Mexico 2-0 Suriname:
June 18 – The Mexican national team is perhaps the only country in world football that plays home matches in two countries. The Azteca Stadium in Mexico City is, of course, their spiritual home; however, in Los Angeles – where they roared to victory over the Dominican Republic – and tonight in the heart of Texas at AT&T Stadium in Arlington versus Suriname, the team is welcomed by partisan support and rapturous anticipation.
November 10 – Amidst growing debate over whether the formal introduction of video technology would prove counter-productive after of a string of poor judgements, Northern Ireland are ironically crying foul having seen their World Cup hopes take a dive because of two crucial decisions that almost certainly would have been overturned by the system.
November 10 – One of the fiercest critics of Qatar’s record on workers rights has welcomed steps made by the Qataris to end the ‘kafala’ employment system in the country and says other Gulf leaders should copy Qatar’s lead.
November 10 – A former deputy governor of St Petersburg has admitted to his involvement in an embezzlement scheme related to the construction of the city’s World Cup stadium.
November 10 – Several hundred Hong Kong fans once again defied a Chinese law against disrespecting the national anthem when they booed the anthem at a match on Thursday.
November 10 – Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven have extended their partnership with iFOREX as an Official Sponsor of the club for the 2017/18 season.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 9 – The Portuguese official ousted by FIFA as its chief governance and electoral watchdog has blasted the organisation’s approach to political neutrality under Gianni Infantino as “shocking” and says there is no chance of reform from within because of its closed-shop mentality.
By Lefteris Charalambopoulos
November 9 – An irreversible decision issued by the Council of Appeals Court Judges in Athens, Greece, charging 28 individuals of match-fixing, drops four charges against Evangelos Marinakis and puts an end to speculation and some wild allegations against the shipping magnate and owner of Olympiakos. It also raises questions about the depth of the malaise and infighting that plagues Greek football.
When England won the recent under-17 World Cup to add to their under-20 triumph in June, one of my journalist colleagues (I wish I could take the credit) came up with a novel and intriguing idea.
November 9 – The bitter in-fighting over who runs Sierra Leone football has taken a remarkable twist with FIFA intervening to overturn a decision by the country’s national FA to remove Isha Johansen (pictured left) from her role as president – right in the middle of a court case in which she is charged with corruption.
By Samindra Kunti
November 9 – The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and its sidelined president Praful Patel (pictured) have challenged the Delhi High Court’s ruling that deemed Patel’s presidential elections invalid and taken the case to the Supreme Court with an appeal.
By David Owen
November 9 – Manchester City, the Abu Dhabi-owned club whose multi-talented squad under Pep Guardiola already look like waltzing off with this season’s Premier League title, have reported a minuscule pre-tax profit of just £104,000 for 2016-17.
November 9 – The 2018 World Cup play off between Peru and New Zealand could be worth at least $1.3 billion to the South American country if they are successful.
By Paul Nicholson
November 8 – Olympiacos owner Evangelos Marinakis is to stand down as chairman of the club while the judicial proceedings regarding the match-fixing allegations against him are completed.
November 9 – A sensitive row has broken out over Spain’s kit for next year’s World Cup with designers Adidas accused of scoring an own goal.
By Andrew Warshaw
November 8 – Having promised to leave no stone unturned in ensuring a corruption-free bid process for the 2026 World Cup after the scandals of the 2018 and 2022 campaigns, FIFA has pledged to publish all votes – traditionally kept secret – by individual federations when the ballot takes place next June.