Sports
Europa League quarters ignite as contenders balance form, pressure
The Europa League quarterfinals begin Thursday with four finely poised first-leg ties, each shaped by contrasting domestic fortunes, tactical identities and mounting pressure as the road to Istanbul narrows.
At Estadio do Dragao, Porto return to a familiar position of strength, blending domestic control with European consistency.
Francesco Farioli’s side have built their season on structure and balance, opening a five-point lead atop Liga Portugal while advancing deep in both cup and continental competitions.
Their response to adversity has been particularly telling. Since a narrow cup defeat to Sporting, Porto have tightened defensively and rediscovered rhythm, going six matches unbeaten with a blend of control and efficiency.
Their home form remains a cornerstone. The Dragons have turned the Dragao into a stronghold, dropping points there only once all season and winning every Europa League game on home soil. That authority, however, is not without cracks.
Nottingham Forest already exposed them earlier in the campaign, delivering a clinical 2-0 win that still stands as one of Porto’s rare European setbacks.
Forest arrive as one of the competition’s great contradictions. Domestically unstable, they sit just above the Premier League drop zone after cycling through four managers in a chaotic season.
Yet in Europe, they have shown composure and resilience. Narrow knockout wins over Fenerbahçe and Midtjylland underlined a team capable of managing moments, even when overall form dips. Their recent 3-0 win over Tottenham before the break offered a glimpse of their ceiling, while improved away performances suggest they are no longer easy prey on the road.
The tactical battle may hinge on availability. Porto are without strikers Samu Aghehowa and Luuk de Jong, forcing Terem Moffi into a central role supported by wide threats William Gomes and Borja Sainz. Forest are equally stretched, missing key names including Chris Wood and Ola Aina, while Elliot Anderson’s suspension disrupts midfield balance. In tight ties, such absences often tilt margins.
In Germany, Freiburg stand on the brink of history. Hosting Celta Vigo at Europa-Park Stadion, they are chasing a first major European breakthrough. Julian Schuster’s team have built their run on discipline and a formidable home edge, winning nine consecutive European matches at their stadium. Their comeback demolition of Genk in the previous round signaled both belief and attacking fluency.
Yet vulnerabilities remain. Back-to-back home defeats in the Bundesliga, including a dramatic late collapse against Bayern Munich, exposed lapses in concentration that elite opponents punish. Freiburg must now reconcile those domestic setbacks with the confidence drawn from their European form.
Celta Vigo arrive as a side growing in stature at the right time. Their route has been tougher, navigating the playoffs before eliminating Lyon with a composed away performance. In La Liga, they continue to climb, sitting sixth and pushing for Champions League qualification. Claudio Giraldez’s side carry attacking variety and momentum, though their record in Germany raises questions about consistency in hostile environments. Injury concerns, particularly surrounding Iago Aspas and several defensive options, could test their depth across both legs.
In Bologna, Aston Villa resume their campaign after an unusual pause that may prove either a reset or a disruption. Unai Emery’s influence is unmistakable. His team have won nine of 10 Europa League matches this season, combining tactical flexibility with knockout experience. Villa remain locked in a tight Premier League race for a top-five finish, making Europe both an opportunity and a safety net.
Emery’s track record in this competition looms large. Four titles reflect not only pedigree but an ability to manage two-legged ties with precision. His familiarity with Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano adds another layer to a contest already shaped by recent meetings between the clubs.
Bologna, however, have quietly built one of the tournament’s most resilient profiles. Unbeaten in 11 European matches, they edged Roma in a high-scoring, emotionally charged last-16 tie that showcased both endurance and attacking threat. Domestic inconsistency has left them trailing in Serie A, effectively placing their European hopes in this competition alone.
Their strength lies in structure and belief. Federico Bernardeschi’s goals, Lewis Ferguson’s midfield presence and a collective defensive discipline have made them difficult to break. Even with injuries and suspensions affecting squad depth, Bologna have repeatedly found ways to stay competitive.
Wimbledon organisers have described the return of 23-time Grand Slam singles champion Serena Williams to competition as “exciting,” amid growing speculation that the American could receive a wildcard entry for this year’s Championships.
The 44-year-old stepped back onto the court this week for the first time in nearly four years, teaming up with Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko in doubles at the WTA event at Queen’s Club.
Williams, a seven-time Wimbledon singles champion, has not confirmed whether she will feature at the All England Club, though reports suggest she is in line for a wildcard, most likely in doubles.
“I guess what I can say is we can all see how much excitement Serena being back on a tennis court, and particularly back on a grass court, has created,” Sally Bolton, chief executive of the All England Club, said Thursday.
“And so one can only imagine what that would be like at the Championships. The wildcard committee will make its decisions next week, and we’ll be communicating those early next week.
