England begin their World Cup knockout campaign this evening with a round-of-32 tie against DR Congo in Atlanta.
The Congolese are 41st in Fifa’s world rankings, 37 places below Thomas Tuchel’s men.
They reached the knockouts by finishing third in their group, below Portugal and Colombia, and progressed as one of the eight best third-placed sides.
England’s opponents have a number of players who have featured in the Premier League, including Newcastle striker Yoane Wissa, Sunderland midfielder Noah Sidiki and West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The German’s selections demonstrate prejudice, favouritism and impulse that beset all coaches (Photo: Getty)
Thomas Tuchel is perched upon a set of scales, the balance edging up or down depending on the competence of his England team.
Right now he appears no more secure in the minds of the supporters than his predecessor Gareth Southgate. The mess surrounding some of his selections, particularly at full-back, suggest he may have slipped below the levels of supporter confidence enjoyed by Southgate, which is a worry since he was appointed as the anti-Gareth.
The authority he brought to the piece, the notion of Tuchel as an elite technician, the authoritative coach shaped by superior continental ideas, survives by the narrowest of margins and could be erased completely should the Democratic Republic of Congo exhibit the same athleticism and vigour in the round of 32 as their African neighbours Ghana did in the group stage.
The African resurgence may have been facilitated to an extent by the bloated 48-team format. Nevertheless, nine teams progressing to the last 32 suggests the continent’s structural and organisational impediments are no longer holding back its talent. And most feel this tie is anything but straightforward.
ATLANTA – You can’t even blame Fifa for this one. The prices of food and drink at World Cup stadiums, particularly when it comes to beer, are outrageous. There is no uniform pricing standard. Stadiums are allowed to charge as they please.
This is nothing new. Anyone who has paid £7 for a pint of tepid Carling in an English football ground knows that. There is no competition and supporters are a captive audience in a confined area without outside regulation. So prices go high and stay there.
To some extent, I don’t blame the owners of these stadiums. Concessions are their way to generate revenue. The ticket money isn’t theirs and hosting matches is expensive. But it squeezes supporters who have been the repeated butt of every joke at this World Cup.
But one stadium, in one city, is fighting back against the tide of greed and price-hiking. Not only that, it always has. When England supporters walk into the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Wednesday late morning, they will see concession prices that may appear like a hallucination.
In 2017, when the Mercedes-Benz Arena opened, its owners decided to keep prices of food and drink for supporters as low as possible. A year later, those prices were reduced further. In 2019, further still.
The strategy is one of “fan-first”, a determination to treat people with respect and pay supporters back for their loyalty and purchase of match and season tickets. It applies to any host team within the Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
There is another policy that plays well with fans. When a restaurant chain wants to run a concession stand within the stadium, they are restricted by an agreement that they will only be allowed to charge the same prices as in their regular branches. No upselling or manu hiking is allowed.
“If someone takes good care of you at a restaurant or a hotel, then that human experience then extrapolates to your feeling of the rest of their customer experience, or the quality of the venue, or how their operations are run,” Tim Zulawski tells The i Paper.
Zulawski is the President of AMBSE – the parent organisation that manages The Blank Family of Businesses’ sports and venue portfolio. It includes the stadium as well as the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United
“There will be extrapolations that people will draw upon themselves because ultimately they were listened and responded to. They weren’t treated as a captive audience. They were treated fairly. They were ultimately valued, and that just gives them a really positive feeling.”
And here’s the thing. AMBSE realised that average spending per fan actually increased after price reductions. A two-way street of loyalty was created. You can see how it happens. If prices are low, you are more likely to buy than not. If you believe that your sports team is not treating you like a customer, you are more likely to be generous with your custom.
Prices were kept low during the Fifa Club World Cup in 2025; the same principles apply (Photo: Reuters)
The World Cup window
The World Cup evidently afforded AMBSE an opportunity to be different. With 16 stadiums across three countries all responsible for their own pricing and with the captive audience principle even stronger, it would have been forgivable for Atlanta to step into line with the rest.
