Read 3 minutesUpdated: June 30, 2026 08:35 AM IST Netherlands forward Cody Gakpo was struck with the opening goal in the 72nd minute of the World Cup match against Morocco, just two days after he and his partner lost their unborn child during pregnancy. “With broken hearts, we share the devastating news that our little boy passed away in pregnancy. Thank you for your love and support. Elijah Raphael Gakpo. Loved forever. Forever our son,” Gakpo’s partner, Noa van der Bij, wrote on her Instagram story on Saturday. Follow Live: Netherlands vs Morocco, FIFA World Cup 2026 Live Score Van

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The image has become so familiar that it’s easy to forget why it exists. Every time Raul Jimenez walks onto the football pitch, the black protective headband is with him. They are no longer just devices. It’s a reminder – of a collision that nearly killed him, of a career that almost ended, and of a second chance that made him something bigger than Mexico’s No.9. As Mexico begin another knockout campaign against Ecuador on Tuesday (Wednesday 6.30 am, IST), the nation’s hopes rest not just on a resurgent team playing at home, but on a striker most aware of

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Sweat breaking out on his forehead, Gabriel Martinelli struggled for words. He would look straight into the presenter’s eyes, then turn back and let his eyes wander, his parents in the stands next to him looking at him, waving at him. And then the words started to flow. “I don’t have words to describe the joy in my heart. Seeing all the Brazilian fans, my mom, my dad in the stands… I think the future will only be less money,” he said. A question later, he approached the tunnel and hugged his father. He was living his father’s dream. Joao

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Issa Diop waited for years for a country that would finally call him. Ismail Saibari built his career in the very country he had just helped eliminate. Monday night in Monterey, there were differences between those two men. Morocco defeated the Netherlands 3–2 on penalties, after a 1–1 draw after 120 minutes, to reach the last 16 of the World Cup for the second time. They will face Canada on July 4. Diop had never scored a goal for Morocco before. Born in Toulouse to a Senegalese father and a Moroccan mother, he came from the youth ranks of France

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The stadium in Houston was filled with nearly 70,000 people. Most were delirious, some were upset. The moment demanded it. Brazil scored the latest goal in regulation time in the World Cup knockout match and avoided the inevitable embarrassment of an early exit. Gabriel Martinelli, a substitute, scored the goal. player. Coach. Support staff. Photographer. Among them all, Carlo Ancelotti. Stoic. imprudent quiet Around him, football dissolved into chaos. Carlo Ancelotti, as usual, refused to get involved. Behind the strong facade, however, lies comfort. It worked again, as it often does. Substitutes Martinelli and Andric both played decisive roles in

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Read 3 minutesUpdated: June 28, 2026 09:54 AM IST FIFA World Cup 2026 Points Table Final: 32 teams entered the next round of the FIFA World Cup 2026 group stage on Sunday. Check | 32nd Schedule, World Cup 2026: Qualifying Teams, Knockout Matches Dates Heavyweights France, world champions Argentina and Mexico are the only teams to have won all their group-stage matches. Among the shock exits from the group stage were former world champions Uruguay, who failed to make it out of Group H where Spain and World Cup debutants Cape Verde booked their berths. Five-time champions Brazil also drew

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Read for 2 minutesUpdated: June 30, 2026 05:16 AM IST Germany’s bid to win a fifth FIFA World Cup is over after losing to Paraguay in a penalty shootout in the round of 32 at the Boston Stadium. The Germans missed three penalty kicks in the shootout to seal their flight back home. Scroll down to read how the penalty shootout panned out There will be plenty of talk about Germany’s disallowed goal in the 112th minute of the first period of extra time. A brilliant cross from Nathaniel Brown found Jonathan Tah at the far post and nodded in

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Netherlands vs Morocco FIFA World Cup 2026 Football Match Live Score: Monday night’s match between the Netherlands and Morocco will be the highest-ranked match in the Round of 32. The Netherlands – ranked 7th – top Group F after a draw against Japan and big wins over Sweden and Tunisia. Sixth-ranked Morocco drew 1-1 against Brazil in their opener and finished second in Group C before defeating Scotland and Haiti. The Netherlands maintain their best ever record at the tournament, having lost all three finals. The Dutch’s most recent final loss was to Spain in extra time in 2010, which

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Read for 5 minutesBostonUpdated: June 30, 2026 01:06 AM IST Brazil made great strides; Just like the grand stages Brazil makes. A goal down, showing their aging legs, Brazil staged a stunning comeback, masterminded by their astute manager Carlo Ancelotti and his tireless army. The 1-2 defeat was brutal for the resilient Japanese, heartbroken in stoppage time, but football’s most powerful empire will live another day, albeit uncertainly. The Brazilians in the stands were exhausted after the dramatic game of watching Gabriel Martinelli’s serendipitous winner. He didn’t start the game, he wasn’t as hyped as his fellow forwards, but in

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Read 3 minutes29 Jun 2026 06:47 PM IST Predicting the FIFA World Cup winner is an activity in which many people and animals are involved. But while most rely on whimsical and somewhat controversial analysis, one who has taken an empirical approach to the matter predicts another France-Argentina title fight, with Le Bleus on top. If data analysts predict Opta True to form, football fans around the world could relive one of the greatest World Cup finals in history, with Lionel Messi’s Argentina winning the penalty shootout despite Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick. Accordingly OptaFrance started the 2026 tournament as second-favourites (13

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