Tag: FIFA World Cup 2026

Brazil star player Neymar has undergone a successful operation on his left knee to repair a damaged meniscus, his club Santos said on Monday.

The 33-year-old endured a difficult season with Santos as he played through the injury to help the club avoid relegation from Brazil’s top flight.

Brazil’s national team doctor performed the arthroscopic surgery, having previously operated on Neymar for a foot fracture as well as the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament he suffered against Uruguay in October 2023.

Neymar is expected to require a recovery period of around a month. His Santos contract expires at the end of the year, but he is in talks with the club over a new deal.

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The former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain forward has not played for Brazil in over two years but is hoping to be fit and figure in coach Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for the 2026 World Cup.

Neymar is Brazil’s record goalscorer with 79 goals from 128 matches.

For the unversed, the 2026 World Cup will start on June 11 in Mexico, USA and Canada.

The hosts, Mexico, will play South Africa at the Azteca Stadium — venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals.

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Spurred on by World Cup 2026 fever, US President Donald Trump said Friday that American football should be renamed as the game played with a round ball, soccer, was the one true football.

“We have a little bit of a conflict with another thing that’s called football, but when you think about it, shouldn’t it really be called … football, there is no question,” Trump said at the World Cup draw.

“We have to come up with another name for the NFL (National Football League). It really doesn’t make sense when you think about it.”

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For Americans, the word “football” refers to American football, a sport primarily played with the hands, unlike what the rest of the world calls football.

Almost the entire country tunes in each year to the NFL championship final, the Super Bowl, and FIFA President Gianni Infantino made sure to emphasise on Friday to Americans that the World Cup 2026 would be the equivalent of 104 Super Bowls.

An all-round sports enthusiast, Trump has developed a particular affection for soccer that continues to grow as the World Cup 2026, which will take place next summer in the United States of America (USA), Mexico, and Canada, approaches.

READ: FIFA unveils groups for the World Cup 2026

MILAN: Norway qualified for their first World Cup since 1998 after Erling Haaland struck again in a 4-1 thumping of Italy on Sunday, which sealed a spot in the 2026 edition in the United States of America (USA), Canada and Mexico.

Haaland scored the decisive brace in the space of seconds at a soaking San Siro for Norway, who completed Group I with a perfect 24 points from their eight qualifying matches.

Norway would have had to lose by nine goals or more in order to be overtaken by Italy for the group’s only automatic place for next summer’s finals in North America, but Stale Solbakken’s side gloriously ended their campaign in front of 70,000 people.

However, Solbakken was coy as to his powerful team’s chances now that a 28-year weight has come to an end.

Haaland’s father, Alf-Inge, was still an international player when Norway last competed in the World Cup 27 years ago, a tournament won by a Zinedine Zidane-inspired France.

 

And the Manchester City striker, called a “goal machine” by Solbakken, will be one of the players to watch in North America after smashing in 16 goals during qualifying.

The 25-year-old is averaging more than a goal a game for club and country this season and was typically ruthless when presented with his opportunities to both put Norway ahead and then double their lead in the 78th and 79th minutes.

Pio Esposito opened the scoring for Italy in the 11th minute, but once Antonio Nusa levelled with a thumping strike in the 63rd minute, there was only one team that looked like winning, and Jorgen Strand Larsen’s brilliant individual goal completed the rout in stoppage time.

Italy will head to the play-offs in March after finishing the group six points behind Norway following two bracing defeats to Solbakken’s team, and exited the San Siro field to a hail of whistles from the few home fans who had stayed until the end.

READ: Portugal hammer Armenia to qualify for World Cup 2026

Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo said he wants Ireland fans to boo him in Thursday’s FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier in Dublin.

Portugal will reach the 2026 World Cup finals with a victory, and Ronaldo said if the crowd focused on him, it could take pressure off his teammates.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is aiming to play at a sixth World Cup next summer, and Portugal lead qualifying Group F by five points with two matches remaining.

“The stadium will boo me, I’m used to it, I certainly hope they do, maybe it will take the pressure off other players,” Ronaldo told a news conference on Wednesday.

Ronaldo said he expected it would be a “difficult” match, with Ireland sitting back and denying him and his teammates space.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward was also asked about the possibility of scoring his 1000th career goal in the World Cup final.

