Former Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has been confirmed as the head coach of the France national team.
Didier Deschamps, France’s longest-serving manager, ended his 14-year stint in charge after the nation’s semi-final exit to Spain at the 2026 World Cup.
Zidane, a World Cup winner with France in 1998, has been out of management since leaving Real Madrid for a second time as head coach in 2021.
The 54-year-old, widely considered to be France’s greatest player, will sign a contract that will see him lead the nation through the 2030 World Cup qualifiers.
On being appointed, he said it was “a great source of pride” to lead the French national side following their fourth-place finish at the World Cup.
“I’ve often said it: there’s nothing greater than the French national team. So it’s a joy and obviously a great source of pride to become the manager of this French national team,” he added.
“It’s also a responsibility. I want to thank [French Football Federation] president Philippe Diallo, the executive committee, and the French Football Federation for their confidence and acknowledge the 14 years of service from Didier and his staff.
“I also have a special thought today for all my coaches. Needless to say, I have high ambitions for the French national team.”
Diallo described the new head coach as a “legend” of French football.”
The appointment of Zinedine Zidane as head coach of the French national team is a source of immense pride for the French Football Federation,” he said.
“It marks the meeting of a legend in the history of Les Bleus, who has become one of the most decorated and respected coaches of his generation, and a team with rare potential, driven by the highest ambitions.”
Zidane’s predecessor Deschamps guided France to three major finals over his 14-year reign, helping the country to their second World Cup success with victory in 2018.
Zidane’s first competitive fixture in charge will be a Nations League trip to Turkey on 25 September. (BBC)
Ten-man Paraguay eliminated Turkiye from the 2026 World Cup with a courageous defensive effort to seal a dramatic 1-0 win after suffering a dismissal before half-time, with the fastest goal of the tournament proving the difference.
Fired up after their humiliating 4-1 opening match defeat by the United States, Paraguay went ahead when Matias Galarza wound up from 25 metres (27 yards) and fired a low rocket home after 64 seconds on Friday evening, to eclipse Ismael Saibari’s 71-second strike in Morocco’s 1-0 win over Scotland hours before.
Spurred on to the sound of beating drums in the San Francisco Bay Area, Paraguay defended resolutely to withstand the Turkish onslaught and played the second half with 10 men, after Miguel Almiron was sent off for remarks made to Mert Muldur with his hand covering his mouth.
The win by the South Americans means the US were confirmed as Group D winners after their earlier 2-0 victory over Australia in Seattle.
Turkiye’s coach, Vincenzo Montella, said his players fought to stay in the tournament and it was an outcome everyone had to accept.
“I’m sad, but I’m also very proud of my players. They gave everything right up until the final whistle. That’s what football’s like,” he said.
Paraguay’s goalscorer Galarza said it was one of the best days of his life.
“We showed our quality fighting spirits even with one player down. God wanted this to happen for Paraguay more than ever before,” said the 24-year-old, on loan at Atlanta United from River Plate.
Turkiye dominated the match, with 79 percent possession at one point, but paid the price for their atrocious finishing, logging 32 attempts but no goals in an almost carbon-copy of their high-shooting opening-match loss to Australia.
Turkiye were inventive and always threatening but fell apart in front of the goal, with a slew of chances for Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz and Real Madrid’s Arda Guler. Paraguay defended solidly and looked dangerous on the break in their few chances.
Known as “La Albirroja” (the white and red), Paraguay last played in the World Cup in 2010, where they were eliminated by eventual champions Spain in the quarterfinal, which has been their best-ever run in the tournament.
Almiron was sent off in first-half stoppage time after the exchange with Muldur, with the dismissal confirmed by the video assistant referee (VAR) as Paraguay led 1-0.
It was the first instance of the new rule being applied at the World Cup.
Players who cover their mouths with their hand, arm or shirt in confrontational situations receive a red card.
The rule came into effect after Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni was accused of making discriminatory slurs to Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr with his mouth covered. (AlJazeera)
Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez helped Mexico make an exuberant start to the World Cup on Thursday, scoring a goal each in a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament.
With a capacity crowd of 80,824 watching at the iconic Azteca Stadium, co-host Mexico started the largest World Cup tournament in history by getting goals in each half while three red cards were shown — two for South Africa and one for Mexico.
Quiñones, who was the top scorer in the Saudi league this season, gave Mexico the lead in the ninth minute. Jiménez added the second goal on a header in 66th.
South Africa players Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were both given red cards, forcing the team to finish the match with only nine players. Mexico defender César Montes was then given a red card in injury time.
With his 46th international goal, and his first in three World Cups, Jiménez tied Jared Borgetti for second place for the Mexican national team. He is six goals shy of leader Javier “Chicharito” Hernández.
