The 2026 FIFA World Cup has kicked off — 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. won its group by beating Paraguay 4-1, Australia 2-0, but losing 3-2 to Turkey. Team USA will play Bosnia & Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on July 1.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.Check out the full games schedule on the FIFA website.Follow along with our coverage below:World Cup Social Media Abuse Surges To Shocking New High, FIFA SaysFIFA's digital watchdogs uncovered 89,000 abusive posts on social media during the group stage of the World Cup, marking a 13-fold increase from the 2022 edition in Qatar, world soccer[s governing body said on Wednesday.The alarming spike was recorded after FIFA's Social Media Protection Service (SMPS) scanned over six million posts and comments -- a 33% jump from 2022 -- with racial abuse accounting for 11% of all detected offensive messages.The share of racially motivated attacks represents a 3% rise compared to the group stage in Qatar, with FIFA saying it marked a "significant increase in the objectively worst, most offensive material" on social media platforms."Available to all teams, players, coaches and match officials participating at FIFA tournaments, SMPS protects them and their followers from experiencing discriminatory and offensive content," FIFA said in a statement.The SMPS uses a mix of technology and human moderation to detect, filter and block racist, discriminatory or threatening messages, while also protecting players' followers from exposure to abusive content.FIFA said 225,000 posts were identified for human review, of which moderators verified 89,000 posts as abusive and took action, with approximately 1,000 accounts escalated for further investigation.The expanded tournament format with 48 teams compared to 32 in Qatar has also played a role in the increased volume of content analysed, FIFA added.The service's automated moderation tools also hid approximately 181,000 hateful comments from team accounts.Meanwhile, over two million comments were moderated during the group stage, including spam and content from bots or fake accounts -- a four-fold increase from 2022."As part of the evolution of SMPS, the service also collates evidence for law enforcement," FIFA said."Over 100 examples have been identified which pass the legal thresholds for preparing legal case files against them."Netherlands players Justin Kluivert, Quinten Timber and Crysencio Summerville suffered racist abuse online after missing penalty kicks in the shootout defeat by Morocco in the last 32.Latest Live UpdatesSevere Heat Warning Issued For World Cup ClashFans heading to watch Portugal play Croatia in the World Cup round of 32 in Toronto on Thursday are being warned to keep hydrated and limit their alcohol intake after a heat warning issued by Environment Canada."Don't wait till you're thirsty, keep drinking water through the day, try to moderate your alcohol intake, you know, certainly alcohol can be more dehydrating," the City of Toronto's medical officer of health Michelle Murti said.The temperature in Toronto might feel like 40 degrees Celsius on Thursday because of the humidity, Murti told Reuters on Tuesday. Health officials were also preparing for a possible thunderstorm, which could lead to some viewing parties being cancelled.Environment Canada warned that temperatures were set to climb above 35 degrees Celsius, with the possibility of thunderstorms.Toronto Stadium, the tournament's smallest venue, is hosting its last World Cup match on Thursday and the city has been hosting watch parties and organising public fan zones for all the games.From flooding to extreme heat, Canadians from the west to east of the country have been grappling with wild weather ahead of Wednesday's Canada Day holiday.On Tuesday, fans around Toronto's landmark Nathan Phillips Square cooled themselves under misting stations installed by the city."I'm here to watch the game. It's so hot outside and I can't even imagine how the players are feeling right now. But I think I'm going to have to leave early because it's a little too hot out here," said Megan Rennie from Toronto.Laura Albarez, visiting from Colombia, said she just wanted to go to her hotel and relax. "Thank God there's like drinking water... maybe I will come outside later because it's so warm," she said.Fourth Person Declared Dead During Mexico City World Cup CelebrationsFour people died, three of asphyxiation, during late night street celebrations in Mexico City after hundreds of thousands of fans gathered along the capital's main central avenue as Mexico beat Ecuador to win their first World Cup knockout match in 40 years.Mexico City's department of health said in the early hours of Wednesday that emergency teams had tended to three unconscious people at different locations around Paseo de la Reforma, the emblematic boulevard along which giant screens had been set up showing the match.A 19-year-old woman and a 44-year-old