Cristiano Ronaldo will embark on a sixth World Cup at the age of 41 after Portugal coach Roberto Martinez named him in a 27-man squad for the tournament, with a symbolic “plus one” in memory of the late Diogo Jota.
Speaking at Cidade do Futebol before a packed auditorium on Tuesday, Martinez confirmed that fourth-choice goalkeeper Ricardo Velho, of Genclerbirligi Ankara, will travel with the squad, but can only be added to the official 26-man list in the event of an injury to one of the three registered keepers.
Portugal, the reigning Nations League champions, open their Group K campaign at the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on 17 in Houston.
They then face Uzbekistan at the same venue on June 23 and conclude the group stage against Colombia in Miami on June 27. The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19.
Martinez said his selection comprised “27 players plus one”, a reference to Liverpool forward Jota, who died in a car accident in July last year, aged 28.
“He is our strength, our joy,” Martinez said. “Losing Diogo was an unforgettable and very difficult moment, but the very next day, it was up to all of us to fight for Diogo’s dream and for the example he always set in our national team. Diogo Jota’s spirit, strength and example are the +1 and will always be the +1.”
Portugal’s head coach Roberto Martinez announces the squad [Armando Franca/AP]
The coach defended his decision to name four goalkeepers and five fullbacks, while leaving out players including Mateus Fernandes, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Goncalves.
“The complexity of the tournament is very important – the demands of the weather, the time zone, everything we already experienced in March,” Martinez said. “There are positions where we need to have more than two players per position. And we need five fullbacks.”
He highlighted the versatility of Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo and Matheus Nunes, and pointed to attacking options such as Joao Felix, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Francisco Trincao operating between the lines, with Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto and Francisco Conceicao providing width.
Martinez added that Velho understood his role as a training goalkeeper, noting that FIFA rules only permit replacement in the event of injury during the tournament.
Portugal warm up against Chile in Oeiras on June 6 and Nigeria in Leiria on June 10. FIFA has stipulated that the squad must be in their Palm Beach, Florida training camp at least five days before their opening match.
Portugal World Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rui Silva (Sporting CP); Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi Ankara);
Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Samuel Costa (Mallorca), Joao Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City)
Forwards: Joao Felix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincao (Sporting CP), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Goncalo Ramos (PSG); Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr)
Goalkeepers: Craig Gordon (Hearts), Angus Gunn (Nottingham Forest), Liam Kelly (Rangers).
Defenders: Grant Hanley (Hibernian), Jack Hendry (Al-Ettifaq), Aaron Hickey (Brentford), Dominic Hyam (Wrexham), Scott McKenna (Dinamo Zagreb), Nathan Patterson (Everton), Anthony Ralston (Celtic), Andy Robertson (Liverpool), John Souttar (Rangers), Kieran Tierney (Celtic).
Midfielders: Ryan Christie (Bournemouth), Findlay Curtis (Rangers), Lewis Ferguson (Bologna), Ben Gannon-Doak (Bournemouth), Billy Gilmour (Napoli), John McGinn (Aston Villa), Kenny McLean (Norwich City), Scott McTominay (Napoli).
Forwards: Che Adams (Torino), Lyndon Dykes (Birmingham City), George Hirst (Ipswich), Lawrence Shankland (Hearts), Ross Stewart (Southampton).
Workers represented by a local union say ICE presence would create a climate of fear during the FIFA World Cup 2026.
Published On 19 May 202619 May 2026
Workers at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles have decided to go on strike if federal immigration enforcement agents are deployed at the venue when it hosts FIFA World Cup matches in June and July.
The UNITE HERE Local 11 – a labour union representing some 2,000 hospitality employees – on Monday demanded federal guarantees that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would not be used during the matches scheduled at the stadium.
The venue, which will be known as the Los Angeles Stadium during the tournament, will host eight World Cup games, including the opening fixture for the United States on June 12.
Workers at the world’s most expensive sports arena say the ICE presence would create a climate of fear for themselves and for fans.
“ICE should have no role in these games,” said Isaac Martinez, a stadium cook, at a protest outside the venue.
“We do not want to live in fear coming to work, or fear being detained going home.”
“If we do not reach an agreement, my colleagues and I are ready to strike,” Martinez added, speaking on behalf of a workforce composed largely of food and beverage concession staff.
SoFi Stadium workers protest in Los Angeles on May Day [Jae C Hong/AP]
ICE has led the charge in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
Human rights groups have condemned the agency for its conduct during raids in several US cities, including Los Angeles last year.
In early 2026, ICE agents fatally shot two American protesters in Minneapolis.
Workers on Monday also raised alarms over FIFA’s accreditation process, which requires employees to submit personal data before the tournament, which runs from June 11 to July 19 across the US, Canada and Mexico.
“We ask FIFA not to share our information with ICE agencies, foreign countries, or intelligence services,” worker Yolanda Fierro said.
