France outclass Morocco to book semi-final spot

Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of this World Cup to make up for an earlier missed penalty as France proved too good for Morocco and moved into the semi-finals. Mbappe won the first-half penalty when he was fouled by Manchester United defender Noussair Mazraoui, but his poorly hit spot-kick was comfortably saved by Yassine Bounou. The Real Madrid striker made amends in the 60th minute with a superb curling effort from just inside the penalty area to give France a deserved lead. Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembele doubled France’s advantage six minutes later

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Paraguay dump Germany out of World Cup on penalties

Four-time winners Germany have been knocked out of the 2026 World Cup, losing to Paraguay in a thrilling penalty shootout after it finished 1-1 after extra time. Arsenal forward Kai Havertz and Newcastle’s Nick Woltemade both had their spot-kicks saved by goalkeeper Orlando Gill. But Paraguay twice missed chances to go through as Antonio Sanabria shot wide and Fabian Balbuena’s effort was stopped by 40-year-old Manuel Neuer. However, in sudden death, Jonathan Tah blazed over for Germany before defender Jose Canale scored the decisive kick

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Dembélé hat-trick fires France past Norway to seal top spot

Ousmane Dembele scored a stunning first-half hat-trick as France secured top spot in their World Cup group with a convincing 4-1 win over much-changed Norway. The Paris Saint-Germain star struck three times in the opening 32 minutes in Boston as France maintained their 100% record in Group I in the absence of coach Didier Deschamps.

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Gallant Ghana shutout England to earn famous point

Thomas Tuchel’s stilted side stumbled to a scoreless draw with well-drilled Ghana as England edged closer to the World Cup knockout phase in forgettable fashion. Six days on from the thrilling 4-2 victory against Croatia in Texas, things fell flat in Foxborough as the back-to-back European Championship runners-up failed to break down the Black Stars.

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Morocco strike early to dent Scotland hopes

Scotland conceded after just 70 seconds to fall to a World Cup defeat against a classy Morocco, but their hopes of a historic knockout place remain in their own hands with one group game to go. Head coach Steve Clarke had asked for the “footballing Gods to be smiling down on us” – with the knowledge one point would all-but confirm their progression out of Group C – but the Scots made the worst possible start.

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