of cohesion the United States will need too.Christian needs his team-mates because he cannot do it all on his own - but if he has got the right players, he can bring them with him because he has got the experience and the quality to carry the team.It was important that he ended his goal drought against Senegal at the end of May because it gave him some confidence to take into the World Cup too. No-one is expecting the USA to win this World Cup, but if they are going to reach the knockout stage, he will be key.I have always thought the USA are lucky to have him, because he has skill AND intelligence. Talent on its own is not enough and, if you are not focused like he is, you won't achieve amazing things. I wish him nothing but the best.Olivier Giroud was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris BevanThe World Cup is bigger than ever - and BBC Sport has an app to matchPlay BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor game

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Some of the replies from those lucky enough to know what it's like to play at a World Cup for Scotland when asked the question we all fantasise about.This is uncharted territory for every one of the 26-man squad who will end Scotland's 28-year absence from the men's tournament this weekend.A large proportion of Steve Clarke's players do have European Championship experience, but don't know what it's like to play on the biggest stage of them all. To have the eyes of the world on the boys in dark blue.This is also a new thing for a whole generation of Scots - players and fans alike - who have grown up meticulously making their case for their tournament team in the absence of their home nation. No need for a second team this time.So for those of us experiencing all this for the first time, what can we expect to see? What is it like to play at the World Cup with Scotland?Scotland return to centre stage at last in must-win World Cup openerAll three said it was "surreal".Lambert and Corsie explained the build-up - the bit where the fans are frantically booking planes, trains and automobiles - as perhaps being the most "stressful" part of the process from qualifying."You're like, I want to be in the best condition of my life," said Corsie, who skippered Scotland in France seven years ago said."I don't want to get hurt, I want to get selected, I want to be playing for my club, there's so many things that you're thinking and you just think, I just want us to get there.""It feels like endless build-up," Lambert added."Then, when you're selected, that's when it really sinks in that you know the summer could be the greatest tournament for the national team. It's the best tournament."For Jackson, who didn't make his international debut until he was 28, said it wasn't until he lined up in the Stade de France for the tournament opener against Brazil that things started to feel real."When you're standing in the tunnel and the guy standing next to you is Ronaldo, reality kicks in," he explained.Add Rivaldo, Dunga, Roberto Carlos, Cafu and the rest and you've got a point, Darren. Gulp.No disrespect to Haiti, but it's not quite the same opening glamour game 28 years on for Scotland, although the occasion is just as outrageously cool."It's what you dream of when you're playing in the streets with your mates," Champions League winner Lambert said."There's no fatigue. You don't have time for fatigue and you don't think about the season that's going to come up on you in a few months' time."All you do is think about the games and the occasion you're going to play."It can be a bit of a balancing act, though, as Corsie experienced."I probably leaned too heavily into trying to not let the occasion be something that threw me off," she said."I probably felt I probably didn't let myself enjoy it enough, and that would be the one thing I would say, that I hope the players do manage to enjoy it."Because this is going to be a moment in your career you're going to cherish for the rest of your life. Your family and friends will be so proud."Everyone wants to make sure the players who are there performing actually go and enjoy the moment, because what a special thing to go and do."The word 'go' there is a big one. It's a long time to be away from family and spend with a squad and staff.The good thing is, this crop can't wait to do it. They never tire of telling us that.The class of 1998 had the same togetherness - Lambert cited the "club atmosphere" Craig Brown built - which made the long hours and downtime much easier."We were like clubmates," Jackson said. "We didn't all just sit in the same seats in the meetings or at dinner, you just came in and sat with anybody and everyone got along. It was brilliant."Much like the squad now. They enjoy meeting up, seeing each other and playing alongside each other."Nowadays, they don't only do that, they have a round of golf when they can and play the PlayStation together. Didn't have that in the 90s.For Corsie in France, where a lot of travelling was also involved, there were "a lot of card games and lots of coffee trips".The world has changed a fair bit since the Scots last graced the big stage in the men's game so it's safe to say almost everything is going to be different this time - including the goodies.We've heard from the squad this week that a picture of their younger selves in a Scotland shirt greeted them in their room at their base camp in Charlotte, while captain Andy Robertson delivered a gift box and hand-written message to each team-mate.Jackson and Lambert didn't get the same from their skipper, Colin Hendry. But Jackson did confirm he still has the kilt he famously walked out in in Paris."It's hanging in the wardrobe," he said. "We also got a wee keyring and a pennant from Brazil."Corsie kept ticket stubs and stickers from various coffee shops - and she insists the most important thing to have at the World Cup was a good coffee station.Remembering your boots was the message she and Jackson passed on - thankfully kitman Jim McAlister is on the ball - while the former forward had some final words of wisdom."The most important thing is you've got to embrace it," he added."You've got to enjoy it because it's the pinnacle you've got there. From a wee boy, you'd put a Scotland strip on and you'd never think you're going to stand in a World Cup game representing your country."So you've got to enjoy it."Everything you need to know about the World Cup