Quiñones, a 29-year-old forward who was born in Colombia, was one of six starting players who made their World Cup debut for El Tri.
Mexico, coming of a first-round exit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, has three points in Group A and will next play South Korea next Thursday in Guadalajara.
South Africa will play the Czech Republic on the same day in Atlanta.
This year’s World Cup has 48 teams, the most in history. It is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States. (Japan Today)
FIFA is putting more World Cup tickets on sale after angering some fans by adding new, more expensive categories.
Soccer’s governing body announced Tuesday it will make more tickets available at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday for all 104 games in Categories 1, 2 and 3 plus the new “front category” pricing it added this month.
The new category sparked online complaints from fans who said they thought the better seats in the categories they had bought tickets for were withheld and they were assigned less favorable locations.
FIFA in December put tickets on sale at prices ranging from $140 for Category 3 in the first round to $8,680 for the final, then raised prices to as much as $10,990 when sales reopened on April 1.
FIFA did not respond to an April 9 request for comment about the new ticket categories it added.
Also Tuesday, The Athletic reported that tickets sales are lagging for the U.S. opener against Paraguay on June 12 at Inglewood, California. It said a document distributed to local organizers dated April 10 said 40,934 tickets had been purchased for the U.S.-Paraguay game and 50,661 for the Iran-New Zealand contest on April 15. FIFA projects SoFi’s World Cup capacity at about 69,650, noting it may change.
FIFA’s December sale priced U.S.-Paraguay tickets at $1,120, $1,940 and $2,735, and Iran-New Zealand seats at $140, $380 and $450. (JapanToday)
Iranian football had a good week on its troubled path to playing World Cup games in the United States in June.
A first face-to-face meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino since the US and Israel started a war against Iran on February 28 made genuine progress in football diplomacy at the end of a fraught month.
The Iranian football federation’s upbeat readout of the meeting in Turkiye made no mention of moving World Cup games to Mexico — a subject Infantino has repeatedly shut down for the past two weeks.
Infantino also offered tangible help for the squad to prepare for the World Cup in the next two months. Most Iran players are with clubs in the national league, which has shut down during the war.
Iran’s World Cup hosts in Arizona in the US said this week that they were pressing on with training-camp upgrades plus local and federal security plans – echoing the “stick to the schedule” mantra that FIFA has used.
Infantino stayed on in the Turkish coastal resort of Antalya to watch Iran rout Costa Rica 5-0 in a warm-up.
Clearly, the next two months are full of uncertainty for Iran’s team and for the nation itself amid mixed messages about US intentions for the war.
Still, talk of Iran boycotting football’s biggest event or seeking to move its games from Los Angeles and Seattle to Mexico has faded.
The Iranian delegation is due at its Tucson, Arizona training camp no later than June 10 for the June 11-July 19 tournament.
The war immediately cast doubt on Iran’s ability and willingness to fulfil a World Cup entry that it secured in March 2025 as one of the best teams in Asia.
In the first half of March, government officials variously suggested that the team could not play at the World Cup, that it could not travel to the US, and that FIFA should move Iran’s games to cohost Mexico.
A spokesman for the Iran Football Association did not respond on Thursday to a request for comment. Iran has not withdrawn its entry with FIFA.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum appeared to suggest hosting Iran games was possible, without advocating for an unprecedented late change to the World Cup schedule.
US President Donald Trump added to the confusion with mixed messaging. He said, “I really don’t care” if Iran comes to the World Cup, then said that players were not safe, seeming to mean they were at risk from regime reprisals at home. He then went on to promise that the players would be treated like stars.
FIFA has been the most consistent commentator, and Infantino the only top soccer official openly talking about the delicate diplomacy: That Iran will come to the US, that the schedule will not change, and that no formal negotiations about Mexico had or would take place.
Iran, therefore, is on track to come to Arizona and start preparing for a first game on June 15 against New Zealand at the Los Angeles Rams’ SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. (AlJazeera)
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country is prepared to host Iran’s first-round matches at the 2026 World Cup if needed due to the conflict in the Middle East.
Iran’s participation at this summer’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico has been in doubt since the war began last month, with President Donald Trump warning that Iranian players’ safety would be at risk if they travelled to the U.S.
Iran’s football federation has opened talks with FIFA about potentially relocating its matches from the United States, though the global governing body has so far maintained that the tournament’s schedule remains unchanged.
Asked directly if Mexico was open to hosting the matches, and if the decision will purely come down to FIFA logistics, Sheinbaum told a press conference: “Yes.”
“Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides,” she added.
