FIFA World Cup Day 7 recap: Colombia fends off Uzbekistan; Harry Kane ties record

Colombia 3, Uzbekistan 1, final

Uzbekistan earned a free kick in the 96th minute, the ball sailed high and to the right of the goal as frustrated players in the box jockeyed for what they hoped would be an equalizer.

In the 98th minute, Colombia worked to push the ball to the other side of the field. Cucho Hernández appeared to be pinned along the sideline and possibly fouled, but he kept fighting to hold onto the ball and got enough space to loft a rocket to the far side of the box and Jaminton Campaz headed it home to unleash a cheers in Azteca Stadium.

Uzbekistan earned one more shot on goal, but it was blocked and Colombia sealed a victory.

Colombia 1, Uzbekistan 1, 65th minute

Surrendering a goal unlocked fire in Colombia, with the team pressuring Uzbekistan’s defense. Gustavo Puerta led a counter attack after Colombia forced a turnover and passed Luis Díaz near the left edge of the box. Díaz fired the ball into the far right corner, hitting it sharply enough to score despite the Uzbekistan goalkeeper getting a hand on it. The previously quiet Azteca Stadium packed with Colombia fans roared back to life.

Colombia 1, Uzbekistan 1, 60th minute

After failing to generate any chances in the first half, Colombia fans at Azteca Stadium were restless early in the second half as Uzbekistan spent more time in front of the Colombian goal.

In the 60th minute, Eldor Shomurodov volleyed a shot on goal from the right side of the box. It bounced off the right post and Abbosbek Fayzullaev headed home the rebound. It was the first World Cup goal in Uzbekistan history.

Colombia 1, Uzbekistan 0, halftime

Colombia dominated possession and generated numerous runs, but Los Cafeteros only lead 1-0 at the halftime break.

Colombia 1, Uzbekistan 0, 40th minute

Luis Díaz passed into the ball to the box and Daniel Muñoz tapped the ball for a goal.

Uzbekistan 0, Colombia 0, 16th minute

The final two teams to play their World Cup openers are facing off at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.

James Rodríguez is pushing to prove he is still capable of making an impact on the World Cup stage at 34 years old.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canada captain Alphonso Davies will be available to play on Thursday against Qatar after he missed his team’s World Cup opener while recovering from a hamstring injury, coach Jesse Marsch said.

The left back was injured last month while playing for Bayern Munich in the Champions League semifinals.

In an open practice earlier this week, Davies was limited in training and was still in the return-to-play protocol.

“He’s been in training this week, and he’ll be available tomorrow, and we’ll see how the match goes and then make a decision on how we would choose to use him,” March said Wednesday evening.

Davies has not played for Canada since March 2025, when he tore an ACL in the CONCACAF Nations League finals. He has 15 goals in 58 international appearances.

“We’ve worked really well through this, and Alphonso is looking really good,” Marsch said. “So it’s just a matter of, OK, what kind of game is it, what kind of moment is it, and how do we feel Alphonso can contribute right now? But he’s ready, he’ll be available.”

Canada opened the World Cup with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Friday in Toronto. Late substitute Cyle Larin scored the equalizer in the 78th minute.

Qatar pulled off a 1-1 draw with Switzerland on Saturday in Santa Clara, Calif. Boualem Khoukhi scored for Qatar in stoppage time for the nation’s first-ever World Cup point.

All four teams in Group B had one point heading into their second matches.

Ghana 1, Panama 0, final

Ghana did not take a shot on goal in the first half, but the team never stopped pushing for a win and netted the game winner in the 95th minute. It was the latest goal so far this World Cup. Panama nearly answered off a free kick, but Ghana goalkeeper Mosquera landed on and hugged the ball in front of the goal. He was kicked by a Panama player after gathering the ball and a shoving match ensued. Panama’s Carlos Harvey was the only one hit with a yellow card after the skirmish. After Mosquera was treated on the field, he got back up and Ghana managed to close out the win.

Ghana 1, Panama 0, 90th minute + 5

With the teams scoreless in stoppage time, it felt like Ghana was more determined to break the gridlock and escape with more than a point.

Panama sent a cross into the box that went nowhere and Ghana immediately sprinted up the field with the ball.

Brandon Thomas-Asante evaded Panama’s defense and pushed the ball into left side box. After drawing in the goalkeeper Thomas-Asante passed to Caleb Yirenkyi for an easy tap in and goal.

