Men's National Teams

The last two European champions, Italy and Portugal, could face each other for a spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after they were drawn in the same path for the playoffs in Zurich on Friday.

The 12 teams — 10 of which finished runners-up in their groups — were split into three four-team paths, each with its own semi-finals and final. Seeded teams were guaranteed a home game in the semifinals.

2022 World Cup play-off draw ✅

BUENOS AIRES — Thousands of fans of soccer great Diego Maradona will pay tribute to the star on the one-year anniversary of his death , amid legal wrangles about how he died and allegations over past relationships that threaten to tarnish his legacy.

U.S. Soccer has selected two cold-weather venues for the men's national team's key World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and Honduras early next year.

The United States, who are second in Concacaf's eight-nation qualifying competition that will send the top three to the 2022 World Cup, will play El Salvador on Jan. 27 in Columbus, Ohio and Honduras on Feb. 2 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

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What if I told you Qatar hired an ex-CIA officer to run a spy campaign to ensure the tiny but wealthy Middle Eastern country won and held on to the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup? Yeah, that sounds pretty believable.

FIFA believes that the USMNT is better than Mexico for the first time since July 2015. The latest FIFA rankings were released on Friday, with the Americans (12) sitting two spots above their southern neighbor (14). Some Swiss cheese in the middle created a lovely Concacaf sandwich.

The referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) who officiated in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina have been suspended for "serious errors,” the South American soccer governing body CONMEBOL said.

An incident in the goalless draw where Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi appeared to elbow Raphinha — which left the Brazilian winger with a bloody mouth — went unpunished and CONMEBOL said the use of his arm amounted to "violent conduct.”

Uruguay's shock 3-0 defeat by Bolivia on Tuesday has left their fans bracing for what could be a dramatic final four matches in South American World Cup qualifying.

The result meant it was the first time Uruguay lost four qualifying games in a row and the team featuring Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani sit seventh in the table with 16 points from 14 games and in real danger of missing next year's finals in Qatar.

The past two European champions could have to play against each other in a playoff for a place at next year’s World Cup as a consequence of failing to secure automatic qualification this week.

Both Italy, who won the continental title in July, and Portugal, who were winners of Euro 2016, will be on tenterhooks as they await the outcome of the draw for the March playoffs for the 12 European countries who remain in contention for three places at the World Cup.

Over halfway through Concacaf World Cup qualifying and only one nation remains unbeaten: table-topping Canada, which began this entire cycle ranked 73rd in the world and needing to navigate beyond Suriname in the first round and Haiti in the second to even be present in the Octagonal.