Donald Trump criticised Thomas Tuchel for England’s semi-final loss

I’m still getting my head around the 2007 photo of Lionel Messi, 19, bathing Lamine Yamal, four months, for a Unicef calendar shoot.

Sid Lowe has done some digging to find out how it all came out …

The photograph was taken around Christmas 2007. Sport newspaper was putting together a charity calendar on behalf of Barcelona and Unicef, a studio set up in the away dressing room at the Camp Nou. Each player had a month and appeared with a child. Ronaldinho, the star, was July. Messi was January. Lamine Yamal was four months old. His mum, Sheila, had put him into a draw to take part. Monfort got the idea the night before when bathing his daughter, taking a plastic tub and a rubber duck with him. Although the baby was tiny and Messi was timid, with Sheila’s help he got a shot he was happy with.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

They say never go that far back. In the last half an hour of their end-of-days Geopolitics World Cup semi-final with Argentina, England committed to the bit in the Deep South. No wonder there were gaps. Thomas Tuchel stood and watched national trauma unfold in front of his eyes as towering aerial threats such as Alexis Mac Allister and Lautaro Martínez beat his four centre-backs to cross after cross. Forget the ghosts of ‘66, the spectre of Southgate loomed over his successor as realism reared its ugly head at the business end of an England men’s major-tournament run once again.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

So, here we are. After a century of matches, and for the first time in history, the World Cup has entered its sixth week. But is it about to get longer? Gianni Infantino didn’t even get through the first of an agonising two-day rest period before dropping the hint that Fifa would be “examining and discussing” the potential for the 2030 tournament to be a 64-team affair. Some may say – not Football Daily, of course – that this was a handy way to move the news cycle on after Balogun-gate, Cable-gate and the ever-growing industry of suspicion that is VAR-gate. But let’s take it at face value: Fifa appears to be giving this some thought and, after years spent expanding virtually every tournament in their jurisdiction, it has previous.

While largely agreeing with Rich Zahradnik’s complaint about your faux Private Eye approach, may I be the 1,057th person to point out that Dundee United’s victory at Stirling Albion (yesterday’s Beyond the GWC, full email edition) doesn’t mean that they progress to round two yet as they still have three games to play in their group” – Stuart Ainsworth (and 1,056 others).

In yesterday’s Memory Lane (full email edition) featuring the England 1982 World Cup Panini spread, you finished with ‘want, want, want’ and I can free you from desire. I have the full ‘82 album, complete with the scribbles of a newly-obsessed eight-year-old football fan and the dog ears of an adult who still treasures memories of the tournament. My parents supported its completion as a distraction from our migration from Switzerland to Australia and created a moment in time for me that means all my passwords still start with Zico and my favourite coffee table book remains Baumann’s ‘Fussball Weltmeisterschaft 1982 Spanien’. I’m happy to loan you both the album and book for as long as it takes to satisfy your needs. Yours in love of el jogo bonito” – Phil Hess [thanks Phil, we probably couldn’t afford the return postage, but appreciate the kind offer – Football Daily Ed].

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

As England prepared for their World Cup quarter-final against Norway, all the talk was about a round of golf 18 months before

The brilliant Cold War Steve is back with the latest of his special World Cup 2026-themed collages. Look closely!

More from Thomas Tuchel. Seize the day is his message.

Mikel Merino was the hero again for Spain as he booked a semi-final date with France with a late winner against Belgium

“I did my year abroad in Belgium and Germany in 2015/16, and my university in Germany had a big screen outside the canteen showing the Euros games,” writes Harry Desmond. “I have a vivid memory of being vastly outnumbered by Italy supporters during Belgium’s opening match. Since then, Les Diables Rouges have always been my favourites for tournaments after the UK teams.

“Other memories from that tournament included having to walk 3 miles home after Germany’s semi-final because the trams were too full, and cheering on Portugal in the final along with my Portuguese friends. It will probably always be my favourite football tournament, the communal/international experience is really something else.”