But there was a precedent. In 2019, Mercedes-Benz Stadium hosted the Super Bowl. Before the game, there were viral stories about the $2 (£1.51) hotdog. The decision had been made not to charge even an extra dime from regular matches. Doing so would dilute the fan-first principle. Those in charge didn’t want that.
The same happened ahead of this summer’s World Cup. AMBSE knew that other stadiums in other cities would be doing their thing. In Atlanta, they thought differently again. Hosting the biggest tournament in the world makes it more important to demonstrate what you believe in, not less.
“It is a non-negotiable for any event that we would host at Mercedes Benz Stadium, including FIFA World Cups,” says Zulawski. “We aspire to host the 2031 Women’s FIFA World Cup and the rules will still apply. That’s as strong as we can be on anything: the food and beverage programme pricing, and how we deliver for the fans coming through our doors, epitomises the term non-negotiable for us.”
Some relief for England fans
This is all excellent news for England supporters on Wednesday. A lunchtime kick-off may make the beers flow a little less quickly than normal, but the price of stadium food is also far cheaper than they have experienced before in the US.
England fans in New Jersey before the Panama game (Photo: Getty)
A beer will cost $5 (£3.77), A hotdog is available for $2 (£1.51). A soft drink is the same price and all of the soda machines are fan-facing, which means that your £1.51 also gets you free refills. We have become so used to being fleeced that it feels like there must be a catch.
After an expensive fortnight, that is being gratefully appreciated. I spoke to multiple supporters this week who were not aware of Atlanta’s uniqueness and were greatly cheered by the prospect. It is a small gesture, a modicum of decency in a World Cup defined by its gouging of football supporters. But small gestures matter.
“There have been plenty of pricing surprises at this World Cup,” says Dan, who is part of England’s most loyal band of supporters. “All of them have been adverse surprises: $98 (£68) train fare from Penn to Meadowlands is a good example.
“So it’ll be genuinely refreshing to experience a venue which appears to be putting the supporters first. I’m really looking forward to Atlanta, and a venue where the prices are entirely reasonable.”
In a sport, and at a tournament, where the headlines on prices have been universally negative, this deserves calling out in a positive way. The hope, those in power here say, is that other stadiums and sporting organisations will follow their lead. This shouldn’t be the exception.
“Our vision for Mercedes-Benz Stadium is to be a catalyst to make Atlanta and Georgia better tomorrow than it is today,” Zulawski says.
“We want bring the best events from around the world here, and we’re doing that right now. You listen and respond to those you serve, and we serve associates, we serve promoters, we serve teams, we serve leagues, and most importantly, we serve the fans.”
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Marcus Rashford has been open to it all along, but very few actually believed the Manchester United outcast would ever wear the shirt of his boyhood club again. Until now.
The i Paper has been told that Ineos are now focusing on bringing in at least two more midfielders this summer, which means they may not bring in another left-winger as originally planned.
Manuel Ugarte’s serious injury, suffered at the World Cup, has left Kobbie Mainoo and the incoming Ederson as the only two senior midfielders in the squad. Ugarte had been considered one of the players up for sale as part of a fundraising effort to strengthen other areas of the team.
To fill that gap, Rashford could be brought back into the camp. He is a forward reborn in Barcelona after his successful loan spell, with his impressive form continuing at the World Cup.
What next for Rashford?
Rashford is expected to return for pre-season training at Carrington after the World Cup, with sources close to the 28-year-old insisting he is open to starting again at United, where he has not fulfilled all his ambitions. Despite interest from Tottenham, Rashford does not want to play for another Premier League club.
United’s stance is where the issues present themselves. The club are aware Rashford will be returning later this month, but Ineos have made it very clear that they do not want to pay his £325,000-a-week wages.
Rashford has impressed at the World Cup (Photo: AP)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe has identified the wage bill as a priority to trim. Two of the club’s other top earners, Jadon Sancho and Casemiro, have both gone last month.