Ghana 0, Panama 0, 68th minute

In the 60th minute, Cristian Martinez took Panama’s sole promising shot of the game, but the right-footed shot was wide of the goal.

In the 64th minute, Ghana had Benjamin Asare received a pass in the box, but he pushed it left of the goal.

Panama pushed the ball toward goal one more time but could not score before the match’s second hydration break.

Ghana 0, Panama 0, 25th minute

Ghana and Panama are scoreless early in Toronto. Panama had an early scoring chance on a pass that whipped into the box, but Ghana’s Lawrence Ati-Zigi delivered a big save in the second minute.

Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi was called for a yellow card for a tackle in the 16th minute.

ARLINGTON, Texas — Harry Kane has already made the most of another opportunity in this World Cup. Given a second penalty kick, he didn’t miss.

The hope now for England and its captain is this is just the start of a long run and another chance to seek a championship after bitter losses ended their last two appearances.

That successful retry on a penalty kick was the first of Kane’s first two goals as England won its World Cup opener 4-2 Wednesday over Croatia, the team that knocked the Three Lions out in the 2018 semifinals.

After scoring his goals in the first half, the second a powerful header, Kane was the first person to jump on the back of Jude Bellingham after his tiebreaking goal early in the second half put England ahead for good. Then in the 94th minute, there was Kane in front of his own net on a set play, blocking a close-range shot by Croatia.

“See the commitment of our captain, our No. 9,” coach Thomas Tuchel said. “Complete performance, absolute leader and he’s all in. He’s all in physically, he’s all in mentally. ... He’s the full package. He wants it, and he leads by example.”

Kane’s goals pushed his World Cup total to 10 and matched the English record that Gary Lineker set playing in the 1986 and 1990 tournaments. Kane, who won the Golden Boot in 2018 in Russia by scoring six times, is the first player from England to score multiple goals in three Cup appearances. He has 81 international goals.

“Obviously it’s a great milestone to reach, to get 10 goals in a World Cup. ... To reach double figures in this amazing tournament is very special,” Kane said. “And it’s the first game, I’m feeling good. I said before the game, physically, mentally, the goals I’ve scored this year (are) at the highest level I’ve ever had in my career. ... I enjoy being on the pitch when I’m feeling in this form.”

Kane didn’t score in England’s 2-1 semifinal loss to Croatia eight years ago in the only previous World Cup meeting between the teams. When England lost 2-1 to France in the 2022 quarterfinals, Kane missed a penalty late, sending the ball over the crossbar.

This time, the 32-year-old Kane came close to another hat trick — he had one against Panama in 2018.

He had seven shots, three of them on goal. Those included a pair of rapid-fire tries in close shortly after England had retaken in the lead in the second half, and he almost immediately was trying to get to another ball when he collided with a defender and ended up on the ground in front of the net.

Kane’s first goal in his 12th World Cup game came after Dominik Livakovic’s save on his first penalty try was nullified by a video review. Both of the Croatian goalkeeper’s feet were off the goal line as Kane struck the ball after an initial stutter-step.

“He’s a keeper that likes to move early and jump kind of forward early. So I knew there was a high chance that if I did stutter that he might come off the line,” Kane said. “I wasn’t 100 percent sure that he was. I was maybe 80 percent sure he did. But obviously not ideal, I still want to score the penalty.”

On the second attempts, Kane went the same way toward the right post while Livakovic lunged in the opposite direction.

Kane matched Lineker’s mark when the Bayern Munich striker easily beat Livakovic with header off a corner kick from Declan Rice. Kane was basically alone before moving into position to make the play.

“It was a set piece that we used,” he said. “Just kind of block the guys in front a little bit and just give me a bit of space.”

Thanks to Petar Musa, Croatia enters halftime tied 2-2 with England in their group play match in Arlington, Texas.

Musa scored in the fifth minute of added time, his first goal in World Cup play.

Harry Kane struck again, this time on a header off a corner kick in the 42nd minute to give England a 2-1 advantage over Croatia as the teams approach halftime in Arlington, Texas.

His second goal of the match gives him 10 goals over three World Cups, tying him with Gary Lineker for most in England history.

Croatia has rallied against England, with Martin Baturina scoring in the 36th minute to even things up in Arlington. Texas.

