The first three days of matches gave the impression that the World Cup was a sporting affair. But in the midst of war in the Middle East, the arrival of the Iranians on Sunday in Los Angeles, the day after Brazil’s difficult entry into the competition against Morocco (1-1), will put football back into the background.
. Iranians expected in the United States
The conflict triggered by American-Israeli strikes against Tehran at the end of February naturally made Iran one of the main attractions of this 2026 World Cup.
Will come? Won’t come? For months now, everyone has been lost in conjectures about the participation of Team Melli, even though President Donald Trump has been ambiguous on the issue and his administration has rejected the visa applications of several officials of the selection.
Initially expected in Arizona, the Iranians finally set down their bags in Mexico, postponing their entry into the territory of the sworn enemy of their government as much as possible.
They are legally required by Fifa to be in Los Angeles on Sunday on the eve of their entry into the tournament against New Zealand.
A press conference is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. (10:45 p.m. GMT) at SoFi Stadium, located very close to the international airport where they should land from Tijuana, after a flight of around twenty minutes.
And many expect that the selection will be loudly welcomed in the city nicknamed “Tehrangeles”, because of its immense Iranian community, estimated at 500,000 people.
. Curaçao, “really unpleasant”?
Dick Advocaat showed the color on Saturday: “We are going to be a really unpleasant team to play.” Germany may have four world champion stars on its jersey, but the Dutch coach of Curaçao is convinced that his team, which represents the smallest country in history to qualify for a final phase, can “make life difficult” for the Mannschaft on Sunday in Houston.
However, it is difficult to be more unbalanced than the first poster for Group E: on one side a piece of the Dutch Antilles, 444 km2 and around 160,000 inhabitants, swollen by its diaspora; on the other a juggernaut boosted by the return of Manuel Neuer, one of the best goalkeepers in the history of the game.
Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany, however, enters the competition as an outsider, traumatized by the two fiascos in Russia in 2018 and in Qatar in 2022 where they did not make it out of the groups.
Unlike the Germans who are launching their World Cup against an openly weaker opponent, the Netherlands of Memphis Depay, eternal contenders and always in search of a first star, will have to be wary of the Japanese when they enter the fray in Dallas.
The Blue Samurai arrive full of ambition after a smooth qualifying campaign and historic victories against Brazil in October and England at the end of March, in friendly matches.
The two other matches of the day see Côte d’Ivoire of Guéla Doué and Ecuador of Willian Pacho in Philadelphia on the one hand, Sweden and Tunisia in Monterrey on the other.
. The Seleçao stumbles on Morocco
The Brazilians began their World Cup on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against the Moroccans. But for this Brazil, facing this Morocco, is it really a poor performance?
It was the first clash of the World Cup between a Seleçao who have not won the supreme trophy for 24 years and the Atlas Lions revived by their title of African champions recovered in mid-March on the green carpet.
Semi-finalists of the last edition, Achraf Hakimi’s teammates started the match by asphyxiating the Brazilians and logically took the lead thanks to a clever lob from Ismaël Saibari after a bright opening from Brahim Diaz.
As has often been the case for years, Brazil relied on its individual talents, in this case that of Vinicius Jr who took it upon himself to bring his team back to equality, under the eyes of another star, Neymar, injured and on the sidelines.
Enlisted to restore the Seleçao’s luster, Carlo Ancelotti, a World Cup novice, can be satisfied with the point of a draw which maintains the suspense in Group C.
Who would have bet that Scotland would take first place? Yet this is the case, even if it only won by the smallest of margins (1-0) against the very modest Haitian selection, back in the World Cup 52 years after its first and only participation.
And in Group D, that of the United States, Australia created a little surprise by beating Turkey 2-0 in Vancouver.
jac-stt/ig
The Iran team in training on June 11, 2026 in Tijuana (Mexico), before its entry into the World Cup.
• Guillermo Arias
The Mexican National Guard escorts the Iran selection bus on its return to the hotel in Tijuana (Mexico) after training, on June 10, 2026, a few days before its entry into the World Cup in the United States.
• Guillermo Arias
The Dutch coach of Curaçao Dick Advocaat at a press conference on June 13, 2026 in Houston on the eve of the World Cup match against Germany
• Ronaldo SCHEMIDT