Protesters carrying plastic balls and signs reading “Kick ICE Out of the World Cup” drew support from Tom Steyer, a Democratic candidate in California’s gubernatorial race.
ICE’s mandate is border control, the financier-turned-politician said.
“Can anyone explain what that has to do with the World Cup? Nothing,” Steyer said.
“How is it possible that this is the agency that is going to be here when we know in fact they’re an absolute threat, a lawless threat, to workers in California?”
Defenders: Alex Sandro, Danilo, Leo Pereira (Flamengo), Bremer (Juventus), Ibanez (Al-Ahli), Wesley (Roma), Marquinhos (Paris St-Germain), Gabriel (Arsenal), Douglas Santos (Zenit St. Petersburg).
Midfielders: Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle), Casemiro (Manchester United), Danilo Santos (Botafogo), Fabinho (Al-Ittihad), Lucas Paqueta (Flamengo).
Forwards: Endrick (Lyon), Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal), Igor Thiago (Brentford), Matheus Cunha (Manchester United), Raphinha (Barcelona), Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid), Luiz Henrique (Zenit St. Petersburg), Neymar (Santos), Rayan (Bournemouth).
A lot has changed since Jacori Perry attended Morningside High School.
Perry is now a renowned artist who goes by the names Mr. Ace and AiseBorn.
The school is now known as Inglewood High School United.
And the lecture hall on that campus now features a large, ornate mural of a soccer ball being grasped by the hands of two people — freshly painted by the 2004 Morningside graduate as the city of Inglewood prepares to host eight World Cup games at SoFi Stadium starting next month.
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11. The artist, whose real name is Jacori Perry, attended the school when it was known as Morningside High more than two decades ago.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
“If you told me that I would be back here painting one of the walls on this campus when I was in high school, I don’t think that I necessarily would have foreseen it,” Mr. Ace said as he put the finishing touches on his mural last week. “So I’m a little in amazement about just the way life works in that sense.”
He was one of several Los Angeles-based artists to participate in a Road to World Cup Community Day last month at Inglewood High United. Many of the artists — including Juan Pablo Reyes (“JP murals”), Michelle Ruby Guerrero (“Mr. B Baby”) and Angel Acordagoitia — sketched designs on portable panels (12-feet by 8-feet) and picnic tables for community members to paint.
The picnic tables will remain at the high school in front of Mr. Ace’s mural. The mobile murals will be placed throughout LAX to welcome visitors arriving for the World Cup.
Kathryn Schloessman, chief executive of the Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, said in a news release that the event was “just one example of how the energy of the World Cup can be felt in neighborhoods across our region.”
“Students, artists, and volunteers came together to create a work of art that will live on well beyond the end of the tournament,” Schloessman said. “It’s a reflection of the creativity, diversity, and community pride that makes our region so special as we prepare to host the world for FIFA World Cup 2026.”
Community members were encouraged to take part in the painting process, no matter their skill level.
“We made it easy enough for people that have zero experience to a proficient level of experience, for them to all be involved,” said Reyes, who designed and helped paint two mural panels and three tables. “We did the sketch, and then I tried to dab a little bit of color — whatever color is supposed to be there, I dabbed a little bit of color right there, so they would have a guide. …
Students and community members help paint a mural panel during a Road to World Cup Community Day event May 2 at Inglewood High School.
(Dawn M. Burkes / Los Angeles Times)
“I was right there, kind of supervising, making sure that everything went as planned. And if anybody has questions, they’re more than welcome to let me know about them. But, yeah, it’s pretty easy for them to kind of be involved and feel that sense of ownership and have a sense of pride that, ‘Yeah, I was part of that mural-creation process.’ It’s a rich experience for them.”
Acordagoitia sketched several tabletop designs for the public to paint at the event.
“They did great,” he said of the community members. “They helped a lot. They were asking questions. They got all the other colors correct. So, yeah, they were excited. A lot of kids were excited to see the live painting, because now kids are used to being on their phones. So that was a great experience for them.”
Acordagoitia also opted to paint a mural panel on his own because “it was a little more technical,” involving portraits of his 8-year-old son, a nephew and a friend.
“I wanted to focus more on the youth because that’s really our future,” he said. “So that’s, that’s the main thing about the mural, just about the kids, soccer, culture, community. It’s exciting for me, because I grew up playing soccer and to include soccer with art, it’s just a dream come true.”
Guerrero said “the community was a big help in filling in all the background colors that I need in order to build the detail and layers” on the two mural panels she designed.
“My whole style is based on culture. And I think that there’s a connection there with the World Cup and how I feel like it brings together all the culture and just, like, celebration,” Guerrero said. “It kind of goes hand in hand with the type of work I do, because my stuff is really festive, celebrating culture. And just as an L.A.-based artist, I think the collaboration made sense.”
