CM Aubervilliers Overview

It's so close you can almost touch it. After years of build-up, the 2026 World Cup will kick-off in just over 24 hours' time when co-hosts Mexico face off against South Africa in a repeat of the opening game from 2010. Over the next five-and-a-half weeks, records will be broken and legacies rewritten as a number of modern greats do battle to win the most recognisable trophy in all of sport.

The widow of late Liverpool forward Diogo Jota has sent a deeply moving letter to Scotland captain Andy Robertson ahead of the upcoming World Cup. Rute Cardoso urged the left-back to carry the memory and unfulfilled international dreams of his former Anfield team-mate, who tragically passed away following a road accident.

There really is nothing like the World Cup. Even just qualifying generates a level of nationwide excitement that the club game simply cannot match, which is why we witnessed truly joyous scenes all across the globe as one country after another secured a spot at this summer's festival of football in North America. The final six participants were confirmed in March, with Sweden, Turkiye, Czechia and Bosnia & Herzegovina taking the four remaining slots in Europe, while Iraq and DR Congo came out of the inter-confederation play-offs.

Scotland's World Cup preparations have been hit by an incredible war of words following the late cancellation of a behind-closed-doors friendly against Norway. The decision has left Scandinavian officials fuming, with stinging accusations of unprofessionalism directed at Steve Clarke and the Scottish FA.