The Palestinian Football Federation had urged Messi not to take part and welcomed the scrapping of the game
Russia has recorded a 23 per cent month-on-month increase in flight searches from India during the tournament
Poland is to play two friendlies before travelling to Russia; one against Chile on June 8 and the other against Lithuania four days later
Peru will head to Russia with their talismanic captain Paolo Guerrero after almost missing him due to a doping ban
He has to sufficiently rested so that his performance is balanced until the end of the championship, says football tactician Antonio Habas
Sane has been snubbed ahead of Julian Draxler and Julian Brandt
In order to enter Russia, foreign nationals will need to present either their laminated or printed FAN IDs at passport control
Mexico have been drawn in Group F with defending champions Germany, Sweden and South Korea
The general feeling among football fans is that this Belgium team still lacks the killer instinct and doesn't really believe in their ability to turn dreams into reality
Over half the players of Renard's Atlas Lions heading to Russia were born outside of Morocco, in either France, Spain, or the Netherlands.
Uruguay will be spearheaded in Russia by Barcelona forward Luis Suarez and Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani
Christian Eriksen had another superb season in the Premier League in 2017-18, with 14 goals and 11 assists across all competitions. In Denmark's World Cup qualifying campaign he scored 11 goals
Coach Oscar Ramirez has announced the team's 23-man roster featuring 12 players who were part of 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil
Spain have remained unbeaten since Lopetegui's arrival, having achieved 13 wins and 5 draws in 18 games
Iran tenaciously resisted until Lionel Messi broke their hearts with a single goal in injury time
Guerrero has an almost hero status in his native Peru and the ban he had faced caused a huge controversy and protests there
Saudi Arabia have not won a single game at the World Cup after beating Belgium in 1994
After such a lengthy absence, the 32-year-old who is generally regarded as one of the world's top goalkeepers is under pressure to prove his form and fitness
Football's governing body said it made the decision after receiving a letter from Juan Carlos Rios, the head of a FIFA-appointed "Normalization Committee" to oversee the Fedefut
Near-superhuman forces will be needed if we want to end up becoming world champions again, warns coach Loew