Switzerland reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1954 by beating Colombia 4-3 on penalties

“I like coffee. I like chocolate. I like knockout football. I’ve come to the right place, haven’t I?”

Yes you have, Peter Oh. Apparently Vancouver is a coffee-keen city too, but I’m relying on a Google AI overview to tell me this. Not sure about chocolate, but who doesn’t like chocolate?

Donald Trump said ‘I’m on the one who got them to do it’ after Fifa clear Folarin Balogun to play for the USA against Belgium

We haven’t even mentioned Balogun-gate yet. The Belgian FA, and you can assume a large proportion of the football world, has been left “astonished” by Fifa’s decision after lobbying by Donald Trump to reverse the suspension given to the striker for his red card in the team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is now free to play in the last-16 game against Belgium.

Sources have told the Guardian that Trump made three calls to Fifa, starting from Wednesday, to ensure that the change was made.

Cam Norrie and Harriet Dart make early SW19 exits
Jack Draper withdraws with injury | Email Billy

Jodar* 2-1 Gill (* denotes server): The Spaniard is playing his first pro-level game on grass but it does not really look like it. A few more good serves and then a final smash down the centre seals his hold.

Jodar 1-1 Gill* (* denotes server): Gill speeds to a 40-0 lead with some big serves and a powerful forehand down the line. Jodar gets back into it to make it 40-15 but the Spaniard’s wild return at game point is well out and Gill gets on the board.

⚽ All the latest news from as we reach the knockouts
⚽ Player guide | Power rankings | Golden Boot | Mail us

England reaction from our writers in New York/New Jersey.

Bellingham can be dismissed a little by some as a player of moments. Is that bad? Moments win games. Bellingham is 22 and still finding his final form. He promises to do these things, walks and talks like he might do them. But then he also does them, which seems important. With England paddling here, he had the will and the craft to take out the spoons and rattle something off on his knee just when they needed it most.

⚽ Latest news from the 16th and final day of the groups
⚽ Third-place table | Player guide | Golden Boot | Mail Alex

Amid all the joy, there’s the treatment of Iran. They were denied permission to stay in Seattle after their draw against Egypt, reports Ben Fisher.

We’ve got to have another look at Cape Verde’s celebrations.

⚽ All the latest news from day 11 of the tournament
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail us

Beiranvand, by the way, holds the world record for the longest throw in a competitive match – 61.0026m – and for the longest drop-kick, 78.014m. Not bad for someone who was once sleeping rough.

But let’s return to Iran for a moment. Their goalie, Alireza Beiranvand – or “The Wall of Persia” as he’s known – had to run away from home to become a footballer, his old fella less than enchanted by the ruse and cutting up his gloves. I wonder how he feels now his boy has been player of the match at a World Cup.

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!

Anyone brave enough to predict the Geopolitics World Cup knockout bracket before the tournament would have clocked that Argentina could meet Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay in the last 32 and thought: “Cor, that’ll be fun”. But nothing seems to be very fun for the two-time winners at the moment. After narrowly avoiding defeat by Saudi Arabia in their opener in Miami, Uruguay were held again by Cape Verde at Hard [Luck] Stadium, meaning Bielsa-ball might not go beyond the group stage after all. “I think that the problem or greatest issue is that we started the second half with the ball and with the victory,” Bielsa sniffed after climbing down from his upturned water bucket. “We lacked a finishing touch,” he added.

Greetings from the Houston area! We’ve watched most of the GWC matches on Telemundo (Football Daily letters passim). My Spanish-speaking sister translates for us, and she agrees that the commentators are ‘unabashedly’ biased toward the Spanish-speaking teams. We switch to Fox between matches to hear what Henry, Zlatan, and Rebecca Lowe have to say, but we all agree: Alexi Lalas is just a blowhard. He gets muted frequently. And in case y’all missed it” – Jennifer Jones.

