World Cup

Author argues convincingly that soccer’s Faustian bargain with big moneyed interests is undermining its sporting competitiveness and moral integrity

Controversy remains over decision to give the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia

Lawyers say Fifa is ‘dealing with the devil’ with Saudi bid

Midfielder considered one of the best of all-time in his position won three European Cups with Ajax

Salvatore Schillaci became the unlikely personification of Italy’s notti magiche, or magical nights

Hammad Albalawi denied accusations of sportswashing country’s human rights record ahead of football tournament’s hosts announcement this December

The Argentinian’s task is to figure out a winning formula for a squad that has continually added up to less than the sum of its parts

Italian striker who scored six goals in Italia 90, including one to knock out Ireland, died at the age of just 59

Totò Schillaci, an Italian Golden Boot winner, scored the goal that knocked Ireland out of the 1990 World Cup

Washington-based institution cautions that better outlook comes with several high-profile risks including possibility of another commodity price shock.

Defender scored winner in 1990 final against Argentina from the penalty spot

A kitman for Jack Charlton’s Ireland team, O’Leary had a front row ticket to one of the greatest shows in Irish sport

Qatar officially ended slavery in 1952 but there were accusations of modern-day enslavement in the run-up to the 2022 World Cup

The German became the kind of central defender that football had never seen before

Germany could not quite fathom where to play him, so he effectively invented a role for himself

Brazilian won as a player in 1958 and 1962 before winning the tournament as a manager in 1970

Based on past experience, we IT sportswriters should probably offer advance apologies to all those we have predicted to have a mighty 2024

The World Champions hand Brazil third straight loss after crowd violence delay in Rio

A statement from Football Australia said it had ‘explored the opportunity’ of a bid but had decided against it

Decision looks to have paved the way for Saudi Arabia to host the tournament in 2034

Unrepentant Spanish football association president’s outrageous behaviour could prove a significant episode for Spain’s MeToo moment and the broader society

The work of thousands of youth coaches is evident now in the textbook technique the Spanish have turned into a national style

Planet Business: Rupert Murdoch’s new date, Russia’s rouble woes and the commercial winners of the Fifa Women’s World Cup

‘We want to push on and make major tournaments a regular thing,’ says captain Katie McCabe

Women's World Cup match saw an average of 550,600 watching, an audience share of 68.9 per cent

Megan Carter from Wexford quit her jobs as a financial analyst to follow Ireland in the World Cup in Australia

Ireland’s second-greatest goalscorer behind Robbie Keane worked in a vacuum for women’s soccer, but is glad to see Ireland finally reaching the World Cup and reaching a wider fanbase

The Women’s Podcast with Róisín Ingle

Squad Watch: Pauw will be encouraged by the return to action of Niamh Fahey and Leanne Kiernan for Liverpool

Argentine signs three-year deal and replaces Diego Alonso after World Cup failure

Republic of Ireland players past and present tell Mary Hannigan how far the country has come, from Portakabins to the World Cup

Clubs will also get a greater say in football calendar as deal could make European Super League less likely

Forward claims 99th international goal from a free-kick sending crowd in Buenos Aires into raptures

EU ethics controversies ‘play into the hands of Eurosceptics and anti-vaxxers’, says European Ombudsman

Tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico will have 12 groups of four teams

Letter urges Fifa to ‘stop looking the other way’ as its congress meets in Rwanda this week

Does the condensed bottom and narrowness of many results mean the league’s teams are levelling up?

Striker’s 13 goals in 1958 helped Les Bleus reach semi-finals

Amnesty International speaks out against potential partnership due to women’s rights situation in Saudi Arabia

World Cup set to start in Auckland on 20th July