FIFA World Cup 2022

Poland will not play their World Cup play-off against Russia next month because of the invasion of Ukraine, the president of Poland’s Football Association, Cezary Kulesza, said on Saturday, a decision backed up by the team’s players, including their star forward,   Robert Lewandowski . Kulesza said the association was in talks with its Swedish and Czech counterparts regarding the matches. The winners of the match between Sweden and the Czech Republic were supposed to play the victors of the Russia v Poland game to determine who would qualify for the World Cup later this year. “No more words, time to act!” Kulesza tweeted. “Due to the escalation of the aggression of the Russian Federation towards Ukraine the Polish national team does not intend to play the play-off match against Russia. “This is the only right decision. We are in talks with Swedish and Czech association to bring forward a joint statement to Fifa. Bayern Munich’s Lewandowski quickly endorsed Kulesza’s ...

Including the hosts, 15 teams have qualified for the 32-team World Cup so far: Qatar Argentina Belgium Brazil Croatia Denmark England France Germany Iran The Netherlands Serbia South Korea Spain Switzerland The draw for the World Cup will take place in Qatar’s capital Doha on April 1. This is how the qualifying scenario looks across the world: Africa Five teams – winners of the two-legged qualifiers in March – will represent Africa at Qatar 2022. Fixtures Egypt v Senegal Cameroon v Algeria Nigeria v Ghana DR Congo v Morocco Mali v Tunisia Asia Five or six teams, depending on other qualifiers, will represent Asia. According to FIFA, the top two teams in each group will qualify with the third-placed teams in each section, meeting in a single game for the right to go into an intercontinental playoff for a place at the World Cup. Europe In addition to the 10 who have already qualified, there are three more slots up for grabs for European sides. Qualified for play-offs: Austria, Czech Repub...

For all the success stories written across the football world in 2021, none of FIFA’s 211 member associations enjoyed a year to match Canada’s. Olympic gold for the country’s women would have made it an Annus Mirabilis regardless of how the men fared, especially with decades of male mediocrity having taught Canadians the value of modest expectations. As it is though, a FIFA World Cup™ year has dawned with John Herdman’s side unbeaten in the final stage of qualifying and perched at the summit of Concacaf’s standings. Back-to-back wins over Costa Rica and Mexico in November also confirmed the Canucks as the FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking’s most-improved team of 2021 , capping a rise from 94th to 40th during Herdman’s time in charge. Kamal Miller has been a mainstay of the side throughout that remarkable ascent, and has earned rave reviews for his performances at the heart of Canada’s defence. The 24-year-old centre-back is part of a new generation resetting the nation’s expectations and,...

Amid rain, wind and plummeting temperatures, Iran was warmed yesterday by a single, hugely-significant goal. Mehdi Taremi’s strike, coolly dispatched early in the second half of their Qatar 2022 qualifier against Iraq, secured a 1-0 win and guaranteed the team’s presence at a sixth FIFA World Cup™. It also sparked joyous scenes at the Azadi Stadium, where a crowd that included a healthy contingent of female fans helped roar the team to victory. Celebrations soon followed on the streets of a country shivering through a mid-winter cold snap, as crowds gathered, songs were sung and car horns were sounded. "I am very happy [because] I could make the Iranian people happy. It’s our pleasure," said the national team’s Croatian coach, Dragan Skocic. “I would like to congratulate my players as they gave an excellent performance. "We had some difficulties prior to the match because we missed some players after they got infected with COVID-19, and our European-based players also j...

T he Tonga Football Association has informed FIFA of its decision to withdraw from the OFC preliminary competition for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ as a consequence of the recent natural disaster that has ravaged the region. Tonga had been set to play off against the Cook Islands in a single-legged qualifying match to decide who would earn the right to feature in Group A of the preliminary competition. The winners of the preliminary competition, which is set to be staged in Qatar, will represent Oceania in the intercontinental play-offs. The withdrawal means that the qualifying match, which was scheduled for 13 March, will not take place and the Cook Islands will instead automatically join the Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu in Group A.

Alisson was sent off and reprieved by VAR twice during Brazil’s wild and chaotic 1-1 draw with   Ecuador   in a World Cup qualifier. The Liverpool goalkeeper somehow managed to complete the game in Quito, during which two players were given their marching orders inside the opening 20 minutes. Casemiro put Brazil ahead in the fifth minute when he hammered home from close range after a goalmouth scramble before the red cards started coming out. The Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Domínguez was sent off for a reckless challenge before the Tottenham right-back Emerson Royal was dismissed for a second yellow card following a clumsy challenge. Alisson was handed his first lifeline on the the half-hour when he caught Enner Valencia in the head with a high boot. The referee was sent to the pitchside monitor and downgraded the initial red card to yellow after replays showed the keeper had kicked the ball first. Felix Torres headed Ecuador level 15 minutes from time and the hosts...

England fans are being offered £150-a-night packages at the World Cup - including all-you-can-drink deals on a cruise ship.   Members of the official England supporters’ club have received details and a chance to put their names down on a waiting list for different accommodation options for Qatar. And the most eye-catching of all is the 3,898 cabins - or 9,977 guests - available on a cruise ship which includes an all inclusive package. The travel details boast: “A number of cruise ships will be moored at the top of the Corniche - the palm tree lined, waterfront promenade which runs along the Doha bay to the city. “They will offer all inclusive deals which we were told should come in at around $200 per person per night. Food and (importantly for many England fans) alcohol will be available on board.” The organisers might be misjudging the all inclusive price if they had seen some of the drinking sessions on recent England trips. World Cup organisers have already held workshops to te...