December 16 – After 62 matches, it’s down to the last two: on Sunday France and Kylian Mbappe and Argentina and Lionel Messi will face off to crown the world champion and bring the 22nd edition of the World Cup, the first one in the Middle East, to a close.
December 18 – Portugal have parted company with coach Fernando Santos following their shock 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco at the World Cup.
December 16 – In something of a first, no doubt fuelled in part by the widespread alcohol ban, not a single British fan has been arrested at the World Cup in Qatar, according to the UK’s football policing lead.
December 15 – Dutch giants Ajax have trained more players for World Cup teams (11) than any other club, according to latest data from the CIES Football Observatory.
By Samindra Kunti in Al Khor
December 15 – After a history-making run, Moroccan hearts were finally broken. But following their 2-0 semi-final defeat to defending champions France coach Walid Regragui said that with a sense of pride prevailed that his side had shown “a good image”.
December 15 – More than three dozen Nepali civil society groups have called on FIFA President Gianni Infantino to “stop looking the other way” while migrant workers in Qatar are denied compensation.
December 14 – Morocco’s national airline said it was cancelling all flights it had scheduled for today to carry hundreds more fans to Doha for the eagerly awaited World Cup semi-final, citing what it said was a decision by Qatari authorities to restrict air travel.
December 14 – Lionel Messi is just one match away from the securing the biggest achievement of his glittering trophy-rich career after leading Argentina into their sixth World Cup final.
By Samindra Kunti in Doha
December 13 – Ahead of Argentina’s semi-final clash with Croatia, Lionel Scaloni has defended his players following their controversial behaviour during their quarter-final victory against the Netherlands, saying it is “out of touch with reality.”
By David Owen
December 13 – Atlético Madrid and Sevilla may have disappointed in this season’s Champions League, but their players are doing the business at Qatar 2022.
December 13 – A Belgian judge has charged four people after the seizure of €600,000 in cash and detained members of the European Parliament as part of an international investigation into claims that football World Cup host Qatar sought to buy influence, rocking the heart of the continent’s politics.
December 12 – FIFA will debut a new Adidas ball for the final four matches of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, with the ball in action for the first time tonight in the Argentina vs Croatia semi-final.
December 12 – Channelling their inner ‘Rocky’ in eliminating Portugal 1-0 from the World Cup and becoming the first African country to reach the last four of the global finals, coach Walid Regragui believes that his side can win the ultimate prize.
By Andrew Warshaw
December 12 – Referees are invariably lambasted at various stages during major competitions. It goes with the territory.
December 12 – As England lick their wounds after falling just short for the third tournament in a row, manager Gareth Southgate is pondering whether to stay on in the role.