Angus Gunn – Very fortunate not to concede after spilling a fairly routine shot. Otherwise, Haiti’s erratic finishing meant he was not overly tested. 6

Aaron Hickey – Lapse in concentration early on almost cost Scotland dear, but one vital intervention to deny Ruben Providence. 6

Jack Hendry – Great bit of defending to prevent Wilson Isidor from heading home. Largely restricted Haiti to efforts from long range. 7

Grant Hanley – Solid display from the big centre-back. Great ball over the top to Adams which led to McGinn’s goal. 7

Andy Robertson – Some outstanding deliveries from wide on the left could have brought more goals. Linked-up well with McGinn. 7

Ben Gannon-Doak – Pace and directness caused alarm bells in Haiti backline every time he got the ball. Final delivery can still frustrate, but he has become Scotland’s chief creative force. 9

Scott McTominay – Unlucky to see a curling effort come crashing off a post. Robbed of possession in dangerous areas on a couple of occasions. Short of his imperious best. 6

Lewis Ferguson – Anticipated and cut out the danger on numerous occasions as the Haitians broke at pace. 8

John McGinn – Scored Scotland’s first goal at a men’s World Cup since Craig Burley’s strike against Norway at France ’98. Missed a huge chance for a second. 8

Lawrence Shankland – Did his defensive work, but struggled to get into the game. Unable to find the sort of form in his goalscoring displays in the warm-up games against Curacao and Bolivia. 6

Che Adams – Great run and exquisite first touch in build-up to McGinn’s opener. Partnership with Shankland did not quite click. 6

A tornado has hit Kansas City just hours after England touched down at their World Cup base in the city.

Thomas Tuchel’s side arrived down in the Midwest on Saturday lunchtime after a day and a half off in Florida, holding a community training session at their Swope Soccer Village base at 5pm local time (11pm BST).

The sun was still searing when the squad took to the field, with temperatures at 30 degrees Celsius, but a tornado warning was put out for parts of the city as storms were due to hit in the early evening.

Fears of extreme weather have now come to fruition, with the National Weather Service alerting those in the area: “SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING in effect for this are until 9pm CDT for DESTRUCTIVE 80mph winds.

“Take shelter in a sturdy building, away from windows. Flying debris may be deadly to those caught without shelter.”

The incoming warning saw Kansas City’s fan festival shut early for safety reasons.

A statement from organisers read: “Due to anticipated severe weather, Fifa fan festival will be closing early at 5pm and will not reopen today.

“The safety of the public, staff, volunteers and entertainers remains our top priority.”

England’s pre-tournament camp in Florida was littered with weather issues, including their final warm-up friendly against Costa Rica being delayed by an hour after a thunderstorm, but nothing as severe as a tornado.

All 26 members of England’s squad trained in the heat – well before the weather turned – after checking into their hotel, the Inn at Meadowbrook in the south of the city.

A couple of hundred people greeted them at their hotel before 700 spectators watched the training session.

England’s arrival came after their base suffered a theft of training equipment, with items that include some of the team’s boots and official tournament balls stolen on Friday.

Tuchel’s men open their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday before further Group L games against Ghana and Panama.

Additional reporting from PA

It’s the highly anticipated Italian return everyone is talking about

In May, we got the sad news that Zeus Gods of Food was leaving Common Market, leaving a gap to be filled in the busy food market.

This was quickly filled with a slightly familiar face. Sal’s was announced to be coming into the space, and while it’s not a complete newcomer to the Belfast food scene, it was exciting nonetheless. In a former life, this was called Fat Sal’s and was found at Trademarket and 39 Gordon Street, so this is a rebrand and a new location for the food spot.

It was billed as ‘your neighbourhood Italian joint’, which will specialise in red-sauce Italian food like pasta, garlic bread, and meatball subs. Once I heard it was opening, I immediately headed in that weekend because I knew I had to give it a go.

Here’s what we ordered:

• Spicy vodka rigatoni, which was topped with spicy vodka sauce, N’Duja, chilli and parmesan.
• The sandwich of the month which was a meatball sub.
• Cheesy chilli garlic bread.

What we liked:

Immediately, you will notice that Sal’s stands out from the rest of its neighbours because of its unique look and its stripey awning. The menu here is also pretty simple, which I don’t mind because it means they’re working hard on the few dishes that they do have. It consists of four pastas, a sandwich of the month, two types of garlic bread and some Sicilian spuds, which all sounded pretty delicious.

We went for the vodka pasta, which has been doing the rounds on TikTok for a few years now, so it is pretty trendy and that always draws me in. It was a pretty hefty portion, which did not hold back on the ‘Nduja and sauce. It had a nice kick to it, but certainly wasn’t an overpowering level of spice. This was a really great pasta, with a perfect blend of flavours that I couldn’t get enough of.

