A first ever Last 32 round in the World Cup
Matches start Sunday 28th June and finish Saturday 4th July.
African teams getting 9 of the 10 into the next round, Cape Verde the shock but 3 draws enough.
Europe getting 13 of 16 through, Turkey unlucky despite beating hosts USA.
Scotland unlucky to have been drawn in a group with the 6th and 7th ranked teams in the world, so no embarrassment this time. Czechs only managing a draw in their group, a worrying serious looking injury to Soucek is a concern from a West Ham point of view.
Only one South American team going out Uruguay, with Bielsa probably into retirement after that.
So far Asian teams struggled with 7 of 9 out already, Australia who aren't asian plus Japan the only ones through. Unluckiest was Iran (which the hosts will be pleased about), despite all the aggro of having to be flown in and out of the US on the day of the match they ended up unbeaten.
Only a toe nail offside decision in their last game denying them a win, then the crazy injury time draw between Algeria and Austria where both teams were playing keep ball for the agreed draw for 20 minutes before Mahrez scored in the 4th minute of 5 added. Extra time added to allow Austria an equaliser keeping all happy.
Host nations all had pretty easy groups, only Canada had a top 20 rated team (19th ranked Switzerand) who they lost to. America had one hard game against underperforming Turkey which they lost.
Mexico looking good on home soil, if they beat Ecuador in the next round they could play England in Mexico city.
England who have looked impressive for 45 minutes of their 3 games doing enough, Bellingham stepping up to live up to his hype. Kane taking the chances in 2 of the 3 games.
Best players have been Anderson, Bellingham, Rice and Kane. Rashford OK but a bit predictable, Saka not fit and most others looking tired. Hopefully things wil improve.
Next up is Dr Congo, with the fullback duo of Wan-Bissaka and Arthur Masuaku.
Last 32 matches - Final score not including penalties for predictions.
Current Scores after 72 games
Me 53, Chris Sutton 58, BBC-AI 57
South Africa v Canada
Brazil v Japan
Germany v Paraguay
Netherlands v Morocco
Ivory Coast v Norway
France v Sweden
Mexico v Ecuador
England v DR Congo
Belgium v Senegal
United States v Bosnia Herzegovina
Spain v Austria
Portugal v Croatia
Switzerland v Algeria
Australia v Egypt
Argentina v Cape Verde
Colombia v Ghana
Sunday, 28 June 2026
Tuesday, 23 June 2026
World Cup 2026 (Part 3)
Final group games
Many teams already through, and a lot of teams already out.
Bosnia Herzogovina v Qatar
Switzerland v Canada
Morocco v Haiti
Scotland v Brazil
Czech Rep v Mexico
South Africa v South Korea
Curacao v Ivory Coast
Ecuador v Germany
Japan v Sweden
Tunisia v Netherlands
Paraguay v Australia
Turkey v USA
Norway v France
Senegal v Iraq
Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia
Uruguay v Spain
Egypt v Iran
New Zealand v Belgium
Croatia v Ghana
Panama v England
Colombia v Portugal
DR Congo v Uzbekistan
Algeria v Austria
Jordan v Argentina
Switzerland v Canada
Morocco v Haiti
Scotland v Brazil
Czech Rep v Mexico
South Africa v South Korea
Curacao v Ivory Coast
Ecuador v Germany
Japan v Sweden
Tunisia v Netherlands
Paraguay v Australia
Turkey v USA
Norway v France
Senegal v Iraq
Cape Verde v Saudi Arabia
Uruguay v Spain
Egypt v Iran
New Zealand v Belgium
Croatia v Ghana
Panama v England
Colombia v Portugal
DR Congo v Uzbekistan
Algeria v Austria
Jordan v Argentina
Wednesday, 17 June 2026
World Cup 2026 (Part 2)
The second set of fixtures start on Thursday (Thursday 18th June to Wednesday 24th June).
Good starts for Germany, Sweden, France, Argentina, USA and some others.
A few of the bigger names will need a result like Brazil and Spain.
Czech Rep v South Africa
Switzerland v Bosnia Herzogovina
Canada v Qatar
Mexico v South Korea
USA v Australia
Scotland v Morocco
Brazil v Haiti
Turkey v Paraguay
Netherlands v Sweden
Germany v Ivory Coast
Ecuador v Curacao
Tunisia v Japan
Spain v Saudi Arabia
Belgium v Iran
Uruguay v Cape Verde
New Zealand v Egypt
Argentina v Austria
France v Iraq
Norway v Senegal
Jordan v Algeria
Portugal v Uzbekistan
England v Ghana
Panama v Croatia
Colombia v DR Congo
Just me versus BBC-AI and Chris Sutton in the predictions, I got 3 points in the first game but rubbish in the next 19 ... long way to go ๐
Good starts for Germany, Sweden, France, Argentina, USA and some others.
