The World Cup trophy outside the White House before the 2026 tournament’s group-stage draw
“Finally, we have the full 2026 World Cup draw. The 48 teams competing in the United States, Canada and Mexico this June and July are set. The final six qualifiers have been confirmed following Tuesday’s play-off finals — congratulations to Turkey, the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina (who knocked out Italy on penalties), Sweden, Iraq and DR Congo — and so we now have the opportunity to fill out the tournament bracket for the first time. Fair warning: this will stand little analytical scrutiny. Instead, it will be full of half-baked theories, tangents and no doubt lots of European bias. Wish me luck. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)
NY Times/The Athletic: Ranking the 48 teams at the 2026 World Cup (Video)
Guardian power rankings: France lead the way with Senegal and Japan in top 10
BBC: The World Cup line-up is complete – here’s what you need to know (Video)
ESPN: 2026 World Cup squads ranked: All 48 national teams that can win this summer
YouTube: How Africa had to fight for its place at the World Cup
The 48 World Cup teams are set. We’ve filled in the bracket and here’s what is going to happen
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Bosnia and Herzegovina fans celebrate their World Cup qualification in Sarajevo on Tuesday night
The Ivica Osim mural in Sarajevo
“The 
“This was not the World Cup send-off that England were hoping for. Thomas Tuchel’s final match at Wembley before he and his squad travel to the United States — where they will play two more friendlies ahead of the start of the World Cup in June — was supposed to be a celebration of a squad brimming with talent and ambition. Instead, Tuchel’s flat and disjointed side missing captain Harry Kane through injury were defeated 1-0 by a polished Japan, who made their own statement of intent ahead of the summer thanks to Karou Mitoma’s first-half goal. …”
“Roberto Martinez has been to a Super Bowl here 
“There is always a slightly odd rhythm to the World Cup. The final round of qualifying games is almost invariably more exciting than the early games at the tournament itself, and now with 32 teams making it through the group stage and into the knockout rounds, that is likely to be even more true for the 2026 edition. Those final qualifiers in November were thrilling and meaningful – 
“The U.S. men’s national team hoped that these spring friendlies, the last before coach Mauricio Pochettino selects his World Cup roster, would reinforce the positive momentum of the fall. Instead, a deflating loss served as a warning for what can come against some of the world’s best teams and against the game’s attacking players. 
“The day before Spain played the European Championship final against England in Berlin, Germany, in July 2024, manager Luis de la Fuente announced the team would be welcoming a special guest. It was Spain’s most important match in a decade, and Gavi had to be there — De la Fuente called him ‘the 27th player of this squad’. Gavi was not called up to the tournament in Germany because he was injured. The previous November, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in Spain’s final Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia. Back then, he was essentially the face of the team, its most recognisable and popular star. …”
“Kees Smit made a winning start to his international career as the Netherlands impressed in the latest game of their World Cup preparations by triumphing 2-1 at home to a Norway team who were missing Erling Haaland. The Dutch, who face Japan, Tunisia and either Sweden or Poland in Group F at the finals in June and July, fell behind in Friday’s friendly in Amsterdam to a fine curling strike from 21-year-old Benfica attacker Andreas Schjelderup on 24 minutes. They responded with a header from Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk 11 minutes later, then took the lead early in the second half when Manchester City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders finished off a fine, flowing team move. …”
“In Los Angeles, big stages are part of everyday life. This is the city of stars, where major stories unfold beneath the Hollywood sign and along the star-studded Walk of Fame. While iconic teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Dodgers have made the city one of the world’s great sporting capitals, football also has its own story here. LA has helped bring the global game to new audiences since hosting the 1984 Olympic tournament, and later staged the historic 1994 World Cup final between Brazil and Italy at the Rose Bowl. …”
“Italy can breathe again — for now, at least. A tension-racked evening in Bergamo saw Gennaro Gattuso’s side edge past Northern Ireland in their World Cup play-off semi-final. Second-half goals from Sandro Tonali and Moise Kean proved enough, and while Italy’s performance was far from perfect, it enabled them to take a big step towards this summer’s tournament in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. We analyse the major talking points. …”
“… Sunday’s final was Rice’s 50th appearance and 44th start of the season for club and country. There is the capacity for another 18 — 15 with Arsenal and three with England — before the World Cup is even underway, with the likelihood Rice will have played more than 70 games by the time England’s summer adventures are over. The workload is heavy but not unique. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk brought up his own half-century for the season in the Champions League rout of Galatasaray last week, a feat Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali had managed by March 7. Others in the Premier League, such as international regulars Martin Zubimendi, Erling Haaland, Bernardo Silva and Malick Thiaw, are all lining up to do the same in the coming weeks. …”