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However, the meatball sub was the star of this show for me, and I would urge them to keep it on the menu permanently because right now it is just a special. The bread on this sub was so soft and fresh, which goes a long way for me. The meatballs inside were absolutely huge, and paired with the sauce and melted cheese, it was one of the best subs I’ve had in this country.

What we would change:

Common Market is entirely street food, which we’ve come to expect, and I didn’t know what I’d think of pasta in that style, but it works in this setting. I do think there are a few tweaks, mostly just to the presentation or how it comes out, to make it perfect. The pasta came on a paper plate, and I think it would be better suited in a box, which might better reflect a pasta bowl, and this would elevate it a lot. Some people may prefer a plate, but I always go for a bowl when it comes to pasta dishes.

How much it cost:

Everything we got would have come to around £30, which was between two people and I thought it wasn’t too bad. It definitely is on the more expensive side of things in Common Market, but it does offer a good premium option there, which is definitely more than welcome.

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I am very pleased to see Sal’s back, and even without the fat, this one is a winner in my eyes. It was very tasty food, which I think will be very popular amongst the crowds in Common Market.

It very much lives up to the promise that it’s going to be your ‘neighbourhood Italian joint’ in bucket loads with a simple but hearty offering. When you head in to try it out, you will be immediately planning your return because this, paired with the great vibes in Common Market, is a definite must-visit.

In the interest of fairness and transparency, we pay for all the meals and drinks we review. This ensures that we are giving accurate and honest representations of the food and service that we receive. So, unless we state otherwise that we were invited down, we have paid for the meal ourselves and visited without the knowledge of the eatery, so you can trust our opinions aren’t skewed by a freebie.

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Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving after a girl was rushed to hospital in critical condition over the weekend

A teenager girl is in critial condition after an incident involving a small articulated loading vehicle.

Essex Police rushed to the area of Chalkwell Park in Southend at around 12.30am on Saturday June 13. Upon arrival officers found the girl had sustained significant injuries. Two teenagers have since been arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

Police are now urging the public to come forward with any information that may help their investigation.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “Two people have been arrested after a teenage girl was seriously injured in an incident involving a vehicle in Southend. We were called at around 12.30am on Saturday 13 June to an incident in the area of Chalkwell Park.

“A group was reported to have taken unauthorised control of a small articulated loading vehicle. The girl is believed to have been involved in an incident with the vehicle and sustained significant injuries.

“Officers and ambulance crews attended promptly, and a cordon remains in place. Paramedics took the girl to hospital, where she remains in a critical condition. Her family has been informed and are being supported.

“As part of our early enquiries, officers have arrested an 18-year-old man from Westcliff and a 17-year-old boy from Leigh-on-Sea. They remain in custody on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving.

“We know there were a large number of young people in the area at the time, and we believe some may have witnessed what happened. We urgently need to hear from anyone with information or footage.

“You can contact us by submitting a report on our website or via our 24/7 Live Chat service at www.essex.police.uk, or by calling 101 quoting incident 39 of 13 June.”

An area of peatland bigger than 730 football pitches is being restored across greater Manchester.

Since October peatland restoration work has been carried out on the West Pennine Moors close to Winter Hill and in the Goyt Valley at Dovestone with 524 hectares – the equivalent of more than 735 football pitches – benefitting from restoration work, essentially bring bogs back to life.

Healthy peatlands provide numerous benefits to both communities and wildlife.

As well as acting like giant natural filtration systems which improve water quality, they support natural flood management by storing more water in the landscape for longer and slowing the flow of rainwater that runs off the hills.

The picture shows some the work already undertaken by United Utilities on the West Pennine Moors, the stunning backdrop to Bolton and beyond, to restore peatland across the North West. Picture United Utilities (Image: United Utilities)

Jim Airton, Estates and Land Manager at United Utilities said: “Healthy peatlands provide numerous benefits for our customers and the environment of the North West.

“These natural filtration systems not only reduce sediment in the water which means they are excellent at improving the quality of water that runs off the land into rivers, streams and our reservoirs, they also capture carbon from the atmosphere.

“Holding water in the land for longer boosts biodiversity by creating a tapestry of different habitats for plants and wildlife to flourish and makes the land more resilient to dry spells and drought.”

Nature-based solutions are also helping United Utilities improve its operational resilience.

Jim Airton added: “Slowing the flow not only protects natural waterways, it reduces stress on urban drainage systems.

“We’re working across our estate, and with partners on a range of biodiversity-enhancing projects ranging from tree planting and peatland restoration to urban rainwater management schemes.”

