Starting XIs of Belgium – Egypt

Belgium: Courtois – De Cuyper, Mechele, Ngoy, Meunier, Castagne – Onana, Tielemans – De Bruyne, Doku, Trossard, De Ketelaere

Egypt: Shobeir – Fattouh, Fathy, Ibrahim, Hany – Attia, Lasheen, Ashour – Ziko, Salah, Marmoush

Egypt make their World Cup debut on Monday, hoping to clinch a maiden win and qualify for the knockout stages for the first time in four participations. But standing in their way are Group G favourites Belgium, who rank among the tournament’s outsiders.

Read moreWorld Cup 2026: All the fixtures

The Red Devils feature remnants of the “golden generation” that reached third place in 2018, including Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois, though coach Rudi Garcia has overseen a gradual transition towards a younger core led ​by Jeremy Doku, Amadou Onana and Charles De Ketelaere.

They are expected to dominate possession, while Egypt defend deep and look to their ​two best players – forward Mohamed Salah and striker Omar Marmoush – to create scoring opportunities with fast breaks. The Pharaohs will take encouragement from the last meeting between the sides, when they claimed a 2-1 victory in a friendly in Kuwait ​in November 2022.

Read moreWorld Cup 2026: Group standings

Monday’s match features the two strongest teams in Group G, ​which also ‌includes Iran and New Zealand, meaning the game is not necessarily ⁠a must-win for either side.

In the context of NFL football, being a “meathead” is a great compliment. That basic idea is doubly true upon remembering that the focus of the discussion involves a fullback.

In the 5th Round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Vikings drafted Max Bredeson. Much of the reaction to the selection swirled around the FB being a teammate of J.J. McCarthy at Michigan. After all, McCarthy showed up on the Zoom call following the selection, verbally expressing enthusiasm about the draft pick. Since then, a decent bit has happened, including Vikings mandatory minicamp. OC Wes Phillips bestowed the descriptor while chatting with the media following one of the recent practices.

The Vikings’ New FB is a “Dirtbag” and a “Meathead”

For a little while, the Vikings have needed to get tougher. Kevin O’Connell’s team has always been a high-flying, high-skill crew. Seldom, though, have these Vikings been rugged enough.

Part of the solution has been found in acquiring certain personnel. Think tight end Josh Oliver, somebody who stands out for his massive size even among NFL athletes. So, too, do running back Jordan Mason and right guard Will Fries offer much to like due to their ruggedness. All three of these guys are meant to allow Minnesota better play bully ball.

More recently, there was the move for wide receiver Jauan Jennings. Jennings stands at 6’3″ and roughly 215 pounds. Even better, Jennings offers a grit and a nastiness that means being able to bulldoze defensive backs.

Kyler Murray had referred to Jennings as a “dirtbag,” a descriptor meant to highlight the physicality that Jennings plays with on Sunday. Phillips then stepped in front of the Minnesota media the next day, allowing me to ask about the comment. Phillips wanted some reassurance that being a “dirtbag” was a compliment. Since it was, Phillips was glad to adopt the term, even applying it to somebody else a few minutes later.

Indeed, a few minutes later, Phillips took on a question about Max Bredeson, allowing Phillips to reaffirm the value of boasting a “dirtbag” who is also a “meathead.”

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“Max is probably another dirtbag,” Phillips said before explaining that the term is “absolutely” a compliment. Not long afterwards, the Vikings’ OC referred to the FB as a “meathead” who “loves ball” and who is “very smart.” Since “he’s all about ball” and is “a physical guy,” Bredeson is impressing the coaching staff.

In all likelihood, the Minnesota Vikings will remain a pass-first team. Doing so will mean rolling with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and Jauan Jennings for a large portion of the snaps. Well and good.

But then there’s the young lad lining up at fullback. Max Bredeson isn’t guaranteed of anything since he’s a 5th-Round fullback. What’s clear, though, is that he has a ton of supporters inside TCO Performance Center. Watching him a minicamp means seeing somebody who moves well and who appears poised to take on a hearty workload.

Quite possibly, Bredeson will force the Vikings to adopt a more balanced attack than in recent seasons. Seeing Bredeson clear running lanes for Mason could mean more emphasis on 21 personnel.

Bredeson, the meathead, will look continue impressing once he’s allowed to toss the pads on in training camp and in the preseason.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

Shakur Stevenson is on the verge of recognition as one of boxing’s best and he has moved higher up the rankings following the retirement of good friend, Terence Crawford.

However, despite their relationship, there is one fighter that Stevenson believes could have beaten ‘Bud’, if they met in their primes.

Crawford hung up the gloves with an undefeated record after 42 fights, having become boxing’s fifth five-division world champion with a legendary triumph over Canelo Alvarez back in September.

