The World Cup ends on Sunday. The legal scrutiny of FIFA’s ticketing may not.

New Jersey’s attorney general says her investigation will continue into allegations that FIFA raised prices, altered seating maps after tickets had been sold and created artificial scarcity. Some supporters reportedly paid for premium categories only to receive less desirable seats.

New York, California and Texas are also examining complaints. Meanwhile, a German court has described FIFA’s practices on resale platform Ticombo as “manipulative” and threatened sanctions for non-compliance.

The final whistle may sound at MetLife. The ticketing fallout could run well into extra time.

Via Reuters/Field Level Media.

Thomas Krantz shares some thoughts on tomorrow’s game:

I also have a fond memory of the bronze medal game, partly because my native Sweden delivered a bronze in 94 which was totally unexpected (lucky draw though), and partly because the players could finally let loose without too much being on the line.

I just hope the line ups will reflect this and the managers don’t play their reserves, as rumours suggest. I might actually agree with a former United player (gasp) that suggested Mainoo should say he was injured. It is a little bit insulting to suddenly start them after ignoring them for the rest of the tournament.

No one asked for it, but here it is anyway!

My World Cup XI based off entirely random, but sort of relevant stats.

I’ve gone for a 4-3-3 and picked my team using a very particular variable for each position. It’s not bad. I’m not saying it would win the World Cup, but it would go pretty far I reckon.

GK: Orlando Gill (Paraguay) 23 saves

RB: Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco) 4 blocks

CB: Tarik Muharemovic (Bosnia-Herzegovina) 41 clearances

CB: Cristian Romero (Argentina) 14 tackles made

LB: Maxim De Cuyper (Belgium) 32 ball recoveries

DM: Andrés Cubas (Paraguay) 11 interceptions

CM: Rodri (Spain) 83,802.33 metres run

CM: Declan Rice (England) 15 chances created

LW: Ousmane Dembele (France) 35 successful crosses

RW: Cristian Volpato (Australia) 6.7 dribbles per 90 mins

CF: Lionel Messi (Argentina) 19 shots on target

Max Rushden has done some Max Rushden things.

By that, I mean he’s written about hope and anguish; about why supporting England may require a trigger warning, yet can still nourish the soul.

Are PSG trying to win the league without Digne-ity?

David Wall writes in:

“I’ve just seen in the Transfer Window bulletin that PSG are about to sign Lucas Digne from Villa. Judging by his performance in the semi-final i wonder if that’s a sign that they’re getting bored with winning everything so easily over the past couple of years so are deliberately setting extra constraints for themselves to maintain their interest, a bit like the person who wrote a book without using the letter ‘e’.”

That reminds me of the time Jonathan Liew wrote a paragraph in an England match report without using the letter A:

Speaking of Spanish royalty, this just in from Cathal Chu:

“Re: Peter Oh’s assertion that he thought the King and Queen of Spain was Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. The truth is actually odder. Queen Letizia used to be a newsreader on Spanish TV. It would be the equivalent of Fiona Bruce marrying Prince Charles in the early 00’s and is now Queen Fiona.”

My father is named after Trevor Goddard, the former South African cricket captain, so I guess what I’m about to share, via Reuters, makes sense:

Hundreds of babies in Peru have reportedly been named after Erling Haaland, while Lionel, Neymar and Cristiano each account for around 30,000 registrations. One newborn was simply called “Mundial”.

In Argentina, Enzo, Emiliano and Lionel topped the boys’ names list in Salta before Sunday’s final. In Mexico, an unverified certificate went viral for a girl named after Julián Quiñones, Gilberto Mora and Haaland.

“Haaland is now Peruvian too,” said a registry spokesman.

Football leaves many legacies. Some will be explaining theirs at school for years.

Adieu Didier. Bonjour Zinedine?

Didier Deschamps takes charge of France for the final time against England on Saturday, ending a 14-year reign that delivered the 2018 World Cup, a 2022 final and years of remarkable consistency.

Zinedine Zidane is widely expected to succeed him. The question is how much he changes. More creativity for Michael Olise or Rayan Cherki? Ousmane Dembélé dropping deeper? Even a Karim Benzema recall? Probably not that last one.

