The 2018 World Cup in Russia is nearly upon us and the 32 competing nations are putting the finishing touches to their preparations for the tournament. Numerous teams hold a realistic chance of lifting the trophy on July 15 and for many stars it will be their final opportunity to win the most prestigious prize […]

England have named their 23-man squad for this summer's World Cup in Russia and manager Gareth Southgate has certainly not been afraid to make some big calls. Goalkeeper Joe Hart and midfielder Jack Wilshere have been left out, along with left-back Ryan Bertrand. Uncapped Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is in the squad, while there are […]

Moscow (AFP) – Moscow bowed to pressure from Berlin on Tuesday and granted a Russia World Cup entry visa to a German reporter who broke the story on its alleged state-sponsored doping programme. Hajo Seppelt became a pariah in Moscow after his documentaries on cheating among Russian athletes led to the country being banned from […]

Preparations for the 2018 World Cup in Russia ramp up in earnest at the end of March, with all of the top nations facing international warm-up games. England are one of the more fancied teams in the betting for the tournament, and they are set to face two major nations who failed to qualify for […]

After an exciting weekend of soccer action from around the world, the club soccer business is on hiatus for a couple of weeks during the international break. Instead, the next two weeks will be filled with important World Cup qualifiers, most of which will be shown live on US television and/or streaming. For many nations, […]

Zurich (AFP) – Consumer electronics giant Hisense has become an official sponsor of the 2018 World Cup, becoming the second Chinese company to join hands with FIFA as it looks for new sponsors after the scandals of the Sepp Blatter era. Hisense, a television and white goods manufacturer, follows Chinese conglomerate Wanda in becoming a […]

London (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino believes there is a realistic chance video assistant referees will be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Video assistance was introduced to support referees with "game-changing" decisions for the first time in a FIFA competition at the Club World Cup in Japan in December. The four […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian officials on Friday slammed a BBC documentary warning of a "festival of violence" by hooligans at next year's World Cup in the country as "propaganda" aimed at tarring the event. "We need to look absolutely soberly at all this — an information campaign aimed to discredit," Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko […]

London (AFP) – Russian hooligans have warned of a "festival of violence" at next year's World Cup, in a BBC documentary aired on Thursday in which the fans celebrate street fights at Euro 2016. Hours after FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he was not concerned about violence at the tournament, the BBC's "Russia's Hooligan Army" […]

Doha (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday he was not worried about hooliganism at next year's Russia World Cup, amid growing fears the tournament could be blighted by fan violence. Speaking in Qatar following a FIFA executive summit meeting, Infantino also said that football's governing body has not asked Russian Deputy Prime Minister […]

London (AFP) – The man behind Russia's 2018 World Cup bid has questioned the sanity of people calling for the country to be stripped of the tournament in a British television interview. Anti-doping organisations have led the calls after the second McLaren report showed Russia ran a state-sponsored doping programme between 2011 and 2015 involving […]

Yokohama (Japan) (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino hopes to see video referees used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia — if its teething problems have been fixed in time. Colombia's Atletico Nacional slammed the new video assistant referee (VAR) technology being trialled at the Club World Cup in Japan after the first-ever penalty […]

In the next week, more than 50 international games will be aired live across US television and streaming featuring teams from all around the world. The matches include a must-see World Cup 2018 qualifier between USA and Mexico in Columbus, Ohio. Plus, there's the oldest international fixture in the world between England and Scotland live […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russia has chosen a goggled wolf as mascot for the 2018 World Cup. The wolf, unveiled to the public early Saturday after a month of online voting, prevailed over a cat and a tiger dressed in a space suit after receiving more than half the votes. The mascot — named "Zabivaka", which […]

Paris (AFP) – European qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia resumes this week with every nation playing twice after starting their campaigns last month. AFP Sports picks out some of the highlights amid a vast array of matches: Southgate leads troubled England England turn their back on the brief Sam Allardyce era as […]