A decision in a fraction of a second, a flawless reaction, was made at the very edge of human capability.

Iran were one of the first nations to qualify for the finals but their participation has been in doubt since the U.S.-Israeli conflict with the Islamic Republic broke out at the end of February.

The 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden was never meant to belong to France. Talented though they were, they were not considered an unstoppable force on football’s grandest stage. Yet, by the end of that tournament, they had become one, and at the heart of it stood Just Fontaine.

Supporters' group file European Commission lawsuit against FIFA over World Cup ticket prices

With the spectre of failed 2018 and 2022 qualification campaigns looming over the squad, Gattuso knows his players must overcome the mental weakness that has plagued Italy's World Cup ambitions.

In that fleeting second, he became the Icarus of myth -- the man who dared to touch the sun with wings of wax.

Federico Chiesa has been dropped by Italy after being found not fit to play in the Azzurri's 2026 World Cup qualifying play-off with Northern Ireland, the country's football federation (FIGC) said on Monday.

Was the London sky a little grayer that day? Or did the grass at Wembley bend in mourning beneath the weight of a superhuman tragedy?

Only Brazil stand ahead of Germany in terms of FIFA World Cup titles but few nations can match the depth and drama of Germany’s journey to their four crowns.

Argentina will face Mauritania this month in a World Cup warm-up match, the country's Football Association (AFA) said on Friday.

The 1990 FIFA World Cup during an Italian summer -- the pitch was ablaze with tactics, strategy, and fierce competition. Teams from Europe and South America were locked in their battle for dominance.

No country has been more successful on the world stage than Brazil. From 1958 to 2002, the Selecao authored an epic of five world titles, with each chapter standing as a unique testament to footballing greatness.

Football is a cruel poet. It can reduce an entire epic to a single line.

YouTube has reached a new agreement with FIFA that will allow rights-holding broadcasters to stream parts of World Cup matches on the platform, in a move aimed at expanding the tournament’s reach among younger and more digitally engaged audiences.

Does the World Cup belong only to the big teams and superstar footballers? A glance through history suggests that the real drama often lies with sides that arrive with limited expectations -- or none at all.

In the early 1950s, across Europe’s green carpets, Hungary were not merely a football team. They were devoted practitioners of the art of football. The eleven men on the field seemed to move according to the sheet music of an invisible orchestra. The world knew them as the “Magic Magyars.” When the ball was at their feet, it felt as though a master poet was arranging his finest verses.

Those two simple pieces of paper marked the beginning of a new era in football. The remarkably simple invention proved to be a magical solution.

June 29, 1994 FIFA World Cup group stage, Saudi Arabia vs Belgium.

Today, there is no trace of the Stadio Nazionale del PNF (National Stadium of the National Fascist Party) on the map of Rome. Built in 1911, the stadium was permanently closed in 1953 and later completely demolished. Yet, if one brushes off the dust of history, it becomes clear that it was on this now-vanished ground that the story of Italy’s first world triumph was written.

Iran says no one can exclude it from the World Cup later this year, in response to President Donald Trump's warning that their "life and safety" would be at risk in the US.