Ideally, United would have sold Rashford and used the funds to invest in the squad – but their well-known reluctance to pay his wages doesn’t put them in a position of strength in the market, according to insiders.
With two years left on his deal, clubs are put off spending on a 28-year-old on such an expensive contract. It is understood that negotiating a lower wage structure will be difficult. Such deals don’t tend to happen too often.
United’s desperation to move him on will encourage big European sides to enquire about a loan. Barcelona and Bayern Munich are poised. Andre Onana has already been sent back out on loan to save on the wage bill.
Why are United having such a quiet window?
Another player whose wage demands put United off was Mateus Fernandes. Tottenham have agreed an £85m fee for the Portuguese midfielder – a bid United were simply not willing to match.
It is understood that Fernandes, in a deal brokered by super-agent Jorge Mendes, will earn around £250,000-a-week – 50,000 more than the next top earner at Spurs. United were not willing to offer anything like the same salary.
While there are still two months left of the summer transfer window, there is no panic around Old Trafford. Their transfer targets are dwindling in number by the week.
Adam Scott from Bournemouth is a top target, but he also could command a fee United are not looking to spend on one young player. Bournemouth are understood to be keen to tie him down to a new contract, one that is set to include a release clause.
Sandro Tonali is another top midfield option, but Manchester City are expected to make a big play for the Italian in the coming weeks. He is someone they see as the perfect partner for Elliot Anderson in the heart of their midfield.
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While some American politicians talk up their love for football in the spotlight of the World Cup, San Francisco’s Mayor is the real deal.
Daniel Lurie gets up early at weekends to watch live Premier League games and has now attended five World Cups, even lifting the trophy with former Brazil midfielder Gilberto Silva during a promotional tour this year.
Since this year’s tournament started, Lurie has been on a whistle-stop tour of San Francisco’s packed fan zones and bars during live matches, sleeves rolled up and mingling with boozy fans in pubs festooned with flags.
“I’ve been a huge soccer fan my whole life,” Lurie told the Reuters news agency.
“A lot of people are excited about the World Cup. I kind of live and die soccer,” he said, stopping the conversation briefly to get an update on Tuesday’s Brazil v Japan game, eventually won 2-1 by Brazil.
“So, for me, this isn’t just for this month. I get into soccer all year round.”
San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie officiates a same-sex wedding at City Hall last week. (Picture: Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
More than just a fan
There are six games in the San Francisco Bay Area in this World Cup, most notably on Thursday morning (BST), when the United States play a round-of-32 match against Bosnia and Herzogovnia.
Lurie’s football links go beyond fandom. He is also an investor in 49ers Enterprises, the commercial arm of the San Francisco 49ers NFL team, which became majority owners of Scottish giants Rangers last year after taking over Leeds United in 2023.
“We are now staying up again,” he said of Leeds. “We’ve got a long way to go to get to that top six, to get into European competition, but I believe we can.”
Democratic moderate Lurie was elected San Francisco mayor in 2024, and before that was a philanthropist and an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune.
Lurie spent $US10.5 million (£7.9 million) of his own wealth on his campaign, according to disclosures, with the next biggest contributor his mother, Mimi Haas, a major Levi shareholder, who in 2021 had a net worth of $1.4 billion (£1 billion), according to Forbes.
The USA is taking on Australia in the second game of their World Cup campaign, and we’re bouncing around the city to catch the game. From The East Cut to China Basin Park Social, these spaces are bringing people together to celebrate the world’s game. Get out there, cheer on Team… pic.twitter.com/17nzxFe62x
Lurie has become a social media sensation in San Francisco, cultivating a man-of-the-people image with videos of him at farmers markets, officiating same-sex marriages, munching on Mexican food and handing out ice creams from a van.
His Instagram account has gone into overdrive during the World Cup, with posts of him sitting on the floor at watch parties and bouncing from pub to pub to see Lionel Messi’s double for Argentina against Austria, the US beating Australia, France v Senegal, and Ghana against Panama.
