World Cup News Results, Fixtures, Scores and Stats

England have been relegated from the Nations League top tier after a five-match winless run in which... Luis Enrique described Spain’s 2-1 defeat to Switzerland as the most error-strewn of his reign after he watched his side slip to a first home defeat in four years. Manuel Akanji and Breel Embolo sealed a 2-1 Nations League win for the visitors in Zaragoza to knock Spain off top spot in League... England manager Gareth Southgate has left Trent Alexander-Arnold, Fikayo Tomori, James Ward-Prowse and Jarrod Bowen out of his matchday squad to face Germany at Wembley tonight.

The ball was designed with sustainability as a priority, making it the first ever official match ball created with water-based glues and inks. According to a report released in April 2013 by Merrill Lynch, the investment banking division of Bank of America, the organisers in Qatar have requested FIFA to approve a smaller number of stadiums due to the growing costs. Bloomberg.com said that Qatar wishes to cut the number of venues to eight or nine from the twelve originally planned. Stéphanie Frappart from France, Rwandan Salima Mukansanga and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan became the first female referees to be appointed to a men's World Cup. They will be joined by three female assistant referees, also a first. Gambian referee Bakary Gassama and Argentine assistant referee Juan Pablo Belatti are among the officials to serve at their third World Cup.

Qatar are the only team making their debut in the FIFA World Cup, becoming the first hosts to make their tournament debut since Italy in 1934. As a result, the 2022 tournament is the first World Cup in which none of the teams that earned a spot through qualification were making their debut. The Netherlands, Ecuador, Ghana, Cameroon and the United States returned to the tournament after missing the 2018 tournament. Canada returned after 36 years, their only prior appearance being in 1986. Wales made their first appearance in 64 years – a record gap for a European team, their only previous participation having been in 1958. Some investigations found that Qatar sought an edge in securing hosting by hiring a former CIA officer turned private contractor, Kevin Chalker, to spy on rival bid teams and key football officials who picked the winner in 2010.

Beckenbauer won in 1974 as captain and in 1990 as head coach, and Deschamps repeated the feat in 2018, after having won in 1998 as captain. Italy's Vittorio Pozzo is the only head coach to ever win two World Cups . All World Cup-winning head coaches were natives of the country they coached to victory. There was no third place match in 1930; the two losing semi-finalists are ranked according to their overall records in the tournament.

According to media reports, the message appeared to imply that the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar was only enacted due to Qatar hosting the world's biggest football event. In reaction to media coverage of his tweet, Dhahi Khalfan tweeted; "I said Qatar is faking a crisis and claims it's besieged so it could get away from the burdens of building expensive sports facilities for the แข่งขันบอลโลก". UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Dhahi Khalfan had been misunderstood in media coverage.

As of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, twenty-one final tournaments have been held and a total of 79 national teams have competed. Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The other World Cup winners are Germany and Italy, with four titles each; Argentina, France, and inaugural winner Uruguay, with two titles each; and England and Spain, with one title each. On 27 February 2022, FIFA announced a number of sanctions impacting Russia's participation in international football. Russia was prohibited from hosting international competitions, and the national team had been ordered to play all home matches behind closed doors in neutral countries.

The Dubai Sports Council estimates that about 1 million World Cup fans could arrive in the city - though some observers feel this target might be ambitious, considering Qatar is also expecting around the same number of visitors. The accommodation squeeze has forced thousands of fans to look for options outside Qatar, with many deciding to base themselves in neighbouring countries. Qatar is the smallest nation by land size ever to stage the World Cup. Locals have been allowed to host fans at their homes, but at hefty prices. On the room-rental site Airbnb there are hardly any options for less than $200 a night. The BBC spoke to more than two dozen fans who still have not managed to book any accommodation.