Overview
- Morocco beat the Netherlands on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw and a 3-2 penalty shootout, with goalkeeper Yassine Bono saving the decisive kick and Ismaïl Sibilari converting the winner.
- The victory puts Morocco into the round of 16 to face Canada on July 4 in Houston, extending a recent run of deep World Cup showings for the Moroccan team.
- Egypt faces selection uncertainty ahead of its round-of-32 match because captain Mohamed Salah is doubtful with a hamstring problem and his availability will depend on his response to treatment.
- Iraq's Olympic Committee has opened an official investigation into the national team's poor World Cup performance to identify administrative and technical failures and propose reforms.
- Pakistan announced a border-ground operation followed by air strikes inside Paktia, Paktika and Kunar provinces claiming dozens of militants killed while the Taliban said the strikes caused dozens of civilian casualties and independent verification is lacking, raising risks of further escalation along the frontier.