United Utilities has worked in partnership with Moors for the Future Partnership, Lancashire Peat Partnership, RSPB and Natural England to deliver the work.

In the last five years has already improved over 3,000 hectares – or 4,200 football pitches – of peatland across the North West.

A historic World Cup tie will take centre stage tonight as Scotland kick off their group stage campaign, facing Haiti in Boston. For the Scots, who have travelled to New England en masse and drank the city dry in a matter of hours, it is a first finals appearance since 1998, when they were dumped out in the group stage following defeats by Brazil and Morocco. They have never progressed from the group stage in eight previous visits to a World Cup, but with victory tonight, they stand a very good chance of doing exactly that.

In The Mixer’s World Cup special

Everything you need to know about the World Cup – England updates, the games to watch and stories you missed – in five minutes, at 1pm, every day.

Coverage of Scotland’s World Cup group opener against Haiti was disrupted on Sunday morning with fans taking to social media to complain in the aftermath

The BBC were forced to apologise for a loss of picture during Scotland’s World Cup opener against Haiti.

Midway through the first-half, viewers lost coverage of the match held in Boston due to a world feed issue with a ‘ESF USD C’ message appearing, which lasted around five seconds.

Though no incidents were missed, the loss of action would have caused distress across Scotland and the rest of the world as the issue was put down to a world feed issue. The problem meant that it wasn’t just viewers in the United Kingdom that saw their coverage halted.

Commentator Liam McLeod said: “Apologies again if there’s a loss of picture, it’s a World Feed problem so everyone suffered it. But you’re back with us now.”

Meanwhile, a message at the top of the screen read: “Sorry for the loss of picture.”

It would have been a heart-in-mouth moment for Tartan Army supporters watching outside the stadium in Massachusetts, having endured a nervy opening exchange with the FIFA-ranked 83rd team in the world.

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The livewire Ben Gannon-Doak saw his effort saved by Johny Placide before Scott McTominay rose highest and headed over from Andy Robertson’s cross.

But the CONCACAF side were no pushovers with Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor proving to be tough to handle for the Scotland backline.

Meanwhile, Louicius Deedson was a tricky prospect for captain Andy Robertson to deal with down the left-hand side.

But by the time the disruption came during the BBC’s coverage, Scotland were one-up thanks to John McGinn.

The 31-year-old was in the right place at the right time to finish after a flowing move from the Scot’s. Ben Gannon-Doak and Che Adams combined, only for Adams to be denied by Placide. However, the save fell as far as McGinn, who fired into the ground and his effort deflected home.

A win for Scotland would see them go top of Group C after the opener after Brazil were held by Morocco in New York.

It was a difficult afternoon for Carlo Ancelotti’s side as their weaknesses were exposed by the hungry and energetic AFCON winners.

The record World Cup-winners fell behind after just 20 minutes when Brahim Diaz carved open the backline with an incisive pass for PSV Eindhoven’s Ismael Saibari. However, their lead was cut-short when Vinicius Jr equalised before the break.

Brazil had the lion’s share of possession in the second-half but almost found themselves on the end of a 2-1 reverse but Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker kept them at bay with a double save.

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Hundreds of fans were stuck in queues outside Boston Stadium before kick off.

Scotland fans were heard jeering outside Boston Stadium ahead of the game against Haiti.

The Tartan Army turned up in their droves for the national team’s opening fixture of the World Cup.

However, footage shows hundreds of frustrated punters stuck outside the stadium.

The clip appear to have started around an hour before the game started, with a number of seats still empty inside the stadium.

The video pans around and shows a large number of fans stuck in a queue, which does not appear to be moving.

The clip ends as fed-up fans chant “you don’t know what you’re doing.”

Chaotic scenes marked Scotland’s return to the World Cup as the Tartan Army took over Boston in recent days.

The atmosphere built up throughout today as excited supporters waited for kick off.

Around 250 fans blew off steam by heading off on a three-hour party boat earlier in the day.

The cruise featured an open bar, with fans lining their stomachs with sandwiches before starting on the early lagers at around 11am local time.

A Boston policeman was captured performing a keepy uppy routine in front of the Tartan Army.

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The pubs were swarmed with Scots and sing songs erupted throughout the day.

Around 800 fans booked local school buses to transport them the match and they were seen hanging out of windows singing, “Cheerio, cheerio, cheerio!”

A number of famous face have been spotted in Boston, including John Swinney and actors Richard Gadd, Gerard Butler and Martin Compston.

The First Minister was welcomed by a piper after arriving at a Scottish Night in Boston Dinner and Gala Event at the Royale in the US city.

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