More Fake GPUs are circulating online marketplaces, which use plastic chips to imitate NVIDIA RTX GPUs and scrap memory dies. You Need To Be Extra Cautious of Graphics Cards Being Sold Online As NVIDIA RTX Graphics Cards Have Been Spotted With Glued Plastic GPUs Over the years, we have seen several instances of fake graphics cards appearing online. Most of these graphics cards are sold through online marketplaces, & the region most affected by such products is the Asia Pacific. Previously, we have seen graphics cards with missing components and different GPUs, but this time, scammers have gone an extra […]
A first-ever hat-trick for Lionel Messi, heavyweights Spain stunned by tiny Cape Verde, and DR Congo silencing Cristiano Ronaldo-led Portugal.
What more could you ask from the opening week of a FIFA World Cup?
After the first round of group matches, here are our top 10 takeaways:
Last dance? Perhaps not, Lionel Messi has more in store
Before the tournament kicked off in North America, many thought Lionel Messi would be gearing himself up for his final act. But after his first-ever World Cup hat-trick – one that also matched the record for most World Cup goals – Messi has reminded us his story is not over just yet.
Where is Cristiano Ronaldo? Portugal star goes missing
While the Messi mania dominated headlines over recent days, his longtime rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, also made the news, albeit for the wrong reasons. “Is he past his prime?” was the collective question of viewers after his mostly anonymous display in Portugal’s 1-1 draw with DR Congo on Wednesday.
There is no stopping Kylian Mbappe
Becoming France’s all-time leading scorer always seemed a matter of when, not if, for Kylian Mbappe, and achieving the feat in their opening World Cup match was further proof of his extraordinary talent. The 27-year-old, now just two shy of matching the all-time haul for most World Cup goals, is making a habit of chasing records.
The Golden Boot race is taking shape
Long-range rockets, tap-ins, headers and more. There was no shortage of goals, and Argentinian legend Messi is the outright leader with three strikes. As many as seven players – including England’s Harry Kane, Norway’s Erling Haaland and France’s Mbappe – are tied for the second spot with two goals each.
Lionel Messi has taken the early lead in the race for the Golden Boot, an award handed to the tournament’s highest goal scorer [Amy Kontras/EPA]
The title favourites are having a hard time
This is, by far, the upset of the tournament. Spain – the absolute frontrunners for the World Cup – stumbled at their first hurdle, being held to a shock goalless draw by Cape Verde, the archipelago west of the African continent of about half a million people, and whose team sits 65 places below the World No 2 in the FIFA world rankings.
Do not write off DR Congo
Yoane Wissa‘s first-ever goal, DR Congo’s first at a World Cup, sparked joy among millions from Kinshasa to Niangara. And for the other teams competing in the tournament, the 1-1 draw with No 5-ranked Portugal sent a warning that the underdogs are out to challenge some of football’s best sides, especially when the world is watching.
Dear Curacao, welcome to the World Cup
The 7-1 thrashing by Germany did little to dampen the spirit of Curacao fans, many of whom made the journey to the United States. For the Caribbean tiny island – the smallest-ever country to play at a World Cup – defeat meant nothing in comparison to the happiness of seeing one of their own score at the sport’s biggest stage. Livano Comenencia is a hero for all of Curacao.
Pink boots are everywhere
Pink seems to be the colour of the month, well, at least at the World Cup. Several players were seen wearing the vibrant, monochromatic boots – or cleats, as Americans would say – regardless of the manufacturer. Be it Nike, Adidas or Puma, sportswear giants have joined this trend of making their boots “electric fuchsia”.
The Portugal team in the famous bright pink boots [Phil Noble/Reuters]
From beats to booze, fans bring the party to the World Cup
It’s safe to say a World Cup is the biggest celebration of football. And some countries just do it better than others.
With their green-and-yellow shirts, flags and pounding drums, Brazil fans brought a slice of Rio to New York, while Moroccans later joined the party, the red smoke from the flares lighting up the World Cup mood. In Boston, Scotland’s famous Tartan Army chugged pint after pint, nearly draining some pubs of all their beer in the first weekend during their World Cup occupation of the city.