England took the early lead over Croatia when Harry Kane team captain Harry Kane converted a penalty kick in the 12th minute in Arlington, Texas.

The scoring opportunity was set up by a foul in the box by Croatia’s Luka Modric. Kane then converted with ease.

The last time these teams met in the World Cup was in the 2018 semifinals, where Croatia won in extra time. Since making its first World Cup as an independent country in 1998, Croatia has finished third or better three times, making the final in 2018 and the semifinals in 1998 and 2022. Only France has fared better in the last two tournaments. England, a quarterfinalist in Qatar, made the final of the last two European Championships and, like Croatia, comes into this tournament with an aging core led by captain Harry Kane, England’s all-time leader in goals.

HOUSTON — Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates could only manage a 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Wednesday in their opening World Cup match.

Congo, which was playing at the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, became the second African nation to make a strong start in the tournament against European competition following Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain on Monday.

Playing in front of a crowd of 68,777 spectators at NRG Stadium, which was mostly filled with Portugal supporters, Congo was making only its second World Cup appearance. The first came in 1974, when the team was known as Zaire.

João Neves gave Portugal the lead in the sixth minute. The 5-foot-7 midfielder headed in a cross from Pedro Neto.

Yoane Wissa equalized for Congo with a header in stoppage time at the end of the first half off a cross from Arthur Masuaku, delighting the small pockets of blue-clad fans. It was Congo’s first World Cup goal in the country’s history.

Congo was shut out in its previous three World Cup matches, losing to Scotland (2-0), Yugoslavia (9-0) and reigning champion Brazil (3-0) at the 1974 tournament in West Germany.

Ronaldo joined Argentina captain Lionel Messi as the only players to appear in six World Cups. And Ronaldo had chance to move out of a tie with Messi, who had a hat trick on Tuesday, by becoming the first player to score in a sixth tournament. Ronaldo missed shots wide right in the 68th and 73rd minutes. He shook his head in disgust after both.

Bruno Fernandes also had a chance to put Portugal on top in the 90th minute but his shot was also wide right.

Portugal looked to have taken the lead in the 55th minute on a bicycle kick by João Cancelo, but he was ruled offside.

Soon after that, Cédric Bakambu’s attempt to put Congo on top failed when his shot bounced off the near post.

Ronaldo became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match, taking the record set four years ago by Canada midfielder Atiba Hutchinson. Cameroon great Roger Milla is the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup match, coming on as a substitute at 42 years old during the 1994 World Cup.

The parents of Diogo Jota, a member of the Portugal team who died alongside his brother in a car crash last summer, attended the game in a luxury suite.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo, making only its second World Cup appearance and first since 1974 when it was known as Zaire, made history during injury time in the first half in Houston, thanks to Yoane Wissa.

Wissa’s header in the fifth minute of added time was the very first goal scored by the Congo in World Cup play and pulled the team even with Portugal 1-1 heading into halftime.

A header by Joao Neves in the sixth minute has staked Portugal to a 1-0 lead against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Houston.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is back in the World Cup for the first time since 1974 — when the country was known as Zaire — and in its first game it faces fifth-ranked Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, the greatest goal scorer in soccer history. Ronaldo, 41, is playing in the tournament for a sixth time, and this likely is his last chance to win the one prize that has eluded him — a World Cup title.

On a recent spring morning, Championship Soccer Stadium, which sits in a corner of the Orange County Great Park in Irvine, was quiet and empty save for the dozen sprinklers quenching a newly laid grass carpet.

Normally the well-used stadium is a buzz of activity. But its main tenant, the Orange County Soccer Club, which plays in the second-division USL Championship, has been temporarily evicted, left to train in the nearby park and play its final home game before the World Cup at Eddie West Field in Santa Ana, 12 miles away. (Not that it was necessarily a bad thing since the club drew a home-record crowd of 7,651 to its 3-2 win over Oakland on Saturday, which allowed it to hold onto second place in the Western Conference table.)

In 1986, when Mexico became the first country to ever host the FIFA World Cup a second time, actor and director Diego Luna was only 6 years old. The year before, his hometown of Mexico City had been ravaged by a massive earthquake. That the World Cup happened at all in a nation recovering from such destruction seemed miraculous to a young Luna.