“We’re hitting every spot around the city,” he said. “It’s been electric. Our neighbourhoods have been teeming with fans from around the world.”
Lurie last year persuaded US President Donald Trump to call off his planned federal surge of National Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to San Francisco, telling him his city was “on the rise” and ICE agents and troops would derail its recovery.
And Lurie hopes the World Cup can provide a lasting legacy.
“We need things to unify us,” he said. “The World Cup here in North America and here in the San Francisco Bay Area is doing just that, bringing people together, uniting people. We need more of that.”
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KANSAS CITY — Declan Rice is seen as a bit of a joker. When you spend any time with him, he is open, jovial and can’t finish any sentence, no matter the subject, without a broad smile on his face.
There is a reason why many who know him refer to Rice as the “vibe controller” and, with Thomas Tuchlel’s preferred buzzword being “brotherhood”, such a facet is pivotal to England’s World Cup cause.
Rice’s ultra force of personality and impact on his teammates makes him almost impossible to leave out now he is back fit to face DR Congo. But there’s one burgeoning relationship that adds another layer to Rice’s acumen. One he is helping foster into something truly special.
“We had a great chat the other day,” Rice said of turning confidant for Manchester City-bound Elliot Anderson. “We sat outside on the beanbags. I just said to him that he can’t control the price that he’s going for.
‘One of the best’
“I couldn’t control what I went for, he can’t control what he’s going for. Why he’s going for that price is because he’s been one of the best players in Europe this season. I was trying to give him a bit of perspective that the price tag is just noise.”
Anderson’s £116m move to Manchester City is not confirmed yet, but it is as good as done. That means Tuchel could have three £100m midfielders available to him in one line-up given Rice and Bellingham’s own fees.
Dropping Rice would be madness (Photo: Getty)
Bellingham excelled in a deeper role against Panama, in Rice’s absence through injury – a knock that was more of a dead leg than an actual calf problem.
While Tuchel may be tempted to go with something similar, deploying either Morgan Rogers or Eberechi Eze in a No 10 role ahead of Bellingham, Rice’s explanation of that telepathy developing between him and Anderson alone should be enough to force a rethink.
“He’s one of the best I’ve played with,” Rice continues. “If he doesn’t get the ball, he has a little dig at you because he wants it. I think our first nine to 10 months together have been amazing as a new partnership.
“Sometimes it’s hard because when you play against low blocks. I feel like as the games keep going on and teams become more expansive against us, you’ll keep seeing the best of me, El [Anderson], Jude, and the rest of the team. Those are the types of games we want because that’s what we’re used to at our clubs — being active, having really good rhythm on the pitch, and finding each other in good spaces. What we are good at.”
England’s generational force
While DR Congo will set up to contain rather than dictate in Atlanta, they will not set up as negatively as Carlos Queiroz did when Ghana needed only a point from last week’s group-stage clash.
While supporters were quick to lament England’s tepid display in Boston, with their anodyne approach continuing in the first half in New Jersey against Panama, breaking through stymied backlines has stumped some of the greatest footballing minds.
The lack of jeopardy in the group stage helped teams take such an approach, once they had a win under their belts. Unless you want to rely on penalties, knockout football naturally encourages more endeavour, even in small doses.
A midfield three of Rice, Anderson and Bellingham is a potentially generational force. Tuchel’s experiment of moving Bellingham forward to play off Harry Kane as a natural No 10 has not worked. A flatter 4-3-3 may just be that modus operandi.
Bellingham should play deeper, that much is clear. Yet with the level of understanding Anderson and Rice are developing, and the ostensible respect between the pair, his inclusion should not be at the expense of the Premier League winner.
England were occasionally vulnerable with only Anderson to protect the backline out of possession. That cannot be allowed to happen again. Rice solves that problem and can simultaneously do so without stifling England’s most potent weapon from deep.
