If you searched for soccer games today, Sunday, June 7 produced a scatter of international friendlies as teams finished final preparations for the 2026 World Cup: Morocco faced Norway in Harrison, New Jersey, Colombia played Jordan in San Diego, Croatia also took the field, and Ecuador met Guatemala in Columbus, Ohio.
The schedule offered practical match practice rather than headline showdowns: Morocco and Norway used the New Jersey friendly to test combinations ahead of the tournament, Colombia sent a touring lineup to San Diego for a match against Jordan, and Ecuador travelled to Columbus for a tune-up against Guatemala. Croatia’s outing added another European side to the single-day slate. Those games gave coaches a last look at tactics, fitness and fringe players before the continent-spanning kick-off in four days.
The timing matters: the 2026 World Cup opens on June 11 with Mexico against South Africa at Estadio Azteca, followed by the United States against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and Canada meeting Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 13 in Toronto. The tournament will run through a final set for July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. That schedule makes the June 7 friendlies the last broad matchday before teams travel to their opening venues.
Even with mostly low-key opposition, results and performances carried immediate weight. England’s recent 4-0 defeat to Spain at the Estadi Mallorca Son Moix — their heaviest since a 6-2 loss to Germany in the Euro 2009 final and their first qualifying defeat since 2002 — remains a live concern for a nation aiming to rebuild momentum; manager Sarina Wiegman said England “didn’t play good enough,” “couldn’t get into another gear” and “hardly got into the 18 yard box,” a blunt assessment that underlines pressure on the squad’s form heading into the wider World Cup cycle.
Travel and entry problems created an extra off-field note on the matchday. Iraq’s squad, which arrived in the United States early, was met at Chicago’s O’Hare airport by fans in the early hours; the team’s photographer was barred from entering the country, and striker Aymen Hussein was held and questioned for nearly seven hours before being allowed into the United States. The Iraq arrival came less than a week before the tournament’s start, making the delay a disruptive element in their final preparations.
For supporters following soccer games today, the June 7 list was useful in a practical sense: it showed which teams were active, where they were playing and how managers were allocating minutes. For national sides, the matches were last live rehearsals — final chances to settle lineups and shake out tactics before travel and the formal opening fixtures. For England and Iraq the friendlies and travel incidents raised fresh questions; for others the day simply completed a checklist.
What comes next is fixed on the calendar: the 2026 World Cup opens June 11 at Estadio Azteca, June 12 brings the U.S. opener at SoFi Stadium, Canada plays on June 13 in Toronto, and the tournament closes July 19 at MetLife Stadium. After the June 7 friendlies, attention now shifts straight to those opening fixtures and to how teams resolved any issues exposed in their final warm-up matches.
