Philadelphia, United States — The first time Ali Alkabasi saw Iraq play at a World Cup was on television when he was 13 years old. Forty years later, he was inside the Philadelphia Stadium as his nation returned to the big stage and faced former champions France.

Despite a crushing 3-0 loss in his team’s second Group I match, Alkabasi says he is grateful to witness Iraq live at the tournament.

“Seeing Iraq play in the World Cup is enough,” he told Al Jazeera.

“The performance wasn’t too bad. The result was expected. France are on another level. At least the Iraqi players were not just playing long balls. They tried to build up an attack.”

Iraqi fans stood up and saluted their team at the final whistle, and even at three goals down in the final minutes of the game, they cheered for every attack as if they could will it into becoming an equaliser.

‘Matter of pride’

For a country that has faced immense adversity over the past decades, Iraq’s participation in a World Cup brought unadulterated joy to fans, who travelled from across the US and the world to see their team in action.

Halah Maykhan, an Iraqi American who lives in Wisconsin, said Iraq’s return to the World Cup after four decades is a dream come true.

“We are living the dream. My homeland, Iraq, makes it to the World Cup finals in America, where I live. The dream for me is double,” Maykhan told Al Jazeera.

“I am so happy and so excited. This is a matter of pride for the Iraqi people.”

She expressed gratitude to the players for gathering Iraqis from all corners of the planet in one place to rally around the squad.

“We are with this team no matter the results,” Maykhan told Al Jazeera.

“Although they lack experience, we are hoping they do well, and we’re hoping all Arab teams do well.”

Two-time world champions France started the match with intensity, and superstar Kylian Mbappe quieted the raucous Iraqi crowd in the 14th minute with a screamer from the edge of the box – but not for long.

After the shell-shock, Iraqi fans returned to drumming up support for their team as chants of “Iraq, Iraq” rang throughout the stadium.

The process would repeat twice, with France’s goals only temporarily lulling the roars of the supporters of the Lions of Mesopotamia.

Despite the enormous gulf in quality between the two sides, Iraq did not just park the bus and clear the ball as far away as possible from their own goal.

They tried to keep possession and play through France’s high press.

Mohammed Abduljabbar, who lives in Texas, said while the result was disappointing, the team did what it had to do against a better opponent.

“Their performance was good. Yes, there were mistakes, but there were also some beautiful plays. We are proud of them, and we thank them for bringing us to the World Cup,” Abduljabbar told Al Jazeera.

He added that the feeling of watching Iraq at the stadium was “indescribable”.

A nation brought together by football

Beyond football, Iraq’s World Cup journey put on display a fortified national identity across sectarian and religious lines.

At the stadium on Monday, there were Kurdish and Assyrian flags waving alongside the national banner, but all the fans stood united behind the players.

Husam Nafea, an Iraq fan who drove for four hours from Virginia to see the match, said the country has been rising above divisions, and it is now even more unified around the team.

“Wherever we go, we as Iraqis are joyous and united, and hopefully, we remain this way,” Nafea, who was draped in an Iraqi flag, told Al Jazeera outside the stadium.

Over the past decades, Iraq has endured coups, wars, sieges, civil strife, a US-led invasion and the rise of ISIL (ISIS).

Now the country is experiencing a period of relative calm, but it remains near the centre of many geopolitical faultlines in the region.

Nawres Almamoori travelled all the way from South Australia to Philadelphia to watch Iraq in action.

He said the excitement around participation in the tournament is bringing much-needed relief to Iraqis.

“Iraqis have gone through and are still going through a lot,” Almamoori told Al Jazeera. “They deserve this joy.”

An actual storm caught up with Iraq and France on Monday, with heavy rain and thunder halting the match for nearly two hours at half-time.

As fans lined up to enter the stadium under the water dumping from the sky, Iraq fan Hassan Raad said he is unconcerned with the weather or the result.

