Chelsea's James warns England of extreme heat at 2026 World Cup
Portugal's football team faces Uzbekistan in their next World Cup match, needing a significant improvement in their attacking performance after a disappointing 1-1 draw with DR Congo.
With a population of 156,000, Curacao is the least populous country to go to the World Cup, beating the previous record held by Iceland with its 350,000 inhabitants.
Should FIFA approve the 64-team format, it would be a one-off birthday bash, with the tournament expected to shrink back to 48 in 2034.
Spain cannot meet Argentina and France will not face England before the World Cup final - provided they win their groups - after FIFA on Tuesday announced the draw procedure.
The 2026 World Cup will kick off-on June 11 with joint-hosts Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium - iconic venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals - followed by South Korea against a play-off winner after the complex draw was made on Friday.
Japan, South Korea, Australia, Iran, Uzbekistan and Jordan have already taken six of Asia's eight guaranteed spots at next year's 48-team World Cup.
Morocco confirmed their progress to the World Cup last 32 but twice had to come from behind to get the better of plucky Haiti with a 4-2 win in an action-packed game on Wednesday and fell short of topping Brazil in the Group C standings.
US President Donald Trump, who has campaigned aggressively this year for a Nobel Peace Prize, was given FIFA's inaugural peace prize for his efforts to promote dialogue and de-escalation in some of the world's biggest hotspots.
Gianni Infantino confirms he will seek a fourth term as FIFA president, with elections set for 2027 amid ongoing expansion reforms and criticism.
Debutants, heat and distance shape mood ahead of 2026 World Cup draw
The following is a list of teams that have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
FIFA boss Infantino also presented President Trump with the very first ticket to the tournament's grand finale.
Uzbekistan earn first World Cup qualification, Australia, Jordan close in
France return to No.1 in FIFA rankings after wins over Brazil and Colombia, while Spain drop to second and Argentina slip to third in the latest standings.
The 2023 Women's World Cup, hosted by Australia and New Zealand, broke even after generating more than $570 million in revenue.
Under the proposal, made by the FIFA Bureau, for the enlarged tournament beginning in 2026, Europe would get 16 direct places, Africa nine, Asia eight, South America six, CONCACAF six and Oceania one, totalling 46 teams.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino's proposal for a bigger World Cup is complete insanity, putting more pressure on already stretched players and risking damage to the sport's showcase event, Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said on Thursday.
France football great Marcel Desailly does not feel that visa issues relating to entering the United States will have any impact on the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Coach Branko Ivankovic insisted China's World Cup qualifying campaign was still alive despite back-to-back losses to Saudi Arabia and Australia over the last five days leaving them bottom of Asian qualifying Group C.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose election promises included expanding the World Cup finals to 40 countries, on Monday proposed an even larger tournament involving 48 teams.
US President Donald Trump welcomed Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami team to the White House on Thursday as he boasted about the United States' ongoing operation in Iran.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that proposals for a 32, 40 or 48-team World Cup in 2026 are still on the table and that a larger tournament would not mean a drop in quality.
Diego Maradona is delighted by plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams and Argentina's former captain said on Monday that it would rekindle interest in the tournament.
The World Cup will expand to 48 teams from its current 32, starting with the 2026 edition of football's showpiece tournament.
Beyond the three host nations, the highest number of applications came from Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.
Hammad Albalawi, head of Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup bid unit, said his country welcomes all visitors, including LGBTQ people and their bid to host the 48-team showpiece event has nothing to do with 'sportswashing' their human rights record.
Morocco change the mood for African football with exploits in Qatar
The world governing body approved a 32-team Club World Cup which will be played every four years from June 2025, apart from the increase in World Cup matches to 104.
The new format will be made up of 16 groups of three teams.
Asia's representatives are once again heading home before the business end of the World Cup gets going.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had proposed expanding the tournament and explored the idea of adding additional host nations.
FIFA conceded earlier this year they were concerned about the possibility of contrived results where two teams could engineer a positive result for both, which would eliminate the third group team not playing.
Banned former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he feels the soccer World Cup underway in Moscow is a little bit like "my World Cup" because he has been so well received on his visit to Moscow.
President Donald Trump's controversial immigration policies could hurt an expected U.S. bid to host the 2026 World Cup although plenty of time remains for concerns to ease before the decision by world soccer's governing body FIFA.
The North American bid beat the rival Morocco proposal, winning 134 votes to 65 for Morocco.
European countries will be able to bid to host the 2026 World Cup only if none of the eligible candidates are good enough, soccer's governing body said on Friday.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has defended the use of the video assistant referee system at the ongoing Club World Cup in Japan after the technology sparked controversy on both instances it was used.
Xavi, who won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 and is seeing out his career in Qatar with top-flight club Al Sadd, said 48 teams would not be the right option for 2022, however.
The three-nation United States-led bid to host the 2026 World Cup outscored its rival Morocco as both passed an inspection of their facilities and infrastructure, global soccer body FIFA said on Friday.
