"This is the most important time in my life and in my career," the 25-year-old Real Madrid star said on Friday.

"They've been very unfair to him," the Paris Saint-Germain winger said. "They go a bit overboard with the criticism of Kylian because he's an incredible player. A great person off the field. I've known him for a long time."

He netted twice on his World Cup debut but US striker Folarin Balogun is not about to celebrate wildly, telling reporters Friday he plans to finish his epic night by curling up in front of Netflix.

England's World Cup preparations have been hit by the theft of equipment ahead of the squad's arrival at their Kansas City training base on Saturday.

The World Cup arrived in the United States on Friday in a blizzard of celebrity and glamour, with Los Angeles pulling out all the stops for the opening game between Team USA and Paraguay.

The United States launched their home World Cup in emphatic fashion Friday, thrashing Paraguay 4-1 with a perfectly scripted opening performance to delight a star-studded home crowd in Los Angeles.

Former national forward-turned-coach Alfaz Ahmed believes Brazil’s opening match serves as the spark for that nationwide excitement, even though this Selecao side is less familiar to supporters than the squads of recent editions.

The World Cup arrived in the United States on Friday with a Hollywood-style opening ceremony before the tournament's third co-hosts kick off their opener in Los Angeles against Paraguay.

Norway face Iraq in opening game.

Before dawn had even broken over Mexico City, two processions had already taken to the streets. One was driven by celebration, the other by anger. Both carried banners. On one were the names of football teams; on the other, the faces of sons and daughters who had disappeared without a trace.

The co-hosts play Friday against Paraguay in Los Angeles but it is an opening match that many Americans -- including Donald Trump -- will likely snub.

Pele's 1958 World Cup winners' medal is expected to fetch £500,000 ($670,000) when it is auctioned in England later this month.

Cristiano Ronaldo said on Friday that he was feeling "very positive" before flying out of Lisbon with the Portuguese team to their World Cup base camp in Palm Beach, Florida.

Above the Rose Bowl, the Californian sun burned like fire. Flags trembled in the scorching wind. The emerald grass shimmered beneath the unforgiving light. Nearly one hundred thousand voices roared with such force it felt as though the sky itself might split apart.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup now officially on the horizon, the ultimate battle for bragging rights has returned.

While more than 80,000 squeezed into the Azteca stadium to watch the opener, the optics of unoccupied rows at the 46,000-seat stadium in Guadalajara have intensified criticism of FIFA's commercial strategy for the first 48-team World Cup.

Once all-but-dominated by players with European heritage, Socceroos squads have become increasingly diverse.

South Korea were more than worthy of the 2-1 win, showing their trademark indomitable spirit with a come-from-behind victory to join Mexico atop Group A, all packed into the scintillating second half of a match the Asian side dominated.

OTT platforms fail to get people through the front door for World Cup matches

The spotlight shifts firmly onto North America's co-hosts on the second day of the FIFA World Cup 2026 as Canada and the United States prepare to embrace the pressure, expectation and excitement of opening their campaigns in front of home crowds.