Multi-champions Brazil, Argentina and Germany all won their preparatory games for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Saturday, although by small margins, with former champion England and hopeful Portugal also securing victories.
It is only the second time a tournament run by world football's governing body FIFA has featured as many as 48 teams.
Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room made 15 saves in the 0-0 draw with Ecuador -- the most in a 90-minute match in the World Cup history.
Argentina start their bid for back-to-back World Cups on Tuesday with a side full of familiar faces from Qatar 2022, facing an Algerian team buoyed by warm-up wins and featuring a 20-year-old rising star nicknamed after Diego Maradona.
Lionel Messi led Argentina to a dominant 3-0 victory over Iceland in a FIFA World Cup 2026 warm-up friendly, scoring a penalty and contributing to another goal after recovering from muscle fatigue.
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.
US border patrol agents have arrested 30 Indian nationals, living illegally in America, operating semitrucks with commercial driver's licenses. The arrests were part of a larger operation targeting illegal immigrants operating commercial vehicles.
Mexico will face the United States in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final after a second-half strike by Raul Jimenez earned the defending champions a 1-0 win over Honduras at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Wednesday.
United States President Donald Trump has named 23 countries as the major drug transit or major illicit drug-producing countries in a 'Presidential Determination' submitted to Congress.
Saudi Arabia, who were invited to play in the tournament by the North American soccer governing body and reached the quarter-finals after finishing second in Group D, did well to contain heavy favourites Mexico's attack in the first half.
A Haryana man who paid Rs 35 lakh to agents to facilitate his journey to the USA via the 'dunki' route was deported back to India after being apprehended in the US. The man, Pankaj Rawat, has filed a complaint with the Gujarat police accusing the agents of human trafficking and cheating.
Honduras scored their first World Cup goal for 32 years on Friday, but Enner Valencia replied twice to earn Ecuador a 2-1 Group E victory that gives them a fighting chance of making the knock-out phase.
Switzerland and Honduras drew 0-0 in their final Group H game with chances missed at both ends as the two sides were eliminated from the World Cup.
Here is the complete list of tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
'We were told by fellow travellers that if we ask too many questions, we could be shot'
The United States has deported a group of Indian migrants on a military transport aircraft, marking the first such deportation to India as part of President Donald Trump's crackdown on illegal immigration. The US embassy in New Delhi confirmed that Washington is tightening immigration laws and removing illegal migrants. The deportation comes as India and the US are finalizing details for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington in February. India has indicated its willingness to work with the US on addressing illegal immigration, and has said it will take back all Indians who have overstayed or are in the US without documentation.
Maradona was visiting the Central American nation on Wednesday where he was due to meet directors of the Honduran federation.
Several Indian immigrants, including 30 from Punjab, were deported from the US after being apprehended at the border. They had paid hefty sums to travel agents who promised them a better life in America, only to be met with illegal crossings and harsh detention conditions. Their dreams are now shattered, leaving them with heavy debts and a bleak future.
Honduras qualified for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil on Tuesday by clinching the last of the automatic qualifying spots in North and Central America and the Caribbean, while Mexico stayed in contention by claiming the playoff spot after Panama suffered a heartbreaking loss to the United States.
A Karim Benzema brace and an own goal by goalkeeper Noel Valladares awarded after confirmation by goalline technology gave France a 3-0 victory over 10-man Honduras in their World Cup Group E match on Sunday.
Jean Beausejour scored the only goal as Chile beat Honduras 1-0 in their Group H opening match on Wednesday and secure their first World Cup victory in 48 years.
Over 100 Indian immigrants, including 33 each from Haryana and Gujarat, 30 from Punjab, and several from other states, were deported from the US after undertaking perilous journeys filled with extortion and hardship. The returnees landed in Amritsar in a US military plane and are now back home, facing huge debts and emotional trauma. Many of them were lured by promises of a better life in the US but fell victim to human trafficking and extortion rings. The families of the deportees are demanding strict action against the travel agents who facilitated their illegal journeys.
Miss Honduras 2014 was supposed to fly to London on Wednesday to compete in the Miss World pageant. Instead, she and her sister were found dead near the spa where they disappeared six days ago.
In the earlier match on the night, Ghana beat debutants Niger 2-0, face Mali in quarters
Photos of the World Cup match between Honduras and Switzerland
Fans of the Olimpia and Motagua football teams, bitter local opponents, rioted outside Tegucigalpa's National Stadium after a crowd of people believed to be rival supporters intercepted and vandalized a bus transporting Motagua players, police said.
Honduras national team midfielder Arnold Peralta was shot to death in a shopping mall parking lot in his hometown of La Ceiba on the country's Caribbean coast, police said. The country is plagued by gang violence and has one of the highest murder rates in the world.
Striker David Villa hit two stunning goals -- and missed a penalty -- as Spain returned to form with a 2-0 victory over Honduras at the World Cup on Monday.
President Trump made these remarks on Monday while talking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his way back to Joint Base Andrews from Florida.
Mexico coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was fired on Thursday, less than 24 hours after his team lost 3-1 to Honduras in a World Cup qualifier. The Swede's position has been the subject of frequent speculation after several away defeats including two World Cup reverses in Honduras and one in Jamaica.
Former champions France should put underdogs Honduras to the sword in their World Cup Group E opener in Porto Alegre on Sunday - although their penchant for self-destruction gives the Central Americans hope of an upset.
Neymar scored a brace, including the fastest goal in Olympic history, Gabriel Jesus got two more and Marquinhos and Luan added one each as Brazil swept past Honduras 6-0 into the final of the men's Olympic soccer tournament on Wednesday.
Goal-line technology was used for the first time in a World Cup match to decide if the ball had crossed the line during France's Group E clash with Honduras on Sunday.
A dominant Spain got their World Cup campaign firmly back on track when David Villa struck twice to lead the European champions to a 2-0 win over Group H minnows Honduras on Monday.
In one of the world's worst incidents of prison fire, a massive blaze swept through an overcrowded jail in Honduras, killing at least 350 inmates and leaving officials struggling to quell growing public outrage at the treatment of victims and their families, reports stated.
Archaeologists and filmmakers Steven Elkins and Bill Benenson announced last year that they had discovered possible ruins in Honduras' Mosquitia region using lidar, or light detection and ranging.
The Hong Kong Football Association were left red-faced and out of pocket after only managing to sell half the tickets for Tuesday's glamour friendly against Argentina to mark their centenary.
On India, while appreciating the measures adopted by it to address discrimination, the Committee expressed concern about alleged discrimination and violence against minority groups, including religious minorities, such as Muslims, Christians, and Sikhs, "scheduled castes" and "scheduled tribes", and LGBTI people.
An estimated 46 million foreign-born persons resided in the United States in 2022, approximately 14 per cent of the total US population of 333 million, according to American Community Survey data from the US Census Bureau.