“It felt as though it wouldn’t happen. It was impossible given the magnitude of the disaster,” Luna, now 46, recalls in Spanish during a recent video interview. “And then when it did happen, you could witness what a balm it was for the people of Mexico City to host the opening ceremony, to welcome so many people from around the globe, and to receive such an outpouring of affection.”

“Mexico even had a song that said, ‘For now, at least, we have the Friendship Trophy.’ Sadly, that was the only trophy we got. And the only trophy we have ever won in fútbol,” Luna adds with a smirk.

Béla Guttmann may be the most consequential soccer coach you’ve never heard of. But if it weren’t for Guttmann, you may never have heard of Pelé.

And Brazil may never have become the greatest soccer-playing country on Earth.

That’s because Guttmann changed the shape of modern Brazilian soccer — and changed the sport forever — when he imported the revolutionary 4-2-4 system from Hungary to Sao Paulo in 1957. A year later, Brazil won the first of five World Cups and the joga bonito was born.

Simon Kuper’s first World Cup memory is of watching the 1978 final in his pajamas from the living room of his home in the Netherlands.

He was 8. But he quickly was smitten with the game and the tournament — so much so he has attended every World Cup since 1990. It’s an odyssey Kuper, one of the sport’s preeminent journalists, muses on in his latest book “World Cup Fever: A Soccer Journey in Nine Tournaments.”

And in many ways it’s an odyssey that sets the stage for Kuper’s 10th World Cup, which kicks off next week in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. It’s a World Cup that, in many ways, will be like no other.

A few hours after Lionel Messi and the Argentine World Cup team checked into their training base in Kansas City, a series of thunderstorms pounded the area, knocking out power, felling trees and bringing flood and tornado warnings.

Hardly ideal conditions for the world’s biggest soccer tournament. Yet that’s likely just the opening salvo of a disruptive weather system that could affect the 38-day competition, which kicks off next week with games in Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

“It’s pretty safe to say climate change is going to have a mark on this World Cup,” said Kaitlyn Trudeau, a senior research associate of climate science for Sacramento-based Climate Central. “With climate change we know it’s not just going to be hotter, but it’s also going to increase the humidity as well.”

In a perfect world, you’d be able to take a helicopter from your home straight to Sofi Stadium during the World Cup. But unfortunately, we do not live in that world, so you’ll probably need to find a reliable and cheap way to get to the World Cup.

Fans from all around will flock to the Los Angeles area for the biggest sport event in the world, meaning that traffic will be worse (if you can imagine), buses will be fuller and Metro stops will drown in the flags and jerseys of all competing nations.

ATLANTA — Curaçao fans went wild. The Germans were in shock.

Livano Comenencia had scored a goal for the smallest nation by population to ever qualify for the World Cup against four-time champion Germany.

At 1-1 in Houston a famous upset looked possible.

Then came the hydration break.

Curaçao lost the initiative, conceding two goals before halftime in what eventually became a 7-1 defeat to the Germans.

“I actually felt sorry for them,” former England striker Alan Shearer told The Rest is Football podcast. “They scored and then it was maybe 30 seconds after that it stopped. So it’s killed their momentum.”

FIFA’s new hydration breaks midway through each half — a novelty for this World Cup — were introduced to help players deal with the summer heat in the United States, Canada and Mexico. But critics say they’re having unintended consequences, ruining the flow of the game and giving coaches a chance to tactically shift momentum in their team’s favor.

While player welfare is a real concern with temperatures expected to exceed 90 F in the hottest World Cup venues, some say the hydration breaks are just an excuse for broadcasters to go to commercials in the middle of the game.

“We’re in America, right? So, it’s like it is a timeout,” former Ireland international Roy Keane said on The Overlap, a podcast that he co-hosts with long-time Manchester United teammate Gary Neville. “We love football because of the pace of the game ... what it’s doing is stopping the flow of the game, the momentum.”

A chance for coaches to huddle with the players

Rather than players merely taking on fluids, coaches have been seizing the opportunity to pass on in-game tactical instructions that would normally not be possible. And early indications are that it is having an effect.

“You can use the break to tell the players what they need to improve or what is good or what they should do better,” Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman said. “So you can use it in different ways to your advantage, and this is what we will be doing.”

In eight of the first 16 games there were goals scored within 10 minutes of the rehydration break.

