The 2026 FIFA World Cup is deep into the knock-out stages — and HuffPost is live-blogging every twist and turn as the final looms at New York/New Jersey Stadium on July 19.Even before a ball was kicked, the 23rd edition of the tournament was engulfed in controversy: from Iran’s tough journey to the competition amid Donald Trump’s war, to the president’s close relationship with FIFA’s Peace Prize-awarding President Gianni Infantino. That’s not to mention Trump’s travel bans keeping some fans and officials out and the fury over soaring ticket prices. Once the soccer actually began, much of the concern was eased — at least for a short while. But the introduction of hydration breaks, seen as a vehicle for TV advertising, prompted booing from fans and questions about the fundamentals of the game being undermined. And Trump’s intervention in an effort to get a red card reversed for U.S. forward Folarin Balogun, which was fruitless, as the Americans were soundly defeated by Belgium, will likely leave a stain on this World Cup.Check out the full games schedule on the FIFA website.Follow along with our coverage below:World Cup Star Sent Sickening Messages After Split-Second DecisionNorway forward Alexander Sorloth has received severe online abuse following the team's World Cup quarter-final exit against England on Saturday, manager Stale Solbakken said.The abuse started after Sorloth opted to shoot instead of passing to an unmarked Erling Haaland during a crucial two-on-one counter-attack while Norway were leading 1-0. His shot was blocked and England equalised minutes later, going on to win 2-1 after extra time.Sorloth's partner, Lena Selnes, shared screenshots on Instagram revealing a barrage of hostile messages, including comments urging the striker to take his own life."It is tragic," Solbakken told a press conference in Miami. "That is the world we live in. I tell the boys to stay away from social media, especially on days like this.""There is nothing more to say about it other than it is completely devoid of sense on every possible level."Sorloth, 30, who plays for Atletico Madrid, defended his decision after the match, explaining that England defender John Stones had closed down the passing lane to Haaland."The only thing I wanted to do in that situation was to pass to Erling," Sorloth said. "But it felt like the pass wasn't there, so I went to shoot."Latest Live UpdatesTicket Prices For This World Cup Semifinal Are More Than Double Those Of The OtherThe 2026 World Cup semifinals feature a pair of matches between global powerhouses, but ticket prices for one match are currently more than double those of the other.France are No. 1 in the FIFA men's world rankings and will play No. 3 Spain in Dallas on Tuesday. Spain spent much of the World Cup buildup in 2026 atop the rankings before being passed by France in April.The get-in price for their semifinal was $1,325 as of noon ET on Monday, according to ticket-tracking service TicketData.com. That represented a 26% decline over the past three days, and the current price is less than half that of the other semifinal.Defending champion Argentina continue to be a massive draw and will play their semifinal match against England in Atlanta on Wednesday. MLS franchise Atlanta United FC have a strong Argentinian fan base and former Argentina national team manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino became the club's head coach in November.The get-in price for Argentina-England was at $2,841, a 34% increase over the past three days. The price had risen as high as $2,966 on Saturday before dipping to $2,537 the following morning.The match is also nearly twice as expensive as tickets for the third-place match. Scheduled for Saturday in Miami, the get-in price is $1,543.The final at New York New Jersey Stadium on Sunday remains $6,760, although that is down 6% over the past 72 hours. After reaching as high as $13,650 in October, the get-in price for the final was $12,301 as recently as June 21 and $9,911 on July 6.— Field Level MediaU.S. Women's Team To Face No. 1 Spain In Friendlies Ahead Of 2027 World CupThe U.S. Women's National Team will host World No. 1 Spain in two friendlies this October, U.S. Soccer announced on Monday.The Americans are the defending Olympic champions and the Spaniards are the defending FIFA Women's World Cup champions.The teams will tangle on Oct. 10 at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and on Oct. 13 at Subaru Park in Chester, Pa.The United States are currently No. 2 behind Spain in the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking."Two more fantastic matches," said USWNT head coach Emma Hayes. "We've desperately wanted to get Spain on our schedule, but the difficulties of scheduling the top teams during the women's international calendar are well known, so to be able to get these two games on the East Coast will be the perfect tests before we head into World Cup qualifying at the end of the year."The U.S. and Spain have met four times previously. The USWNT swept the first three matches before falling 2-0 in Pamplona, Spain, in 2022.There will be a pregame retirement ceremony to honor legendary USWNT defender Crystal Dunn prior to the Oct. 10 friendly in the nation's capital, where Dunn was named the 2015 NWSL MVP while playing for the Washington Spirit.