“She has certainly created a fantastic buzz, and that is exciting for the sport.”
Williams won her first Wimbledon singles title in 2002 and her most recent in 2016. She has also won six women’s doubles titles at the grass-court major.
“And as and when at the wildcard meeting next week, I’m sure it won’t ignore her success at Wimbledon when making that decision,” All England Club chair Debbie Jevans said.
Wild cards are given to players whose rankings do not merit a place in the main draw and are often awarded to home players, top players returning from injury layoffs or those, such as Williams, with notable past success.
The announcement will be made Tuesday.
Fans heading to Vancouver for the World Cup are confronting steep ticket prices, but many say the cost is secondary to the personal meaning behind the trip, with supporters traveling to honor loved ones or share the experience with family.
The tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, opened Thursday with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 in a tense match that produced three red cards. Vancouver hosts its first game Saturday, when Türkiye face Australia in a Group D clash.
For some fans, the journey carries a deeper purpose. One German supporter said he traveled to Vancouver to pay tribute to his late father, who had a strong affection for the city, even as he acknowledged the rising costs of following the tournament.
“We are here to watch Australia against Turkey, and I’m happy to get some tickets,” Harold from Germany told Reuters.
“I paid $150. That’s a lot of money for a football match, but I got lucky to get tickets at this price.”
“We’ve been to tournaments in Germany, the World Cup and the World Cup in Brazil in 2014, and it has always been expensive, but it’s getting more and more expensive, and I don’t like this, but I think it’s a great atmosphere.”
Lasting memories
Australian fan Mark Wright, attending his fifth World Cup with his family, said the expense mattered little compared with the chance to create lasting memories.
The Socceroos have made a habit of qualifying for the global showpiece, reaching the last six editions and advancing to the round of 16 for a second time in Qatar four years ago.
“It wasn’t about the cost. I’ve been to four World Cups now, and it’s never about the cost,” Wright said. “It’s about following my country and my team and spending time with my family.
“For me, the World Cup is a lifetime memory, doing things that I love, celebrating, watching.
“I think the World Cup makes everywhere better. You see the best version of a country or a city because people are happy. Generally, the weather decides to be good as well, out of some sort of miracle. But football is life, as they say in the popular TV show Ted Lasso, and I think that gives everyone a bit of a feeling, and it improves the city.”
Türkiye step into a World Cup match for the first time in 24 years on Sunday, opening their 2026 campaign against Australia in Vancouver in a Group D fixture that brings together history, momentum, and contrasting tournament identities at BC Place Stadium.
Kickoff is set for 07:00 Turkish time.
The other Group D match sees the United States face Paraguay, adding early pressure to a group already considered one of the most balanced in the competition.
For Türkiye national football team, the match represents more than an opener. It marks a long-awaited return to the World Cup stage for the first time since 2002, when the team stunned global football by finishing third.
Two decades later, they arrive in North America with renewed belief, built on a strong qualifying run and a sharp competitive rise under Vincenzo Montella.
Their recent form adds weight to that confidence. Türkiye enter the tournament unbeaten in eight matches and have won seven of their last eight, including pre-tournament victories over North Macedonia and Venezuela.
That run has strengthened the sense that this is a team capable of progressing beyond the group stage for the first time in the modern era.
Yet the opening match carries uncertainty.
Kenan Yıldız remains a major doubt after missing full training due to a calf issue, limiting Türkiye’s attacking flexibility in wide areas. His absence would remove one of the squad’s most direct and progressive forwards, forcing adjustments in the final third.
Even so, the squad retains a blend of elite-level experience and emerging talent across Europe’s top leagues.
Arda Güler arrives fully fit after recovering from injury at Real Madrid and is expected to play a central creative role.
Captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu anchors the midfield with control and set-piece threat, while Deniz Gül is positioned to lead the line.
Supporting options include Barış Alper Yılmaz and Orkun Kökçü, giving Montella multiple tactical shapes depending on game state.
Defensively, Türkiye offer continuity and European experience with Merih Demiral, Çağlar Söyüncü, Zeki Çelik and Ferdi Kadıoğlu among the key figures. In goal, a three-way competition between Altay Bayındır, Mert Günok and Uğurcan Çakır adds depth but also selection complexity for the coaching staff at a crucial moment.
Across the pitch, Australia national football team bring a different profile. The Socceroos arrive with tournament rhythm, having qualified for a fifth consecutive World Cup and reaching the round of 16 in 2022, their best performance in modern competition and a continuation of their reputation as a disciplined knockout-capable side.
Australia’s preparation has been steady rather than spectacular. A narrow 1-0 defeat to Mexico was followed by a 1-1 draw with Switzerland, matches that highlighted their defensive structure and reliance on transitions rather than sustained possession. That identity is expected to remain central in Vancouver.