Meet Mexico’s unofficial mascot: Merlin the duck
To best sum up the football craze in tournament co-host Mexico, the fandom is not limited to humans. A domesticated duck named Merlin, sporting a miniature Mexico shirt and custom duck socks, has waddled his way into the hearts of many, becoming an unlikely unofficial mascot for the country’s World Cup campaign.
Merlin, a duck wearing a Mexico national football team (‘El Tri’) jersey, shot to fame after a chance encounter on Reforma Avenue in the capital went viral following the World Cup opening match between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 [Paola Garcia/Reuters]
The 2026 World Cup will have 13 kickoff times. You can use the Al Jazeera Sport widget to find out exactly when your team is playing in your local time.
Who: Czechia vs South Africa What: FIFA World Cup 2026 Group A match Where: Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia, United States When: Thursday, noon (16:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 12:30 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
The second round of the group matches at the 2026 World Cup begins on Thursday as Czechia face South Africa in Group A in Atlanta.
Despite scoring first in their tournament opener, the Czechs suffered a 2-1 defeat to South Korea in Guadalajara, Mexico, while South Africa faced a similar fate. Their nine-man side fell 2-0 to cohosts Mexico in a chaotic contest in Mexico City.
As they fly to the United States, both bruised teams will hope to bounce back and stay in the hunt for the knockout stages at the 48-team tournament.
Here is all to know about the Czechia vs South Africa matchup:
Under-pressure Czechs can’t afford a loss against South Africans
Czechia’s rugged, set piece-reliant game failed against South Korea’s fluid, possession-based football despite captain Ladislav Krejci scoring the opening goal.
With Group A table toppers Mexico posing a more complex challenge in their final group fixture, the Czechs know their best chance of securing three points will be against Bafana Bafana on Thursday.
“Against South Africa, we have to get it right,” defender Jaroslav Zeleny said.
“Mexico will probably be a tougher challenge afterwards, so we have to give everything in the match against South Africa and absolutely make sure we win it.”
Czechia players pose for a team photo before their World Cup 2026 opening match against South Korea [File: Paul Childs/Reuters]
Before the Czech Republic and Slovakia became separate countries, confederated Czechoslovakia was for many years one of the best teams in Europe and finished World Cup runners-up in 1934 and 1962. Since then, the Czechia’s record has been poor with only four tournament appearances and progression to the knockout stages only once – a quarterfinal run in 1990.
The Czechs, back at the tournament after 20 long years, need a much-improved performance to keep their World Cup dreams alive in North America.
South Africa out to silence critics after Mexico disappointment
With millions of fans watching from across the world, South Africa played Mexico in the tournament opener, bringing back memories of the 2010 edition’s opening game. But unlike the result in their home World Cup opener 16 years ago, South Africa suffered a crushing defeat this time.
And while that was not unexpected against a solid Mexican side playing in front of a partisan home crowd, what disappointed fans back home was the poor display by the South African team.
Two red cards, two goals conceded and a below-par fight drew widespread criticism in South Africa with everything from the individual displays to the tactics of their coach, Hugo Broos, under the spotlight.
Brazilian referee Wilton Sampaio shows a red card to South Africa’s midfielder Themba Zwane during the 2026 World Cup Group A match against Mexico [Yuri Corte/AFP]
“Something that I’ve picked up is that South Africans are happy when you win, but when you lose, you are the worst. That is a fact,” winger Thapelo Maseko said.
“We have big players with heart, and if there is anyone out there doubting this team, they’d better think again.”
After impressive results by their African counterparts – Morocco, Cape Verde, Egypt and the Ivory Coast – the pressure is on Bafana Bafana to play catch-up.
Czechia vs South Africa prediction
Stats provider Opta’s supercomputer has given the Czechia a 54.9 percent probability of winning this fixture. South Africa has a 21.8 percent chance while there is a 23.3 percent probability of a draw.
