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Good morning football fans. It’s Friday, June. 19 - FIFA’s new rules are showing early signs of promise at the World Cup, Portugal manager Roberto Martinez has defended his selection of Cristiano Ronaldo, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
World Cup 2026 (June 19): United States vs Australia, Group D, 15:00 ET / 20:00 BST. Both sides won their opening matches, so a win for either team will advance them. Despite the USMNT’s strong start, they haven’t won consecutive World Cup matches since their first two games of the inaugural competition in 1930. Meanwhile, Australia have won three of their last four games at the World Cup. Scotland vs Morocco, Group C, 18:00 ET / 23:00 BST. Scotland enter the match in good form, having won eight of their last 11 competitive matches, and they’ll hope to win more than one match in an international tournament for the very first time. Morocco’s 1-1 draw with Brazil in their opening match extended their unbeaten run in World Cup group stage matches to five games, equalling the longest such streak by an African nation. Brazil vs Haiti, Group C, 20:30 ET / 01:30 BST (June 20). Haiti would be eliminated from the World Cup if they lose to Brazil and Morocco beat Scotland. Brazil have faced Haiti three times in international football, winning three games by an aggregate score of 17-1, with friendly games ending in 4-0 and 6-0 wins before a 7-1 win at the 2016 Copa America. See every upcoming World Cup fixture here and group standings here.
Results…
World Cup: Czech Republic 1-1 South Africa | Switzerland 4-1 Bosnia-Herzegovina
Canada vs Qatar and Mexico vs South Korea to conclude shortly after publication (Live Results)
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TOP TALKING POINTS
FIFA’s New Rules Show Promise
FIFA’s new measures to combat time-wasting at the World Cup are showing early signs of promise. Matches are shorter, a greater proportion of each game is spent with the ball in play, and referees have rarely needed to punish players for exceeding the new time limits. Fifa introduced a range of measures before the tournament to improve match tempo — see the full list of changes here.
The ball has been in play for 59.4% of match time so far in the 2026 World Cup, an increase from the tournaments in Qatar 2022 (56.9%) and Russia 2018 (56.2%). This comes despite the average match length at this World Cup (96:08) being much lower than in Qatar (102 minutes 43 seconds) and slightly better than in Russia (96 minutes 54 seconds). This calculation excludes the six minutes applied for hydration breaks.
Other time-wasting tactics, including delaying goal-kicks and leaving the pitch slowly during substitutions, have also caused fewer problems. At the time of writing, only one delayed goal-kick has resulted in a corner, while no incoming substitute has been forced to wait because the player being replaced took too long to leave the field.
… and World Cup Goal Trends
There were 75 goals in the opening 24 games at the 2026 World Cup, an average of 3.1 goals per game, the highest average of goals per game at a World Cup since 1958. If goals continue to be scored at the same pace, this summer’s tournament could see around 325 goals. The record for the most goals at a World Cup was set in 2022, with 172 goals, though that tournament had 40 fewer games.
Data from Opta also suggests that hydration breaks are increasing the incidence of goals. In the first round of matches, 33 goals were scored in the first half, with 14 before the hydration break and 19 after. Meanwhile, 115 shots came before the first-half hydration break, and 170 came between the break and half-time. Only 11 of the 48 teams registered more shots before the break, while 26 produced more attempts between the break and half-time.
Substitutions, which were introduced only at the 1970 World Cup, are playing a key role in goalscoring. Substitutes have scored 13 goals in 24 games so far, a rate of 0.54 per game. That is slightly higher than the 0.5-per-game average recorded at the 2014 World Cup, which holds the record for the most substitute goals with 32.
Dive deeper into more 2026 World Cup trends here.
Ronaldo Selection Defended
Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has dismissed concerns about Cristiano Ronaldo’s goalscoring drought at major tournaments following his side’s 1-1 draw with Congo DR on Wednesday. Ronaldo, who is Portugal’s all-time leading scorer with 143 goals, has not scored in five consecutive World Cup matches or in his past 10 appearances at major tournaments. He also has not scored a non-penalty goal at a major tournament since June 2021.
