Live: Jam-packed day as last round of World Cup group clashes kicks off

1 1 4 1 6 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 1 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 4 4 0 0 0 2 2 1 3 2 0 3 0 3 2 1 2 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - live FIFA World Cup live: Canada-Switzerland and Qatar-Bosnia and Herzegovina kick off final group games The final round of the group stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup starts with simultaneous Group B games between Switzerland and Canada, and Qatar vs Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the 5am (AEST) games, Scotland faces Brazil while Morocco meets Haiti from 8am to wrap up Group C. And Group A will be finalised as Mexico City plays host to Czechia and Mexico at the same time as South Africa-South Korea plays out in Monterrey from 11am. - Check out the full World Cup schedule here in Australian times - ABC Sport podcast: Check out the latest episode here Follow all the action in our live blog. Submit a comment or question Live updates New: Filters Choose what information you see below by using filters Key Event Thu 25 Jun 2026 at 4:22am Why are both games played at the same time today? You may have noticed that each game in the groups today are being played at exactly the same time. In a world where TV viewership is everything, leading to an array of bizarre kick off times to make sure all games can be watched by everyone, this might seem strange. It's not. The rule was bought in after an infamous clash between West Germany and Austria in 1982, forever known as The Disgrace of Gijón. Algeria played Chile the day earlier and won 3-2. With the earlier results in the group, West Germany needed a win to progress, while Austria would still qualify for the next round so long as it didn't lose more than 3-0. So, having had a day to stew on this information, after going 1-0 up in the opening 10 minutes, Germany and Austria sat on the result to ensure both would progress. It was not received well, with West German television commentator Eberhard Stanjek refusing to commentate, while his Austrian counterpart Robert Seeger told his viewers to switch off. The local newspaper, El Comercio, printed the match report in its crime section. That match prompted a rethink of the scheduling for future tournaments, but it is almost unfair to single out these two nations for such a low display of skulduggery. Spain and Northern Ireland manufactured the exact same situation on the same day, a 1-0 Northern Ireland win a perfectly adequate result to see both teams progress to the next round, while there was an equally suspicious result at the 1978 World Cup, when Peru fell to a 6-0 defeat against Argentina in the second group phase, when Argentina had to win by four clear goals to surpass Brazil, which had played earlier in the day, and reach the final. Guess who plays each other in a winner takes all match on Sunday? Why it's Algeria and Austria. Revenge is in the air... Thu 25 Jun 2026 at 4:16am Witch doctor releases Kane from his spell - Reuters A Ghanaian witch doctor says he has "released" England captain Harry Kane from his spell after the striker failed to find the net in Tuesday's goalless draw at the World Cup. Nana Kwaku Bonsam, a self-described spiritualist, had said before England's Group L clash with Ghana that he would cast a spell to stop Kane from scoring. "Now I am going to release Harry Kane so that, his next match, he can score. Harry, I will come and visit you. Don't be offended. We are friends," Bonsam said in a video posted on social media. Kane scored twice in England's 4-2 victory over Croatia in their World Cup opener, but against Ghana the Bayern Munich striker blazed his best chance over the bar from close range in stoppage time, denying England a victory that would have secured their place in the knockout stage. He said he was not dwelling on Tuesday's late miss, however. "I was waiting for an opportunity like that to fall my way," he said. "It did and I just couldn't quite get over the ball. But I've been a striker long enough to know they don't always go in." More analysis on England here. Thu 25 Jun 2026 at 4:11am Morning all Hello early birds and welcome to the start of the end (of the group stages)! My name is Simon Smale and I am your host this morning as the World Cup continues apace, with qualifiers set to be confirmed and tickets booked home as we make 48 teams turn into 32. It's the final phase of the group stage, which means there are two matches taking place simultaneously for the next few days, meaning a whole lot of exciting blogging and confused bloggers. Lots to get through - here's our slate of matches as we wrap up groups A, B and C: - 5:00am AEST (4:30am ACST, 3:00am AWST) — Group B: Switzerland vs Canada @ BC Place Vancouver - 5:00am AEST (4:30am ACST, 3:00am AWST) — Group B: Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar @ Seattle Stadium - 8:00am AEST (7:30am ACST, 6:00am AWST) — Group C: Scotland vs Brazil @ Miami Stadium - 8:00am AEST (7:30am ACST, 6:00am AWST) — Group C: Morocco vs Haiti @ Atlanta Stadium - 11:00am AEST (10:30am ACST, 9:00am AWST) — Group A: Czechia vs Mexico @ Mexico City Stadium - 11:00am AEST (10:30am ACST, 9:00am AWST) — Group A: South Africa vs Korea Republic @ Monterrey Stadium Looking forward to sharing it all with you, so buckle yourselves in and let's get ready to rumble.