World Cup 2026 live: latest scores, team news, updates from day 6

Many believe he is the greatest of all time, and Lionel Messi will grace the world stage once again tonight as Argentina get their title defence under way, taking on Algeria in Kansas City at 2am (8pm CDT).

Unsurprisingly, Messi is the hot topic on the latest episode of The Game podcast, which has gone daily for the World Cup. Watch a snippet from the show below, as Paul Hirst discusses how Argentina get the best out of their main man, or click on the link to listen to the full episode.

Listen: https://podfollow.com/the-game/view

Thomas Partey, 33, was denied entry into Canada last week ahead of Ghana’s group L match against Panama on Thursday night. The former Arsenal midfielder is awaiting trial in the UK for five counts of rape.

It has emerged that a review of the decision to deny Partey entry into the country will be held at an Ottawa court today. The Ghanaian FA labelled the decision “high-handed and extremely unfair” over the weekend.

Read in full: Decision to deny Partey entry to Canada challenged in court

Here’s a bit of a different one for you…

Have you ever wondered how all the pitches at the World Cup — and in the Premier League — are in such good condition? Well wonder no more, as Crystal Palace groundsman Bruce Elliot shares his expert tips on turning your own garden into an immaculate (playing) surface.

Read in full: How to keep a pitch perfect lawn — by a Premier League groundsman

One story from earlier this morning is that Iran’s captain Mehdi Taremi and manager Amir Ghalenoei revealed that they were thrown out of the United States immediately after their World Cup opener in Los Angeles.

Iran played out a dramatic 2-2 draw with New Zealand overnight — the highlights of which you can watch below — coming from behind twice to pick up their first point of the tournament.

However, Ghalenoei has called his team “the most oppressed” at the World Cup after they were forced to fly back Tijuana, their training base in Mexico, a day before they had intended to.

Read in full: ‘Oppressed’ Iran forced to leave US hours after draw with New Zealand

On this Tuesday afternoon, I am sure you are all wondering to yourselves: What is the best way to experience the atmosphere of the World Cup, without actually being in North America?

Well the answer, of course, is Times Sport Unseen. Our chief sports photographer Marc Aspland has been capturing the opening few days of the tournament and has collated the greatest hits into one magnificent article.

Starting at the breathtaking Azteca Stadium and ending on the tiny Caribbean island of Curaçao, there is no better way to get yourself in the World Cup mood.

I’ll give you a sneak peek of one photo here, but you will have to click on the link below to get the full experience.

Read in full: From cathedral of football to joy in Curaçao: my first week at World Cup

It has been a rollercoaster season for Declan Rice, who starred for Arsenal as they won their first Premier League title since 2004, but also suffered the heartbreak of a Champions League final defeat.

Rice is almost a certainty to start for England at this World Cup and is expected play alongside Elliot Anderson in midfield against Croatia tomorrow evening. Incidentally, Croatia was where it all began for Declan Rice. His first taste of tournament football came at the opening game of a delayed Euro 2020, Luka Modric staring back across the pitch.

Paul Joyce believes that five years after his tournament debut, it’s now time for Rice to take one final big step to prove he is one of the best in the world.

Read in full: Three painful lessons, now it’s time for Rice to show he’s the world’s best

With some much football going on over the next month or so, it can be difficult to work out which channel is showing each match.

Luckily, The Times has put together a very handy interactive TV guide, which has everything you need to know about the coverage, all in one place.

Click here: Where to watch the FIFA World Cup

Of course, we are all confident that Thomas Tuchel’s England side will perform exceptionally well at the World Cup. However, on the off chance that everything goes wrong — as we have seen many times before — there is a clause in his contract that allows the FA to dismiss him at the end of the tournament.

Tuchel signed a new deal in February that takes him through to the end of the 2028 European Championships but Mark Bullingham, the FA chief executive, has confirmed there is no guarantee that he will see it through.

Read in full: Contract clause means Tuchel can be sacked if England fail at World Cup

Noisy England supporters amused and confused the residents of Dallas as they marched through the city ahead of the team’s opening match of the World Cup. They shook the hands of bemused police officers, pumped fists with strangers and sang “Football’s coming home” while moving between the many bars in the downtown area on Monday afternoon,

Joanna Lewis, 44, and Gary Taylor, 64, have tickets to attend 14 World Cup matches over the six weeks up to the final, including all England’s games, beginning with Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday.

“It’s been an amazing atmosphere,” said Lewis, from Harold Wood, Essex. “If you love football this is the ultimate experience.” Taylor calculates they will spend £25,000 during the World Cup. As one of England’s most-loyal fans his tickets brought through the official supporters club cost £46 each. Lewis will pay a total of £5,321.02, including $4,185 (£3,120) for the final.

As other England fans marched from the City Tavern to the Rodeo Bar, traffic stopped and passers-by stared in wonder. Murphy Richard, 65, who works part-time as both a chef and a bouncer in Dallas, watched the parade and asked: “Who are these guys?”

“I am not used to seeing this sort of thing in Dallas,” he observed. “It sure seems like they are having a lot of fun.”

Here’s everything you need to know about the four matches at the World Cup today.

We begin in New York as 2022 runners-up France take on Senegal at 8pm (3pm EDT). The other game in group I is Iraq v Norway, which takes place in Boston and gets under way at 11pm (6pm EDT).

We then turn our attention to group J, as reigning champions Argentina face Algeria in Kansas City at 2am (8pm CDT). For the hardcore amongst you, Austria then play Jordan in San Francisco at 5am (10pm PDT).

Good afternoon and welcome along to The Times’ live blog for day six of the World Cup. We have four games coming up for you this evening — and into the early hours of tomorrow morning — including our first glimpse of the reigning champions Argentina.

We will also bring you all the latest news from the England camp as Thomas Tuchel’s men prepare for their opening game of the tournament against Croatia tomorrow evening.

Click here to read article