Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!A broken leg, surgery, working for David Sullivan, being sacked by David Sullivan, to say things had looked bleak for Sweden’s main men during the Premier League season is an understatement. Alexander Isak and Graham Potter were at a low ebb; the former failed to live up to his record-breaking £125m move to Liverpool, unable to find fitness nor form, ending the campaign with a pitiful four goals in 22 games having never got going at Anfield. Potter was churned out by West Ham in September, deemed unfit to lead the team forward, a low moment for anyone at the London Stadium. In fairness, the team was doomed regardless and while he is leading a team to a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia at the Geopolitics World Cup, the Hammers are planning for life in the Championship and Sullivan is no longer co-chair.Poor Haiti tried everything to change their destiny against Scotland over the weekend, even swapping Providence for Fortuné in the 86th minute” – Sholem Lenkiewicz.Margaritha coming on for a Curaçao led by D1ck Advocaat is definitely the most alcoholic GWC moment so far. Meanwhile, following on from the idea that Football Daily does not do weekends (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), yesterday’s edition ended in my junk folder” – Nigel Sanders [and balance is restored – Football Daily Ed].This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions. Continue reading...
Ivory Coast and Ecuador are clashing in the 2026 World Cup for their opener in Group E, with fans questioning the presence of star Moises Caicedo in the game. Ivory Coast and Ecuador clash on Sunday, June 15, in Matchday 1 of Group E at the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Lincoln Financial Field, now known as Philadelphia Stadium. With high stakes for both nations, Moises Caicedo has been included in the starting lineup for Ecuador. Caicedo is starting against Ivory Coast. The Chelsea midfielder is fully fit and has been training alongside his teammates throughout the camp, with head coach Sebastian Beccacece having made the deliberate decision to hold him out of the pre-tournament friendlies to eliminate any risk of injury. Les Elephants arrive in excellent spirits following a pre-tournament run that included wins over Scotland and, most impressively, a 2-1 upset of France. After missing the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, Ivory Coast are focused on a clear objective: becoming the first iteration of this generation to advance past the group stage in a World Cup. Ecuador, meanwhile, come in off friendlies against Saudi Arabia and Guatemala, less demanding opposition than what the Ivorians faced, but the South Americans enter with genuine ambition. A second-place finish in the CONMEBOL qualifiers has set expectations high for what could be their deepest run in World Cup history. Sebastian Beccacece, Head Coach of Ecuador interacts with Pedro Vite and Moises Caicedo of Ecuador. Group E already taking shape Sunday’s match arrives with Group E already off to a dramatic start. Germany opened the group on a stunning note, crushing Curacao 7-1 to immediately establish themselves as a dominant force in the bracket. Ivory Coast will face Germany next after this opener, followed by Curaçao in the final group game, making a positive result against Ecuador all the more important for their momentum. Ecuador’s path takes them to Curacao after Sunday, before a final group stage showdown with Die Mannschaft. Confirmed lineups for Ivory Coast and Ecuador Ivory Coast’s confirmed lineup (4-4-2): Yahia Fofana; Guela Doue, Wilfried Singo, Emmanuel Agbadou, Ghislain Konan; Yan Diomande, Seko Fofana, Franck Kessie, Bazoumana Toure; Nicolas Pepe, Elye Wahi.Head coach: Emerse Fae. Ecuardor’s confirmed lineup (3-4-3): Hernan Galindez; Joel Ordoñez, William Pacho, Piero Hincapie; Alan Minda, Alan Franco, Moises Caicedo, Pedro Vite; Gonzalo Plata, Enner Valencia, John Yeboah.Head coach: Sebastian Beccacece.
The net rippled and Curaçao’s bench exploded in every conceivable direction, their giddiness underpinned by a firm awareness of the goal’s place in history. Livano Comenencia had just equalised against Germany and an island of about 158,000 inhabitants, represented here by an accomplished group born almost entirely in the Netherlands, could revel disbelievingly in the moment it had dreamed of.Reality eventually bit, Julian Nagelsmann’s side declaring on seven goals and easily avoiding an embarrassment that would have far outdone their group-stage exits in the previous two World Cups. Germany will surely reach the knockouts this time and could have made absolutely certain by adding several more. Nagelsmann will be pleased that threats emanated from all around the pitch, half a dozen scorers bearing testament to that, but it should go without saying that more accurate tests of strength will have to be navigated over the next month. Kai Havertz, rounding things off neatly with his second goal, will hope to be similarly efficient later on. Continue reading...
