Overview
- England opened their World Cup with a 4-2 win over Croatia on Wednesday as Harry Kane scored twice and Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford added goals to secure three points.
- Tino Livramento was ruled out with a calf injury and the FA called up Trevoh Chalobah as his replacement under FIFA’s 24‑hour pre‑match rule, a selection that left Trent Alexander‑Arnold publicly described as snubbed.
- Lionel Messi produced a hat‑trick in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Algeria, bringing him level with Miroslav Klose on 16 World Cup goals and underscoring his early tournament form.
- Portugal were held 1-1 by DR Congo in Houston as Yoane Wissa scored the Congolese side’s first-ever World Cup goal and point while Cristiano Ronaldo was largely peripheral during the match.
- Organisers are grappling with operational strains: FIFA says it has no evidence fans entered AT&T Stadium without tickets, local authorities are probing ticket and visa frictions, and Mexican forces used signal‑jamming measures to neutralise an unregistered drone near South Korea’s Guadalajara base.