Tag: Mexico

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Harry Kane calls for calm after England’s World Cup epic against Mexico

Harry Kane said England need to “calm down” after the emotionally draining win over Mexico that took them through to the World Cup quarterfinals.

Thomas Tuchel’s 10-man team won 3-2 on Sunday after a memorable backs-to-the-wall performance against the co-hosts in Estadio Azteca.

England, back at their training base in Kansas City, are enjoying some downtime ahead of Saturday’s quarterfinal against Erling Haaland’s Norway in Miami.”

Into the next round. Incredible night, we appreciate the support. I know we had loads in the stadium and loads watching back home staying up late,” England captain Kane said in a video on social media.

“The connection with everyone is even stronger now and we feel that more than ever. We recover now, we calm down, we have a couple of days relaxing and then obviously get prepared for a massive quarterfinal.”

Kane, whose second-half penalty proved decisive, said the Azteca experience and the nature of the win made it one of his favorite games in an England shirt.

“Going into that game was so special, the atmosphere, the stadium… everyone was so excited to be there and play in this iconic game,” he said. “To come through the adversities in the game and battle through the way we did and put our bodies on the line and the boys covering every blade of grass was just incredible to be part of, to be honest.

“It’s one of my favorite games in an England shirt, without a doubt.”

The 32-year-old Bayern Munich forward will come up against Golden Boot rival Haaland on Saturday.

Kane has six goals so far at the World Cup — one behind top-scorers Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Haaland. (JapanToday)

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Mexico ends a 40-year knockout drought; beats Ecuador 2-0

Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez scored goals in a nine-minute span in the first half and Mexico defeated Ecuador 2-0 on Tuesday night to break a 40-year drought without a win in the knockout stage and progressed to the World Cup round of 16.

Quiñones opened the scoring in the 22nd minute while Jiménez added a strike in the 31st minute for the Mexicans, who had not won a knockout-stage match since defeating Bulgaria in the round of 16 when they hosted the tournament in 1986.

Mexico subsequently lost seven consecutive times at that same stage from 1994 to 2018.

In Qatar 2022, they were eliminated in the group stage for the first time since Argentina in 1978.

It was Quiñones third goal of the tournament and he is now El Tri’s second-best scorer in World Cup history behind Luis “Matador” Hernández and Javier “Chicharito” Hernández, who scored four each.

Jiménez scored his second goal of the tournament and has 47 with the national team to break a tie with Jared Borgetti. He is five away from tying “Chicharito” Hernández as the all-time leading scorer for Mexico.

Mexico will play another home match Sunday against the winner of Wednesday’s match between England and Congo.

Playing at the iconic Azteca Stadium, the Mexican squad boasts an undefeated record across 10 World Cup matches. Mexico has just two official losses at the venue — the last being a World Cup qualifying defeat to Honduras on Sept. 6, 2013.

With the win, Mexico extended its unbeaten run to 12 games, dating back to a friendly loss against Paraguay in November.

Mexico also became the first CONCACAF side to eliminate a CONMEBOL side in a World Cup knockout match. Teams from South America won the previous five meetings.

Ecuador was trying to advance to the round of 16 for the second time in their history and the first since Germany 2006.

The match started one hour after the original scheduled time due to a thunderstorm.

It was the second match of the tournament affected by weather. A storm during the France-Iraq match at Philadelphia on June 22 caused a 2-hour, 11-minute suspension at the end of the first half. (JapanToday)

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Mexico opens 2026 World Cup with 2-0 win over South Africa

Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez helped Mexico make an exuberant start to the World Cup on Thursday, scoring a goal each in a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament.

With a capacity crowd of 80,824 watching at the iconic Azteca Stadium, co-host Mexico started the largest World Cup tournament in history by getting goals in each half while three red cards were shown — two for South Africa and one for Mexico.

Quiñones, who was the top scorer in the Saudi league this season, gave Mexico the lead in the ninth minute. Jiménez added the second goal on a header in 66th.

