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:U.S. Soccer Legend Rips United Airlines After World Cup Travel Chaos Ends In 250-Mile UberUnited States men's national team legend and Fox World Cup analyst Landon Donovan is in an online spat with United Airlines after travel difficulties influenced him and his broadcast partner Ian Darke to complete the last 250 miles of their journey from Houston to Northern New Jersey in an Uber.According to their posts on X (formerly Twitter), Donovan and Darke were among those booked for flight 404 from Houston to Newark, N.J., on Sunday evening.Severe weather diverted the flight to Dulles International Airport outside of Washington, D.C., landing at 1:10 a.m. ET, according to data from the website FlightAware.The wait to reboard proved long enough that Darke, Donovan and their statistician eventually hired a car to complete the trip instead, with Darke posting the clip of their arrival in New Jersey to his X account shortly before 9 a.m. ET Monday morning.Flight 404 eventually took off from Dulles at 8:10 a.m. ET and landed exactly two hours later. That was 11 hours and 11 minutes later than initially scheduled.Darke posted on X that passengers on their flight would "think twice about using that airline again." Donovan shared Darke's post with additional comments."I've been traveling 100k miles/year since I was 16 and this was easily the worst travel experience of my life," he wrote. "No transparency, no clarity and no respect for the passengers who were treated horribly all evening/morning. Absolutely shameful from (United)."When United's account replied apologizing for the travel difficulties and asking for Donovan to send a direct message with his confirmation number, Donovan responded in a quote post."There will be no private DMs," Donovan wrote. "People want transparency and accountability so we're going do this right here in public. You can start by apologizing to all impacted and then reimburse them all of their expenses with extra flight credit/money for the trouble caused."Darke and Donovan called Mexico-South Africa to open the tournament in Mexico City on Thursday and Germany-Curacao in Houston on Sunday. They will call Tuesday's match between France and Senegal from East Rutherford, N.J.An email to United Airlines' general media relations address was not immediately returned.Donovan is the joint all-time leading goal scorer in USMNT history and the author of the team's most iconic World Cup moment, a stoppage-time winner against Algeria in the 2010 tournament that secured the Americans' place in the knockout phase.He began broadcasting before his retirement as an analyst for ESPN's 2014 World Cup coverage after he was surprisingly left off of manager Jurgen Klinsmann's United States roster. This is his second World Cup working with Fox after he was also a color analyst during the 2022 tournament.Darke was famously on the call for Donovan's 2010 match-winner for ESPN. More known in England for his work on Sky and TNT, Darke is in his second major tournament for Fox after calling games at the 2024 European Championships.Latest Live UpdatesTraining Injury Blow Rocks England Ahead Of World Cup OpenerNewcastle United defender Tino Livramento is doubtful for England's World Cup campaign after he picked up a calf injury in training, according to British media. The 23-year-old is expected to be replaced by Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah.World governing body FIFA allows teams to make changes to their final 26-man squads up to 24 hours before their first group match in cases of significant injury. England debut against Croatia in Group L on Wednesday.Livramento's place had already been uncertain after he missed the final five weeks of the domestic season with a thigh problem in an injury-filled campaign. He made only 17 Premier League appearances for Newcastle, suffering two knee injuries that ruled him out for two months before a January hamstring injury sidelined him for 15 matches.Livramento made his England debut under Gareth Southgate in November 2024 and has been capped five times under Thomas Tuchel, starting twice. He came on at half-time in a 1-0 warm-up win over New Zealand but did not feature in the subsequent friendly against Costa Rica.Right-back is already a concern for England, with Reece James also battling fitness issues after an injury-hit campaign. The 26-year-old missed nine games for Chelsea late in the season with a hamstring problem.Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa are also options. Spence, who can play on either side, has made six appearances under Tuchel, while Konsa, who is primarily a centre-back, has 11 caps, including nine starts. Chalobah, meanwhile, has not played for England since featuring in a friendly against Senegal in June 2025, though he was named on the bench for several World Cup qualifiers under Tuchel.An injured player must be replaced by someone from the "provisional release list" of up to 55 players that was named prior to the tournament. England's Football Association did not immediately reply to a request for comment.Iran World Cup Player’s U.S. Visa ExpiresIranian state media reported on Tuesday that World Cup player Mehdi Torabi’s U.S. visa has expired.Torabi was issued a single-entry visa, which lapsed after Iran’s team was forced to return to Mexico following its 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday.Iran's other players reportedly have multi-entry visas.Iran’s Football Federation "has taken steps to obtain a new visa for Torabi, so that he can accompany the national team in its upcoming matches," state media reported.World Cup Weather Watch: Austria vs. JordanHere's what fans can expect in the San Francisco Bay Area for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between Austria and Jordan on Tuesday, including temperatures, the Fan Comfort Index (FCI) level and any weather concerns.See more World Cup weather news on The Weather Channel.World Cup Weather Watch: France vs. SenegalHere's what fans can expect in New Jersey for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between France and Senegal on Tuesday, 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: Argentina vs. AlgeriaHere's what fans can expect in Kansas City for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between reigning champions Argentina and Algeria on Tuesday, 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: Iraq vs. NorwayHere's what fans can expect in Boston for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between Iraq and Norway on Tuesday, including temperatures, the Fan Comfort Index (FCI) level and any weather concerns.See more World Cup weather news on The Weather Channel.1/22/2Trump Is Expected To Break 1 Tradition At World Cup Final, Report SaysAccording to a British report that should surprise nobody, President Donald Trump has been given the option to break tradition and give the World Cup trophy to the eventual champion while remaining to celebrate. Read more below.Trump-Allied FIFA Boss Is Using A Private Jet To Watch 2 World Cup Games Every DayGianni Infantino, the Donald Trump-allied FIFA president, is using a private jet provided by World Cup sponsor Qatar Airways to travel between two matches a day during the tournament.Read more on The Guardian:German Leader Gifts Trump A Soccer Jersey Ahead Of G7 MeetingGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday gifted Donald Trump a jersey of Germany's national soccer team bearing the number "47" and the U.S. president's last name.Trump seemed to enjoy the gesture, holding up the jersey while the cameras were still in the room.Australia Has Blunt Comments About U.S. World Cup Trash TalkAustralia's players are mature enough to handle the hype ahead of their high-profile World Cup match against co-hosts the United States and do not need staff to tell them to get off social media, assistant coach Hayden Foxe has said.The Socceroos meet the U.S. in Seattle on Friday, with both sides pumped up by home media and football pundits after winning their Group D openers against Turkey and Paraguay respectively.Several U.S. commentators have written off Australia as a problem for the co-hosts, including former centre back Alexi Lalas who judged them an "average team by any measure" in his pre-tournament rankings of the 48 participating nations.Foxe said there was no need to shield Australia's players from the outside noise."We can't baby them. They're their own selves, we want them to be their own selves," the former Socceroos centre back told reporters on Monday."Social media's out there, they're aware of media and the comments and what's being said."But we're concentrated on us. They're old enough and mature enough to understand what gets said and what doesn't get said."Australia, who have never got past the round of 16, enjoyed a dream start in upsetting Turkey 2-0 with classy goals by livewire attacker Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe.Irankunda said Australia's players were fired up by Turkey captain Hakan Calhanoglu describing his team as more talented than the Socceroos."It did piss off a few boys, but at the end of the day, these guys can talk all the shit ... we don’t really care,” he told reporters.Metcalfe said Tony Popovic-coached Australia would go into the U.S. match "full of energy, full of confidence".Foxe warned his players not to get too carried away, though, reminding how everyone got excited at Qatar 2022 when Saudi Arabia upset eventual champions Argentina only to crash out of the group."Fantastic win against Turkey. Memorable, great. Enjoy that moment," he said."Now that's gone. Now we move on to the U.S."See All Updates