January 16 – FIFA have opened a disciplinary case against world champions Argentina for alleged “offensive behaviour” by players and violations of fair play at the final in Qatar.
January 13 – After Argentina won the World Cup for the second time in 1986, Diego Maradona was the king of football in Argentina. He was seen as a god in his country, given how well he delivered for the team. His successor, Lionel Messi was not born until June 24.
January 11 – Cristiano Ronaldo’s new club Al Nassr have denied reports that his contract includes a commitment to back a Saudi Arabian bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
January 9 – French coach Didier Deschamps is to stay until the 2026 World Cup after leading his country to the final of the last two editions of the tournament.
December 21 – Argentina’s World Cup heroes were forced to abandon an open-top bus parade in Buenos Aires on Tuesday as millions of ecstatic fans brought the city to a standstill.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 20 – Qatar’s World Cup chief Hassan Al Thawadi insists the tournament changed perceptions of the region and transformed his country.
December 20 – An analysis of the Argentine player data from World Cup qualifying to World Cup final by the CIES Football Observatory shows how coach Lionel Scaloni used 40 players en route to the big prize.
December 19 – World Cup organisers reportedly rejected a personal request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to deliver an address ahead of Sunday’s final.
December 19 – With the Qatar 2022 World Cup now complete, Asian Football Confederation (AFC) President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa praised the hosting capabilities of Qatar in delivering the first World Cup in the Arab world and the second in Asia.
December 19 – Following a heartbreaking World Cup final defeat to Argentina, French coach Didier Deschamps left his future as manager of the national team in the balance.
By Samindra Kunti in Lusail
December 18 – In one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time, Argentina and Lionel Messi attained immortality defeating France and hat-trick star Kylian Mbappe from the penalty spot after a 3-3 draw.
December 16 – After 62 matches, it’s down to the last two: on Sunday France and Kylian Mbappe and Argentina and Lionel Messi will face off to crown the world champion and bring the 22nd edition of the World Cup, the first one in the Middle East, to a close.
December 18 – Portugal have parted company with coach Fernando Santos following their shock 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco at the World Cup.
December 16 – In something of a first, no doubt fuelled in part by the widespread alcohol ban, not a single British fan has been arrested at the World Cup in Qatar, according to the UK’s football policing lead.
December 15 – Dutch giants Ajax have trained more players for World Cup teams (11) than any other club, according to latest data from the CIES Football Observatory.