World Cup News

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest of its kind as it will be hosted over three countries for the first time in history, featuring 48 teams from the six football federations, an increase of 16 countries from the regular format of 32 nations that has been in place since 1998. The… The post Newcomers and Second Appearances: What to Expect in the 2026 World Cup first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

Saudi Arabia, one of Spain’s rivals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, have decided to part ways with head coach Herve Renard. Despite the short time remaining before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, some national teams are still making abrupt structural changes in an effort to arrive in peak condition. Saudi Arabia have dismissed Herve Renard, a move that will impact Spain’s preparations. “Saudi Arabia sack head coach Herve Renard with immediate effect before World Cup,” reported Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano on Friday via his official X account. According to reports, the decision stems from the national team’s disappointing recent results, which raised concerns ahead of the tournament. This development not only forces a logical shift in Saudi Arabia’s own planning—now requiring a rapid adjustment under a new manager with just two months before competition begins in North America—but also triggers a strategic rethink for at least three other national teams. Spain, Uruguay, and Cape Verde were drawn alongside Saudi Arabia in Group H of the World Cup, and their respective managers have spent months preparing to face those opponents based on the playing styles each side had developed. That preparation may now need to be revised. 🚨 OFFICIAL: Saudi Arabia sack head coach Hervé Renard with immediate effect before World Cup! 👋🏼🇸🇦 Renard had returned for a second spell as Saudi coach at the end of 2024. pic.twitter.com/yhwU0OMAkS — Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 17, 2026 Now, with such a sudden managerial change and virtually no time for formal testing before the tournament begins, Saudi Arabia become something of an unknown for the rest of the group. They will open their campaign on June 15 against Uruguay in Miami, face Spain six days later, and close out the group stage against Cape Verde on June 26. Renard unable to replicate previous success with Saudi Arabia Herve Renard had been serving as Saudi Arabia’s head coach since 2024, marking his second spell in charge of the national team. His previous tenure, from 2019 to 2023, brought global recognition after Saudi Arabia’s stunning victory over Argentina in their opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. However, his return did not produce similar results. Both performances and outcomes were underwhelming, and the March international break proved crucial in the Saudi federation’s decision to move on. During that window, the team faced Egypt and Serbia, suffering defeats in both matches: a 4-0 loss to the Africans and a 2-1 defeat to the Europeans. Renard’s likely replacement With the World Cup fast approaching, Saudi Arabia are under pressure to appoint a replacement quickly—and that process already appears to be underway. “Expectation is Georgios Donis leads Saudi Arabia at the 2026 World Cup on a one-year contract,” Ben Jacobs reported on X, in a claim echoed by other outlets such as Diario AS. Expectation is Georgios Donis leads Saudi Arabia at the 2026 World Cup on a one-year contract. Donis set to join from Al-Khaleej and also be in charge for the 2026 Arabian Gulf Cup and 2027 Asian Cup as part of a proposed one-year contract.🇸🇦 https://t.co/x3jxt9y19n — Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) April 17, 2026 Georgios Donis is a 56-year-old Greek manager with extensive experience in Saudi Arabian soccer. He has coached five clubs in the country, with his most recent role at Al-Khaleej, where his team currently sits 11th in the Saudi Pro League standings. This will be Donis’ first experience at the international level.

Around the world, here are the channels you can watch Newcastle United v Bournemouth Live TV. The global TV listings are featured below for local (to you) coverage on Saturday... You can click here to read the full article.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest of its kind as it will be hosted over three countries for the first time in history, featuring 48 teams from the six football federations, an increase of 16 countries from the regular format of 32 nations that has been in place since 1998. The… The post Newcomers and Second Appearances: What to Expect in the 2026 World Cup first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

Michael Carrick has defended the form of Manuel Ugarte after Gary Neville said the midfielder has been 'well short' ever since he joined Manchester United.

For its World Cup debut, Cabo Verde, a nation of 10 islands off West Africa, will be wearing kits from Capelli Sport. The post Capelli and Cape Verde to make debuts together appeared first on Soccer America.

Cape Verde will be the second-smallest nation at this summer's World Cup

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest of its kind as it will be hosted over three countries for the first time in history, featuring 48 teams from the six football federations, an increase of 16 countries from the regular format of 32 nations that has been in place since 1998. The… The post Newcomers and Second Appearances: What to Expect in the 2026 World Cup first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

When it comes to big stages, this continent is always well represented by historic national teams such as Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay… but this time, there seems to be room for surprises. Over the last few years, the CONMEBOL campaign for the World Cup has been very competitive. In fact, four of the six… The post South America: The Place of the Dark Horses for the 2026 World Cup first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest of its kind as it will be hosted over three countries for the first time in history, featuring 48 teams from the six football federations, an increase of 16 countries from the regular format of 32 nations that has been in place since 1998. The… The post Newcomers and Second Appearances: What to Expect in the 2026 World Cup first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be the largest of its kind as it will be hosted over three countries for the first time in history, featuring 48 teams from the six football federations, an increase of 16 countries from the regular format of 32 nations that has been in place since 1998. The… The post Newcomers and Second Appearances: What to Expect in the 2026 World Cup first appeared on Breaking The Lines.

