DOHA, Qatar (AP) — After a World Cup start clouded by a disastrous loss and persistent questions about the civil unrest back home, Iran is celebrating the prospect of its first ever trip to the knockout stage.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar (AP) — Tensions ran high at Iran’s second match at the World Cup on Friday as fans supporting the Iranian government harassed those protesting against it and stadium security seized flags, T-shirts and other items expressing support for the protest movement that has gripped the Islamic Republic.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran arrested a prominent former member of its national soccer team on Thursday over his criticism of the government as authorities grapple with nationwide protests that have cast a shadow over its competition at the World Cup.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo became the first male player to score at five World Cups with a goal for Portugal against Ghana on Thursday.
The 37-year-old striker converted a penalty in the 65th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead.
LONDON (AP) — England forward Beth Mead sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Arsenal, raising questions about her availability for the women's World Cup next summer.
The 27-year-old Mead, who helped England win the European Championship, was injured Saturday during Arsenal's 3-2 loss to Manchester United in the Women’s Super League.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Hector Garcia's family had a hard time understanding his decision to travel to this year's World Cup and abandon his annual gathering of 30 family and friends.
“This would have been my 40th year cooking turkey and I gave that up to be here.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Iran’s players didn’t sing their national anthem and didn’t celebrate their goals. In the stands, many Iranian fans showed solidarity with the protest movement that has roiled the country for months.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The fan zone set up in central Doha turned into a chaotic scene on Sunday on the opening day of the World Cup as tens of thousands of fans pushed and shoved against police lines to enter the venue.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — The political situation back home has been a regular line of questioning for Iran ahead of the team’s opening Group B match against England at the World Cup.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — FIFA earned record revenues of $7.5 billion in the four years of commercial deals tied to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the governing body of soccer said Sunday.
The last three sponsors — two American and one from the Middle East — were announced hours before the opening game: YouTube, Visit Las Vegas and Fine Hygienic Holding, all in the third-tier category of regional sponsors.
DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Gianni Infantino said he feels gay. That he feels like a woman. That he feels like a migrant worker. He lectured Europeans for criticizing Qatar’s human rights record and defended the host country’s last-minute decision to ban beer from World Cup stadiums.
Official-looking flyers have circulated on social media describing cultural expectations for fans attending the World Cup in Qatar. Some include rules for women’s attire: Shoulders and knees must be covered.
The World Cup will sound different this year.
Jacqui Oatley will become the first woman play-by-play commentator for U.S. World Cup telecasts, heading one of Fox’s five broadcast teams for the tournament in Qatar that opens Sunday.
LEVERKUSEN, Germany (AP) — Bayer Leverkusen became the latest Bundesliga club to criticize the World Cup in Qatar by describing the decision to award the tournament to the country as “scandalous” on Tuesday.
HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Mallory Pugh scored the go-ahead goal in the 56th minute and the U.S. women avoided a fourth straight loss with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Germany on Sunday.
Sophia Smith also scored for the top-ranked United States, which went into the match at Red Bull Stadium with its first three-game losing streak since 1993.
BERLIN (AP) — Seven days before the World Cup is due to start in Qatar, former Germany captain Philipp Lahm says it was “a mistake” to award the tournament to the Gulf Arab country.
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Qatar is a Muslim nation, with laws, customs and practices rooted in Islam. The country is neither as liberal as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates nor as conservative as parts of Saudi Arabia.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — The United States women lost again, falling 2-1 to Germany on Thursday night for their first three-game skid since 1993 and first home defeat in more than five years.
Paula Krumbiegel scored the decisive goal in the 89th minute for third-ranked Germany in the exhibition at DRV PNK Stadium.
Over a million sports fans will go to Qatar for the World Cup in November and December, a spectacle that typically turns host countries into a nonstop party. But this year may be different.
The tiny, conservative Muslim nation may show little tolerance for the booze-fueled hooliganism that has unfolded at tournaments past.
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese referee Yoshimi Yamashita knows that being one of three women picked to officiate matches at the World Cup — the first time a woman will be in charge on the game's biggest stage — is not simply about soccer.
