The Saudi-backed league faces an uncertain future after its financial backer, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), said it will end funding in 2026, following a reported US$5 billion investment since LIV Golf’s launch in 2022.

As recently as last month, FIFA's official stadium code of conduct included a clause which read: "For the avoidance of doubt, empty, transparent, reusable plastic bottles, up to (1 liter in) capacity, may be brought into the Stadium."

The win propelled Indonesia to the top of Group A, overtaking Vietnam, who had earlier recorded a 3-0 victory over Timor-Leste in their opening match.

The team had been due to leave on a charter flight for their training base in the Mexican city of Pachuca but that was postponed while the South African Football Association tried to sort the paperwork.

Luis Enrique arrived in Paris in 2023 promising a cultural shift rather than instant glamour, with the Spaniard wanting a team in which collective sacrifice outweighed individual status, where the biggest names defended, pressed and suffered together.

In the 70th minute, the two-time reigning MLS MVP could be seen grabbing at the upper section of his left thigh following a free kick. The Argentine legend requested a substitution, then headed to the locker room after Mateo Silvetti replaced him.

The Iranian team will now be based in Tijuana on the border of Mexico and the United States during the tournament, federation president Mehdi Taj said in a video carried by the Fars news agency.

Ahead of Indonesia’s first official Hyrox race in June, urban professionals and “gym rats” alike are reorganizing their routines around the fitness competition quickly gaining both hype and popularity.

The Iranian nationa soccer 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.

Indonesia's boys and Brazil's girls topped the Shield divisions of the competition, which brought street-connected young people from 28 teams representing more than 20 countries in the tournament   Street-connected young people from 28 teams representing more than 20 countries gathered for the fifth edition of the tournament, which began on May 6 and held its semi-finals and finals in Texcoco, outside Mexico City, on Thursday.

This year's World Cup, which kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City, marks the second time the global soccer showcase is being co-hosted by multiple countries.

After a shock early exit in Denmark, officials and observers warn that Indonesia can no longer rely on its storied legacy as rivals build greater depth, consistency and squad flexibility.

The Utrecht court sided with the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB), which had declined to approve a replay, arguing the club nor the player had been aware at the time that his nationality change would carry legal consequences.

KNVB warns replay could trigger over 100 match challenges, risking Eredivisie season completion.

At the heart of the dispute is the status of Dutch-born players who have switched allegiance to countries such as Indonesia, Suriname and Cape Verde, as it face the Dutch law that stipulates people who voluntarily take another nationality generally lose their Dutch citizenship as the Netherlands prohibits dual nationality.

US special envoy Paolo Zampolli told the Financial Times it would be a "dream" to see four-time World Cup winners Italy at the finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada despite the fact they lost in a qualification playoff last month.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied that Washington had asked the Iranian team not to come to the World Cup, but warned the United States may yet bar entry to members of the Iranian delegation it judged to have ties to Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

His parents, particularly his father Peter, a golf teaching professional, made a conscious decision early on: let the game find Fifa. And it did.

FIFA says the rule has evolved from ideas designed "to enhance match tempo and reduce time-wasting," as well as to promote a more attacking style of play.

The Azzurri fell at the play-offs again, this time after a penalty shoot-out against Bosnia and Hercegovina on Tuesday, and will miss this summer's finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

"The World Cup curse," said the front page of Italy's main daily Corriere della Sera, calling for a rebuilding of a movement that produced some of the game's greatest players but has won just one match at the finals since lifting the trophy in 2006.

The Iranian FA (FFIRI)has been pushing to relocate the team's three World Cup group matches from the US to Mexico, citing the American military involvement alongside Israel in strikes that sparked the current regional war.

The 4-0 victory over Saint Kitts and Nevis in the 2026 FIFA Series competition in Jakarta became the first game and win for English coach John Herdman, who was appointed to helm the national men’s soccer team in January.

Before kick-off in Como a minute's silence, during which fans broke out into applause, was held for deceased billionaire co-owner Michael Bambang Hartono, who died at the age of 86 on Thursday.

The Players, which began on March 12, certainly boasts the strongest field of any tournament albeit some missing LIV Golf stars, and offers the richest prize purse for an individual competition.

Iran was the only nation missing from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held last week in Atlanta, deepening questions over whether the country's soccer team will compete on US soil this summer amid an escalating regional war.

Women soccer players in Indonesia continue to battle stigma, harassment and unequal support as they fight for recognition in a male-dominated sport.