#world-cup-2026

#world-cup-2026

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Iran has decided to boycott the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington next week because the U.S. denied visas to members of its delegation, the state-run IRNA news agency reported on Friday. The agency quoted Iranian soccer federation spokesman Amir-Mahdi Alavi as saying that officials faced visa obstacles that go beyond sports considerations. There was no immediate comment from the White House. Alavi said the federation had reached out to FIFA and hoped it could help resolve the issue. Soccer's ruling body didn't immediately reply to a request for comment.

The 2025/26 Bundesliga season isn't even halfway over yet, but Bayern Munich fans in China will be pleased to hear that the club is actively planning to play preseason friendlies there in the summer of 2026. According to information from Sport Bild's Christian Falk and Tobi Altschäffl (via @iMiaSanMia), Bayern's plan is to schedule two friendlies, one of which would take place in Hong Kong, provided the Chinese government grants approval.

Here's what you need to know about live streams and broadcast options to watch Slovakia vs Northern Ireland online, on TV, and from anywhere. Public broadcaster BBC owns the rights to Northern Ireland's away qualifier in Slovakia and the game will be available on the BBC iPlayer streaming service for television licence holders in the United Kingdom. Coverage is free but geo-restricted, so you'll need a VPN if you're travelling outside the United Kingdom right now more on that below.

Congatulations to Dayot Upamecano and Michael Olise! FC Bayern's two French internationals booked their ticket for the World Cup finals on Thursday night thanks to France's 4-0 win over Ukraine. The draw for the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico will take place on 5 December. England and Harry Kane, who ended Serbia's hopes with a 2-0 win at Wembley on Thursday, will also be in the draw. Here's our round-up of the international action.

Watch France vs Ukraine as Les Bleus seek to put their place at the World Cup beyond doubt, with all the details on TV and streaming information for viewers anywhere in the world. France are all but over the line in qualifying for World Cup 2026 but have two games lined up this weekend to make sure. Les Bleus are three points ahead of Thursday's opponents. If they win, they're in. If they don't, they'll have to wait a few days.

Unbeaten Portugal (3-1-0) will seal direct qualification to the FIFA World Cup 2026 if they beat Ireland in their penultimate Group F fixture at the Aviva Stadium. Armed with a five-point lead, Roberto Martinez's team are in the box seat to seal a seventh consecutive appearance at football's global showpiece. Ireland (1-1-2), for their part, still have a mathematical chance to keep their World Cup aspirations alive by causing a huge upset on Thursday night against an opponent that is fifth in the FIFA world rankings. They are currently third in the group but only a point behind second-placed Hungary with two matches still to play.

La Albecieste's fresh threads hit the market today, and the designer is bolder than ever, drawing inspiration from their shirts in 2024 and 2018. As World Cup 2026 kits continue to be released, we are also expecting a bold kit, but it's nice to see fresh ideas having been implemented, ahead of what could be the final time we see Lionel Messi play for his nation..

A red base colour is a must for a Welsh jersey, and of course, is featured, with the official colour labelled Better Scarlet. Yeah, we've definitely never heard of it either. On the Better Scarlet base is where they get funky. Horizontal stripes in white, green and red (all the colours which feature on the Welsh flag) run through the middle of the kit, with a centralised badge sitting neatly in the middle below the Adidas logo.

"The short answer is yes, the World Cup will be a watershed moment for soccer in America. However, it's unlikely to immediately lead to a significant increase in ticket sales for MLS and NWSL. Soccer fandom in America develops differently from that of other sports," said Darin W. White, executive director of the Sports Industry Program and the Center for Sports Analytics at Samford University, which next year will launch a major five-year study to explore how soccer can become mainstream in the U.S.

More than 1 million tickets have already been sold for next year's World Cup, FIFA said Thursday in its first update on numbers since the official start of sales began earlier this month. The highest demand, as would be expected, were from buyers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico the three nations that will play host to the tournament. FIFA said people from 212 different countries and territories have already purchased, even though only 28 of the 48 spots in the field have been filled.

When asked Tuesday at a White House press conference about the street takeovers and upcoming World Cup games, Trump harshly criticized the mayhem while throwing jabs at Mayor Michelle Wu. "I love the people of Boston, and I know the games are sold out, but your mayor is not good," Trump said. "She's intelligent, but she's radical left."

Kim could be on the way out of Munich in the winter. The main reason is next summer's World Cup. Kim is currently behind Dayot Upamecano and Jonathan Tah in Bayern's center back line. While the immense upcoming wave of games in all competitions means that Kim will most likely get his minutes, he could be looking for a club where he can get the majority of the minutes in light of the tournament in North America.

Yes, Ireland can still qualify, via the play-offs of course. If Ireland beat Armenia in Dublin tonight and Portugal win at home to Hungary by a couple of goals, Ireland could move from fourth to second in the table and then chase down maximum points in the remaining games, at home to Portugal and away to Hungary next month.