Algeria Qualifies for 2026 World Cup for First Time Since 2014
Algeria has become the fourth African country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup — and all of them are from the north of the continent.
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Tuchel's England thump woeful Wales in friendly
LONDON :England racked up an eighth successive victory against Wales with a 3-0 cruise in an international friendly at Wembley on Thursday to fully justify head coach Thomas Tuchel's decision to omit some leading lights from his squad.
Spain’s La Liga plans to make its international match an annual event
NEW YORK: La Liga plans to make an international soccer match an annual event after announcing Barcelona and Villarreal will play outside Miami on Dec. 20, Spanish league president Javier Tebas said during an interview with The Associated Press. Becoming the first major European league to move a competitive match abroad, La Liga is following the model of the NFL, which has played in London since 2007, and this season also has games in Berlin, Dublin, Madrid and Sao Paulo. “The idea is to follow a similar model but with one difference: We will only play one match abroad,” Tebas said of future schedules.
Algeria qualify for the World Cup for first time since 2014 after Mahrez inspires win
BIR EL DJIR, Algeria: Algeria have become the fourth African country to qualify for the 2026 World Cup — and all of them are from the north of the continent. A 3-0 win over Somalia on Thursday guaranteed Algeria first place in Group G in African qualifying with a match to spare and a return to the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Algeria, captained by Riyad Mahrez and led by former Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic, joined neighboring nations Morocco and Tunisia as well as Mohamed Salah’s Egypt in securing a spot in next year’s expanded 48-team tournament being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Indonesia bars Israeli athletes from gymnastics world championship
JAKARTA: Indonesia will not issue visas to Israeli athletes for the upcoming world artistic gymnastics championships in Jakarta, a minister said Thursday, citing the nation’s support for Palestinians. The event, scheduled for October 19-25 in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, is expected to feature more than 500 athletes from 79 countries. Israeli athletes were reportedly among those set to compete, but coordinating minister for legal affairs and human rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the government would not allow them entry. “The Indonesian government has a firm stance that it will not have any contact with Israel until Israel recognizes the existence of a free and sovereign Palestine,” Yusril said in a statement. Indonesia has no formal ties with Israel, but Israeli nationals or their sponsors, such as Indonesian-based businesses or Indonesian nationals, can apply for a short-term visa under the “calling visa” procedure. Israeli nationals with dual passports can also enter Indonesia using their other passport. Immigration and Corrections Minister Agus Andrianto told local media Kompas.com on Thursday the move followed a formal request from the Indonesian Gymnastics Federation. Andrianto confirmed the decision to AFP, without elaborating. The federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In July 2023, Indonesia pulled out of hosting the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) World Beach Games following controversy over Israel’s participation. In March that year, Indonesia lost the hosting rights to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after two governors objected to Israel’s participation.
‘We need win after win’: Crunch time looms for Germany in World Cup qualifying
BERLIN: A World Cup without Germany used to be unthinkable. Now the four-time champion needs to turn things around to ensure a spot at next year’s tournament. A shock 2-0 loss to Slovakia in World Cup qualifying means Julian Nagelsmann’s team may need a perfect record in the rest of their qualifiers, starting with wins over Luxembourg on Friday and Northern Ireland on Monday. “Everyone expects of us that we’ll beat every opponent 5-0, 6-0 but that’s no longer possible,” midfielder Nadiem Amiri said in comments reported by German agency dpa. “The times have simply changed.