World Cup 2026 live: Somali referee breaks silence after being refused entry at US border

Mexico will get World Cup proceedings underway with their opening ceremony at 6:30pm BST on Thursday 11 June in Mexico City.

Held at Mexico City Stadium, better known worldwide as the Estadio Azteca, the ceremony will take place ahead of the Group A clash between Mexico and South Africa, a repeat of the clash that rose the curtain on the 2010 World Cup in Johannesburg.

Additional performers include Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná, and Tyla.

This year’s World Cup finals are the first to be hosted by multiple countries, with the United States, Canada and Mexico all staging the competition, boasting the elusive element of home advantage for football’s greatest showpiece.

Three host nations means three separate opening ceremonies for each of their opening games, as is traditionally done, with the trio roping in A-list artists and other performers to set the tone for the biggest event on the football calendar.

These three elaborate productions are being orchestrated by Italian producer Marco Balich, renowned for his work on this year’s Milan Cortina Winter Olympics opening ceremony.

Let’s run you through who’s performing at each…

Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan says he has had his World Cup dreams dashed after he was refused entry at the US border.

“I am very, very disappointed,” Artan told the New York Times in a telephone interview from Istanbul, where he was flown to after being turned away. “I’m just simply a referee who’s trying to live his dream, the biggest dream of my life, to come to the World Cup.

“I had the right papers and everything. I had the right visa.”

He added that he had also showed documentation from Fifa as well as photographs of his career of over a decade as a professional referee.

Haiti also join the fun and will be making just their second World Cup appearance, as well as their first since 1974. The Caribbean nation are first up for Steve Clark’s side, whose hopes of becoming the first Scotland team to advance from a group stage of a major tournament could rest on that opening clash in Foxborough. Ooft.

Group C, after all, is the only pool at this expanded World Cup to feature two top-10 nations in Brazil, the record five-time champions, and Morocco, the (massive asterisk) African champions and World Cup semi-finalists from four years ago. It’s a belter of a group.

Here’s everything you need to know about Scotland’s group:

England reside is Group L at this summer’s finals and Thomas Tuchel will hope to steer them safely into the knockouts, preserving as much energy as possible for the challenges ahead.

This Panama team look like a tougher nut than their predecessors but, conversely, Ghana are not the same force they were when only the hand of Luis Suarez denied them a semi-final spot in 2010. There is value in winning Group L, given that the runners-up would likely be on a collision course with tournament favourites Spain in the last 16.

Here’s everything you need to know about England’s group:

It is the ultimate list of footballing greats, based solely on their displays in the most prestigious tournament on the planet. Star players the world over can perform for their club – but who are those who have shone brightest for their nation in the history of the men’s Fifa World Cup?

Indy Sport’s writers put our heads together to come up the tournament’s top-50 players of all time:

In case you missed it, here’s the big story of the day so far.

Iran‘s ​football federation (FFIRI) have claimed that its ⁠ticket allocation for the World Cup has been pulled ⁠just ​days before ⁠football’s global showpiece kicks ⁠off.

This leaves supporters ​who ⁠had already ‌made travel plans unable to ‌attend their team’s ‌matches, with the FFIRI calling it a decision “to sabotage the presence of Iranian fans” at the tournament.

“This is despite the fact that ⁠many Iranian football fans, relying on the officially announced process, had already made the ‌necessary plans ​to attend ‌the matches,” ⁠it added ⁠in a statement.

It said the move was “contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries”.

Keeping up with everything that matters at this World Cup, the biggest in history and first to be staged across three countries, will be a challenge.

That’s where our World Cup Insider newsletter comes in.

Landing in your inbox every morning throughout the tournament, World Cup Insider is your essential guide to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Designed to cut through the noise, it brings together the key stories, standout moments and expert analysis you need to stay on top of the action.

England defender Dan Burn revealed an unconventional secret to his World Cup preparation: a family holiday to Disney World.

He got a taste of the searing heat during his Disney adventure, which meant he wasn’t finished off by the harsh conditions in England’s warm-up with New Zealand.

“I didn’t notice (the heat) that much, if I am being honest,” he said. “I have been here a week before, I did Disney with the kids because I wanted to get a bit of a head start. Honestly, I think that helped. Don’t get us wrong, it wasn’t like a Saturday afternoon in Newcastle, but I felt a lot better than I was expecting to.”

Burn, who enthusiastically endorsed ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ as the top ride at Disney, was among several players who travelled across the Atlantic early to gain an advantage.

A specialised public health team is gearing up for a surveillance mission at the World Cup this summer, sifting through sewage and social media to safeguard against severe illness.

A public health squad based in Washington DC, plans to meticulously monitor wastewater and internet chatter. Their objective is to detect and track infectious diseases should they emerge in any of the US or Canadian cities hosting World Cup players, matches, and the anticipated millions of spectators.