South Africa players Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were both given red cards, forcing the team to finish the match with only nine players. Mexico defender César Montes was then given a red card in injury time.

With his 46th international goal, and his first in three World Cups, Jiménez tied Jared Borgetti for second place for the Mexican national team. He is six goals shy of leader Javier “Chicharito” Hernández.

Quiñones, a 29-year-old forward who was born in Colombia, was one of six starting players who made their World Cup debut for El Tri.

Mexico, coming of a first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has three points in Group A and will next play South Korea next Thursday in Guadalajara.

South Africa will play the Czech Republic on the same day in Atlanta.

This year’s World Cup has 48 teams, the most in history. It is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States. (Japan Today)

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FIFA adds new even more expensive World Cup ticket categories


FIFA added new, even more expensive tiers of tickets for this year’s World Cup, asking up to $4,105 for a front category 1 seat at the U.S. opener against Paraguay in Inglewood, California, on June 12.

Last week, FIFA had asked for a top price of $2,735 for category 1 tickets for the match but added new “front category” pricing.

FIFA also added a front category 2 tier to its ticket sales website without public announcement, asking $1,940 to $2,330 for those tickets for the U.S. opener. The new categories were first reported Thursday by The Athletic.

The World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 in 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Soccer’s governing body had in its Sept. 9 “ticket products and categories” information called category 1 “the highest-priced seats, located primarily in the lower tier” but appears to have withheld some seats from that category. It had labeled category 2 as “positioned outside of category 1 areas, available in both lower and upper tiers.”

FIFA did not respond to an email sent to its media office seeking comment.

FIFA added seats at up to $3,360 in front category 1 for Canada’s opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto.

For round of 16 games, it added $905 seats in Philadelphia.

FIFA last week raised its top ticket price for the World Cup final to $10,990 during the glitch-hampered reopening of sales. The price had been $8,680 when FIFA sold tickets after the tournament draw in December.

FIFA’s category 2 tickets for the July 19 game at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, were $7,380, up from $5,575, and category 3 cost $5,785, an increase from $4,185.

No tickets appeared to be available for the final on Thursday on FIFA’s ticket site. (JapanToday)

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World Cup 2026: Iran and Infantino talks progressing as war darkens US trip

Iranian football had a good week on its troubled path to playing World Cup games in the United States in June.

A first face-to-face meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino since the US and Israel started a war against Iran on February 28 made genuine progress in football diplomacy at the end of a fraught month.

The Iranian football federation’s upbeat readout of the meeting in Turkiye made no mention of moving World Cup games to Mexico — a subject Infantino has repeatedly shut down for the past two weeks.

Infantino also offered tangible help for the squad to prepare for the World Cup in the next two months. Most Iran players are with clubs in the national league, which has shut down during the war.

Iran’s World Cup hosts in Arizona in the US said this week that they were pressing on with training-camp upgrades plus local and federal security plans – echoing the “stick to the schedule” mantra that FIFA has used.

Infantino stayed on in the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya to watch Iran rout Costa Rica 5-0 in a warm-up.

Clearly, the next two months are full of uncertainty for Iran’s team and for the nation itself amid mixed messages about US intentions for the war.

Still, talk of Iran boycotting football’s biggest event or seeking to move its games from Los Angeles and Seattle to Mexico has faded.

The Iranian delegation is due at its Tucson, Arizona training camp no later than June 10 for the June 11-July 19 tournament.

The war immediately cast doubt on Iran’s ability and willingness to fulfil a World Cup entry that it secured in March 2025 as one of the best teams in Asia.

In the first half of March, government officials variously suggested that the team could not play at the World Cup, that it could not travel to the US, and that FIFA should move Iran’s games to cohost Mexico.

A spokesman for the Iran Football Association did not respond on Thursday to a request for comment. Iran has not withdrawn its entry with FIFA.

Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum appeared to suggest hosting Iran games was possible, without advocating for an unprecedented late change to the World Cup schedule.

