Politics is never far from the football pitch, but the events before and during the ongoing FIFA World Cup have taken matters to a different level, to the extent that the line between the two has become very blurred. Following the president’s appeal, the world body revoked USA forward Folarin Balogun’s red card Donald TrumpHere’s what happened before, and in between, the Round of 16 game against Belgium Argentina and Egypt It has led many fans to believe in conspiracy theories and allege that forces away from the turf have a hand in deciding winners and losers. “After the Balogan

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Read 3 minutesUpdated: July 8, 2026 04:25 PM IST with Argentina’s controversial win against Egypt Still making waves in the football world, a report has emerged that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has begun looking into the financial affairs of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) in the United States. A report from Argentine newspaper La Nacion, cited by Fox Sports Mexico, said the Argentine federation, led by president Claudio Tapia, is under scrutiny over possible money laundering allegations. According to the report, the investigating agency is trying to understand how AFA channeled hundreds of millions of dollars through the

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Hosam Hasan says he has watched this World Cup. “I told the referee that what is happening is not right,” the Egypt coach said after the 3-2 defeat by Argentina. “It’s an undeserved victory for Argentina… I will never watch the World Cup again, because there is no justice in this tournament.” Egypt led 2-0 with 11 minutes remaining and Argentina scored three times to mount the tournament’s most dramatic comeback. Hassan’s complaints were broader than the scoreline: earlier in the match, Egypt had already led 2–0, with a goal disallowed on VAR review that would have made it 3–0;

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Read for 2 minutes8 Jul 2026 12:31 PM IST After knocking out the hosts USA and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal from the FIFA World Cup 2026, the rest of the knockout round ticket market has seen a significant change this week. Ronaldo’s World Cup dream ended as Portugal lost 1-0 to reigning European champions Spain. The result was effectively a sharp drop in ticket prices. With football’s biggest superstar no longer in the competition, prices for matches like Portugal reaching the quarter-finals are likely to be much higher now that demand has dropped significantly. Also read | FIFA World Cup 2026

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Just as world champions Argentina kicked off their FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 clash against Egypt on Tuesday evening, world football body FIFA announced the refereeing line-up for the first quarter-final between France and Morocco. For the first time in this edition of the tournament, through 96 matches, all five officials appointed for a game were from the same country: Argentina. FIFA has previously deployed on-field referees from a single nation during the tournament, but none of the previous 96 matches has had a five-man official staff from each country. The announcement immediately sparked discussion on social media,

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A man who cannot control traffic. Diego Maradona had a brutal assessment of Lionel Scaloni when he was appointed as Argentina’s full-time manager in 2018. Argentina had many glittering names to choose from: Marcelo Bielsa, new-age revolutionary Mauricio Pochettino, Simon Diego the angel of the arts. Yet, to rebound from the disaster that followed the Moscow World Cup, they turned to a largely unknown and unknown man. His club journey was scattered between mid-table clubs in Italy and Spain. He wore the national stripes only seven times. He briefly managed Sevilla and Argentina’s U-20 side before joining Jorge Sampaoli’s backroom

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Switzerland vs Colombia. Round of 16. Vancouver. 52,497 fans, about 50,000 of whom are expected to be dressed in yellow. A nil-nil deadlock after 120 minutes. Switzerland won 4-3 on penaltiesReached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 1954. The road to Colombia is over. There is little to take away from the match itself. So instead, reference. Before the caravan arrived in Canada, 21 goals had been scored in the previous seven rounds of 16 matches, three a game. The action took place in Azteca, where England beat Mexico 3-2. An appearance in Seattle, where

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Read 3 minutesUpdated: July 8, 2026 06:49 AM IST Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan said his team had been “injusted” in Atlanta, accusing the referee and FIFA of bias in favor of defending champions Argentina after the African nation lost 3-2 to the defending champions in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16. The Egyptian bench was enraged when Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez scored the winner in stoppage time. The ensuing brawl resulted in a red card being shown by the referee to a member of Hassan’s staff. “We deserved this win, but we are leaving with pride because there

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Read for 2 minutesUpdated: July 8, 2026 04:46 AM IST Switzerland overcame Colombia in a dramatic penalty shootout in Vancouver on Wednesday, with 120 minutes of football unable to separate the two teams. Switzerland’s reward for surviving the penalty shootout in the last 16 games will be a quarter-final against defending champions Argentina on Saturday at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Colombia’s match against Switzerland went to penalties as neither side could score in the 90 minutes or the 30 minutes of extra time that followed. 01 Here’s how the Colombia vs Switzerland penalty shootout played out Colombia took

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Read 3 minutesUpdated: 8 July 2026 12:51 AM IST Lionel Messi once again delivered when Argentina needed him most. Messi scored a goal and an assist for Argentina as the defending champions rallied from a 0-2 deficit against Egypt 3-2 at the Atlanta Stadium on Tuesday. The victory maintained Argentina’s title defense as the South American giants advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. This is the first time Argentina have overturned a two-goal deficit in a World Cup match. And that came thanks to plenty of Messi magic. After 78 minutes in their last 16 match against Egypt

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