“You’ve been watching too many movies, that would be too perfect,” laughed Ronaldo, 40.

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“Getting back to reality, all this data makes me happy. A national team never depends on one player, but I like being able to make a difference with goals.

“It’s always good to score goals, that’s my position. I want to play in this next World Cup; otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, but let’s take it step by step.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, currently playing at Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, has scored 953 goals in his career to date.

The striker is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143 goals and said Tuesday he believes the 2026 World Cup will be his last and he expects to retire from football within a couple of years.

However, on Wednesday, Ronaldo said he preferred to focus on the team’s goal of qualifying rather than discuss his future in the game.

“There’s no point in being repetitive and losing focus,” he added. “Maybe later on I’ll give more interviews and speak more clearly about what I think for the future, but Portugal has another opportunity to be in another final.”

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Son Heung-min said South Korea need to show the big teams less respect at the FIFA World Cup 2026 after recovering from being “punched” by Brazil to beat Paraguay.

The captain Son and his teammates were hammered 5-0 by Brazil in a friendly in Seoul last week, but got back on track with a 2-0 home win over Paraguay on Tuesday.

Son, who set a new record for South Korea’s men’s team with his 137th appearance against Brazil, urged his side to ignore their opponents’ reputations at the World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

“When we go up against strong teams, we have to think about how we can be more aggressive,” said Son, now playing for Los Angeles FC.

“For instance, I think we respected Brazil too much and that had a big influence on the result.

“We now know it hurts to get punched like that, and we have to learn how to fight back.”

South Korea have upset more fancied teams at the World Cup before, famously beating Portugal, Italy and Spain on the way to the semi-finals on home soil in 2002.

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They scored a goal in each half against Paraguay in Seoul, through Eom Ji-sung and Oh Hyeon-gyu.

Son Heung-min played only the first half after appearing for just over an hour against Brazil.

The 33-year-old forward said he was proud of his team’s performance just days after the Brazil humiliation.

“After a big loss like the one we had, players can feel discouraged, and it can show on the pitch,” said Son.

“To see my teammates put that behind them and pounce on their chances, I felt really grateful as their captain.”

Tuesday’s friendly was played out in front of a disappointing crowd of 20,000.

“If we play better football and more entertaining football, then I am sure fans will return to the stadium,” said Son.

READ: Portugal’s Ronaldo becomes all-time top World Cup qualifying scorer

Cape Verde beat Eswatini 3-0 on Monday to secure a spot at the FIFA World Cup 2026, booking their place in football’s global showpiece for the very first time.

The team from an archipelago off the coast of Senegal has about 550,000 inhabitants, making Cape Verde the country with the smallest population to represent Africa in the global showpiece.

Cape Verde won Group D with 23 points, four more than Cameroon, who hold the African record for World Cup appearances with eight. Cameroon drew 0-0 with Angola in Yaounde.

After dominating the first half of the 2026 qualifier, but seldom threatening to score, the Blue Sharks struck twice through Dailon Livramento and Willy Semedo in the first nine minutes after half-time before a 15,000 flag-waving crowd in Praia.

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Livramento claimed his fourth goal of the 10-round qualifying campaign in 48 minutes, and Semedo struck six minutes later. Both goals came from close-range tap-ins.

Cape Verde added a third goal in added time when Stopira, a substitute for Joao Paulo, pounced on a loose ball to score.

Cape Verde rely heavily on players born outside the nation to Cape Verdean parents or grandparents. Livramento was born in Rotterdam and Semedo near Paris.

Eswatini had come to the 10-island archipelago with little attacking ambition, adopting a 5-4-1 formation in front of goalkeeper Khanyakwezwe Shabalala.

But after conceding twice, there was no way back for the team from southern Africa, who lost seven qualifiers and drew the other three.

Cape Verde spread the national team net wide with three starters based in Portugal and one each in the United States, Republic of Ireland, UAE, Romania, Russia, Netherlands, Turkey, and Cyprus.

The remarkable qualification of Cape Verde came after they made a disappointing start to the 10-match campaign, drawing 0-0 at home with Angola and slumping to a 4-1 loss in Cameroon.

