The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicked off last week — and HuffPost is live-blogging every twist, turn and controversy of what’s widely shaping up to be the most political soccer tournament of all time.From the action on the pitch to the potential chaos off it, the storylines are already piling up: Iran’s tough journey to the competition amid Donald Trump’s war, the president’s close relationship with FIFA’s Peace Prize-awarding President Gianni Infantino, and simmering tensions between the U.S. and fellow host nations Mexico and Canada fueled by Trump’s tariffs and divisive rhetoric.Trump’s travel bans have kept some fans and officials out; there’s been fury over soaring ticket prices, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents could be present at games as the Trump administration continues its anti-immigration crackdown.Not to mention extreme heat concerns that scorched everyone involved the last time the U.S. hosted the tournament, some 32 years ago, in 1994.President Donald Trump, left, received the FIFA Peace Prize from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, right, in December.Andrew Harnik via Getty ImagesOn the field, the men’s national teams from 48 countries are competing in a record 104 matches across the three host nations in what will be the biggest World Cup in history.The U.S. beat Paraguay 4-1 in Los Angeles on June 12 and will play Australia in Seattle on June 19 and Turkey back in Los Angeles on June 25, in the group games, before potentially competing in the later knockout rounds.The final will be held on July 19 at MetLife Stadium, which is being temporarily rebranded as the New York/New Jersey Stadium for the competition.Current European champions Spain are favorites to lift the trophy. Defending champions Argentina, of Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi fame, along with France, England and Brazil, are also expected to be in the mix.Check out the full games schedule on the FIFA website.Follow along with our coverage below:World Cup Team's Preparations Derailed By Flight FiascoThe Uruguay national team arrived in Miami late on Sunday after a travel ordeal ahead of its opening World Cup match against Saudi Arabia on Monday.Uruguay pinned the blame on FIFA for their troubles flying from Mexico to Miami, yet they reportedly faced the threat of sanction if their head coach and captain could not make it to a mandatory press conference Sunday.The original flight reportedly was not allowed to depart due to administrative issues, including some missing paperwork, and officials had to scramble to line up a new flight.The Athletic reported that a member of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) said FIFA was responsible for the traveling snafu. FIFA is in charge of all travel related to the 48-team World Cup.Uruguay is training in Playa del Carmen, Mexico and held a practice on Sunday. When the traveling delegation reached the airport in Cancun, approximately 45 miles away, they learned the group was not authorized to enter the United States.The AUF said that a second plane from South Florida was en route to pick up the squad, while players waited at a resort outside Cancun until its arrival."Due to problems beyond the control of the AUF, the departure from Mexico has been delayed," the AUF said in a statement. "The squad is resting at the hotel. The new departure time set by FIFA is 4.15 pm."FIFA later released a statement to the Daily Mail and other outlets."Due to an airline permitting error in Mexico, the Uruguay national team's departure from Cancun to Miami was delayed," the statement said. "The airline has apologized for the inconvenience caused. FIFA remained in close contact with the Uruguay national team throughout their delay and worked alongside airport and operational partners to help expedite the process and minimize disruption to the team's travel arrangements."Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa and team captain Jose Maria Gimenez missed Sunday's originally scheduled press conference in South Florida due to the issue. The team's press conference was pushed back to 8 p.m. ET, and the coach and captain were in attendance."The trip went well, we made the most of it and saw it in a positive light," Gimenez said in Spanish. "We took the chance to rest at the hotel (in Cancun)."Bielsa was asked what sort of disruption the flight snafu caused his team."No, the flight doesn't cause any complications," Bielsa said in Spanish before changing the subject to his team's preparation in both the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo and Playa del Carmen."In Montevideo, the players had constant obligations, but they also had family time, which I felt was necessary."Uruguay and Saudi Arabia will play their first match of Group H at Miami Gardens, Fla. The other members of the group, Spain and Cape Verde, will play Monday in Atlanta.The match between