Kickoff time and how to watch
Czech Republic: CT Sport, CT Sport Plus, Nova Action (6pm Central European Summer Time)
South Africa: SuperSport, SportyTV, New World TV (6pm South African Standard Time)
United Kingdom: BBC Player, BBC One, ITVX (5pm British Summer Time)
United States: FOX, FOX One, Telemundo App, Telemundo Network, Peacock (noon Eastern Daylight Time)
To check the TV listings for your country, head to FIFA’s TV listings schedule here.
How does the World Cup group stage work?
Czechia, South Africa, Mexico and South Korea are in Group A.
After the first round of matches in their group, Mexico occupies the top spot with South Korea in second. Czechia and South Africa are third and fourth, respectively.
The top two teams from each of the 12 groups – along with the eight best third-placed teams – proceed to the next phase, the round of 32, which has been introduced at the World Cup for the first time.
(Al Jazeera)
Form guide:
(Last five games, latest match first)
Czechia: L-W-W-W-W
South Africa: L-D-D-L-D
Although both teams lost their World Cup opening matches, Czechia have a much better record overall than South Africa in their last five games.
Before losing to South Korea in the tournament opener, Czechia beat Kosovo and Guatemala in their pre-World Cup friendlies. In March, they beat Denmark and Ireland on penalties in the UEFA qualifying playoffs and also thrashed Gibraltar in November.
South Africa, on the other hand, are winless in their last five games. Besides losing to Mexico in the tournament opener, they were also left frustrated with their performance in the build-up to the World Cup, drawing with Nicaragua and Jamaica and losing to Panama.
Head-to-head
Thursday’s match will be only the second meeting between the teams.
Nearly three decades ago in December 1997, Czechia and South Africa met in a FIFA Confederations Cup group-stage game, playing out a 2-2 draw in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Team news
The Czechs have no injury concerns, but South Africa will be without midfielders Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane after both received a red card each in the opening game against Mexico.
Czechia fans will hope key midfielder Ladislav Krejci finds the net again and leads them to victory in their second World Cup 2026 group fixture against Bafana Bafana [File: Paul Childs/Reuters]
For the first time since 1952, CBC will no longer air National Hockey League games.
The news was announced in a joint statement by Sportsnet, the exclusive Canadian rightsholder, and CBC.
“After a successful 12-year partnership, Sportsnet and CBC today announced the public broadcaster will no longer carry NHL broadcasts after the current season as it moves forward with a new sports programming strategy following the unprecedented success of the Milano/Cortina Olympic Games,” the statement read. “Watching hockey on Saturday night is a time-honoured tradition for Canadians, and Sportsnet is privileged to continue delivering that tradition. This has been a terrific partnership, and both parties look forward to continued opportunities to collaborate in the future.”
CBC has carried NHL games on television since 1952. The broadcasts, known during the regular season as Hockey Night in Canada, were produced by CBC Sports until the end of the 2013-14 season.
Due to financial issues at CBC, the public broadcaster was unable to reach an agreement with the NHL. Instead, the NHL signed a 12-year, $5.2 billion exclusive deal with Sportsnet in November 2013. However, Sportsnet announced its intention to sublicense its broadcasts to CBC to maintain the Hockey Night in Canada brand. Unlike previous agreements, these broadcasts were produced by Sportsnet rather than CBC Sports.
Under this sublicense, CBC continued to air Hockey Night in Canada, as well as key events such as the NHL All-Star Game and the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The NHL renewed its deal with Sportsnet in March 2025 with a new 12-year exclusive agreement worth $11 billion. At the time, it was not announced whether Sportsnet’s sublicenses would continue. In addition to CBC, Sportsnet also sublicensed Monday night games to Amazon Prime Video and French-language broadcasts to TVA Sports.
It is likely, however, that this will not be the end of over-the-air NHL games in Canada. Rogers Communications, which owns Sportsnet, also owns the over-the-air network Citytv.
