October 15 – England became the first European nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after sweeping past Latvia 5-0 in Riga, maintaining their perfect record in Group K and booking their place at next summer’s finals with two games to spare.
October 14 – Cape Verde have made history by qualifying for the FIFA World Cup for the first time, becoming the second-smallest nation to reach football’s biggest stage after a 3-0 win over Eswatini in Praia.
October 14 – Former NBA icon and Los Angeles Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson has joined forces with Snoop Dogg as an official community ambassador for the Los Angeles 2026 World Cup Host Committee.
October 13 – The final two AFC group qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup will go down to the wire on Tuesday with two winner takes all matches.
Iraq ended Indonesia’s hopes of automatic qualification with a 1-0 win in Group B, while the UAE dispatched Oman’s hopes of qualifying for their first World Cup finals with a 3-2 comeback win in Group A.
October 10 – Norwegian authorities have launched a major security operation ahead of Norway’s World Cup qualifier against Israel in Oslo with pro-Palestine protests expected on Saturday.
October 10 – FIFA‘s motto is ‘For the Game. For the World’. Yet, as ticket prices for the 2026 World Cup skyrocket before the draw has been made or a ball has even been kicked, that slogan feels increasingly out of place.
October 9 – Saudi Arabia took a big step towards the 2026 World Cup finals and one of the two remaining Asian qualifying slots with a 3-2 win over Indonesia at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Riyadh.
October 8 – Israel’s World Cup qualifier next Tuesday in Italy is a flashpoint in a geopolitical storm. As the Azzurri prepare to host Israel at the Stadio Friuli in Udine next week, the buildup has been defined by protests, politics, and painful questions about the rights and wrongs of invasions and the war in Gaza.
October 8 – As the countdown to the 2026 World Cup gathers pace, TV deals are being inked worldwide. In Germany, the battle for free broadcast rights was intensified after Deutsche Telekom snapped up the exclusive rights on its pay-TV online channel, MagentaTV.
October 5 – While the failure of Iranian FA officials to be granted US visas to attend the World Cup draw made headlines last week, the State Department was announcing that it will increase staffing at a number of US embassies and consulates to cope with the extra demand expected in applications to enter the country for World Cup matches.
The State Department said last Thursday that it will send hundreds of additional consular officers to “designated countries”.
October 5 – The deciders for the last two automatic AFC slots for the 2026 World Cup will be played over the next 10 days with the six remaining teams divided into two winner takes all groups of three.
October 5 – FIFA’s ticket resale platform for the 2026 World Cup has sparked outrage after launching with the most expensive prices in the history of the tournament. Some tickets have already been listed for tens of thousands of dollars, far beyond the reach of ordinary fans.
October 3 – Iran’s FA president Mehdi Taj and national team manager Amir Ghalenoei have reportedly failed to obtain a US visa to attend the World Cup draw on December 5 in Washington D.C.
October 3 – Adidas has unveiled the official match ball for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, launching it in spectacular fashion on the Las Vegas Sphere last night in Nevada.
October 3 – The Oval Office is a news-producing factory, with U.S. President Donald Trump leading the charge in pushing policy and strategy, however, he has been reminded that when it comes to the World Cup, the final word belongs not to Washington, but to FIFA.