The four artists also took part in another Road to World Cup Community Day in downtown L.A. at Gloria Molina Grand Park on March 14. At that event, the artists sketched designs on large sculptures shaped like soccer balls and on an oversized picnic table, also for community members to paint.
While Mr. Ace opted to paint his permanent mural at Inglewood High School United on his own, he was sure to include the community theme into his work.
“The idea was really centered around just creating something that was community-based — something that represented the World Cup but also represented some sense of community,” he said. “And so what I did was try to create something that was symbolic, very direct in terms of its relationship to soccer and figuring out through that how to create something simple that [brings] into that a sense of community. And that’s how I landed on the two hands holding the soccer ball.”
Local artist Mr. Ace works on his World Cup-themed mural at Inglewood High School United on May 11.
(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times)
Back when he was a student on that campus, Mr. Ace said he was always involved in art and knew he wanted a career as an artist. He struggled to come up with the right words to describe how it felt being back there creating a work of art to be shared with the students, all of the community and everyone who happens to see it on the way to a World Cup match.
“I guess there’s no words to really describe it,” he said. “I think if any artist gets the opportunity to paint at their own high school — especially if they’ve been doing large-scale works around the city, the country or the world — I think that is a little touching. When it’s attached to something like the World Cup … you know, a large part of my childhood was spent in Inglewood, so coming from my circumstances and life, I think it’s even more intriguing.”
On the walls of one of the hospitality lounges at the Affidea Stadium there are pictures of Ulster’s storied history.
The two that stand out contain teams celebrating silverware.
The European Cup win in 1999 remains the most famous day for the Irish province.
The other was the Celtic League triumph in 2006, but there has not been an addition to the honours board at Ravenhill for 20 years now.
Ulster have an opportunity to change that as they face Montpellier in the Challenge Cup final in Bilbao on Friday.
Richie Murphy’s side head into the game off the back of a disappointing end to their United Rugby Championship campaign, as they finished just outside the play-off places in ninth.
But the slate was wiped clean after a review on Monday and, for head coach Richie Murphy, the chance to win a trophy and join the heroes of years gone by on the walls of the Nine Counties lounge is something “we want to embrace”.
“We want to try and achieve what they’ve achieved,” he told BBC Sport NI.
“You know, the guys don’t shy away from the task that’s in hand, but also the dream of coming back here with a trophy in the early hours of Saturday morning. You know, that’s, you know, You can’t just dream. You’ve got to have a plan.
“You’ve got to make sure you work really hard in order to prepare to be at your best. And that’s what we’re going at.
“The guys are looking around and seeing the history on the walls, and they’d love to be a part of that history.”
Iran’s national football team has arrived in Turkiye for a pre-World Cup training camp, but players are yet to receive visas for entry into the US. FIFA says it is confident Iran will be able to play in next month’s tournament despite the uncertainty.
An all-star cast of pundits will join BBC Sport’s television coverage of the tournament from Salford, while reporters on the ground in the United States, Canada and Mexico will bring the latest stories.
Kelly Cates, Mark Chapman, Gabby Logan and Alex Scott will lead BBC Sport’s TV coverage, joined by pundits including Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards, Ellen White, Steph Houghton, Rachel Corsie, Giroud, Joe Hart, Azpilicueta, McCarthy, Lucas Leiva and Thomas Frank.
“The BBC is turning the biggest World Cup in history into the most iconic one yet. We’re bringing fans closer to every match, every moment and every story than ever before,” said Alex Kay-Jelski, BBC Director of Sport.
“Sport truly unites people like nothing else so we can’t wait for fans to enjoy not just the live matches with us but an abundance of football content, all day, every day across our platforms.
“Whether it’s our new series on YouTube and iPlayer, the biggest news stories on our website and app, our daily podcasts on Sounds or the viral moments on social media – we’re here for audiences 24/7 this summer, taking them straight to the heart of the World Cup.”
BBC Scotland will provide in-depth coverage of Scotland’s first men’s World Cup since 1998.
“It’s going to be thrilling to see the national team back on football’s biggest stage after 28 years – a moment that’s sure to bring huge pride and excitement right across the country,” said Louise Thornton, Head of Commissioning for BBC Scotland.
The 2026 World Cup begins on Thursday, 11 June, with the final taking place on Sunday, 19 July.
MEXICO CITY — The highway from the Guadalajara city airport to downtown is newly paved and the city’s famous roundabout has gotten a $4-million facelift. The city is abuzz with renovation projects as Guadalajara prepares to host four World Cup soccer matches in June.
But there’s one thing the 3 million fans expected to flock to the city won’t see — the sites where hundreds of bodies have been found in clandestine graves dug by Mexico’s notorious New Generation Jalisco Cartel. Scores were discovered on the main route leading to Akron Stadium, where the games will be played.