Whatever comes next, France are replacing one giant with another.

Via AP.

Not football news, but worth noting that a giant of sport has passed.

A sad day for anyone who appreciates genius on a sports field.

“I was puzzled by the unfamiliar names of the Spanish royals,” says Peter Oh.

“Celeb cam had me thinking that it was King Javier and Queen Penelope.

“By the way, was it really necessary to do a remake of Cape Fear?!”

Ha! I know this is not how royal lines work, but I’d vote for Javier to be King.

This is just lovely.

More than happy to keep the love-in between two of our readers going. Here’s Krishna Moorthy again:

Hello (Conduit) Daniel

Appreciate the appreciation from Justin Kavanagh . The MBMs and OBOs have helped lot of us to connect on this common platform with a common passion. A big shout out to all the live bloggers of TG who create that friendly atmosphere. The comments have generally been a correct mix of passion for the game, a dash of satire / humor, a common dislike of right wing fascists .

We often come back here for a reassurance that the world is not altogether a lost cause

Money doesn’t buy success in football, but it certainly helps.

Spain’s squad is valued at €1.2bn and Argentina’s at €808m. Meanwhile France and England, the two most expensive squads at the World Cup at €1.5bn and €1.4bn respectively, will contest the third-place playoff.

England’s squad was valued around €556m higher than Argentina’s; France’s roughly €300m above Spain’s.

Four of the eight most valuable squads reached the semi-finals.

That is either evidence that money reliably buys success or that half of the planet’s richest teams still managed to mess it up.

So, who plays tomorrow for England?

Word is Kobbie Mainoo is part of the equation, but a former Manchester United player is suggesting the unthinkable.

“I’d just refuse to play if I was Kobbie Mainoo. I’d say I was injured.”

Nicky Butt has advised the young midfielder to boycott tomorrow’s third-place playoff after spending the entire World Cup on England’s bench.

“It’s a nonsense game, especially when you’ve been treated like that.”

This just in from Tom Garry:

Aston Villa have signed the Norway defender Mathilde Harviken from the Italian side Juventus. Harviken, whose strongest position is at centre-back, represented her country at 2023’s World Cup and last summer’s Euros. She told Villa’s club website: “It’s a really good opportunity to join a club with such a big history. There are great facilities here and everything you need to perform and continue developing as a player.”

Also signing for a Women’s Super League club from Juventus on Friday was the France defender Estelle Cascarino, who has made her switch to West Ham United more permanent after enjoying a loan spell in East London during the second half of last season. Cascarino, 29, has signed a three-year contract with Rita Guarino’s team.

Arsenal have signed the 18-year-old Denmark youth international goalkeeper Isabella Damm from Brondby IF. Damn spent time on trial with Arsenal last season and she told the club’s media channels: “I’ve had the experience of training here before and I know the environment here is the right one for me to progress.”

Elsewhere, newly-promoted Birmingham City have continued their preparations for their return to the WSL with the signing of the Canada defender Marie Levasseur. The 29-year-old played 63 times in the past three seasons for Montpellier.

Swings and roundabouts.

Donald Trump will be at the final. Pedro Sánchez will be there. Javier Milei, Trump’s great political ally, will not.

The Argentina president has watched all seven victories from the same residence, apparently wearing the same oil-company jacket, and refuses to disturb the ritual now.

He may be a cretin, but this could be the most relatable decision made by any world leader.

ICYMI here’s a step through a time machine.

Spain and Argentina have met just once in the World Cup and that was back in 1966.

Cyril Chapman was reporting for the Guardian at Villa Park all those years ago.

Here is his report:

Been trawling some facts and figures and here’s one that might not bring much comfort.

Turns out England’s collapse was not merely national trauma but premium entertainment. Argentina’s 2-1 win averaged 15.1 million viewers on Fox in the US, a record for an English-language World Cup semi-final, and peaked above 22 million.

In Britain, the audience reportedly peaked at 24 million. Four passes in 19 minutes, watched by almost everyone you have ever met.