“Rain, sun, freeze, desert – we are here for our guys,” Raad told Al Jazeera. “The result doesn’t matter. As fans, our job is to support the team.”

Ateka Saleh, an Iraqi American from Wisconsin, echoed the sentiment.

“No matter what happens today, they already brought us here, together, to be happy with them,” Saleh said of the players before the match.

“So, ‘thank you’ to them. We are very proud of this team.”

Kylian Mbappe scored his second brace ‌of the tournament, and France eased to a 3-0 victory over Iraq ⁠in the first match ⁠of this World Cup beset by a lengthy weather stoppage.

Mbappe’s goals came nearly three hours apart after thunderstorms in the region on Monday delayed the second-half kickoff by a shade ⁠under two hours.

They take him to 16 all-time World Cup tallies, pulling him level with former record-holder Miroslav Klose. Earlier on Monday, Lionel Messi set a new benchmark of 18 career World Cup ⁠goals with his brace in Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria.

Mbappe’s four goals also place him one behind Messi in the 2026 Golden Boot race.

Reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele also scored after half-time for two-time champions France (2-0-0, 6 points), who are all but assured of progressing.

Their last-32 place will become official if Norway ‌win or draw against Senegal in the other Group I fixture. That match, staged about two hours away by car in northern New Jersey, kicked off near-simultaneously with the start of the long-awaited second half at Philadelphia Stadium.

Iraq (0-2-0, 0 points) remain alive for one of the eight knockout spots allotted for third-place teams.

They will probably need a win in their group finale against Senegal and help elsewhere. And they could be without Aymen Hussein, who scored their only goal this tournament in their ⁠opener, but exited on Monday in the 26th minute with an apparent injury.

France ⁠dominated the early stages, and Mbappe capitalised in the 14th minute.

On an innocent-looking sequence on the right, Mbappe received Michael Olise’s pass, took one touch to his left and, with Iraqi defenders affording him space, unfurled a powerful strike from ⁠the edge of the penalty area that sailed beyond Ahmed Basil’s dive.

The delay could have served as a recovery period for Iraq, who spent most ⁠of the match chasing the ball. Instead, they gifted France ⁠and Mbappe a second on a dreadful mistake from a goal kick.

Dembele was the provider for Mbappe’s tap-in. He scored 12 minutes later, after controlling Olise’s incisive pass into the 18-yard box and finishing low past Basil.

With the outcome never in doubt, ‌the weather provided the drama.

After referee Drew Fischer blew his half-time whistle as storms were already beginning, the skies opened further, and spectators were told to seek shelter in the stadium concourses.

Players finally ‌re-emerged ‌for warm-ups about 1 hour and 40 minutes later, and even then, the restart was delayed further as stadium personnel used squeegees to shuttle standing water off the east side of the pitch.

Deniz Undav scored two goals off the bench as Germany pulled off a thrilling comeback to beat Ivory Coast 2-1 in their ⁠World Cup Group E match, securing their place in the knockout stage for the first time since they won the title in 2014.

After having two goals disallowed in the first half on Saturday, Germany did not lose ⁠focus and used intricate passing to find their way, while the West Africans produced their dynamic brand of attacking football in a wild Group E clash.

Undav levelled the score with a controlled, volleyed finish in the 68th minute and struck again when he received a pass on the turn, before swivelling and firing home a ball that Yahia ‌Fofana had no chance at stopping.

The versatile striker now has nine goals in his last eight matches.

Simon Adingra had a late chance for Ivory Coast, but he failed to get a shot off in the area before Germany charged back down the field and Fofana blocked a low shot from Nathaniel Brown.

Ivory Coast had opened the scoring in the first half when Franck Kessie slotted home a rebound off a shot by Amad Diallo on a play created when Yan Diomande charged down the left side and sent in ⁠a cross.

With more than 100,000 people of German ancestry living in Toronto, Julian Nagelsmann’s ⁠men enjoyed plenty of support but were a frustrated group at the interval with nothing to show for their eight attempts on goal.

