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 SHOCKER: Cape Verde Shuts Out Favorite Spain In Historic PerformanceThe third-smallest nation to ever qualify for the FIFA World Cup has pulled off one of the tournament's biggest upsets.Cape Verde shut out Spain, a heavy favorite to win this year's tourney, and settled for a draw in what marked the opening match for both squads in Atlanta on Monday.Goalkeeper Vozinha — who celebrated his 40th birthday earlier this month — made seven saves, and while his squad faced 27 shots, none made it into the net thanks to a historic defensive performance by the team.Latest Live UpdatesWorld Cup Official Says Twitch Caused Gesture Resembling Supremacist Sign; FIFA Says No BreachA World Cup video review official said his hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign was caused by an involuntary twitch, and a FIFA committee concluded the Australian didn’t breach the sport’s disciplinary code.FIFA’s discrimination monitor had called for Shaun Evans to be removed from the tournament.Evans worked Germany’s opening 7-1 win over Curaçao on Sunday as an assistant to the video assistant referee, based at the World Cup broadcast center in Dallas. When the official broadcast cut before the game to show the video review officials, Evans made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg.“I did not intentionally make a hand gesture or symbol to communicate a message, affiliation, game or belief of any kind,” Evans said in a statement released Monday by FIFA. “The only explanation I can offer is that the movement was an involuntary, subconscious twitch and I was unaware I had done it at the time. Images taken later during the match showed that I repeated this movement many times while holding a pen between my fingers.”In 2019, the gesture — with thumb and forefinger touching in a circle and other fingers outstretched — was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.Read more from the Associated Press here: Merlin The Duck Becomes Mexico City's World Cup MascotAs Mexico celebrated its World Cup-opening victory over South Africa on Thursday, Merlin, a 2-year-old duck dressed in the national team’s colors, became an unlikely internet sensation and the tournament’s first unofficial mascot.Images of Merlin parading through Mexico City, wearing a Mexican national team jersey — and socks — as thousands of fans celebrated, quickly went viral, racking up millions of views across social media. Overnight, and as if by the magic of the famous wizard who inspired his name, Merlin had captivated the internet.Read more here:A Soccer Giant Just Got Shut Out By A Tiny Country In Its World Cup DebutATLANTA, June 15 (Reuters) - Cape Verde pulled off a World Cup shock by holding Spain to a 0-0 draw in the opening game of Group H on Monday, where the European champions and one of the tournament favorites could find no way past the debutants and their keeper Vozinha.Read more on the historic World Cup stunner below:World Cup Racism Monitor Urges FIFA To Remove Official Over Hand Gesture On TV BroadcastGENEVA (AP) — FIFA’s discrimination monitor at the World Cup called Monday for a video review official to be removed for appearing to make a hand gesture resembling a white supremacist sign.When the official broadcast of Germany's opening game against Curaçao on Sunday cut pre-game to show the team of video review analysts, Shaun Evans from Australia made an “OK” symbol with his right hand in front of his right leg. Though the game was played in Houston, video officials work in Dallas at the World Cup broadcast center.In 2019, the gesture — with thumb and forefinger touched in a circle and other fingers outstretched — was designated a hate symbol by the New York-based Anti-Defamation League.“Advice from our experts is that the gesture used clearly resembles an upside down ‘OK’ hand symbol used as a ‘white power’ symbol in global far-right circles,” said the Fare network, a long-time partner of FIFA and European soccer body UEFA to monitor racist and discriminatory chants, flags and symbols at international games.“Clearly this official should have no further role to play in this World Cup,” Fare said in its statement, describing the gesture as “neo-nazi.”FIFA was asked for comment.In Australia, the Professional Football Referees Association and governing body Football Australia were contacted for comment.It was unclear if Evans, working at his second straight World Cup and his first game at this edition, was making a political gesture or playing a children’s game prank.The “gotcha” or “circle game” is where someone flashes an upside-down OK sign below their waist and punches in the shoulder anyone who looks at it.It was appropriated a decade ago as a signal for white supremacy that started as a hoax on the far-right online message board 4chan.The sign got global attention in March 2019 in New Zealand, after it was made during the first court appearance by the white supremacist shooter who killed 51 Muslim worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch.Later in 2019 when the sign was designated as a hate symbol, Oren Segal, director of the ADL’s Center on Extremism, said context is key to interpreting whether an “OK” symbol is hateful or harmless.At the time, he said: “There is enough of a volume of use for hateful purposes that we felt it was important to add.”Evans is among 30 video review analysts selected by FIFA to work at the World Cup being played in the United States, Canada and Mexico.