Hello and welcome to Daily Mail Sport’s World Cup Breakfast from day nine at the tournament – your one-stop shop for everything you’ve missed overnight in North America.
For all the latest news, viral moments and what to look out for, stay right here.
OVERNIGHT ACTION
This is what happened while you were asleep…
USA 2-0 Australia (Group D)
The USMNT are living the American dream at their home tournament as they booked their place in the knockout stage with a convincing win over the Socceroos.
Thousands of US fans turned the Seattle Stadium into a party and their players gave them plenty to celebrate as they took a giant step towards topping the group.
The roof had already come off when Cameron Burgess inadvertently turned the ball into his own net to give the US the lead just 11 minutes in.
Alex Freeman scored the second goal for the US as they booked their place in the knockouts
Mauricio Pochettino’s men, who opened their campaign by beating Paraguay 4-1, added a second before the break thanks to Alex Freeman. The goal was initially ruled offside before VAR intervened and replays showed he was onside, sparking delirium inside an already raucous stadium.
A late melee was the highlight of a feisty second half with Australia unable to get back into the match. The result means the US will win the group if Turkey fail to beat Paraguay, sending them to Santa Clara to face a third-placed team in the last 32, while the Aussies can still join them despite the defeat.
A word, too, for Pochettino’s outfit, which saw fans draw comparisons to Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe. The US manager will be hoping his side continue to play like Gladiators after reaching the last 32 with a match to spare.
Read DANIEL MATTHEWS’ REPORT HERE.
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Scotland 0-1 Morocco (Group C)
Social media was again awash with pictures of giddy Scots queuing up for bars and continuing to drink Boston dry before they took on the impressive African side.
Sadly it took just 70 seconds for Morocco to spoil the Scottish party as Ismael Saibari fired home a superb strike after capitalising on a defensive error.
It was a largely attritional affair after that early blow but Steve Clarke’s men finally upped the ante in the second half, twice having legitimate penalty shouts waved away by the officials on the pitch and in the VAR box many miles away.
Scott McTominay also went close late on but it wasn’t to be for the Scots, who failed to match the energy from their thousands of fans who have travelled Stateside to support them. They also couldn’t channel their inner Pep Guardiola, spotted by the TV cameras in the posh seats in Foxborough.
Clarke’s team will still harbour hopes of reaching the last 32 despite facing Brazil in their final game, while Morocco – who were wasteful here and should have won more comfortably – are well placed to progress. A fascinating final day awaits in one of the most intriguing groups in the tournament.
READ IAN LADYMAN’S REPORT HERE.
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Ismael Saibari’s strike just 71 seconds into the match proved enough to beat Scotland
Brazil 3-0 Haiti (Group C)
Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha scored twice as Brazil moved top of World Cup Group C with a 3-0 win over Haiti.
Vinicius Junior netted the third, with all of the goals coming in a first half during which Brazil looked markedly improved from their insipid opening draw against Morocco.
The result ensures Haiti, who lost to Scotland 1-0 in their first game, can no longer reach the knockout phase.
Brazil ran riot in the first half, helped by some generous defending from the Caribbean side, whose high line gave Cunha, Raphinha and Vinicius plenty of opportunities to run in behind.
An excellent start for the five-time winners was tarnished somewhat as Raphinha went off before half-time with what looked to be a hamstring injury, with Bournemouth teenager Rayan replacing him.
READ OLIVER HOLT’S REPORT HERE
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Brazil and Man United star Matheus Cunha celebrates scoring against Haiti in the 3-0 win
Turkey 0-1 Paraguay (Group D)
Miguel Almiron became the first player to be sent off for covering his mouth during an altercation with an opponent, but Paraguay clung on for a 1-0 World Cup win over Turkey.
The former Newcastle player was dismissed following a VAR review in first-half stoppage time. Almiron had covered his mouth while speaking to Turkey’s Baris Yilmaz.
Matias Galarza gave Paraguay a second-minute lead as he collected a pass from Julio Enciso and fired a low effort into the bottom corner from 20 yards.
With both sides having lost their opening game, there was plenty at stake at the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium and the tension soon led to a fiery encounter.
Given their numerical advantage it was no surprise that Turkey dominated the second half.
Needing a goal to maintain any chance of progressing, Turkey became increasingly desperate as Gill denied Uzun and Deniz Gul put the rebound off target. Merih Demiral headed a stoppage-time effort wide as defeat saw Turkey eliminated.
