Julien Pretot

Debutants will take centre stage at Friday’s 2026 World Cup draw along with concerns over heat, player welfare and the practical challenge of staging football’s biggest tournament across three countries during the peak of a North American summer.

FIFA said on Sunday it had stepped up efforts to tackle online abuse directed at players and officials, reporting a surge in harmful content and referring more offenders to police.

Scrumhalf Maxime Lucu will start for France against Fiji in Bordeaux on Saturday, replacing Nolann Le Garrec, who has been ruled out of the Autumn series due to a thigh injury, the French team said on Thursday.

Players and fans observed a minute's silence at the Parc des Princes on Thursday to honour the victims of the November 13, 2015 attacks, marking a solemn start to the evening ahead of France's World Cup qualifier against Ukraine.

France's expertise in qualifying was in full display again as they booked a spot for their eighth consecutive World Cup after a Kylian Mbappe double helped to secure a 4-0 home victory against Ukraine on Thursday.

France kept celebrations restrained after qualifying for the 2026 World Cup with a 4-0 win over Ukraine on Thursday, with captain Kylian Mbappe saying the emotional weight of the evening — the 10th anniversary of the November 13, 2015 attacks — mattered more than the result.

South Africa showed all their world champions resilience, storming back from 14-6 down and the first-half sending-off of lock Lood de Jager to crush France 32-17 in a bruising Autumn international on Saturday.

France paid the price for wastefulness while South Africa were ruthlessly clinical, Les Bleus’ coach Fabien Galthie said after his side's 32-17 defeat by the world champions in their Autumn international on Saturday.

Siya Kolisi marked his 100th test cap with trademark humility and leadership, putting the team first as world champions South Africa came from behind to humble France 32-17 in an intense Autumn international on Saturday.

French biathlete Julia Simon was sentenced on Friday to a three-month suspended prison term and fined 15,000 euros ($17,493.00)for credit-card fraud and theft, which puts her participation in next year’s Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics in doubt.