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GROUP A THURSDAY: MEXICO V SOUTH AFRICA This was the opening game of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa with the most memorable moment from that game being Siphiwe Tshabalala's rocket for the opening goal of the tournament along with his celebration. Mexico are back hosting another World Cup four years after they last hosted one in 1986 where they reached the Quarter Finals, the exact same stage they reached the other time they hosted it in 1970. The Mexicans have a good reco

Preview to Group L ENGLAND MANAGER: Thomas Tuchel FIFA RANKING: 4 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 16 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Winners - 1966 After going close in each of the last four tournaments, is this the tournament where England finally end their 60 years of hurt? They'll be right among the favourites to win this tournament after going close in recent tournaments and having a 100% record in qualifying where they also kept a clean sheet in every game. They have a proven winner in ch

Preview to Group K PORTUGAL MANAGER: Roberto Martinez FIFA RANKING: 5 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 8 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: 3rd Place - 1966 The World Cup is the trophy that Portugal are missing from their cabinet and the one they're desperate to win after winning the Euros in 2016 and two Nations Leagues in 2019 and 2025 respectively. This might be their best chance to win it with the quality of squad they've got which is arguably the best squad they've ever had. One reason why th

Preivew to Group J ARGENTINA MANAGER: Lionel Scaloni FIFA RANKING: 3 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 18 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Winners x3 - 1978, 1986 and 2022 Argentina are in the middle of arguably the greatest period in their history after winning their last three tournaments in the 2021 and 2024 Copa America's and the 2022 World Cup. By winning those tournaments, you have to say that they're the dominant force in international football but they're probably not getting as much reco

FRANCE MANAGER: Didier Deschamps FIFA RANKING: 1 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 16 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Winners x2 - 1998 and 2018 This will be France's final tournament with Didier Deschamps as their manager and the players will be determined for him to go out on a high. He's guided them to the final at the last two World Cup's, winning the first and losing the second, and he'll want to go one better than they did four years ago so he can end his successful reign on a high. The Fr

Preview to Group H SPAIN MANAGER: Luis De La Fuente FIFA RANKING: 2 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 16 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Winners - 2010 Spain will be right among the favourites to win this World Cup and a lot of people even have them to be the favourites. They won every game at the Euros two years ago and winning that tournament the way they did may have set them up for another period of dominance. They have an exciting young squad with the potential to achieve to repeat what the

Preview to Group G BELGIUM MANAGER: Rudi Garcia FIFA RANKING: 9 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 14 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: 3rd Place - 2018 Belgium are a team at a crossroads coming into this tournament because they're not the team they used to be and no one knows what to expect from them. Their golden generation era is over and has been since Qatar with their group stage exit marking the end of it. Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are the only players from that sid

Preview to Group F HOLLAND MANAGER: Ronald Koeman FIFA RANKING: 7 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 11 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Runners Up x3 - 1974, 1978 and 2010 Holland are arguably the unluckiest team in World Cup history as they've been beaten in three finals. They've had some incredible talents over the years with Johan Cruyff of course being their main stand out, but they just haven't been able to win a World Cup. They have a strong squad on paper heading into this tournament with

Group E Preview GERMANY MANAGER: Julian Nagelsman FIFA RANKING: 10 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 20 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Winners x4 - 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 The pressure will be on Germany to get out the group after failing to do so at the last two World Cup's. It was the end of an era in 2018 as they were an ageing team back then whilst in 2022 they were a side in transition and a team without a plan. Since winning this tournament in 2014, their performances in major tournamen

Preview to Group D USA MANAGER: Mauricio Pochettino FIFA RANKING: 16 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 11 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: 3rd Place - 1930 USA are back hosting the World Cup 32 years after they last hosted it in 1994 and they'll be feeling confident that they can give this one a good shot. They might not be in the best of form at the moment, but they do have a good squad of players and having home advantage will be a big plus for them as they'll have the crowd on their side and w

Preview to Group C BRAZIL MANAGER: Carlo Ancelotti FIFA RANKING: 6 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 22 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Winners x5 - 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002 Brazil might still be the record winners of this tournament, but they haven't won it in 24 years. Since their last World Cup win in 2002, they've been a side who are fancied at the start of every tournament only for them to blow it. But in Carlo Ancelotti, they have a manager who has won the lot at club level includin

Preview to Group B. CANADA MANAGER: Jesse Marsch FIFA RANKING: 30 WORLD CUP APPEARANCES: 2 BEST WORLD CUP FINISH: Group Stage x2 - 1986 and 2022 It took 36 years for Canada to appear at another World Cup four years ago and it took them four years to appear at their next one as one of the host nations. Having home advantage will be a big plus for them because they'll be familiar with their surroundings and will have the home crowd behind them. They haven't won or drawn any gam

The 2026 World Cup kicks off very soon and it's going to be biggest World Cup ever as there will be more teams taking part and more games taking place than there ever have been. I would normally do a preview for the entire tournament but because of there being more teams taking part at this tournament, I've decided to do a preview for each group In each preview, I've done a fact file on every team in each group including how far I think they'll go, their strongest line ups an

The World Cup kicks off next week and in my final top 10 before the tournament starts, I've decided to make this week's top 10 about the players who I think will light up the tournament in USA, Canada and Mexico. Many players have lit up the World Cup over the years including some of the greatest players to play the game and some of them have even lit up the world stage at more than once World Cup. Many players taking part at this World Cup will be looking to add themselves t

Many players have lit up the Premier League this season with the goals they scored and the performances they've put in over the course of the season. Now here is the list of my best 50 players from the season. Michael Kayode - Brentford Kayode made the right back spot in the Brentford team his own this season by putting in many solid displays defensively throughout the season. He was in the right place at the right time whenever his team needed him to be and his performances

Many new signings have lit up the Premier League this season, but there have also been new signings who have been disappointing. But its the good ones that get remembered best and I've decided to rank my best 20 of them for the season. Now let's see who I have on my shortlist: Omar Alderete - Getafe to Sunderland - £10 million Alderete was a rock at the back all season for Sunderland alongside Dan Ballard as they qualified for Europe. He made key interventions when his team n

PROBABLE LINE UPS FROM BOTH TEAMS: PSG's journey to the final was like their journey last season in that they made a slow start to the league phase but have got better as the season has progressed. If they win this final, I wonder if they'll go down as the greatest club side of all time and yes I am saying better than the Barcelona side under Pep Guardiola because that side never won the Champions League back-to-back. This PSG side are similar to that Barcelona side in that t

GK: DAVID RAYA (ARSENAL) - Raya won his third consecutive golden glove by keeping 19 clean sheets with all of them playing a key role in Arenal's title win. He also made many crucial stops throughout the season which also played a major role and he surely has to be one of the best keepers in Europe now. RB: JURRIEN TIMBER (ARSENAL) - Timber was effective at both ends of the pitch all season by making crucial defensive interventions at one end and popping up with crucial assis

The 2026 World Cup is just weeks away and as we look ahead to that tournament, I've decided to look back at the best moments from the last World Cup in Qatar four years ago. The 2022 World Cup was a World Cup like no other as it was played at a different time of year and was filled with controversy in the build up to it. But it was still a World Cup that delivered as we witnessed moments that we didn't see coming, the best players in the world lighting up the world stage and

The latest Premier League season has come to an end and it was another interesting and surprising season to watch. We saw lots of drama, plenty of of goals, moments of both brilliance and controversy, and clubs overperforming. Now it's time for me to rate every club's season based on the season's they've had. ARSENAL - 9 An absolutely outstanding season as they went one better to finally get their hands on their first league title in 22 years. They might've received some crit