World Cup live blog
Belgium is celebrating in Croatia, Brazil coach Ancelotti is not too worried about Neymar and Congo is not allowed to play because of Ebola. All news about the 2026 World Cup in the live blog.
8:25 p.m
Belgium wins friendly in Croatia
Belgium won 2-0 in the friendly in Croatia. In the duel between two World Cup participants in Rijeka, Youri Tielemans gave the team a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute, Romelu Lukaku followed up deep in injury time (90th + 6). In the second half, the Croatians pushed for an equalizer, but Luka Modric and Co. were denied again and again by Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
For Croatia, the World Cup begins on June 17th with the game against England, other opponents in Group L are Panama and Ghana. Things will get serious for Belgium on June 15th. Then it’s Group G against Egypt. After that, the team still has to play against Iran and New Zealand.
7:34 p.m
Ancelotti stays with Neymar confident
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti is in no hurry to bring in superstar Neymar after his calf injury. “He’s making progress, things are going well, we’re in no rush”said the 66-year-old after the Brazilian national team arrived in the USA. During Brazil’s World Cup friendly against Panama (6-2) on Monday, Ancelotti said that he expected Neymar to return in the first or second group game. The 34-year-old striker has been missing from the team since last week due to a muscle injury to his calf. He will also miss the dress rehearsal against Egypt (June 6).
7:11 p.m
Fear of Ebola – Congo’s test match against Chile canceled
Out of caution over the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the World Cup friendly between the Congolese national team and Chile in Spain was canceled. Juan Franco, the mayor of La Linea de la Concepción, announced this on Tuesday. The warm-up match was due to be played on June 9 in the city on the border with Gibraltar. The mayor justified his decision with “health caution” and thus followed the recommendations of the health service of the regional government of Andalusia.
3:12 p.m
Austria has to open Bundesliga star waive
Big blow for Ralf Rangnick and Austria: leading player Christoph Baumgartner from Bundesliga club RB Leipzig is injured for the World Cup. All information:
2:21 p.m
A Caribbean country in football fever
Curacao is traveling to the USA as the smallest participant in World Cup history. The anticipation on the Caribbean island is huge despite some poor test match performances. And some people even dream of a surprise in the opening game against Germany.
1:41 p.m
The Sports show rules to the World Cup
Which third group will advance? What new rules apply at the 2026 World Cup? Until when are teams allowed to nominate players?
If new questions arise during the tournament, the sports show quickly provides answers, classifications and background reports. Here is our World Cup rules with a compact overview of the most important features of the tournament.
12:41 p.m
Secret favorite Norway is convincing even without Haaland
Despite the difficult Group I with Senegal and France, the Norwegian national team is likely to be a surprise candidate for some football fans. Yesterday, national coach Ståle Solbakken’s team proved that they have a high level even without top star Erling Haaland.
With a 3-1 (3-0) home win against Sweden, Norway achieved its first victory of the World Cup year. Jørgen Strand Larsen (9th, 37th) and Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa (18th) scored in the first half. Dortmund’s Julian Ryerson prepared Larsen’s two goals. Former Dortmund player Alexander Isak scored a consolation goal for Sweden (76th).
12:02 p.m
Türkiye is doing magic and is already dreaming of winning the group
This is how it can go to the World Cup! Turkey has a good chance of reaching the knockout phase in the supposedly easier Group D with the USA, Paraguay and Australia. The last test match on home soil can be encouraging.
Turkey beat North Macedonia 4-0 (2-0). National coach Vincenzo Montella’s team got off to a furious start: after eleven seconds, Frankfurt’s Can Uzun hit the crossbar, and after 62 seconds, Turkey took the lead through Orkun Kökçü. Uzun (16th) scored his first international goal in the first half, Deniz Gül (53rd) and Barış Alper Yılmaz (70th) scored after the break.
10:00 a.m
ARD documentary shows divided USA before the World Cup
The 2026 World Cup in the USA is more than a sporting event: it is taking place against the backdrop of political tensions and social fault lines. In “Playfield of Power” Ingo Zamperoni and Philipp Awounou meet people who show how closely football and politics are intertwined in Trump’s America.
The documentary will be available in the ARD media library from Thursday.
9:20 a.m
Now this one Sports show World Cup calendar download
The biggest World Cup ever begins next week. The Sportschau World Cup calendar provides an overview of all games, kick-off times and TV broadcasts.
A compact overview is also available at any time in our schedule of TV channels. The results will also be updated live here as the tournament progresses.