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Rhian Wilkinson says Wales' free-agent internationals gave potential suitors a glimpse of their qualities by helping her team finish top of their Women's World Cup qualifying group.Gemma Evans, Hannah Cain and Elise Hughes all featured against both Montenegro and the Czech Republic amid uncertainty over their club futures.It has since emerged that defender Evans is in line to join Newcastle United after leaving Liverpool, but there is no news yet on what the future holds at club level for either Cain or fellow forward Hughes."I think they've done everything they can to put themselves in the shop window," said Wales head coach Wilkinson.Cain, 27, scored her sixth goal in six World Cup qualifying games in Montenegro, just three days after announcing that she is leaving Leicester City this summer following their relegation from the Women's Super League (WSL).Fellow striker Hughes, 25, revealed in the lead-up to Tuesday's crucial win over the Czechs that she is departing Crystal Palace having helped them win promotion to the WSL.Wilkinson's Wales give themselves World Cup chanceBristol City Women announced in May that the 20-year-old academy product would be leaving the club this summer, having spent last season on loan at Plymouth Argyle.Wilkinson says she has to accept that waiting to discover where some members of her squad will end up is part of "life at the end of the season"."It's tough because I want my players to be in the best possible situations at club [level] and equally in situations that are nurturing them and supporting them," she added."I hope very much I can give them any support possible to make sure that they have a club as soon as it works for them."Wales will return to action in October, when they will play a two-legged play-off semi-final as they bid to reach a first Women's World Cup.Wilkinson's side will discover their opponents in that tie when the draw takes place on 18 June.

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The country is ready to blow away decades of dashed hopes and celebrate, with marching bands and all-night partiesScotland is leaning into one its most treasured traditions: embracing the hope and anxiety of a football World Cup, with a healthy dose of self-deprecating style.There are brash new tartans, an Edinburgh bar offering free Irn-Bru-infused “fiery ginger” beers for patrons with red hair, a collaboration between Scottish whisky firms and a Brazilian distiller, and all-night parties in nightclubs repurposed as fanzones.Supporters flying off to the US at Edinburgh and Glasgow airports were serenaded by pipers in the check-in halls; at Edinburgh it was the full military tattoo marching band, with a troupe of Highland dancers.Sprinkle all that in with a traditional row with the English – this time over disparaging remarks on Good Morning Britain by Ed Balls, Susanna Reid and the pundit Kevin Maguire about the extra bank holiday for Scotland sanctioned by the king – and the scene is perfectly set.It has taken Scotland 28 years to qualify for a World Cup, nearly three decades of grinding defeats and disillusionment, all while enduring its bitterest rival, England’s, repeated qualification for the tournament.The wait will end at 2am UK time on Sunday, when the team play underdogs Haiti in Boston. And despite the hour, perhaps a million or more Scots will be awake, watching at home, at friend’s houses, in bars and at fanzones dotted around the country.The first minister, John Swinney, will be at the game – a guest of the Scottish Football Association. He is mixing sport with opportunistic Brand Scotland trade, and cultural meetings at Harvard University and with local political leaders.The fanzone at one of Scotland’s cooler venues, SWG3 in the post-industrial west of Glasgow, has already sold out for that match and the following ties against two challengers for the trophy, Brazil and Morocco, with 1,300 people to gather for each of those two overnight games.“The venue’s certainly no stranger to a party atmosphere at 2am,” said its operations director, Bob Javaheri. “However, we’re usually looking to start winding down by that time, not ramping up.“I have a few friends that are heading Stateside for the tournament and, as disappointed as I am to not be joining them on the road, I’ve absolutely no doubt they’ll be keeping me well posted about their time away, so I’ll be living it all through them.“The last time Scotland were in the World Cup I watched the Scotland v Brazil game with my mum at home. I think I’ll have to get her in so we can relive that magic here on the big screen this time.”The anticipation has been amplified by the drama of Scotland’s final qualifying game against Denmark at Hampden Park, where two stunning goals that book-ended the game sent fans into raptures.It was a must-win match for Scotland. Within three minutes of kick-off, their talismanic midfielder Scott McTominay scored a remarkable overhead goal and then, after Denmark were reduced to 10 men yet levelled twice, Scotland’s 4-2 victory was capped off by an audacious goal from the halfway line.As Kenny McLean looked up from his own half in the dying seconds of extra time, teeing up his shot, the loud shouts of “shoot, shoot” from the stands were audible on television. The goal landed, and Hampden erupted.Those four goals enjoy iconic status in Scotland. McTominay’s overhead kick is immortalised by a vast gable-end mural near Hampden stadium; there were posters, hoodies, mugs and T-shirts printed with all four scorers in action.Yet for older fans, that game is a reminder of other times when the nation was aroused by naive dreams of success. The most famous was Archie Gemmill’s solo goal against the Netherlands in Argentina in 1978, where he dribbled balletically past three defenders. Scotland won that game 3-2 but failed to progress, while the Dutch reached the final.The team then was managed by Ally MacLeod, who told the world Scotland would win the tournament. The country called his team “Ally’s Tartan Army”; the team’s song, written by Andy Cameron and performed on Top of the Pops, is still sung by fans who lived through that time.Hamish Husband, a lifelong Scotland fan and spokesperson for the Association of Tartan Army Clubs, remembered the “mass over-confidence generated by the over-exuberant, quite naive, manager, Ally MacLeod. And the nation bought into it.”The country was more measured now, said Husband, who flew out to join Scotland’s fans in Boston on Thursday, but fatalism was now part of the collective memory: “There is still the sense there’s something going to go wrong.”Gerry Hassan, a political commentator and academic who has studied Scottish football, said he was singing Ally’s Tartan Army to himself during a walk last week, and was looking forward to watching the game at a friend’s house in Kirkcudbright, a small market town in Dumfries and Galloway.“That sense of what happened there, the whole sense of hope and then disappointment, disaster, near redemption – near redemption is possibly more poignant than actual redemption,” Hassan said.Given the extremely volatile world, the financial pressures and political upheaval the country is living through, this World Cup was a moment of collective celebration and community for fans.“It is a bit of a scarce commodity in modern life, that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that you’re connected to other people, that we’re not just atomised human beings. There’s a community here, there’s friendship, there are collective memories, and some of that we have agency in.”

