Photographs from across Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas show communities gathering to watch the greatest show on earthViewing figures for the 2026 World Cup have been massive so far, with footy-mad audiences lapping up the coverage. England’s victory over Croatia had a peak audience of 15.4 million on ITV, but that was nothing compared to Brazil where more than 30 million people watched as the Seleçao beat Haiti. In Japan, the Samurai Blue drew a crowd of more than 20 million to Nippon TV for their match with Tunisia, while crowds watching the game on their phones flooded across Shibuya Crossing to celebrate a goal (pictured below). Of course, the real blockbuster games are still to come: the 2022 World Cup final between Argentina and France reached an average live audience of 571 million viewers globally, according to Fifa. Continue reading...

Despite missing key players, Hajime Moriyasu’s side have built strength in depth to challenge the traditional orderIn 2002 there was a sense that Japan had slightly missed an opportunity. South Korea may have enjoyed the benefit of some favourable refereeing, but they also impressed. They were quick, technically good and tactically extremely flexible and they progressed to the semi-final of their home World Cup.Japan did not do much wrong, topping their group before going down 1-0 to Turkey in the last 16, but the contrast with their co-hosts was inevitably underwhelming. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson, Paul Watson and Sid Lowe to preview Groups E-H.Subscribe to The Guardian Football Weekly ► https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast?sub_confirmation=1On the podcast today; the second of our World Cup previews. We begin at Group E. A group that features Germany, Ecuador, Ivory Coast and Curaçao. It also features a 40-year-old goalkeeper and a 78-year-old manager. The panel debate whether Germany’s recent poor performances at major tournaments qualifies them as dark horses and what we can expect from debutants Curaçao.In Group F, are the Netherlands very good actually or will there be a time-honoured implosion? Can Japan maintain their dark horse status without Kaoru Mitoma? Tunisia and Graham Potter’s Sweden also feature.Group G looks straightforward for Belgium as they take on Egypt, Iran and New Zealand. And then finally to Group D, as Sid Lowe joins to discuss Spain. They line up against Uruguay, Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia. Are Spain the favourites?Chapters:00:00 - Coming up...01:22 Group E and group F26:25 Group G37:56 Sid Lowe joins to discuss Group H50:38 Quick fire roundGuardian Football Weekly podcast:Apple ► https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/football-weekly/id188674007Spotify ► https://open.spotify.com/show/6w8qWe0kjgHEHSWDSDGoLW?si=231c666f7f5a4453Follow Guardian Football Weekly:Instagram ► https://www.instagram.com/guardian_footballweekly/TikTok ► https://www.tiktok.com/@guardian_footballweekly#footballweekly #football #sport #fifa #worldcup #worldcup2026 #worldcuppreview Continue reading...

Impressive results have fuelled belief that Hajime Moriyasu’s side can not just survive against the best but beat them tooThis article is part of the Guardian’s 2026 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 48 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from three countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June. Continue reading...

Luis Enrique was scathing after PSG’s ‘worst match of the season’ but Marseille are too flaky to make them pay By Get French Football News Paris Saint-Germain were flat and lethargic in their 1-0 defeat to Monaco on Saturday afternoon. Luis Enrique called it their “worst match of the season” and “a very bad night”. His players created very little, although it might have been a very different story had the Monaco midfielder Lamine Camara been sent off for his lunge on Lucas Chevalier early in the first half. The France international said his “career could have taken a turn” and that he considered himself “lucky” to continue after the tackle that was sanctioned with a yellow, rather than a red. Takumi Minamino gave Monaco the lead midway through the second half before they did go down to 10 men, Thilo Kehrer receiving a red card in the 80th minute, but PSG failed to create any clear openings. It felt like a simple off night, even if the lack of goals from their forwards remains a cause for concern. The result gave Marseille the chance to land a psychological blow. Continue reading...

Liverpool ready to offer Ryan Gravenberch new deal, Arsenal interested in Real Soceidad's Takefusa Kubo, Crystal Palace have no intention of selling Adam Wharton, plus more.