A few of the bigger names will need a result like Brazil and Spain.
Czech Rep v South Africa
Switzerland v Bosnia Herzogovina
Canada v Qatar
Mexico v South Korea
USA v Australia
Scotland v Morocco
Brazil v Haiti
Turkey v Paraguay
Netherlands v Sweden
Germany v Ivory Coast
Ecuador v Curacao
Tunisia v Japan
Spain v Saudi Arabia
Belgium v Iran
Uruguay v Cape Verde
New Zealand v Egypt
Argentina v Austria
France v Iraq
Norway v Senegal
Jordan v Algeria
Portugal v Uzbekistan
England v Ghana
Panama v Croatia
Colombia v DR Congo
Just me versus BBC-AI and Chris Sutton in the predictions, I got 3 points in the first game but rubbish in the next 19 ... long way to go ๐
World Cup Week One
Not too bad so far (posted before England play) ๐ค
A lot of the games have been near full houses, but a few half empty.
The indoor stadiums do look good, especially Dallas.
Not heard of any major trouble so far from the US law who have been keeping in the background up till now once people and players have managed to get into the country, but it's early.
.
The big name players making an impact yesterday, Messi, Haaland, Mbappe and apart from Spain being held by Cape Verde no real shocks.
The Dutch, Japanese and Scottish fans have probably been a good advert for FIFA to gloss over the lack of fans of certain countries.
Not sure how many of these fans can stay on if their teams get through, as I guess a lot wanted to experience a World Cup for the first time and felt it was worth the expense to see at least one game, but with most teams having to travel to multiple states and countries meaning more flights and hotels it would rule out a lot?
This AI video did amuse me ๐
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
World Cup 2026 (Part 1)
Predictions Time ๐ ๐ ⚽ ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐จ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ธ
If anyone wants to join in, usual rules
3 points for correct score, 1 point for correct result.
90 (or 120) minute rule for knockout games, penalties count as a draw
Assuming it all goes ahead it will be 104 games, so I'll just keep a running score for the next 6 weeks.
Part 1 - First games for each country (Thursday 11th June - Thursday 18th June)
Mexico v South Africa
South Korea v Czech Rep
Canada v Bosnia Herzegovina
USA v Paraguay
Qatar v Switzerland
Brazil v Morocco
Haiti v Scotland
Australia v Turkey
Germany v Curacao
Netherlands v Japan
Ivory Coast v Ecuador
Sweden v Tunisia
Spain v Cape Verde
Belgium v Egypt
Saudi Arabia v Uruguay
Iran v New Zealand
France v Senegal
Iraq v Norway
Argentina v Algeria
Austria v Jordan
Portugal v DR Congo
England v Croatia
Ghana v Panama
Uzbekistan v Colombia
Monday, 8 June 2026
Footy News
Well that's the end of that little era.
David Sullivan stood down due to accusations of abuse, he was a porn baron so not really a total shock.
Although Panorama have a history of making stuff up so we shall see.
Lady Brady left in April and David Gold sadly died three years ago.
Not sure where this leaves West Ham? I guess Daniel Kretinsky might buy Sullivan out, or Gold's daughter Vanessa might have a say.
Hopefully we won't get taken over by some dodgy foreign asset stripper or hedge fund.
Southend have appointed Keiron Dyer as the new manager after the shock sacking of Kevin Maher, wish him well but hope the treatment room is up to scratch ๐
Enzo Maresca who is the likely to be the new Man City manager, has hit a stumbling block.
It seems he wasn't sacked by Chelsea he just left, meaning Chelsea want a compensation fee?
World Cup stuff - some of the Iran staff are not being allowed into the US where they play all their games, their team has to fly in and out of the US on the same day they play.
One of FIFA's own referees has been denied access, plus several other players from other countries also having Visa problems.
Maybe they should move it all to a more open country like North Korea ๐
Thursday, 4 June 2026
World Cup 2026
The latest World Cup, Starting soon on the 11th June.
World Cup 2026 - America Mexico Canada
Not sure why Mexico has it for the 3rd time and America the 2nd since England last had a go, I guess it's as Millwall are fond of saying "No one likes us" ๐
I was trying to remember anything about the 1994 tournament held in the USA, the least memorable World Cup in my lifetime.
