France booked their place in the semi-finals with a 2-0 win over the Moroccans at the Boston Stadium. Kylian Mbappe netted his eighth goal of the tournament despite missing a first-half penalty earlier in the match.
Ousmane Dembele then doubled France’s advantage with 25 minutes remaining. An explanation has since emerged after substitute Brice Samba curiously prevented Michael Olise from joining the celebrations after Les Bleus’ second goal.
Zlatan Mocks Lalas Before France vs Morocco
FOX Sports
Prior to kick-off, viewers in the United States were treated to another amusing interaction between Zlatan and Lalas.
The pair have had beef all tournament, resulting in several moments going viral on social media. While Lalas has often found himself as the butt of Zlatan’s jokes, the former USMNT star did manage to get some revenge last month with a quick-witted jibe at the legendary Swedish striker’s outfit.
All three pundits were reunited for the first quarter-final of the 2026 World Cup – and Zlatan immediately took the opportunity to mock Lalas.
The former Barcelona and Manchester United star said: “We’re going to see France enjoy today, they’e going to do their thing against a difficult opponent, and this is the best eight teams in the tournament so far.
“So, let’s see how it plays out, we’re excited, the sun is shining, we are burning from behind, but if you’re as hot as me, you can handle it.”
He then added: “And if you’re as white as Alexi, you cannot handle it, but I’m going to cover you.”
Presenter Rebecca Lowe burst out laughing, while Lalas responded: “I appreciate it, thank you.” Watch the funny clip below:
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Viewers enjoyed Ibrahimovic’s latest jibe. One wrote on X (Twitter): “Zlatan roasting Alexi Lalas every chance he gets on live TV will be one of the things I miss the most when this is all over.”
Another person said: “I will never get tired of Lalas being dumped on this entire World Cup. Arrogance being humbled by greatness this entire time.”
A third viewer commented: “Zlatan has had Rebecca laughing all month LMAO,” while a fourth added:
Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente has issued a strong verdict on the performance of referee Francois Letexier during Argentina’s controversial 3-2 victory over Egypt.
Argentina came from 2-0 down to secure their place in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals thanks to goals from Cristian Romero, Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez.
However, Egypt were furious after two major refereeing decisions went against them. They had a goal controversially disallowed in the 58th minute for a foul on Lisandro Martinez at the opposite end of the pitch at the start of the move.
The Pharaohs were also convinced a late penalty should have been awarded following an alleged foul by Julian Alvarez on Mohamed Salah. Fernandez scored Argentina’s winning goal moments later following a swift counter-attack.
“Of course, constructive discussion about decisions will always be part of football, but unfounded allegations have no place in our sport,” Collina said. “Nobody can question the integrity of the FIFA World Cup match officials. When this happens, it may provoke reactions that lead to threats against them and their families. This is not right.”
Luis de la Fuente Gives His View on Letexier’s Performance
Reuters/Dale Zanine
France boss Didier Deschamps disagreed with the negative reaction towards his compatriot Letexier and praised the match official’s performance ahead of Les Bleus’ quarter-final against Morocco on Thursday.
Now Spain’s Luis de la Fuente has followed suit before his side face Belgium on Friday.
In an interview with DAZN, via Sportskeeda, De la Fuente said: “I honestly don’t understand why you ask me about the controversy surrounding the referee in the Argentina vs. Egypt match. Where did that even come from?
“I watched the game and I thought the referee got everything right. I’d actually like to congratulate him because every decision he made was spot on.”
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It’s currently unclear whether Letexier is currently in contention to referee the 2026 World Cup final at the New York New Jersey Stadium on July 19.
The FIFA and UEFA elite category match official, 37, is now among the four referees involved in the quarter-finals and will not take charge of either semi-final. The referees for the final and third-place play-off are yet to be assigned.
However, Letexier’s compatriot Clement Turpin will take charge of Saturday’s quarter-final between Norway and England in Miami.
Norway submitted an official complaint to FIFA ahead of their 2026 World Cup quarter-final clash against England this weekend.
The Norwegians secured a spot in their first ever World Cup quarter-final thanks to an impressive 2-0 win over Brazil in the last 16. Manchester City’sErling Haaland scored two sensational goals to dump Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil out of the tournament.