US President Donald Trump added to the confusion with mixed messaging. He said, “I really don’t care” if Iran comes to the World Cup, then said that players were not safe, seeming to mean they were at risk from regime reprisals at home. He then went on to promise that the players would be treated like stars.

FIFA has been the most consistent commentator, and Infantino the only top soccer official openly talking about the delicate diplomacy: That Iran will come to the US, that the schedule will not change, and that no formal negotiations about Mexico had or would take place.

Iran, therefore, is on track to come to Arizona and start preparing for a first game on June 15 against New Zealand at the Los Angeles Rams’ SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. (AlJazeera)

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World Cup Qualifying: Sweden, Czechia, Türkiye, DR Congo advance

Iraq’s qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has completed the lineup of 48 nations for the tournament hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.

The Lions of Mesopotamia edged Bolivia 2-1 on Tuesday to win the second final of the FIFA Playoff tournament in Mexico. In the first final earlier, Democratic Republic of the Congo beat Jamaica 1-0.

In the other games, Turkiye, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sweden and Czechia were the final four teams to complete the European quota of World Cup qualification.

Widely considered the most famous sporting event in the world, the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be its biggest ever. Forty-eight nations will play instead of the usual 32, with 104 matches in 16 venues across the three host nations.

Argentina will look to defend the trophy lifted by iconic captain, Lionel Messi at Qatar 2022. Cape Verde, Curacao, Jordan and Uzbekistan will make their debut.

The World Cup’s first game will be a throwback to 2010 when Mexico take on South Africa on June 11 in Mexico City in a replay of the tournament opener then. Football fans will hope the opening goal this year matches the screamer scored by Lawrence Tshabalala from the South African hosts then. (AlJazeera)

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Mexico prepared to host Iran World Cup games, says president

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country is prepared to host Iran’s first-round matches at the 2026 World Cup if needed due to the conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s participation at this summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been in doubt since the war began last month, with President Donald Trump warning that Iranian players’ safety would be at risk if they travelled to the U.S.

Iran’s football federation has opened talks with FIFA about potentially relocating its matches from the United States, though the global governing body has so far maintained that the tournament’s schedule remains unchanged.

Asked directly if Mexico was open to hosting the matches, and if the decision will purely come down to FIFA logistics, Sheinbaum told a press conference: “Yes.”

“Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides,” she added.

Iran’s place at the tournament was thrown into question after the U.S. and Israel launched a massive offensive against the Islamic Republic, which responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israeli territory and American targets across the Middle East.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino initially said that Trump had given assurances that the Iranian team — scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, followed by Egypt in Seattle — would still be welcome.

But the Republican president then triggered uproar last week after stating that Iran’s football team should not travel to the tournament “for their own life and safety”.

Iran hit back at Trump’s comments saying that “no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup”.

Iran were the second Asian team after Japan to qualify for the World Cup, securing their place almost a year ago as they topped their qualifying group.

On Monday, Iranian soccer chief Mehdi Taj wrote on social media: “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America.

“We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”

Iranian soccer authorities “are currently discussing with FIFA whether it is feasible — since they were originally scheduled to go to the United States — to see if they can” move Iran’s games to Mexico, confirmed Sheinbaum. “The matter is under review and we will provide an update in due course.”

When contacted by AFP on the matter, FIFA said it was “looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025”.

“FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” a spokesperson said.

The Iran team’s base camp for the tournament is currently slated to be located in Tucson, Arizona.

Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, on Monday denounced “the U.S. government’s lack of cooperation regarding visa issuance and the provision of logistical support” for the Iranian delegation ahead of the World Cup, in a statement published on the embassy’s website.

Should Iran not take part in the World Cup, it is not yet clear which country might replace them. (JapanToday)

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President of Iran’s soccer federation says World Cup participation in US is in doubt

The president of Iran’s soccer federation says he does not know if the national team can play World Cup matches in the United States following the surprise U.S. and Israeli bombardment of his country.

“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Mehdi Taj told sports portal Varzesh3 as Iran traded strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by the bombardment.

