While the world’s elite forwards arrived in North America with their eyes fixed on the Golden Boot, they are currently being outpaced by a rather embarrassing collective entity. Seven own goals have already been registered at the 2026 World Cup - five more than the entire 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Japan marked the 1,000th game in the history of the World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Tunisia on Saturday to close in on a place in the last 32.

Hosting a FIFA World Cup is a matter of immense pride for any nation. Countries spend billions of dollars on infrastructure development, building and renovating stadiums, and upgrading facilities to stage the greatest show on earth. In return, they receive significant economic benefits through the arrival of millions of football fans from around the world.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann was thrilled by Germany's comeback victory against Ivory Coast on Saturday, but stopped short of celebrating his side advancing to the World Cup knockout stage for the first time since 2014.

American Tim Howard holds the World Cup record for all-time saves with 16, but that came after extra time in the United States’ loss to Belgium in the 2014 round of 16, underlining the scale of Room’s 90-minute achievement.

After playing Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday, Iran's final group game will take place in Seattle next Friday against Egypt.

The CBF did not say how long he would be sidelined for, but Brazilian website Globo Esporte reported he could be fit to return for a possible game in the last 16, which starts in two weeks' time.

Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez and his Curacao opposite number Eloy Room were the busiest players in a stalemate that guarantees that Germany will win Group E.

Aside from the Messi incident, the referees have made their uncompromising statement.

Neymar, an outspoken supporter of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has been recovering from a calf injury for a month and has yet to play at the World Cup.

"I can't wait to get back dancing with the ball again and to write a new story with Ignazio Cipriani (the Italian-American owner of Ravenna) and his entire family," Gazzetta quoted Ronaldinho as saying.

Substitute Deniz Undav scored twice, including the crucial goal four minutes into injury time, triggering a massive roar from the overwhelmingly pro-German crowd of 43,000 in Toronto.

Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey both scored twice as the rampant Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1 in a World Cup warning on Saturday in Houston.

For decades, football has been increasingly defined by numbers. Possession, shots, expected goals (xG), completed passes and touches inside the opposition box have become the modern language of football analysis.

Brazil shrugged off their World Cup opener disappointment with a 3-0 win over Haiti in their second Group C outing at the Philadelphia Stadium yesterday, but it was still not the resounding performance expected from a side chasing a record-extending sixth world title.

Dalot also revealed that the players were deliberately shielding themselves from the backlash on social media.

Renard faces an immediate test against a Japan side he regards as Asia's best.

The 62 shots combined were the most without a goal in any two-match span in the World Cup on record in data collected since 1966.

As the weekend’s action across Canada, Mexico and the United States begins to give the group standings some shape, so the calculators will come out to start determining what the minimum requirement will be to advance to the last 32.

Morocco have a natural scorer leading their attack in Ismael Saibari, who lashed home from an angle after 71 seconds against Scotland – the quickest strike of this year’s World Cup.