Iran’s place at the tournament was thrown into question after the U.S. and Israel launched a massive offensive against the Islamic Republic, which responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israeli territory and American targets across the Middle East.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino initially said that Trump had given assurances that the Iranian team — scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, followed by Egypt in Seattle — would still be welcome.
But the Republican president then triggered uproar last week after stating that Iran’s football team should not travel to the tournament “for their own life and safety”.
Iran hit back at Trump’s comments saying that “no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup”.
Iran were the second Asian team after Japan to qualify for the World Cup, securing their place almost a year ago as they topped their qualifying group.
On Monday, Iranian soccer chief Mehdi Taj wrote on social media: “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America.
“We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
Iranian soccer authorities “are currently discussing with FIFA whether it is feasible — since they were originally scheduled to go to the United States — to see if they can” move Iran’s games to Mexico, confirmed Sheinbaum. “The matter is under review and we will provide an update in due course.”
When contacted by AFP on the matter, FIFA said it was “looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025”.
“FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” a spokesperson said.
The Iran team’s base camp for the tournament is currently slated to be located in Tucson, Arizona.
Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, on Monday denounced “the U.S. government’s lack of cooperation regarding visa issuance and the provision of logistical support” for the Iranian delegation ahead of the World Cup, in a statement published on the embassy’s website.
Should Iran not take part in the World Cup, it is not yet clear which country might replace them. (JapanToday)
The Democratic Republic of Congo have omitted two players highlighted in the Nigeria Football Federation’s complaint to FIFA as they unveiled a 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup intercontinental play-offs, a development that adds fresh intrigue to an eligibility dispute still awaiting a verdict from world football’s governing body, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Head coach Sébastien Desabre released the Leopards’ squad on Wednesday, retaining the core players who guided the team past Nigeria on penalties in the African play-off round while recalling several names absent from the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.
Captain Chancel Mbemba leads the side alongside established figures such as Cedric Bakambu, Yoane Wissa and Samuel Moutoussamy as DR Congo pursue a second appearance at the World Cup.
However, the announcement is notable for the absence of Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Mario Stroeykens , two of the players Nigeria specifically highlighted in its formal complaint to FIFA over alleged eligibility breaches.
Only Matheu Epolo, the third player mentioned prominently in the Nigerian petition, has been included in Desabre’s squad.
Nigeria lodged the complaint after losing the African play-off tie to DR Congo 4–3 on penalties, arguing that the Congolese federation misled FIFA in securing nationality switches for several overseas-born players.
The petition, made public on December 15, 2025, asked FIFA to investigate the matter and potentially disqualify DR Congo from the qualification process.
The Nigerian federation’s document listed numerous foreign-born players who featured against the Super Eagles, including Lionel Mpasi, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Arthur Masuaku, Samuel Moutoussamy, Ngal’ayel Mukau, Noah Sadiki, Nathanael Mbuku and Cedric Bakambu in the starting line-up, as well as substitutes Timothy Fayulu, Matheu Epolo, Joris Kayembe, Edo Kayembe, Steve Kapuadi, Gédéon Kalulu, Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Mario Stroeykens.
In the complaint, released publicly by journalist Osasu Obayiuwana, Nigeria argued that several players obtained clearance to represent DR Congo only days before the decisive play-off match against them, despite having been called up earlier for the fixture.
The document questioned how the Congolese federation could summon players before final approval had been granted by FIFA.
“It should be added for context that at least three of these players with unrenounced Belgian nationality (Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Mario Stroeykens, and Matheu Epolo) received their final clearance to play for DRC between November 11 and 12, 2025, just before the play-off match against Nigeria on November 16, 2025,” the complaint read.
“Notably, Balikwisha played his debut match for DRC in this game against Nigeria.”
The document further suggested that the timeline surrounding the call-ups raised serious concerns about procedural compliance.
“It is most curious, however, that these players had already been called up by DRC on November 1, 2025, to play in the play-offs, approximately eleven days before receiving FIFA clearance and approvals.”
“This raises the question of what gave FECOFA the confidence to take the unusual step of calling up players of a foreign nationality for such crucial play-offs well before securing the necessary FIFA approval for those players.”
“We request a formal investigation into these serious matters.”
Balikwisha had made his debut against Nigeria and converted one of the penalties in the shoot-out that secured DR Congo’s progression, while Stroeykens was unable to earn his first senior cap after sustaining an injury soon after the match.
Epolo, meanwhile, only made his international debut for the Leopards on December 16, 2025, a day after Nigeria’s complaint became public.
