World Cup 2026: ‘violent disorder’ in London after France’s win over Morocco, Spain v Belgium buildup – live

Patrick O’Brien emails in. “Sorry to be that person but you can’t say that if said player had scored their penalties then their overall tally would be higher. For example, if – a big if admittedly – Messi scored that penalty against Egypt the rest of the game would’ve played out in a different way such that he wouldn’t have scored the goal that he did. In fact, you can imagine a game where a player misses a penalty and then scores two in open play, but if they score the penalty they may not score again meaning their overall tally would be lower. Just sayin’.”

Can I shock you. I like whine. Patridgeisms aside, I actually fully agree, Patrick. Another angle is that players might have an extra 5% edge as they try and atone for their misses. It’s interesting to note that Messi (twice) and Mbappe both went on to score later in the games in which they fluffed their spot-kicks. Okay, they might have done anyway but I guess we’re saying it isn’t clear-cut.

Some transfer news. Pierce Charles has joined Manchester City on a five-year deal from Sheffield Wednesday, the 20-year-old goalkeeper being loaned immediately to Queens Park Rangers for all of next season. Charles, who has 12 Northern Ireland caps, is returning to City having been an academy product before leaving to join Wednesday in October 2022.

Charles, who is Manchester-born, said: “To be back at Manchester City is a very special and proud moment both for me and my family. I know first-hand what a special club City is and I am so excited about looking to the future. City take the development of young players very seriously so I know that my loan to QPR will only help me grow and improve as a player too. I’ll now give everything I can for a successful season in the Championship before hopefully returning to Manchester a better goalkeeper.”

Hugo Viana, City’s director of football, said: “Pierce is someone whose progress we have been following closely, and we are delighted to welcome him back to Manchester City. Pierce has already learned a lot during his time at Sheffield Wednesday but is still very young and hungry to now further progress and develop.

“He also knows the club and is very much aligned with the values we all share. We are very happy to have secured Pierce’s signing and are excited to now help in his future career development.”

Kick back with a refreshing drink, settle yourself into a deckchair and have a listen to the latest Football Weekly podcast. Works just as well for those stuck in traffic. Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, John Brewin and Philippe Auclair to discuss France’s win over Morocco and much more.

The World Cup goes way beyond the action on the pitch. Which is just as well if you stayed up to watch Colombia v Switzerland. Here’s Donald McRae chatting to London hair stylist Jayèma on working with England stars, a new look for Raphinha and forging a friendship with Lamine Yamal’s family.

Jayèma smiles when I say the England team, with their mix of ethnicities and hairstyles, are an uplifting antidote to racism and the politics of division. “Exactly. Football is meant to bring us together and give unity.”

Match-fixing has increased at an “extraordinary” rate across the world, a select committee of the House of Lords has been told.

Moses Swaibu, a former Crystal Palace academy player who was jailed for his part in a match-fixing scandal while at Bromley in 2013 and has since devoted himself to combatting the issue, claimed authorities have failed to keep pace with the rise of prediction markets and new technologies. Full report here:

Talking of photos, here’s one of Jürgen Klopp and Kylian Mbappe sharing a laugh over…
a) The Harry Kane high-pitched ‘incredible support’ interview
b) That Norwegian creator (Julie Amini) who impersonates Erling Haaland
c) The USA’s performance against Belgium
d) Messi being shit at penalties

We all love a good photo so sign up to this!

The Golden Boot. According to some quick research, I think this is the first time in World Cup history that two players in the same tournament have hit the eight-goal mark.

And if Messi and Mbappe could take penalties, they’d have 19 between them rather than eight each! Standings here:

A 17-year-old girl fell off a truck and died while celebrating France’s World Cup quarter final win over Morocco, emergency services said Friday.

Celebrations erupted across France after the 2-0 win in the United States with hundreds dancing in the streets of Paris, watched by thousands of police on security duties.

The teenager was on a truck at Aulnoye-Aymeries, near the northern city of Maubeuge, when she “fell and was run over” by the vehicle and was declared dead at the scene, according to emergency services.

The driver of the truck has been detained, while another teenager who witnessed the fall was taken to hospital suffering from shock, authorities said.

