Expanding the World Cup to 48 teams created an obvious headache: it’s an awkward number for a neatly balanced tournament. With 32 teams, everything was straightforward—eight groups of four, the top two advancing to the last 16, then quarters, semis, and the final. Adding 16 more nations forced Fifa to find a new path to...

Fifa’s Social Media Protection Service says harmful posts and comments during the 2026 World Cup were 14 times higher than in 2022. More than seven million messages were identified and removed this summer. That compares with 470,000 such posts and comments at the previous tournament. Fifa also recorded over 200,000 abusive or threatening posts and...

First, South Africa edged South Korea 1-0, securing a top-two place in their group and dropping South Korea—who still have a better goal difference than Scotland—into third. Next, Ecuador stunned Germany 2-1, finishing third in their group on four points to book a last-32 berth. Sweden then held Japan to a 1-1 draw, also advancing...

An increasing number of players moving to England can still benefit the women’s game in Scotland, says Scottish Women’s Premier League managing director Fiona McIntyre. Ipswich Town, of England’s second tier, have recruited six SWPL players this summer, reflecting a broader shift south. The Tractor Girls have signed Celtic’s Emma Lawton, Hearts trio Georgia Hunter,...

For the first time since 2006, Wales’ Principality Stadium will host the Community Shield, with Arsenal facing Manchester City on Saturday, 16 August. With The Weeknd’s After Hours til Dawn tour taking place at Wembley the same day, the season’s traditional curtain-raiser is being played outside London for only the third time since Wembley reopened...

Norway’s football federation is weighing a formal complaint to Fifa’s ethics committee over the decision to defer Folarin Balogun’s automatic one-match suspension at the World Cup. The United States forward had been set to miss the last-16 match against Belgium after receiving a straight red card in a 2-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina. Following an intervention...

Wednesday’s deserved victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium booked Pochettino’s team a meeting with Belgium in Seattle on Monday night (01:00 BST Tuesday). It came at a cost. Folarin Balogun, the 24-year-old former Arsenal prospect who launched the campaign with a brace against Paraguay, struck again just before half-time to open the...

Eight of the 12 third-placed teams will advance—exactly two-thirds. In the 32-team format, that’s roughly equivalent to the five best third-placed sides going through. Across the seven tournaments since 1998, the fifth-ranked third-placed team always had at least three points: Colombia (1998), Portugal (2002), Poland (2006), Ivory Coast (2010 and 2014), Nigeria (2018), Tunisia (2022)....

Birmingham City have signed goalkeeper Katie Startup after her contract with Manchester City expired. The 27-year-old was part of the City squad that ended a 10-year wait for a Women’s Super League title and also won the Women’s FA Cup in 2025-26. Startup did not make a first-team appearance following her 2024 move from Brighton,...

Newcastle United are in advanced negotiations to sign Republic of Ireland forward Leanne Kiernan from Liverpool. The 27-year-old spent the latter half of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest but still has more than a year left on her Liverpool deal. That means the second-tier club would likely need to pay a fee for...

After his post-World Cup break, Guimaraes has joined Newcastle‘s pre-season camp in La Manga, Spain, as scheduled. The Brazilian midfielder is a leading target for Arsenal as they look to further strengthen after last season’s Premier League title. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta declined to speak specifically about Guimaraes over the weekend, but said the club...

Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven says the club’s path is clear after agreeing a new long-term contract. The Netherlands international joined from Wolfsburg in 2023 on a six-year deal running to 2029. BBC Sport understands he was weighing up his future in north London before Roberto De Zerbi’s arrival in March, a pivotal factor...