Germany looked to have opened the scoring when midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic rose to meet a short corner in the 25th minute but was ⁠deemed to have fouled Fofana in the process.

The ruling left Pavlovic with his hands atop his head in disbelief while Fofana received some attention after the collision, and ⁠the partisan German crowd made their disdain for the referee’s decision ⁠known.

Shortly after, it was Ivory Coast who finally broke through with Kessie’s goal. The West Africans have scored in their last seven matches at the tournament – the longest such sequence on the global stage in their history.

Germany once again put the ball in the back of the ‌net, but their celebrations were cut short as the referee determined that Jamal Musiala had fouled Odilon Kossounou in the buildup.

Germany top Group E with six points and are through to the last 32, while Ivory Coast remain ‌on three after two matches. Ecuador and Curacao meet in Kansas City later on Saturday.

Germany will close out the group stage against Ecuador on Thursday in New Jersey, while Ivory Coast face Curacao in Philadelphia.

The Iranian football team began their World Cup campaign under the shadow of a war with the United States. They soon became collateral damage in the conflict with strict conditions on their visas to the US and other difficulties. Now, as a peace deal emerges between the US and Iran, experts have asked what this could mean for Team Melli – as the Iranian squad is known – in the tournament.

Although World Cup hosts have been at war with other nations at the time of tournaments, and Argentina was also in the midst of the Dirty War during the 1978 tournament, there has not been a single case of an organiser being embroiled in a conflict with another participant, as is the case with the US and Iran.

The US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February 28. Although a temporary ceasefire suspended much of the most intense fighting on April 8 and a peace agreement was signed this week, tensions between the two countries remain high and have spilled over into the supposedly apolitical World Cup.

This bubble burst in March when US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the Iran squad was welcome to the US but he “[did not] believe it ⁠is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety”.

Iran’s football team has been held hostage to the US’s immigration whims right up till the start of the tournament. Players were granted visas for the US — where they play all their group stage matches — just 10 days before their opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles – and have had to leave the country for their base camp in Mexico after finishing their games. Iranian-American political analyst and journalist Negar Mortazavi has described this as “extra animosity” towards Team Melli.

Whether the team would even be allowed into the country remained unknown as FIFA President Gianni Infantino appeared unable to secure any guarantees from Trump about the Iranian team’s visa situation.

Out of a rightful abundance of caution, manager Amir Ghalenoei’s side switched the team’s base camp from Arizona, US, to Tijuana, Mexico, at the last minute. The US doubled down on Tuesday and said the team had to depart within hours of the full-time whistle being blown. They had arrived just one day prior to kickoff.

As a hurried memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran began to materialise on Wednesday night, questions arose on its ramifications for Team Melli.

Can the peace deal really impact Iran’s football team in the US?

While neither side has released a physical copy of the memorandum of understanding, nor are World Cup-specific arrangements expected to be written in, experts hope that the agreement translates to more amicable treatment for the Iranian football team in the US.

“With a peace deal, things can change,” Mortazavi said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

“We can see President Trump’s rhetoric on Iran has dramatically changed over the past few days, and he’s suddenly talking about better relationships with Iran from a political and economic standpoint, and that can certainly extend to sports,” she continued.

The shift from threats to diplomacy sprouted last week when Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had”. “Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly.”

Mortazavi said that despite the World Cup’s stance on steering clear from politics, the US’s treatment of Iran’s team was a testament to how politics can impact the sport.

“I expect a US peace deal to open the door for better relations and hopefully have a positive impact on the situation of the team and remove some of the hurdles if the US can extend some goodwill gestures to the team,” she said.

A slight thawing of relations ahead of the peace deal announcement came as the US on Tuesday quickly reissued a multiple-entry visa for Iran winger Mehdi Torabi after his visa expired following the game with New Zealand.

