June 13 – FIFA has published the first 24 Team Base Camps for the 2026 World Cup across the Canada, Mexico and the USA, and released a more detailed version of the tournament match schedule.
June 13 – The long-standing issues of VISA entry to the US for Cubans took a different twist this week with the Cayman Islands men’s team pulling out of a World Cup qualifying fixture in Cuba.
June 13 – UEFA is opening up a new sponsorship programme centred on commercialising its referees across all its competitions.
June 13 – India may have crashed out of AFC World Cup qualifying for 2026, but the second largest country in the world has a growing appetite for football and the confederation is keen to harness its vast population in the regional game.
June 13 – Premier League Tottenham Hotspur have announced BP brands bp pulse as Official EV Charging Partner of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Castrol as Official Partner of both the men’s and women’s teams.
June 13 – The Macedonian Football Federation has signed a new three-year sponsorship deal with Komercijalna Banka.
Albania’s draw away to the Czech Republic was perhaps the key moment in their qualifying campaign. In Group E, they were drawn alongside Moldova and the Faroe Islands as well as a Polish side that underwhelmed.
Austria enjoyed a good qualifying, finishing as runners-up behind Belgium in Group F. They pushed the group winners all the way at home and secured a valuable point away in Brussels. Marcel Sabitzer was Austria’s top scorer with four goals.
Belgium once again confirmed how easy the qualifiers can be. They finished top of Group F with 20 points from eight matches and remained unbeaten against Austria, Azerbaijan, Estonia and Sweden. Manager Domenico Tedesco were rarely troubled, further proof that in the last decade, Belgium have become very apt at defeating smaller teams, who often play in a low block. The Red Devils last lost a European qualifier in 2015, against Wales, 1-0.
With star man Luka Modric set for one last dance with his country, Croatia will push to go one step further as the side always on the cusp of history looks to switch the script.
Looking for revenge after the heartbreak of Euro 2020, England shape up as one of the tournament favourites.
France topped Group B of the qualifiers with 22 points and a goal difference of +26, going unbeaten.
Georgia finished fourth in Group A behind fellow finalists Spain and Scotland as well as Norway but claimed a ticket to the big time via the playoffs.
After the trauma felt during Euro 2020 and the disappointment of the 2022 World Cup, Denmark are ready to bounce back after a comfortable qualification campaign proved they still have plenty of bite.