And, in a team picked as much on the vibes as talent, there is nobody better at keeping England gunning for glory in their heads as well as their feet.
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ATLANTA — The Americans weren’t ever going to let the opportunity pass. Football is steeped in tradition, everywhere but here. Carte blanche.
Soccer is gaining in popularity by the second in the United States. And with pride in one’s home inescapable in the land of the free, the opportunity to educate the world in the American way was always going to be impossible to resist.
Whether the Americanisation of the World Cup is intentional or not, it is inescapable.
American national anthem, no matter who is playing
The US national team sing ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ ahead of kick-off (Photo: Getty)
It does not quite leave as sour a taste as the Saudi Arabia national anthem being played out at Wembley during the boxing, but when we are asked to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” an hour before kick-off, often to a near-empty stadium, we are simply left asking “why”?
What place does the US anthem have ahead of an encounter between two teams from the other side of the world?
The audacity of the stadium announcers to instruct people to stand for it only adds to the impudence of it all. God bless America.
Those blasted hydration breaks
Even the Canadians booed. Hydration breaks are perhaps understandable in 35-degree heat, but in air-conditioned stadiums with the roof closed?
What they cram into those three minutes tells you all you need to know about the real motives. Like a sped-up Super Bowl half-time show, twice per game.
The flow of the match is the real loser in all of this. Any team that is on top immediately has the momentum sapped out of them when forced to stop for three minutes – which is kind of what any game plan contrives to conjure in the first place.
Make. Some. Noise and countdown to kick-off
We are one step away from kiss-cam stealing the show. Perhaps the Premier League could benefit from competitions to measure the noise generated by supporters of each team? Or would riots ensue? How partisan would the judges be?
Panning to the crowd in American sport and urging spectators to dance works – some good old family fun. When England fans were picked out in Boston, their time in the spotlight was short-lived, given their choice of gesture.
One Americanism that does make you wince are those countdowns to kick-off, like we are bringing in the New Year around Sydney Harbour. Rather than any fireworks being let off, the whole spectacle doesn’t work when upon the countdown climax, Declan Rice passes the ball all the way back to the goalkeeper.
Picking out stars of other sports mid-match
Imagine sitting in Old Trafford and Luke Littler appears on the big screen, looking rather uncomfortable as he waves for a period of time longer than he ever has had to before, while the crowd goes wilder than at any other point in the match.
Over here, the stadium screens regularly pick out NFL or NBA stars, which startles us foreign reporters, given we often have no idea who they are.
Can’t they be left to watch the greatest sporting spectacle on earth in peace?
Jingoistic stadium announcers
Will legendary announcer Michael Buffer make an appearance in the coming weeks? (Photo: Getty)
Stadium announcers here all sound exactly like Michael Buffer, without the hyperbole. Do they all go to the same language school and yodel until they can opine Let’s Get Ready to Rumble in that unmistakable chutzpah?
And you just know they have paid very little attention to the things that really matter, like getting players’ names right.
Let’s hope Noni Madueke was not listening to his starting berth being revealed for England’s opener, the proudest moment of his career, when the AT&T Stadium compere got into all kinds of trouble.
Fans sitting together a risky game?
I know Netherlands versus Japan is hardly Millwall against West Ham, but have Fifa become too American and completely forgotten about any form of segregation between supporters?
One set of supporters sit at one end and the others opposite.
Imagine if England and Russian supporters had been seated side by side in Marseille? And does it not just look better – this is your end and that ours? This is soccer, people.
Everything is massive
It is just so unnecessary. We know size matters in America more than anything, with football supporters not left out of their penchant for the gargantuan.
Big screens in stadiums are cinema size and tempt you into gazing lovingly at them rather than the pitch down below. Bars on concourses have mini-stadium seating next to them. Parking lots stretch further than the eye can see.
The inspiration behind the AT&T Stadium wasn’t the Maracana or the Nou Camp, but the Pyramids. The biggest structure Americans could think of, of course.
