The 2026 FIFA World Cup finally gets underway this week, and you can follow all of the latest breaking news before Thursday’s opening group-stage game with The Athletic.

By the time Florentino Pérez took to the stage at the Eurobuilding hotel, just north of the Bernabéu, it was almost 1 a.m. in the Spanish capital.

The 2026 World Cup finally gets under way on Thursday, June 11 as Mexico face South Africa at the Estadio Azteca at 8 p.m. BST England face Costa Rica in their final warm-up match on June 10, before t...

Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan will not take part in this summer’s World Cup after he was denied entry into the United States, FIFA confirmed on Monday.

Award-winning Somali referee Omar Artan has been dropped from officiatingat the World Cup after being barred from entering the United States, world football’s governing body FIFA said.

The Somali official was set to become the first-ever Somali referee to be the man in the middle at a Fifa World Cup.

Herzegovina's Edin Džeko, 40, who has steered his country to its second-ever World Cup. "I'm so happy I can lead this team as captain, this great new generation, to the World Cup and many more to come,

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just days away.

The Netherlands has ruled Jurrien Timber out of the World Cup due to a groin issue NEW YORK — Dutch defender Jurrien Timber was ruled out of the World Cup on Monday because of a groin issue that had limited the 24-year-old Arsenal standout since mid-March.

ARSENAL ace Jurrien Timber has been ruled out of the World Cup due to injury in a major blow for the Netherlands.

Lutsharel Geertruida, who spent the 2025/26 season on loan at Sunderland, has since been drafted into the Dutch squad as Timber's replacement.