World Cup 2026: England through, Scotland wait goes on and joy for Cape Verde – live

Key events

Who’s up today? We go to Group L first, with England and Ghana already through – though Croatia could end up first with a victory and a point for Panama against Thomas Tuchel’s side.

• Panama v England, New Jersey – 5pm local time, 10pm BST

• Croatia v Ghana, Philadelphia – same time

Following the Department of Homeland Security on social media is a bit like wandering through a casino at 4am. Sooner or later, you’ll see something that makes you go: How did we get here?

There was one of those moments earlier this month. Days after the US opened their World Cup campaign with a 4-1 romp over Paraguay, DHS marked the occasion by posting an image of Chris Richards, Sergiño Dest and Folarin Balogun exulting beneath the headline “DEFEND THE HOMELAND” and the caption “OUR SOIL”.

The irony of the message – posted on the emancipation holiday Juneteenth, of all days – was unmissable. The same department that turned back a leading referee from Somalia, that has kept Iran’s players on a day-to-day visa footing in this tournament, that has in effect tried to sabotage the conditions under which this World Cup takes place, now finds itself reveling in it.

The latest World Cup Daily is up – get it in your ears.

Here are the confirmed last-32 clashes. I’m liking the look of Netherlands-Morocco and Brazil-Japan.

• Germany v Paraguay

• France v Sweden

• South Africa v Canada

• Netherlands v Morocco

• US v Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Brazil v Japan

• Côte d’Ivoire v Norway

• Argentina v Cape Verde

• Australia v Egypt

England, as it stands, will face Senegal, who they beat in the last 16 in Qatar.

Our US team were busy with your questions on Thursday.

What are Scotland’s chances of qualifying for the next round? Opta’s supercomputer reckons they’ve got a 0.05% shot.

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.

Photograph: Leo Barrilari/SPP/Shutterstock

Photograph: Maria Lysaker/IMAGN IMAGES/Reuters

Photograph: Lynn Pennington/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Photograph: Sam Wasson/EPA

What’s that? You want some #OnThisDay #WorldCup #Content? Well, it’s been eight years since South Korea knocked out Germany, the defending champions, in the group stage.

Jonathan Wilson was there:

This, then, is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. There are certain events so apocalyptic that it feels they cannot just happen. They should be signalled beneath thunderous skies as owls catch falcons and horses turn and eat themselves. At the very least there should be a sense of fury, of thwarted effort, of energies exhausted. And yet Germany went out of the World Cup in the first round for the first time in 80 years on a pleasantly sunny afternoon with barely a flicker of resistance. There was no Sturm. There was no Drang.

So who comes in for Reece James, out of England’s clash with Panama and the last-32 tie, too? Jarell Quansah, Ezri Konsa, Djed Spence and Trevoh Chalobah are all options for Thomas Tuchel to consider.

The views from North America:

Iran have copied Cape Verde with three draws … but they thought they’d won it against Egypt. Their future at the tournament remains uncertain.

Marcelo Bielsa gives it straight. Uruguay have failed to make it past the group stage for the second World Cup in a row.

I have not left anything to Uruguayan football. A coach who has been in a country for three years and not got results cannot say he has made a contribution. Fourth place in the qualifiers has no value and nor does third at the Copa América and there is no need to even define this performance [at the World Cup]. My time doesn’t say anything.

Even if Panama pull off an all-timer of an upset, England are through.

Cape Verde’s head coach, Bubista, reflects on his side’s achievement.

We have shown that nothing is impossible. We have represented our country but we also represent Africa and small countries around the world.

Preamble

Winning is overrated. Cape Verde have got the love of the neutrals and – crucially – a place in the last 32 by drawing all three of their group games. That’s right, the nation with a population of just over 500,000 are through to the knockouts with a second-placed finish, a remarkable feat by the debutants. Up next? Leo Messi and his mates. It’s the story of the tournament. We’ll talk about that and all of the other results from last night, and look at what’s to come. It never stops.