“Welcome to the final mid-season international window of 2025-26, the last chance for managers to work with players before naming their World Cup squads. Over the next 10 days, we will find out the identity of the final six of the record 48 qualifiers, with 22 nations still in contention via two play-off routes, one in Europe and the other playing out a rest-of-the-world mini-tournament in Mexico. So there are plenty of key decisions to make, while lots of players need to make a good impression now or risk missing out on the tournament altogether. We asked 20 of our writers to answer the key questions that will be addressed this month. You can use the tabs to scroll to the areas that interest you the most: European play-offs, inter-confederation play-offs, players, around the world (featuring key issues facing assorted managers), USMNT, England, Canada and how ready the co-hosts are off the pitch. Let’s start with perhaps the biggest question of all. …”
“Stop me if you’ve heard this one before but the Premier League and English Football Association are having another club vs country row. The latest flare-up in this forever war is significant for two reasons. The first is its timing and the second is the likely solution, which some English Football League clubs believe is to gang up on them. Let’s deal with the timing first. On Friday, Thomas Tuchel announced 
“The turbulent countdown towards this summer’s World Cup finals shows little sign of easing. A social media post from the 
“After much uncertainty about the Finalissima match between Spain and Argentina in Qatar later this month, its cancellation was finally — and dramatically — confirmed on Sunday. The war in the Middle East is why the game, pitting the reigning champions of Europe and South America against one another, 
Iraqis celebrate reaching the World Cup play-offs in November but the journey is not over yet
Iraq fans show their support for the national team
“IT SEEMS bizarre that, despite the multitude of missiles falling on Tehran, the counter-strikes across the Middle East and the punchy rhetoric of the United States, FIFA are even considering to run the World Cup this summer. Let’s remember that the US is a host nation in this World Cup and host means ‘welcoming’ your visitors. And yet, Haiti, Senegal, Ivory Coast and Iran have either had partial or full travel bans slapped on them by the Trump administration. Furthermore, Mexico (co-hosts) and Colombia have been ‘warned’ by the US. Yes, Mexico, who helped the US win hosting rights for this tournament, have been warned. If you add it all up, among the 48 nations taking part, there are quite a few who have either been insulted, bullied, penalised (by tariff bingo) or threatened in some way by the US in the past 18 months. Why, oh why, would anyone want to travel to the States to take part in the competition in 2026? …”
Iran’s players celebrate after qualifying for the World Cup but there are doubts as to whether they will participate in the tournament
Italy’s players perform the fascist salute before the start of the 1938 World Cup final against Hungary in Paris
“After years of planning, the World Cup is now just 100 days away. This summer’s tournament in North America will almost certainly be the most-viewed sports event ever, watched by millions (or more likely billions) of fans across the world. But it also offers a huge opportunity to attract a whole new audience, particularly across the United States, where soccer has long been on the rise but still does not dominate the sporting landscape as it does in so many other countries. This will be a World Cup watched by diehards and those who have never engaged with the sport before. With that in mind, we have compiled this article as a guide to everything you could possibly want to know about the tournament, from the most basic questions for those who have never watched the sport to far more intricate details about how teams play, the politics of this tournament, the ticketing situation and much more. With 100 days until the tournament, our reporters have answered 100 questions. …”
“I’ve been to the last nine men’s soccer World Cups, and the dominant mood is almost always international friendship. The same vibe usually prevails on the field, even after hard-fought matches. One of the tournament’s 
“Six days after FIFA president Gianni Infantino 
“FIFA says it is focusing on ‘everybody participating’ in this summer’s World Cup in the wake of the American military attack on Iran. The U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes on major Iranian cities, including the capital Tehran, on Saturday after weeks of mounting diplomatic tension. Iran has retaliated with its own missile attacks on Israel and U.S. air bases in the Gulf region, including in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain. 
Queretaro (in red) will be forced to play their league match on a later date 
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the controversial government agency known as ICE, will play a ‘key part’ in the 2026 World Cup’s ‘overall security apparatus,’ its 
“The 2026 
A protester wearing a placard and distributing leaflets against the Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan and advocating for the boycott of the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games
The opening ceremony for the 1994 World Cup took place at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Harry Kane (England)
“World Cup 2026, previously just a dot on the horizon, starts to come into full view this week. With qualification now wrapped up (well, mostly — more on that shortly), the draw for the tournament takes place in Washington, D.C. on Friday. In the lead-up to that event, we answer some of the big questions you may have about that draw and the World Cup more generally. Let’s start with the basics, and then we’ll delve a bit deeper. …”
“The next men’s FIFA World Cup is now 200 days away and 42 nations — including its co-hosts the United States, Canada and Mexico — have secured their places in the expanded 48-team competition. Seventy-five per cent of matches will be played in the U.S. across 11 cities. Mexico will host the opening matchday in Mexico City and Guadalajara, but the involvement of both it and Canada, in terms of venues anyway, will cease after the round of 16, with all games from the quarter-finals onwards to be played in the States, including the final at MetLife Stadium in the state of New Jersey, a few miles west of New York City. …”
“The excitement of Jamaica potentially qualifying for just their second World Cup was palpable on the gridlocked streets of Kingston three hours before kick-off. Fans in a variety of yellow shirts, with flicks of green, creating a joyous kaleidoscope of expectation. Wafting through the air was the smell of the jerk chicken and curry goat being cooked outside the city’s National Stadium, while inside dancehall blasted over the speakers. …”
