November 23 – FIFA has decided to ditch the two-legged format for the intercontinental playoffs in favour of single games at neutral venues in the race to secure the final spots at next year’s World Cup.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 22 – With global scrutiny of Qatar’s human rights record showing little respite, the public face of the 2022 World Cup, Hassan Al-Thawadi, says he hopes the tournament will help “wash away” stereotypical attitudes towards the country.
November 22 – Qatar has completed the build of Stadium 974, the latest of its 2022 World Cup stadia to be declared tournament ready.
November 19 – Denmark will wear messages highlighting human rights on their training kit during the World Cup in Qatar next year.
November 18 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has praised the preparations for the 2022 World Cup on a visit to Doha’s Lusail Stadium where he met with Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
November 18 – Canada took control of the Concacaf World Cup final qualifying in Edmonton with a win over Mexico putting them the top of the group. It was a night of drama that also saw the USA drop points and to third in the table as Panama forced themselves back into contention.
November 17 – FIFA will review South Africa’s appeal for a replay with Ghana in World Cup qualifying. The South Africans demanded an investigation after they lost a crunch qualifier in controversial fashion against Ghana 1-0, prompting Bafana officials to believe match-fixing was involved.
November 16 – Just four months after winning the delayed Euro 2020, Italy have missed out on an automatic place at the World Cup finals and will have to rely on the playoffs to get them to Qatar.
November 15 – South African officials suspect match-fixing was at play in Sunday’s crunch 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Ghana and want FIFA and the Confederation of African Football to investigate the conduct of the officials.
November 15 – On a night of high drama, Serbia and Croatia booked automatic places in next year’s World Cup finals on Sunday, condemning Portugal and Russia to the playoffs.
November 15 – Goals from Chelsea star Christian Pulisic and Juventus’ Weston McKennie saw the US take control of Concacaf’s final group stage of 2026 World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 win over rivals Mexico.
November 12 – Brazil have become the first South American country to qualify for the 2022 World Cup after a 1-0 victory against Colombia to maintain their proud record of having participated in every single World Cup.
November 12 – Russia and Croatia each recorded big wins in World Cup qualifying Thursday to set up a weekend winner-takes-all encounter for an automatic spot at next year’s tournament.
November 1 – Qatar 2022 organisers have signed an agreement with Accor to manage accommodation operations and deliver services throughout the FIFA World Cup 2022.
October 29 – The head of the Norwegian financial crime unit has said that the country should boycott the 2022 World Cup because of the corruption that led to Qatar being awarded the hosting rights.