Injury updates on Saka and Rice, Curaçao’s heroes and tears, Bielsa’s rants – World Cup summary

need to know

The latest England injury news, Curaçao’s emotional win, Marcelo Bielsa’s brutal abuse and more in our World Cup roundup

Here’s everything you need to know about what happened at the World Cup late Saturday night and early Sunday morning…

Injuries have dominated the last few hours, with worrying updates regarding England duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka. The latter was absent from team training on Saturday, but Rice revealed that his current problems date back to Christmas, with his early departure against Croatia making it clear he is struggling to cope. Elsewhere, Germany’s Nico Schlotterbeck has also suffered a new problem, with head coach Julian Nagelsmann revealing that Liverpool’s transfer target will undergo tests, saying: “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look very good.” But his team had even more luck on the pitch, with Deniz Undav’s 94th-minute goal breaking the Ivorians’ hearts as they came from behind to win 2-1. The biggest story of the night was undoubtedly the shock draw between Curaçao and Ecuador. Goalkeeper Eloy Room made a record 15 saves in 90 minutes of World Cup soccer and was named Player of the Match. Room was mobbed by his teammates at the final whistle and showed off his newfound global fame, with his Instagram following soaring by 600,000 in recent hours. Curaçao manager Dick Advocaat once performed miracles in the Premier League with Sunderland, while Cape Verde’s Bosinha also rose to fame with a clean sheet against Spain, but his mother is currently in the United States due to visa issues. The two were later recorded reuniting in a warm embrace after a training session. Returning to injuries, a statement from the World Cup broadcaster explained why replays of Ismael Coene’s severe leg injury were not shown. The match between Japan and Tunisia is currently underway, with Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamata and Feyenoord’s Ayase Ueda scoring the two first-half goals. Sunday will be packed with World Cup action, with Belgium vs. Iran set to be one of the highlight games. The latter’s coach Amir Galenoei once again criticized his team’s treatment, revealing that FIFA had failed to arrange two scheduled flights from Mexico to Los Angeles. Uruguay vs Cape Verde is one of the other games to be played later today, with a much-unpopular hydration break in Marcelo Bielsa’s crosshairs. He told a press conference: “Playing in the fourth division instead of the second division changes the concepts that have been culturally constructed to interpret football. It adds nothing and takes away a lot. When it was divided into four divisions, no consideration was given to the influences that make soccer such a fascinating sport, but rather a different kind of influence that I have not discussed or analyzed. Before this decision, soccer had one characteristic, now it has another.” Read more: World Cup Live: Latest news against Tunisia as Curaçao makes history following BBC excavation of Japan Gary Lineker