By Andrew Warshaw
July 2 – The controversies continue to rage but FIFA’s refereeing chief Pierluigi Collina and his colleagues insist the introduction of video assistant referees (Vars) has been an unqualified success in Russia.
July 2 – With yet another pre-tournament favourite dumped out of a World Cup of unprecedented surprises, Spanish Football Federation president Luis Rubiales insists he has no regrets over the decision to sack national coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the competition.
By Samindra Kunti in Moscow
July 2 – Football’s governing body FIFA reported that 2,178,894 fans attended the 48 matches of the World Cup group stages in Russia, averaging a stadium occupancy rate of 98%.
July 2 – Senegal’s football federation (FSF) has urged FIFA to reconsider its new fair play ruling which controversially resulted in the Africans’ World Cup exit.
July 2 – Swiss captain Stephan Lichtsteiner has opened up for the first time about being sanctioned for the controversial Albanian eagle salutes during his country’s group game against Serbia.
June 29 – After having all their various protests about the 2026 World Cup bid process rejected by FIFA, Morocco are crying foul again – this time over the way they were eliminated from the World Cup.
By David Owen
June 29 – Exactly half – 368 – of the players who started Russia 2018 have now had their World Cup dreams shattered. But where do these dearly departed play their club football? Who employs the most squad members eliminated from the competition in the group stages?
By Andrew Warshaw
June 29 – Fair play, what fair play? If ever FIFA needed to have a hard look at the rules in terms of the criteria used for teams advancing to the knockout stage, Japan’s shameful tactics against Poland on Thursday – shades of Germany versus Austria way back in 1982 – provided ample evidence.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 29 – Over a generation has gone by since Pele famously predicted than an African team would win the World Cup by the year 2000. But if anything African football, which has long been clamouring for more World Cup slots, has gone backwards.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 28 – The recriminations are in full flow and the inquisition has already begun. But Germany’s fall from grace is not without precedent judging from recent World Cup history.
By Samindra Kunti in Moscow
June 28 – Brazil progressed to the knockout phase of the World Cup following a routine 2-0 win against Serbia on Wednesday, but the Brazilian Football Confederation, the CBF, remains an isolated body.
June 28 – Tunisia have been forced to start their final World Cup game with third-choice goalkeeper Aymen Mathlouthi, with a striker as backup, after FIFA rejected their request to add a replacement keeper to the squad.
June 27 – Striker Aleksandar Mitrovic has warned Brazil that Serbia will be coming out all guns blazing in their crunch Group E World Cup clash in Moscow tonight.
June 27 – Russian police say they have received multiple bomb threats in the World Cup host city of Rostov-on-Don, causing bars and restaurants to be evacuated across the city.
June 27 – Argentina legend Diego Maradona said he was “fine” after being treated by paramedics following his country’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Nigeria at the World Cup.