FIFA said on Wednesday it hoped all 16 host cities will be 鈥榬eady鈥� to stage games at the 2026 World Cup finals after US President Donald Trump suggested matches could be moved for security reasons.
South Africa, Ivory Coast and Senegal all won convincingly on Tuesday to fill the last three automatic places reserved for Africa at the 2026 World Cup.
Harry Kane scored twice as England thrashed Latvia 5-0 on Tuesday to secure qualification for the 2026 World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were forced to wait to clinch their spot at the finals after being held by Hungary.
Injury-hit France were held to a 2-2 draw by Iceland in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Monday, while Germany won in Northern Ireland with a Nick Woltemade goal and Belgium beat Wales to stand on the brink of a place at next year's finals.
Cape Verde beat Eswatini 3-0 on Monday to secure a spot at the 2026 World Cup, booking their place in football's global showpiece for the very first time.
Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic announced late Saturday he was quitting after his team lost to Albania 0-1 in their World Cup qualifier at home.
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to pass 50 international goals in record time as Norway cruised to a 5-0 thrashing of Israel on Saturday, edging closer to qualifying for a first World Cup finals since 1998.
Scotland roared back to beat Greece 3-1 on Thursday to boost their hopes of direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup, while Cody Gakpo inspired the Netherlands to a 4-0 win in Malta.
Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored twice to help Egypt beat Djibouti 3-0 in Casablanca on Wednesday and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Italy are struggling to qualify automatically for next year's World Cup finals and the pressure on the team is exacerbated by the tension surrounding next Tuesday's qualifier with Israel in Udine.
Thomas Tuchel urged 鈥榓mazing鈥� England to use their 5-0 demolition of Serbia as the standard they must maintain on the road to the World Cup.
Bolivia kept their 2026 World Cup dream alive by snatching a play-off place with a 1-0 victory over Brazil in El Alto on Tuesday, taking advantage of Venezuela's home defeat to Colombia.
England sent out a warning to their World Cup rivals with a brilliant 5-0 thrashing of Serbia in qualifying on Tuesday, while Erling Haaland scored five goals as Norway emphatically maintained their 100-percent record.
Alexander Isak believes 鈥榥ot everyone has the whole picture鈥� of his protracted Premier League record 拢125 million ($169 million) move to Liverpool after an acrimonious exit from Newcastle.
Sandro Tonali's last-gasp winner edged Italy to a 5-4 victory over Israel in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Monday, while Kosovo beat Sweden despite Alexander Isak making his first appearance of the season.
France coach Didier Deschamps calmed suggestions of a rift between the national team and Paris Saint-Germain after the European champions were left fuming after Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue picked up injuries on international duty.
Mikel Merino scored a hat-trick as a majestic Spain thumped Turkey 6-0 away in World Cup qualifying on Sunday, while a brilliant Florian Wirtz free-kick helped Germany beat Northern Ireland 3-1 to get their bid up and running.
Cristiano Ronaldo helped an emotional Portugal enjoy a perfect start to their World Cup qualifying campaign as Thomas Tuchel's uninspiring England remained unbeaten on Saturday.
Tottenham's Djed Spence said the opportunity to make history as the first male player who publically identifies as a Muslim to represent England was a 鈥榖lessing鈥� as he prepares for a potential debut.
With the next World Cup kicking off in just over nine months, European champions Spain and some of the continent's other heavyweights finally begin their qualifying campaigns this week.
Charismatic veteran coach Marcelo Bielsa is on the brink of guiding a third team to World Cup qualification as Uruguay take on Peru on Thursday needing only a draw to secure their ticket to next year's North American extravaganza.
Hugo Ekitike missed out on a place in the France squad named Wednesday for the start of their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, but coach Didier Deschamps did hand a first senior call-up to highly-rated Monaco winger Maghnes Akliouche.
Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti did not recall Neymar and spared Vinicius Junior for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia next month with Lucas Paqueta returning to the national team.
Las Vegas will play host to the 2026 World Cup draw on December 5, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.
FIFA has opened an office inside Trump Tower in New York City as it steps up preparations for the 2026 World Cup in North America, world football's governing body announced.
After securing their place in the AFC Women鈥檚 Asian Cup for the first time, the Bangladesh national team, who are two-time SAFF champions, now have the opportunity to aim higher by qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2027 and the Olympics 2028...
New Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti considers Neymar 鈥榓 very important player鈥� and has urged the injury-prone star 鈥榯o prepare well鈥� for the 2026 World Cup.
Poland coach Michal Probierz, who had been feuding with star striker Robert Lewandowski, has resigned for 鈥榯he good of the national team鈥�, the country's football federation said on Thursday.
Australia qualified for next year's World Cup in North America while Oman ended Palestine's hopes of a first appearance at the finals with a last-gasp draw on Tuesday.
Netherlands maintained their winning start to European 2026 World Cup qualifying by dismissing Malta 8-0 on Tuesday, while their group rivals Poland lost to Finland in a match interrupted due to a medical emergency in the crowd.