Curaçao never recovered after the restart against Germany.

Morocco paid the price against Brazil in New Jersey, having dominated the game from the start and scored just before the first break. Less that 10 minutes after play resumed the game was level with Vinicius Junior equalizing.

Canada, the U.S., Australia, Scotland, Sweden and Iran have all benefited with goals soon after the break.

Momentum maps have shown how games have shifted after the new stoppages in play.

The hydration breaks also affect the experience of fans watching at stadiums. There were boos from the crowd for the first one in the game Tuesday between Iraq and Norway in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Breaks will be implemented regardless of the weather

Referees pause the games 22 minutes into each half, with players given three minutes to rehydrate.

FIFA stipulated that the breaks would occur regardless of the weather, venue or location, meaning the Spain vs. Cape Verde match in Atlanta on Monday was interrupted despite being under a roof and in an air conditioned stadium.

The governing body said it was to “ensure equal conditions for all teams, in all matches.”

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said the breaks make sense in “extreme” heat conditions but questioned whether they were necessary at every match.

“Pause, freshen up and continue. Tomorrow, when the temperature that we’ll have in this stadium is chill, maybe these breaks are not so needed, but we need to abide by the rules,” he said.

Norway coach Staale Solbakken agreed.

“I can understand it when it’s like it’s been in Greensboro (North Carolina), when it’s been 35 degrees (95 Fahrenheit) and a really hot climate and there’s a bit vibration in the air – then I think it’s fine. But I don’t like it otherwise. I think it’s unnecessary,” he said.

Broadcasters cutting to commercials

Aside from the sporting impact on games, the stoppages have been criticized for damaging the spectacle for fans, with broadcasters using the opportunity to take commercial breaks.

In the United States, Fox immediately goes to commercials during the hydration breaks. Telemundo, a Spanish-language U.S. broadcaster, does not.

Unlike in U.S. professional sports like baseball, basketball and football, commercial breaks have not been a common feature in soccer except during the halftime break.

“Every time going to a commercial is a bit ... not really (something) that I like,” said Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk, who watched World Cup games on TV before the Dutch began their campaign with a 2-2 draw against Japan. “I think for the neutral watchers on TV it’s also not great.”

France coach Didier Deschamps, however, said this is the changing face of soccer.

“It’s not two half times, it is four quarter times basically that we’ve got. This is what’s been decided and so the players and the coaches adapt to this new reality,” he said.

It is not known if FIFA will implement hydration breaks at all future World Cups, but the English Football Association said it was unlikely to be in place for the European Championship, hosted by the U.K. and Ireland in 2028.

The 10th in an occasional series of profiles on Southern California athletes who have flourished in their post-playing careers.

The play started innocently enough with Tab Ramos bouncing a one-hop pass to Paul Caligiuri, who played the ball off his chest 40 yards from goal. But everything changed when a Trinidadian player stepped lazily out to meet him.

SEATTLE — If a pregnant Nigerian woman had been allowed to board a plane 25 years ago, the U.S. team’s path through this summer’s World Cup may have unfolded much differently. Instead, a gate agent turned her away, insisting it wasn’t safe for her to fly from New York to London.

So Florence Balogun returned to Brooklyn, where she had been visiting relatives, and waited for her second son to be born. And when Folarin arrived a few weeks later, entering the world just hours before Independence Day dawned, he did so as an American citizen.

It was that quirk of fate that allowed Balogun, who lived just two months in the U.S., to represent the country on soccer’s biggest stage.

Representatives from the U.S., Mexico and Canada collaborated to win the right to co-host the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America.

(Davide Barco / For The Times)

Hours before the 2018 World Cup kicked off in Russia, delegates representing more than 200 FIFA member states filed into a massive conference center rising above the left bank of the Moscow River.

There they would be voting to pick a host for the 2026 tournament and the ballot held just two candidates: Morocco, bidding for the World Cup for the fifth time, and a joint bid from the U.S., Mexico and Canada, marking the first time three countries offered to share host duties.

Mexican midfielder Edson Álvarez underwent surgery on his left ankle after getting injured during a match with his club team, Fenerbahce, last February. It kept him sidelined from both his Turkish squad and the Mexican national team.

At times, his participation in this summer’s World Cup was in jeopardy.