One set of remains was that of a 17-year-old high school student who had gone out to sell his motorcycle to help his unemployed uncle. He disappeared. When his uncle began searching, he disappeared as well. At another site, the bones of a 34-year-old cellphone repairman were found. He was a father of two who’d simply ventured out to shop for used tennis shoes.
According to statistics compiled by the state of Jalisco, between 2018 and March of this year, 1,907 bodies were found in Guadalajara and surrounding cities.
The arrival of the World Cup is an opportunity for Mexico’s second-largest city to shine on the international stage, and the Jalisco state government launched an upbeat campaign highlighting the municipality where games will be played: “Zapopan, the heart of soccer,” the slogan goes.
Families searching for their loved ones sarcastically responded with, “Zapopan, the heart of clandestine graves.”
An aerial view of La Minerva roundabout fountain in Guadalajara, Mexico, taken on June 27, 2025.
(Ulises Ruiz / AFP via Getty Images)
Since January of 2025 alone, search groups and authorities have discovered 58 graves with 226 sets of remains inside city limits. Five graves were located within three miles of Akron Stadium.
Three graves with 15 bodies were found within a mile of the city’s iconic La Minerva roundabout, a huge traffic circle featuring fountains, greenery and a towering statue of the Roman goddess Minerva. Others were found not far from Chapultepec Street, a popular tourist destination.
Liliana Meza, mother of Carlos Maximiliano Romero Meza, who disappeared on Oct. 22, 2020, poses with a search card at the Glorieta de las Personas Desaparecidas in Guadalajara, Mexico, on Friday, May 15, 2026. Founders of the Luz de Esperanza Desaparecidos Jalisco collective created the cards, inspired by World Cup soccer stickers, to draw attention to missing persons cases ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Jalisco.
(Alejandra Leyva/For The Times)
Though tourists and tourist sites are rarely touched by cartel violence in Mexico, critics say the graves are an embarrassment for state and city administrators.
Amid all the cleanup, little official attention has gone to the growing number of clandestine graves that groups of persistent, family-funded search teams have found in recent months.
Large machinery and backhoes are working nonstop across the city ahead of the games, said Jaime Aguilar, a spokesperson for the group Warrior Searchers of Jalisco, which finds an average of two graves a month. “But when we ask for a backhoe to help in our searches, there is never one available,” he said.
Over the years, secret graves have been discovered in rural areas, at industrial sites, alongside roads, inside buildings and even in the heart of Guadalajara. The Jalisco state government tracks grave discoveries, but an analysis by The Times and Puente News Collaborative shows many have been concentrated in the Guadalajara area.
Flyers with photographs and identifying information about missing persons, posted by search collectives, have become a common sight along the main streets of the city’s historic center, as seen here on Friday, May 15, 2026.
(Alejandra Leyva/For The Times)
Earlier this year, authorities found a blood-soaked safe house a mile from Akron Stadium where cartel enemies were tortured. One person was found buried there. Within a 10-mile radius, nearly 100 sets of remains were found in 500 trash bags buried in shallow graves.
The graves, and the potential discovery of more, worried Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. She feared that FIFA, the international soccer association in charge of the games, might move the Mexico games to the United States or Canada, the other countries co-hosting the games, because of the violence, said one Mexican official familiar with planning for the tournament.
That fear burst into the open in February, when Mexican special forces killed Nemesio “El Mencho” Oseguera Cervantes, leader of the hyper-violent New Generation Jalisco Cartel. Law enforcement officials said Guadalajara is a stronghold for the criminal group.
Cartel members responded to El Mencho’s death by setting fire to cars and buses and blocking major exits from Guadalajara. The city was briefly paralyzed. Gunmen burned 80 convenience stores and a host of pharmacies, flexing their power in the city.
In the days after the violence, FIFA officials met with the Mexican government to review security for the Guadalajara matches. Sheinbaum laid out a plan to send 100,000 security personnel, including Army soldiers and police officers, to stadiums in Guadalajara and the country’s two other host cities, Mexico City and Monterrey. FIFA determined it would not change the World Cup venues.
U.S. law enforcement has been advising Mexico on counter-terrorism methods, including training in repelling drone bombs, a weapon increasingly used by cartels to terrorize communities, attack adversaries and target military convoys. U.S. special forces have been training Mexican military teams to repel attacks at stadiums.
Fliers with photographs and identifying information about missing persons are displayed throughout Guadalajara’s historic center alongside traditional city scenes and World Cup-related imagery.
(Alejandra Leyva / For The Times)
The Mexican government had already witnessed the Jalisco cartel’s proclivity for brazen killing. In December, some four miles from Akron Stadium, gunmen fired more than 3,000 bullets in broad daylight into the car of a director of a produce distribution center. The gun battle between his security guards and the cartel took place just a few blocks from a police station. It took officers nearly a half hour to arrive at the scene.
