World Cup what to know: France's Kylian Mbappé, Norway's Erling Haaland take center stage

Shortly after his team beat Senegal, Norway star Erling Haaland said he didn't care all that much about its next game against France.

The rest of the soccer world sure does.

One of the marquee matchups of the World Cup takes place in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Friday, when Haaland and the Norwegians face France and Kylian Mbappé.

Mbappé, one of the world's best strikers, has scored four goals in two games to push his World Cup total to 16, two behind Lionel Messi's record.

Haaland has put on a show in his first World Cup, scoring twice each in wins over Senegal and Iraq.

This is a matchup even casual soccer fans won't want to miss.

Also on Friday, Spain can clinch Group H against Uruguay, which likely needs a win to keep its knockout-stage hopes alive. Belgium faces New Zealand in what is likely a must-win for both sides.

The winner of Group G will likely be decided when Egypt meets Iran in Seattle.

Senegal also faces Iraq in a game both sides need to win to have a shot at advancing to the knockout stage as a third-place team.

— Norway vs. France, 3 p.m. EDT in Foxborough, Massachusetts (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Senegal vs. France, 3 p.m. EDT in Toronto (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Uruguay vs. Spain, 8 p.m. EDT in Guadalajara, Mexico (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Cape Verde vs. Saudi Arabia, 8 p.m. EDT in Houston (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

— New Zealand vs. Belgium, 11 p.m. EDT in Vancouver, British Columbia (Fox/Telemundo/Peacock)

— Egypt vs. Iran, 11 p.m. EDT in Seattle (FS1/Telemundo/Peacock)

Cape Verde has made quite an impression its first World Cup.

The island nation off the western coast of Africa pulled off one of the World Cup's biggest surprises by playing pre-tournament favorite Spain to a scoreless draw in its opener. Cape Verde followed that up by scoring its first goals of the World Cup in a 2-2 tie against Uruguay.

Next up could be a monumental achievement for the Blue Sharks: a spot in the knockout stage.

Beat Saudi Arabia in Houston and Cape Verde will finish no worse than second in Group H. Even a draw could be good enough to get the Blue Sharks out of the group, a monumental accomplishment for a nation of about 500,000 people and about 15 million new Instagram followers

“It’s in our hands,” defender Roberto Lopes said. “We have to go and take it.”

The Egypt-Iran match will likely determine the winner of Group G.

The game in Seattle has an awkward backdrop.

By coincidence, the game will be a “Pride Match” in Seattle, coinciding with the city’s annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community.

Egypt and Iran are two of the most repressive places in the world for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, and both sides tried to get the celebrations canceled, to no avail.

Iran also has faced multiple hurdles playing in the United States in this World Cup due to the war in the Middle East. The Iranians had been forced to travel only on game days from their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, but U.S. officials eased restrictions to allow the team to travel two days before the match against Egypt.

One of the highlight matches of the group stage takes place in Guadalajara, Mexico, with European champion Spain taking on South American powerhouse Uruguay, which will be in danger of not advancing if its loses.

Uruguay was held to draws by Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde and now only a win against favorite Spain will ensure the team moves on to the next round. A draw or a loss will leave Uruguay’s fate dependent on other results.

Spain will advance with a draw, but only a win will secure La Roja first place in Group H.

France assistant coach Guy Stéphan attended Thursday’s prematch news conference in place of coach Didier Deschamps, whose mother recently died.

The 57-year-old Deschamps is currently in France and will miss the team’s final group-stage match against Norway on Friday. Deschamps previously announced he is stepping down as France coach after the tournament, 14 years after taking the job.

Stéphan said his thoughts continue to be with Deschamps and his family.

“He is very affected,” Stéphan said. “I have a lot of exchanges with him, even just a few minutes ago. I will strive to make the situation as normal as possible and to prove worthy of the trust he places in me.”

William Saliba and Marcus Thuram sat out France’s training session to rest. Stéphan said Saliba also won’t be available on Friday.

— Ivory Coast into World Cup knockout round for 1st time as Pépé scores twice in 2-0 win over Curaçao

— Ecuador advances to World Cup knockout rounds, beats Germany 2-1 on Plata’s 77th-minute goal

— The World Cup is half over, with 54 of 104 matches complete. And the drama is just getting started

— Canada will be first World Cup host to play game outside its borders

— For Scotland and other teams in 3rd place, the World Cup waiting game is underway

— Schick retires from international stage after Czech Republic’s World Cup exit

— World Cup coaches are worried about yellow cards this week. Here’s what to know

— Demolition greets Sweden at its World Cup base camp during FC Dallas renovation project

— Mexico teenager Gilberto Mora impresses in first World Cup start and could see role expand

— Day 15 of the World Cup, in photos

The World Cup has set an attendance record with 3,605,357 fans, barely halfway through this year's tournament. The previous record of 3,587,538 was set the last time the United States hosted in 1994.