That win earned Crawford an enormous amount of credit, thrusting himself into comparisons with those considered to be some of the greatest fighters in the long history of the sport.

Although, speaking to The Agnew Podcast, Stevenson labelled a fantasy fight between Crawford and Floyd Mayweather Jr as a ’50/50’ fight.

“It is hard to say with this s**t because, with both of them guys, they different, so it is hard to even picture who would win. Now, what I do say, I think that Floyd, early on in his career, he struggled with southpaws; I feel like ‘Bud’ is probably going to be a southpaw and be the southpaw that he has ever been against. So that would probably play a part.

“But, I’ve seen ‘Bud’ have little issues with guys like ‘Mean Machine’ [Egidijus Kavaliauskas], who was orthodox and [Yuriorkis] Gamboa was winning some rounds, so it is a 50/50 thing. You just never know who would come in on point and win that fight, so it’s hard for me to even give an answer.”

Whilst Crawford’s unbeaten record seems set in stone, Mayweather’s fabled 50-fight win streak could be at risk, if his mooted September rematch with Manny Pacquiao is a professional contest.

Cape Verde is a small island nation located off the coast of Africa. Its population is just over 524,800 and each one of them had to have been jubilant following their soccer team’s FIFA World Cup result against Spain.

Spain is one of the favorites to win the World Cup this year, but only picked up one point in their match against Cape Verde. The two sides came to a 0-0 tie on Monday in one of the biggest shockers of the tournament so far.

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Cape Verde players celebrate after the World Cup Group H soccer match against Spain in Atlanta on June 15, 2026. (Mike Stewart/AP)

Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha kept Spain at bay in the first half despite an onslaught of shots. Spain had seven shots on goal, compared to Cape Verde’s one, but could never find the back of the net.

Mikel Oyarzabal took five of the seven shots.

Spanish sensation Lamine Yamal started the game off the bench, but even he couldn’t find the shot to get past Cape Verde.

The two squads will come away with one point each in the Group H matchup. It makes the road for Spain that much difficult as they await the result from the Saudi Arabia-Uruguay matchup later Monday.

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Cape Verde’s Dailon Livramento and Sidny Lopes Cabral celebrate after the World Cup Group H match against Spain in Atlanta on June 15, 2026. (Erik S. Lesser/AP)

Cape Verde is making its first World Cup appearance. The nation was a part of Portugal when the World Cup first began. It didn’t immediately become a FIFA member either.

The country started to vie for a World Cup appearance in 2002. They didn’t qualify for the tournament until this year as the field expanded to 48 nations.

Cape Verde is ranked 67th among FIFA members.

Spain won the World Cup in 2010 when the tournament took place in South Africa. In the last two tournaments, the nation only got as far as the round of 16.

Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha celebrates a 0-0 draw during the World Cup Group H soccer match between Spain and Cape Verde in Atlanta on June 15, 2026. (Jacob Kupferman/Associated Press)

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Spain entered this year’s World Cup ranked No. 2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes (Image credit: X)

NEW DELHI: England head coach Brendon McCullum has admitted he is worried about Ben Stokes after the England captain was dropped from the squad and placed under investigation following a nightclub incident that has cast doubt over his Test future.Stokes and teammate Gus Atkinson were left out of the squad for the second Test against New Zealand after allegedly breaching team protocols during a night out following England’s victory in the opening Test at Lord’s.According to reports, the night ended with a member of England’s security team being struck by a rugby player from English club Saracens at a nightclub where Stokes was present. The incident has intensified scrutiny over the culture and professionalism within England’s Test setup.Speaking publicly about the issue for the first time on Monday, McCullum said his initial reaction of anger and disappointment had now been replaced by concern for his captain.“It’s been about how we support these guys, whilst not overlooking the fact that they’ve not lived up to the standards which we’ve set for ourselves,” McCullum said.“You can’t look past that, per se.”“But at the same time, we’ll deal with that in time and through a process. But for me, it’s very much about how we support these guys through the next stage, and in particular, Ben. And that’s very much where my mind is at – I worry for him.”McCullum, who has formed a close bond with Stokes since taking charge of England’s Test side in 2022, refused to publicly back his skipper to continue as captain, insisting the leadership group must first complete its investigation.“What will be will be, down the line. Those decisions, they’re not for now,” McCullum said.“The concern at the moment is making sure that Ben is fine, and we need to look after him, rally around him, and in time, get onto those sorts of decisions.”The controversy has once again raised questions about England’s off-field culture. Last week, England managing director Rob Key revealed that the England and Wales Cricket Board was considering an alcohol ban following concerns about player behaviour.McCullum, however, said he would rather educate players than completely remove their freedom to celebrate victories.“I’m in charge of the environment and I take responsibility for things which don’t work out — what you can’t do is you can’t make every single decision for people as well,” he said.“My job is to try and shape this environment, try and shape these young men who are dealing with the high pressure and high scrutiny of playing international cricket on the larger stage, and being away from home 12 months of a year, and the challenges have come with that.”Despite the controversy, McCullum stressed that celebrations should still have a place in professional sport, provided they do not cross the line.“I do believe there is a place to never want to kill the joy, so to speak. I think it’s vitally important that you celebrate your successes,” he said.