Interesting debate about watching football in English or Spanish. I choose to watch most matches in the same way that I read Football Daily – with the sound completely off. And, from time to time, in a very dark room” – Mike Wilner.

I was playing on Football Manager earlier when I was offered the job of coaching Tunisia. I politely declined, hung up the phone, and resumed playing my game” – James Vortkamp-Tong.

Has anyone else noticed that there are two former managers of Swansea City at the GWC [and a minority stakeholder – Football Daily Ed]? This must mean something: not sure what, though” – Peter Phillips (and no others).

⚽ All the latest news from day 10 of the tournament
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail us

World Cup team of the tournament so far: John Brewin, Marcus Christenson and I have compiled some of the best performers of the opening 10 days … with one rule – no superstars.

Move over Messi, Mbappé and Haaland – this is about Laryea, Just and Quiñones:

We pick an XI of players who have impressed during the initial rounds of games in Canada, the US and Mexico

A star was born, at 40, when a player whose highest-profile employers were Portugal’s Gil Vicente denied Spain’s all-stars in that historic 0-0 draw. His Christian name being Josimar may well have pointed to his being a nascent World Cup cult hero. So huge was his impact that the US authorities, on the orders of the House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries, waived the visa fee and $15,000 (£11,300) bond for his mother, now able to fly in for her boy’s continuing adventures. Seven saves from Spain have made him a global social media sensation, too.

⚽ All the latest news from day eight of the tournament
⚽ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail us

A fresh England line hot off the wires coming right up …

If by some bizarre chance you missed it, here’s a gallery of some of the best images from England 4-2 Croatia:

• News, buildup and reaction from North America

• Player guide | Bracketology | Wallchart | Mail us here

How Group D stands after the opening games…

Group D also continued today, with Australia earning a 2-0 win over Turkey in Vancouver. You can recap the action below.

All the latest Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A deals and a club-by-club guide

Iga Swiatek and other top female seeds progressed while Stan Wawrinka said goodbye after his 21st French Open at the age of 41

Jones 1-2 Swiatek* (* denotes server): Better from Jones. Six shots of baseline exchanges, and Jones finishes it off with a forehand winner past Swiatek to make 30-15 in her favour. Swiatek’s backhand then goes long after 11 shots between the pair. However Swiatek crawls back and takes it to deuce. The pair exchange advantages for a while but Jones strikes and gets the break back with a forehand winner.

*Jones 0-2 Swiatek (* denotes server): Swiatek breaks Jones at love. Three break points at 0-40, sealed with a crushing forehand winner.

⚽ Scottish Premiership news from the 12pm BST kick-off
⚽ Live scores | Motherwell 1-1 Hearts | And email Billy

Celtic Sinisalo; Johnston, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Engels, Nygren; Yang, Maeda, McCowan
Subs: Doohan, Iheanacho, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tounekti, Sarrachi, Hatate, Murray, Forrest, Ralston

Luke McCowan gets the nod ahead of Sebastian Tounetki in Celtic’s front three.

⚽ News, discussion and buildup before day’s football action
⚽ Get in touch! Email us here with your thoughts

Plenty of England realism in the comment section:

As with any England friendly, we are compelled to ask: What did we actually learn?

That large parts of England supporters have not forgiven Ben White for something that happened four years ago?

That picking a squad of 35 players and having 11 just watch in tracksuits from a plush suite is bad for team cohesion?

That maybe modelling an international team on the set-piece-heavy Premier League is not going to cut it against even moderately good opposition?

That Cole Palmer is still actually really good?

That getting two yellow cards doesn’t necessarily mean you have to then get a red? Manuel Ugarte’s second booking was rescinded, according to the fourth official, after the referee, in full Graham Poll style, seemed to forget to give him a red.

That Fernando Muslera, 39, still plays in goal for Uruguay? (This was his first cap in four years, to be fair)