FIFA Considering Oman and Kuwait to Host Some 2022 World Cup Games

By TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports FIFA’s president is seeking to expand the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams, from 32, with some matches outside Qatar as part of a broader Middle Eastern event.https://nyti.ms/2tVtS6e

Tata Martino Is Named Mexico’s National Team Coach

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS from NYT Sports Martino tried to manage expectations at his introductory news conference, declining to make any promises about dragging Mexico past the second round of the World Cup.https://nyti.ms/2VusF26

French Fans Celebrate a World Cup Victory

By BARBARA MARCOLINI from NYT Sports In Paris, Moscow, New York and Chicago, fans took to the streets to celebrate the World Cup’s champion.https://nyti.ms/2NTH5oW

France, a World Cup Champion That Stood Above It All in Russia

By RORY SMITH from NYT Sports France always felt out of place in Russia, winning with an air of cultivated detachment, as though it was competing in a completely different tournament.https://nyti.ms/2L8AdW9

Croatians Savor the Present, but Keep One Fateful Foot in the Past

By NICHOLAS KULISH from NYT Sports Croatia is playing for the World Cup title on Sunday. It is a huge moment, maybe as big as the kick that Zvonimir Boban unleashed during a 1990 soccer riot.https://nyti.ms/2uAl99b

England Soccer Team Ready to Exorcise Ghosts of Failures Past in 2018 Semifinals

By EMMA L. MCALEAVY from NYT Sports A brief overview of the highs and lows for England’s national football team.https://nyti.ms/2zAOhmq

Croatia’s 2018 World Cup Pursuit Inspired by the Past

By EMMA L. MCALEAVY from NYT Sports A brief overview of the highs and lows for the Croatian national football team.https://nyti.ms/2mccoyw

France’s World Cup History Marked by Thrilling Success and Acrimonious Defeat

By EMMA MCALEAVY from NYT Sports A brief overview of the highs and lows for the French national football team.https://nyti.ms/2KN2EJA

France and Argentina Meet in an Elite Battle for World Cup Survival

By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY from NYT Sports The French will aim to control Lionel Messi, the Argentine star who has not scored in his seven previous games in the knockout stage.https://nyti.ms/2MAfqb2

The Outstanding Goals of Ronaldo and Kroos as You’ve Never Seen Them

By SYDNEY SHEA, JOE WARD and LARRY BUCHANAN from NYT Sports We have dissected the critical moment leading to each goal in order to fly you through the scene.https://nyti.ms/2KvLooh

Why England or Belgium Will Win the World Cup (and Why They Won’t)

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN from NYT Sports England and Belgium have a largely meaningless match on Thursday, since both had already clinched advancement. Will they meet again in the World Cup final? https://nyti.ms/2Izpej0

Clark Hunt Is an N.F.L. Owner. And He’s at the World Cup. Again.

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN from NYT Sports A first family of American football has embraced the world game. In fact, make that 11 of the past 12 World Cups for Clark Hunt.https://nyti.ms/2Kn1uUp

A Nightmare for Mexico’s Soccer Opponents: More Chuckys On the Way

By JAMES WAGNER from NYT Sports The soccer academy that produced Hirving Lozano, a star known as Chucky who scored a critical goal for Mexico at the World Cup, aims to ramp up the development of young players like him.https://nyti.ms/2KbaKLP

In St. Petersburg, Managing Sleep and Soccer

By MATTHEW FUTTERMAN from NYT Sports In a city where darkness barely descends this time of year, teams take extra steps to get adequate rest despite so much soccer and so much daylight.https://nyti.ms/2tsEJDU

How Argentina Lost Its Way. (Spoiler: It’s Not Messi’s Fault.)

By RORY SMITH from NYT Sports Argentina arrived at the World Cup with high hopes and the world’s best player. Now it lingers by the exit door, a flawed, dispirited team with deep structural issues that can’t be fixed anytime soon.https://nyti.ms/2Mi44bh

Amid the Roars in Russia, the French Can Still Hear the Echoes of 1998

By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY from NYT Sports That year marked the one and only time that France won the World Cup, and it did so on its home soil. A key player on that team now guides the 2018 squad.https://nyti.ms/2yuWMiy

Peru Invades Russia. Well, at Least Many of Its Fans Have.

By TARIQ PANJA from NYT Sports What happens when your team finally makes it back to the World Cup after decades of frustration? You and everybody else you know gets on a plane to go see the games.https://nyti.ms/2yfBnKa

Trump Letters Might Be Key to North American Bid to Host 2026 World Cup

By ANDREW DAS from NYT Sports Three previously undisclosed letters from President Trump to FIFA have reassured the organization’s members that all fans and teams would be welcome, regardless of American immigration policy.https://nyti.ms/2JHEVWA

2026 World Cup Vote Tracker: It’s Morocco vs. North America

By ANDREW DAS, WILSON ANDREWS and JOE WARD from NYT Sports Here’s how each country in FIFA plans to vote, and who is still uncommitted.https://nyti.ms/2Jsjuce

U.S. Soccer Hires Earnie Stewart as National Team General Manager

By ANDREW DAS from NYT Sports Earnie Stewart comes in with a simple mission — build a team that can qualify for the 2022 World Cup.https://nyti.ms/2M7a9YO