WORLD CUP LIVE: Four more matches on packed day in Qatar
WORLD CUP LIVE: Four more matches on packed day in Qatar with Spain taking on Germany later… and are the hosts TURNING OFF the in-stadium air conditioning?!
- Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results
Follow Sportsmail’s live blog for all the latest news and updates from Qatar with four games from Groups E and F on Sunday.
Costa Rica stunned Japan 1-0 in the first action on a packed Sunday of World Cup football, with Belgium vs Morocco at 1pm, Croatia taking on Canada after John Herdman’s controversial comments to follow at 4pm.
And 7pm’s kick-off sees two former champions face off in the shape of Spain and Germany, with the latter edging closer to elimination in the group stages.
Plus, find you can find all the developments and action from the tournament on top of all the matches on the dedicated World Cup blog.
Host commentator
Hypersonic Mbappe sends Kristensen to the shops
Kylian Mbappe starred once again for France as they beat Denmark 2-0 last night.
He’s pretty good, that kid.
But one moment in particular has gone viral from his impressive display, as he turned on the after burners to sit down Danish defender Rasmus Kristensen despite not evening having the ball at his feet.
See below for more info.
Regardez la feinte de Mbappé ???#FranceVsDenmark pic.twitter.com/ge7q3rNrEg
One down, three to go!
We still have THREE more games to come today, as the fixtures continue to come thick and fast in the group stages.
We have Belgium and Morocco coming up at 1pm, Croatia vs Canada at 4pm and the heavyweight clash between Spain and Germany at 7pm.
The build-up for Belgium Morocco has already kicked off, and you can follow along by clicking the link below!
COSTA RICA BEAT JAPAN
Well now, that blows Group E wide open!
Costa Rica have stunned Japan 1-0 after Keysher Fuller’s strike found a way past Japan’s goalkeeper, who really should have done better.
If Germany can beat Spain this evening, that will leave every team in group E on three points.
A win for Spain however still leaves Germany on zero points.
For the full report check the story below.
Was the air-con turned off ahead of England vs USA?
It seems odd that a stadium would have air-conditioning installed in the day and age that we live in, where everyone is expected to do their utmost to take sustainable measures and protect the environment.
But this World Cup is not like any other, and each of the tournament’s stadiums – only one of which actually existed before the tournament was awarded – has climate control built in.
It is undoubtedly hot out there, currently at a toasty 31C, but the air-conditioning was actually turned off an hour before kick-off for England’s clash with USA.
For the full story see below.
Japan 1-0 Costa Rica
HUGE news from Group E – and it’s Costa Rica that have taken the lead against Japan with just 10 minutes on the clock!
Japan managed to come from a goal down to beat Germany last time out, but Costa Rica take the lead with possibly their first shot on target at the tournament after shipping seven against Spain.
Japan could have taken a massive step towards qualification with even a draw today – but they’ll have their work cut out now!
Follow on LIVE with the link below!
Croatia vs Herdman is spicing up
John Herdman’s comments after his side’s narrow defeat against Belgium didn’t exactly go down well in Croatia, shall we say.
Herdman asked his side to go and ‘F’ Croatia in the next game – which kicks off at 4pm today – after a quite surprising performance against Kevin de Bruyne and Co, in which they would likely have come away with all three points if they had packed their shooting boots with them.
The response? A Croatian daily paper has run a front page image of Herdman with only a few Canadian flags protecting his modesty, accompanied by a somewhat heated caption.
To find out more, including a response from Ivan Perisic and Zlatko Dalic, read the story below.
Japan 0-0 Costa Rica
If you’re not watching, Japan and Costa Rica are still level at 0-0 – we’ve had just over an hour in that one.
It’s been one for the die-hard fans, shall we say, with Costa Rica still yet to register a shot on target in the tournament and Japan still yet to make any real inroads.
You can follow that one LIVE by following the link below.
Luis Suarez looks a shadow of himself
Their opponents tomorrow in Group H Uruguay have been blessed with two of the finest strikers in Europe over the last decade or so in Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.
But the latter has been showing signs of his advanced age in Qatar, with the 35-year-old notably well off the pace against South Korea on Thursday.
Danny Murphy has had his say on why he thinks the notorious No 9 is still being picked ahead of the likes of Darwin Nunez.
Danile Pereira could miss the rest of the group stages
And there’s been an injury blow for Portugal, as midfield enforcer Danilo Pereira has possibly been ruled out of the rest of the group stages.
The PSG man is a huge doubt after suffering three fractured ribs in training, and could now miss out in clashes with South Korea and Uruguay.
For more info see below.
The facade has begun to fall away from the plastic World Cup
One week into the World Cup and the facade has already begun to fall away making way for the infrastructure issues at this controversial tournament to come to the fore.
The great Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt has been left on display – with some paying £23 to see it – but yesterday saw several fans denied access to see the shirt more synonymous with football’s greatest tournament than any other.
A quarter of the way through the tournament, and a quarter of the steel accommodations huts at the Free Zone site are yet to be built.
It is a tournament in name alone – and Qatar wanted the kudos and recognition of having hosted a the greatest show on earth, writes Sportsmail’s Ian Herbert.
Click the story below to read his report in full.
Later on we will have arguably the tie of the tournament so far, when 2010 champions Spain take on the four-time winners Germany in Group E.
Spain can ensure their qualification from the group with a win, while Germany will see their hopes of reaching the last 16 shrivel and fade away if they can’t beat La Roja.
An early progression would surely go some way to proving that Luis Enrique’s unorthodox methods can pay off, with Spanish outlet Marca already calling him a ‘genius’.
To find out why, click below.
The Phil Foden debate continues
If you didn’t hear – and if you haven’t, it’s almost impressive – England and USA played out a dreary 0-0 draw on Friday evening, and Sportsmail’s football experts have had their say on what Gareth Southgate might have changed.
With a blockbuster ‘Battle of Britain’ clash coming on Tuesday, the Phil Foden question is one that’s on everyone’s lips at the moment after he was left on the bench on Friday evening.
For a look at today’s WORLD CUP CONFIDENTIAL click the story below.
Good Morning
Good Morning and welcome to Sportsmail’s dedicated World Cup LIVE blog.
It’s another action-packed day in Qatar with four more games on the way – including Japan vs Costa Rica which kicked off around 20 minutes ago – so stick with us as we bring you all the latest news from the World Cup all day.
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