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Sweden head coach Graham Potter has said his side’s greatest strength is “the team”, not star forwards Viktor Gyokeres and Alexander Isak.
Speaking before their opening game against Tunisia at Estadio Monterrey on Sunday night, Sweden captain Victor Lindelof said you have to go back to the days of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrik Larsson to find a more potent strike force for the national team.
Gyokeres scored 21 goals for Arsenal as they won the Premier League last season, while Isak became the British record signing when Liverpool signed him from Newcastle United last summer.
But former Chelsea and West Ham United coach Potter chose to focus on the collective when asked whether Gyokeres and Isak were Sweden’s greatest strength.
“The biggest strength of the team is the team,” he said. “Within the team, there are individuals that, if we can get to play to their highest level, can make the difference for us. But if we just put Viktor and Alex out there and there’s not a functioning team behind them, it’s not easy to win football matches.”
Potter was also asked whether he thought the mandatory cooling breaks introduced midway through halves at this summer’s tournament could be a downside.
“(First halves) used to be 45 minutes and that length of time is what it is — you can’t have any stops, you can’t have three minutes to change anything or collectively readjust,” he said.
💬 “If you are under the cosh, you have to deal with it at the time, whereas splitting a half into two gives you a possibility to change the dynamic of the game.”
We are up and running in the second of our four World Cup group games today with Brazil taking on Morocco in New York/New Jersey.
With 15 minutes on the clock, the score is still 0-0 — you can follow dedicated coverage of that match here.
ARLINGTON, Texas — Japan head coach Moriyasu said Saturday that it was ultimately his call to not move forward with captain Wataru Endo, who on Thursday announced his withdrawal from the World Cup and subsequent retirement from international football.
Liverpool midfielder Endo had struggled to return from an ankle injury first suffered during a Premier League game against Sunderland in February. He only returned to the bench for Liverpool’s final game of the season last month.
“I ultimately looked at whether he is able to perform or not, remain on the team or not,” Moriyasu said at Saturday’s press conference, via a translator. “As head coach, I was the one who made the final decision.”
Moriyasu also pointed to a friendly against Iceland two weeks ago, when Endo came off at halftime, unable to play at his level for a long stretch of time. The 33-year-old’s injury evidently did not sufficiently improve enough during the first two weeks of camp. The coach also apologized to Endo and the fans for the decision.
“I felt bad giving him such a message,” Moriyasu said, adding, “I would like to apologize sincerely to (his supporters and family).”
Endo was replaced by Borussia Monchengladbach striker Shuto Machino, with Ajax’s Ko Itakura taking over as captain.
It's a stacked evening in New York, and The Athletic's Mike Vorkunov has the NYPD's plan for the area around Madison Square Garden and Penn Station. Brazil vs Morocco is getting underway across the river at MetLife, and back in midtown two more events are about to layer on top: a 3,000-person ticketed watch party outside MSG for the Knicks — chasing their first NBA title since 1973, with Game 5 itself in San Antonio — and a 5 Seconds of Summer concert at the Garden (doors at 6pm, show at 8pm).
A security perimeter is already in place from West 29th to 35th, between Sixth and Eighth Avenues, with screening at every entry point and bags, bottles and umbrellas among the banned items. Watch-party entry runs until 8:30pm — none after that — and fans are placed in pens with no reentry if they leave. From 8:30pm, anyone routing through Penn Station is being directed to Moynihan or Grand Central. The advice, as ever: arrive early.
One more image from the World Cup parade in Mexico City. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger array of costumes, but this guy stood out in the crowd. Superb atmosphere here and notable that there are quite a few Colombian fans here now, ahead if the next game at the Azteca, Colombia vs Uzbekistan.
Following Julian Quiñones' man of the match performance against South Africa, much has been made of his decision to play for Mexico rather than Colombia, where he was born. His goal was celebrated in his birth country, but it has also led Colombia Football Federation president Ramon Jesurun to clarify why the 29-year-old winger is wearing green instead of yellow. This is what Jesurun told Colombian outlet Win Sports on Saturday:
💬 "Regarding Julian Quiñones, the coach himself personally called him, initially called him up, and he said yes — but then he called back and said no, that he preferred to play with the Mexican National Team. Let me be absolutely clear that he was always on coach (Nestor) Lorenzo's radar. His personal decision was that he preferred to play with the Mexican National Team. That has to be respected."
Jesurun also mentioned Arsenal defender Cristhian Mosquera's decision opt for Spain over Colombia. Mosquera's parents are Colombian.
"The same happened with the player (Cristhian) Mosquera and the Spanish national team," Jesurun said. "In the end he wasn't called up either. It was the same situation. We sent (assistant coach) Amaranto Perea to speak with Mosquera, and the player clearly said, "My dream is to play with the Spanish national team." Understandable, because he was born there, grew up there, developed there."
"But in both cases, the technical staff's support and outreach toward them has been very clear and decisive," he continued. "And the reason they are not here is solely and exclusively due to those players' own decisions, which I again say must be respected. And we're happy for him and for the goal he scored.
He scored a goal and then two or three people speak out of ignorance, or just because that's how they are, have said that Colombia didn't notice him. We saw him, we looked for him, we begged him to come. He said no. That decision has to be respected. That's what happened."