Those results left the Blue Sharks with four points from a possible nine, having won away to Eswatini in between.

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Mohammed Kudus scored as Ghana beat Comoros 1-0 in Accra on Sunday to win Group I and become the fifth African qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026 after Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.

Cheered on by a capacity 40,000 crowd, Ghana dominated first-half possession and territory, but slow, predictable attacks meant Comoros goalkeeper Adel Anzimati-Aboudou was seldom troubled.

However, the home side wasted little time after the interval in taking the lead as Tottenham midfielder Kudus struck on 47 minutes.

Comoros only partially cleared a goalmouth scramble, and when the ball was crossed low into the six-yard box, Kudus tapped it into the net from point-blank range.

Success against Comoros was particularly sweet as the Indian Ocean islanders shocked Ghana at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and beat them again in the second round of World Cup qualifying two years ago.

Ghana top the group with 25 points from 10 matches. Madagascar finished second with 19 points despite a 4-1 loss to third-placed Mali in Bamako.

It will be the fifth appearance by the Black Stars in the global showpiece. Their best performance was in 2010 in South Africa, where they lost to Uruguay after a quarter-final penalty shootout.

Qualification for the expanded 48-nation 2026 tournament, which the United States, Canada, and Mexico will co-host, justified the faith of Ghanaian officials in coach Otto Addo, who was under fire last year.

There were persistent demands from the public and media in the West African country for Addo to be sacked after a disastrous 2025 AFCON qualifying campaign.

Ghana, winners of the competition four times between 1963 and 1982, did not win any of the six AFCON qualifiers and finished a humiliating last behind Angola, Sudan, and Niger with just three points.

The other four automatic African qualifiers for the World Cup will be decided on Monday and Tuesday, with Benin, Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, and Senegal the group leaders.

Egypt rested Liverpool star Mohamed Salah for their final match at home to Guinea-Bissau, and an early goal from Mohamed Hamdy delivered a 1-0 Group A victory in Cairo.

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Niger upset Zambia 1-0 in Ndola to finish second in Group E behind Morocco, and currently lie third in the mini-leagues runners-up table behind Gabon and Burkina Faso.

The four best-ranked second-placed teams after the final qualifiers on Tuesday advance to the play-offs in Morocco during November.

Whoever wins the mini-tournament, featuring single-match semi-finals and a final, qualifies for six-nation inter-continental play-offs next March with two World Cup places up for grabs.

Niger striker Daniel Sosah scored in his third straight qualifier, firing a rebound into the net on 56 minutes after goalkeeper Lawrence Mulenga failed to hold a Victorien Adebayor shot.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian squad, coaches, technical staff, and officials arrived safely in the southeastern city of Uyo on Sunday.

Returning home after a Group C win over Lesotho in South Africa last Friday, the jet carrying the Super Eagles had to make an emergency landing in Angola due to a cracked windscreen.

The team media officer, Promise Efoghe, said a replacement aircraft was sent to Luanda and the journey to Nigeria was safely completed.

Nigeria, the pre-qualifying favourites to win Group C, are third entering the final round on Tuesday, three points behind Benin and one point below South Africa.

However, the Super Eagles could finish first if they defeat shock leaders Benin in Uyo and South Africa do not win at home to Rwanda.

South Sudan coach Nicolas Dupuis has reportedly been suspended for 15 days and told to stay away from the national squad after a 5-0 home loss to Group B leaders Senegal on Friday.

France-born Dupuis, 57, guided Madagascar to a shock win over Nigeria in the 2019 Cup of Nations in Egypt, and the islanders exceeded expectations by reaching the quarter-finals in their first appearance.

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Sandro Tonali earned Italy a thrilling 5-4 win against Israel on Monday with the decisive late strike in the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier, just as it looked the Azzurri were plunging into another crisis.

Newcastle United midfielder Tonali wheeled off in celebration in stoppage time when his speculative effort went through a sea of legs and into the net to win a rollercoaster of a match in Debrecen, Hungary, which Italy looked to have thrown away.

The Azzurri, who have missed the last two World Cups, were leading 4-2 in the 81st minute when substitute Giacomo Raspadori rolled home almost immediately after replacing the impressive Moise Kean, who netted Italy’s first two goals.