Their squad is built on experience and familiarity. Mathew Ryan remains a stabilizing presence in goal, Jackson Irvine provides midfield work rate and leadership, and Mathew Leckie brings World Cup experience and physical presence on the flank. Mohamed Toure is expected to lead the attack after a productive club spell, offering pace and direct movement as Australia look to stretch defensive lines.
Historically, the matchup is limited but slightly favors Australia, who won both previous meetings in 2004 friendlies. However, those results carry limited relevance to a new generation of players and a vastly different competitive landscape.
Tactically, the match is expected to hinge on control versus transition. Türkiye’s challenge will be breaking down a compact Australian block while maintaining defensive balance against counterattacks. Australia, meanwhile, will look to absorb pressure and exploit space behind advanced fullbacks, especially in wide channels.
With the United States and Paraguay also in the group, neither side can afford a slow start. In a section where qualification may come down to goal difference or single moments, Vancouver’s opener carries disproportionate weight for both teams’ tournament trajectories.
Neymar was again absent from Brazil’s training session in Morristown, New Jersey, on Wednesday as the squad continued preparations for Saturday’s World Cup opener against Morocco while also celebrating head coach Carlo Ancelotti’s 67th birthday.
Ancelotti’s players paid tribute to the Italian, who has been tasked with ending Brazil’s 24-year wait for a sixth World Cup title, with a traditional guard of honor. Barcelona forward Raphinha later joked that the team had gone easy on him compared with the usual treatment.
“He passed through it, but nobody touched him,” Raphinha said.
Talisman Neymar continues his intensive rehabilitation for a grade 2 calf injury suffered while playing for Santos in Brazil in mid-May.
The 34-year-old is set to miss the first game, with no indication yet on whether he will feature in subsequent group matches against Haiti and Scotland.
Despite Neymar’s absence, Brazilian pundits present at the training ground remained optimistic.
“Brazil is not the great favorite, but it has good players that can come together to form a good team. I think it has its chances,” said Zinho, a key midfielder in the Brazil team that won the World Cup in the United States in 1994.
Zinho, who is currently a pundit for ESPN, believes Ancelotti’s side will be cautious against a Morocco team that reached the semifinals at the last World Cup.
Benjamin Back, a popular Brazilian radio commentator, said Ancelotti would not alter the team’s style.
“He will have a team that defends and waits for the opponents’ actions before trying to be quick in transition once it wins the ball,” he said.
“It is a young group, with good physical condition and a great coach. I would put Brazil among the favorites,” he added.
Brazil’s first game will take place at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Mexico got the World Cup party started as the co-hosts swept away South Africa 2-0 on Thursday, in an encounter with three red cards as the quadrennial football extravaganza got underway.
Julian Quinones’s early strike set the tone for a dominant Mexican display in the Group A encounter, with Raul Jimenez’s header midway through the second half removing any lingering tension for the home crowd.
Amid escalating protests and social tensions in Mexico’s capital, more than 80,000 fans made their way to Mexico City Stadium, better known as Azteca Stadium.
It got a much-needed facelift ahead of the 48-team tournament that Mexico is co-hosting alongside the United States and Canada.
Before the kickoff, the crowd was entertained by Colombian singer Shakira and a host of performers in an opening ceremony.
Yet the match will be remembered as much for the three dismissals, with South Africa having Sphephelo Sithole sent off early in the second half, with his teammate Themba Zwane following him off the pitch before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was dismissed in the dying moments.
The ill-tempered encounter spoiled an otherwise party atmosphere, yet the home crowd got to celebrate an opening victory that will set them up nicely to make it out of a group that also includes South Korea and the Czech Republic.
The game was barely minutes old when Jimenez stung the fingertips of South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams with a volley from 12 yards, but the tournament’s opening goal was not long in coming.
Sithole was robbed on the edge of his own box by Erik Lira, preferred in the heart of midfield to captain Edson Alvarez, and he quickly fed Quinones, who danced inside before drilling a low finish beneath Williams.
It was the earliest first goal at a World Cup since 2006, when Philipp Lahm netted for Germany against Costa Rica after six minutes.
It took 35 minutes for South Africa to even vaguely threaten the Mexico goal when Lyle Foster glanced a header wide, yet as the first half drew to a close, Hugo Broos’s side were clinging on for dear life.
First, Jimenez wafted a foot at an inswinging cross to draw a fine save from Williams before Quinones struck the post from close range with the goal at his mercy, and Brian Gutierrez pushed an effort wide when he should have done better.