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Beckham enjoys ‘surreal’ occasion with Tom CruiseCelebrities cheer on USA at their opening matchDavid Beckham has been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Beckham called the ceremony “surreal” as his wife, Victoria, and his friend Tom Cruise praised him at the ceremony.Cruise lauded Beckham’s journey, saying it was “a Hollywood story” of hard work, determination and global influence on sport and culture.Rather than a traditional red carpet, the ceremony featured a green soccer-themed one to commemorate the occasion.“I’ve always been a dreamer, but I could never have imagined that an honor like this would come to a working-class English soccer player like me,” Beckham said. “How fitting then that I am here today as we prepare to celebrate the opening here in the US of the 2026 World Cup. It’s a powerful moment to recognize how the sport I love so much has grown in this country over the past three decades.”Beckham , who spent six seasons with LA Galaxy from 2007 and is the co-owner of Inter Miami, said: “To stand here in front of my friend Tom Cruise, the greatest movie star of our time, is quite frankly mind-blowing.”He told the actor: “You welcomed us to LA 20 years ago and you have been a loyal friend and an inspiration to me ever since.”Beckham and Cruise joined other celebrities at the Los Angeles Stadium, where a Hollywood-style opening ceremony preceded the United States’s opening game with Paraguay, which they won 4-1. Leonardo DiCaprio, Halle Berry, Rob Lowe, Owen Wilson and Paris Hilton were among those looking on as performers danced around a giant World Cup trophy in the middle of the pitch.Donald Trump did not attend, instead speaking to the US team via phone, telling them: “I think you’ve a really good chance of going all the way. I just want to wish you a lot of luck.”“Welcome to the USA” announced a booming voiceover, as a closeup of the city’s Hollywood sign flashed on giant screens at the stadium.A marching band struck up the music before being joined by singers including Future, Tyla, Anitta and K-pop star Lisa. Costumes and props were designed to evoke Los Angeles street art and the city’s creative industries.Katy Perry, who also performed in the opening ceremony, then went to watch the action with her partner, the former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau.Earlier, as Canada began their campaign in Toronto with a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canadian film stars Ryan Reynolds and Mike Myers were in the crowd. It was the first World Cup game on Canadian soil.The singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette closed an upbeat opening ceremony with a compelling rendition of O Canada, the national anthem.

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English referee Michael Oliver has been ruled out of his first match at the 2026 World Cup because of injury.The 41-year-old, who was due to officiate the Group E meeting between Ivory Coast and Ecuador in Philadelphia on Sunday (00:00 BST, Monday), has been replaced by Frenchman Francois Letexier.Oliver is one of six English on-field officials at the World Cup, with Anthony Taylor also among the 52 referees.Gary Beswick, Adam Nunn, Stuart Burt, and James Mainwaring were selected as assistant referees.Oliver has stood in the Premier League since 2010 and was promoted to Uefa's elite list of referees in 2018.He officiated at the 2022 World Cup, including the quarter-final between Croatia and Brazil, and Euro 2024.There are 52 referees, 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials involved in the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico.Play BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor gameEverything you need to know about the World Cup