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By MNTV Staff Writer As the 2026 World Cup unfolds across North America and Algeria’s Fennec Foxes chase glory on the sport’s biggest stage, it’s worth remembering the eleven men who once played for an Algeria that didn’t yet exist. On a Monday in mid-April 1958, a car carrying four young men rolled up to […]
By MNTV Staff Writer LOS ANGELES (MNTV) — Morocco have surged to fifth place in the FIFA men’s world rankings after a 1-0 win over Scotland in their second Group C match at the 2026 World Cup. Forward Ismael Saibari settled it almost before it began, striking inside the opening two minutes for a goal […]
MOGADISHU, Somalia (MNTV) — Somalia has never qualified for a World Cup in the tournament’s nearly century-long history, yet at the 2026 finals in North America four players carrying Somali heritage are on the field, wearing the colours of Qatar, Tunisia, and Sweden. For a football-loving nation ranked around 198th in the world, the sigh...
By MNTV Staff Writer There is a version of Ali Ahmed’s story that ends years ago, in a series of European trial grounds where doors kept closing. Instead, the 25-year-old winger will spend this summer playing a World Cup in his own country — and, fittingly for a tournament Canada is co-hosting, in both the […]
WASHINGTON (MNTV) — The 2026 FIFA World Cup has brought a record number of Muslim-majority nations to football’s biggest stage. Yet some of the tournament’s most celebrated Muslim players are wearing the colors of non-Muslim countries. Across Europe, Muslim footballers have become central figures in national teams competing for foo...
By MNTV Staff Writer WASHINGTON (MNTV) – When Zidane Iqbal laces up his boots at the 2026 World Cup, he carries two countries onto the pitch — quite literally. On one boot, the flag of Iraq, the nation whose shirt he wears. On the other, the green-and-white of Pakistan, the country of his father. It […]
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (MNTV) — Uzbekistan’s World Cup preparations could hardly have gone worse. They lost both of their warm-up matches before opening their campaign against Colombia in Mexico City on June 17. Yet results in friendlies have done little to dampen the significance of the moment. When Uzbekistan take the field at the Estadio Azte...
By MNTV Staff Writer INGLEWOOD, United States (MNTV) — Iran opened its 2026 World Cup on Monday with a pulsating 2-2 draw against New Zealand at a raucous SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles — a result that, after the months Team Melli had endured to reach the start line at all, felt like the least […]
By MNTV Staff Writer WASHINGTON (MNTV) – Seven minutes into his first World Cup match, Yasin Ayari did what young midfielders dream of doing. A Tunisian clearance fell to him 25 yards out in Monterrey, and he met it cleanly, the ball arrowing past three defenders on the line and a stranded goalkeeper. It was […]
By MNTV Staff Writer In St. Petersburg in the summer of 2018, Egypt’s goalkeeper Mohamed Elshenawy had just produced the game of his life. He had kept Uruguay at bay for 89 minutes with a string of saves before conceding a late winner, and the watching officials named him man of the match. Then came […]
