The 2026 World Cup kicks off on Thursday with a record 48 teams vying for the most coveted prize in football and a slew of controversies over ticket prices, geopolitical tensions and visa restrictions imposed by the Trump administration casting a pall over the beautiful game’s quadrennial extravaganza.
Iran's allocation of fan tickets for the group stage of the World Cup has been revoked just days before the start of the tournament, the country's football federation said Tuesday, in the latest controversy surrounding the Iranian squad as it prepares to play its group matches on US soil.
