Qatar's defender Assim Madibo, left, drops to the floor to celebrate with Qatar's Spanish coach Julian Lopetegui after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian qualifier football match against the UAE [Karim Jaafar/AFP] Qatar's players celebrate at the full-time whistle against UAE as they reached a World Cup final for the first time through the qualification route [Karim Jaafar/AFP] Qatar's players celebrate their achievement with fans at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Doha [Karim Jaafar/AFP]
FIFA said on Tuesday the program which has shared a total of hundreds of millions of dollars among clubs whose players were selected for each World Cup finals tournament since 2010 will now include all players who took part in qualifying games. Eritrea and Russia -- which has been suspended from international football since 2022 -- did not play qualifying games among FIFA's 211 member federations.
Scotland fans with even average memories take nothing for granted on the road, their mind's eye still capable of conjuring up disturbing images of losing qualifying matches to Georgia in Tbilisi in 2007 and Kazakhstan in Astana a dozen years later. Zalaegerszeg in western Hungary doesn't get to join the hall of infamy, not after Scotland won a fairly joyless, but wholly professional, behind closed doors contest against Belarus.