man received advanced resuscitation efforts but died of suffocation, the health authority said. A third person, a 48-year-old woman, later died in hospital also of asphyxiation.Authorities later reported a fourth fatality, a man in his 30s who was taken to hospital suffering from severe seizures and gastrointestinal bleeding. He died after a cardiac arrest.The tragedy occurred after crowds had continued to grow with each Mexican victory as the team progressed through the tournament the soccer-mad country is hosting for the first time since 1986, this year jointly with the U.S. and Canada.Mexico City had in recent weeks banned alcohol sales on Mexico match days as well as increased the number of screens, and the space between them, in an attempt to improve safety. On Tuesday, more than 2 kilometers of Paseo de la Reforma were closed to traffic and dotted with giant screens showing the match. The city government said around a million people had gathered in the capital.CROWD PANIC LED TO CRUSH, LOCAL MEDIA REPORTSLocal newspaper El Universal reported that the deadly crowd crush had been triggered by pyrotechnics which had caused panic, with people starting to run and some falling and being trampled.Patricia Garcia, a 54-year-old housewife, told Reuters amid the crowds in the early hours of Wednesday morning that she was delighted by the Mexican victory but that things were getting out of hand."I don't agree with excessive celebrations. You can't let it affect others. Freedom has its limits, and those limits are where another person's freedom begins," she said.Videos shared on social media showed chaotic scenes. One clip which appeared to be recorded near the iconic Angel monument on Paseo de la Reforma showed people trapped and unable to move as the momentum of a dense crowd pushed and swayed. Other clips showed groups of fans punching and kicking each other near the same site, slipping to the ground covered in cans, bottles, foam and spilled alcohol.President Claudia Sheinbaum said the Attorney General's office would investigate what went wrong and authorities would evaluate whether changes needed to be made ahead of Mexico's last-16 match against England on Sunday."People need to celebrate responsibly," she said during her regular morning press conference.U.S. World Cup Coach Addresses Star Goalscorer's Red CardUnited States coach Mauricio Pochettino praised his players' unity after they saw off Bosnia 2-0 with 10 men on Wednesday but railed against Balogun's dismissal for "accidental" contact in the round-of-32 clash.The win was the U.S.'s first in a World Cup knockout since 2002 and set up a last-16 showdown with Belgium. "It's difficult to describe our feeling, because I think they were amazing, and (there is) no easy game in the World Cup," he said. "I think the maturity of the team is amazing in the way that we are growing in the last five-six weeks."Balogun, who scored his third goal of the tournament near halftime, will miss the biggest match of his career, though, after getting a red card for planting his foot on Tarik Muharemovic's ankle.Bosnia coach Sergej Barbarez said the decision, confirmed after a VAR review, was fair but Pochettino saw it differently."Never was this a red card. Watching it on TV, never was there intention to step (on) the player," he told the post-match press conference."That was a normal action in football. That happened by accident and it's never intentional. That is why for me it was never a red card."Pochettino said Balogun was disappointed and sad in the dressing room."But he's also happy because we qualified... He needs to understand that this type of situation happens," he said."I hope that, for sure, he is going to be able to help us again. I hope that we go to the next round."Pochettino became the first U.S. men's coach to win three World Cup matches, and belted out "Country Roads" with fans in the terraces as he hugged players and staff after the final whistle.With Christian Pulisic starting, Pochettino reverted to the same 11 he deployed in the opening 4-1 thrashing of Paraguay but they were kept at bay by the stacked Bosnian defence until the cusp of halftime.It took a touch of fortune to break the deadlock, with Balogun swooping on a deflection to fire a low shot home.Malik Tillman then doubled the lead with a free kick after Balogun's red card to seal the win."It was amazing, Malik is an amazing player, full of talent," said Pochettino."We knew that he has that talent to do the free kick ... to do what he did. So happy for him."World Cup Fans Sue StubHub Over Cancelled TicketsWorld Cup fans have sued StubHub Inc, accusing the resale platform of failing to deliver expensive tickets they bought on the secondary market for the world's premier soccer tournament.In a proposed class action filed late Tuesday night in Manhattan federal court, fans claimed they "did not get what they paid for" because StubHub never delivered their promised tickets.StubHub said it would not comment on