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Good morning football fans. It’s Thursday, June. 25 - Hydration breaks could become a regular feature at World Cups, a landmark ruling on maternity rights in football, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.
KEY FIXTURES
2026 World Cup (June 25): Ecuador vs Germany, Group E, 16:00 ET / 21:00 BST. Germany will equal their longest-ever winning streak of 12 games if they prevail against Ecuador, and it would be the first time they complete a perfect World Cup group-stage campaign since 2006. Ecuador did not win in their opening two games despite arriving at the tournament on a 19-match unbeaten run. Japan vs Sweden, Group F, 19:00 ET / 00:00 BST (June 26). Japan are on a nine-game unbeaten run, which includes wins over Brazil and England. Sweden are sitting third in the Group F standings on three points, with a point against Japan potentially being enough for progression to the knock-out rounds. Turkiye vs United States, Group D, 22:00 ET / 03:00 BST (June 26). A victory for the United States would mark the first time they have claimed three consecutive victories at a World Cup. Already-eliminated Turkiye will want to avoid losing three successive World Cup games for the very first time. See every upcoming World Cup fixture here and group standings here.
Results…
World Cup: Scotland 0-3 Brazil | Morocco 4-2 Haiti | Bosnia-Herzegovina 3-1 Qatar | Switzerland 2-1 Canada
Czechia vs Mexico and South Africa vs South Korea to conclude shortly after publication (Live Results)
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TOP TALKING POINTS
Hydration Breaks to Stay?
FIFA will consider retaining hydration breaks at future World Cups, according to its president, Gianni Infantino. After saying on Tuesday that Fifa would assess their use at future tournaments, Infantino defended the current policy on Wednesday, insisting that it was driven by sporting considerations rather than commercial interests. Fifa introduced three-minute hydration breaks midway through each half to help players cope with high temperatures, though the breaks are applied across all matches, regardless of venue or location.
"There is no additional revenue for Fifa, as all commercial agreements were signed well in advance. So, this is not a financial issue for us. For us, it is purely a sporting matter," Infantino said in a statement on Wednesday. He had also argued on Tuesday that applying the breaks only in hotter matches would “give an advantage or a disadvantage” to some teams, because coaches in those games would receive an additional opportunity to influence play.
Across the 104 matches, the breaks open up to 832 new 30-second ad slots, close to seven hours of extra advertising over the tournament. Estimates suggest that FOX Sports has sold advertising space for between $200,000 (£152,000) and $300,000 (£227,000) per 30-second ad slot, with some reports indicating that matches involving the United States could see hydration-break ad slots costing around $750,000 (£567,000). That means hydration breaks alone may be generating more than $250m (£189m) in the U.S. alone.
Strong World Cup Viewing Figures
More than 50 million viewers watched across the three host countries, Mexico, Canada and the United States, during the opening weekend of the 2026 World Cup. The United States’ win over Paraguay stands as the most-watched match of this summer’s tournament and the most-watched World Cup telecast ever for English-language U.S. audiences, with more than 18 million viewers across Fox, FS1 and Tubi. Mexico’s first match averaged 23.4 million viewers domestically, while Canada’s first-ever World Cup victory drew a record average of 5.3 million for its men’s national team.
These numbers continued into the second set of group-stage fixtures. Mexico’s 1-0 win over South Korea drew a reported total audience of 14 million across Telemundo and Peacock, making it the most-viewed Spanish-language football broadcast in U.S. history. Elsewhere, Brazil remained one of the largest individual markets, with an average viewership of 30.7 million during their second group-stage match against Haiti. Other key markets include Japan, which averaged 22.4 million viewers in its second group-stage match against Tunisia, while China recorded 192 million unique viewers across the first 11 matches of the tournament.
In Europe, the World Cup is attracting unusually large proportions of national television audiences. Sweden and Norway recorded unprecedented TV audience shares of 96% and 97%, respectively, meaning almost everyone watching television at the time was tuned in to their opening matches. Meanwhile, England’s opening group-stage match against Croatia peaked at 15.4 million viewers, around half of the estimated 32.3 million who watched England lift the trophy in 1966, still the most-watched event in British television history.
