Mexico City will deploy 6,000 officers along Paseo de la Reforma and 7,500 around the Estadio Azteca for Sunday's Mexico-England last-16 tie, double the presence at the celebration that killed four fans on 30 June. Portugal, Argentina and Egypt all forced their way into the knockouts as the round of 32 closed. An Iranian-American academic, not Iran's football federation, has filed a private billion-dollar suit against FIFA in Boston.
Plan Kukulkan was built to stop cartels at stadiums; the fatal seam it missed was the street outside them.
Mexico City will put 6,000 officers on Paseo de la Reforma for Sunday's Mexico-England tie, double the deployment on the night a victory crush killed four fans on 30 June.
United StatesMexico City is nearly doubling security for Sunday's Mexico-England match. Almost 17,000 officers will cover Reforma, the Azteca and the Zocalo, backed by a new two-stage checkpoint and a citywide alcohol ban.
The plan follows the 30 June crush that killed four fans on the same boulevard . It tests whether checkpoints, rather than extra officers alone, can control the crowd this time.
Lionel Messi scored his 20th World Cup goal, but Cape Verde twice fought level before Argentina survived 3-2 in extra time on the debutants' biggest night.
Argentina needed extra time to beat World Cup debutants Cape Verde 3-2. Lionel Messi opened the scoring with his 20th World Cup goal, a new record, before the 550,000-strong nation equalised twice.
Cristian Romero's deflected header won it in extra time. Cape Verde had held Uruguay to a draw in the group stage ; Argentina now face Egypt in the last 16.
Mohamed Salah played 120 minutes on a hurt knee and chipped a Panenka in the shootout as Egypt beat Australia 4-2 for their first World Cup knockout win.
Egypt beat Australia 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw, winning a World Cup knockout match for the first time in the country's history.
Mohamed Salah played all 120 minutes despite a group-stage knee scare, then converted a Panenka, a chipped, deceptive penalty, in the shootout. Egypt face Messi's Argentina in the last 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the first World Cup knockout goal of his career, a 68th-minute penalty, as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in Toronto to reach the last 16.
Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in Toronto on 2 July to reach the World Cup last 16. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the equaliser from the penalty spot in the 68th minute, his first-ever World Cup knockout goal.
Ivan Perisic had put Croatia ahead just after the hour. Goncalo Ramos then headed a stoppage-time winner, ending Luka Modric's tournament and, likely, his international career at 40.
An Iranian-American academic, not Iran's football federation, has filed a $1bn suit against FIFA and Gianni Infantino in Boston over Iran's World Cup exit.
An Iranian-American academic has filed a $1bn lawsuit against FIFA (football's global governing body) and its president Gianni Infantino. He was previously charged by the US Department of Justice as an unregistered Iranian agent.
Lotfollah Kaveh Afrasiabi's suit follows Iran's group-stage elimination on the disallowed-goal draw with Egypt . Iran's own federation has filed no case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Jhon Arias struck in the 14th minute as Colombia beat Ghana 1-0 in Kansas City, closing the round of 32 and booking a last-16 tie with Switzerland.
Jhon Arias scored the only goal as Colombia beat Ghana 1-0 in Kansas City on 3 July. The result completed the round of 32's full set of 16 knockout ties.
Colombia had 61% possession and out-created Ghana 2.06 to 0.26 on expected goals, a lopsided figure that shows how comfortable the win really was. They now face Switzerland in the last 16.
A record nine African nations reached the round of 32, and Egypt became the first of them ever to win a World Cup knockout tie.
QatarA record nine African nations reached the World Cup round of 32, the most the continent has ever sent to a knockout stage. Egypt then became the first African side ever to win a World Cup knockout tie.
Cape Verde's extra-time scare against holders Argentina added to the pattern. The expanded 48-team format, which gave Africa nine guaranteed slots instead of five, answered pre-tournament fears that a bigger field would mean weaker, one-sided football.
Spain beat Austria 3-0 on 2 July and will face Portugal in the last 16, one of the standout ties of the round.
Spain beat Austria 3-0 on 2 July, a routine win that sends the European champions into the World Cup last 16.
They now face Portugal, who needed a stoppage-time winner to beat Croatia. That tie looks far more even than Spain's own route to it.
Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 on 2 July and will meet Colombia in the last 16.
Switzerland beat Algeria 2-0 on 2 July, a comfortable win that sends them into the World Cup last 16.
They now face Colombia, who won by the same single-goal margin against Ghana. Both sides have reached this stage without much drama.
Direction: paused, pending Sunday's test. Mexico's Ultima Milla perimeter and alcohol ban, deployed for the first time on 5 July 2026 alongside a 16,800-officer deployment for the England tie, is the specific mechanism: a second Reforma-scale incident would force Mayor Brugada's office into an unplanned expansion of city policing beyond what Plan Kukulkan's federal budget was scoped to cover. On Iran, escalation depends on whether Boston's federal court grants the $1bn Afrasiabi suit standing; FFIRI's continued silence signals the federation has no institutional track left to escalate on its own behalf.
AI-assisted, human-edited under the editorial responsibility of Bannermedia Ltd. Reviewed by Ed Woodcock on 4 July 2026. Editorial standards.