Perhaps picking up on a previous chat, Margaret Navarrete shares some punchy words:

To be fair, fans should have been alerted to Argentinian tactics after Eygpt’s exit. A shocking end after nearly 80 minutes of hoping the win was England’s, a blow landing on a bruise.

Blow landing on a bruise. Love that! If you read me using that you’ll know where I got that line. BAR!

Now that’s a headline!

And if you love some stats, this piece is ticking all sorts of boxes for you.

The numbers show Spain are on a hot streak. The hottest streak ever by a European team.

Will that be enough come Sunday?

Jack Baker-Merry has suggested his team of the tournament:

[Let’s have yours, eh?]

I‘ve gone for a very ‘finalist-heavy’ line up. I’d love to put in some players from the nations who were eliminated earlier on, like Vozinhia, Bouaddi or Manzambi, but I can’t really make a case for any
of them replacing this team. Until the semi final, Olise would have been in this team, but Bellingham pips him for me, just through his sheer force of will in dragging England through Mexico and Norway.
Simon;
Porro, Romero, Cubarsi, Cucurella
Enzo Fernandez, Rodri
Bellingham
Messi, Haaland, Mbappe

Hard to argue with that line-up.

From one regular to another. (I’m happy to be a conduit here)

This is Justin Kavanagh showing some love:

“Well done Krishnamoorthy for that splendid “away Gauls” joke. The player of the tournament for me has been Rodri, who has provided such a classy example to young players everywhere, not least yer man Yamal. As they no doubt say in Spain, in several different languages, “spare the Rodri, spoil the child.”

How are you feeling about the bronze medal match?

Always the one no one wants to play, but it’s the one no one wants to lose.

That generally means it morphs into something tasty. As Kári Tulinius points out:

I’ll watch the bronze medal match, if only as an insurance policy for the final. Most finals from 1990 through 2014 were pretty dull, but the third place playoffs were usually fun. They always start off like a Saturday kick about, then something happens to trigger the pathological competitiveness that afflicts elite footballers, and you end up with a frayed, strangely intense contest.

Have you devised your team of the tournament?

While taking my infant for a stroll this morning, I thought of mine.

But after the usual names popped up, I thought I’d have a bit of fun with it. And I need your help.

Playing a 4-3-3, I thought I’d use crude metrics to determine my XI of the tournament.

Unless you suggest otherwise (and let’s have the deadline for these at 5pm) I’m going with:

GK: Shots saved
RB: Blocks
CB: Headers won
CB: Tackles made
LB: Ball recoveries
DM: Interceptions
MF: Metres run
AM: Key passes made
LW: Successful crosses
RW: Dribbles completed
CF: Shots on target

Any tweaks you’d make?

Thanks Martin. Another top shift from you.

Afternoon everyone. Glad to be here on the day before the day before (unless you’re England or France, in which case this is indeed the day before the day).

Loads of talking points to get through but the one that’s caught my eye concerns little gold ring.

Are they a nonsense? A cheap commercial trinket? Or something that will improve our beloved game?

Jacob Berman shares his thoughts:

At first, on seeing this news, I thought it was a nice gesture to North America’s championship ring tradition. A championship ring is the ultimate prize, after all. But of course, FIFA managed to take something wholesome and unique about North American sports, and turn it into a shameless, tacky cash grab.

Selling most of the “championship rings” to the public is downright offensive. A championship ring is something you earn, not something you can just buy in the gift shop.

And with that I am off. I will be back here on Monday to help pick the bones out of the final weekend of the 2026 World Cup. In the meantime, I will pass you on to Daniel Gallan.

Andrew Beasley brings this analysis of whether Spain can lift the trophy (and get those precious new Fifa championship rings) on Sunday against Argentina.

It looks like there is a betting scandal brewing in Turkey. AP reports Turkish authorities have detained 17 soccer club officials as part of an investigation into alleged illegal betting and match-fixing. Those detained included four executives from top-tier Istanbul clubs, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş.

This design seems more advisable than the guy who had England as 2026 winners tattooed. At least Lionel Messi has already won it once.

Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sánchez has confirmed he will be attending the final on Sunday, setting up a potentially awkward meeting with US president Donald Trump, who has been highly critical of Spain in recent weeks, including threatening at one point to cut off all trade.

The Spanish royal family, including King Felipe, Queen Letizia and their daughters, Princess Leonor and Infanta Sofia, have also confirmed they will attend the final.

In non-World Cup news – not least of which because Thomas Tuchel didn’t take him – West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen has said he intends to remain with the team after the club’s relegation to the Championship.

An absolute humdinger of trivia from Mr Cornwall here …

My most interesting fact – OK, my only interesting fact, and maybe of interest only to me – about the third-place playoff is that for every World Cup from 1982 to 2002, the winners came from Europe but then failed to qualify for the next European Championship:

• 1982 Poland – third in Euro 84 qualifying group (six points behind sole qualifier)

• 1986 Belgium – third in Euro 88 qualifying group (two points behind sole qualifier)

• 1990 Italy – second in Euro 92 qualifying group (three points behind sole qualifier)

• 1994 Sweden – third in Euro 96 qualifying group (six points behind second qualifier)

• 1998 Croatia – third in Euro 2000 qualifying group (one point behind a playoff spot)

• 2002 Turkey – second in Euro 2004 qualifying group, lost in playoff to Latvia (one point behind qualifier)

Germany broke the sequence by qualifying for Euro 2008 (and reaching the final).

Rather more serious than my analysis of UK broadcasters is Ed Aarons’s examination of why England always seem to England it at tournaments.

Good afternoon / morning / evening. I shall start by immediately plugging my own piece comparing aspects of ITV and BBC coverage of the World Cup, which you can all no doubt tell me I am wrong about in the comments.

Martin Belam is here to inject some energy into this live blog.

Will you watch the third-place match? I may look at the lineups and make a decision after that.

Wildfires in Canada are causing problems with smoke smoke polluting New York and surrounding areas, with the final set to take place in New Jersey on Sunday. It is anticipated air quality will improve in the coming days but it may be a worry for the players in the meantime.

We have some live sport elsewhere …

Cycling.

Golf

The pitch where Spain forward Lamine Yamal honed his skills ⁠in a working-class, multi-ethnic neighbourhood outside Barcelona was buzzing with life on Thursday as locals looked ahead ⁠with pride to ⁠the World ​Cup final against Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

“Now that the moment has come when the two of them are ⁠going to play against each other, it’s incredible,” said Keba, an 18-year-old Senegalese resident, referring to Barcelona forward Lamine ⁠Yamal’s well-known admiration for Messi.

Messi, 39, enjoyed the peak years of his ​career at Barcelona having come through ‌the club’s youth ‌academy and a viral photograph showing the Argentine with a baby Lamine ‌Yamal, now 19, has captured imaginations ahead of Sunday’s final in New Jersey.

As children from migrant families played on a pitch behind a mural featuring Lamine Yamal’s face in the Rocafonda neighbourhood, in the coastal city of Mataro, his grandmother, Fatima Nasraoui, and his 15-year-old ‌cousin Rayan watched from a nearby bench.

“I want Spain to win,” she said, adding that she would shout loudly ​if he scores. “To me, Lamine means many good things, but above all he’s like a brother because we grew up together,” his cousin said.

Lamine Yamal, who was born in Spain to a Moroccan father and mother from ⁠Equatorial Guinea, has never forgotten his roots. Throughout his career, ​he has honoured ​Rocafonda with his trademark “304” hand ​gesture after scoring goals - a reference to the neighbourhood’s ​postal code.

During the ‌World Cup, he ​has worn ​a headband with “Rocafonda” on it, donned the flags of his parents’ countries of origin on his boots, and said football was an example of racial and social integration. Reuters

Arsenal Women’s signing Isabella Damm has already met her new colleague Win, the therapy dog.

Phil Grey emails: “There seem to be different ways of thinking about the third place game. In Sweden they think of it like in the Olympics and call it the bronze match with an opportunity to win a medal. In 1994 they were highly motivated to win while Stoichkov and his Bulgarian teammates looked like they’d rather be anywhere other than playing the losers final. Unsurprisingly Sweden won 4-0. If we’d always called it the Bronze Medal Match there would be a different vibe around the whole thing.”

