Brighton’s Yasin Ayari struck twice and Alexander Isak was on target as Sweden proved too strong for Tunisia and sealed a 5-1 win in their World Cup opener. Isak put his injury-wrecked first season with Liverpool behind him, grabbing Sweden’s second goal before seizing on a defensive mishap to provide Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres with the third.
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A late goal from Amad Diallo earned the Ivory Coast a 1-0 win in their entertaining opening World Cup clash with Ecuador in Philadelphia. The South Americans struck the woodwork three times with the Ivory Coast also rattling the bar before the Manchester United forward, on as a substitute, found the bottom corner in the 90th minute. Ecuador carved out the better chances of an entertaining first half, Enner Valencia blazing over the bar after Emmanuel Agbadou’s slip gave him room in the penalty area.
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Japan hit back twice to start their World Cup campaign with an entertaining 2-2 draw against the Netherlands. The Dutch were denied a victory in their the World Cup Group F opener when Koki Ogawa’s 88th-minute header took a deflection off Daichi Kamada before going in at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas. After a drab first half where chances were few and far between, the came to life when an unmarked Virgil van Dijk headed home in the 51st minute from Liverpool team-mate Ryan Gravenberch’s cross.
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Four-time winners Germany overcame a brief scare from World Cup debutants Curacao before turning on the style to win their Group E opener in Houston. Die Mannschaft went ahead in the sixth minute with the tournament’s earliest goal so far coming from a powerful curling effort from Felix Nmecha. But they were stunned by a leveller from Livano Comenencia. That proved to be a wake up call with the Germans showing no mercy as they pushed on for an emphatic victory.
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An emotional Lewis Hamilton took his first victory for Ferrari in a compelling Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix as championship leader Kimi Antonelli retired from second place with four laps to go. Antonelli had just passed Russell for second place with five laps to go after a race-long battle when his car ground to a halt because of an electrical shutdown. Russell finished second and McLaren’s Lando Norris was third in the first all-British podium since the 1968 US Grand Prix.
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