Miguel Almiron is consoled by team-mates after being sent off for speaking behind his hand
VIEW FROM THE GROUND – IAN HERBERT
One of the tented fanzones in Houston was a place of many colours as USA played Australia. Sweden, Argentina, Netherlands, Colombia and France shirts were all present. It was not a tide of USA. A World Cup merchandise seller inside the place said he’d sold as many Dutch T-shirts as USA. (The Dutch play the Swedes here on Saturday.)
Neither was the USA match the sole preoccupation in the FIFA fanzone. As the first half played out, many were queuing for a skills game pitching players against a virtual David Beckham. Yet more waited in line to visit a replica of Houston’s NASA Space Station.
There were plenty of different team colours on show in the Houston fanzone on Friday
Houston is proud to be a host city, but attention quickly turned to the Houston Astros’ evening baseball match against Cleveland Astros, half a mile down the road. Not exactly football as we know it. Baseball and NFL vie for top spot in this sport mad city, with basketball third. Soccer sits somewhere alongside ice hockey. The USA will need to go all the way to the final if Houston is ever to call itself a soccer city.
PICTURE OF THE DAY
Not much went Scotland’s way during their meeting with Morocco in Boston, the European nation’s adopted home at the World Cup.
As well as having two penalty claims rejected by referee Ilgiz Tantashev, Lewis Ferguson was also left baffled that he was not given a free-kick after being bundled to the floor by Ayyoub Bouaddi as they went in search of an equaliser.
The challenge did, however, provide the sublime picture below. Hats off to the photographer who took this one.
Lewis Ferguson was bundled to the floor by Ayyoub Bouaddi but the referee took no action
VIRAL MOMENT OF THE DAY
ITV pundit Emma Hayes has had her chalkboard corner of the studio upgraded after the broadcaster was accused of making it look like ‘a small kitchen’.
Viewers had also questioned why the USA women’s boss, who won a record 15 trophies with Chelsea, was given a ‘lame’ small chalkboard instead of a digital touchscreen.
One TV insider called the setup ‘hugely embarrassing’ and questioned whether male pundits such as Gary Neville would be put in the same situation.
The ill-judged set led to a series of mean memes where Emma’s noughts and crosses were replaced with a shopping list.
Others used AI to add a sink, tap, piles of washing up, tea towels and even an ironing board, dressing her in a pinny.
And ITV have taken note, giving Hayes an upgraded board with magnetic pieces to move around rather than the chalkboard.
During her analysis of Brazil vs Haiti, she alluded to the controversy surrounding her tactics corner.
She said: ‘Let’s focus on the first half in particular.’
Hayes, 49, then turned around and looked directly down the camera lens, saying: ‘I know that’s a challenge for some of us at home.’
Emma Hayes’ chalkboard was given an upgrade in the ITV studio on Friday night
CELEBRITY WATCH
Unsurprisingly, a host of American celebrities and stars desperate to sample World Cup fever descended on Seattle for their nation’s encounter with Australia.
This included Paris Hilton, who not only posed for pictures with mascots and fans but also led the crowd in a rendition of the ‘U-S-A’ chant that has been reverberating around this tournament.
Paris Hilton led the American crowd in a rendition of the ‘U-S-A-‘ chant before the Australia clash
Hilton, 40, was among the host of American stars and celebrities in attendance in Seattle
STATS OF THE DAY
An unwanted record is on track to be broken at this year’s tournament. Cameron Burgess’ own goal in Australia’s defeat by the US was already the seventh of the competition so far. The highest is 12, set at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Brazil then fielded their oldest team at a World Cup since the 1962 final against Czechoslovakia. Carlo Ancelotti’s charges had an average age of 30 years and 190 days for the match against Haiti.
FIFA also revealed on Friday that the 1,000th World Cup match in history will be played at the event in North America. The honour falls to Tunisia and Japan, who meet in Group F on Saturday.
THREE THINGS TO LOOK OUT FOR TODAY
1.Alexander Isak vs Virgil van Dijk
Sweden hammered Tunisia with a freewheeling 5-1 victory in their first group game that led to the opposition manager being sacked.
Graham Potter’s side could be great value this tournament with the attack spearheaded by their Premier League stars.
Alexander Isak is looking back to somewhere near his sharpest form after a disappointing and disjointed season with Liverpool.