— Field Level MediaSoFi Stadium's World Cup Run Boosts Confidence Ahead Of 2028 OlympicsINGLEWOOD, California, July 12 (Reuters) - After a month of World Cup crowds, a temporary grass pitch and heightened security around politically sensitive matches, SoFi Stadium is turning towards its next mega-events with greater confidence, a senior venue executive said.The $5 billion Inglewood stadium hosted eight World Cup games, including the United States' opening game and two involving Iran, without major incident.It was an experience that Otto Benedict, senior vice president of facility and campus operations at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park, said validated years of planning."From a public safety perspective, I think that went very, very well," Benedict told Reuters in an interview."The number of matches, the size of our matches, having two matches with Iran ... all of our law enforcement partners, our federal assets and even our local assets worked collaboratively to create a very safe environment."The run served as a high-profile test for a venue that will host February's Super Bowl, as well as swimming and the opening ceremony for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.Benedict said the stadium's systems for ticketing, crowd movement, food and beverage service and entering and exiting the arena held up well under repeated World Cup conditions, when many fans were visiting the venue for the first time."At no point as we walked around did we see areas where we thought, 'Hey, we're actually too tight here, there's not enough space here,'" he said. "We saw everything flowing very well."Benedict said soccer crowds created a different operational pattern than those at NFL games, with more fans leaving their seats at halftime and putting pressure on concourses, concessions and restrooms at the same time.The stadium handled those surges, he added, giving staff useful information for future events.The venue also drew praise for the temporary natural grass surface installed for the tournament.Benedict said the pitch exceeded expectations and was improving in vitality as the event went on, though he added that keeping grass permanently was not realistic for a stadium that hosts two NFL teams, concerts and other events."It just wouldn't be a feasible operation," he said, citing the stadium's depth below ground, canopy structure and year-round event schedule.While Benedict said SoFi definitely should have hosted a semi-final or final, he noted that the World Cup nevertheless proved the stadium was ready for another Super Bowl, after also hosting the NFL championship game in 2022, and LA28."It gives us the ability to say to anybody coming in, and even for our own operations, that what we're doing is the right consistency," he said. "Let's keep moving these items forward."(Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Ken Ferris)Police Investigate Death Of World Cup PlayerPolice said Monday they are investigating the death of South Africa World Cup soccer player Jayden Adams, after his body was discovered this weekend at a property in the city of Cape Town.The 25-year-old Adams died two weeks after helping South Africa reach the knockout stage of a World Cup for the first time.Read more on The Associated Press:Even The World Cup Final Grass Is For Sale. But It's Not Cheap.Even the field for the World Cup final is for sale.FIFA, accused of charging high prices for this year’s tournament in the United States, is selling the grass that will be used for the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey at $450 per piece.FIFA’s store says each segment of turf is 17.5 by 17.5 by 17.5, although it doesn’t specify whether that figure is inches, centimeters or millimeters. Soccer’s governing body did not immediately respond to an email requesting detail of the dimensions.Read more here:Conservative Ex-Spanish PM's World Cup Column Ignites Racism RowFormer Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has drawn backlash after claiming France's men's national soccer team "does not have any French players" ahead of Tuesday's World Cup semifinal between the two countries.Writing online for El Debate, the conservative former leader praised France's form before making the remark about its ethnically diverse roster.“It’s worth remembering that France has been a two-time world champion and was a finalist in the last World Cup,” Rajoy wrote. “They’ve won every match they’ve played in this World Cup and are currently ranked No. 1 in the FIFA rankings. They also have a top-level squad. That said, they don’t have any French players. And they’re playing very well. They’ll be a formidable opponent.”Spain's current prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, swiftly condemned the comments, as did lawmakers in France.“There are those who still measure belonging by surname, place of birth, or skin colour,” Sánchez wrote in a post on X. “Others measure it by our roots in a country and our will to contribute to it. Playing football. Caring for our elders. Or opening businesses. Spain belongs to those who love it and work for it. Not to those who shame it with xenophobic statements. France, we'll see you in the semifinals. May the best one win and may racism lose."England World Cup Star Sparks Backlash With Trump ConfessionEngland men’s national soccer team captain Harry Kane has sparked backlash after revealing he’s played golf with Donald Trump.Read more here:Airline Loses World Cup Bet To Rival, Has To Make Awkward Social Media ChangeNorwegian Air has honoured its social media wager with British Airways and changed its Instagram profile picture to BA's logo for a day