The ongoing international break is giving fans a taste of what is it come at the World Cup this summer and it is just over two months before a ball will be kicked at the iconic event. A whopping 48…

Hello Rank Squad! We thought that with less than 100 days to go now until the World Cup begins this summer, it was time to start to take a look at the tournament in earnest - and the storylines on the pitch that are set to dictate just how this tournament is remembered from a footballing perspective. We split that into three parts. Firstly, we take a look at three of the favourites to win the tournament - holders Argentina, as well as France and Spain - and the narrative threads behind each of their campaigns to come. We look at Argentina's attempt to be the first nation to go back-to-back since Brazil in the 1960's, France hoping to give Didier Deschamps the send-off his illustrious managerial tenure deserves, and Spain looking to begin a new dynasty by backing up their 2024 Euros with a World Cup two years later, just as their Golden Generation did in 2012 and 2014. Then in Part Two, we look at the managers who have traded their club loyalties for a shot at winning the most illustrious tournament of them all at international level - looking at England under Thomas Tuchel, Brazil under Carlo Ancelotti, the USMNT under Mauricio Pochettino, and Germany under Julian Nagelsmann. And finally, in Part Three, we dive into the four teams who have qualified for the first time ever - Cape Verde, Curaçao, Uzbekistan and Jordan - examining their stories, the background, and the manner in which we're expecting them to show up to the party. It's Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? (http://patreon.com/ranksfc) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Eoin Sheahan is joined by Shamrock Rovers captain and Cape Verde International Robert 'Pico' Lopes to discuss his goals for the year between Shamrock Rovers defending their League & Cup double as well as going to the World Cup with Cape Verde in June. Football on Off The Ball

Ben Symes speaks to Shamrock Rovers and Cape Verde centre half Roberto ‘Pico’ Lopes ahead of their FAI Cup Final on Sunday vs Cork City. LOI on Off The Ball is brought to you by Rockshore 0.0 #LOI

Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros bring on MLS Season Pass analyst Gio Savarese to preview the end of the MLS season and what to expect from Decision Day. Then, they’re joined by former MLS and USMNT goalkeeper Nick Rimando, who breaks down the USMNT’s recent performances and shares his thoughts on the ongoing goalkeeper battle. Later, the boys react to the latest soccer headlines, including Cape Verde’s World Cup qualification, Haji Wright’s standout showing, and more!

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Paul Watson and Ben Fisher as the Premier League returns this weekend. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/footballweeklypod. Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FootballWeeklyPodcast

Adam Hurrey is joined on the midweek Adjudication Panel by Charlie Eccleshare and Nick Miller. On the agenda: Nick's first-hand account of Cape Verde's World Cup qualification glory, an important question about pitch-invading animals, Thomas Tuchel defies the manufactured outrage once again, the most “in the departure lounge” England player, football clichés as film titles and a long-overdue assessment of Richard Keys’ acting abilities. Meanwhile, the panel put together a barking, haranguing and roaring Communication XI. Sign up for Dreamland, the new members-only Football Clichés experience, to access our exclusive new show and much more: https://dreamland.footballcliches.com The Football Clichés Live tour continues - get your tickets here: https://tickets.footballcliches.com Visit nordvpn.com/cliches to get four extra months on a two-year plan with NordVPN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The United States Men’s National Team edged Australia 2–1 in a gritty international friendly, with Haji Wright delivering both goals to seal the win. Despite an early setback and a Christian Pulisic injury scare, Mauricio Pochettino’s men showed resilience and attacking intent. Is Matt Freese your in-pen-starter next summer in goal? Alexi Lalas & David Mosse also give updates on World Cup Qualifying around the globe: Cape Verde, South Africa and others punched their tickets, while England cruised behind Harry Kane and Ronaldo broke a qualifying record. Intro: (0:00)Matt Freese is your starter (3:55)Christian Pulisic injured (4:50)Cristian Roldan on 2026 World Cup roster (9:40)USYNT knocked out of U20 World Cup (23:26)2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Recap (26:14) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A little later than usual, Musa and Ryan chat about some results from the weekend (03:59), including some WSL, Frauen Bundesliga and more. They then move onto some of the men’s World Cup qualifiers, beginning with Erling Haaland reaching 50 international goals in 46 games for Norway (07:58) and his inevitability as a striker. There’s also chat about how the expanded World Cup has had some positives, seeing sides like Cape Verde qualify for the first time (18:58), before wrapping up on a discussion about how important the qualifying campaigns of teams like England, Germany and Spain are when predicting their tournament form (24:34). Tickers are still available for our live show at the Southbank Centre in London on December 4th. Go get them here. For more podcasts, ad-free and in full, plus access to the Stadio Social Club and much more, you can become a Stadio member by signing up at patreon.com/stadio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark Chapman and Rory Smith continue the countdown to the 2026 World Cup. Nico Cantor from CBS Sports and Mexican sports journalist Marion Reimers look at Mexico, who will host nine of the tournament’s 104 matches. How will they fare as one of the tournament’s hosts? Can they finally shake off the tag of ‘dark horses’? Former South Africa captain Dean Furman and former Nigeria international Efan Ekoku discuss some of the African teams who may qualify – how are South Africa and Nigeria faring? Plus hear from Cape Verde and Shamrock Rovers defender Roberto Lopes with his country on the edge of qualification for their first ever World Cup. 02.40 – Mexico 24.20 – Bigger picture for African teams 43.45 – Cape Verde

Andre Onana shoved a fan after a mistake for Cameroon in their shock defeat to Cape Verde.

Adam Hurrey is joined on the midweek Adjudication Panel by Charlie Eccleshare and David Walker. On the agenda: some niche observations from Serbia 0 England 5, welcoming Cape Verde's imminent World Cup qualification with open arms, the unfinishedness of Ange Postecoglou's business, football commentators’ names in Suffolk castles’ family fun days and a review of Mick McCarthy and Tony Pulis's new podcast Sign up for Dreamland, the new members-only Football Clichés experience, to access our exclusive new show and much more: https://dreamland.footballcliches.com Get your ticket for the Football Clichés Live tour this October: https://tickets.footballcliches.com Visit nordvpn.com/cliches to get four extra months on a two-year plan with NordVPN Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can we say ... we recorded this after game 1 vs Cape Verde and even then you could tell that we had no hope. Where do we go from here?