However, political scholar Niki Akhavan cautioned that Trump might renege on the deal due to the immense pressure he faces from Republican anti-Iran hardliners, pro-Israel groups and Democrats for giving Iran “too much” in the peace deal.

“But, in the best-case scenario, issuing a multiple-entry visa for Torabi may be a good indication of some kind of flexibility on the US’s part to actually adhere to its responsibilities as a host nation,” Akhavan told Al Jazeera.

“The comments Trump has made today on Iran are friendly comments, we might see better treatment of the Iran team, which has been unfairly treated the most. It’s a sign of them softening their unreasonable stance towards Iran.”

Akhavan’s caution stood true as tensions at the World Cup reignited after the solitary goodwill gesture of Torabi’s visa renewal.

Iran announced on Thursday that it would lodge a complaint with FIFA after its football federation claimed its request to enter the US two days before their match against Belgium on Sunday was declined.

“Despite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iran’s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organisers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff’s plans,” a spokesperson for the federation said.

Part of the host nation’s responsibilities include each team’s safety, and, Akhavan argues that the US’s decisions regarding Iran’s logistics at the World Cup have been discriminatory and have deliberately attempted to hurt the team.

The logistical barriers were compounded when Iran’s World Cup ticket allotment for fans was withdrawn just before the tournament began. Additionally, several members of the squad’s technical staff were denied entry to the US, even though all football players were allowed.

“You’re actively disadvantaging a team; the whole idea is that everybody is level on the playing field, and the US’s actions thus far have been counter to that,” Akhavan said.

“I can only hope that one impact of this agreement is that they [the US] will adhere to their responsibilities [as host nation] and we’ll see some changes.

“Because this is unfair to these young men; this is their dream and they’re representing their people.”

Akhavan also emphasised that FIFA could have pushed the US to fulfil its responsibilities as a host nation and transcend the war and politics.

“Hopefully, now that there is an agreement, [Infantino] can use that as motivation to make peace part of the agenda of the World Cup. There’s a lot of empty gestures towards peace by Infantino and FIFA with the armbands and the FIFA peace prize,” Akhavan said, referring to Trump being the recipient of FIFA’s inaugural accolade in December.

“Let’s see if they can actually put some of that into material reality in terms of the Iranian team.”

The knockout bracket in the FIFA World Cup 2026 is starting to take shape.

It begins with the round of 32, which runs from June 28 to July 3.

What is the format and criteria for qualification, and which teams have progressed or been eliminated?

What is the format of the World Cup knockouts?

The top two teams in each of the 12 groups, along with the eight best third-place finishers, advance to knockouts.

The knockout phase begins with the round of 32, introduced for the first time at a World Cup after the expansion of the tournament from 32 to 48 teams.

Then comes the round of 16, followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals and a playoff for third place. The final is on July 19.

The stage-wise breakdown of the tournament’s schedule is:

• Group stage: June 11 to June 27
• Round of 32: June 28 to July 3
• Round of 16: July 4-7
• Quarterfinals: July 9-11
• Semifinals: July 14-15
• Bronze medal match: July 18
• Final: July 19

What are the rules change for the tie-breaker criteria at the 2026 World Cup?

FIFA is using head-to-head records instead of goal difference as the primary tiebreaker for teams level on points for the first time at a World Cup.

Haiti, Turkiye and Tunisia have been eliminated because they are unable to catch the third-placed teams in their respective groups, as they lost to those teams.

Tie-breaker criteria for World Cup groups

According to FIFA’s rules for the tournament, if two or more teams in the same group are equal on points after the group stage ends, the following criteria, in the order below, will be applied to determine the ranking:

Step one

• Greatest number of points gained in the group matches.
• Superior goal difference in the group matches between the teams concerned (head-to-head).
• Greatest number of goals scored in the group matches between the teams concerned (head-to-head).

If the teams are still tied, the criteria below applies:

Step two

• Superior goal difference across all group matches.
• Greatest number of goals scored across all group matches.
• Highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained.

