FIFA

The decision taken by Spain coach Luis Enrique, to call Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde into his squad means that Barca have supplied 17 players to the Qatar World Cup. The club now have the most players in Qatar, followed by Bayern Munich and Manchester City, who have 16 players at the tournament.

Brazil will begin the tournament against Serbia on November 24 before also facing Switzerland and Cameroon in Group G. "The attention and pressure are inevitable, it's always been like that since he arrived in the national team (in 2010)," Marquinhos said during a break in Brazil's pre-World Cup training camp in Turin.

Following the call for election issued by the FIFA Council on March 30 this year, FIFA's member associations have proposed, in due time and form, the incumbent FIFA president for its next presidential election. No other candidature has been submitted.

The 17 players will compete in the shirt of eight different teams, the magazine said. The Bavarian club is outpacing previous record-holder Premier League side Manchester City (2018) and South Korean Seoul Army Club (1954) as both sent 16 players at the time. Manchester City is repeating the number this year aside from Spanish giant FC Barcelona followed by Al-Sadd SC (Qatar/15), Manchester United (14), Real (13), Chelsea, Al-Hilal Saudi FC (both 12), and PSG, Juventus, Tottenham, Atletico, Ajax and Dortmund (all 11).

"The FIFA Medical Committee has endorsed the withdrawal of Christopher Nkunku due to injury," the French Football Federation (FFF) said in a statement. "The national coach has decided to call on Randal Kolo Muani." The 25-year-old Nkunku injured his left knee during training on Tuesday when he collided with Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga.

Serbia and Switzerland are expected to vie for second place, having both finished top of their respective groups in qualifying. Cameroon should not be discounted as contenders for a berth in the knockout phase after a third-place showing at the Africa Cup of Nations in February.

The decision to host the football tournament in the Gulf state has caused deep controversy due to Qatar's stance on homosexuality, which is illegal in the country, but the 25-year-old K-Pop singer will be amongst the names who take to the stage during the football tournament, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Coach Christophe Galtier opted to start with his magic trio of Mbappe, Neymar Jr. and Messi for his side's final outing before the World Cup in a Parc des Princes basking in the sunshine, where the supporters of the club from the capital had turned out in their numbers for the lunchtime kick-off.

Ronaldo will take part in his fifth World Cup, having played for the national team in every edition of the tournament since 2006. Two young players from Benfica, Antonio Silva and Goncalo Ramos, are World Cup debutants, reports Xinhua. RB Leipzig striker Andre Silva replaces the injured Liverpool star Diogo Jota.

In a group where Argentina are the only team in the top 10 in FIFA's last rankings before the FIFA World Cup kicks off in November, Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia will also be vying for a ticket to the round of 16. Here is a breakdown of the four teams in Group C.