French defender Maxime Esteve has left Burnley and joined RB Leipzig for a reported fee of more than £21million.

The 24-year-old centre-back has signed a contract at the Bundesliga club until 2031 after making 100 appearances for the Clarets since February 2024.

Esteve, who began his career at Montpellier, told his new club’s website: “I learnt a great deal in France and England, and I now want to bring that experience and those qualities to RB Leipzig.

“The club stands for high-intensity, fearless football, continuous progress and big ambitions. That suits me perfectly.” PA Media

All of Burnley’s decent players are leaving …

Will he stay or will he go now?

Krishnamoorthy writes: “Your comment ‘if goals in the final should count more than that in the 3rd place match’ reminds me of this joke.

“Caesar : I killed 2000 gauls

“Very Ambitius: Ave Caesar , it was only 1000

“Caesar: I thought away gauls count twice.”

It’s the way you tell them.

Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are tied on goals in the race for the Golden Boot, although the latter tops of the charts thanks to having one more assist.

Should goals in the final count for more than any in the third-place match?

How wonderful it has been to witness Rodri absolutely thriving at this World Cup. There was a worry when he returned from his ACL injury that he would never be the same again. It has taken him a while to trust his body once more and be able to play to his maximum consistently.

I am mildly suspicious that he has played his final game for Manchester City but we shall see about that in the coming weeks.

When I became a teenager, foosball made way for girlfriends, wine, cigarettes and a job in a casino. Then I met a British woman and we got married. In 1986, with the war ongoing, we left Lebanon to set up home in Manchester. We had a son, a daughter and a foosball table in the kitchen. It remained a hobby until 2004 when I was managing the city’s Hard Rock Casino and bought a table for customers, with a sign: “Beat the manager”. Our weekly challenge had 30 competitors, but I always won.

That nice man Nick Ames answered a load of your questions yesterday. The poor chap really does love Harry Kane but he also loves offal. I do not know which he prefers.

“Football survived Sepp Blatter,” Mel Brennan writes, optimistically, in the book. “It survived Jack Warner. It survived Chuck Blazer. And it will survive Gianni Infantino.”

After a week of smelling wildfire smoke, I am finally breathing in some clean air. It is not too windy or too hot, so I am blogging from the garden. This is the dream we’ve all tried to live.

Mittu gets in touch to say: “All this talk and build up to the final and on a (much) lesser scale, the 3/4th playoff is well and good — but I can’t stop and think of what life will be without staying up midnights and waking up early mornings in a couple of days’ time. My biological clock had just adjusted. Maybe good way for me to get interested in the South American leagues and the MLS.”

It’s always an option …

Now for something completely different … a match report from 1966.

I do hope the Guardian are pushing my work from Turf Moor in 60 years time. I reckon a sub-editor nowadays would insist on breaking up this intro. But who am I to argue with Cyril Chapman?

A new Argentina, discarding traditional defensive methods, and attacking from the first moment of a stimulating game at Villa Park last night, stirred visions of a first-class encounter with West Germany on the same ground on Saturday as they beat Spain through two goals scored by Artime, their irrepressible centre forward.

I am having a look through the European results last night. Looks like it was a cracking ending in Malta where Faroese side NSÍ Runavík knocked out Hamrun Spartans thanks to a 94th-minute penalty. It was so controversial that the police needed to step in while the referee produced a red card.

Trent Alexander-Arnold said it is “a pleasure” to work with reappointed Real Madrid ⁠manager Jose Mourinho, adding that he has long admired the Portuguese coach and believes he can ⁠help the club ⁠win trophies.

Mourinho ​returned to Real Madrid in June for a second spell after a disappointing campaign last ⁠season in which they missed out on the LaLiga title and were eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals.

“I ⁠have always admired the coach (Mourinho). I’ve played against him a couple ​of times, and it’s ‌a pleasure to work ‌with him and his team,” Alexander-Arnold said.