Landmark Maternity Ruling
Sport’s highest court, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), has ruled in favour of Maja Gothberg in her claim against former club Lazio Women in a landmark maternity-rights case. Cas ruled that the Italian side had unlawfully ended Gothberg’s employment after learning she was pregnant and ordered the club to pay compensation. The ruling, which sets precedent for maternity rights in women’s football, is the first time that Cas has found that a football club unlawfully ended an employment relationship due to a player’s pregnancy.
Gothberg helped Lazio gain promotion to the top division during the 2023-24 season, making 29 appearances. While WhatsApp messages showed that key terms of her contract negotiation had been made, Lazio did not fulfil the agreement in principle after learning that Gothberg had fallen pregnant. Cas ruled that the burden fell on the club to prove its actions were unrelated to Gothberg’s pregnancy.
The case builds on a previous high-profile maternity dispute in 2022. Former Iceland captain Sara Bjork Gunnarsdottir won a claim against Lyon for failing to pay her full salary during pregnancy. Fifa subsequently expanded its maternity and family protections in 2024, strengthening safeguards relating to pregnancy and introducing additional rights covering adoption and family leave — dive deeper into those changes here.
POLL
Should hydration breaks at the World Cup be applied consistently in every match regardless of weather?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> Chelsea are set to sign Serie A Defender of the Year Marco Palestra from Atalanta for a fee in excess of £43m (More) | Tottenham have confirmed the signing of Slovakian and former Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka (More) | Leeds United have agreed a deal to sign Harry Wilson on a free transfer (More); see all the deals from Europe’s top five leagues (More)
> Aston Villa have been fined and handed a suspended one-match ban on selling tickets to away fans by Uefa after supporters displayed a “discriminatory banner” during the Europa League final against Freiburg (More)
> Atletico Madrid have decided to file a complaint to Fifa against Barcelona over their transfer approach for striker Julian Alvarez (More)
Americas
> Brazil top Group C and Morocco finish second as both advance to the round fo 32; Scotland’s fate hangs in the balanace as potential third-place finishers (More) | Colombia have advanced to the round of 32 following their 1-0 win over DR Congo; Qatar became the sixth team eliminated from the World Cup following a 3-1 loss to Bosnia-Herzegovina (More) | Panama have been eliminated following their 1-0 loss to Croatia (More)
> A Paraguayan football commentator has been stripped of his World Cup credentials by Fifa after a rant against the organisation (More) | Several of Fifa’s U.S.-based employees advised against the use of dynamic pricing at the 2026 World Cup but were overruled by the governing body’s leadership (More) | Iran and Egypt are set to play in the first-ever World Cup Pride Match this Friday, despite homosexuality being criminalised in both countries (More)
> New York City FC are reportedly preparing to offer Christian Pulisic a five-year deal worth $10m annually (More) | Sporting Kansas City acquired defender Emir Karic from Austria's Sturm Graz (More)
Rest of the World
> Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo has been given a five-match ban for his challenge on Canada's Ismael Kone at the World Cup (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think it’s fair to change the rules just before the World Cup knockout stages?
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👍 Yes (53%)
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅♂️ Nope (45%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (2%)
Your punditry takes:
👍 L.J: “In this instance, yes, nobody's made tactical plans based on the potentially changed process, and they're not proposing a change after there's already been a shoot-out this tournament. But they have had years to think of this, why only now?”
🙅♂️ C.J.G: “Once a tournament begins, there should be no rule changes of any type. Players and managers enter a tournament with a set of rules. To change any rule during the tournament is a disruption to the players' mindset.”
✍️ P.A: “Penalty kicks should precede the 30-minute Extra Time. Only 3 shots each. The winning team after penalties will be awarded 0.5 goals at the start of Extra Time. This forces the team that lost in penalties to press for a goal rather than hold on for penalties. It's a more exciting way to end a match, and it’s won during the course of regular play. ”
EXTRA TIME
What every team needs from their final match of the group stage.
Witch doctor ‘lifts jinx’ on Harry Kane after Ghana game.
The boots that are dominating the World Cup. (data)
… and Nike launch gold Mercurial boots for Ronaldo’s World Cup record.
The best World Cup viewing parties around the world. (in pictures)
Lionel Messi gets a new 85-foot statue in Argentina.
Have World Cup changes made final group stage games unfair?
Erling Haaland’s World Cup vlog.
GAME FACE ON
Question: Which player made his 200th international appearance during the 2026 World Cup, becoming only the fourth male footballer to reach the milestone?
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.
VAR went for a coffee
Answer
Luka Modric. He joins Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa.
