France superstar Kylian Mbappe don voice strong support for him former Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar, wey Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti don leave out for latest national squad. Mbappe, wey now dey play for Real Madrid, talk say World Cup no go complete without Neymar, even as Ancelotti explain say dey no include dey Santos FC forward because im no fully fit yet.
Ancelotti talk to reporters as per ESPN say im dey observe everything but im role na to make decisions. Im talk say football no be university or exact science, so everybody get im opinion wey im must respect. De 32-year-old Brazil international Neymar don express sadness over im omission from de squad wey go face France and Croatia for upcoming matches.
Mbappe tell Ge Globo as quoted by Fabrizio Romano say Neymar na world star and World Cup na for world stars, so im go dey there. Im add say im no fit imagine World Cup without Ney but im no go against Ancelotti decision, as im sure say Neymar go get ready for de tournament.
Meanwhile, FIFA don confirm key squad submission deadlines for nations wey dey prepare for de 2026 World Cup. Teams must submit provisional lists of up to 55 players by May 11, wey go give coaches room to manage injuries and form issues. Countries go den trim dia squads to de final 26 players by May 30 before dem travel to North America for de tournament wey go open on June 11 with hosts Mexico facing South Africa.
De expanded provisional list mirror recent FIFA competitions and na design to provide flexibility ahead of de finals wey go co-host by United States, Canada and Mexico. FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani talk at de Business of Soccer conference say geopolitical issues dey always for every World Cup, but attention go shift back to football once de tournament begin.
Montagliani wey be CONCACAF chief reference de 1978 finals in Argentina during military dictatorship as example. Im talk say security concerns and tensions in Middle East, plus visa worries among travelling fans and immigration policies under Donald Trump, don shape de build-up. Iran don already indicate say dem no go play fixtures for US following security warnings to dia players.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino don face scrutiny over im ties to Trump, including presenting de US leader with FIFA Peace Prize during World Cup draw. Montagliani add say dia main goal na to ensure top-notch security so fans go safe and enjoy demselves before football take over once ball start rolling.
For ticket matters, FIFA announce say tickets go available to general public on April 1 beginning at 11 a.m. as final phase of ticket sales for all 104 games across de three host countries. Fans go fit select specific seats through seat map option or “Book the best seat” feature on FIFA.com/tickets.
Transportation Security Administration acting Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill warn say de agency don lose more than 460 employees since start of partial government shutdown, and dem no fit lose many more staff before de start of FIFA World Cup dis summer. McNeill talk during House Homeland Security Committee hearing say any TSA staff wey dem hire now no go trained in time to work at airport checkpoints for de start of de tournament in June.
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