“It’s ‌intense. The principles and the level of demand are very high, so I’m looking forward to seeing how, the more we get to know each other, the more we learn and the more he can teach us. And we’re all willing ‌and eager to learn and improve. I’m sure he’ll teach us many things and help us win trophies this ​year.“

Alexander-Arnold, who joined Real Madrid from Liverpool last year, endured an injury-hit first season in Spain and did not always command a regular place in the starting line-up, rotating in and out ⁠of the side.

However, the departure of defender Dani Carvajal in ​May has ​opened an opportunity for Alexander-Arnold ​to establish himself as Madrid’s first-choice right-back.

“I’ve been ​out of action ‌for a long ​time, so ​it’s good to finally be back and to lay a solid foundation for a successful season,” the 27-year-old Englishman added. Reuters

James Moriarty writes: “The thing that is really bothering me, in this endless Brave England’s failure autopsy, is this - Tuchel was, until the semi-final, universally praised for making game changing substitutions. Which is all well and good, but it happened seemingly in every game, which surely points to a bigger issue: namely that NONE of his starting line-ups worked, and games were only won by substitutes changing the course of the match. England were staggeringly lucky to get as far as they did, and were the worst of the semi-finalists by a country mile, so perhaps we should all be grateful that Tommy T has spared the embarrassment of getting humbled by Spain in the final.
Anyway, I’m very much looking forward to France Reserves vs Jordan Henderson XI tomorrow.”

I would argue in the world of five substitutions that there is always a plan to throw the ‘finishers’ on. I think the subs against Norway were rather odd, to be honest, too.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will attend the World Cup final to see his country take on reigning champions Argentina, his government said Friday.

Sanchez, a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump – who also plans to attend Sunday’s final in New Jersey – will then travel to Algeria for an official visit. AFP

Club football is back on the agenda but Pitbull will not stop.

Krishnamoorthy asks: “Who does it better, Carlo Ancelotti or Leo Scaloni? Their (lack of) reaction when a winner is scored in the 96th minute is unreal.”

I am an Ancelotti Ultra.

What approach should Tuchel take to the third place game? Try and win it or give everyone some minutes. I think it is fair to give a half each to the goalkeepers, let Watkins and Toney play. Mainoo also deserves time on the pitch.

Donald Trump will attend Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday.

“We look forward ⁠to the final match on Sunday, ​and I know ‌the president ‌looks forward to attending,” Leavitt said. “This is a fitting conclusion to a tournament that showcased America’s ability to host the world on the grandest stage.”

Keir Starmer supports the idea of Fifa investigating Argentina players who displayed a banner touting their country’s claim to the Falklands Islands after their World Cup semi-final win against England, Downing Street has said.

As is true for most of La Albiceleste, pulling on the white-and-blue turns Romero into one of 11 bleeding hearts who leave no yard uncovered and no stud unshown for the good of the cause. Partnered with Lisandro Martínez, he is the relative hardman, often the final obstacle between an attacker and Emiliano Martínez. Save for Lionel Messi and the Aston Villa goalkeeper, Romero has arguably been Argentina’s most consistent player en route to their third World Cup final in four tournaments.

Over in America, Fox’s World Cup coverage goes under the microscope as it enjoys a final hurrah.

Goodbye to Geoff Shreeves, Fox’s middle-aged Oliver Twist chirruping on the sideline for the approval of his American masters. Goodbye to Tom Rinaldi, to his pocket squares and his “lyrical” meditations on balls and planets and stars or whatever. Goodbye to Chef Nick, now forced to rein in the extravagance of his early contributions (kangaroo corndogs, fufu chicken tikka masala) in the face of the tournament’s gastronomically subdued final four. And goodbye to Jameis Winston, the Fox fan correspondent, whose distressingly antic and sweaty stadium dispatches gave him the unvarying appearance of a man being electrocuted in the middle of a baptism.

We shall begin with the latest coming out of the England camp.

Thomas Tuchel is sticking about. Maybe he will download Football Manager and avoid the temptation of going Ultra Defensive.

Unsurprisingly, the players were a bit bemused by the tactics that saw them crash out.

Barney Ronay points out the bigger problems facing England than nonsensical subs.

Why everything went wrong … in numbers.