Argentina's eye-catching purple away jersey at this year's Qatar World Cup will also have a powerful message associated with it, with sportswear giant Adidas saying the choice of colour represented gender equality.

France midfielder Paul Pogba has said he is the victim of extortion attempts and threats from an organised gang and that authorities in Italy and France are investigating the matter.

Pakistan's cabinet has approved a draft agreement that allows the government to provide troops for security at the FIFA soccer World Cup in Qatar later this year, Pakistan's information minister said on Monday.

The opening match for this year's World Cup in Qatar will be brought forward by one day to November 20, senior football sources told AFP on Wednesday.

Brazil's Congress has established a committee to oversee the national team's preparations for the 2022 World Cup, saying the Selecao's image is at a "low point" after a series of defeats bruised the national ego.

Paul Pogba has decided not to go undergo surgery on his knee and will bank on rest and rehabilitation getting him fit in time to play for France at the World Cup finals later this year, media reports said on Wednesday.

Qatar announced Monday that the club champions of Saudi Arabia and Egypt will inaugurate the Lusail stadium to be used for the World Cup final on September 9.

Brazil manager Tite is excited by the rise of the young players who surged to stardom in European soccer last season and will be available for the national team in November when his side bid to win a record-extending sixth World Cup at the finals in Qatar.

FIFA will allow countries to select up to 26 players for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, increasing the maximum squad size by three for the November 21-December 18 tournament.

A total of 32 teams including hosts Qatar have qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2022, scheduled to be in motion from November 21 to December 18.

The line-up for the 2022 World Cup was completed when  Costa Rica became the last team to qualify with a 1-0 win over New Zealand in their intercontinental playoff on June 14.

Wales ended their 64-year wait for a place in the World Cup finals as they beat Ukraine 1-0 on Sunday to end the war-torn nation's hopes of reaching Qatar.

The fact that Bangladesh never came even remotely close to qualifying for the FIFA World Cup did little to ever dampen the spirit of the football-crazy people in the country.

FIFA is confident the diplomatic crisis sweeping Qatar will normalise and not threaten the 2022 World Cup, the organisation's president, Gianni Infantino, said in an interview.

The bidding process for the 2026 World Cup has been postponed amid allegations around the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

Sepp Blatter's 17-year reign as boss of crisis-hit Fifa could come to an end on 16 December.

Fifa Secretary General Jerome Valcke says no compensation will be paid to clubs and leagues unhappy about plans to play the 2022 Qatar World Cup in November and December.