However, a clumsy Alessandro Bastoni own-goal and Dor Peretz’s header drew Israel level before Tonali’s fortunate effort moved Italy up to second in Group I, level on nine points with Israel, who have played a game more, and in the play-off spot.

“We’ll take the win, which was crucial for us, but we’re completely nuts, nuts because we conceded some absurd goals,” said Gennaro Gattuso.

“We need to work on that because we’re too fragile, and we concede goals too easily. The boys know that, but this is my problem to fix.

“You have to give credit to the boys because every time they took a slap, they dared to react and fight back.”

Italy trail leaders Norway by three points and still have a chance of taking first place and the group’s sole direct qualifying spot.

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Monday’s match had cast a political cloud over Gattuso’s first fixtures in charge of Italy due to Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The small group of Italian fans present turned their backs to the pitch during the Israeli national anthem, while boos also rang out from sections of the stadium, before then holding up banners which read “stop”.

And the Italians on the pitch looked equally uninterested in the match come kick-off, with Israel snappier and more aggressive than the four-time world champions.

The nominal home had already had a goal disallowed by the time Locatelli bundled Dan Biton’s cross into his own net.

Locatelli almost made up for his own-goal when he struck the bar with an acrobatic volley in the 31st minute, seconds before Kean wasted a great opportunity from a Gianluca Mancini cut-back.

But 10 minutes later, Kean thumped a low drive past Daniel Peretz after collecting a knockdown from strike partner Mateo Retegui.

And Kean came to the rescue again nine minutes after the break, levelling with another powerful low shot just seconds after Peretz put Israel ahead for the second time with a brilliant first-time effort.

Politano finally put Italy ahead with a great volley after more fine work from Retegui, and when Raspadori rolled home the fourth, it seemed the away team looked out of the woods.

But it took Tonali’s unusual winner to finally secure the three points after uncharacteristically bad defending nearly left Italy’s hopes of qualification hanging by a thread.

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Morocco trounced 10-man Niger 5-0 in Rabat on Friday to win Group E and become the first African qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Ismael Saibari scored twice in the first half after Abdul-Latif Goumey was sent off, and second-half goals from Ayoub el Kaabi, Hamza Igamane, and Azzedine Ounahi completed the rout.

A sixth straight victory lifted Morocco to an unassailable lead with 18 points, eight more than Tanzania, and sealed a seventh appearance at the global showpiece with two matches to spare.

Morocco were shock semi-finalists at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, topping a group including Croatia and Belgium and eliminating Spain and Portugal in the knockout phase.

The stunning run came to an end in the semi-finals as they lost 2-0 to France.

Only Ounahi of the scorers against Niger was in the 2022 World Cup squad, with coach Walid Regragui introducing new faces since, including Saibari from Dutch club PSV Eindhoven.

In Group A, Egypt beat Ethiopia 2-0 in Cairo with Premier League stars Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush converting late first-half penalties.

Egypt can join Morocco at the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico if they win away to second-placed Burkina Faso on Tuesday.

Newcastle United signing Yoane Wissa was among the goals as the Democratic Republic of Congo hammered South Sudan 4-1 in Juba to stay top of Group B.

Wissa moved from Brentford in a £50 million ($67 mn) deal after Sweden striker Alexander Isak left Newcastle for Liverpool in a British record move.

The Congolese are hoping to return to the World Cup for the first time since 1974, when the Central African country was known as Zaire.

Cedric Bakambu scored twice to help the visitors build a three-goal half-time advantage, and Wissa added a fourth before Keer Majak claimed a consolation goal.

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Senegal trail DR Congo by one point ahead of a top-of-the-table showdown in Kinshasa on Tuesday after beating Sudan 2-0 in Diamniadio through goals from Kalidou Koulibaly and Pape Matar Sarr.

South Africa maintained a five-point lead in Group C thanks to a comfortable 3-0 ‘away’ victory over neighbours Lesotho in Bloemfontein.

The home fixture for Lesotho was moved to the central South African city, 145 kilometres by road from the border, because the mountain kingdom does not have a FIFA-approved stadium.

