Lawrence Ostlere, Miguel Delaney and Richard Jolly look back on day 6 of the World Cup where Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe arrived on stage and set the tournament alight as well as igniting the race for the golden boot. Can Ronaldo and Harry Kane respond today?

We also preview England’s first game in the competition against Croatia this evening.

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In the latest episode of Copa Independent, Miguel Delaney reports from the England camp after emerging from a tornado threat in Kansas City, Lawrence Ostlere reports from Houston after watching Germany dismantle Curacao, and Jack Rathborn tunes in from New Jersey after seeing Brazil held by an impressive Morocco.

The guys discuss the latest World Cup results including Netherlands’ 2-2 draw with Japan and Scotland’s important 1-0 win over Haiti, and look ahead to the next batch of games with Spain, Belgium and Iran all in action.

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The World Cup finally started, with a comfortable win for Mexico, a wretched display from South Africa, a flurry of red cards and even more adverts featuring Christian Pulisic, many of them during the actual game.

Chief football writer Miguel Delaney and senior football correspondent Richard Jolly discuss the ever greater commercialisation of the World Cup and the commercials in the new hydration breaks in the World Cup, Fox Sports’ dumbing down of their coverage and lack of insight, as well as a goal for Raul Jimenez to cherish and a victory to keep Miguel’s hopes of visiting the Azteca alive.

Copa Independent will be recording several podcasts throughout the tournament, hearing from our reporters dotted across the United States and from the heart of the England camp.

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After a controversial and seemingly never-ending build-up, today is finally the day the 23rd Fifa World Cup begins. Tonight, co-hosts Mexico face South Africa at the Azteca, the most famous stadium in World Cup history. And it was also in Mexico City where Gianni Infantino held his pre-tournament press conference on Wednesday. Three-and-a-half years on from his infamous 'Today I feel...' monologue, and with key topics like Iran, ticket prices and visa issues to discuss, what did the Fifa president have up his sleeve this time?

Senior sports writer Kieran Jackson is joined by chief football writer Miguel Delaney, dialling in from our base in New Jersey, to dissect and analyse Infantino's hour-long media conference and look ahead to the tournament opener. We also pick our star substitute for our World Cup XI, ahead of picking our manager next time around.

Copa Independent will be recording several podcasts throughout the tournament, hearing from our reporters dotted across the United States and from the heart of the England camp.

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The World Cup is nearly here and this week on Copa Independent, the team discuss the tournament favourites, the dark horses and, erm, Scotland, as well as how politics and money have created a World Cup like nothing we’ve ever seen before.

Will Carlo Ancelotti deliver a record sixth World Cup for Brazil? Is Spain’s midfield the best at the tournament? How far can England go? And could a side like Ecuador or Norway go all the way?

Plus trivia on World Cup records, and it’s time to pick the striker in Copa Independent’s all-time World Cup XI.

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The World Cup is nearly here, and we’re counting down the best of all time. This week a panel of Independent journalists have voted on their greatest stars.

From Pele and Messi to Maradona and Beckenbauer, with a sprinkling of Zidane, Mbappe and Ronaldo in the mix, these are the players who have lit up the “greatest show on earth” over the past 96 years.

Independent sports writers Lawrence Ostlere, Miguel Delaney and Kieran Jackson discuss the controversial name in the top 10, why Cristiano Ronaldo was overlooked, and why our No 1 pick just had to top the list.

See the full list of the top 50 World Cup players here https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-50-greatest-players-pele-maradona-messi-zidane-ronaldo-b2984529.html

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Miguel Delaney and Lawrence Ostlere were at Wembley to see Thomas Tuchel explain his England squad for the 2026 World Cup.

They chew over the big-name omissions and why Tuchel didn’t pick Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Trent Alexander-Arnold – and how Ivan Toney mysteriously returned to the conversation this week.

Miguel also discusses his intimate briefing with the England manager. And, under severe pressure from a diligent Wembley security chap, they even find time to pick one more player for Copa Independent’s all-time World Cup XI.

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As more big players struggle with injury, and there is now an expectation that set-pieces at the World Cup will be refereed in a completely different way to the Premier League, a few international managers are already adapting plans. Which begs a bigger question: what is the best way to win a World Cup?

Are there set approaches? Can you "playbook" it, as Gareth Southgate tried? Do you need an ideology, as Spain have? Are properly world-class attackers essential? Can you still hide away a winning system for a year in the way Sir Alf Ramsey and Carlos Bilardo did? How influential are conditions? Were Brazil 1970 only so good because no one could press in Mexican midday heat?

We get into all of this and more in the latest Copa Independent podcast, with Miguel Delaney, Lawrence Ostlere and - making his debut - Adam Clery.

Don’t forget the special World Cup nostalgia segments in stoppage time, extra time and penalties either, where we decide on the best historic feature of each tournament. This week: the greatest World Cup ad, the next addition to our all-time tournament XI – the big one, the number-10 playmaker – and, of course, some trivia questions.

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