Rather than the World Cup being a hinderance to pre-season, Liverpool fans will surely just be pleased that Isak is getting game time and ideally returning to Merseyside in much better shape than last year when he arrived after a summer of going on strike.
With Mo Salah gone and Liverpool’s attacking unit still needing further signings, the burden will fall on their record signing to come up trumps next term.
It will be fascinating to see how he fares against his club team-mate Virgil van Dijk, who he has found some success against in the past during his time at Newcastle.
2. Diomande’s shifting price tag
There will be more Liverpool interest in the second game of the day when Germany take on Ivory Coast.
Their major target of the summer, Yan Diomande, is the star for the Ivorians and RB Leipzig won’t mind at all if he lights up the world stage against top opposition.
Liverpool have already had an £86million bid for the 19-year-old sensation rejected and are set to return with an improved offer.
No doubt Michael Edwards and Co would be up for Diomande having a quieter game as the selling club look to drum up a bidding war, with PSG also interested in the winger.
Yan Diomande is Liverpool’s main transfer target this summer and a bid has been rejected
3. Tunisia to be ‘the worst side’?
Anyone who drew Tunisia in the pre-World Cup sweepstakes might be quite pleased if there’s a ‘worst team’ category.
The hammering by Sweden has made them early contenders along with Curacao for the dubious honour.
Sabri Lamouchi was sacked and replaced by Herve Renard, who should in theory make them much more defensively solid.
Renard famously steered Saudi Arabia to a shock group-stage win over eventual champions Argentina in Qatar four years ago.
But if he fails to avoid a heavy defeat by Japan, Tunisia’s campaign will be over already and those sweepstake owners could cash in.
TODAY’S GAMES
Netherlands vs Sweden (6pm, Houston, BBC)
Graham Potter’s free-scoring Swedes possess one of the strongest attacks at the tournament, demonstrated ruthlessly by the 5-1 dismantling of Tunisia earlier this week.
But Viktor Gyokeres and Isak will face a much sterner test when they take on a Dutch team known more for its defensive solidity than its attacking prowess.
Van Dijk and Co were left disappointed as they twice led Japan before having to settle for a draw and Ronald Koeman’s men will need to be much sharper at both ends if they are to pick up their first win of the tournament.
Sweden will qualify for the last 32 with a victory, while a draw will do little for the Dutch.
Prediction: Draw
Sweden’s attack were deadly in thrashing Tunisia in their opening match and face the Netherlands hoping to book their place in the next round
Germany vs Ivory Coast (9pm, Toronto, ITV)
The build-up to this Group E encounter has been dominated by controversy surrounding Ivory Coast’s Elye Wahi, who was initially barred from entering Canada before a late U-turn.
Wahi, who played just under an hour of the win over Ecuador, is the subject of an investigation into alleged spot-fixing after being booked when playing for Nice against Metz on May 17. It is claimed an ‘unusual amount of bets’ were placed on the player receiving a yellow card.
The 23-year-old was reportedly arrested less than two weeks before the World Cup began and Ivory Coast manager Emerse Fae has a decision to make on whether he plays against Germany, one of the favourites to lift the trophy on July 19.
Prediction: Germany win
It is not clear whether Elye Wahi will feature for Ivory Coast against Germany on Friday
Ecuador vs Curacao (1am, Kansas City, BBC)
A familiar problem, namely troubles in front of goal, cost the South Americans dearly in their opener against Ivory Coast and defeat by the competition’s minnows could spell the end of their tournament, with Germany to play in their final Group E game.
Ecuador qualified second behind Argentina in the CONMEBOL region but their path was built largely on defensive solidity, scoring just 14 goals. They did everything but find the net in their loss to the African side, hitting the crossbar twice and the post once before Amad Diallo stole the points with a stoppage-time winner.
But Ecuador will fancy their chances of racking up a few against Curacao, who enjoyed only a fleeting moment of joy when they equalised against Germany before being thrashed 7-1.
Prediction: Ecuador win
Tunisia vs Japan (5am, Monterrey, BBC)
One for the World Cup purists in the UK, given the kick-off time, and a real opportunity for Japan to cement their status as a dark horse by taking a giant step towards the round of 32.
Japan were dogged in their draw with the Dutch and showed they can cope without the absent Kaoru Mitoma and Wataru Endo, who are missing because of injury.
Tunisia will have to be much, much better if they are to avoid another defeat after being comfortably swept aside by a rampant Sweden in their opening game.
Prediction: Japan win
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