CAPE TOWN — FIFA dismissed South Africa's protest following the 1-0 loss to Ghana in their decisive World Cup qualifier in Cape Coast last month, with the country's football association (SAFA) saying they will consider further steps once they read the judgement.
FIFA's Disciplinary Committee decided that the protest was inadmissible, without providing any further details.
Nasser Al Khater, CEO of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, spoke to the media on Tuesday reassuring that LGBTQ+ fans will be allowed to attend soccer’s biggest tournament next year. The assurance from Al Khater wasn’t completely transparent as LGBTQ+ supporters will need to be wary during their trip to Qatar.
As FIFA continues to float the idea of a biennial men’s World Cup — bucking nearly a century of norms to hold the tourney twice as often — most everyone with any sort of stake in the beautiful game has come out against the idea. And yet, we continue to see polling data suggesting soccer fans actually want a World Cup every two years.
Miraildes Maciel Mota is known by most Brazilian soccer fans by her nickname: Formiga, meaning "ant" in Portuguese. It is a testament to her tireless work on the pitch and unselfish play — much like the way an ant contributes to its colony.
Thirty years ago to the day, the U.S. edged Norway 2-1 to claim the first Women’s World Cup title. Except, it wasn’t called the Women’s World Cup yet, matches were only 80 minutes because FIFA didn’t think women could handle a full 90 and the USWNT returned home to a greeting party of three. The first Women’s World Cup was far from the blockbuster it is today, but it was a start, one that can’t be forgotten on its 30-year anniversary.
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 ✅
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.