If the teams somehow still cannot be separated, then the following criteria below applies:

Step three

• The two or more teams still equal on points shall be ranked according to the most recent published edition of the FIFA world rankings.

The criteria for the eight best‑ranked teams

The eight best teams among those ranked third will be determined as follows:

• Greatest number of points gained in all group matches.
• Goal difference resulting from all group matches.
• Greatest number of goals scored in all group matches.
• Highest team conduct score (players and team officials) relating to the number of yellow and red cards obtained in all group matches.
• The two or more teams still equal on points shall be ranked according to the most recent published edition of the FIFA world rankings.

Which teams have reached the World Cup round of 32?

(As of June 23, 02:30 GMT)

⚽️ Mexico (Group A) 

The cohosts were the first to qualify for the knockouts, after taking top spot in Group A with a 1-0 win over South Korea on Thursday, June 18. The Mexicans started their campaign with a 2-0 win over South Africa in a chaotic tournament opener.

⚽️ USA (Group D)

The United States were the second team to punch their ticket to the knockouts, thanks to their 2-0 win over Australia that sent them on top of Group D on Friday, June 19. The USA thumped Paraguay 4-1 to kick off their campaign.

⚽️ Germany (Group E) 

Germany became the third team to enter the last 32 with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast on Saturday, June 20. The Germans – who failed to get out of the group stage both at Russia 2018 and four years ago in Qatar – started their tournament with a 7-1 thrashing of Curacao.

⚽️ Argentina (Group J)

Argentina sealed their ticket to the knockouts with a 2-0 victory over Austria on Monday, June 22, as Lionel Messi scored twice, becoming the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer with 18 goals. The Argentina captain also bagged his maiden tournament hat-trick in their 3-0 opening game win over Algeria. Reigning champions Argentina are guaranteed the top spot in Group J.

⚽️ France (Group I)

Pre-tournament favourites France secured a place in the round of 32 with a 3-0 win over Iraq later on Monday, as Kylian Mbappe scored a brace. The 2018 world champions beat Senegal 3-1 to kick off their tournament, with Mbappe scoring twice in that game, too.

⚽️ Norway (Group I)

Norway beat Senegal 3-2 in their second game of the tournament, sealing their place in the knockouts. The Norwegians, who are back at the World Cup after 28 years, started their campaign with a 4-1 thrashing of Iraq.

Which teams have been knocked out of the World Cup 2026?

⚽️ Haiti (Group C)

Haiti became the first team to be sent home packing from the World Cup after suffering a 3-0 loss to Brazil on Friday, June 19. Playing in their first tournament since 1974, they also lost 1-0 to Scotland in their first game.

⚽️ Turkiye (Group D)

Turkiye soon followed suit, bowing out of the tournament after a 1-0 defeat to 10-man Paraguay later on Friday. They also suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Australia in the first group match – their first appearance at the tournament after 24 years.

⚽️ Tunisia (Group F)

Tunisia became the third team to be eliminated after they lost 4-0 to Japan on Saturday, June 20. The defeat came shortly after they suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Sweden in the opener. Tunisia were the first African team to win a World Cup match when they beat Mexico in 1978, but they have never progressed beyond the group stages.

Who: Germany vs Ivory Coast
What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group E match
Where: Toronto Stadium, Toronto, Canada
When: Saturday, 4pm (20:00 GMT)
How to follow: Keep up with all updates on Al Jazeera Sport

One of the most mouthwatering matches in the second round of games in the World Cup 2026 group stage sees four-time champions Germany facing a talented Ivory Coast outfit in Toronto on Saturday evening.

Both sides made a winning start to their Group E campaign, in very different ways, as Die Mannschaft overcame an early scare against Curacao to romp to a 7-1 win, while The Elephants eventually pipped Ecuador 1-0 with a last-gasp goal, after the South Americans had hit the woodwork three times.

Germany under the radar?