Uruguay and Saudi Arabia is slated for 6 p.m. ET, giving them less than 24 hours to settle in before kickoff.Latest Live UpdatesFox World Cup Announcer Mocks Japanese Team, Then Has To Quickly Eat CrowA Fox broadcaster chided the Japanese team after another corner kick attempt was thwarted by the Netherlands in a World Cup game on Sunday. Read more below.World Cup Star May Have To Miss Key Game For Very Special ReasonBelgium’s Jeremy Doku is due to become a father for the first time while the World Cup is still on, and wants to be at the birth, creating a potential dilemma for the team.Read more on Reuters:This Veteran Coach Just Pulled Off An Astonishing World Cup ComebackCarlos Queiroz is still one tournament short of matching the record for coaching at the World Cup, but the 73-year-old will still enter the record books this week.Queiroz takes charge of Ghana as they begin their Group L campaign against Panama in Toronto on Wednesday and continues a run that began with Portugal in 2010 and saw him also coach Iran at three successive World Cups in 2014, 2018, and 2022.The run matches the record five tournaments in a row that Bora Milutinović set from 1986 to 2002 when he was at the helm of five different national teams.Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira has the record number of World Cup appearances as a coach with six, but not successively.Queiroz was not scheduled to go to the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States until April when Ghana appointed him in place of Otto Addo, fired in March after a series of disappointing friendly results.Before the sudden call from the Ghanaians, it looked as if his long career, including coaching Real Madrid and working as Alex Ferguson’s assistant at Manchester United, had ended, with his last job having been in Oman, the eighth different country whose national team he had taken charge of.His cerebral and technical approach contrasts with a bellicose demeanour on the side of the pitch, where he can sometimes look like a pantomime villain, although others have found him uninspiring. "I felt he had the personality of a dead fly when I worked with him,” said former Manchester United captain Roy Keane.Queiroz is hailed in his native Portugal as a trendsetter, laying the foundation for their prodigious youth output."In a country where greatness is so often measured by the result of the next match, Queiroz deserves to be remembered for something deeper - the construction of a culture that still endures of bringing the knowledge of universities to the pitch and, thus, contributing to Portugal being recognised as a training ground for elite footballers," the daily sports newspaper A’Bola commented last month.He made his name when leading Portugal to back-to-back U-20 World Cup titles in 1989 and 1991, and bringing on a generation of outstanding footballers like Luís Figo, Paulo Sousa, and João Pinto, and is now looking to crown a storied career by taking Ghana as far as he can at the World Cup."I am prepared for this," he said when he accepted the job. "I bring 40 years of experience to every decision that will be made."Rod Stewart Fans Question World Cup Appearance After Last-Minute Concert CancellationRock legend Rod Stewart drew ire on social media this weekend after he was spotted cheering on Scotland at the World Cup in Boston, just hours after canceling his concert last-minute in Chula Vista, California, citing health issues."Too ill to perform but okay to fly across the country for soccer?" asked one critic.A statement released by Stewart's representatives announcing the nixed gig said he'd been diagnosed with "an acute upper respiratory infection that has resulted in laryngitis" and was "unable to take the stage this evening."Stewart himself later said he was feeling "much better" but "my voice is not" and apologized to fans for canceling the performance.Read more on People.World Cup Weather Watch: Belgium vs. EgyptHere's what fans can expect in Seattle for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between Belgium and Egypt on Monday, including temperatures, the Fan Comfort Index (FCI) level and any weather concerns.See more World Cup weather news on The Weather Channel.1/22/2'Tough' World Cup Weather Warning: Saudi Arabia vs. UruguayHere's what fans can expect in Miami for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between Saudi Arabia and Uruguay on Monday, including temperatures, the Fan Comfort Index (FCI) level and any weather concerns.See more World Cup weather news on The Weather Channel.1/22/2World Cup Weather Watch: Iran vs. New ZealandHere's what fans can expect in Los Angeles for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between Iran and New Zealand on Monday, including temperatures, the Fan Comfort Index (FCI) level and any weather concerns.See more World Cup weather news on The Weather Channel.1/22/2World Cup Weather Watch: Spain vs. Cabo VerdeHere's what fans can expect in Atlanta for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between Spain and Cabo Verde on Monday, including temperatures, the Fan Comfort Index (FCI) level and any weather concerns.See more World Cup weather news on The Weather Channel.1/22/2Boston Cop’s Soccer Ball Juggling With World Cup Fans Goes ViralA Boston Police Department officer has gone viral with his ball juggling skills during the World Cup.The cop was filmed juggling the soccer ball — to the delight of Scotland fans, dubbed the Tartan Army — on the first day of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Fan Fest at City Hall Plaza.