In Spain, it’s pipas and marijuana. In Germany it’s wheat beer. In the US, it’s popcorn.
The smell of World Cup stadiums over here evokes memories of family trips to Disney World, where any enclosed space reeked of popcorn.
The hot food prices over here are so eyewatering you can’t blame the locals for filling up on a cinema’s staple snack. Is there a smell more American than that?
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Hey, maybe losing in the most painful way imaginable was a blessing in disguise? Had Germany scraped through and been beaten by France in the last-16, the DFB may have been able to persuade themselves that the team was mere fractions away from being competitive.
Perhaps they might even have claimed that the scent of progress could be detected in the wind. After two group-stage eliminations at World Cups, at least we won a tie here. And we only lost to Spain in extra-time two years ago, guys. Probably that’s what Jonathan Tah was thinking as he hoofed his penalty back over the Atlantic Ocean.
Germany cannot escape their own reflection now. The only thing worse than not playing knockout matches at World Cups is playing them as heavy favourites and being humiliated. And they lost on penalties at a World Cup for the first time too, so the stereotyped jokes at the expense of others don’t even work anymore.
Jurgen Klopp has been everywhere during this tournament – he’s surely too obvious not to appoint? (Photo: AFP)
This is a national emergency for the DFB. Their team will go at least 16 years without ranking in the top 16 of any World Cup tournament. Once they were giants, then champions, then contenders and now has-beens and when-will-they-be-agains. The list of nations to win a knockout tie since them: Canada, Russia, Sweden, Morocco, Croatia.
When Germany hit their nadir at Euro 2000, it prompted a systemic overhaul of the production line of technical footballers and of the coaching pathways that allowed the talent to flourish. That is not needed now. The under-21 group is strong. This is not the end of Germany’s academy revolution.
In a way, that makes it worse. In 2000 there was a shopping list; blueprints had been created and timeframes agreed. Then there was things to do and smiling, eager faces to do them. What about when it’s just an uninspiring team doing uninspiring things?
This is now an environment where the shine of youth is dimmed before it can make the room itself brighter. Watch Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz during this tournament and try to disagree.
At the same time, Germany are between eras. Manuel Neuer is 40 and shouldn’t have been here at all; it was a dim mistake from Julian Nagelsmann. Antonio Rudiger is 33, Joshua Kimmich 31 and Leroy Sane 30. Those four outfielders could make the next European Championship at a push, but is the longer-term plan not the right one now?
Watching Germany on Monday evening – and I’ll happily concede that this brings me some degree of pleasure to write – reminded me of England against Iceland at Euro 2016. The older players look weary. The younger players look overawed. The rest just look wholly beaten up by the experience itself, as if ignominy has become fated. Germany are in their England 2006-2016 age here.
Nagelsmann will surely be sacked – how can he not be and the DFB still call this a culture of excellence? Still just 38, his career is at a crossroads but he is not the only one who may feel better away from this bin fire rather than being burned by it. There’s a guy at Barcelona who could probably offer some thoughts on that.
On the Road USA
Join Daniel Storey on his 7,200-mile odyssey across the US to tell the stories of a World Cup like no other.
The obvious answer is Jurgen Klopp, who has spent this tournament offering punditry that often strayed – understandably – into what he might do differently as Germany head coach. It makes sense. Again like England in 2016, German players have forgotten what enjoying playing for your country is like. The pressure is too much. The punishment for losing has more mental real estate than the reward for winning.
Klopp is also no guarantee. You cannot see off the long-term manager, the Bayern Munich and Barcelona supercoach and the nation’s next big thing and expect certainty. That is the true price of repeated failure: the shape of your reputation shifts and warps against you.
Germany are not what you remember, merely ghosts of glorious history. The muscle memory of winning is no more. Muller, Schweinsteiger, Lahm, Kroos, Neuer – the last one fell upon his sword in Foxborough and there are few male heirs to continue the bloodline. Es tut mir leid – you’re just not special anymore.
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