Mohau Nkota, who quit famed Soweto club Orlando Pirates last month to join Saudi Pro League outfit Al Ettifaq, scored his first international goal for Bafana Bafana (the Boys) in 15 minutes.

Lyle Foster from Premier League returnees Burnley and Oswin Appollis netted within four minutes midway through the second half.

Victory did come at a cost for South Africa, though, with defenders Nyiko Mobbie and Thabo Moloisane retiring injured ahead of a key clash with Nigeria at the same venue on Tuesday.

South Africa have 16 points, five more than Benin, who edged Zimbabwe 1-0 in Abidjan through a Steve Mounie goal. Nigeria, nine points behind the leaders, hosts Rwanda on Saturday.

Clinical first-half finishing earned Gambia a surprise 3-1 win over Kenya in Nairobi, with Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh scoring the second.

However, the result had no impact on the top of Group F, with reigning African champions the Ivory Coast away to Gabon on Tuesday in a match likely to decide who finishes first.

Serhou Guirassy, a prolific scorer for Borussia Dortmund with 38 goals in all competitions last season, bagged his first for Guinea in World Cup qualifying to set up a 3-0 win over Somalia.

But a disappointing campaign by Guinea, who lie fourth, eight points behind Group G leaders Algeria, means Guirassy will almost certainly miss the World Cup.

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Lionel Messi scored twice for Argentina in emotional scenes in his farewell game at Buenos Aires on Thursday, while Uruguay, Colombia, and Paraguay qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

In his last home qualifier for his country and with Argentina having already booked their place in North America, Messi struck in the 39th and 80th minutes to bag a 3-0 win over Venezuela.

Messi, who has won the Ballon d’Or eight times, sparkled in front of an adoring crowd of 80,000 at the Mas Monumental stadium to underline his enduring quality.

The Argentine legend will turn 39 during next year’s World Cup, but despite his advanced years he looks set to play another pivotal role as Lionel Scaloni’s side defend their crown.

Scaloni will rest his skipper for next week’s dead-rubber at Ecuador.

“He made an enormous effort and deserves a rest and to be with his family,” said the coach.

“He ended up very tired and physically exhausted. He should have come off, but he didn’t because of the emotional nature of the match.”

Lionel Messi had his three sons with him before kickoff and his father, Jorge, was also in attendance to mark the occasion.

Uruguay sealed their berth in the United States, Canada, and Mexico by beating Peru 3-0 at home, while Colombia saw off Bolivia by the same scoreline.

Paraguay also reached the 2026 finals after a 0-0 home draw against already qualified Ecuador.

Brazil, who had also already qualified, swept Chile aside 3-0 at the Maracana with the English Premier League trio of Estevao, Lucas Paqueta and Bruno Guimaraes getting the goals.

It was the 18-year-old Chelsea winger Estevao’s first goal for his country.

In front of 60,000 at a packed-out Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Rodrigo Aguirre put Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay on their way in 14 minutes.

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The Club America forward leapt highest to place a thumping header into the top corner past Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.

The Uruguayans, winners of the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, had needed just a point to qualify and send their charismatic veteran coach Bielsa to the tournament once again.

The 70-year-old has now taken a third team to World Cup qualification.

Bielsa’s appointment as Uruguay coach in 2023 was greeted with excitement, even euphoria, but an underwhelming qualification campaign has dampened that enthusiasm.

Qualification was always likely in a system that sees six of the 10 CONMEBOL sides qualify automatically for 2026, with one more heading into an inter-continental play-off.

Venezuela currently hold seventh place with one more qualifier to go.

Giorgian de Arrascaeta doubled Uruguay’s lead just before the hour, lashing home from close range to ensure a party atmosphere in the Uruguayan capital.

Federico Vinas scored a third 10 minutes from time.

Colombia also sealed their place in next summer’s extravaganza thanks to a comfortable victory over Bolivia.

The 34-year-old former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich attacker James Rodriguez, the breakout star of the 2014 World Cup, pounced just after the half-hour mark.

Jhon Cordoba made sure there were no late scares with his goal in the 74th minute, before Juan Fernando Quintero made it three.

Like Uruguay, Paraguay needed only a draw to qualify when they hosted Ecuador.

They got the job done as they ground out a goalless stalemate and will be at their ninth World Cup – but first since 2010.

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