Well, we’ve finally had our first stinker of this World Cup. Ghana and Panama did a whole lot of running about but neither side managed to do anything signifcantly entertaining … until about the last few minutes plus stoppage time, when Ghana snatched the win and all three points!
England and Colombia both picked up wins as well, beating Croatia and Uzbekistan, respectively, unlike Portugal, who had to settle for a 1-1 draw against DR Congo. It was the African nation’s first goal and first point ever
at the World Cup, causing the latest little shock at the tournament. So far, the expanded field has resulted in more shock results rather than an increase in blowouts, which is a surprising yet welcome development.
Let’s hope it continues!
CZECH REPUBLIC vs. SOUTH AFRICA
We begin the second set of group games with South Africa once again; this time they take on the Czech Republic, who almost snatched a point from South Korea in their first game. Bafana Bafana were chaotic, at best, last week against Mexico, finishing the game with just nine men on the pitch. Expect better from both sides in this one.
Date / Time: Thursday, June 18, 2026, 12pm EDT; 5pm BST
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Arena, Atlanta, GA, USA
Referee: Tori Penso (USA)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); BBC One (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); BBC iPlayer (UK)
Chelsea interest: None
SWITZERLAND vs. BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA
Group B featured two 1-1 draws last week, so all teams have everything to play for. But not all 1-1 draws are equal: Switzerland were disappointing in theirs against Qatar; Bosnia were quite lucky in theirs against Canada.
Date / Time: Thursday, June 18, 2026, 3pm EDT; 8pm BST
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Referee: João Pinheiro (Portugal)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); ITV 1 (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
Chelsea interest: Former Chelsea midfielder Denis Zakaria started and played the full-90. But it was former Chelsea prospect Miro Muheim who made the bigger impact: he came on as a defensive sub in the 89th minute as the Swiss tried to lock down the 1-0 win, but would end up scoring the own goal to equalize for Qatar five minutes later. Oopsies. Own goal, by the way, leading the tournament in scoring, joint-top with Lionel Messi on three goals.
CANADA vs. QATAR
Canada fell behind in the first half against Bosnia, and it took them nearly an hour to finally equalize through Cyle Larin. The hosts had plenty of chances before and after to win it, but could not make them count. Qatar survived similar pressure from Switzerland in their first game, so this could be yet another tight contest.
Date / Time: Thursday, June 18, 2026, 6pm EDT; 11pm BST
Venue: BC Place, Vancouver, BC, Canada
Referee: Cristián Garay (Chile)
On TV: FOX Sports 1, Telemundo (USA); ITV 1 (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); ITVx (UK)
Chelsea interest: None
MEXICO vs. SOUTH KOREA
Mexico kicked off the World Cup with a bang, but then managed to produce a rather unimpressive 2-0 win over South Africa by the final whistle. A win’s a win, of course, and style points don’t count. But they’ll probably have to step up their game a bit against South Korea, who were also a bit wasteful against the Czech. They did come back to win in the end, but they’ll have to figure out what to do with a shockingly out of form Son Heung-min.
Date / Time: Thursday, June 18, 2026, 9pm EDT; 2am BST (next day)
Venue: Estadio Akron, Guadalajara, Mexico
Referee: Gustavo Tejera (Uruguay)
On TV: FOX, Telemundo (USA); BBC One (UK); elsewhere
Streaming online: FOX One, Peacock (USA); BBC iPlayer (UK)
Chelsea interest: None