Norway go head-to-head with England at the Miami Stadium on Saturday (10pm BST), but their preparations for the biggest match in their history haven’t been plain sailing.
“So great that they believe this,” Sand said. “We are in control.”
He added: “All players are healthy now. Very little fuss considering that we have been close together for almost six weeks.”
Norway Issue Complaint to FIFA
REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
Meanwhile, Norway have been forced to swap hotels after spending just one night at their FIFA-arranged accommodation.
Stale Solbakken’s side stayed one evening at The Dalmar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale before lodging an official complaint to FIFA, according to The Sun.
It’s claimed the luxury suites were located next to a building site, with a two-and-a-half mile walk past construction sites required in order to reach the nearest beach. A busy six-lane highway next to the hotel also resulted in noise and disruption.
FIFA acted swiftly following the complaint, with Norway’s entire entourage moved three miles away to the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale within two-and-a-half hours.
Norwegian broadcaster NRK, per The Metro, also claim several of the rooms assigned to players were smoky, mouldy or poorly cleaned. However, head coach Solbakken insisted the rooms were ‘cleared up quickly’.
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Asked if FIFA were wrong to allocate The Dalmar Hotel to Norway, TV2’s World Cup analyst, Jesper Mathisen, is quoted as telling Nettavisen: “Yes, it is.
“And as Stale Solbakken says, it is certainly possible to survive in that hotel but now they are going to play the most important match in Norwegian football history and then it is completely understandable that they want to stay in the best possible hotel, and that they want to get margins where they can.
“Then there is a risk of both little sleep and certainly also a risk of infection.
“They obviously fixed a new hotel quite quickly, and it’s good that there were both available rooms and opportunities to find a better, cleaner and perfectly decent hotel without so much noise.
“It was good that they were able to do it so early. After all, there are quite a few days until the game. If this had been one day before the game, it could have caused a bit of chaos, but now they don’t seem tired or in a bad mood out on the field, so things seem to be on track.”
FIFA Praised For Quick Response
REUTERS/Henry Romero
Meanwhile, Truls Daehli, head of Norway’s World Cup delegation, praised FIFA for their quick response.
“There were things where we stayed first that we would have liked to have thought were different,” Daehli conceded.
“We eventually decided to take action, because now we are in week six and will be staying here for a whole week. And the match we are going to play now is the biggest match we have ever played.
“Now we have managed to avoid bed sores, and we did not want to risk getting any of that during this period. That is why we made a change.
“We have been met with good understanding from FIFA, who have moved their package to the new hotel.
“They [FIFA] pay for 50 rooms, that they pay for our security and transportation. We have to make a small adjustment, because this hotel costs more. But we are incredibly satisfied with the way things have been responded to here.”
Norway captain Martin Odegaard added: “That there were some things that could have been better, then we fixed it really just to optimise and prepare ourselves as best as possible for a big match.”
Norway or England will meet either Argentina or Switzerland in next Wednesday’s semi-final at the Atlanta Stadium.
Tottenham have been linked with a move to sign Bournemouth forward Eli Junior Kroupi, and his agent has now spoken out on a potential transfer.
The Bournemouth attacker has become one of the most sought-after young players in the Premier League after an impressive breakthrough season with the Cherries.
Tottenham have already spent significantly in the summer window, so it’ll be interesting to see whether they’ll be willing to fork out what Bournemouth will likely charge for Kroupi
It’s not going to be a cheap deal, and his agent has now spoken out about a possible move.
Tottenham: Kroupi’s Agent Speaks Out
Speaking on Kroupi’s future, agent Moussa Sissoko has confirmed that there is no final decision on where the forward will end up.
Sissoko has confirmed that they are still discussing his future, and we will see what happens in the coming days amid interest from Tottenham.
“We are still discussing his future. We’ll see what happens in the coming days; at the moment, there is no final decision.”
Sissoko hasn’t mentioned any specific clubs despite the links to both Tottenham and Barcelona.
It’s certainly not going to be a cheap deal for any club to complete, with Bournemouth having him tied down for another four years.
The Frenchman has only spent one season with the Cherries, so it’s unlikely that they want to get rid of him so quickly.