Antoine Semenyo scored one goal and set up the other as Bournemouth beat Brighton 2-1. Alex Scott netted his first league goal since December 2023, with Kaoru Mitoma equalising for the visitors. The Cherries handed a surprise top-flight debut to Veljko Milosavljevic, their 18-year-old transfer deadline day signing, with the centre-back Bafodé Diakité injured. At the other end of the age spectrum, the 39-year-old James Milner replaced Carlos Baleba in Brighton’s starting lineup. Continue reading...

The US will face a tall test against another East Asian power – this one with ambitions to make World Cup history in 2026 Not even the most blinkered South Korean fan would deny that Japan presents the United States with the strongest test that Asia has to offer. The Samurai Blue may not have a player like Christian Pulisic who has played regularly at elite clubs, but the roster is full of talents playing at high level, and was the first country other than the hosts to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Continue reading...

Today’s rumours don’t really have their heart in it Four days into July, Arsenal fans could be forgiven for getting antsy over their outgoings list outnumbering their incomings by seven to one. If Gunnersaurus had ears they’d be pricking ozone-wards at word that Real Madrid are willing to let Rodrygo leave during the current window. Xabi Alonso seemingly likes the trade-off of losing a player who doesn’t currently waltz into his preferred XI (just 88 mins of action at the Club World Cup to date) and getting a fee not far short of £80m to help continue his reconfiguration at the Bernabéu. The tricksy 24-year-old is seen as a substantial upgrade on Arsenal’s current threats from the left wing, but his arrival would not necessarily herald the exit of his Brazilian compatriot Gabriel Martinelli. A player who will leave, however, is knack-plagued defender Takehiro Tomiyasu, whose contract is being ripped up. That’s, thankfully, a situation suiting both parties, with the Japan international still almost half a year from returning to action after an endless string of knee twangs. Continue reading...

Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu is leaving the club after reaching an agreement to mutually terminate his contract.

Australia take 1-0 smash-and-grab win over Samurai Blue in Perth Stunning 90th-minute strike all but secures automatic qualification It’s the smash-and-grab to end all smash-and-grabs and one that means everything to Australia. In the 90th minute of a game in which the Socceroos had been besieged by Japan, in which a rampant Samurai Blue had done everything but fashion that clearcut chance they needed to score a winning goal, Aziz Behich went back across his body and bent a shot with his non-preferred right foot beyond Kosei Tani and into the back of the net. With one fell swoop, with his first goal in green and gold in 13 years, the veteran defender had all but ensured that Australia punched their tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup and, in doing so, cemented his place in Australian football folklore. Pandemonium gripped Perth Stadium. Behich streaked away towards the corner flag before being enveloped by teammates from every direction. On the sidelines, Tony Popovic let out a guttural roar before embracing his staff while the pyrotechnics were going off in the stands and strangers embraced each other in delirious jubilation. Continue reading...

The rise of the Samurai Blue has gone hand-in-hand with increased integration of ‘haafu’ into society, although things are still not perfect Through Japan’s previous seven World Cup appearances, the progress of its men’s national team has reflected the country’s ascent within the global soccer community, a result of three decades of professionalism and grassroots development producing a steady stream of Europe-ready players. On Thursday, that streak of consecutive appearances in men’s soccer’s showpiece event was officially extended to eight, as Japan’s 2-0 win over Bahrain made them the first non-host country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico. Continue reading...

Brighton made it three wins in a row as they cruised to a 4-0 victory at rock-bottom Southampton to climb to eighth place in the Premier League and keep their European ambitions on track. Goals from the excellent João Pedro, Georginio Rutter, Kaoru Mitoma and Jack Hinshelwood were more than enough to condemn the Saints to a 21st defeat of the season and leave them on just nine points, two fewer than Derby’s record low total from the 2007-08 season. Continue reading...

Takehiro Tomiyasu is the latest Arsenal player to be ruled out of the rest of the season after the defender has knee surgery.