Iran drop Azmoun as Taremi leads 26-man World Cup squad in US
June 1 : Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei named a 26-man squad for the World Cup on Monday, relying on veterans Mehdi Taremi and Alireza Jahanbakhsh, while leaving out Sardar Azmoun.
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New Zealand midfield duo battling injury ahead of World Cup
June 1 : New Zealand midfielders Ryan Thomas and Joe Bell will head into the World Cup short of match practice while nursing leg injuries.
Iran beat Gambia as federation seeks FIFA clarity over visas
ANTALYA: Iran have asked FIFA to clarify when tournament visas will be issued following the relocation of their World Cup training camp from Arizona to Tijuana, a senior official from the Islamic Republic’s national football federation (FFIRI) said on Friday. The national team came from behind to beat Gambia 3-1 in a World Cup warm-up match in the Turkish city of Antalya, days after their tournament preparations were disrupted by a base camp relocation to Mexico following approval from Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and FIFA. Iran are scheduled to play all three of their group matches in the United States but the team’s participation in the June 11 to July 19 tournament has been in question since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February. The relocation followed diplomatic friction and visa complications, with Iran now requiring cross-border clearance for their Group G matches against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt in Los Angeles and Seattle. Mehdi Mohammadnabi, first vice president of FFIRI, told Reuters that Iran had written to FIFA seeking a firm answer after earlier applying for visas. “We sent an email to FIFA today and asked them to announce the result as soon as possible, to say on what day the visas will be issued, because we now need both multiple-entry Mexican visas and multiple-entry US visas,” Mohammadnabi said. “Based on the latest conversation we had, they replied that the administrative process will most likely be completed this week,” he added. Mohammadnabi said FIFA had proposed the Tijuana camp and Iran had accepted the arrangement. “FIFA proposed this camp, and FIFA should tell you what has happened,” he said.
DR Congo end 52-year World Cup absence amid health, security crises
JOHANNESBURG: Democratic Republic of Congo will return to the World Cup in June after a 52-year absence as the vast central Africa nation reels from health and security crises. A deadly Ebola outbreak in the east of the country had recorded 10 confirmed and 223 suspected deaths by May 24. The Geneva-based World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the true spread of the epidemic, thought to have circulated under the radar for some time, is likely much wider. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus from Ethiopia is heading to DR Congo, pledging to do “everything in my power” to conquer the outbreak. Fortunately, none of the 26 stars chosen to represent DR Congo at the four-yearly global showpiece in the United States, Canada and Mexico, play in the affected areas. French coach Sebastien Desabre selected 24 players from 11 European countries, one with a club in the United Arab Emirates and one with Egyptian outfit Pyramids. As the Ebola epidemic spreads and scientists race to develop a vaccine to combat it, fighting between government troops and the Rwanda-backed M23 militia has been raging. The mineral-rich east of the country has been scarred by violence from various armed groups for more than three decades. From 2021, the M23 has seized swathes of territory and fighting has stepped up since the beginning of last year. The national football team, known as the Leopards, are training in Europe ahead of Group K showdowns with Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan. Having survived a marathon 13-match qualifying program from Mauritania to Mexico, Desabre and his squad want to erase memories of 1974 in then West Germany. Then called Zaire, the first sub-Saharan qualifiers for the World Cup suffered a
Liverpool sack head coach Arne Slot after underwhelming season
Liverpool parted ways with Arne Slot on Saturday (May 30) after the Dutch manager who won the Premier League title in his first season failed to live up to expectations in a roller-coaster second season where they finished fifth.
Liverpool sack Slot after underwhelming season
Liverpool parted ways with Arne Slot on Saturday after the Dutch manager who won the Premier League title in his first season failed to live up to expectations in a roller-coaster second seasonwhere they finished fifth. Former Feyenoord boss Slot replaced Juergen Klopp in 2024 and the Dutchman impressed in his first season as Liverpool won the Premier League title on the back of Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah’s 29 goals and 18 assists in the league. However, his second season at Liverpool transformed from a title defense into a desperate scramble for Champions League qualification while they failed to win a domestic cup, marking a dramatic downturn for the defending champions. Liverpool ended the season in fifth place with 60 points — their lowest tally since the 2015-16 campaign and 25 points behind champions Arsenal — and the club said they had to make the “difficult decision” to part ways with the Dutchman.
Salah heads Egypt World Cup squad, teen talent Abdel Karim earns call-Up
CAIRO: Mohamed Salah, Liverpool’s talismanic winger, will head Egypt’s final squad for the 2026 World Cup in North America next month, coach Hossam Hassan said on Saturday. The squad lineup featured few surprises, except for the inclusion of rising striker Hamza Abdel Karim.
Iran expect to hear about US World Cup visas this week
ANTALYA, Turkiye: Iran will have an answer from US authorities over their World Cup visa applications “this week,” their football federation vice president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi said on Friday.