Taranto · Coppa Italia · Attacker · #9 · Italy · 37 yrs
Ghalenoei claims team told to ‘leave immediately’ ‘We were supposed to stay here tonight to recover’The Iran captain, Mehdi Taremi, midfielder Mohammad Mohebi, and the head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, hit out at Fifa and hinted at resentment toward the US government after being told they needed to leave Los Angeles immediately after Monday night’s 2-2 draw against New Zealand.“Everything is like disaster for us,” said Taremi, who added that the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, visited the team in the dressing room and they expressed their concerns to him directly. Continue reading...
Fifa president sets gruelling itinerary across tournamentWorld Cup to generate about 9m tons of carbon dioxideGianni Infantino is planning to attend two World Cup games each day where possible for the rest of the tournament despite the huge distances involved.The Fifa president has access to a private jet provided by Qatar Airways as a value-in-kind element of its sponsorship deal with the world governing body, which will come in useful as Infantino journeys across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Continue reading...
During 101 minutes of action in Los Angeles, Iran were finally able to focus on football. The buildup had been unprecedented, messy and chaotic. But then, in the aftermath of an entertaining draw with New Zealand, Iran’s captain, Mehdi Taremi, described their World Cup as a “disaster”, explaining how the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, went into their dressing room to hear their concerns. The head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, labelled them the “most oppressed” team at the tournament after being forced to return to Mexico after the game.A charter flight from LAX was scheduled for 11pm local time. It was a lively end to a relatively drama-free occasion, despite pre-match protests and an underlying anxiety around how the team would be greeted by their own supporters. What, really, were the emotions flowing through their veins as they took to the pitch? A few hours earlier, Donald Trump, in France for the G7 summit, said a peace deal had been signed after almost four months of war. Infantino, who in effect recently admitted he is powerless to prevent the chaos that continues to plague Iran’s preparations and overshadow their participation, was up in the VIP seats. Continue reading...
For the game between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia in the 2026 World Cup, referees will be wearing pink jerseys for the first and last time in the competition. The 2026 World Cup has served as the backdrop for several new FIFA initiatives aimed at shaking up the tournament, and that modern refresh has officially extended to official attire. While fans have primarily seen the usual black, yellow, and cyan kits so far, the Group H clash between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia marks the very first time tournament referees will sport a distinct pink look on the pitch. According to a statement released by FIFA, officials are donning the pink threads for the Uruguay-Saudi Arabia matchup as a direct tribute to the host city of Miami. The unique hue has been dubbed “pink flamingo,” symbolizing “the once widespread population of flamingos in the region, the striking palette of the city’s famous Art Deco architecture, and South Florida’s iconic pink sunsets.“ Miami is also serving as the official home base for Team One, the massive 170-member collective of referees, linesmen, and video officials working this World Cup. Because Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia represents the first match of the tournament to kick off in the area, specifically at Hard Rock Stadium (rebranded as Miami Stadium for the event), FIFA executives decided it was the perfect occasion to debut the commemorative jersey. In the official release, FIFA President Gianni Infantino expressed his gratitude to Miami for hosting the tournament’s operational headquarters and emphasized the sentiment behind the visual tribute: “Pink is the color of Miami, and we are all wearing this very nice pink dresses to give a little bit of a shout-out, to give a little bit of a smile to the city which is hosting us.” A tribute to Miami 🩷@FIFAWorldCup officials will honour their host city by wearing pink flamingo jerseys for Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia on Monday, 15 June — a nod to the flamingos, the Art Deco architecture, and those famous Miami sunsets that make the colour iconic here. pic.twitter.com/kgw1BLfhVd— FIFA (@FIFAcom) June 15, 2026 Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s Chief Refereeing Officer and Chairman of the Referees Committee, also voiced his excitement about the local nod. “Miami is our base camp so we thought it would be nice to show our appreciation to the city where we’ll live for about two months. We chose this ‘pink flamingo’ for the referees’ training material. It’s a sort of recognition. Also, the first match – which will be played in Miami, June 15 – Uruguay v Saudi Arabia, the referee will wear the pink flamingo shirt,” the Italian announced. While the “pink flamingo” kits are heavily featured in Team One’s Miami training sessions, their appearance in an actual match is strictly a one-off event. For all remaining matches in the tournament, including future fixtures hosted in Miami, referees will revert to their standard rotation of black, green, cyan, red, and yellow uniforms. Match officials locked in for Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia Italian referee Maurizio Mariani has been assigned to head the officiating crew for the highly anticipated Uruguay-Saudi Arabia matchup. He will be flanked on the pitch by fellow countrymen Daniele Bindoni (Assistant 1) and Alberto Tegoni (Assistant 2), while Canadian Drew Fischer will patrol the technical areas as the fourth official, supported by Michael Barwegen as the reserve assistant referee. To handle modern replay review, Italy’s Marco Di Bello will lead the technical booth as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). He will be joined by Croatian official Ivan Bebek serving as the Assistant VAR (AVAR), alongside France’s Jerome Brisard, who rounds out the crew as the Support VAR (SVAR).
Tournament open to all Fifa members, including RussiaInfantino wants to use football to promote peaceFifa wants to schedule a symbolic match between Israel and Palestine as the opening game of a new under-15s tournament in the US in September.Although not an official under‑15 World Cup, the competition will be open to all 211 Fifa members, including Russia, whose national team remain banned at senior level. Continue reading...
Every player at this World Cup has their own story of how they made it to what Gianni Infantino calls the '104 Super Bowls' that will make up this tournament. But for Ben Waine, it all felt very far away when he was out of the Port Vale squad not so long ago.
