Cristiano Ronaldo birthday special coverage: Check Cristiano Ronaldo age, stats, total goals, career records, trophies and net worth details.
Promoted Sunderland, who have defied expectations to stay in the top half of the Premier League table, could be the worst affected with six players going to the tournament, while the likes of Fulham, Manchester United, Burnley and Crystal Palace will also have to make do without some key personnel.
IMAGES from football matches played on Monday.
Next year's 48-team World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
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.
US authorities are investigating corruption at FIFA, soccer's global governing body, while Swiss prosecutors have announced their own criminal inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bids awarded, respectively, to Russia and Qatar.
Hosts France will play an Olympic men's football final for the first time in 40 years after beating Egypt 3-1 in extra-time at the Lyon stadium on Monday and will face Spain for the gold medal.
A fan invasion in the opening match of the Olympic football tournament between Argentina and Morocco on Wednesday caused chaos, with Argentina eventually beaten 2-1 following a VAR review after play was suspended with the score tied at 2-2.
The teams that have qualified for the 2026 World Cup, to be hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
Cape Verde rarely played international football some 25 years ago but now head to next year's finals in North America as one of the nine African representatives.
Morocco coach hails fighting spirit and passionate crowd
As the game wound on, Morocco fans screamed "Ole, ole, ole!" in unison, drowning out the handful of Portuguese fans and whistling whenever Portugal took possession of the ball.
Aitana Bonmat won the women's Ballon d'Or for the third year running while the 18-year-old Yamal, who was Dembele's teammate at Barcelona when he first broke through in 2023, was again awarded the men's Kopa Trophy.
Retired Ivorian player and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba: "They did it!!!! Well done Morocco for this feat. Long live Africa."
Croatia and Morocco will face off in Qatar for a second time after playing out a 0-0 draw in their group opener
Morocco are happy to sit back and look to punish opponents on the counter-attack using the speed and skill of Hakim Ziyech
'I am not going to try and set up any particular tactical plan to counter Kylian'
Saudi Arabia will host the men's soccer World Cup in 2034 while the 2030 edition will be held in Spain, Portugal and Morocco, with one-off matches in three South American countries, world soccer's governing body FIFA confirmed on Wednesday.
The din of a concerned crowd transformed into a tumultuous racket when Abdelhamid Sabiri's free kick caught out Thibaut Courtois at his near post and captain Romain Saiss added a slight touch to see Morocco into the lead.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Quarter-final match between Portugal and Morocco on Saturday.
A 64-team World Cup in 2030 should not be considered, CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani has said, joining some other confederations in opposing a plan presented by CONMEBOL.
I told my players to take 1,000 penalties, says Spain's Luis Enrique
Images from the FIFA World Cup Group F match between Morocco and Croatia on Wednesday.
'I'm not worried but we know they beat big teams to get there and we're going to take it seriously. It's not a surprise to see them here anymore. They deserve to be here.'
Morocco relied on the usual mixture of North African style, combining committed defence with counter-attacks
The sporting action at the Paris Olympics kicked off with two soccer matches on Wednesday.
Brazil have sacked head coach Dorival Jr, the country's football confederation (CBF) said on Friday, after the five-times World champions were thrashed 4-1 away to fierce rivals Argentina in a humiliating qualifying loss in Buenos Aires.
Hosts France reached the Olympic men's football semi-finals for the first time in 40 years with a 1-0 win over Argentina thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta's first-half goal in a grudge match in Bordeaux on Friday.
European champions Portugal were let off the hook by Morocco's wasteful finishing and another Cristiano Ronaldo moment as they notched up a fortuitous victory in the World Cup on Wednesday. Yet, the reactions of the respective coaches suggested a different result.
Aziz Bouhaddouz headed an own goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time to give Iran a stunning 1-0 victory over Morocco in the first Group B game of the World Cup on Friday.
FIFA is set to confirm the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 men's World Cups on Wednesday, with a three-continent, six-nation bid led by Morocco, Spain and Portugal to be awarded the former and the latter going to Saudi Arabia.
Scotland's Scott McTominay grabbed another brace of goals as they stunned a much-changed Spain side to earn a deserved 2-0 victory in their Euro 2024 qualifier.
Portugal inexplicably lost control of the game despite managing to beat Morocco 1-0 in the World Cup Group B match on Wednesday and were lucky not to get themselves in more trouble, coach Fernando Santos said.
Morocco have been banned from the next two African Nations Cup tournaments as punishment for withdrawing from hosting the 2015 finals over fears of the spread of the Ebola virus.
Morocco and Iran's hopes of making a mark at the World Cup before a ball has been kicked, and they head into their opening match in St Petersburg on Friday knowing defeat could likely mean an early exit.
Spain secured the gold medal in the Olympic men's soccer tournament after Sergio Camello scored twice in extra-time to earn a dramatic 5-3 win over hosts France in a nail-biting final at Parc des Princes on Friday.
Morocco has lodged a last-minute bid to host the 2026 soccer World Cup and will compete against a three-way bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The top 10 most-capped players in men's soccer:
Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne has been charged with committing sexual assault on board a train, police said on Monday.
Proud Morocco want to build African legacy after World Cup run, says Regragui
