The International Football Thread

[Fulham Broadway 17,487]

England have won 11 consecutive games first time ever. The squad has a lot of depth - FA gambling on 'Two season Tuchel' -but need to play some South American, and quality European teams between now and WC

Broja injured again...

[Vesper 30,526]

After back-to-back braces in a historic international break, Erling Håland has now scored 55 goals in 48 caps for Norway, who have now qualified for the 2026 World Cup Finals in North America next summer.

Of the 84 men with at least 50 goals at senior international level, only one now has a better goals-per-game ratio than Håland; Niels Poul Nielsen, who scored 52 goals in 38 caps for Denmark from 1910 to 1925.

[Fulham Broadway 17,487]

They Didnt think it was Possible: Infantino Worse than Blatter

When Sepp Blatter was thrown from a moving gravy train in 2015 amid an explosive corruption scandal, it would have felt like a genuine feat of sporting excellence to have beaten his record for craven awfulness.

And yet here we all are. This year, the Fifa president has been the Forrest Gump of Trump’s administration. Back in May, he attended the US president’s Middle East peace summit, causing him to be so late for Fifa’s own congress that even Uefa accused him of prioritising “private political interests” and staged a delegate walk-out. Last month, Gianni was back on the political trail at Trump’s Gaza peace talks in Egypt, and earlier this month instituted some preposterous Fifa peace prize that he’s going to inaugurate at the final draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington next month, quite possibly so that the orange organ grinder can be the first winner of it. He spent yesterday grinning along while Trump announced things such as the possible ordering of “strikes” on one of the US’s 2026 World Cup co-host nations, Mexico. Perhaps the writing was on the wall when Gianni kicked off the year of ceaselessly grim politicking by attending Trump’s inauguration, where he was filmed giggling appreciatively during the bit where the US president announced he’d be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Back then, in January, Infantino looked like a competition winner. Now he resembles a fully operational member of Trump’s troupe of winged monkeys. 

APress

[Fulham Broadway 17,487]

Also Infantino smiled and ignored Trump when he pocketed one of our World Club Cup medals....

[Vesper 30,526]

World Cup 2026: Curacao becomes smallest nation ever to qualify with draw against Jamaica

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6816600/2025/11/18/curacao-smallest-nation-world-cup-2026-teams/

Curacao has become the smallest nation to qualify for a World Cup after Tuesday’s 0-0 draw against Jamaica.

Curacao has a population of 185,487 —the world’s 189th most populous nation, as ranked by Worldometer — and surpasses Iceland (population 398,266), who qualified in 2018 — as the smallest nation by population to play in the tournament.

Last month, Cape Verde — whose 525,000 inhabitants make it the second-smallest country by population ever to qualify — joined Jordan and Uzbekistan as first-time participants. Curacao nearly tumbled to second in the group, but a penalty call in Jamaica’s favor in second-half stoppage time got overturned by video review.

Meanwhile, Panama, a 3-0 winner over El Salvador, clinched qualification by winning its qualifying group over Suriname, which missed out on its first qualification through automatic means by coming in second in its group. A late own goal in their 3-1 loss to Guatemala did salvage a place in March’s inter-confederation playoffs, though, as one of the top two second-place finishers in the qualifying round, while Jamaica will also play for its World Cup life in the playoffs.

Curacao and Panama will be joined at the World Cup by Haiti, which beat Nicaragua 2-0 to top its group and has reached its second men’s World Cup, having competed in the 1974 tournament.

The 2026 World Cup will be contested between 48 nations for the first time, an expansion from the 32-team format that ran between 1998 and 2022.

Due to the U.S., Canada and Mexico qualifying as co-hosts, Concacaf had three World Cup spots available through the qualification process, alongside two additional spots in the inter-confederation play-off system. Honduras and Costa Rica surprisingly missed out altogether.

Those playoffs are held in North America in March, with Bolivia, DR Congo, Iraq and New Caledonia the other four participants. The mini tournament will yield the final two qualifiers for next summer’s competition.

[TheHulk 2,581]

Anselmino just scored for Dortmund.

