England step up in Florida as Haiti hit 4-0 tune-up
World Cup venues drop sponsor names for FIFA exclusivity: AT&T Stadium becomes Dallas Stadium, Lumen Field is Seattle Stadium, Mercedes‑Benz venue is Atlanta Stadium, etc., through July 19.
Man Utd have 12 at the World Cup: Lammens, Bayindir, Mazraoui, Martinez, Dalot, Ugarte, Fernandes, Mainoo, Fletcher, Cunha, Amad, Rashford. Maguire and Shaw miss out.
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Scotland, Haiti. Stars include Vinicius Junior, Achraf Hakimi and Scott McTominay. Key fixture tipped as Scotland vs Haiti for potential third-place route to knockouts.
RTÉ to show all 104 World Cup games free to air across TV, Player, radio and digital, with a pop-up channel, live blogs and highlights. James McClean joins a heavyweight pundit panel.
Cole Palmer misses the World Cup after a poor Chelsea season, with drops to 5 open‑play goals and 1 assist, fewer chances created and weaker on‑pitch links cited as justification.
IFAB introduce countdowns on restarts, hydration breaks, 60-second treatment rules, stricter subs timing, sanctions for covering mouths, and expanded VAR checks including corners, second yellows and mistaken identity.
England start Florida camp in 32C heat before friendlies vs New Zealand and Costa Rica. Watkins targets winning the World Cup while Mainoo and Henderson stress focusing on Croatia opener.
Injury-hit Netherlands may ditch 4-3-3 under Koeman. Van Dijk leads a defence-first side in group games vs Japan on 6/14, Sweden on 6/20 and Tunisia on 6/25, with KNVB’s semi-final target.
Liverpool’s World Cup contingent: Alisson, Van Dijk, Gravenberch, Endo, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak. Notably absent: Gomez, Jones and £108.5m duo Szoboszlai, Chiesa as nations didn’t qualify.
Italy miss out again, but 66 Serie A players head to the World Cup. Milan send 10, Inter 7, with stars like Lautaro Martínez, Pulisic, Leao, Calhanoglu and McKennie among the call-ups.
England captain Harry Kane unveils a Madame Tussauds London waxwork in England kit before the World Cup, calling it ‘like looking in the mirror’, hoping to inspire young fans.
Ex-Scotland forward Simon Donnelly backs Rangers teenager Findlay Curtis to impact the World Cup after his debut goal vs Curacao, urging Scotland to ‘make sure we beat Haiti’ first.
Haiti crush New Zealand 4-0 in Fort Lauderdale as Providence, Joseph, Pierrot and Lacroix score in a World Cup warm-up. The debutants face Scotland, Brazil and Morocco next.
Thomas Partey, selected by Ghana for the World Cup, was booed vs Wales amid multiple charges he denies. England may consider handshake protocol before their 23 June meeting in Boston.
RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande shuns Olise comparisons, targets a ‘good World Cup’ with Ivory Coast. Elephants face Ecuador on 6/14, Germany on 6/20, Curacao on 6/25 after a France friendly.
Belgium trial 3-5-2 with Max De Cuyper as wing-back in 2-0 win over Croatia. Tielemans and De Bruyne say the system could be used at the World Cup as Group G looms.
Switzerland travel without striker Breel Embolo after his ESTA was put under review. The FA expect him to join in Los Angeles shortly ahead of a friendly with Australia and group games in the USA.
Tony Popovic instils elite standards as Australia enter Group D with USA, Paraguay and Turkey. Emerging threats include Volpato, Irankunda and Toure, with Ryan to captain and Circati anchoring.
FPL Milanista advises strong benches, early chip use in group stage, and considering Maximum Captain early for mismatches. Plan transfers with manual subs and no price changes.
Bafana coach Hugo Broos returns to Mexico 40 years after playing there, targeting the knockouts. South Africa face Mexico, Czechia and South Korea, with Jamaica their final warm-up.
Arsenal send 16 to World Cup: Raya, Saliba, Hincapie, Timber, Odegaard, Merino, Zubimendi, Rice, Eze, Gabriel, Martinelli, Saka, Havertz, Trossard, Gyokeres, Madueke. Ben White injured.