The U.S. women's national team will hold its traditional January training camp in New Zealand and play a pair of exhibition games against the island country's national team.
Both teams are preparing for next summer's World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — Sarah Asimrin still hears it from her uncles sometimes: “You’re a girl, it’s not right.” But on a recent evening, the 13-year-old Jordanian was on her club’s soccer field practicing alongside other girls and boys.
The foreign fans descending on Doha for the 2022 World Cup will find a country where women work, hold public office and cruise in their supercars along the city's palm-lined corniche. They've been driving for decades, unlike in Saudi Arabia, where women gained the right just a few years ago.
Tickets to individual games for the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand went on general sale on Monday.
FIFA announced that fans from 100 countries have already secured tickets following a presale for Visa cardholders.
Women's soccer is seeing growing revenues globally from sponsorships, broadcast deals and merchandising, while also seeing greater interest from fans, according to a new survey by the game's governing body.
When China’s qualification campaign for the men’s World Cup ended in February with a humiliating loss to Vietnam, coach Li Xiaopeng apologized to angry fans and promised that “Chinese soccer will definitely revive in the future, but it needs hard work, generation by generation.”
GENEVA (AP) — Ukraine’s top soccer club on Monday urged FIFA to remove Iran from the World Cup because of the country's alleged military support to the Russian invasion.
Women's rights are back in focus as Iran's national soccer team prepares for the World Cup. They were never that far away.
Anti-government protests have engulfed the Islamic Republic following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for allegedly wearing a mandatory headscarf too loosely.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — The full schedule and kickoff times for next year’s Women’s Football World Cup have been released by FIFA, promising timely viewing for United States audiences.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — The defending champion United States will face the Netherlands in the group stage of the women’s soccer World Cup next summer, setting up an early repeat of the 2019 World Cup final.
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Broadcasters were criticized by FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Saturday for what he called unacceptably low offers for rights to screen the Women’s World Cup next year.
PARIS (AP) — Karim Benzema won the men’s Ballon d’Or for the first time on Monday after a brilliant season with Real Madrid capped by the Champions League and Spanish league titles.
Spanish player Alexia Putellas won the women’s trophy for the second straight year following another standout season with Barcelona.
ZURICH (AP) — Ireland is going to its first Women's World Cup next year and was joined by Switzerland as both won in the European playoffs on Tuesday, leaving Portugal to enter an intercontinental round.
LONDON (AP) — Ten weeks after conquering Europe, England women proclaimed themselves ready for even more after beating the world champion United States 2-1 in a friendly at Wembley Stadium on Friday.
A roundup of some of the most popular but completely untrue stories and visuals of the week. None of these are legit, even though they were shared widely on social media. The Associated Press checked them out.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Landon Donovan is teaming with Clint Dempsey again at a World Cup.
The pair, who share the American record of 57 international goals, will work for Fox at this year’s tournament in Qatar.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — The Women's Champions League groups that will mostly be played when men's top-tier club soccer in Europe is shut down for its World Cup were drawn Monday.
Women's soccer aims to build on the successful European Championship in July, and the elite club competition has been scheduled with the decisive final three group-stage rounds in December that avoid fixture clashes with knockout games in Qatar.
GENEVA (AP) — Political issues are swirling around the Iran men’s soccer team amid turmoil on the streets at home just weeks before the World Cup where it will play the United States, Wales and England.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — More than half of the Spain women’s team no longer want to play in protest at their coach, though they don’t want him removed.
Fifteen players have told the Spanish federation that being on the team has “significantly” affected their "emotional state” and health.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Scotland and Portugal were handed the advantage of playing at home throughout the European qualifying playoffs for next year's Women's World Cup.
Friday's draw for the nine-team playoffs saw Scotland paired against Austria, a European Championship quarterfinalist two months ago, with the winner advancing to host Ireland.
Representatives for the men's and women's U.S. national teams on Tuesday signed their historic collective bargaining agreements with U.S. Soccer, formally closing a long and sometimes acrimonious fight over equal pay.