World Cup

There is a moment in the 2006 World Cup quarter-final against Germany, in the 71st minute at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, that tells you everything about Juan Román Riquelme and nothing about football's wisdom. Argentina lead 1-0. The…

One of Africa’s most respected match officials, Omar Abdulkadir Artan, was reportedly refused entry into the United States upon arrival for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and subsequently sent back to Turkey, according to initial reports. The…

It was a long summer afternoon I remember like yesterday. The latest issue of the bi-weekly Bangla magazine, which had satiated most of my growing appetite for reading when I was eight, had arrived. That summer afternoon, about a month…

2026 FIFA World Cup Fixture Schedule and Kick-Off Times | The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in the early hours of Friday, 12 June IST, with hosts Mexico facing africa/">South Africa at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. This summer's…

There is a photograph from the night of 25 June 2002 that captures something essential about Michael Ballack. He is sitting in the locker room at Seoul World Cup Stadium, still in his Germany kit, and he is weeping. His team had just beaten…

The 2026 World Cup will not belong to one country. For the first time, three nations share it. The United States, Mexico and Canada will stage the tournament across 16 cities. Eleven sit in the USA, three in Mexico and two in Canada.…

For most of the World Cup's history, third place meant a flight home. In 2026, it might mean a place in the knockouts. Best Third-Placed Teams: The 2026 World Cup Rule Explained. The expanded 48-team format created an odd new problem.…

FIFA Chief Refereeing Officer Pierluigi Collina has confirmed that these regulations will be active starting from the next World Cup.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on 11 June and runs through to 19 July, with 48 teams competing across the United States, Canada and Mexico for the first time. Each nation has registered a 26-man squad ahead of FIFA's 2 June submission…

The biggest tournament in football history starts on June 11. It will look nothing like the one you grew up watching. For nearly three decades, the World Cup followed a familiar shape. Thirty-two teams, eight groups, a clean run to the…