By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 15 – They’re back. And before they’ve even kicked a ball, everyone has fallen in love with them – again. Two years after making the quarterfinal at Euro 2016, guess what were Icelandic head coach Heimir Hallgrimsson’s first words at his media conference on the eve of the country’s World Cup debut against mighty Argentina.
By David Owen
June 15 – It was a dream start for the host nation; but Thursday’s 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia in the opening match of Russia 2018 was also the perfect entrance for sports equipment group Adidas at the 21st FIFA World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 14 – Walking round the streets of Moscow in the days leading up to tonight’s World Cup opener, you wouldn’t necessarily have known the Russian capital was about to herald the start of a competition that has taken eight years to organise and was so vital in terms of image and public relations.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 14 – So, after months of criss-crossing the globe, how did they manage to win so emphatically? As leaders of the triumphant North American 2026 World Cup bid took in the totally unexpected margin of victory, they were honest enough to admit that even they didn’t expect such an outcome.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 13 – It was the 13th item on the agenda and it proved to be unlucky verging on disastrous for Morocco as the United States and its partners Canada and Mexico were today awarded the 2026 World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 13 – He stayed away in 2010 when Russia won the vote as a sign of respect for FIFA, flying into Zurich only after the result became public.
By Samindra Kunti in Moscow
June 13 – On the eve of the World Cup, tickets remain for 19 of the 48 group matches, including England’s opening match against Tunisia. Last week FIFA announced 2.4 million tickets had been sold for the tournament.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 12 – Whether it should be this way is a matter of debate. But in the modern world, commercial clout and the promise of safe, sophistated infrastructure invariably carry more weight than passion and legacy – as Morocco seem likely to find to their cost when the race to stage the 2026 World Cup reaches its denouement tomorrow.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 11 – The chances of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar being expanded to 48 teams appear to have faded as quickly as they arose.
Plans for a feasibility study have been put on hold and the idea pulled from Wednesday’s FIFA Congress after FIFA President Gianni Infantino said agreement from the Gulf nation is a “precondition.”
June 11 – The CIES Football Observatory has ranked teams participating in the Russia 2018 World Cup by their transfer values. Top of the table are France with a total squad value of €1.41 billion.
June 8 – FIFA has announced that 2.4 million tickets have already been sold for the World Cup, which kicks off next Thursday. International demand accounts for 54%. On Friday evening, the governing body will release another batch of 100,000 tickets.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 8 – Having already seemingly lost out to their North American rivals to secure the votes of both South Africa and Liberia, 2026 World Cup underdogs Morocco have received a further blow to African unity with the news that Zimbabwe has also declared itself for United 2026.
June 8 – FIFA has reiterated that referees will have the power to suspend games at the World Cup in cases of persistent discrimination by the crowd.
June 8 – With the World Cup on the doorstep, Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the eleven host cities to take advantage on the tournament and deliver a strong footballing legacy after the finals.
June 7 – World Cup hosts invariably go into World Cups with at least a modicum of optimism but Russia is going to need all the help it can get to progress from the group stage and prevent the tournament taking a massive early hit.