But this is a major blow for CBC, which has greatly reduced its sports programming in recent years. Other than the Olympics, CBC does not carry any other major sports events. It does have a smattering of other, more niche offerings, the most prominent of which is the PWHL.
According to a press release, CBC intends to replace Hockey Night in Canada with a new Saturday primetime show that will feature Canadians “competing at home and at the biggest events around the world.” A similar show will also be launched on CBC’s French-language equivalent, ICI TÉLÉ.
“As Canada’s Olympic network every day through 2032, our increased commitment will include more in-depth storytelling, more live sport, and more coverage of Canadian athletes at home and abroad,” CBC Sports executive director Chris Wilson said.
It is entirely possible that shifting more toward Olympic sports will benefit CBC, but the end of a 74-year broadcast arrangement for Canadians’ favorite sport will undoubtedly be a major loss for the network.
Ansarada has released its latestMiddle East M&A Market Analysis Q1 2026 report, finding that the UAE’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) market continues to demonstrate resilience, retaining long-term investor confidence despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty across the region.
According to the report, the Middle East recorded sustained M&A activity in Q1 2026, with 196 announced deals valued at US$23.3 billion, compared with 207 deals valued at US$31.3 billion in the same period in 2025.
The UAE accounted for 33 deals valued at US$2.2 billion during the quarter, down from 52 deals in Q1 2025, representing a 37% decline in deal volume. However, the report found that this reflects a recalibration of capital deployment strategies rather than a weakening of investor confidence.
“The conflict may be reshaping deal timelines, but it’s not reshaping the region’s thirst for ongoing M&A activity. We remain confident in the long-term health of deal activity in the UAE, which we view as an enduring and critical hub for M&A in the region and beyond,” said Justin Smith, Managing Director, Ansarada.
Smith continued, “While volatility continues, there’s a lot of dry powder out there waiting for the right time, while deals already in motion continue to progress with more rigorous diligence. The fundamental strategic drivers for M&A in the UAE remain strong, and dealmakers have to become more accustomed to operating in a new normal of volatility.”
Across the broader Gulf, deal activity has also remained relatively stable. KSA recorded 24 announced deals, up slightly from 23 in Q1 2025. Oman recorded seven deals valued at US$535 million, while Qatar recorded four transactions and Kuwait recorded three deals worth US$24 million.
Collectively, Gulf deal flow continues to be underpinned by sovereign-backed investment strategies, national transformation agendas and long-term infrastructure priorities rather than short-term market sentiment. The GCC’s track record of economic resilience, seen particularly during COVID-19, continues to provide a strong basis for investor confidence.
While prolonged tensions may slow the pace of dealmaking over the short to medium term, they are unlikely to dent the region’s broader long-term trajectory.
The report also highlighted that sovereign wealth funds continue to act as a major stabilising force for regional dealmaking, while economic reform programmes and diversification agendas are sustaining cross-border investment momentum. It further noted that Middle Eastern acquirers continue pursuing international partnerships and outbound acquisitions, reflecting sustained confidence in the region’s capital strength, strategic positioning and long-term growth outlook.
Sector performance across the Middle East remained robust during the quarter. Technology emerged as the leading sector by volume with 68 deals worth US$7.3 billion, driven by continued investment into AI, fintech and enterprise technology.
Transportation led by value with US$8.2 billion across nine transactions, highlighting sustained investment into strategic infrastructure. Energy and natural resources contributed US$2.2 billion across 18 deals, while healthcare recorded US$1.9 billion across 19 transactions as governments continue to expand medical and life sciences capabilities. Industrials generated US$1.6 billion across 23 deals, driven by national ambitions to strengthen domestic manufacturing and industrial capacity.
Smith also noted that technology is becoming increasingly critical as buyers and investors seek greater transparency and faster access to information in uncertain market conditions. “Periods of uncertainty place enormous pressure on execution certainty. Companies and investors require real-time visibility into risk, compliance and diligence readiness. Virtual data room platforms such as Ansarada are helping dealmakers manage complexity, maintain momentum and execute transactions with greater confidence and efficiency.”
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