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TEAM	PTS (GD)	ADVANCE%	TITLE%
1. Arsenal	15 (+13)	100.0%	24.2%
2. PSG	12 (+11)	100.0%	20.2%
3. Bayern Munich	12 (+9)	100.0%	17.0%
4. Inter Milan	12 (+9)	100.0%	8.6%
5. Real Madrid	12 (+7)	100.0%	12.1%
6. Borussia Dortmund	10 (+6)	100.0%	7.1%
7. Chelsea	10 (+6)	100.0%	13.6%
8. Sporting CP	10 (+6)	99.9%	0.6%
9. Manchester City	10 (+5)	100.0%	8.9%
10. Atalanta	10 (+1)	99.7%	0.1%
11. Newcastle United	9 (+7)	99.3%	2.2%
12. Atletico Madrid	9 (+2)	99.6%	5.2%
13. Liverpool	9 (+2)	99.6%	3.9%
14. Galatasaray	9 (+1)	95.0%	0.3%
15. PSV Eindhoven	8 (+5)	90.6%	0.7%
16. Tottenham Hotspur	8 (+3)	97.5%	0.7%
17. Bayer Leverkusen	8 (-2)	96.3%	1.9%
18. Barcelona	7 (+2)	98.5%	4.5%
19. Qarabag	7 (-1)	75.3%	0.0%
20. Napoli	7 (-3)	83.0%	0.9%
21. Marseille	6 (+2)	62.1%	0.3%
22. Juventus	6 (0)	85.4%	0.4%
23. Monaco	6 (-2)	59.0%	0.1%
24. Pafos	6 (-3)	42.3%	0.0%
25. Union Saint-Gilloise	6 (-7)	60.0%	0.4%
26. Club Brugge	4 (-5)	65.0%	0.1%
27. Athletic Club	4 (-5)	22.6%	0.0%
28. Copenhagen	4 (-7)	7.5%	0.0%
29. Eintracht Frankfurt	4 (-7)	39.1%	0.0%
30. Benfica	3 (-4)	31.8%	0.0%
31. Slavia Prague	3 (-6)	11.1%	0.0%
32. Bodo/Glimt	2 (-4)	1.2%	0.0%
33. Olympiacos	2 (-8)	19.7%	0.0%
34. Villarreal	1 (-8)	14.1%	0.0%
35. Kairat	1 (-10)	0.1%	0.0%
36. Ajax	0 (-15)	0.3%	0.0%

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ICE could launch raids targeting World Cup fans, White House warns

Haitian and Iranian fans will also be barred from next year’s tournament under visa rules designed to ward off any ‘potential threat’ to the US

https://www.thetimes.com/us/american-politics/article/world-cup-fans-banned-ice-iran-haiti-8qcx3rzhz

Fans from Haiti and Iran will be banned from attending the World Cup and American immigration officials could launch raids targeting supporters during matches, the White House has said.

Andrew Giuliani, the head of the White House task force on the World Cup, said people who were a “potential threat” to the US would not have their visas approved but said international supporters who want to “spend your disposable income” were welcome in the US.

The White House expects between five to seven million fans to visit the US for the World Cup despite concerns over President Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Trump has sharpened his anti-immigration rhetoric in recent days, calling Somalis “garbage” and saying refugees who come to the US from warzones and disaster-struck countries “do nothing but bitch”.

“We don’t want them in our country,” he said. “Let them go back to where they came from and fix it.”

In Minneapolis, a major city in Minnesota, an immigration crackdown is believed to be under way as immigration agents specifically target its Somali community, the largest in the US.

A separate immigration operation began in New Orleans on Wednesday, focusing on criminals who had been released from local custody, according to the department of homeland security.

Speaking before Friday’s draw at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Giuliani condemned the “fictional narrative” that “the president is not welcoming to foreigners” and said Trump’s recent rhetoric reflected his “unique style”.

“I think it’s why he’s such an effective leader, to be perfectly honest,” he said. “I think it’s why he actually is the consummate host for this incredible World Cup that is going to be the largest in human history.”

Giuliani, 39, is the son of Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who served as Trump’s attorney for several years.

• Sabrina Carpenter condemns White House’s ‘evil’ use of her song Juno

Haiti and Iran, two countries that have qualified for the World Cup, are both on the list of 19 nations that presently face a total visa ban. Trump is expected to expand that list to 30 countries after the shooting of two National Guardsmen in Washington, meaning that supporters of other countries could also be prevented from travelling to the US.

The White House has introduced an exemption to allow the Haitian and Iranian teams to travel to the US next year.

“Every visa is a national security decision first and foremost,” said Giuliani. “If you are a potential threat, you’re not going to get approved … if you’re coming here to enjoy, spend your disposable income, enjoy the United States of America, you’re welcome.”

• Trump vows permanent pause on ‘third-world immigration’

Given the popularity of football with Latino communities in the US, there are fears that Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officials could target fans at matches involving South and Central American teams.

Asked if the White House would rule out ICE raids on World Cup games, Giuliani said: “The one thing, and I’ve known the president for 25 years, the president has not ruled out anything that will make American citizens safer.”

Trump’s administration will also set up additional vetting for H-1B visas, an issue which has been a litmus test among Maga supporters after the president said the visas for skilled foreign workers were needed, and the US did not have enough homegrown “talent”.

A state department memo, seen by Reuters, said anyone involved in “censorship” of free speech will be considered for rejection. The message, sent to US consular officers, demands they review the CVs or LinkedIn profiles of H-1B applicants and those of occupying family members.