After disappointing group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, Germany came into this tournament somewhat under the radar, with the perennial powerhouse ranked only seventh-favourites to lift their fifth World Cup.

While they turned on the style thanks to young stars like Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz to pile on the goals against Curacao – the smallest nation by size and population ever to have taken part in a World Cup – and the goals have flowed in 10 straight wins, this will be a far stiffer test.

Curacao caused the German defence a few problems, especially in the opening half-hour, and it’s their pivotal central-defensive pairing of Jonathan Tah and Nico Schlotterbeck, playing in front of 40-year-old keeper Manuel Neuer, that will ultimately decide how deep the Germans can go in this tournament.

Dynamic Arsenal attacking midfielder Kai Havertz continued his recent goalscoring run for club and country with a double for Germany in the opening game, but he will likely find the Ivory Coast defence a harder challenge than that posed by Curacao’s backline.

By winning their group opener, Germany did what they couldn’t in 2018 and 2022 and appear certain to progress to a first knockout match since the 2014 World Cup Final. Whether they advance as group winners, or limp through in the minor places, might well come down to the result in Toronto.

A win against Ivory Coast would secure direct top-two qualification to the Round of 32 and would likely be enough to top Group E should Ecuador fail to beat Curacao four hours later in Kansas City.

In an alternate scenario, even with a German victory against Ivory Coast, Ecuador – if they can beat both Curacao and then the Germans in Thursday’s group finale – would make things very interesting, with the potential for three teams – Germany, Ivory Coast and Ecuador – to be locked on six points and tiebreakers needed to separate them.

It matters because the team finishing first will play a third-placed qualifier, while the runner-up will face the team finishing second in the group featuring France, Norway, Senegal and Iraq, and the team qualifying third would face a group winner, potentially England or Mexico.

Matchday 4 ✔️#FIFAWorldCup

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 15, 2026

Pivotal match as Ivory Coast seek history

The Elephants might have ridden their luck, but ending Ecuador’s 19-match unbeaten streak across nearly two years in their opening game caught the eye of their fan base and will have raised expectations.

Amad Diallo’s last-minute winner ensured Ivory Coast have now won a game at all four World Cups for which they have qualified, and they can reach the knockout stages for the first time, if they defeat Germany.

In fact, they can seal top spot in Group E should they beat Die Mannschaft and Ecuador fail to beat Curacao in the other group game later on Saturday evening.

A draw against Germany would make for an intriguing group finale on Thursday night, as it would likely leave all three teams in with a chance of finishing first going into the final game, with Ivory Coast potentially needing to beat Curacao by more than six goals to ensure supremacy on goal difference.

How does the group stage work?

Germany, Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Curacao are in Group E.

They will play each other once in the initial stage of the tournament. The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – will proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.

Head-to-head

This will be just the second meeting between Germany and Ivory Coast.

The previous game was a friendly in November 2009, which saw Lukas Podolski score twice, including a last-gasp equaliser in a 2-2 draw.

Form guide:

(Last five games, latest match first)

Germany: W-W-W-W-W

Ivory Coast: W-W-W-W-L

Germany’s thumping win over Curacao last Sunday means they have won 10 straight games going back to September 2025 and have scored two or more goals in nine of those matches.

They have, however, struggled at the opposite end of the pitch, conceding goals in seven straight World Cup matches, their longest run since 1970, and their last clean sheet came in the 2014 final against Argentina in Brazil.

Ivory Coast go in search of a fifth straight victory, and confidence is high after both the Ecuador triumph last Sunday, which followed their 2-1 win against world number-three France in their final warm-up game in Paris on June 4.

Their last defeat came in the AFCON quarterfinal against Egypt in January.

5 - Last night for @equipenatciv vs Ecuador, Yan Diomande became the first player Opta has on record since 1966 to create 5+ chances (5), make 5+ tackles (5), win 10+ duels (11) and have 10+ touches in the opposition’s box (12) in a FIFA World Cup match.

