Gennaro Gattuso put everything into trying to secure World Cup qualification, but was unable to. He signed a one-year contract with the option for the following two years if they qualified for the tournament this summer, but since they did not he will depart.
Hungary have failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, despite having the likes of Dominik Szoboszlai and Milos Kerkez in the team. It is a bitter disappointment for the Hungarians, one they have to accept and move on.
"It's more positive, but, of course, it's been a few months since then. We've tried to put it behind us and focus on this match we have here, and hopefully another one in Stockholm in a few days."
Troy Parrott netted five goals in the November international break to push Ireland up to second in Group F, including a double against Portugal and a hat-trick against Hungary.
Kenny McLean launched a shot 50 yards through the night sky and into the back of Kasper Schmeichel's net to seal Scotland's place at the men's World Cup this summer, their first since France 1998.
Only once has Jamaica qualified for the World Cup, but the Caribbean island will likely never get a better chance to do so than the upcoming inter-confederation play-offs. The Jamaicans, under then-first-team coach Steve McClaren, have already spurned one golden opportunity to book their first World Cup appearance since 1998 by failing to qualify from a group featuring Curacao, Bermuda and Trinidad and Tobago.
Nathan Collins is having a good season. Captain of both Brentford and the Republic of Ireland, Collins is dreaming of Europe with his club and the World Cup with his country. Despite losing long-time manager Thomas Frank and strikers Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa in the summer, Brentford go into the weekend seventh in the Premier League.
Wales boss Craig Bellamy's employers at the Football Association of Wales (FAW) are negotiating for their national team's training base to be in the city which hosts MLS side Real Salt Lake. Anthony Pulis - son of former Stoke and West Brom boss Tony Pulis and an ex-Wales Under-21s cap - is Real Salt Lake assistant manager and has advised the FAW on options in the United States.
Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has dramatically left his position as head coach of Trinidad and Tobago. The former striker, who remains an iconic figure at Old Trafford for his role in the 1999 treble-winning season, saw his tenure come to an abrupt end following a breakdown in contract negotiations.
The 50-year-old has taken quite a jump from Canada, a huge country where soccer is not the biggest sport, to Indonesia, a huge country where it definitely is. If he can repeat his 2022 heroics for 2030, he will be a hero to a nation of 280 million people who are just desperate to return to the global stage.
Indonesia has hired former Canada coach John Herdman to lead the men's national team after it failed to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 50-year-old Englishman replaces Patrick Kluivert, who left as coach in October. The Indonesian football federation said Saturday that Herdman is not just a coach, but a football architect with a strong track record of taking teams to the World Cup.
Case in point being Scott McTominay's outrageous overhead kick against Denmark in November, which helped secure Scotland's qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Napoli midfielder's heroics sent Hampden Park into a frenzy with just three minutes played and paved the way for a decisive 4-2 victory for the Tartan Army, who are now set to appear at their first World Cup in 28 years.
Image source, Getty Nigeria are hoping to revive their chances of reaching next year's World Cup after submitting a complaint to Fifa which alleges that the Democratic Republic of Congo fielded ineligible players in last month's African play-off final. DR Congo beat the Super Eagles on penalties to book their place in March's intercontinental qualifier, which will allocate the final two places up for grabs for the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
"Brazil have fantastic players and we can have a fantastic World Cup," he told TNT Sports. "It's a fantastic experience, different job, we have a fantastic goal, to be competitive at the World Cup and to try and win it. "I love this period but it's different. "Maybe I needed this after a lot of years training day by day, and the matches, I have more quiet now and more focus on my team."
This season, Alexis Saelemaekers has been a standout player for AC Milan, and he will hope to return in fine form. The international break was kind to Milan as a whole. 12 players departed, and none returned with any concerns. In fact, most return in fine spirits, whether that be from personal contributions or team achievements. An example of that is Saelemaekers, who secured World Cup qualification after a 7-0 win against Liechtenstein.
I obviously want to thank everyone who's here, all the players, the staff and all the people who make sure everything runs smoothly behind the scenes. I'm proud to be the captain of Oranje and to lead you every single time. I'm already excited for the final tournament and to achieve success together. The specific phrase the final tournament has been picked up by fans as the crucial detail.
It was the drama of it, croaks Hamish Husband, veteran of the west of Scotland Tartan Army, his voice still frayed from the Hampden stands. Even John McGinn said we were rubbish, he references the Scotland midfielder's robust analysis immediately after the game but that fourth goal He Trails off, perhaps recalling how Kenny McLean scored a final stunning goal from his own half with just seconds of extra time to go.
Curacao salvaged a 0-0 draw with Jamaica on Tuesday to become the smallest nation by population to qualify for a World Cup and will be joined by CONCACAF sides Panama and Haiti which also booked their spots. Curacao finished as the only undefeated nation in the tournament and finished atop of Group B with 12 points to advance to the World Cup for the first time in its history.
Spain were almost guaranteed to finish top of Group E ahead of kick-off unless Turkiye could pull off a miraculous goal swing, but Dani Olmo got them off to a flying start. The Barcelona forward finished past Altay Bayindir in the fourth minute in Seville, but the visitors restored parity just before the break through Deniz Gul's strike from close range.