“Why is a VAR supervisor using this symbol at a global football event at the very moment he knows the cameras are on him?” Fare said. “We note that in the two subsequent games it appears TV directors have stopped introducing the VAR panel to the TV audience.”___AP Sports Writer John Pye in Brisbane, Australia, contributed to this report____AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cupPortugal Fans Mixed On Whether Ronaldo Will Help Or Hurt Team's World Cup ChancesPALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — It would have been unthinkable at the start of the 2022 World Cup to suggest Cristiano Ronaldo was anything other than the undisputed leader of the Portugal team.But the Qatar edition went poorly for Portugal’s all-time leading goal scorer. After scoring just once, from the penalty spot, in the group stage, he reacted angrily to being subbed off against South Korea and was promptly dropped to the bench for his team's first knockout-stage match against Switzerland.Then, he didn’t score at all in the 2024 European Championship. It was the first time he had failed to find the net at a major international tournament.Now, in the buildup to what may be Ronaldo’s World Cup swan song, concerns over what the 41-year-old can still bring to the national team are at the forefront of many fans’ minds. Portugal opens play Wednesday against Congo DR in Houston.“I think in some instances they play better without him,” fan Zach Mallias said at the team’s first open World Cup practice at its Florida base camp. “There are other players that fit the system better.”Other fans are worried about the superstar’s ego and whether he would accept relinquishing the spotlight for the good of the team.“He’s a very big player, he’s very loved by a lot of his fans,” Beatrice Mitankin said. “It might get to his head.”There is some recent evidence, however, of Ronaldo still being able to positively influence games. During Portugal’s 2025 UEFA Nations League run, its second title triumph in that competition, he scored eight goals, including an equalizer in the final against Spain.Ronaldo also recently won his first Saudi Pro League title with Al-Nassr, leading his club with 28 goals on the season.His abundant experience and leadership are qualities some supporters say cannot be replicated.“He’s not going to shy away from those moments when it’s the World Cup on the line,” Rob Stickle said. “He’s one of those guys you want kicking the penalty kicks for you, being on the pitch at the end of the game.”Ronaldo, playing in a record-extending sixth World Cup, is the oldest outfield player in the tournament but still projects as Portugal’s starting striker.Although his age has repeatedly been called into question, fan Ernesto Vilar pointed to other examples of older players, like Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Croatia’s Luka Modrić, as veterans who still play significant roles for their team.“Age is just a number,” Vilar said. “He’s still in very peak physical condition.”His teammates and manager would concur.Midfielder Vitinha is still in awe over Ronaldo’s physique.“He’s 41. I’m 26, and I’m not like that,” the Paris Saint-Germain player said through a translator. “It’s something incredible.”Team manager Roberto Martínez has suggested Ronaldo could even appear at the 2030 World Cup, when he would be 45.Removed from the conversation about Ronaldo’s production and effectiveness, however, are a group of fans that will always idolize him: young children. Many showed up to watch Portugal practice.Elizabeth Stiebel, 10, says she admires how Ronaldo has always been there when his team needs a big moment.And 13-year-old Christian Loureiro, whose favorite Ronaldo moment is his overhead-kick goal against Juventus in 2018 while playing for Real Madrid, agrees the superstar forward is still a steadying voice.“A lot of young players on this team need an older figure to help guide them,” Loureiro said.__Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.__AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccerFox 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.1/22/2See All Updates