1 hour ago
Key events
It’s already been a important matchday for England, who looked for illustration genuine contenders arsenic they put 4 past Croatia.
double quotation markThey looked for illustration they really wanted to return portion successful a crippled of football, that this wasn’t conscionable an activity to beryllium undertaken retired of fearfulness and self‑loathing. For nan adjacent 10 minutes they swarmed each complete Croatia, mightiness person scored four, and gave a glimpse not truthful overmuch of patterns of play, but of a willingness to really do this, of nan muscle, velocity and ruthlessness that are undeniably location successful this team.
Preamble
Jonathan Howcroft
Hello everybody and invited to unrecorded sum of lucifer 24 of nan 2026 World Cup betwixt Uzbekistan and Colombia. Kick-off successful this Group K conflict astatine nan Estadio Azteca is 8pm section clip (10pm EDT/3am BST/12pm AEST).
The last lucifer of nan opening information of fixtures is, connected paper, possibly nan astir unprepossessing. Uzbekistan, connected World Cup debut, scored conscionable 14 goals successful their 10 AFC qualifying matches, and they return connected a Colombia broadside that person gone disconnected nan boil since an unthinkable unbeaten tally that stretched complete 2 years from 2022 to 2024.
Uzbekistan are 1 of nan fewer little-known quantities astatine nan finals. They began their qualification travel led by Slovenian Srečko Katanec, but sick wellness forced him to resign successful 2025, handing nan reins to nationalist leader Timur Kapadze. The measurement up from under-23 coach was seamless pinch Kapadze going unbeaten successful his 8 matches successful complaint to corroborate nan White Wolves’ information successful North America.
But past successful October of past twelvemonth nan Uzbekistan FA parachuted successful Fabio Cannavaro. The 2006 World Cup winning skipper has done thing successful his coaching profession to day to propose he is worthy of specified a gift. A decent four-year spell astatine Guangzhou Evergrande ended successful 2021, since erstwhile he has coached only concisely – and unsuccessfully – astatine Benevento, Udinese, and Dinamo Zagreb.
A specified 18 months agone Colombia would person been among nan tourney favourites. Remodelled by Néstor Lorenzo, nan Argentine oversaw victories complete Germany, Brazil, and Japan, arsenic good arsenic taking Argentina to other clip of nan last of nan Copa America. But caller friends defeats to France and Croatia exposed nan limitations of a squad still reliant connected James Rodriguez to propulsion nan strings. Luis Diaz has prodigious talent but saw his shape wane for Bayern Munich, while nan disappearance disconnected nan radar of Jhon Duran since leaving Aston Villa for Saudi Arabia has robbed Lorenzo of an x-factor.
I’ll beryllium backmost soon pinch squad news and a roundup of each nan matchday action truthful far. In nan meantime you tin support an oculus connected Ghana v Panama and email immoderate thoughts astir nan tourney truthful acold to [email protected].