In recent years, Jalisco state has become a cartel killing ground, security experts say. Some graves discovered in the Guadalajara area contained a single body, some more than 40. A few had 95 or more.
In 2023, the remains of nine teenagers, chopped up and stuffed in trash bags, were found in a canyon in Zapopan. They had worked for a Jalisco cartel call center where telemarketers scammed Americans of millions of dollars in a time-share scheme. The teenagers are believed to have upset their employer.
Traffickers recruit young people, including minors, to serve as foot soldiers in their bloody quest to control drug-trafficking routes across Mexico. Some of those teenagers were lured by ads promising good-paying jobs, only to discover they were being funneled to a Jalisco cartel training camp an hour outside Guadalajara. There, as a test, Mexican security officials said, recruits were forced to kill fellow recruits.
Plaza Liberacion, the city’s main public square, with flyers with photographs and identifying information about missing persons, on Friday.
(Alejandra Leyva/For The Times)
The cartel has recruited more than 45,000 minors across Mexico in recent years, said one Jalisco state representative.
While some of Guadalajara’s upscale neighborhoods have escaped the violence, families across the metropolitan area have seen hundreds of children disappear, some to reappear, dead, on cartel battlefields across Jalisco and in the states of Sinaloa and Michoacán, searchers said.
The Jalisco state government lists more than 16,000 reports of missing people — the most of any Mexican state. Nationwide more than 130,000 people are reported missing.
Despite the preparations and the buzz among the nation’s vast population of soccer fans, World Cup fever has not caught on among families of the disappeared and the search teams that each week fan out across Guadalajara, looking for new graves.
Natalia Leticia García’s son disappeared in 2017. She began her own search and launched a group to help find other victims. Eight years later, García’s group has located 26 graves. Some finds have been bags full of severed heads, others holding just arms. It is a cartel tactic, she said, to make it harder to piece together remains.
“It is cruel,” García said. Her son, César Ulises Quintero García, remains missing.
Fisher is a special correspondent. This article was co-published with Puente News Collaborative, a bilingual nonprofit newsroom that covers stories from Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico border.
Fans celebrated across Algiers after USM Alger beat Zamalek 8-7 on penalties in Cairo, claiming their second CAF Confederation Cup after a 1-1 aggregate draw. The Algerian club first won the trophy in 2023.
Chelsea have endured a difficult campaign after the departure of two managers and protests among the fanbase – so what would an FA Cup win do for their season?
Who: Chelsea vs Manchester City What: English FA Cup final Where: Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom When: Saturday, May 16 at 3pm (14:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the buildup on Al Jazeera Sport from 11 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
History will be made on Saturday as Manchester City become the first side to line up in four consecutive finals as they take on Chelsea for the trophy.
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Between them, the sides have won 15 FA Cup titles, but this is a first meeting between the clubs in the final itself – despite the teams between them appearing in five of the last six finals.
City, who have already claimed the League Cup, are still in with the chance of a domestic treble. Chelsea, however, have been engaged in a managerial merry-go-round – all off the back of beating Paris Saint-Germain to claim the expanded FIFA Club World Cup last year.
Al Jazeera Sport takes you through all the information you need to know in the run-up to the 145th FA Cup final.
Who won last season’s FA Cup final?
Crystal Palace beat City 1-0 in last season’s final to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Eberechi Eze scored the only goal of the game after 16 minutes to sign off from the Eagles in style. The England forward joined Arsenal at the end of the season.
City had dominated the final with a staggering 78 percent of possession.
Who did Chelsea beat in the FA Cup semifinal?
Chelsea overcame Leeds United 1-0 in their last four clash, with Enzo Fernandez scoring the only goal in the 23rd minute.
The Blues thumped Port Vale in the quarterfinals with a 7-0 win, while there was a more Hollywood feel to their clash with Wrexham in the prior round.
Extra time was required in their 4-2 win in Wales.
Who did Man City beat in the semifinals?
City were well tested in the semifinal by Championship side Southampton as Nico Gonzalez scored with three minutes remaining after Jeremy Doku’s 82nd-minute strike cancelled out Finn Azaz’s opener.
Liverpool were seen off in the quarterfinals with a 4-0 thumping at Etihad Stadium, while a 3-1 win was recorded at Newcastle United in the round prior to that.
What happened the last time Chelsea played Man City?
Manchester City were 3-0 winners in the last meeting between the sides, which came in a Premier League fixture in west London on April 12.
All three goals came within 17 minutes of each other in the second half, with Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku netting at Stamford Bridge.
Where are Man City and Chelsea in the Premier League?
City sit second in the English top flight, just two points behind leaders Arsenal with two games to play.
Club World Cup holders Chelsea have sacked both Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior this season and sit ninth in the league.
Calum McFarlane will be taking charge of his sixth game in his second spell as the club’s interim manager.
What happened the last time Chelsea and Man City met in the FA Cup?
