Teenage Barcelona star Lamine Yamal and fellow winger Nico Williams will be available for Spain’s World Cup opener against debutants Cape Verde on June 15, coach Luis de la Fuente said on Sunday. Yamal and Athletic Bilbao’s Williams both missed the end of the club season with hamstring injuries and their imminent returns will be […]
World Cup
Injury concerns for Morocco ahead of their World Cup opener
Morocco are concerned about injuries to starters Abdessamad Ezzalzouli and Noussair Mazraoui, who could be forced out of their opening game at the World Cup against Brazil on Sunday. Both went off early in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Norway in their last warm-up match before this week’s kick-off of the tournament in Canada, Mexico, and […]
Iraq World Cup striker Hussein questioned for hours at Chicago airport, source says
Iraq’s World Cup striker, Aymen Hussein, was held and questioned for nearly seven hours at Chicago’s O’Hare airport after arriving with the squad early on Saturday, an Iraqi sporting official said. Hussein was finally allowed in, but the team’s photographer was barred from entering the United States, said the official who works for the Iraqi […]
Iran World Cup squad heads to Mexico as US visa row erupts
Iran lashed out at the United States on Saturday for refusing visas to some of its World Cup squad support staff as the players were to leave Turkey for Mexico. The row erupted just days before the June 11 start of the 2026 World Cup, which is being jointly hosted by the United States, Mexico […]
Bosnia’s World Cup pursuit begins at a home-away-from home in the American Midwest
Bosnia’s World Cup team is led by 40-year-old captain Edin Džeko and 18-year-old winger Kerim Alajbegovic An estimated 60,000-70,000 Bosnians live in St. Louis, many arriving in the early 1990s during the Bosnian War Far from its European homeland, Bosnia and Herzegovina has zealous fans in the American Midwest as it prepares for its second […]
Germany’s Karl ruled out of World Cup with muscle tear
Germany’s attacking midfielder Lennart Karl will miss the World Cup after sustaining a muscle tear in training before Saturday’s friendly international against the United States, coach Julian Nagelsmann said. The 18-year-old suffered a muscle bundle tear in his left thigh during training on Friday in Chicago and was taken to hospital. He will be replaced […]
FIFA bans vuvuzelas from World Cup stadiums
Soccer fans looking to bring the party to World Cup games will have to go without vuvuzelas, with FIFA banning the plastic horns from venues in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in its stadium code of conduct. Vuvuzelas, a horn made with a long plastic shell, are a staple of South African soccer matches and […]
France brush off Ivory Coast loss, call it timely World Cup reminder
France brushed aside concerns after suffering a surprise 2-1 defeat by Ivory Coast in a World Cup warm-up match on Thursday, insisting the setback would serve as a useful reminder rather than a cause for alarm ahead of ?the tournament. Didier Deschamps’ side led through a superb first-half goal from Rayan Cherki but were overrun […]
The 48-Team World Cup: Bigger Stage, Smaller Stakes?
The FIFA World Cup has always been football’s ultimate test. It is not just a tournament; it is a pressure cooker where every mistake is magnified, every point matters, and every group-stage match can decide a nation’s fate. That ruthless intensity is what has made it the greatest sporting spectacle in the world. But in […]
Iran World Cup squad to reach Mexico early Sunday
Iran’s World Cup squad will arrive early on Sunday in Mexico where they will be based for the duration of the global football tournament, a team statement said Wednesday. “The Iran national football team will depart Antalya for Tijuana at 15:20 (1220 GMT) on Saturday, June 6, and is scheduled to arrive in Mexico at […]