Live coverage and text updates from our commentary stream as Switzerland play Colombia in the round of 16 knockout stage.
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The World Cup always brings to the fore what is sometimes seen as a pure and mostly straightforward form of identity: national identity.
But the 2026 tournament has demonstrated, perhaps as clearly as any global event can, that modern national identity is complex, contested and far from straightforward.
Nineteen of the 26 players on the Morocco squad were born outside the country, many of them either in Spain or France, the two European powers that colonised the country. The composition of the team has raised fascinating questions about dual citizenship and loyalty, national identity, the diaspora, and the enduring legacies of colonialism.
Similar complexities are visible across the tournament. Many of the players on the national teams of the United States, Canada, France, England, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Australia come from immigrant families.
In an era of increasingly exclusionary nationalist politics in North America and Europe, some of the countries engaged in the most intense debates about national identity are being represented on the world’s biggest sporting stage by multicultural teams.
Read more: Teams shaped by migration and diaspora are challenging exclusionary ideas of who belongs
Colombia have reported only one fitness concern ahead of the match, with Jhon Cordoba sidelined due to a groin injury sustained in the last round that has ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament.
Colombia’s predicted lineup
(4-3-3): Vargas; Munoz, Sanchez, Lucumi, Mojica; Puerta, Lerma, Arias; Rodriguez, Suarez, Diaz
Switzerland have a major fitness issue: Johan Manzambi, Ruben Vargas and Djibril Sow, three influential players, quit training early on Monday, raising doubts about their availability.
“Obviously, if they have to quit the training session earlier, everybody is very annoyed because this is going to be a very big loss. If they might not play, it could be a huge issue for us,” coach Murat Yakin said.
Switzerland’s Michel Aebischer and Luca Jaquez are out with muscle injuries.
Switzerland’s predicted lineup
(4-2-3-1): Kobel; Zakaria, Elvedi, Akanji, Rodriguez; Freuler, Xhaka; Ndoye, Manzambi, Vargas; Embolo
The 2026 World Cup has a prize pool of $871m, the biggest in football history. How much is every country getting, and where does the money come from?
Al Jazeera’s Yasmeen Eltahan explains.
Argentina have come from two goals down to beat Egypt 3-2.
They will now face the winner of Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinal.
Join reaction, as part of our live coverage, is here.
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French footballer Kylian Mbappe has hit back at a Paraguayan senator over racist remarks she made over the weekend in connection with Paraguay’s defeat in the World Cup by France.
Celeste Amarilla, a senator from the Authentic Radical Liberal Party, had taken several jabs at Mbappe after Paraguay’s 0-1 loss in the round of 16, thanks to the French captain’s winning penalty.
In a series of racist comments posted on X and aimed at the French striker on Saturday, Amarilla mocked his Cameroonian roots, as well as his upbringing, appearance and education.
Following backlash late on Monday, Amarilla posted an open letter in French and Spanish addressing Mbappe, saying she had deleted her posts and that she regretted using “the same insults” she herself has received as a mixed-race person.
However, she also accused Mbappe of “gender-based violence” against her in his response to her insults and has demanded an apology and threatened legal action.
In advance of Saturday’s match, former Paraguay goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert referred to France’s team as “a squad from Africa”.
Read more: How did Mbappe respond to Amarilla’s racist remarks?
Catch the latest match highlights from the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America:
The second-to-last round of 32 match is already under way.
Egypt lead Argentina 1-0 at half-time, with the second half soon to begin. Click here to join our live coverage of that one.
The winner faces either Switzerland or Colombia in the quarterfinals.
Hello, welcome and thanks for joining our live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 clash between Switzerland and Colombia.
The match is the last of the Round of 16 matches at the tournament and pits two sides that both won their groups in the opening phase of the competition.
Both sides also progressed through the Round of 32 by keeping clean sheets in their respective matches.
I’m Kevin Hand, and I’ll bring you all the pre-match build-up, analysis, team news and photo coverage before kickoff.
Rohan Sharma will then take you through our comprehensive minute-by-minute live text commentary.
Live coverage and text updates as Argentina play Egypt in the round of 16 knockout stage.
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Teams shaped by migration and diaspora are challenging exclusionary ideas of who belongs.
Footballers of African descent are often subjected to racist abuse on and off the pitch.
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