Key events30m agoKenny Jackett passes away, aged 6441m agoEndo retires from Japan duty as injury ends World Cup dream2h agoPFA refuses to drop legal case against Fifa3h agoViolent clashes outside Azteca3h agoEmpty seats highlight fears over ticket pricing3h agoPreamble“Can I enter the fray as a not too grumpy old fart that loves the World Cup and yearns for yester-year?” asks Nick Trim. Of course, you can.
”Not sure if anyone has pointed this out but if you watch the wonderful reaction by Raul Jimenez - reduced to tears at his brilliant goal on home turf, the current turmoil in Mexican society that often only a sport such as football can heal (a bit), the close up you see him going crazy and in the background two men in the crowd are filming, filming themselves and their own reaction. Really? You’re not even filming this wonderful athlete and the whole beautiful scene of pure joy, you’re just filming yourself. Ridiculous.”Yes, people no longer enjoy watching sport, they feel the need to make it all about themselves.It would not be a World Cup without a mystic animal making predictions on matches. At Cologne Zoo, Tarak the elephant is backing Germany to beat Curacao. He could be onto a winner there. This will not become tedious at all …Elephant Tarak selects the ball bedecked in German colours. Photograph: Christopher Neundorf/EPAWhat a night for Raúl Jiménez, scoring on his first start for Mexico at a World Cup. He was clearly very emotional after smashing home the second.Wait until he finds out about what’s been going on at Wolves …Raúl JiménezHi all! I will start with a comment below the line.MyRedShed says: “Has to be said, ITV’s balcony with that Manhattan backdrop is pretty stunning. Even better last night with the lightning.”Fair play to the location scout on that one. It is showing up BBC’s decision to stay in Salford alread.That’s my morning stint done. Time now to hand you to Will Unwin, who should hopefully mention all 64 teams and the remaining 102 matches in his one-hour cameo.More Scotland news. This time from Paul MacInnes and the irony of his location isn’t lost on our man in Boston.“Of all the bases Scotland fans could have found for their World Cup journey, it had to be the city renowned for chasing the English out of town.”Let’s go inside the Scotland camp. First up, Ewan Murray reports that key man Scott McTominay should be fit for the opening game against Haiti on Saturday after sitting out training on Thursday due to a stomach complaint. Phew!Kenny Jackett passes away, aged 64This is very sad news. Watford have announced that Kenny Jackett has died, aged 64.The club wrote on social media: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our former player and manager Kenny Jackett.”A true club legend and one of our own, Watford-born Kenny was instrumental in some of our greatest successes as a player before going on to serve as coach and then manager.”Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this difficult time. Rest in peace, Kenny.”Wolves, another of Jackett’s clubs, have also passed on their condolences.“Wolves are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of iconic former manager Kenny Jackett at the age of 64.“Jackett will forever be loved and remembered by everyone associated with Wolves for the incredible job he did in helping turn the club around after dropping from the Premier League into League One.“Under his guidance, the Old Gold won the third-tier title at the first attempt, setting a new divisional points record of 103 and restoring pride and identity to Molineux, while setting the wheels in motion for the club’s success over the last decade.“Thank you for everything you did for Wolves, Kenny. Rest in peace. The thoughts of everyone at Wolves are with Kenny’s family and friends during this devastating time.”Reflecting on Jackett’s passing, LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said: “Kenny stands as one of the most respected managers to have plied their trade in the EFL, a hugely capable leader whose work across four decades has left a lasting influence on the many players, coaches and colleagues who benefitted from his guidance.“He embodied everything we like to see in a manager, humility, professionalism and a deep care for his players and staff. He improved every club he served and did so with quiet dignity throughout his career.“From his first role at Watford to his final role at Gillingham, Kenny’s work was characterised by an incredible sense of responsibility to his teams and to the game itself.“Kenny is a huge loss to all that knew and loved him. Our thoughts are with his wife Samantha, sons David and Ryan, and all of his family and friends, who join us in mourning.”Jude Bellingham has revealed things were not right off the pitch with England at Euro 2024. Thankfully, he seems to be part of a happier camp this time although let’s ask him again if the Three Lions lose to Croatia.Endo retires from Japan duty as injury ends World Cup dreamA real shame to see Japan midfielder Wataru Endo announce his international retirement after withdrawing from their World Cup squad with injury. The skipper will be missed. Liverpool could have done with him for the closing few months of the season and maybe it was telling that he sustained his foot injury while putting his body on the line in the Reds’ 1-0 win at Sunderland in February – perhaps their most robust away performance of the campaign.The 33-year-old, capped 73 times by his country, wrote on X: “From the moment I got injured up until now, I have done everything I possibly could, so I have no regrets.“Of course there is frustration at not being able to play in this World Cup, but more than that, I am proud that since the Qatar World Cup I have led this team as captain and that we have grown together into a group that can speak of ‘winning the World Cup’ as a matter of course.“The team we have now is a truly outstanding one. I believe they will overcome any adversity and show us a view we have never seen before.”Some emails. These are good from Thomas Krantz.“Hi David! I noticed that there seemed to be many empty seats quite early on, but then realised that the Korean fans were wearing red, so in my sleep deprived state (4am where I am watching from) I thought I was just hallucinating. But when Korea scored and the empty chairs did not celebrate, there seemed to be quite a lot of them, so I was a bit confused (but by then it was 5am and my eyelids fought a losing battle against my brain).”Yes, I was a bit befuddled this morning too, Thomas. Told myself I couldn’t be watching South Korea v Czechia at 3am given that I was doing this here blog at 8am. But it felt a bit wrong to miss my first game just two matches into a World Cup so my body clock woke me up at 3.03 and I just about took in the first 40 minutes before nodding off. Is anyone going to try to watch the lot? Good luck if so!Also from Thomas…“Just a tip if you are on vacation and somehow have nothing to do. The last WC and EC I have a new tradition. Every day I make a new dish from one of the participating countries. To start things off I made “Bobotie” from South Africa yesterday, it was kind of a meatloaf with waay too many ingredients, but rather tasty when it was done. Today it is “Sopa Paraguaya” which is some kind of garlic bread if I am not mistaken.”Excellent plan and I had this very idea yesterday. But only after I’d served my kids a steak pie (two for one offer in ASDA, had to be done). Google did tell me that steak is “incredibly popular” in Mexico, South Korea and South Africa so I’m claiming it. Poutine for tonight’s Canada game then.Next up at the World Cup – co-hosts Canada v Bosnia and Herzegovina. A few Opta stats ahead of today’s 8pm BST kick-off. Like Mexico at the Azteca, they’re a tough nut to crack in Toronto.