The U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran continued for a second day on Sunday after the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threw the future of the Islamic Republic into uncertainty and raised the risk of regional instability.

Iran has been drawn in Group G at the World Cup and is scheduled to play in Los Angeles – where it faces New Zealand and Belgium on June 15 and 21, respectively – before it plays Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

The United States is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11-July 19.

Fans from Iran were already banned from entering the U.S. in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.

FIFA did not immediately reply to an email from The Associated Press over the current situation regarding Iran’s participation in the World Cup. (JapanToday)

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FIFA president Infantino defends giving peace prize to Trump

FIFA chief Gianni Infantino defended his controversial decision to award a peace prize to U.S. President Donald Trump as he dismissed calls for a World Cup boycott.

Infantino was widely criticized for giving Trump the honor on behalf of his governing body at the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington DC in December.

The move drew further scrutiny after U.S. forces seized Venezuelan president Miguel Maduro, while Trump caused more controversy with his desire to acquire Greenland for national security reasons.

However, Infantino insisted Trump was deserving of FIFA’s inaugural peace prize, telling Sky News on Monday: “Objectively, he deserves it.

“Whatever we can do to help peace in the world, we should be doing it, and for this reason, for some time we were thinking we should do something to reward people who do something.”

Infantino rejected suggestions there might be a boycott of this year’s World Cup — to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19 — due to policies adopted at home and abroad by the Trump administration.

There has been unrest in a number of U.S. cities, most notably Minneapolis, over the Trump administration’s approach to immigration enforcement.

But Infantino said there were never calls for businesses to boycott a country, “so why football?”

The 55-year-old added: “In our divided world, in our aggressive world, we need occasions where people can come, can meet around the passion (for football).”

Infantino also said FIFA and UEFA — European football’s governing body — would “have to” look at allowing Russia back into international action.

Russia has been banned since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but the International Olympic Committee has now recommended sports federations allow Russian teams to compete at youth level.

“We have to(look at readmitting Russia. Definitely,” Infantino said. “This ban has not achieved anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred.

“Having girls and boys from Russia being able to play football games in other parts of Europe would help.” (JapanToday)

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Iran, Egypt rejects LGBTQ-themed World Cup match

Iran and Egypt have both objected to plans by local organisers in the United States to brand their 2026 World Cup group-stage match as an event supporting the LGBTQ community.

The organising committee in Seattle, Washington, where the fixture is scheduled to take place next year, had previously announced its intention to hold a “Pride Match” coinciding with the northwestern city’s Pride Weekend in late June.

Following last week’s FIFA tournament draw, Egypt and Iran are now slated to face off in Seattle on June 26, the Friday before.

The head of Iran’s Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, was quoted by local news agency ISNA as saying that Tehran and Cairo had both raised “objections against the issue”, which he labelled an “irrational move that supports a certain group”.

Taj did not mention the specific branding of the fixture.

On Monday, Iranian state television said Tehran would “appeal” to FIFA over the matter.

Homosexuality is illegal in Iran under Islamic law and can be punishable by death.

In a statement, the Egyptian Football Association said it had sent a formal letter to FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, rejecting “in absolute terms” any activities linked to LGBTQ support during the match.

The EFA said such initiatives would clash with “the cultural, religious and social values” of both Egypt and Iran and urged FIFA to ensure the match would remain focused solely on football.

In Egypt, homosexuality is not expressly outlawed, but is often punished under loosely worded laws prohibiting “debauchery”.

The EFA cited FIFA’s statutes on political and social neutrality, arguing that matches should not be used to promote causes that are “sensitive or of a contentious nature”.

The 2026 World Cup will mark Iran’s seventh participation in the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, following a hostage crisis in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Iran had initially opted out of Friday’s draw to protest the US refusal to grant visas to several members of its delegation but eventually reversed the decision.

On Tuesday, Taj said some Iranian players might face visa problems over their service in the Iranian military, which includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) — designated a “terrorist organisation” by the US in 2019.

“For the World Cup, we must work on having replacement options, and we have already started that,” he said. (Punch)