Their absence from the new squad, particularly Balikwisha’s omission despite his decisive role in the previous round, inevitably raises questions about whether the Congolese coaching staff are attempting to avoid further scrutiny while the case remains unresolved. (Punch)
Iran’s sports and youth minister said it’s “not possible” for the country to take part in the World Cup after the United States killed its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in its ongoing war.
Iran was expected to take part in the World Cup that will be held across North America in June, but Iranian Sports and Youth Minister Ahmad Donyamali told state television that his country’s soccer team players are not safe in the U.S., according to a video of the interview posted Tuesday.
“Due to the wicked acts they have done against Iran — they have imposed two wars on us over just eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people — definitely it’s not possible for us to take part in the World Cup,” he said.
Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
FIFA said Tuesday night that it anticipates that Iran’s national team will be allowed to come to the United States.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said “I really don’t care” if Iran takes part in the 48-nation tournament.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he met with Trump on Tuesday night “to discuss the status of preparations” for the tournament. During the meeting, Trump “reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino wrote in an Instagram post.
A White House official, granted anonymity to discuss private conversations, confirmed Trump’s message to Infantino about Iran’s participation.
Since June, Iran has been subject to a travel ban into the U.S. as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. But athletes and coaches from the target nations are exempt, which means the Iranian team would be allowed to enter. (JapanToday)
All 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup will be “sold out,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Wednesday, even though tickets are still available ahead of the tournament’s June 11 kickoff.
“The demand is there. Every match is sold out,” Infantino told CNBC.
Infantino, in an interview from President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, said that there had been 508 million ticket requests in four weeks for some seven million available tickets.
He said requests during the main sales phase in January came from more than 200 countries.
“(We’ve) never see anything like that — incredible,” said Infantino, adding that football’s global governing body has kept “some tickets back” for the last-minute sales phase that will begin in April and run until the end of the World Cup on July 19.
Infantino addressed the issue of ticket prices, described as “exorbitant” by supporters associations and which have already reached record levels on resale sites.
“I think it is because it’s in America, Canada and Mexico,” he said. “Everybody wants to be part of something special.
“Ticket prices have been fixed but you have, in the US in particular, something called dynamic prices, meaning the prices will go up or down.
“You are able as well to resell your tickets on official platforms, secondary markets, so the prices as well will go up.
“That’s part of the market we are in.”
Infantino estimated that the first 48-team World Cup would bring FIFA some $11 billion or more in revenue, adding that “every dollar” will be reinvested in football in FIFA’s 211 member countries.
He put the World Cup’s impact on the US economy at around $30 billion “in terms of tourism, catering, security investments and so on.”
Infantino estimated that in addition to seven million spectators, the World cup would also attract 20 to 30 million tourists and create “185,000 full-time jobs”.
“It’s a big impact,” he said. “I hope this impact will not just be limited to the World Cup but for the future as well.” (Punch)
Iran and Egypt have both objected to plans by local organisers in the United States to brand their 2026 World Cup group-stage match as an event supporting the LGBTQ community.
The organising committee in Seattle, Washington, where the fixture is scheduled to take place next year, had previously announced its intention to hold a “Pride Match” coinciding with the northwestern city’s Pride Weekend in late June.
Following last week’s FIFA tournament draw, Egypt and Iran are now slated to face off in Seattle on June 26, the Friday before.
The head of Iran’s Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, was quoted by local news agency ISNA as saying that Tehran and Cairo had both raised “objections against the issue”, which he labelled an “irrational move that supports a certain group”.
Taj did not mention the specific branding of the fixture.
On Monday, Iranian state television said Tehran would “appeal” to FIFA over the matter.
Homosexuality is illegal in Iran under Islamic law and can be punishable by death.
In a statement, the Egyptian Football Association said it had sent a formal letter to FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom, rejecting “in absolute terms” any activities linked to LGBTQ support during the match.
The EFA said such initiatives would clash with “the cultural, religious and social values” of both Egypt and Iran and urged FIFA to ensure the match would remain focused solely on football.
In Egypt, homosexuality is not expressly outlawed, but is often punished under loosely worded laws prohibiting “debauchery”.
The EFA cited FIFA’s statutes on political and social neutrality, arguing that matches should not be used to promote causes that are “sensitive or of a contentious nature”.
The 2026 World Cup will mark Iran’s seventh participation in the tournament, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iran and the United States have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, following a hostage crisis in the wake of the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Iran had initially opted out of Friday’s draw to protest the US refusal to grant visas to several members of its delegation but eventually reversed the decision.
On Tuesday, Taj said some Iranian players might face visa problems over their service in the Iranian military, which includes the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) — designated a “terrorist organisation” by the US in 2019.
“For the World Cup, we must work on having replacement options, and we have already started that,” he said. (Punch)
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