World Cup 2026 power rankings: England, Argentina and France make statements after round oneEvery team has now played their opening match of the 2026 World Cup – how do they rank?Will Castle19 June 2026 18:28USA call for noise ahead of facing Australia in Seattle “I fully expect this crowd to be extremely loud. And, they’re going to energise our group,” said USA midfielder Cristian Roldan, having played for the Seattle Sounders since 2015. “This is one of the loudest stadiums in the world when you think about Seahawks games or Sounders games.Just seeing the Belgium game against Egypt and how the atmosphere was there, I fully expect the city of Seattle to come out and show out, and I think the guys are going to feel that type of energy.”(Getty)Jamie Braidwood19 June 2026 18:14Socceroos’ breakthrough has come at the right time for fractious AustraliaWhen Nestory Irankunda made a beeline for the corner flag after putting Australia in front against Turkey last Saturday, everyone knew who he was paying tribute to. Twenty years on, Australia are still trying to replicate the magic of Tim Cahill guiding them towards the last-16 in Germany.The sight of Cahill bobbing and weaving around the flag after the Socceroos’ first World Cup goal against Japan in 2006 remains a defining image in their history, so Irankunda thought it right to pay tribute to his “biggest inspiration” after the moment of his nascent career to date.“I look up to him and I want to be like him one day,” the Watford winger said afterwards, instantly winning the hearts of many casual fans back home. But if they appear overly committed towards nods to the past, this was equally a breakout party for a team that are determined to far exceed low external expectations at World Cup 2026 – and simultaneously become central to a depressingly familiar political discourse.Alan Smith19 June 2026 18:00Australia boss insists improvement needed against USAIt was an excellent execution of the plan from Australia against Turkey, but manager Tony Popovic has warned his side that they will have to be better today.”We know it will be a different type of challenge,” he said. “Playing the host nation here as well is a wonderful challenge, but also a wonderful opportunity for us.”We know that we will need to be better than we were against Turkey to get the result we want. We want to earn our respect. We know that by our performances we can put Australian football on the world map and that’s what…
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2026-06-19 18:32:11