Every World Cup needs its hosts to start well, more so this one, and Mauricio Pochettino’s team delivered on a fun day on the Pacific coastThe ball is magic, remember. Just keep watching the ball. On a lovely soft powder blue night in Los Angeles the World Cup produced an opening act on its US front that might have been conjured by the whirling hands of Gianni Infantino himself, a Fifa president who increasingly has the air and the mannerisms of an elite celebrity stage magician. Or at the very least, of a man who appreciates the power of the show.It turns out California really does know how to put on one of those. There was even a moment before kick-off that seemed to capture the cosmically strange nature of the entire Fifa multiverse. A little later the headline act Katy Perry would appear in a silver bustle and perform on a podium alongside a 10-year-old TikToker. Continue reading...
The United States and Paraguay will play the first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on American soil, with Katy Perry and several other artists headlining the pregame ceremony. The United States will be the last of the three hosts of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to kick off its tournament schedule. The unique nature of a competition hosted across three different countries has allowed each nation to stage its own opening ceremony, with Katy Perry serving as the main attraction before the match between the USMNT and Paraguay. The opening match for Mauricio Pochettino‘s team is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Ninety minutes before kickoff, fans around the world will be treated to a show that promises to be memorable. Just as the opening ceremonies in Mexico and Canada featured local artists, the same will be true in the United States. Katy Perry will be one of the ceremony’s headline performers, but a long list of artists will take the field in the minutes leading up to kickoff. Rapper Future has also been confirmed as one of the featured performers. Beyond the presence of stars from the United States, the global nature of the World Cup will also bring artists from other continents to the opening show, giving the event the variety of styles and cultures that have become a hallmark of the FIFA tournament. Brazilian singer Anitta. South African singer-songwriter Tyla has also been confirmed as a performer in Los Angeles, along with Nigerian singer, rapper, and songwriter Rema. South America will be represented by Brazilian singer Anitta, while Lisa from the K-pop group Blackpink will also take part in the ceremony. There could be surprises at the opening ceremony in Los Angeles In addition to the names officially confirmed, surprise appearances are expected during the 2026 World Cup opening ceremony in the United States. “Global superstars Katy Perry, Future, Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla will headline the celebrations in Los Angeles, with additional world-renowned artists still to be announced,” FIFA said on its official website. Fans who have purchased tickets to attend the event at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles will be able to enter well before kickoff. “Stadium gates will open four hours before kick-off, offering fans access to exclusive activations, captivating entertainment experiences, rewards and live pre-match programming throughout the venue,” the statement added. Infantino’s expectations for the start of the World Cup in the US As the leading advocate for the expansion to 48 teams and the first World Cup hosted by three different countries, Gianni Infantino explained his vision for what will take place at SoFi Stadium on Friday. “This opening ceremony in Los Angeles represents the extraordinary scale of what the FIFA World Cup 2026 will become,” said the FIFA president. “The lineup of artists reflects the cultural diversity of the United States and the vibrancy of its many diasporas, highlighting the nation’s rich influence on music, entertainment and pop culture, while showcasing the power of music to bring people together across the country,” added Infantino. Full list of artists performing before USA vs Paraguay Below is the list of artists confirmed to perform during the ceremony before the match between the USMNT and Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, California, marking the opening of the 2026 World Cup in the United States: • Katy Perry • Future • Anitta • LISA • Rema • Tyla
Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!There’s an elemental force to football that can never be bottled and sold off. For reasons only known to Gianni Infantino and attendant pen pushers, the Azteca has been renamed the Mexico City Stadium for the Geopolitics World Cup. You can change a name for admin purposes, make punters pay through the nose for tickets, and charge 280 pesos ($17) for a beer (!) but legacy endures. It cannot be costed, sliced and diced. The ghosts of 1970 and 1986 were present and correct, just as present as JJ Balvin, Salma Hayek, David Guetta, EJAE and Andrea Bocelli were for a decent enough opening ceremony as these autotune extravaganzas go. Few would term Mexico 2-0 South Africa a classic tournament opener for the GWC but it served plenty of reminders this still actually means more.At the Euros I think we got a few things wrong off the pitch, I don’t feel the group connected as well as it could have for a number of reasons. When it came to the tournament, we were seen as one of two or three teams that could win it. We weren’t playing well, which doesn’t help, so even when we were winning, we didn’t get the feeling that we were as happy as we should be” – Jude Bellingham, there, suggesting that England were lacking vibes at the Euros. Where was Conor Coady when they needed him?Back in the 1994 World Cup, it was suggested the games should be split into four quarters to pander to increased advertising revenue. Needless to say, this idea was treated with the intense derision that it deserved and quickly booted into touch before it was implemented. Thirty-two years later we have ‘hydration breaks’ splitting the game into quarters and two extra advertising breaks. The more things change, the more they stay the same” – Nigel Sanders.Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. Apologies if this sounds like a story meant for a campfire but it’s hard to convey the feelings and the emotion that this tournament brings to the surface. The first tournament I distinctly remember was the 2002 World Cup – I was in India and the time difference was perfect to catch a game or two after school. I saw it all – Ronaldinho’s smile, the Ronaldo haircut, Oliver Kahn’s intimidating presence and the South Koreans going far (shout out to Turkey). The tournaments that followed were great but it never reached the same levels (for me). I swore as a 12-year-old (in 2002) that I’d go to one tournament in my lifetime; I came close in 2022 but it never came to be. Now we are in 2026, I am to be a citizen of a country that is co-hosting this tournament and, despite the ticket lottery and Fifa circus, I have secured tickets to two games. Twenty-four years later the promise is being kept. The little boy from 2002 will be proud” – Girish Chandra.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...