🇨🇮 Star. pic.twitter.com/F98Hg8NvV1

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 15, 2026

Team news: Germany

Coach Julian Nagelsmann might well keep faith with the same XI that eventually put Curacao to the sword, but if he does, it might be tough on Deniz Undav.

The Stuttgart forward came off the bench to replace Jamal Musiala with 26 minutes to go and scored and provided two assists as Germany picked up their biggest win since the 2014 semifinal against Brazil. The versatile Undav has scored seven times and added four assists in just 10 appearances for Die Mannschaft.

Team news: Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast coach Emerse Fae likely has more decisions to make.

Elye Wahi started the win over Ecuador up front before being replaced just before the hour by Ange-Yoan Bonny.

He was initially denied entry into Canada for this match due to visa complications. He was linked to a sports betting scandal while playing for Nice in Ligue 1 last month, but has since been authorised to travel and could yet be involved.

Bonny and unused subs from the first game, Oumar Diakite and Evann Guessand, are alternative options in attack.

Diallo came off the bench to win it, and the Manchester United attacking midfielder will be pushing to start, which might mean a switch of flanks for teenage starlet Yan Diomande, who stole the show on the right against Ecuador and will be eager to put on a show against the nation in which he plays for RB Leipzig.

Germany predicted XI:

Neuer (goalkeeper); Kimmich, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Brown; Pavlovic, Nmecha; Sane, Musiala, Wirtz; Havertz.

Ivory Coast predicted XI:

Y. Fofana (goalkeeper); Doue, Singo, Agbadou, Konan; Diallo, Kessie, S. Fofana, Diomande; Bonny, Toure.

You can follow the action on Al Jazeera’s dedicated FIFA World Cup 2026 page with all the latest news, match build-up and live text commentary and keep up to date with group standings, real-time match results and schedules.

Iran’s 2026 World Cup team will lodge a complaint with FIFA claiming they are being subjected to travel restrictions during the tournament in North America, the Iranian football federation spokesperson said on Thursday.

“Despite having submitted its preparation schedule for the tournament well in advance, Iran’s national football team has once again encountered restrictions imposed by the organisers, affecting the implementation of its technical staff’s plans,” the spokesperson said, according to AFP news agency.

Iran wanted to fly from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, to the United States two days before their next group match against Belgium in Los Angeles on Sunday. But the Iranian federation claims its request was turned down.

“Given that the game will be played at 12pm local time in Los Angeles, the football federation of Iran requested that the team be allowed to travel to Los Angeles two days before the match,” the spokesman said.

“The aim was to provide sufficient time for players to adapt to the match conditions, complete their final training session, and finalise preparations.

“Despite the technical reasons presented by the federation, the request was once again denied.”

After Iran’s first World Cup game on Monday – in which they drew 2-2 with New Zealand in a politically charged encounter – US officials said that the team will have to leave the country within hours of the full-time whistle at their World Cup group games in Los Angeles and Seattle.

The response from the World Cup 2026 cohost nation came on Tuesday following criticism of its handling of the Iranian team’s visas and stay in the US after their first game.

The Iranian delegation left the US hours after the match in LA ended at about 8pm local time (03:00 GMT) and returned to their base camp in Mexico, prompting criticism of the US handling of their visas, as the team did not get a day to recover at their hotel.

‘Match day minus one,’ says US government

The US administration has pushed back against the Iranian claims.

Andrew Giuliani, the executive director of the White House FIFA Task Force, said on Monday that Iran had been informed in advance that they would be allowed to come into the US only on the day before the game.

“The team will be allowed to come in, match day minus one, so the day before the match,” Giuliani told CBS News.

“They’ll be asked to leave the day that the match wraps up, so the evening of the match. And they’ll be able to do that again in Los Angeles.”

He added that the procedure would be the same for Iran’s final group game against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

Iran, who are in Group G, kicked off their campaign this week in North America after months of uncertainty over the team’s participation in the World Cup amid the US-Israel war on Iran.