pending litigation but added in a statement: “Our singular goal is to get fans into events, and if anything goes wrong, our FanProtect Guarantee provides replacement tickets or a full refund. The World Cup is no different, and the issues fans have experienced are largely driven by problems with the event organizer's own ticketing infrastructure.”FIFA had urged fans to only use its own official resale platform, saying it was reliable.Fans have flooded social media during the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada, blaming StubHub for last-minute ticket cancellations and for backing away from assurances they could get replacement tickets.Many ticketholders say they travelled long distances to watch matches, and ticket refunds offered little comfort because they remained stuck with airfare and lodging costs."(Fans) were lied to and purchased World Cup Tickets for large sums of money – only to incur tremendous financial losses," the complaint said."This is a new low for a sports ticketing industry that has been rampant with consumer protection issues time and time again to the detriment of the fans who make sports special."The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages of at least $5 million for thousands of people in the United States who did not receive World Cup tickets they bought through StubHub, for alleged violations of various consumer protection and false advertising laws.Belgium Pulls Off Stunning World Cup Comeback Against SenegalBelgium overturned a two-goal deficit and scored from the penalty spot deep into extra time to beat Senegal 3-2 on Wednesday in the biggest comeback of the World Cup so far.Senegal held a 2-0 lead with just 5 minutes of regulation time remaining but late goals by Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans pushed the round of 32 match into extra time.Tielemans completed Belgium’s comeback by converting a penalty in the 125th minute of the game – the latest goal in World Cup history.“Being part of this comeback is a proud moment because I scored the last two goals to give the team the win today. I’m very proud of that to be able to help the team to score goals and bring us over the line,” Tielemans said.He was fouled with only seconds to go and with a penalty shootout looming, and the referee awarded the spot kick after a video review, ignoring protests from the Senegal team.“I do not want to interpret the decision. We all have different interpretations when it comes to awarding a penalty,” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said. “I’d rather not comment, not interpreting the referee’s decision.”The win for Belgium marked the second time in the last 11 World Cups that a team trailed by two or more goals in the knockout round and advanced. Belgium also did so in a 3-2 victory over Japan in the round of 16 at the 2018 tournament.“Senegal deserved to win," Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said. "But, I am happy it was us.”Many of the key players from the Belgium team that finished in third place in Russia in 2018 were instrumental to Wednesday’s victory. Lukaku, who leads his nation in goals scored, came off the bench to get Belgium back into the match by scoring in the 86th minute, setting the scene for Tielemans to force extra time.“It is a cruel loss, as we were good in the game," Thiaw said. "We had the advantage. We were leading 2-0. However a football match is not an 85-minute one. Belgium came back, and we were not able to deal with that ... We must congratulate Belgium as they progress.”Belgium is back in the round of 16 for the third time in four tournaments. The team reached the quarterfinals in 2014 and the semifinals in 2018 but failed to get out of the group stage four years ago in Qatar.The Belgians will next face the United States on Monday in Seattle.Senegal long appeared to be heading toward the round of 16. Habib Diarra scored in the first half and Ismaïla Sarr made it 2-0 at the start of the second. It was his fourth goal of the World Cup, and one of the most beautiful of the tournament. Sarr made a perfect first touch off his chest on a long ball from Moussa Niakhaté and then sent his shot past Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.Courtois, who was playing in his fourth World Cup, then made three key saves to keep Senegal from increasing its lead.Senegal defender Krépin Diatta said Belgium should not have been allowed to get back into the game.“It shouldn’t have happened. You have to defend your box and you have to be the boss of your box," he said. "We suffered, but we have to go on. It’s a pity.”Lukaku said Belgium showed character with its late comeback.