World Cup
Australia seal World Cup spot with win over Saudi as Oman deny Palestine
Australia sealed qualification for the World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-1 win over Saudi Arabia in Jeddah while Oman kept their hopes of a place at the finals alive with a last-gasp 1-1 draw against Palestine in Jordan.
The Socceroos only had to avoid a five-goal defeat to confirm their appearance at a sixth consecutive finals and goals from Connor Metcalfe and Mitch Duke earned the Australians a come-from-behind win to brush aside the Saudis.
Abdulrahman Al-Obud had given the home side a glimmer of hope when he netted from close range in the 19th minute but Metcalfe equalised with three minutes left in the half to extinguish Saudi dreams.
Duke then put the visitors in front in the 48th minute when he glanced Martin Boyle’s free kick past Nawaf Al-Aqidi before Mat Ryan, making his 100th appearance for his country, saved a late penalty save to deny Salem Al-Dawsari an equaliser.
The win confirms the Australians as second-place finisher in Group C behind Japan, who secured their spot at the finals in March.
“It is special. It probably hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Tony Popovic, who took over as coach last September after Australia made a stuttering start to the third round of qualifying.
“It’s been a very intense period since I’ve joined. We’ve built a good foundation now (but) we want to really get better, kick on and try and do something special at the World Cup.”
Saudi Arabia took third place in Group C and will feature in a fourth phase of qualifiers in October alongside Indonesia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Oman.
The Omanis kept their hopes alive at the expense of Palestine as Issam Al-Sabhi’s penalty deep into stoppage time earned the Gulf side a draw that kept them in fourth place in Group B.
A header by Oday Kharoub gave Palestine a 49th-minute lead and a second yellow card for Oman’s Harib Al-Saadi had put Ihab Abu Jazar’s side in control until the dying minutes, when Muhsen Al-Ghassani was brought down in the area.
Al-Sabhi stepped up to send goalkeeper Rami Hamada the wrong way to seal fourth place in the group for Oman and eliminate the heartbroken Palestinians.
Earlier in the evening, Japan crushed Indonesia 6-0 with Daichi Kamada scoring twice in the first half in Osaka as the Samurai Blue won Group C while Wang Yudong’s late penalty had China finish their campaign with a 1-0 win over Bahrain.
Iran confirmed themselves as Group A winners with a 3-0 win over North Korea that came after Kye Tam was sent off for the visitors with 24 minutes remaining in Tehran.
Mehdi Mohebi, Mehdi Taremi and Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh were all on target in the last 16 minutes to guarantee first place for the Iranians, who had secured their berth in March.
Already-qualified Uzbekistan took second spot with a 3-0 win against Qatar in Tashkent while the United Arab Emirates claimed third ahead of the Qataris despite conceding a late goal to draw 1-1 with Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.
South Korea completed their commitments in Group B with a 4-0 thrashing of Kuwait to ensure Hong Myung-bo’s World Cup-bound outfit topped the standings with an unbeaten record.
Jordan, who qualified for their first World Cup on Thursday, finished second in Group B despite losing 1-0 to Graham Arnold’s Iraq in Amman.
-Reuters
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By Kunle Solaja.
Global music stars Shakira and Burna Boy have joined forces to release Dai Dai, the Official Song of the FIFA World Cup 2026, in support of the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund.
FIFA announced on Friday that the song, released via Sony Music Latin, is now available on all major streaming platforms as excitement continues to build ahead of the expanded World Cup tournament to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next year.
According to FIFA, Dai Dai combines the global sounds and energy of Shakira and Burna Boy in what it described as a vibrant celebration of football, culture and unity.
The song will also serve a humanitarian purpose, with royalties supporting the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, an initiative targeting the raising of $100 million before the end of the tournament to provide children around the world with access to quality education and football opportunities.
FIFA revealed that Shakira will donate her royalties from the song to the fund, while Sony Music will match the first $250,000 raised through an additional contribution.
The release further strengthens Burna Boy’s growing global profile and marks another major collaboration between African music and international football events.
FIFA also confirmed that Shakira will co-headline the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final Halftime Show on July 19, introducing a historic first for the World Cup final. The halftime spectacle is expected to unite global artists in a celebration blending sport, music and social impact in support of the education fund.
Dai Dai follows earlier releases including Lighter, Por Ella, Echo and Illuminate as part of the buildup to the Official FIFA World Cup 2026 Album, with more singles expected in the coming weeks.
FIFA said the album project reflects the diversity and global spirit of the World Cup by featuring artists from different continents, genres and cultures, while using football and music as unifying forces for fans worldwide.
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Uncapped goalkeeper Robin Risser and Crystal Palace duo Maxence Lacroix and Jean-Philippe Mateta were all named in France’s World Cup squad by coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday.
Risser was picked on the back of his performances for Racing Lens, who will finish second in Ligue 1 and compete in the French Cup final later this month. The 21-year-old was voted Ligue 1’s best goalkeeper earlier this week.
He gets a first call-up at the expense of Lucas Chevalier, who had been expected to feature but was overlooked after losing his starting berth in the Paris Saint-Germain team and being sidelined injured. Chevalier has not played since January.
Striker Mateta, who debuted last October, has won three caps and was selected ahead of Randal Kolo Muani to fill the place vacated by Hugo Ekitike, who suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon playing for Liverpool against PSG in the Champions League last month.
“He has a different profile to other strikers,” said Deschamps of his choice.
CAMAVINGA WILL BE DISAPPOINTED WITH OMISSION
There was also speculation about whether Deschamps would stick with Eduardo Camavinga, after a disappointing season with Real Madrid, but the coach chose defender Lacroix, who made an impressive debut against Brazil in March.
“I would imagine it is a huge disappointment for him, but he has had a tough season with injury as well,” the coach said of Camavinga.
There were no other surprises in the 26-man squad, which has 10 players who featured in the last World Cup final in Qatar four years ago, while Lucas Hernandez, N’Golo Kante and Kylian Mbappe remain from the side that won in Moscow in 2018.
Captain Mbappe leads a formidable attack that also features Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele and rising star Michael Olise.
The squad was announced live on the main nightly news bulletin on France’s TF1 channel.
France compete in Group I at the World Cup against Iraq, Norway and Senegal.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Robin Risser (Racing Lens), Brice Samba (Stade Rennais)
Defenders: Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (Paris St Germain), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), Maxence Lacroix (Crystal Palace), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich).
Midfielders: N’Golo Kante (Fenerbahce), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (AC Milan), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Warren Zaire-Emery (Paris St Germain)
Forwards: Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (Paris St Germain), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue (both Paris St Germain), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Crystal Palace), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan).
-Reuters
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Carlo Ancelotti extended his contract as Brazil manager until the 2030 World Cup, the Brazilian soccer federation (CBF) said in a statement on Thursday.
Ancelotti joined Brazil in 2025 and will lead the team at this year’s World Cup, which kicks off on June 11 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
-Reuters
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