Managed to come up with 3 things.
Diana Ross missing the goal in the overblown opening ceremony, Ray Houghton's goal for Ireland against Italy, and Maradona's manic staring at the camera before he got his drugs ban.
That's about it.
This one is not looking promising.
An overblown tournament with 48 teams meaning 104 games, with 44 of them kicking off after midnight in the UK.
Very few of the opening fixtures look that appealing.
I will probably watch the England games and maybe France, Scotland, Spain and a few others, but waiting up for Uzbekistan v Dr Congo sounds like a cure for insomnia.
Most games are made better by real fans, thinking of the colour explosions at games featuring the Netherlands, Brazil, Senegal and others.
Brazil have travel restrictions, Senegal fans are banned, and the chance of seeing the Orange army is pretty slim due to the costs involved.
Iran, Haiti, Senegal, Iraq and the Ivory Coast are not allowed any fans plus a host of others have limited travel options.
Trump's immigration restrictions mean that anyone going to the US has to go through intense screening at the airport even if you have managed to get a travel visa, with a risk of being detained for a long period.
If you get through the airport you're faced with huge price gouging on transport, hotels, food and many other things, with trains buses and car parks charging up to ten times the normal prices.
The match ticket prices are the highest of any World Cup in history.
The reported high demand for tickets appears to have mostly been driven by people looking to make quick money? with tickets then being offered on offical FIFA resale sites for huge profits (some Final tickets going for over £2 million each).
So it looks like only the rich can attend ๐
It's a shame that this World Cup is more than likely to be played in front of half empty stadiums with virtually no atmosphere?
I've seen enough of those videos of American fans trying to comprehend the atmosphere generated by European and South American fans, the chances of anyone having a good time look slim with heavily armed Police and ICE agents waiting to pounce on anyone showing a bit of passion.
Another thing after watching the Club World Cup last year is the weather, with chances of extreme temperatures in many of the games means teams possibly having to play in over 100ยบF heat. Every game is going to be interrupted by cooling breaks (even the roofed temperature controlled ones) giving American broadcasters chance to play more adverts. Plus many games were delayed for hours due to their being a thunderstorm 20 miles away, America the Brave???
Also hoping we don't have all that long winded player introductions, and Trump crashing the Trophy celebrations.
Reading reports of a Super Bowl style half time show, I can't imagine that will turned around in 15 minutes, meaning more unnecessary delays.
A lot of the big football nations won't be there, Italy (my 2nd favourite country), Nigeria, Denmark, Cameroon, Hungary, Georgia and others meaning we won't see some of the World's best players.
I think BBC and ITV are showing all the games which means having to put up with some pretty dull annoying presenters and pundits like Poogash, Rooney, Murphy, Cates, Neville and others. No Lineker this time as independent opinions are not allowed.
No doubt VAR will have a big impact again, when it was introduced in Russia 2018 it seemed like a good thing
But in the 8 years since it has gone from a useful tool to taking over the games, the excitement of a goal being scored is now being ruined by knowing everything is going to be scrutinised for reasons to disallow it.
Every VAR (referee) official seems to have their own interpretation of the rules, seemingly influenced by who is playing.
Obviously hoping England do well, but that seems dependent on Harry Kane staying fit as we seem lost without him.
Winners likely to come from France, Spain, Argentina, Netherlands, Brazil, Germany or just maybe England?
Although if by some miracle we do win, I suppose we'll look back on it being a great World Cup ๐
World Cup 2026 - America Mexico Canada
Not sure why Mexico has it for the 3rd time and America the 2nd since England last had a go, I guess it's as Millwall are fond of saying "No one likes us" ๐
I was trying to remember anything about the 1994 tournament held in the USA, the least memorable World Cup in my lifetime.
Managed to come up with 3 things.
Diana Ross missing the goal in the overblown opening ceremony, Ray Houghton's goal for Ireland against Italy, and Maradona's manic staring at the camera before he got his drugs ban.
That's about it.
This one is not looking promising.
An overblown tournament with 48 teams meaning 104 games, with 44 of them kicking off after midnight in the UK.
Very few of the opening fixtures look that appealing.
I will probably watch the England games and maybe France, Scotland, Spain and a few others, but waiting up for Uzbekistan v Dr Congo sounds like a cure for insomnia.
Most games are made better by real fans, thinking of the colour explosions at games featuring the Netherlands, Brazil, Senegal and others.
Brazil have travel restrictions, Senegal fans are banned, and the chance of seeing the Orange army is pretty slim due to the costs involved.
