Having arrived at the tournament under the shadow of war between Tehran and Washington, Iran have drawn both their opening games, and remain in with a chance to qualify for the knockout rounds for the first time.

Spain boss Luis de la Fuente said his side had silenced their doubters after Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal inspired a 4-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Iraq coach Graham Arnold has promised that his team of outsiders will try to take the game to tournament favourites France when the sides clash at the World Cup on Monday.

Ten-man Belgium were left frustrated after being held to a 0-0 draw by a determined Iran in their World Cup Group G clash in Los Angeles on Sunday, failing to find a way past the stubborn Iranian defence.

Lamine Yamal kickstarted Spain's World Cup Group H campaign as he returned to the starting line-up to open the scoring for the European champions in a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Belgium face an Iran side who also picked up a point from their opening match after a 2-2 draw with New Zealand and Garcia faces a delicate balancing act with his squad of skilled veterans and emerging talents.

In a detailed interview, the 20-year-old spoke about her passion and analysis of the greatest show on earth, Brazil’s performances, her football idols, and Bangladesh’s women’s football.

Some dreams take years to come true. This one was worth every second of the wait.

Much was expected of Spain against the tournament debutants, but De la Fuente's team were unable to find a way past the African side, and need a statement win in Sunday's Group H game with the Saudis to restore some faith.

Salah was substituted in the 76th minute of that 1-1 draw in Seattle, with highly-rated teenager Hamza Abdelkarim coming on.

The Blue Sharks went a long way to proving their point when, making their World Cup debut, they put together a brilliant defensive display to hold European champions Spain to a 0-0 draw on Monday.

"I see myself as much better than people see me. I know the road ahead is very long and that I have many things to improve," he said in an interview with El Pais newspaper published on Sunday.

A wounded Spain will aim to get their World Cup challenge firmly back on track when they face Saudi Arabia in Atlanta on Sunday.

Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room joked that he deserves a statue on the Caribbean island after a jaw-dropping display that earned the team their first-ever World Cup point.

While the world’s elite forwards arrived in North America with their eyes fixed on the Golden Boot, they are currently being outpaced by a rather embarrassing collective entity. Seven own goals have already been registered at the 2026 World Cup - five more than the entire 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Japan marked the 1,000th game in the history of the World Cup with a 4-0 thrashing of Tunisia on Saturday to close in on a place in the last 32.

Hosting a FIFA World Cup is a matter of immense pride for any nation. Countries spend billions of dollars on infrastructure development, building and renovating stadiums, and upgrading facilities to stage the greatest show on earth. In return, they receive significant economic benefits through the arrival of millions of football fans from around the world.

Coach Julian Nagelsmann was thrilled by Germany's comeback victory against Ivory Coast on Saturday, but stopped short of celebrating his side advancing to the World Cup knockout stage for the first time since 2014.

American Tim Howard holds the World Cup record for all-time saves with 16, but that came after extra time in the United States’ loss to Belgium in the 2014 round of 16, underlining the scale of Room’s 90-minute achievement.

After playing Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday, Iran's final group game will take place in Seattle next Friday against Egypt.