after England's 2-1 victory over Norway in their World Cup quarter-final on Saturday.Ahead of the match, the two carriers made a light-hearted bet: The one representing the losing country would swap its Instagram profile picture to that of the winner for 24 hours."While the tournament is over for us, this friendly bet will forever live in all our hearts," Norwegian wrote under the unfamiliar logo, adding a congratulatory message. "We wish England and British Airways all the best in the semi-final, and we sincerely hope you’ll get to bring football home!"England will face Argentina in the semi-final in Atlanta on Wednesday.Yet Another Coach Fired After World Cup ExitSenegal have terminated the contract of head coach Pape Thiaw after the country's elimination in the 2026 World Cup.The Senegalese Football Federation announced on Sunday that it had parted ways with the 45-year-old coach, who had been on the job since 2024."It was decided to initiate a procedure to terminate the functions of the national coach, Mr. Pape Thiaw, as well as his entire technical staff," the federation said in a news release."After a thorough evaluation of the sporting results and prospects of the national team, the Executive Committee deemed it necessary to initiate this procedure in the best interests of Senegalese football."On July 1 in Seattle, Senegal lost to Belgium 3-2 in the round of 32, considered a failure by the federation. Thiaw's side held a 2-0 lead in the 86th minute, then allowed two late goals and a penalty in extra time to be eliminated.In Group I action, Senegal defeated Iraq but lost to Norway and France. They advanced to the knockout stage as one of the eight third-place finishers, thanks to their five-goal win over Iraq.More than 25% of the World Cup coaches have been fired or resigned since the their teams were eliminated.In addition to Senegal, coaches from these countries are out of a job: Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Ghana, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea, Tunisia, Scotland and Uruguay.More departures could occur, as well.Moment Of Tension In England's World Cup Camp After Quarter-Final WinThere was a brief moment of tension in the aftermath of England's 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over Norway on Saturday when Jude Bellingham pushed back against criticism from manager Thomas Tuchel."Yeah, well, whatever," the midfielder said after learning that Tuchel had described England's performance as "sloppy" despite their extra-time victory.Bellingham, whose two goals sent England into the semi-finals, was quick to defend his team mates after another gruelling evening in punishing conditions.The exchange offered a glimpse of the differing perspectives of a demanding coach unwilling to overlook flaws in England's display and a star player focused on the resilience that carried the team into the last four.Tuchel surprised many with his blunt assessment after England battled past Norway in sweltering Miami conditions. While delighted to reach the semi-finals and full of praise for the players' mentality, the German said he was unhappy with almost every aspect of the performance."The result is fantastic. We are in the last four. It's amazing but I'm not happy with the performance," Tuchel said, describing England as sloppy, error-prone and fortunate to progress.Bellingham, however, viewed events through a different lens.The Real Madrid midfielder pointed to the draining heat and the quality of Norway's attacking threat, led by Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard, suggesting the task had been tougher than Tuchel's post-match verdict implied."Maybe he doesn't know what it's like to play in those conditions against Erling Haaland, Odegaard, (Antonio) Nusa, (Alexander) Sorloth," Bellingham told reporters. "That's not an easy team to play against."It is not the first time friction between the pair has become public.Tuchel caused controversy just over a year ago when he described elements of Bellingham's on-field behaviour as potentially "repulsive" to some viewers while discussing the player's fiery temperament.The England manager later apologised, insisting the word had been used unintentionally and that there was no hidden criticism of the midfielder.Questions also surfaced before the World Cup over Bellingham's role after Tuchel suggested places in his starting lineup were not guaranteed, even for England's biggest names.Yet any debate over Bellingham's importance has been emphatically settled on the pitch, as England would not be preparing for a semi-final were it not for the 23-year-old.He has repeatedly delivered in decisive moments, rescuing his side with two goals against both Norway and Mexico, and producing the kind of performances that have underlined his status as one of the tournament's outstanding players.And Tuchel, despite his frustration with England's overall display, was unequivocal in his praise of Bellingham after the match."Enough said. He does it every single match," the coach said. "World class."England's World Cup campaign continues with a heavyweight semi-final against champions Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta.Successful tournament teams do not always need perfect harmony. They do, however, need players capable of deciding matches when everything else breaks down.England have one in Bellingham, and as they move into the final four, that will matter more than any disagreement with his manager.See All Updates