Listen to this article
Estimated 6 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
With the World Cup set to kick off in about two weeks, we covered the latest news about the Canadian team in yesterday’s newsletter. Today, let’s check in on a few of the other 47 countries in the tournament, along with something that’s angering fans everywhere.
Canada isn’t the only team with injury concerns.
The biggest story around the Canadian team right now is the status of star captain Alphonso Davies, who hasn’t played for Canada since tearing the ACL in his right knee in March 2025 and is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury he suffered earlier this month with his club team, Bayern Munich. Davies is absent from Canada’s training camp in Charlotte, N.C., this week, and coach Jesse Marsch said he doesn’t expect his best player to be ready in time for Canada’s first World Cup match on June 12 in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Marsch believes Davies will return at some point during the World Cup, but right now no one knows for sure.
This, of course, is a terrible break for Canada. But it’s not the only country holding its breath over an injured star.
The great Lionel Messi, who led Argentina to the World Cup title in 2022, is dealing with a hamstring injury of his own as he prepares for would will be his sixth appearance on soccer’s biggest stage. “The initial updates aren’t entirely bad,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said after Messi took himself out in the second half of Inter Miami’s match on Sunday night due to what the Major League Soccer team called “muscle fatigue” in his left hamstring. “Now, we must wait to see how he evolves.”
Messi still planned to report to Argentina’s training camp, but it’s unclear how much he’ll be able to participate, and Scaloni did not expect him to play in the team’s pre-World Cup friendlies on June 6 and June 9 in the United States. Argentina’s first World Cup match is on June 16 against Algeria.
Argentina’s injury issues also include goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who fractured his right ring finger during warmups for last week’s Europa League final with Aston Villa. But that didn’t stop him from playing in his club’s victory over Freiburg, and he’s expected to be fine to play in the World Cup.
In Brazil, Neymar sat out his last three club matches with a bruised right calf. Though the 34-year-old star forward downplayed the injury, he’s considered unlikely to play in Brazil’s two warmup games ahead of its World Cup opener on June 13 against Morocco. Neymar, the Brazilian men’s national team’s all-time leading scorer, hasn’t played for the five-time World Cup champions since tearing his ACL in 2023.
In Spain, 18-year-old Barcelona star Lamine Yamal is recovering from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since late April, though national-team coach Luis de la Fuente expects him to be ready for their opener on June 15 against Cape Verde. Yamal helped La Roja win the 2024 European Championship at the age of just 16. His goal in the semifinals against France made him the youngest scorer in the history of the tournament.
Iran will commute to its games in the United States.
There have been doubts about Iran’s participation in the World Cup since late February, when the U.S. joined Israel in military attacks on the country. President Donald Trump said in March that Iran was still welcome to play in the tournament, but suggested it would be better if the team stayed out of the U.S. “for their own life and safety.”
With Iran scheduled to play New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, Belgium in L.A. on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26, the head of Iran’s soccer federation had talks with FIFA about moving those matches to co-host Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said she was open to the idea, but FIFA stuck to its original schedule.
On Monday, FIFA confirmed that the Iranian team’s base would be moved from Arizona to the Mexican border city of Tijuana, and Sheinbaum said on Monday that they’ll sleep in Mexico and travel to the U.S. on game days after the U.S. refused to allow them to stay in the country.
Ticket prices are insane.
This comes as no surprise to anyone who’s looked into attending a sporting event or concert lately, but FIFA seems especially determined to squeeze every dollar it can from the first World Cup in North America since 1994. While it’s difficult to pin down exact figures in today’s “dynamic” market for tickets, a quick look on StubHub shows the cheapest seat for Canada’s opening match in Toronto will set you back more than $1,000 Cdn, and better seats are listed for over $6,000. Reports of jacked-up costs for parking, public transit and even outdoor fan festivals have added to fans’ frustration at a time when “affordability” is a hot issue politically.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has tried to justify the costs as a function of sky-high demand for a once-in-a-generation event in the robust North American entertainment market. His organization also recently released a small amount of more-affordable tickets, but even that move backfired to some degree as fans complained about a lack of transparency in the selling process.
For more on the World Cup, watch the latest episode of Soccer North on the CBC Sports YouTube channel.
Source link
