Page 31 - Latest Updates on FIFA World Cup

Vinicius out of Brazil''s World Cup qualifying matches, Raphinha drafted in

Vinicius Jnior will miss Brazil's first two World Cup qualifying matches next month because of a right hamstring injury. Brazil's soccer federation confirmed the absence Tuesday after media reported that Real Madrid had estimated that the 23-year-old Vinicius, injured in the team's 1-0 victory at Celta Vigo in the Spanish league, could be sidelined for about a month. Raphinha was drafted into the Brazil squad for games against Bolivia on Sept. 8 and Peru four days later. He last played for Brazil's national team during the World Cup in Qatar. The 26-year-old winger has five goals in 16 appearances for the national team. The matches will be Fernando Diniz's first as head coach of Brazil.

Luis Rubiales: From sullying Women's World Cup to a Spanish soccer outcast

One week after the president of the Spanish soccer federation kissed a player during the Women's World Cup awards ceremony, his reputation is in tatters and he's out of his job. Luis Rubiales, whose leadership of Spanish soccer had already been marked by successes tinged with scandal, wrecked his career by offending millions worldwide with his conduct at the final in Sydney, Australia, when he also grabbed his crotch in a victory gesture. A day after he was provisionally suspended by FIFA for 90 days, Spain awoke on Sunday to headlines like the one in El Pais: Spain no longer tolerates men like Rubiales. FIFA moved against Rubiales after he refused to step down and defiantly told an emergency assembly of his federation on Friday that he was the victim of a witch hunt by false feminists. On a day that will go down as one of the ugliest in Spanish soccer, Rubiales said that forward Jenni Hermoso had consented to the mutual kiss. Hermoso replied in two statements to say that was false

Spain's Luis Rubiales-Jenni Hermoso case: Everything you need to know

Fifa banned Luis Rubiales on Aug 26, 2023, for his conduct at the Women's World Cup final, wherein he kissed a player on the lips without her consent among other things

Spain's World Cup winning captain Carmona lost her father on final's day

Olga Carmona, whose goal won the Women's World Cup for Spain, learned after the final of her father's death, the Spanish soccer federation said. He had been ill and died while Carmona's mother and other relatives traveled to Australia to watch her play in the final, the federation said early Monday, without giving more detail on the cause of death. The family decided to wait until after the title celebrations to give Carmona the news. And without knowing it, I had my Star before the game started, Carmona said on X, formerly known as Twitter, along with a photo of her kissing the winners' medal. I know that you gave me the strength to achieve something unique. I know that you were watching me tonight and that you are proud of me. Rest in peace, dad. After the final whistle, she was among the Spanish players celebrating and dancing on the field, and appeared to participate normally during the trophy presentation. We love you, Olga, the federation said on X. You are part of the hist

Fifa Women's World Cup: England's Lionesses ''game-changers'' back home

The wait for a World Cup title goes on for England, but the Lionesses were still heralded as game-changers back home after their loss to Spain in Sunday's final in Sydney. King Charles III, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and a host of other politicians, royals and celebrities were quick to praise the England players on social media despite a 1-0 loss in the FIFA Women's World Cup title match. Although it's the result none of us wanted, Lionesses you have done yourselves and this nation proud," Prince William, who is the president of England's Football Association, posted on social media. Your spirit and drive have inspired so many people and paved the way for generations to come. After winning the UEFA European Championship at home last year, England reached the championship match in the women's global tournament for the first time. It was also the first time an England team had reached a World Cup final since the men's team won in 1966. You left absolutely nothing out there @Lionesses

Fifa Women's World Cup: Spain crowned world champions, beat England 1-0

Spain became the world champions after beating England 1-0 in the final of the Fifa Women's World Cup at Stadium Australia in Sydney on Sunday, August 20, 2023

Women's World Cup breaks even says Infantino, palys down equal prize money

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Friday that the Women's World Cup has broken even after generating more than $570 million in revenue but dismissed suggestions for equal prize money with the men's World Cup. The current World Cup prize pools sit at $110 million for women and $440 million for men. Infantino has consistently played down calls for equal payments. On Friday, he suggested demands for equal prize money were a slogan that would not solve anything." Some voices were raised, where it cost too much, we don't make enough revenues, we will have to subsidize, Infantino said at the FIFA Women's Football Convention. And our opinion was, Well, if we have to subsidize, we will subsidize', because we have to do that. But actually, this World Cup generated over $570 million in revenues, and so we broke even." Infantino said FIFA didn't lose money and we generated the second-highest income of any sport, besides of course the men's World Cup, at a global stage." More than half a