AP sports writers Kyle Hightower and Tales Azzoni contributed to this report.

See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here

Ivory Coast's Nicolas Pepe, second from right, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's second goal during the World Cup Group E soccer match between Curacao and Ivory Coast in Philadelphia, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Ecuador's Denil Castillo controls the ball during the World Cup Group E soccer match against Germany in East Rutherford, N.J., near New York, Thursday, June 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Cape Verde supporters react following the World Cup Group H soccer match between Uruguay and Cape Verde in Miami Gardens, Fla., Sunday, June 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

France's Kylian Mbappe (10) and his teammates gesture to fans following the World Cup Group I soccer match between France and Iraq in Philadelphia, Monday, June 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to end legal protections for migrants fleeing violence and natural disaster in Haiti and Syria, exposing hundreds of thousands more people to potential deportation.

The 6-3 decision overturns lower court orders and allows the Department of Homeland Security to swiftly end temporary protected status, a program that protects a total of 1.3 million people from 17 countries.

It marked another victory at the high court for Republican President Donald Trump's sweeping crackdown on immigration. Though the conservative-dominated court has put the brakes on some of Trump’s immigration policies, it handed him a second win Thursday in a decision clearing the way for the revival of a policy restricting immigrants seeking asylum.

The court’s conservative majority found that the law doesn’t allow courts to question the process that immigration authorities use to revoke the protections.

The opinion from Justice Samuel Alito also brushed aside arguments that Trump's derogatory comments about Haitians showed the decision was unlawfully tinged by prejudice. He called the statements “insufficient to show that the termination of Haiti’s TPS designation was based on the race of the Haitian people.”

Justice Elena Kagan forcefully disagreed, calling Trump's comments “so repellent and racially inflected that the majority declines to put them in print.” Her dissent pointed out that Trump had said Haitians in the U.S. “probably have AIDS,” and he also amplified false rumors during the 2024 campaign that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were abducting and eating dogs and cats.

Federal authorities deny that prejudice played a role, and argued that TPS was supposed to be temporary but has lasted over a decade in some cases.

James Percival, DHS general counsel, applauded Thursday’s ruling. He said the program had become “de facto amnesty. This is a win for the rule of law and common sense.”

In a Fox News interview Thursday, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called it “a victory 10 years in the making," saying it allows Haitian migrants to “finally” be removed.

Lawyers said Haitian immigrants would be in danger if they are sent back. “Simply put, the Supreme Court’s ruling will directly result in thousands of innocent people dying violent, needless deaths,” Geoff Pipoly and Andy Tauber said.

They urged the Senate to approve an extension of deportation protections for Haitians that passed the House on a rare bipartisan vote in April.

“Families are here, kids are going to school, parents are going into work, folks are trying to commute, and it’s like the Supreme Court just put all those activities on stop and put folks in limbo,” said Viles Dorsainvil, who runs a support center for Haitians in Springfield, Ohio.

People with TPS are also a key part of the workforce in long-term care facilities, an industry group said. “This would be a dreadful loss for all seniors in our community,” said Rita Siebenaler, a resident at Goodwin Living, a senior living community in Virginia.

The Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court after judges postponed the end of the program for about 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians. The high court sided with the administration before and allowed the end of the program for people from Venezuela.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025, Homeland Security has moved to end the protections, including some that had been in place for more than a decade, for people from 13 countries.

Immigration lawyers said the terminations were made through an improperly fast process, even though countries such as Haiti and Syria remain dangerous. Four Haitian women who were deported from the United States in February were later found beheaded and dumped in a river several months later, lawyers said in court documents.

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, called the ruling “a devastating betrayal of Haitian families who have lived, worked, and contributed to this country for years — only to be cast out based on anti-Black immigration sentiment.”

The United States first granted protections to Haitians in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and extended them multiple times amid ongoing gang violence that has displaced more than a million people, according to court documents.

Syrians were first granted protected status in 2012, during a civil war that lasted for more than a decade before the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government in late 2024.

“Today, many of our community members, they feel lost,” Farrah AlKhorfan of Immigrants Act Now said about Syrian immigrants losing TPS protections. “They are trying to understand … what this decision means for them and how it will be implemented and how much time they will have to prepare for what comes next.”

The program was created by Congress in 1990 to prevent deportations to countries suffering from natural disasters, civil strife and other instability. It allows people already in the country to stay with work permits in increments of up to 18 months, but it does not provide a path to citizenship.

Associated Press writer Tim Sullivan in Minneapolis and Collin Binkley in Washington contributed to this report.

FILE - The U.S. Supreme Court is seen, June 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

FILE - Linda Joseph holds a candle during a vigil at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary immigration status, or TPS, for Haitians, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in North Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)