The teams last met in the FA Cup in a semifinal clash at Wembley Stadium in April, 2024.
Bernardo Silva scored the only goal of the game to send City through to the final, where they were beaten 2-1 by Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United.
Alejandro Garnacho, now of Chelsea, gave United the lead, which Kobbie Mainoo doubled before the break. Jeremy Doku netted an 87th-minute goal to set up a tense finale.
How many times have Chelsea won the FA Cup?
Chelsea have had their name etched on the trophy on eight occasions, with their first win coming in 1970 as they beat Leeds United 2-1 in a replay at Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
The first attempt ended in a 2-2 draw, leading to the first time a final would be replayed. Wembley hosted the opening match, but was unavailable for the replay due to the pitch being in unfit condition.
How many times have Man City won the FA Cup?
City have lifted the cup on seven occasions, with their first win coming in 1904 with a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.
When did Chelsea last win the FA Cup?
Chelsea’s last win came in 2022 and required penalties against Liverpool to seal the win.
The match ended 0-0 after extra time – the first final to end goalless since Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United beat Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal on spot kicks in 2005.
When did Man City last win the FA Cup?
City last lifted the trophy in 2023, beating Manchester United 2-1. In a final that would see a rerun between the cross-city rivals the following year, Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring in the first minute and later restored his side’s lead five minutes after the break, after a Bruno Fernandes penalty had levelled the tie at the break.
Who has won the most FA Cup titles?
Arsenal are the record winners of the competition with 14 victories to their name. The first was in 1930 under the club’s famous manager, Herbert Chapman. The Gunners beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 in the final.
Their last win came in 2020 when they beat Chelsea 2-1. It was the first of three successive finals for the Blues, who tasted defeat the following year against Leicester City before the 2023 win against Liverpool.
Manchester United are the second-most successful side in the competition’s history with 13 wins. Chelsea’s eight victories are joint third on the list with Liverpool and Tottenham.
When was the first FA Cup final and who won it?
The first FA Cup final was staged in 1872 with Wanderers beating Royal Engineers 1-0 in a match staged at the Kennington Oval cricket ground, which remains the current home to the English county cricket club, Surrey.
Head-to-head
This will be the 181st meeting between the teams, with Chelsea winning 99 of the meetings and Manchester City winning 68 of the encounters.
The first match was played in 1907 in the old Division One of English football (now the Premier League), with the match ending in a 2-2 draw in London.
How many times have Man City and Chelsea met in the FA Cup?
This will be the 11th meeting between the sides in the FA Cup, with City winning six of the matches to Chelsea’s four wins.
The first cup meeting was in February, 1915, with Chelsea winning 2-1 in Manchester. City had to wait 33 years for a chance of cup revenge, which they took at first attempt with a 2-0 home win in January 1948.
This will be the side’s seventh meeting in the competition in the last 13 seasons.
Chelsea team news
Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens and Jesse Derry are all out with injuries, but Robert Sanchez, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho have all trained in the build-up to the game as they attempt to shake off knocks.
Guardiola made several changes to his starting lineup for their last outing in the Premier League game against Crystal Palace, with Erling Haaland playing no part.
The Norwegian will be leading City’s attack in Saturday’s showpiece, though, aiming to correct a remarkable statistic.
Haaland has scored 161 goals in 196 games for City in all competitions, yet has never found the net or made an assist in the 12 semifinals or finals in which he has featured.
Manchester City face Chelsea in the FA Cup final looking to add to their League Cup success and with eye on EPL title.
Published On 15 May 202615 May 2026
Pep Guardiola insists Manchester City have had a successful season, whether or not they win the Premier League title or the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday.
Guardiola’s side will put their attempt to catch Premier League leaders Arsenal on hold as they head to Wembley for a fourth successive FA Cup final appearance.
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City start every season with the Premier League and Champions League as their main targets, but they are on the verge of falling short in both.
Knocked out of the Champions League last 16 by Real Madrid in March, City will be five points behind Arsenal if the Gunners beat relegated Burnley at home on Monday.
Guardiola’s men can close the gap back to two points with victory at Bournemouth in their penultimate match of the season on Tuesday.
But Arsenal would then still be able to guarantee their first English title since 2004 by winning at Crystal Palace on May 24.
Having already won the League Cup by beating Arsenal, City have a chance for a domestic double this weekend.
However, Guardiola is adamant the campaign has been positive, no matter what happens at Wembley or in the title race.
“It depends on the trophies you lift. Sometimes you lift trophies and the season has been successful,” said Guardiola, who would only offer “we’ll see” when asked if Rodri would be fit to start in midfield.
“Sometimes, you lift and the truth is the season has been really, really bad.
“I said a few weeks ago this season has been good. Really, really good.”