Mexico after winning the CONCACAF Nations League final in March 2025
“Curacao is a Caribbean island that’s home to around only 185,000 people, and it felt like half of them spilt onto the pitch in celebration at reaching their first-ever World Cup on a dramatic night in Jamaica. They are now the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup, breaking a record previously set by Iceland in 2018. Two planes carrying Curacao’s most passionate supporters, or as captain Leandro Bacuna termed it, their “ultras”, were chartered to make sure the players would have some backing for their decisive qualifying match on Tuesday night at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston. …”
Ireland’s players celebrate their dramatic 3-2 win in Hungary on Sunday
Gennaro Gattuso gestures during the defeat by Norway
“Seven months from now, thousands of miles from Wembley, England will start their 2026 World Cup finals challenge. Their qualification campaign so far has been perfect — six games, six wins — and their two remaining group matches are now effectively dead rubbers. England host Serbia on Thursday before playing Albania away on Sunday. When the final whistle goes in Tirana, England will not play another competitive game until the big kick-off. Just two home friendlies in March and then likely two more pre-tournament in Florida in early June. …”
“Exasperated fans who 
“To many other football countries, sacking a national team coach is a regular event; almost part of the fun. But in the history of the Sweden men’s football side, no national team coach had officially been fired. They’d resigned, or they’d reached the end of their contract. Until now. Jon Dahl Tomasson has become the first exception to the rule. Sweden’s 1-0 defeat to Kosovo in Gothenburg on Monday was arguably the lowest point in the history of Swedish football — not because the result was a shock, but because it wasn’t. …”
“It is the small hours of the morning and outside the Red Bar in central Belgrade, there are a dozen or so travelling England supporters making themselves heard ahead of a World Cup qualifier against Serbia. There are the usual chants that provide a soundtrack to England’s overseas trips, but there’s also a new addition to the national team’s songbook: ‘Stop the boats, stop the boats,’ they chant. ‘Nigel Farage, we’re all voting for Reform UK.’ …”
“President Trump suggested to reporters Thursday that he would move matches for next summer’s 2026 men’s World Cup away from U.S. host cities that are ‘even a little bit dangerous.’ Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump first guaranteed that the World Cup would be ‘very secure,’ but then suggested that he would intervene and strip host cities of matches. A reporter mentioned Seattle and San Francisco, which will host six games each, as cities that have pushed back against the Trump administration’s immigration policies. …”
“Brace yourselves, the World Cup countdown officially starts… now. In precisely 367 days, the 2026 edition will kick off at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, with the tournament being hosted across three nations for the first time. To mark the upcoming milestone, The Athletic has a week of content lined up, looking ahead to the expanded 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. …”
“GUADALAJARA, Mexico – At Canteritos El Guero in the town of Tequila, Jalisco – a popular gathering spot for locals and tourists – a group of friends mingles with strangers, dancing to the sound of live banda music. Many of the men are wearing jeans and charros, a sombrero similar to a cowboy hat that is an emblem of Mexican identity. Tequila, the liquor that is most synonymous with Mexico, originated in this small folkloric community. The land that surrounds the region is replete with the blue agave plant that is the main component of the distilled spirit. Guadalajara, the largest city in the state of Jalisco, is also the birthplace of mariachi music and many other Mexican customs. …”
“England made it four wins from four in their 2026 World Cup qualifying group, but it was far from convincing stuff. There was a fresher look to Thomas Tuchel’s starting XI, with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Cole Palmer all out injured, but despite maintaining complete control of the match and never looking in any danger of dropping points, there was little to get the Villa Park crowd off their seats. A first-half own goal and a second half Declan Rice header were enough to preserve their five-point lead at the top of Group K, as they prepare to travel to Serbia — the biggest threat to their qualification hopes — on Tuesday. …”
“France struck early through Michael Olise and sealed the points with a late Kylian Mbappé breakaway to open their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland. Mbappé’s 82nd-minute strike, set up by his Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni at the end of a rapid counterattack, took the forward to 51 international goals, drawing him level with Thierry Henry in second place on France’s all-time scoring list behind Olivier Giroud, who has scored 57. … Italy opened Gennaro Gattuso’s reign as coach with a 5-0 home win over Estonia in World Cup qualifying, wasting chances for almost an hour before exploding in the final stages of the second half to turn dominance into a rout. …”
Slovakia celebrate their second goal in the shock 2-0 win over Germany.
“FIFA president Gianni Infantino has received a letter signed by over 90 civil society groups, the majority of which are based in the United States, expressing ‘deep concern’ about immigration policies and enforcement measures in the U.S. and their potential impact on the 
“As the enormity of what they had achieved started to sink in, the emotions of Uzbekistan’s football squad became too much to bear. This was the greatest moment of all of their careers. The players were crying, the staff were crying, even the unused substitutes were in tears. Heroic goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov, who made several outstanding saves including one in the eighth minute of added time, was on his knees, blubbing like the rest of them. …”
Scissors Kick 