You might have done a double take watching FOX's World Cup coverage: Landon Donovan has hair. First published last October and worth revisiting now that he's a familiar face calling games for Fox, this one's about a decision the USMNT great made after two decades of hair loss and two failed transplants — to try a "hair system," and to be open about it rather than just show up transformed. What could read as pure vanity turned into something he didn't expect: a flood of messages from men thanking him for naming an insecurity so many carry in silence. Superficial on the surface, sure — but, as Donovan found, clearly not a small thing for a lot of guys.
GO FURTHER
Landon Donovan’s hair is making waves. Here’s the side effect former USMNT star wasn’t expecting
I'm at Swope Soccer Village in the suburbs of Kansas City. England are coming here for an open training session and community event in an hour or so, with involvement from a team from Kansas City school for the blind. It’s very hot here but locals are starting to filter in, and the mannequins and cones are being put out to prepare for the England session.
Two goals, one star turn. After Folarin Balogun became the first USMNT player to score twice in a World Cup match since 1930, his jersey is flying off the shelves — on backorder until July at Soccer.com, sold out on Nike, and "selling fast" at Dick's. Even his trading cards are surging: 18 have sold for $500-plus on eBay in the last 24 hours.
Brooks Peck on how the Brooklyn-born striker who picked the U.S. over England became its newest must-wear name.
GO FURTHER
Folarin Balogun’s USMNT jerseys in big demand after World Cup opener
I found my first car in Toronto with FOUR flags (two occupying a pair of windows).
The combination: Canada, Germany, South Korea and Belgium.
It's not uncommon to see people who live in Toronto cheer for multiple countries, given its multicultural nature.
Will be interesting if I find a car with more than four flags over the course of the tournament.
The cost of jumping on the bandwagon just spiked. After the USMNT's 4-1 statement win, get-in prices for their next game — against Australia in Seattle — shot above $1,800 on resale sites, nearly six times FIFA's Category 3 price, and up 63% in three days. Their final group game against Turkey jumped 66%, and even a potential round-of-32 ticket climbed within half an hour of the final whistle.
Henry Bushnell has the numbers.
GO FURTHER
USMNT ticket prices soar on resale sites after World Cup opener
Hello from Mexico City, where a full-blown World Cup parade is happening. It is, as you may well imagine, absolutely superb. More to come later but for now, here is a skull-laden hearse with loads of dead footballers' photos on it. YES.
The phrase on all of the floats is "La Pelota Vuelve a Casa". Translation? Football's coming back home.
Amid the USMNT's high-tempo 4-1 demolition of Paraguay, it was their quietest performer who slipped into the history books: Chris Richards completed all 84 of his passes — the most by anyone with a flawless record in a World Cup match since 1966.
The Crystal Palace defender overtook England's John Stones, the latest to raise a bar that's climbed at three straight tournaments. Conor O'Neill breaks down how he did it — and asks whether perfect passing is really something to brag about.
GO FURTHER
U.S. defender Chris Richards set a new World Cup passing record. We broke it down
I’m swinging through Arlington on my way to Dallas’ fan festival. The area around the stadium is very quiet, aside from a few Japanese and Dutch fans milling about. I imagine plenty are next door at Six Flags or Hurricane Harbor, having a fun Saturday before Netherlands and Japan (and the rain) tomorrow.
I just pulled into a local park, tucked away 15 minutes north of the stadium, to sort my festival tickets. There are about 20 people wearing Brazil and Morocco jerseys, setting up a picnic and cookout ahead of today’s game.
Lots of busses queuing up at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Midtown Manhattan and not appearing to be going anywhere fast as fans try to get out to MetLife Stadium (and it does say MetLife and Meadowlands on the busses, not New York New Jersey Stadium).
The block is a mix of yellow Brazil shirts and the red of Morocco, mixed with tourists and locals who haven’t got a clue what all the fuss is about. A normal day in NYC, then!
A brief moment of horrified shock for Rebecca Lowe on the FOX pregame show before Qatar-Switzerland when she thought Zlatan Ibrahimovic was earnestly predicting a Qatar win.
It was a misunderstanding — Zlatan was saying Qatar will need some madness to beat Switzerland. Then he pulled out a classic Zlatan-ism:
💬 “Qatar will need God, and I am here, so I cannot help them.”
Some interesting news that isn't related to the World Cup that will interest supporters across the globe: former Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim could be set for a return to management.
As per The Athletic’s James Horncastle, the 41-year-old is the leading candidate to take over at AC Milan.
Amorim hasn’t managed since he was sacked by United in January.
It sounds like he is ready for a fresh start and has overcome the baggage of his disastrous managerial spell in England.
Argentina have set up camp in Kansas City to begin the defense of their crown, and the reigning champions are predictably the hottest ticket in town — their first open training session drew hundreds of reporters to Sporting Kansas City's facility, with extra security laid on wherever Messi goes.
All eyes, as ever, are on the captain. Lionel Messi, who turns 39 later this month, has been managing a hamstring issue but is expected to be ready for Argentina's opener against Algeria on Monday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Seventeen of Lionel Scaloni's 26-man squad were part of the side that beat France in the 2022 final. Now they're chasing something no nation has done since Brazil in 1962: back-to-back World Cups.
Before I forget, yesterday’s highlight was a conversation with a taxi driver. George Harrison was playing on the radio and when I told him I found it a bit crazy that people on the other side of the world still listen to music produced decades ago by someone from the city I come from, he explained not only that he was a huge Beatles fan but he was also Iranian. He proceeded to find “Something” on his playlist and we both sat there, in these mad times, very happy indeed.
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