Iran's participation in the World Cup as a whole is under a cloud because of the ongoing conflict with the United States, who are co-hosting the June 11-July 19 tournament with Mexico and Canada.

A report by the disciplinary committee of world football's governing body found the IFA "failed to take meaningful action against Beitar Jerusalem" for "persistent and well-documented racist behaviour".

Nottingham Forest reached the Europa League quarter-finals after Midtjylland missed all three of their penalties in the last-16 second-leg shoot-out, while John McGinn inspired Aston Villa's 2-0 win against Lille on Thursday.

FIFA decreed Thursday that all women's teams competing in world tournaments must have a woman head or assistant coach on the bench.

Iranian authorities on Thursday gave the national women's football team a hero's welcome after their return to the Islamic republic from Australia where some had made and then withdrawn asylum claims, amid accusations Iran had pressured their families.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday underlined the body's commitment to making sure the World Cup goes ahead "as scheduled" with "all teams" taking part amid doubts about Iran's presence at the tournament.

The Senegalese Football Federation announced Thursday it has instructed its lawyers to lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the national team were stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations title.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said out-of-form Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade's lack of goalscoring impact was because he is being played in the wrong position at club level.

Kylian Mbappe, who has only just returned to action after a knee injury, will lead the France squad into friendly matches this month against Brazil and Colombia in the United States.

Enzo Fernandez has told Liam Rosenior he is happy at Chelsea and "how passionate he is for this football club" after the midfielder made comments earlier this week suggesting he may not be Stamford Bridge next season.

The men in red and green have regrouped after a four-month break since their historic win over India last November.

The four teams conceded 28 goals, denoting how exposed the clubs were over two legs.

The injury compounds Real Madrid's mounting fitness concerns, with key players Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo and Eder Militao already struggling with injuries.

Michael Carrick has told his Manchester United side to ready themselves for an awkward encounter away to Bournemouth on Friday as they look to maintain their challenge for a Champions League place.

Argentina have named their squad for the upcoming international window, with all eyes on Lionel Messi as the world champions gear up for their final preparations ahead of the FIFA World Cup.

Galatasaray's Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen broke his right arm in the Champions League defeat to Liverpool with Dutch international Noa Lang set to undergo surgery on his thumb, the Turkish club confirmed Thursday.

Manchester United are in advanced talks to sign Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes for around 80 million euros, but renewed interest from Real Madrid threatens to complicate the proposed move, sources close to the negotiations have told Reuters.

Arne Slot believes Liverpool fired a warning shot to Paris Saint-Germain of what they are capable of in a 4-0 thrashing of Galatasaray on Wednesday, which set up a Champions League quarter-final against the holders.

The Iranian national team are continuing to prepare for the World Cup finals and have no intention of pulling out of the tournament even if they will not travel to the United States, football chief Mehdi Taj said on Wednesday.

Harry Kane said Bayern Munich had nothing to fear in taking on Real Madrid after setting up a quarterfinal clash with the European giants by beating Atalanta on Wednesday.