England hand debuts to Cox and Baker

With Stokes and Atkinson unavailable and Ollie Robinson ruled out through injury, England have been forced into multiple changes for the second Test at The Oval.Middle-order batter Jordan Cox and fast bowler Sonny Baker have been handed their Test debuts, while Jofra Archer and Matthew Fisher return to the side.Off-spinner Shoaib Bashir has been left out of the XI, while former captain Joe Root will lead England in Stokes’ absence as England look to seal the series against New Zealand.

Cape Verde enjoyed a dream start to their first-ever World Cup appearance after holding European champions Spain to a surprising 0-0 draw in Group H.

In a match that shocked fans around the world, Cape Verde showed strong defence and discipline to stop one of the favourites for the tournament from scoring.

Despite Spain dominating possession and creating chances, they could not break down a determined Cape Verde side, who fought for every ball from start to finish.

But for many, the real hero of the night was Cape Verde’s goalkeeper, Vozinha, who delivered a brilliant performance to keep his team in the game.

The 40-year-old made several important saves, especially in the first half, as Spain pushed forward in search of a goal. His calm presence and sharp reflexes helped Cape Verde survive heavy pressure.

Cape Verde also had strong performances in defence, with players making key blocks and clearances to protect their goal throughout the match.

Spain, who arrived at the tournament as one of the favourites, will be disappointed not to take all three points after controlling much of the game.

For Cape Verde, however, the result is a historic moment. The country, with a population of just over 500,000 people, is one of the smallest nations ever to reach the World Cup finals.

The goalless draw marks a perfect start for Cape Verde, who have shown they can compete at the highest level on their World Cup debut.

It is a result that will be remembered for a long time, with Vozinha’s heroic display standing out as the key moment of the match.

Spain’s ghosts of recent World Cup horror shows reappeared in Atlanta as the European champions were held 0-0 by debutants Cape Verde in their opening game on Monday.

Lamine Yamal was left on the bench as the Barcelona superstar is eased back to fitness after nearly two months out with a hamstring injury and even his appearance as a second-half substitute failed to break down Cape Verde’s dogged defence.

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Since winning the World Cup for the first time in 2010, Spain have not won a knockout game and their inability to make dominance of possession count was reminiscent of their meek exits in 2018 and 2022.

Blessed with what coach Luis de la Fuente claimed is the best squad in the competition, Spain were considered among the pre-tournament favourites to go all the way and lift the World Cup on July 19.

But the importance of Yamal and Nico Williams to their chances of success was underlined by a flat performance.

Williams also had an injury-disrupted season at Athletic Bilbao and was not introduced until the 87th minute.

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Ranked 67 in the world, Cape Verde were making their debut on the global stage and did a nation of just over 500,000 people proud.

In stark contrast to the searing temperatures faced by some other sides, Atlanta’s state-of-the-art air conditioned stadium meant there was no excuses for the slow tempo of Spain’s build-up.

Indeed the mid-half hydration break was met by boos with fans frustrated at the break in play despite the cool conditions.

It took until six minutes before half-time for Spain to seriously threaten.

Marc Cucurella, fresh for sealing his move from Chelsea to Real Madrid, sent over a teasing cross that Ferran Torres turned onto the crossbar and Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha got back on his feet to turn Mikel Oyarzabal’s looping header over the bar.

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Torres tested Vozinho again moments later before Aymeric Laporte’s header from a corner was also clawed away by the Cape Verde number one just before half-time.

The break came at a good time for the Blue Sharks and they comfortably held out in the second period until Yamal’s entrance after the second hydration break.

Billed as one of the stars of the tournament, Yamal’s appearance instantly lifted the crowd and injected life into the pedestrian Spanish attack.

His first involvement set up a decent opening for fellow substitute Mikel Merino which was too close to Vozinha.

Yamal also began the move that saw Oyarzabal’s effort deflected over with Spain’s best chance of the second half.

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Cape Verde nearly snatched a famous victory in the final minute of the 90 when Dani Borges planted a header too close to Unai Simon.

Spain’s road to victory in 2010 also began disappointingly with defeat to Switzerland, but they have much to work on ahead of facing Saudi Arabia in Atlanta once more on Sunday.

Cape Verde next take on Uruguay in Miami.

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