After starting with Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Jeremy Doku on the bench for Wednesday’s win against Crystal Palace, Guardiola is likely to field a full-strength team against Chelsea instead of prioritising the title fight.
“It is the final of the FA Cup. The message is there are two prestigious clubs at Wembley in the FA Cup final. Our fans make an incredible effort to come down to London. It is not cheap,” he said.
“We try to perform as much as possible to win. It is always the game plan.”
City have lost the last two FA Cup finals against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, who they had beaten in the 2023 showpiece.
“There’s excitement, of course. I hope we can do better than the last two times,” Guardiola said.
“Wembley is still a special place. Everything is so nice. The pitch is extraordinary. We are desperate to perform well.”
Ahead of his 24th trip to Wembley with City, Guardiola joked that he is “so disappointed” he has not had a stand named after him at the home of English football.
“So many times I have been there, at least a lounge or a box or something like that. Maybe I have to go 24 more times,” he said.
Guardiola has one year left on his City contract and is yet to sign a new deal amid speculation that he could end his decade at the Etihad Stadium once the current campaign is over.
Asked about reports that City’s fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura and goalkeeping coach Xabi Mancisidor are set to leave the club, Guardiola said with a smirk: “I extended the contract with them three more years,” before adding: “Nope”.
South Korean boy band BTS, U.S. pop culture icon Madonna and Latin music superstar Shakira will be performing at halftime during the World Cup final July 19 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., FIFA announced Thursday morning.
The performance will support the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund, which is looking to raise $100 million to assist children in accessing education and soccer.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram that the show “will be a truly special moment, bringing together music, football and a shared commitment to improving the lives of children around the world.”
“It’s a chance to show how amazing all different kinds of humans are,” Martin explains to Elmo in the video.
The three acts will bring a variety of cultures, musical styles and generations of fans to the Super Bowl-style concert, which will be the first of its kind for a World Cup final.
Madonna headlined the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show in 2012, and Shakira teamed with Jennifer Lopez to co-headline the Super Bowl LIV halftime show in 2020. Also, Coldplay headlined the Super Bowl 50 halftime show in 2016.
No duration time has been announced for the World Cup show, although soccer halftimes are not supposed to last more than 15 minutes. Bad Bunny’s halftime performance at Super Bowl LX in February lasted 13 minutes.
Among the three of them, Madonna, Shakira and BTS have compiled 20 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart, 10 Grammys and 37 MTV Video Music Awards. Shakira is scheduled to release “Dai Dai” with Nigerian singer Burna Boy as the official song of the 2026 World Cup this month.
Round-trip train tickets brought down to $98 from $150, and bus fares to cost $20 instead of $80, state officials say.
Published On 14 May 202614 May 2026
Local governments in New Jersey and New York have reduced the cost of train and bus tickets for commuters travelling to the states’ joint World Cup venue during the tournament.
New Jersey Transit train tickets to the MetLife Stadium, renamed New Jersey New York Stadium for the FIFA World Cup, will now cost $98 as opposed to the earlier price set at $150 for a return fare, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced on Wednesday.
“Ahead of NJ Transit World Cup train tickets going on sale tonight, NJTRANSIT is lowering ticket prices to $98 without New Jersey taxpayer money,” Sherrill wrote in a social media post.
The move followed intense backlash from local and international football fans planning to attend World Cup games at the stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the tournament’s final will be held on July 19.
The $98 fare, which will be charged during the World Cup matches hosted in New Jersey, is still significantly higher than the regular fare of $13 for the 29km (18-mile) round trip from New York City’s Penn Station.
When the $150 fare was announced, Sherrill defended it by suggesting the upcharge was necessary to ensure that her state’s commuters were not stuck with a “tab for years to come” for hosting the World Cup on its return to the United States for the first time since 1994.
NJ Transit officials said it would cost $62m to transport fans to and from the stadium over the duration of the tournament and outside grants had defrayed only $14m of those anticipated expenses.
“This isn’t price gouging,” NJ Transit President and CEO Kris Kolluri said last month. “We’re literally trying to recoup our costs.”
Meanwhile, the cost of taking a shuttle bus from New York City to the World Cup venue has also been reduced.
“The cost of shuttle bus tickets to and from matches will be reduced from the initial $80 round-trip price to $20,” New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced on the same Wednesday.
The move from the NYNJ Host Committee offers some respite for fans who would have already spent thousands of dollars on attending a World Cup game, largely due to the exorbitant match ticket prices, international and local airfares, and visa costs.
The host city officials said 20 percent of bus tickets for each match will be reserved exclusively for New York state residents. The remaining tickets will be available for all match-going fans.
The US is cohosting the tournament with Mexico and Canada. It begins on June 11.
Thousands of people cheered Team Melli as Iran’s World Cup kit was unveiled before the team’s training camp in Turkiye.