Iran, Haiti, Senegal, Iraq and the Ivory Coast are not allowed any fans plus a host of others have limited travel options.
Trump's immigration restrictions mean that anyone going to the US has to go through intense screening at the airport even if you have managed to get a travel visa, with a risk of being detained for a long period.
If you get through the airport you're faced with huge price gouging on transport, hotels, food and many other things, with trains buses and car parks charging up to ten times the normal prices.
The match ticket prices are the highest of any World Cup in history.
The reported high demand for tickets appears to have mostly been driven by people looking to make quick money? with tickets then being offered on offical FIFA resale sites for huge profits (some Final tickets going for over £2 million each).
So it looks like only the rich can attend ๐
It's a shame that this World Cup is more than likely to be played in front of half empty stadiums with virtually no atmosphere?
I've seen enough of those videos of American fans trying to comprehend the atmosphere generated by European and South American fans, the chances of anyone having a good time look slim with heavily armed Police and ICE agents waiting to pounce on anyone showing a bit of passion.
Another thing after watching the Club World Cup last year is the weather, with chances of extreme temperatures in many of the games means teams possibly having to play in over 100ยบF heat. Every game is going to be interrupted by cooling breaks (even the roofed temperature controlled ones) giving American broadcasters chance to play more adverts. Plus many games were delayed for hours due to their being a thunderstorm 20 miles away, America the Brave???
Also hoping we don't have all that long winded player introductions, and Trump crashing the Trophy celebrations.
Reading reports of a Super Bowl style half time show, I can't imagine that will turned around in 15 minutes, meaning more unnecessary delays.
A lot of the big football nations won't be there, Italy (my 2nd favourite country), Nigeria, Denmark, Cameroon, Hungary, Georgia and others meaning we won't see some of the World's best players.
I think BBC and ITV are showing all the games which means having to put up with some pretty dull annoying presenters and pundits like Poogash, Rooney, Murphy, Cates, Neville and others. No Lineker this time as independent opinions are not allowed.
No doubt VAR will have a big impact again, when it was introduced in Russia 2018 it seemed like a good thing
But in the 8 years since it has gone from a useful tool to taking over the games, the excitement of a goal being scored is now being ruined by knowing everything is going to be scrutinised for reasons to disallow it.
Every VAR (referee) official seems to have their own interpretation of the rules, seemingly influenced by who is playing.
Obviously hoping England do well, but that seems dependent on Harry Kane staying fit as we seem lost without him.
Winners likely to come from France, Spain, Argentina, Netherlands, Brazil, Germany or just maybe England?
Although if by some miracle we do win, I suppose we'll look back on it being a great World Cup ๐
Tuesday, 2 June 2026
England World Cup Squad
England World Cup Squad 2026
Goalkeepers: Pickford, Henderson, Trafford
Defenders: James, Livramento, Guehi, Konsa, Stones, Quansah, O'Reilly, Burn, Spence
Midfielders: Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Henderson, Rogers, Mainoo, Eze, Madueke
Forwards: Kane, Toney, Watkins, Saka, Rashford, Gordon
Reserves: Scott, Ngumoha, King, Nwaneri, Steele
Unlucky to miss out: Bowen, Arnold, Wharton, Gibbs-White, Calvert-Lewin
Thought Jarrod Bowen had done enough to make the squad, Adam Wharton surely better than Henderson.
Not a huge fan of Terence Trent Arnold but surely a better option than injury prone Livramento and James?
Gibbs-White and Calvert-Lewin in form so unlucky, Palmer and Foden not done too much lately so not a surprise.
Matches
6th June - Friendly vs New Zealand (Tampax Bay)
10th June - Friendly vs Costa Rica (Orlando)
17th June - World Cup vs Croatia (Dallas)
23rd June - World Cup vs Ghana (Boston)
27th June - World Cup vs Panama (New Jersey)
Predictions Final Table 2025/26
The full table for the Predictions competition 2025/26
Winner was Paul with 13 weekly wins
9 of those in the first 17 weeks, so it was catch up for the rest of us after that.
Paulo got 9 wins in the 2nd half of the season.
Paul won week 31 with just 4 points, the lowest ever
Weeks played - Lee and Paulo 38, Paul 37, Biopunk 16, Gibbo 6
The best points were by the (non counting) BBC-AI with 255 (3 points correct score, 1 point correct result).
Highest weekly score - 13 Paulo, one of the BBC Guests did get 14 and Paul's Model got 13
The Table
The Table if Sutton, BBC Guests, AI etc were all included
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