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Key events
Expanding to 48 teams? Oh dear.
In admin news, AFP is reporting that Fifa has suspended Nepal due to third-party interference. Story below:
World football’s governing body FIFA has suspended Nepal’s football association, officials said on Thursday, barring the country from all international competitions.
Nepal is currently ranked 175th in FIFA’s world rankings. The women’s national team ranks 88th.
FIFA said in a letter to the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) that the decision came after “undue interference by a third party”, referring to arguments between ANFA and Nepal’s National Sports Council, the country’s authority for sports administration, over governance of Nepali football.
FIFA holds that a national football association must operate independently of government bodies.
FIFA decided on Wednesday “to suspend ANFA with immediate effect due to flagrant violations of the FIFA Statutes,” FIFA’s Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom said in the letter, shared by ANFA on Facebook.
The council had suspended ANFA in March 2026 for three months as the association was preparing for an election process that FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation had agreed to. It was later lifted in May.
The required elective congress has been repeatedly delayed, with the sports council issuing several directives, including the amendment of ANFA’s statutes under the country’s sports development act.
“The suspension is an issue of grave concern, we are consulting with all stakeholders to lift the suspension keeping Nepal’s football in priority,” ANFA spokesman Suresh Shah told AFP.
The suspension means Nepal can no longer participate in international competitions and the association will lose out on FIFA development programmes, courses or trainings.
“It impacts our players, barring them from opportunities and dampens dreams of aspiring players,” Shah added.
FIFA said the suspension will be lifted if the council revokes its March decisions and allows ANFA to finalise its electoral process.
“The government never wanted this... we are looking for alternative ways to address this crisis,” said Ram Charitra Mehta, a member secretary of the National Sports Council. AFP
Here’s a story on the wires from Associated Press, regarding comments made by former Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger:
World Cup pundit and former Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp broke off an interview after being asked about former Germany player Bastian Schweinsteiger’s characterisations about Côte d’Ivoire’s style of play.
“A bit African football, a bit unorthodox, a bit wild, a bit perhaps also not so conditioned by tactics. We have to be prepared for it to be unpredictable,” Schweinsteiger said as a commentator on German broadcaster ARD before Germany played Côte d’Ivoire last weekend.
Klopp seemed taken aback when asked about Schweinsteiger’s comments by Deutsche Welle in a huddle with journalists in New York on Wednesday.
“Now you want to carry on the subject,” Klopp responded. “No, no, I have no chance. I have no chance to answer this question. Everybody likes it so you bring me in this situation. It’s not my job that everybody likes it, but this is a serious subject, and I don’t even know what is appropriate to say. For African people it’s one thing, for other people it’s another thing, and I’m not here.”
Klopp said he had felt fortunate to avoid the subject.
“Thank God, I thought, nobody asked me about that. You found a moment. And surprisingly, you are German. That surprised me so much,” he said with irony before leaving. AP
Plenty of Scotland reaction BTL:
Everyone seems to be highlighting Scotland's defensive errors, but it's lack of goals that has killed them. Ok, so they might have only lost 1 or 2 nil to Brazil if the defence had been better, but if they had managed to score once against Morocco they would be going through.
1 goal in 3 games is the problem. They just haven't played with enough belief.
I think Scotland, apart from the obvious mistakes, will leave with regrets . . .Plan A was to keep possession, soak up pressure, not concede early and hopefully get a point or maybe even nick a goal but all of that went out the window in the 7th minute.
And yet they continued with Plan A for the rest of the game, there was no attitude of if we're going to lose we're going to lose giving it a go and they were lucky that a perfectly good goal was disallowed. To be honest I don't think Brazil were more than a 6 out of 10 but then again, they didn't need to be.
Not to comment about Scotland specifically but these games now really do illustrate the abomination of a 48 team tournament.
Not only is there so little jeopardy for most teams capable of stringing two passes together, there’s so little clarity.
Where’s the drama in watching matches that leave the losers ‘probably’ going out, but let’s wait a few days to be sure?
The whole group stage is a sham.
Sadly this will be no doubt be used as an argument to go to 64 teams so that the math (sic) at least works out.
I am, admittedly, rather gripped by the golden boot race. It’s a bit of a surprise that no-one has won it twice, though Kylian Mbappé may change that.
This is a fascinating piece, highlighting just how much the World Cup can mean to those who don’t have their own national side in the mix.
Mauricio Pochettino’s US team are having a great time at home – but the last couple years haven’t been all that easy, writes Jeff Rueter.
For more permutations chat, click below:
Samuel Dodson asks:
While it seems rather poor from a competitive vantage point that teams could theoretically advance from their groups after 2 out of 3 abject performances and losses; has anyone done the computations of what would need to happen in the remaining group games for Scotland to progress? Are we rooting for Australia to thrash Paraguay, Germany to draw with Ecuador, etc? Or perhaps Gianni thinks the fun is in finding out at the end ?
Should I at least give it a go? You’re right: they could do with Australia thrashing Paraguay – both are on three points, with Paraguay on -2 goal difference. They need Ecuador and Curaçao to avoid winning, and the Tartan Army will be rooting for Japan against Sweden. I’m not sure I’ve got it in me to dissect anymore – we’ll just have to wait and see.
Amid all the best third-placed teams confusion … Bosnia and Herzegovina have made it through to the last 32.
Ben Fisher watched them beat Qatar:
Our first stop today is at Group E, featuring Germany, Ecuador, Côte d’Ivoire and Curaçao.
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Curaçao v Côte d’Ivoire – Philadelphia Stadium, 9pm BST, 4pm local time
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Ecuador v Germany – New York New Jersey Stadium, same time
Germany have already won the group – Côte d’Ivoire just need a point to finish second and reach the knockouts for the first time.
Out of all the hosts, it’s Canada who have looked the most shaky. After losing to Switzerland, they’ll play their last-32 tie in Los Angeles instead of Vancouver.
Mexico are having a lovely time: three games, three wins, six goals scored, none conceded. Oh, and Guillermo Ochoa – part of their 2006 World Cup squad – got to play, too.
What an intro.
Andy Robertson: “If you ask me now, I don’t think it’s enough, I don’t think we’ve done enough.”
Steve Clarke: “I think we’re going home.”
It’s not looking great.
Preamble
Hello, hello, wonderful people. Remember this: it ain’t about how you start. Spain lost their first game in 2010, Argentina were stunned by Saudi Arabia in 2022 … and nine-man South Africa went down to Mexico a fortnight ago. No, I’m not saying they’re going to go and win it – but they are through to the knockouts for the first time after beating South Korea in Monterrey.
Scotland, on the other hand, haven’t scored since John McGinn’s winning strike against Haiti, leaving them with a nervous wait to see if their three points and -3 goal difference will be enough for a place in the last 32. Yep, the whole 48-team thing’s a bit off, structurally.
We’ll be reflecting on those results and looking forward to the next 24 hours: Groups E, F and D are all set to wrap up. Drop me a line and let’s talk ball.