(AFP)

More from the unrest in London where a police officer was hurt and several people arrested after France’s win over Morocco. (Per PA Media)

Footage on social media appears to show flares being set off and missiles being thrown at officers in the middle of a London street. The Metropolitan police said four people were arrested for violent disorder and one officer had been taken to hospital with a head injury after being hit by a glass bottle.

In a statement the force said: “Officers were initially called after a group of people congregated in the road and blocked traffic. The incident then escalated with the group throwing bottles and setting off fireworks. As a result, further officers were deployed to the area. One officer was taken to hospital for head injuries; it is believed he had been hit by a glass bottle.

“No other injuries were reported. Officers remained in the area and made four arrests for violent disorder, with the group dispersing and the road reopened from around 1am. We will not tolerate such disorder on our streets, or attacks on our officers. A police presence will remain in the area overnight and we will be reviewing CCTV and video footage circulating on social media to ensure all those responsible are brought to justice.”

Councillor Paul Swaddle, leader of Westminster city council, said: “I am deeply disturbed by scenes of crowd disorder on the Edgware Road circulating on social media after last night’s World Cup results. It is completely unacceptable that Metropolitan police officers appear to have been turned on by some groups and one officer injured as they were reportedly pelted with bottles. I condemn this behaviour and appeal to all fans to be respectful throughout the tournament.”

Meanwhile, the UK Football Policing Unit (UKFPU) said 223 incidents related to the England-Mexico match in the early hours of Monday morning had been recorded in England and Wales. The UKFPU said there had been six hate crime incidents, 32 incidents of domestic abuse and made 42 arrests linked to England’s dramatic victory at the Azteca stadium, for which pubs were allowed to keep serving until 5am.

Rudi Garcia has claimed that Belgium have got “millions and millions” of new supporters after Donald Trump lobbied Fifa to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card ahead of their victory against the US. Hmm. Perhaps for that particular match but I’m not sure it extends beyond it. Regardless, here’s Sid Lowe again, this time with quotes from the Belgian boss and the mood inside their camp.

Who can stop France? There’s a fairly obvious answer to that – Spain. Ahead of the quarter-final against Belgium later today, here’s Sid Lowe on that superb Spanish defence which hasn’t conceded a goal yet in this World Cup. Whether it could repel the French in a potential semi-final remains to be seen. And, of course, Belgium will be doing their best to stop what has looked an inevitable semi-final for quite a while.

Here’s Raphaël Jucobin on the stylistic difference between France’s 2022 and 2026 teams.

“In the space of just a single tournament cycle, Didier Deschamps has embraced a vastly different style, one based on a freeform attacking line. As a one-two punch from Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé sent the team into this year’s semi-final, the 57-year-old’s tactical reinvention was once again vindicated.”

Quotes here from both managers – Didier Deschamps and Mohamed Ouahbi – after France’s victory. Plenty of praise from the Morocco boss.

Kylian Mbappé: Despite scoring the opener against Morocco and playing a big role in the second, there was some concern when Mbappé was taken off with 13 minutes remaining.

The striker felt some “discomfort” in his ankle and was initially seen nursing it with an ice pack. However, fears were allayed at full-time when he jogged onto the pitch before bouncing up and down in front of the celebrating French fans. He’s not expected to be a doubt for the semi-final.

Police battled football fans in central London early on Friday after France beat Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final. Per AFP:

One police officer was injured and four people were arrested following the “violent disorder”, London police said.

Images shared on social media showed dozens of people stood in Edgware Road, near Hyde Park, and some throwing bottles and other objects at police. Police said the trouble started after people blocked traffic in the road.

“The incident then escalated with the group throwing bottles and setting off fireworks,” a spokesman said. “One officer was taken to hospital for head injuries, it is believed he had been hit by a glass bottle.”

Full story:

First up, here’s Jonathan Wilson’s match report from Boston.

“What is a defence supposed to do? Perhaps France have gone too early. Perhaps they will not be able to sustain this form. But if they do, it is going to take something remarkable to prevent them winning their third World Cup in 28 years.”

Good morning/afternoon/evening! We have our first World Cup semi-finalist and, to no surprise, it’s Didier Deschamps’ France. What looked a tough quarter-final turned into a fairly routine 2-0 win over Morocco and the tournament favourites look hard to stop.

France play the winner of Spain v Belgium which is today’s game before the other side of the draw takes centre stage on the weekend: England v Norway and Argentina v Switzerland. Build-up to those games and all your other World Cup news is on its way right here!