"It makes no sense to get the best goal scorer in world football out in a game that you need goals," Martinez said when questioned about whether Ronaldo should have been substituted. “For us in moments like this, the experience of Cristiano in the box is important. The way that he attracts defenders is important, the way that we can use the space is important.” The 41-year-old played all 90 minutes in Portugal’s opening match despite attempting only three shots, none of which were on target.
Reports on Thursday said that Martinez is lined up to become Ronaldo’s club manager at Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr following the conclusion of the World Cup. In the meantime, on Tuesday (June 23), Portugal will play their second group stage game against Uzbekistan, who are 56th in Fifa’s men’s rankings and lost their opening game 3-1 to Colombia.
POLL
Should Portugal drop Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting XI?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Liverpool have signed Spanish winger Victor Munoz from Osasuna after triggering his €40m (£34.5m) release clause (More) | Real Madrid have agreed to sign Ibrahima Konate on a four-year contract when his contract at Liverpool, which expires in July (More) | Inter Milan has extended head coach Christian Chivu’s contract until 2028 (More)
> England Women will face Greece in the opening round of the 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifiers (More) | Aggie Beever-Jones is expected to stay at Chelsea this summer as her contract was due to expire (More)
> Rafael van der Vaart, former Dutch international, has apologised for saying that Japan players “all look the same” during their 2-2 draw with the Netherlands (More)
> French side Marseille have narrowly avoided being thrown out of European competition for financial breaches, with Uefa opting to fine the club €10m whilst also imposing restrictions on player registrations for next season’s Europa League campaign (More)
> Turkish club Fenerbahce have hired Ismail Kartal for his fourth managerial spell on a one-year contract, with Dirk Kuyt joining his technical staff (More) | Rangers have announced the appointment of Derek McInnes as their new manager on a three-year contract following the departure of Danny Rohl (More)
Americas
> Lionel Messi’s father, Jorge, is experiencing health issues, the family of Messi has confirmed; Jorge is “progressing favourably within his current condition” (More) | An injured Neymar Jr will not travel with the Brazil squad for their second group game against Haiti on Friday (June 19) as he recovers from a calf injury (More)
> FIFA will allow managers to stand to the side of photographers during national anthems following Thomas Tuchel’s complaints that it “ruined” an “emotional moment” before England’s game against Croatia (More) | Massachusetts has become the first state in the U.S. to ‘legalise’ haggis following a pre-World Cup campaign by one of Scotland’s leading butchers (More)
> NWSL’s Angel City FC have acquired forward Ally Sentnor from the Kansas City Current for $850,000; the 22-year-old joins her third team since making her NWSL debut in 2024 (More)
Rest of the World
> Ivory Coast striker Elye Wahi will be allowed into Canada for his country’s second World Cup game, having previously been denied entry (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Is Lionel Messi still one of the best players in the world?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (89%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (9%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 J.L: “A World Cup hat trick is pretty convincing that Messi can still play at the highest level. Yes, MLS is not that, but he is in great form and still does what Messi has always done: be at the right place at the right time. His game is based on situational awareness, not work rate. That style of play is possible even if he has lost a step or two at his advanced age. Looking forward to seeing his games at this World Cup.”
👍 B.A: “He is one of the best and possibly still the best which is wild to think given he is almost 40. And it is for the reason that he is better at every part of the game than everyone else: shooting, passing, movement, and first touch. Who is better than him at any of those?”
🙅♂️ G.P: “Perhaps he can be at a very good level for five or seven games, but he wouldn’t be able to keep up over a domestic season in Europe. He simply doesn’t have the legs for it at his age.”
EXTRA TIME
How each World Cup team can advance to the knockouts.
… and the points third-place teams need to make the knockouts.
The World Cup’s best (and worst) warm-up kits.
The Silver Goal rule, Uefa’s forgotten experiment.
Which player has scored the highest percentage of their team’s goals at a World Cup?
Can you walk to the MetLife Stadium from NYC?
GAME FACE ON
Question: Who scored the first goal of the World Cup 2026?
Scroll below for the answer.
Daily Wordle: Guess the football-related word, from player names to classic phrases, in six tries or fewer. Play it here.
The team needs to score, not you need to score.
Answer
Mexico’s Julian Quinones.
