November 16 – The danger of having the World Cup in the middle of the European season has been starkly highlighted by the world players’ union Fifpro warning ominously of a greater risk of injury due to the demands of a congested calendar.
November 16 – France have been dealt yet another injury blow on the eve of the World Cup after exciting RB Leipzig forward Christopher Nkunku (pictured) limped out of training on Tuesday.
November 15 – Just days before the start of the World Cup, German fans have stepped up their protest against Qatar staging the tournament.
November 15 – The Brazilian Confederation of Football (CBF) has expressed support for Gianni Infantino’s ‘shut-up-and-play’ policy at the World Cup in Qatar.
November 15 – FIFA champions its World Cup as the most elite football competition in the world. However, only some elite players get to compete for the most coveted title in world football.
November 15 – Marcus Thuram has been handed the last spot in the France squad that will defend its World Cup title in Qatar while the uncapped Axel Disasi was also called up on Monday after Presnel Kimpembe had to pull out with injury.
November 15 – Never mind the reported 5,000+ dead bodies that have created the infrastructure for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, or the reported $385 million spent on Qatari espionage campaigns to discredit and/or buy influence, or the unwelcome LGBTQ folk (you can come but we’d rather you didn’t you poor mentally afflicted people), or even the gagging order on all you stupid players that might have the power of independent thought…(we own you even if we don’t pay for you).
November 14 – In an ironic twist, Byron Castillo, the player at the centre of the bitter, long-running dispute over his World Cup eligibility, has been left out of Ecuador’s squad for the finals tournament.
November 14 – Saudi Arabia has been forced to pull one of its leading World Cup players because of an ongoing doping case.
November 14 – Germany’s 2004 World Cup-winning captain Philipp Lahm (pictured) has re-iterated his stance that Qatar should never have been allowed to host the World Cup and is boycotting the tournament.
November 14 – Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes has expressed his reservations about the winter World Cup in Qatar, which kicks off next weekend with the hosts playing Ecuador in the tournament’s curtain raiser.
November 14 – Under the auspices of FIFA’s global football development chief Arsène Wenger, the world federation will roll out a new set of insights, metrics and performance data to enhance the experience of the World Cup’s global audience.
November 14 – With the World Cup kicking off in just six days, some of the groups are packed full of teams that are in good form. That’s not the case in Group B where England take on the USA, Iran and Wales.
November 11 – The Danish FA (DBU) have said that FIFA has rejected their request to train at the World Cup in shirts with the words ‘human rights for all’ – a protest at Qatar’s controversial rights record.
November 11 – FIFA’s plea that World Cup teams concentrate purely on football without referencing Qatar’s human rights record and treatment of migrant workers is likely to be ignored, according to England manager Gareth Southgate.