“Community policing looks a bit different when the @fifaworldcup is in town!” Boston PD wrote on Instagram.See the video here.Iran Coach Has Simple Message As Team Finally Arrives In U.S. For World CupIran's soccer team arrived in the United States for the first time at this World Cup on Sunday, landing at Los Angeles International Airport and holding a press conference on the same day that a peace deal between the two nations was announced.The Iran squad arrived after a short flight from Tijuana, Mexico, where they left their base camp earlier to a rousing sendoff ahead of their opening game against New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium on Monday."I am very happy to be representing the great, proud and strong nation of Iran," Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said through a translator in a press conference at the stadium."I hope that football will bring about joy and enjoyment, and bring closer the cultures and countries."The squad's Group G fixture against New Zealand will be played against the backdrop of the U.S. war with Iran and the newly-announced peace deal, adding a charged atmosphere to a contest between two nations who have never met at a World Cup.Iran moved their World Cup base camp from a sports complex in Arizona to Mexico late last month after the U.S. and Israel conducted joint strikes on Iran beginning in late February.Iran will now have to make the trip from Mexico to the U.S. for each of their three group matches and Ghalenoei said the travel and the denial of visas into the U.S. for some members of their soccer federation had negatively affected the squad.The U.S.-Iran deal to end the war will be signed during an official ceremony on Friday in Switzerland, U.S. President Donald Trump and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on social media on Sunday.'BRING AN END TO THIS REGIME'While the squad flew to LA, a group of protesters calling for democracy in Iran and denouncing its government rallied near Los Angeles Stadium."No Shah - No Mullah in Iran - Regime Change by Iranians," said placards. Pictures and posters of athletes who protesters said had died after being arrested by the Iranian government lined a busy street corner in Inglewood.The January crackdown on protests in Iran, which rights groups and activists say killed thousands - and possibly tens of thousands - was a particular outrage to Mojgan Ramezani, 56, an Iranian American at the rally."They're holding hostage their own people," said Ramezani.Hassan Haddadi, 70, said he was frustrated that most of the world's governments had done little to support change in Iran.“We’re hoping to bring awareness to the western world, to somehow do something beyond just condemning, to bring an end to this regime," said Haddadi.Ghalenoei said the squad's players and coaches were "not political people.""We are here to play football and represent the respectful people of Iran, be it the Iranians inside Iran or the Iranian diaspora."'MEXICO STANDS WITH YOU'Earlier in Tijuana, supporters lining five-deep on a packed sidewalk outside Iran's hotel chanted "Team Melli" — Persian for "national team" — as the Iranian players emerged from the hotel and walked towards the waiting bus.Many of the players waved and smiled at those who had gathered while some members of the delegation took video of the scene with their phones.One supporter held a yellow sign with black lettering reading: "Iran, you will never walk alone. Mexico stands with you."A young boy perched on someone's shoulders clutched the official Panini FIFA World Cup 2026 sticker album, open to the Iran squad page.At one point, the crowd sang in Spanish, "Iran, brother, you are Mexican now."Iranian soccer federation President Mehdi Taj stood outside the hotel as the players left with many of the supporters following the bus down the street as it drove away.The Iranian community in Tijuana is tiny - around 20 people - and much smaller than that of Los Angeles, which is home to the largest Iranian community outside Iran.Tens of thousands of Iranian Americans live in Los Angeles, where a distinct diaspora often referred to as "Tehrangeles" has taken root.This is the first ‌World Cup since its inception in 1930 in which a host nation has received a country it is at war with.See All Updates