Is it coming home? England eye Women's World Cup trophy against Spain

The rallying cry It's Coming Home is one game away from reality and the end of England's 57-year drought in global soccer. The World Cup trophy can return this Sunday to the birthplace of soccer for the first time since 1966. But if it happens, the journey back to England will be with the women's national team and not the men's. The Lionesses have roared their way into their first Women's World Cup title game, Sunday against Spain. It is the first all-European final since 2003, when Germany beat Sweden. It has been a magical ride for both teams: England has been on top of the global game since winning the European Championship last summer, and Spain is in its first final less than a year since 15 players quit the team in protest. But England was expected to be here, and all around the world, in pubs and at viewing parties, England supporters have been singing It's Coming Home," the unintentional reminder that the soccer team hasn't won the World Cup since 1966. The men's team was t

Nike, Adidas bet big on women's World Cup football shirts, merchandise

Merchandise companies often flood market with easily stockpiled items that only require a little final printing work or other touches, such as novelty championship hats, T-shirts, other collectibles

FIFA Women's World Cup: England thrash Australia 3-1 to play Spain in final

England moved on to its first Women's World Cup championship game with a 3-1 victory Wednesday over co-host Australia, ending the Matildas captivating run through the tournament. Australia superstar Sam Kerr started her first match of the tournament and scored for the Matildas but it wasn't enough to hold off European champion England. Ella Toone scored in the 36th minute to put England up 1-0 and the Lionesses dominated possession in the first half. Kerr's equalizer in the 63rd gave the 75,000-plus crowd some hope, but EEngland sealed it on goals from Lauren Hemp in the 71st and Alessia Russo four minutes from the end of regulation time. England and Spain will each be playing in the Women's World Cup final for the first time when they meet at Stadium Australia on Sunday. Australia will play Sweden for third place on Saturday in Brisbane.

Attendance and ticket records keep growing at 2023 Women's World Cup

With Matildas' matches becoming hot tickets, Australia's run to the Women's World Cup semifinals and the expanded 32-team format have helped set records for attendance at the tournament. Soccer's international governing body said Tuesday that 1.77 million tickets have been sold for the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, with a total 1,734,028 attendance for the 60 games. The record match attendance for the 2023 edition is 75,784 for three games under a restricted capacity at Sydney's Stadium Australia, which was built for the 2000 Olympics. FIFA said the average crowd for games across the 10 venues has been 28,900, more than 7,000 above the average for games at the 2019 edition in France and more than 4,000 above the historical average at the eight previous Women's World Cups. The competition was expanded from 24 to 32 teams for this edition. Australia reached the semifinals for the first time with a 7-6 penalty shootout win over France in Brisbane last Satur

FIFA Women's World Cup: England beat Colombia 2-1, meet Australia in last 4

The tests keep coming for England at the Women's World Cup and the Lionesses keep roaring. Alessia Russo fired England into the semifinals with a second-half goal to beat Colombia 2-1 on Saturday in a game that showcased the resolve of Sarina Wiegman's team and set up a clash with co-host Australia. We always find a way through," said Russo, whose goal completed a come-from-behind win after Leicy Santos had given Colombia a first-half lead. One of the strongest things about this team is we never give up. England advanced to the last four for the third consecutive Women's World Cup, despite going into the tournament with a host of key players out injured. Kiera Walsh was then sidelined after hurting her knee in the second game of the group stage and Lauren James is serving a two-game suspension for stepping on Nigeria defender Michelle Alozie in the round of 16. Yet England keep coming up with answers. We've had lots of challenges, and we've got through these challenges," Wiegman

Women's World Cup: Australia edge France on penalty to reach semi-finals

Australia edged France on penalty kicks Saturday to reach FIFA Women's World Cup semi-finals for the first time. Cortnee Vine took Australia's 10th penalty from the spot and calmly converted it to give the Matildas a 7-6 win in the shootout after the quarterfinal match finished 0-0 after regulation and extra time. The Australians missed two earlier chances to clinch a dramatic shootout. But ultimately, it didn't matter, as they ended a long curse for tournament hosts. The Australians became the only team other than the United States of America to advance past the quarterfinals of a Women's World Cup as the host nation. Australia will play either England or Colombia next Wednesday in Sydney for a spot in the final. Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold kept the Matildas in the game in extra time and made a string of clutch saves in the shootout before and after missing her own attempt that could have sealed the win. Both teams had chances to win it in regulation, and Sam Kerr's f