But thanks to his resilience, Álvarez will be Mexico’s captain as he plays in his third World Cup. He is one of the key leaders of coach Javier Aguirre’s team that will aim to reach at least the quarterfinals — a feat that has eluded El Tri in the last eight World Cups.

More men have been elected president of the United States than have played for the U.S. in a World Cup game on home soil.

It is among the rarest of achievements in a country that has achieved so much.

Two dozen Americans have flown to the moon, 116 have sat on the Supreme Court, 25 have run a mile in under 3:51 and 76 have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry.

In many ways, the most ambitious World Cup in history — which kicked off Thursday in Mexico City — has inspired more angst than anticipation, more fear than fervor.

The competition, returning to North America for the first time in more than three decades, has expanded to 48 teams and 104 matches, to be played over 39 days in 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The complex planning was eight years in the making.

At Meymuni Cafe, nestled in the West Los Angeles corridor anchoring the city’s vast Iranian diaspora, cheers broke out about 35 minutes into Iran’s 2026 World Cup game against New Zealand on Monday evening.

Iran had scored its first goal and amid whoops of joy, Parvin, 76, who declined to provide her last name, wiped tears from her cheeks. She watched intently perched on a bench at the very front of the room, at times shrieking and nudging her sister as she pointed at the cafe’s new large flat-screen hanging overhead.

The Los Angeles Organizing Committee has collaborated with an array of agencies to create one primary fan festival and 10 official fan zones throughout the L.A. area during the 39-day World Cup.

Match broadcasts there will be available via Fox and Telemundo, allowing attendees to follow the tournament live throughout the competition. Each venue will have different programming.

The U.S. men’s soccer team isn’t only trying to win games in this World Cup. It is trying to win hearts and minds as well.

“We want the game to grow,” star midfielder Christian Pulisic said. “We want to get Americans excited to watch this game, to watch our team. That’s obviously a big goal of ours. And being successful would give that the best boost.”

The Americans certainly got a great start Friday, opening the second World Cup played on U.S. soil with a dominant 4-1 win over Paraguay. It was one of the most complete performances the American men have had on the sport’s biggest stage, with Folarin Balogun scoring twice, Pulisic setting up two goals, and just one momentary lapse on defense separating goalkeeper Matt Freese from a shutout.

Unprecedented sports feats and historical firsts are usually joyous affairs. Something to celebrate, fun trivia to tuck away for later.

On Monday in Inglewood, the history was much more fraught, and not at all trivial.

Iran’s national soccer team played on American soil — this time on SoFi Stadium’s natural turf — for the first time in 26 years. And for the first time, a country hosted a World Cup participant with which it is mired in an on-again, off-again war.

There was, in the days and hours leading up to the match, protest and pushback from portions of the large, local Iranian diaspora who didn’t think it was possible to support the country’s football team without supporting the oppressive regime.

The Iranian national team finally got to just play soccer.

Their journey to the World Cup has been uniquely fraught, with a war erupting between the host of their matches and their home country.

They had to relocate their base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, struggled to get all of their traveling party into the United States amid visa scrutiny and absorbed President Trump’s suggestion they may not be safe if they chose to play in the World Cup.

SEATTLE — Growing up the son of an NFL wide receiver, Alex Freeman said he felt a lot of pressure to play the American version of football, not the one the rest of the world plays.

“I always got asked if football was the path,” he said last summer. “But I always had a secret love for soccer.”

And he had to keep it a secret because he wasn’t sure his father Antonio, a Super Bowl winner with the Green Bay Packers, would understand.

Fox is under fire for missing on-field action during the first match of the World Cup last week.

Many sports fans were irate when the network aired a full-screen ad when play resumed after a water break during last Thursday’s Mexico–South Africa match.

In the second half, the referee called for the newly instated hydration break, but the call came during a replay, which led to a miscommunication over when the three-minute break actually started.

The first seven days of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are over, with the U.S. and Mexico each winning their group stage openers. However, several teams in the World Cup field are still looking to hit the competitive pitch for the first time.

Here’s everything you need to know about matches being played on Thursday in the 48-team tournament across the U.S., Mexico and Canada (all times Pacific).

Here’s where things stand heading into Wednesday’s four World Cup games:

The first six days of the 2026 FIFA World Cup offered plenty of memorable moments.

Check out The Times’ daily recaps ahead of Wednesday’s four-game slate:

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