The second half began in a similar vein, and it was Gutierrez who drew the first red card when his marauding run toward the box was stopped in its tracks by Sithole, whose clumsy tackle from behind earned him his marching orders to complete a miserable afternoon’s work for the midfielder.
The crowd had begun to get a little restless at Mexico’s failure to turn their numerical advantage into another goal, but that frustration was relieved when Jimenez bagged his first World Cup goal, with a powerful downward header past Williams from a devilish cross by Roberto Alvarado.
The game’s finale was dominated by the dismissals , with Zwane sent off after a VAR check for a supposed arm to the face, while Montes was sent off for Mexico for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
Azteca Stadium is the first venue to host three World Cup openers, after doing so at the 1970 and 1986 tournaments.
It is the eighth opening match of a World Cup for the Mexicans, who had previously lost five and drawn the last two, including against South Africa in the 2010 World Cup.
South Africa are playing in their first World Cup since hosting the 2010 tournament. Bafana Bafana also played in the 1998 and 2002 editions.
Mexico arrived with an eight-match unbeaten streak and have not lost since last November, when Paraguay beat them in a friendly.
The Mexican team is led by the 67-year-old coach Javier Aguirre, who is in his third stint with the national team.
The opener was also marked by teenager Gilberto Mora, who became Mexico’s youngest player in World Cup history.
The attacking midfielder was brought on in the 66th minute at the age of 17 years and 240 days.
Mora was already part of the Mexico team that won the Gold Cup when he was 16. His appearance on Thursday was his ninth overall for his country.
He is also the youngest player at the tournament, and the Club Tijuana player has already attracted the interest of European clubs.
The youngest player in men’s World Cup history remains Northern Ireland’s Norman Whiteside, who played at the 1982 tournament in Spain at the age of 17 years and 41 days.
Iran’s World Cup campaign has yet to begin, but the tournament’s political tensions are already threatening to spill onto the field.
Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali warned this week that Iran could stop matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup if what he described as unauthorized flags are displayed or anti-team slogans are chanted inside stadiums, adding another layer of controversy to one of the tournament’s most politically sensitive participants.
The warning comes days before Iran open their Group G campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They will then face Belgium on June 21 at the same venue before concluding the group stage against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Speaking to Iranian media, Donyamali said Iranian officials had formally raised concerns with FIFA regarding potential protests during the team’s matches.
“We have informed FIFA that if unofficial flags are brought or slogans against the national team are chanted in the stadiums where Iran plays in the World Cup, the team manager will definitely be responsible for stopping the match,” Donyamali said.
The comments underscore the political scrutiny surrounding Iran’s presence at the expanded 48-team tournament, jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iran’s national team has long found itself caught between football and politics. Opposition activists and members of the Iranian diaspora argue the team represents the country’s ruling establishment rather than the broader Iranian population. Demonstrations have followed the team at major international events in recent years, particularly after nationwide protests erupted following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.
The issue resurfaced in April when protesters gathered outside the FIFA Congress in Vancouver, urging world football’s governing body to ban Iran from the World Cup. Demonstrators claimed the team was closely aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and did not represent ordinary Iranians.
One of the most visible symbols of the dispute has been the pre-revolutionary Lion and Sun flag, which opposition figures, including Reza Pahlavi, have encouraged supporters to display at international sporting events. Iranian authorities view such symbols as politically charged, while opposition groups regard them as expressions of national identity and dissent.
The concerns appear particularly acute ahead of Iran’s final group-stage match against Egypt in Seattle. Donyamali said FIFA had assured Iranian officials that measures would be in place to prevent disruptions during the game after both countries’ football federations raised concerns.
While political tensions dominate the headlines, logistical challenges have also complicated Iran’s World Cup preparations.
The Iranian Football Federation said its allocation of supporter tickets was withdrawn shortly before the tournament, leaving many fans who had already arranged travel without access to matches. FIFA has said it is working to maximize opportunities for Iranian supporters, though U.S. sanctions and financial restrictions have complicated ticketing and travel arrangements.
The team has also been forced to adapt its tournament preparations. Rather than establishing a training base in the United States, Iran relocated to Tijuana, Mexico, amid uncertainty surrounding visas and entry procedures.
Under arrangements confirmed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Iran’s players are permitted to enter the United States shortly before matches and must leave afterward. Several members of the broader delegation reportedly encountered visa difficulties, further highlighting the diplomatic challenges facing the team.
The unusual setup reflects the wider tensions between Washington and Tehran, which have cast a geopolitical shadow over the tournament despite FIFA’s efforts to keep the focus on football.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has publicly backed Iran’s participation and supported efforts to facilitate the team’s involvement in the competition. However, with emotions running high among supporters and critics alike, the governing body faces a difficult task balancing its ban on political demonstrations with the realities of one of international sport’s most politically charged storylines.
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