“This Senegal side is one of the best teams in the tournament,” he said. “Technically, physically and tactically, it was really tough. But when we stepped up the intensity of our pressing, when we were there for the second ball, our team spirit shone through and we won the match.”Senegal headed to the World Cup as the second-highest ranking team in Africa, behind Morocco. It won a chaotic Africa Cup of Nations final on Jan. 18 against Morocco, but the result was overturned by the governing body of African soccer because Thiaw had temporarily pulled his players off the pitch.Senegal advanced to the World Cup knockout phase as one of the best third-place finishers after losing to France and Norway and beating Iraq.“It’s the best African nation. It’s as simple as that," Garcia said. "They showed that even against France, they dominated in the first half. They came out of a difficult group. I would have preferred not to play against them.”U.S. Beats Bosnia-Herzegovina 2-0 To Advance To Round Of 16 And Keep Its World Cup Dreams AliveFolarin Balogun scored his third goal of the World Cup before being sent off with a red card in the second half, and Malik Tillman converted on a free kick to give the 10-man United States squad a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday night to advance to the round of 16.Balogun dominated the first half with his goal and several other chances that helped the U.S. control the match early but the Americans had to scramble down a man after his foul against Tarik Muharemovic in the 64th minute.Tillman helped seal the win when he scored on a free kick from just outside the box in the 82nd minute with a shot off the hand of goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj.That gave the U.S. just its second World Cup knockout round win. The Americans made it to the semifinals in the first tournament in 1930 by winning their group and won a round of 16 matchup against Mexico in 2002.Read more from The Associated Press:Harry Kane Sends England Into The Round Of 16 Of The World CupATLANTA (AP) — Harry Kane scored two second-half goals to help England rally for a 2-1 victory over Congo and a spot in the round of 16 at the World Cup on Wednesday.England's all-time leading scorer evened the score with a header after Brian Cipenga had given Congo a surprising halftime lead. Kane then scored the decisive goal into the top corner in the 86th minute at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.For much of the game, England looked to be headed for one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.The 1966 World Cup champions will next play co-host Mexico in the round of 16 in Mexico City on Sunday.Norway Fans Leave Trail Of Destruction In Oslo After Historic World Cup WinThousands of Norwegian fans joined in a huge "Viking row" celebration through Oslo on Tuesday, after their team advanced to the World Cup last 16, in a night of wild rejoicing that left a trail of damage to metro trains and city streets.A vast crowd clad in red, blue and white stretched from the Royal Palace hundreds of metres along Karl Johans gate, the city's main street, performing the synchronised rowing action which has become Norwegian fans' trademark at their team's World Cup matches in the United States.Norway beat Ivory Coast 2-1 on Tuesday in their first knockout-round win at a World Cup, sending tens of thousands of fans out into Oslo's streets to celebrate. Near the Royal Palace, over-enthusiastic revellers uprooted plants and tore down fence posts."I daren't think what will happen if we make it all the way to the final," Royal Gardener Ole Johan Hildre told Norwegian broadcaster NRK.Transit authorities had to take metro carriages out of service for repairs after fans tore down advertisements and dented carriage ceilings during the post-match revelry."It is unfortunate that people get so carried away that it affects our equipment," Gina Scholz, communications manager for transit operator Sporveien, told local media, though she then added: "It has been a fantastic evening."More than two million of Norway's approximately 5.5-million population watched the match, according to estimates from TV2, the commercial broadcaster which shares the rights to the tournament.U.S. Begins Win-Or-Go-Home World Cup Journey Against Bosnia-HerzegovinaThe U.S. men's national soccer team faces Bosnia-Herzegovina in the Round of 32 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Wednesday, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET.The winner of the match at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California — rebranded as San Francisco Bay Area Stadium for the tournament — will advance to the Round of 16 to face the winner of Wednesday's clash between Belgium and Senegal.If the U.S. progresses again, a potential quarterfinal showdown could await against Portugal, Croatia, Spain or Austria.While the Americans are favorites for Wednesday's game, head coach Mauricio Pochettino has warned his side may "struggle," even with star forward Christian Pulisic back from injury.Check out the weather forecast for the match.World Cup Weather Watch: Belgium vs. SenegalHere's what fans can expect in Seattle for the 2026 FIFA World Cup game between Belgium and Senegal on Wednesday, 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