World Cup 2026: Mexico v England buildup, France battle past Paraguay, Morocco march on – live

Key events

2h ago

Morocco end run of co-hosts Canada

2h ago

Preamble

2h ago

France battle past Paraguay to reach quarter-finals

Co-host count: one down, two remain. Can England eliminate Mexico? And how about Belgium knocking out the USA? Here’s Alexander Abnos on the game in Seattle on Monday.

“This won’t be the first meeting between the sides in 2026. In March, Belgium humbled the US 5-2 in Atlanta – a result that created significant doubt about the Americans’ prospects at this World Cup.

De Cuyper warned against drawing too many conclusions from Belgium’s victory in March, saying the scoreline gave the game a “distorted picture”. He also praised Senne Lammens’s performance in that match, saying the result could have been different without the goalkeeper.”

Mbappe v Galarza gallery. You all wanted it.

Here’s French boss Didier Deschamps on the win over Paraguay.

“It wasn’t easy. If we’d taken one of our chances late in the game, it would have been a much more comfortable finish. Paraguay use every trick in the book. It’s not necessarily the kind of football people enjoy watching, but we stayed focused and that’s not easy to do.” Fair play. And fair play to Mbappe for just laughing at the constant attempts to foul him. Wrong target I guess.

By the way, while Paraguay’s players received no bookings between them (a sort of beauty in that; it makes for a great line), the French picked up three. Here’s how:

Bradley Barcola (roughing)

Manu Kone (tripping)

Michael Olise (Unsportsmanlike conduct)

Paraguay’s players did absolutely none of that. Definitely not.

Many of you BTL are very cross with referee Ilgiz Tantashev after his performance in the France v Paraguay game. I’d argue that it wasn’t his finest hour but at least he got through the full 90 minutes…

(From AP wires 2024): “The first substitution made in the Olympics men’s soccer semifinal match between Morocco and Spain on Monday was the referee. The ref, Ilgiz Tantashev of Uzbekistan, limped off the field 15 minutes into the match shortly after he was inadvertently knocked down by Spain defender Marc Pubill near midfield. Pubill appeared to be pushed by a Moroccan player. He tumbled forward and into Tantashev’s right leg. Play was stopped for a few minutes while Tantashev received treatment. But the referee couldn’t continue and was replaced by fourth official Glenn Nyberg of Sweden.”

That Paraguay display against France, eh! Absolute pure shithousery. And the fact that no Paraguay player was booked should easily make the list of ‘Top 10 Extraordinary Things at the 2026 World Cup’. Watch the game back and explain how Matias Galarza and Juan Caceres don’t pick up about 12 yellow cards between them. The absolute rogues. Genuinely remarkable stuff. Let’s not ride the high horse though. I’m more thinking a documentary in about 20 years’ time when Mbappe is reunited with the pair of them in a bar in Paris/Asunción and they all have a good laugh about it.

Jacob Steinberg

Talking of Harry Kane, here’s Jacob Steinberg’s piece on the England striker. Can he be the difference maker again when the Three Lions take on Mexico?

“This is a modern great who stands the test of time. They had this debate on the Stick to Football podcast this week; it did not feel ridiculous when Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott had Kane up there with Bobby Moore and Sir Bobby Charlton in England’s top three.”

Kylian Mbappe has pulled level with Lionel Messi at the top of the Golden Boot charts. Both icons have seven after the Frenchman tucked away the winning penalty against Paraguay.

Erling Haaland (5), Harry Kane (5) and Vinícius Júnior (4) all have the chance to close the gap in the next 24 hours. And also look out for Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal (4) creeping up on the rails.

Seven has already beaten the top scorer’s tally from 10 of the last 12 World Cups.

Brazil star Rodrygo is back home after sampling the World Cup in the United States. In his latest column for us, he notices the differences between a country enjoying the World Cup and one obsessed by it. A reminder that Brazil play Norway in the last-16 today. Kick-off 9pm BST.

“The rhythm of life in Brazil – the “land of football” as we call it – is dictated by the team’s progress in the World Cup. Work schedules are affected, as are the operations of certain public services. Daily life doesn’t stop, but we go to great lengths to shape it around Brazil’s matches. Afterwards, as one of our sayings goes, we “play catchup” with everyday life.”

Maybe life doesn’t begin at 40 but it doesn’t mean the end for a world-class footballer. So says Emma Hayes in her latest World Cup column.

Sid Lowe

It’s Q&A time with none other than Luis de la Fuente! Spain’s manager answers your questions on advice for Lamine Yamal, the hardest thing about being a coach and how the current team compares to the winners of 2010. Sid Lowe has pieced it all together.

Canada boss Jesse Marsch is a polarising figure. In fact, you’d be forgiven for thinking his first name is ‘Theinsufferable’ if scrolling and asking around. Were Canada the better side, as he claims here? You have to enjoy the response of Morocco manager Mohamed Ouahbi. “It takes some nerve to say that when you lose 3-0.” Quotes here after Morocco’s clinical display of finishing.

David Hytner

It’s just gone 1.30am in Mexico City. Is there a cacophony of noise outside the hotel? Are England’s players managing any sleep? The game kicks off at 6pm local time or, as those in the UK know, 1am BST. Here’s David Hytner’s latest report from Mexico City.

“England stepped off their seventh flight in 12 days on Friday and are about to play their fourth game in 13 days. The period was always going to be a grind; one simply to plot a course through.”

Nick Ames

Our reporters are in Mexico City for the big one and between running 5ks to show the effects of altitude, they’ve also written some words. Let’s start with Nick Ames, who has quotes from both managers: England’s Thomas Tuchel and Mexico’s Javier Aguirre.

Morocco end run of co-hosts Canada

Jonathan Wilson

Jonathan Wilson was at Houston Stadium to witness 2022 semi-finalists Morocco beat Canada. Three second-half goals settled this one as Mohamed Ouahbi’s side became the first African nation to reach the World Cup quarter-finals twice.

“This wasn’t really about the new style. This was a very old-fashioned Morocco performance, dogged and dour, admirably competitive, and with the undoubted ability of the more creative players seen almost entirely in counterattacks. Whether their cagey start was by design or because they were forced into it by Canada’s ferocity, though, was unclear.”

France battle past Paraguay to reach quarter-finals

Paul MacInnes

Let’s start with Paul MacInnes’ match report from a hot and sweaty Philadelphia Stadium. The 1-0 win for France was a repeat of the scoreline from their last-16 tie in 1998 and we all know how that World Cup ended.

“The World Cup favourites were forced to drop a gear or two but still had too much for a Paraguay team that set out for a fight but were ultimately no more than a nuisance.”

Preamble

Good morning/afternoon/evening wherever you are! It feels like we’re getting to the business end of the World Cup now as highlighted by the first two quarter-finalists emerging. Morocco were too clinical for co-hosts Canada while France came through a bruising encounter with Paraguay.

We’ll have all the reaction to those two last-16 ties and build-up to the much-anticipated clash between Mexico and England in the Azteca. There’s also the little matter of Brazil v Norway this evening so, yeah, the serious stuff is really happening now. Ready for day 25 of the World Cup? Let’s do it!