Published On 14 May 202614 May 2026
Iran hosted a departure rally for its FIFA World Cup squad, witnessed by thousands of fans in Tehran’s Enqelab Square, amid concerns about the team travelling to the United States to compete.
The players were cheered by the crowd as they made patriotic statements from a stage on Wednesday.
Iran’s World Cup 2026 kit was also unveiled at the event, following which the team will travel to Turkiye to continue their preparations at a training camp.
“This is the best sendoff in the last four World Cup campaigns,” Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), told state TV.
“The players are with the people, and the crowd stands with the country’s dignity, honour, and strength. Whatever the result, may Iran’s flag be raised there and defended.”
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in question since the US and Israel attacked Iran, starting a regional war on February 28.
People gather to attend the farewell ceremony of Iran’s national team in Tehran [Atta Kenare/AFP]
An FFIRI delegation, led by Taj, turned back at Toronto’s main airport, citing their treatment by Canadian immigration, and missed a pre-World Cup FIFA gathering in Vancouver. They alleged “unacceptable behaviour of immigration officials” despite holding valid visas.
In 2024, Canada listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, and statements from the Canadian government indicated that Taj was denied entry due to his alleged ties with the IRGC.
The incident triggered fears there may be issues for some of the Iranian delegation getting into the US.
As in Canada, the IRGC is classified as a “terrorist entity” in the US, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said no one with ties to the organisation would be admitted to the country.
Iran has placed responsibility for getting the players and team officials into the US, where Team Melli are scheduled to play all three World Cup group matches, firmly in the hands of FIFA.
“Nothing has arrived yet regarding the visas. We hope it will definitely be handled within this timeframe,” Hedayat Mombeini, FFIRI secretary-general, told state TV at the rally.
“FIFA has made promises, and hopefully those promises will lead to results, and the players will receive their visas on time.”
Iran will play The Gambia in a World Cup warm-up in Antalya on May 29. Mombeini said the FFIRI was in the process of arranging another friendly for the training camp in Turkiye.
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is suspending a requirement that foreign visitors from countries that have qualified for the World Cup and have bought tickets for the soccer tournament pay as much as $15,000 in bonds to enter the United States, the State Department said Wednesday.
The department imposed the bond requirement last year for countries that it said had high rates of people overstaying their visas and other security issues as part of the Republican administration’s broader crackdown on immigration.
Citizens from those five countries who have purchased tickets from FIFA are now exempt from the visa bond requirement. World Cup team players, coaches and some staff already had been exempt from the bond requirement as part of the administration’s orders to prioritize the processing of visas for the tournament.
“The United States is excited to organize the biggest and best FIFA World Cup in history,” Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar said. “We are waiving visa bonds for qualified fans who bought World Cup tickets” and opted in to the “FIFA Pass” system that allows expedited visa appointments as of April 15.
The waiver is a rare loosening of immigration requirements under the administration and will ease travel burdens for at least some visitors to the U.S. for the World Cup, which begins June 11 and is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The administration has taken dramatic steps to restrict immigration in ways that critics say are incongruous with the type of unifying message that a global sporting event such as the World Cup is supposed to project.
For instance, the administration has barred travelers from Iran and Haiti, though World Cup players, coaches and other support personnel are exempt. Travelers from Ivory Coast and Senegal face partial restrictions under an expanded version of that travel ban, even without the visa bond exemption.
Foreign travelers also are facing new requirements to submit their social media histories, while the administration had deployed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at airports recently when Transportation Security Administration personnel were not being paid.
Those measures prompted Amnesty International and dozens of U.S. civil and human rights groups to issue a “World Cup travel advisory” that warns travelers about the climate in the U.S.
In a report this month, the main advocacy group for U.S. hotels blamed visa barriers and other geopolitical issues for “significantly suppressing international demand,” leading to hotel bookings for the soccer tournament that are far below what had initially been anticipated.
The American Hotel & Lodging Assn. said travelers are concerned about potentially lengthy visa wait times and increased fees, along with uncertainty about how they’re being processed to enter the U.S.
The bond requirements are part of the administration’s larger effort to clamp down on migrants who travel to the U.S. on temporary visas but then overstay them. Visa applicants from the affected countries are required to pay $5,000, $10,000 or $15,000 in bonds, which will be refunded if the traveler complies with the terms of the visa or if the visa application is denied.
As of early April, the number of World Cup fans affected by the bond requirement was believed to be relatively small, perhaps only about 250 people, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But they said that number was changing rapidly as more people buy tickets and some with tickets opt against traveling.
FIFA had requested the waiver, which had to be approved by the State Department and Department of Homeland Security, and was the topic of discussion at multiple meetings at the White House and elsewhere in Washington for several months, the officials said.
Huge crowds gathered in Tehran’s Revolution Square to celebrate and send off Iran’s national football team ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The new jersey of the Iranian national team, which will be worn in the World Cup competitions, was unveiled at the event.
