Football Articles | Mail Online

• Mexico vs South Africa LIVE: First goal of the World Cup is scored after just NINE minutes as Shakira and Burna Boy kick off tournament in style11 June 2026, 7:31 pm
  Follow Daily Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates as Mexico vs South Africa kicks off the 2026 World Cup following the opening ceremony. 
  
• Shakira kicks off the World Cup in star-studded opening ceremony as blockbuster tournament gets underway amid chaos in Mexico11 June 2026, 7:30 pm
  Shakira officially opened the 2026 World Cup on Thursday as the football extravaganza kicked off against a backdrop of chaos that threatens to derail the tournament.
  
• Gary Neville hits out at 'ridiculous' decision to ban Somali referee from World Cup as football legend insists United States' 'land should be given to world of football' during tournament11 June 2026, 7:14 pm
  Artan's situation was highlighted as ITV began their coverage of the World Cup, with the visa issue among a series of controversies to have emerged ahead of the tournament.
  
• World Cup terror plot revealed in bloodcurdling detail for first time: Beckham and US team targeted in televised massacres alongside 9/11-style nuclear attack11 June 2026, 7:07 pm
  The foiled plot sought to cause bloodshed on the pitch and a 'nuclear holocaust to rival Chernobyl'. It was reportedly thwarted thanks to a double agent and huge police operation.
  
• Real Madrid offer Bernardo Silva a deal after his Man City exit - as Jose Mourinho looks to improve standards and behaviour11 June 2026, 6:50 pm
  SIMON JONES: Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have also made proposals to the 31-year-old who said this week that he would postpone a decision about his future until after the World Cup.
  
• All 48 World Cup managers ranked: From a boss who has NEVER won a trophy to five-time Champions League winner 'Don Carlo' - and the 78-year-old who led Curacao to the big stage, here's Daily Mail Sport's verdict11 June 2026, 6:35 pm
  Anticipation has reached fever pitch, with the 2026 World Cup less than two hours away from kicking off at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
  
• England end World Cup preparations in style as Thomas Tuchel's side SMASH second-tier Miami opponents 6-0 in behind-closed-doors friendly - with Ivan Toney bagging a hat-trick11 June 2026, 6:31 pm
  The training-ground exercise against the American second-tier side was split into two, with Thomas Tuchel's men winning the first 1-0 and the second 5-0.
  
• Richard Keys says goodbye to TV work as he abandons the World Cup to reunite with his wife, 31 years his junior11 June 2026, 6:14 pm
  It was reported in February that Keys, who has lived in Qatar for 13 years while working as a presenter for beIN Sports, was told by the network that his contract would not be renewed this summer.
  
• Conor McGregor 'took powerful UFC-banned drugs' after backing of Leonardo DiCaprio's surgeon - who fixed his shattered leg - and 'tried to evade anti-doping officials'11 June 2026, 6:03 pm
  Conor McGregor 'took powerful, banned drugs' and 'tried to evade' anti-doping officials, it has been claimed. McGregor sustained a horrendous and complicated break to his tibia and fibula.
  
• Thomas Tuchel reveals he is considering playing Jude Bellingham as a STRIKER for England at the World Cup11 June 2026, 6:00 pm
  England manager Tuchel has been wrestling with the ideas of how to understudy captain Harry Kane for months and believes a change of role for Bellingham could be one of the solutions.
  
• Inside Mexico's troubled 2026 World Cup: How 'the disappeared', deaths, poverty and protests are threatening to douse the hosts' blazing passion for the beautiful game11 June 2026, 5:14 pm
  For decades Mexicans have amused foreign visitors with a joke which as well as raising a guffaw puts the people's shoulder-shrugging acceptance of corruption here in Mexico City into ironic perspective.
  
• Think you know football? How the World Cup will have a COMPLETELY new set of rules - with countdown clocks, a mouth-covering ban... and a crackdown on Arsenal-style tactics11 June 2026, 5:00 pm
  Under the new regulations, players will not be allowed to go to the touchline, rather they must remain where they are or come together in the centre circle.
  
• The inside story of Rob Edwards' sacking by Wolves: The club power shift that did for him, why chiefs let him play a part in summer transfers, the awful way he found out and why super agent Jorge Mendes was key11 June 2026, 4:56 pm
  Whenever Wolves change their manager or have a backroom reshuffle, the message is frequently the same: we will not be relying so heavily on Jorge Mendes.
  
• England 3-0 Ukraine: Disappointment for Lionesses as they cruise to victory but fall short of automatic qualification - with play-offs now the European champions' only route to Brazil 202711 June 2026, 4:55 pm
  TARA ANSON-WALSH: Last weekend's 4-0 defeat to Spain in Mallorca had already taken qualification out of England's hands, leaving their fate hinging on Iceland taking points off the world champions.
  
• Homeland Security chief rips 'left wing media' for global fury at World Cup referee kicked out of US on terror fears11 June 2026, 4:45 pm
  In a withering response to critics of the USA's border security police, Mullin dismissed the global outcry against him being refused entry on the day the World Cup starts.