Fifa Women's World Cup: South Africa shock Italy 3-2, knock them out

Italy's players dropped to their knees, buried their faces and tearfully wondered how their tournament had suddenly ended following a shocking upset to South Africa in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023. The 54th-ranked team in the world stunned Italy, ranked 16th by FIFA, with a 3-2 victory over the Italians in Wednesday's Group G finale. South Africa won with a stoppage-time goal by Thembi Kgatlana. South Africa was ecstatic as players screamed and danced and said thankful prayers in the hallway leading to their locker room. The Italians left in tears and were unable to explain the upset. "I really don't know," goalkeeper Francesca Durante said after the match. "I don't know what didn't work." Nearly every player took the blame for the early elimination, even Arianna Caruso, who scored both of Italy's goals. "I don't think I can find the right words at this moment," Caruso said. "I am not happy because we scored two goals and we didn't do anything." Italy's problems against Sou

FIFA Women's World Cup: Drawing of lots will decide which team goes ahead

What happens if teams finishing even on points cannot be separated by all of FIFA's tournament tiebreakers following the completion of the group stage at the Women's World Cup? Soccer's world governing body has confirmed it's the drawing of lots, So, luck of the draw really could determine which team advances to the Round of 16 and which team goes home. FIFA issued a statement explaining the drawing of lots will only occur should all steps, as outlined in Article 13 of the Competition Regulations, prove unable to determine the ranking. The tournament's tiebreaker criteria starts with which of the tied teams in the group has superior goal difference in its group matches and the greatest number of goals scored. If that's not enough to determine a final rankings, then the head-to-head results between the teams concerned is the tiebreaker. If that doesn't work, it goes down to a tabulation of how many yellow and red cards each team has accrued through the tournament. In the highly ...

Messi's Instagram post offers hope to his fans about World Cup 2026

Lionel Messi's Instagram post could hint at the Argentina star's unexpected return to the World Cup stage in 2026 after initially denying any such possibility

Qatar Airways posts $1.2 bn profit over FY23 when it hosted FIFA World Cup

Qatar Airways said Thursday it earned a profit of USD 1.2 billion over the last fiscal year, boosted in part by the small Arabian Peninsula country's hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Qatar Airways, like other carriers in Gulf Arab nations, relies on the country's location to ferry passengers between the East and West. Its earned revenue of USD 20.9 billion over the year is up from USD 14.4 billion the year before. Those figures stand in contrast to the USD 4.1 billion loss it suffered in the 2021 fiscal year amid the coronavirus pandemic and the grounding of its fleet. Qatar Airways' profit of USD 1.2 billion is down slightly from USD 1.5 billion last fiscal year. Part of that came from a spike in operating expenses, particularly in jet fuels as energy prices rose after the grip of the pandemic loosened and air travel resumed. Qatar Airways received a USD 3 billion infusion from the government during the pandemic to keep it afloat. As the global travel industry continued its ..

India's road to Fifa World Cup 2026: All you need to know about qualifiers

India have been drawn in group A of the AFC FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifiers along with Qatar, Kuwait and the winner of the Round 1 clash between Afghanistan and Mongolia

Ticket sales top 1.5 million for FIFA Women's WC in Australia, New Zealand

A New Zealand family of five purchased the tickets that took the sales total to 1.5 million for the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup on Monday. Soccer's world governing body says the tournament being co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand is on track to be the best attended in the competition's history. FIFA said that the 1,500,000th ticket went to Auckland woman Maria Strong, who bought tickets for her husband and three children to attend Italy's Group G win over Argentina at Eden Park as part of a family celebration for her son's 12th birthday. In a statement, FIFA said the sales target had been surpassed within the first five days of the month-long tournament, setting the 2023 edition on course to surpass 2015 in Canada for the record attendance. More than 1.35 million people attended a 52-game tournament in Canada. The tournament has expanded to 32 teams this year. The opening games set records for women's soccer matches in both co-host countries. The crowd at New Zealand's upset

FIFA Women's World Cup: Opening ceremony focused on First Nations

The Women's World Cup opened Thursday with an elaborate greeting from the Maori people of New Zealand and the First Nations people of Australia. In a moment intended by FIFA to stress the cultural roots of tournament co-hosts New Zealand and Australia, along with international unity, the roughly 10-minute ceremony focused on groups of people meeting peacefully at the center of Eden Park. For New Zealand, volunteers held aloft an artistic representation of a giant stingray, which in traditional beliefs is said to have been caught by the demi-god Maui and turned into what has become the country's North Island. A giant rainbow serpent, representing Australia, was likewise held up by the cast and joined the stingray. Monique Maihi-Pihema, a descendant of the Ngati Whatua Orakei tribe that has the historical rights over Eden Park, where the opening match between New Zealand and Norway took place, sang a traditional calling to welcome the Australians. The ceremony ended with the official