The Executive Director of the White House’s 2026 FIFA World Cup task force, Andrew Giuliani, has revealed that the country considers hosting the 2038 edition.
The United States of America, together with neighbouring countries, Canada and Mexico, jointly hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is currently at the semi-final stages.
With FIFA President Gianni Infantino admitting his openness to the possibility of an expansion of the World Cup to 64 teams, Giuliani declared the USA can handle the capacity.
The FIFA council would make the ultimate decision, but there are no signs it is something expected to happen imminently.
The constant political interference has brought ridicule to the biggest sporting event in the world—a bane to this year’s edition.
Under-fire FIFA President Gianni Infantino is open to another expansion of the World Cup to 64 countries.
According to the BBC, a proposal for an expanded tournament was put forward last year, and considering the success of the expanded 48-team tournament, FIFA could look at how a 64-team World Cup would work.
Speaking to Blue Sport, a Swiss broadcaster, the Italian revealed that “these are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup”.
He praised the quality that the qualified countries have exhibited so far, stressing the need to give the smaller nations a chance at the global stage.
“You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it’s getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don’t give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they’ll lack the incentive to keep improving.”
The number of participating countries have grown significantly over the years.
An official proposal to boost the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams was put forward by South American governing body Conmebol in April 2025, but no decision has been reached.
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin; Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa; and Victor Montagliani, president of the governing body for football in North and Central America and the Caribbean (Concacaf), have all objected to the proposal.
Strasbourg has named Portuguese Hugo Oliveira as their new coach on Sunday after Gary O’Neil’s abrupt departure to the Premier League.
The former Wolves manager, O’Neil, left the Ligue 1 side for Ipswich on 26 June, having only arrived in France in January, replacing Liam Rosenior.
Strasbourg did not state the length of Oliveira’s contract as the 47-year-old arrives from Portuguese top-flight outfit Famalicao, which was his first job as head coach.
“It’s an honour to be here in Strasbourg and to join such a great project,” he said in a club statement.
“I want to bring emotion, create memories, and give the best of myself to help the club to develop,” he added.
Former France defender and Marseille captain Adil Rami has said Morocco reaching the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals was no fluke.
“Morocco did not reach the quarterfinals by chance or without deserving it,” Rami said in a video shared online.
The 2018 World Cup winner explained that if not for France, Morocco would’ve reached farther in the tournament.
“The problem is that when you reach the quarterfinals, you come up against one of the main favorites to win the tournament, which was France,” he said.
Rami said the difference between the two teams became clearer because Morocco needed their senior figures and regular starters for such a difficult match.
“In that game, we felt that Morocco badly needed its key players and leaders,” he said. “When I speak about key players, I mean all those who were injured just before the World Cup.”
Coach Rudi Garcia said “everyone” expects his Belgium team to be eliminated by Spain in Friday’s World Cup quarterfinal, but backed his side to pull off a famous victory.
European champions Spain enter the match in Los Angeles as strong favourites, having not conceded a goal all tournament.
Belgium have had a more testing time of it, only narrowly topping their group after two draws with Egypt and Iran, and requiring a late comeback to dispatch Senegal.
But at a press conference Thursday, Garcia appeared to relish being dubbed the “underdog”.
“Everyone is already talking about us going home. But we think that we can do it,” said the coach.
“We think we can pull it off, and we’re going to do everything we can to get to the semis.”
Free agent Gideon Mensah is linked to a move to German Bundesliga side FC Koln.
According to reports, FC Koln have set their sights on the 27-year-old and are eager to bring him on board before the summer transfer window shuts.
Talks between the parties are said to be progressing smoothly, with negotiations now at an advanced stage.
Sources indicate that Mensah and the German club have already come to a mutual understanding over contract terms, leaving only the final details to be ironed out before the move can be officially confirmed.
Hugo Broos has officially confirmed that he will step down as South Africa’s head coach at the end of his contract.
At 74, the Belgian tactician believes it is time to turn the page, though he doesn’t rule out continuing to serve South African football in a different capacity.
Since taking charge in June 2021, Hugo Broos has become the longest-serving Bafana Bafana coach.
He had always stated that the 2026 World Cup would mark the end of his managerial career.
South Africa’s historic qualification for the World Cup Round of 16 had cast some doubt over his future.
But speaking to Voetbalnieuws from Belgium, the former Indomitable Lions boss dispelled any uncertainty.
“Will I eventually return to coaching? No, that’s final! If they need me for something else, perhaps in scouting, that’s another possibility. But football will no longer be a 24/7 part of my life,” said Hugo Broos.
