CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — FIFA said Wednesday it has received more than 500 million ticket requests for this year's World Cup.
Soccer's organizing body said outside the host United States, Mexico and Canada, the most requests were made by fans residing in Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.
FIFA is asking for up to $8,680 per ticket. After criticism, FIFA said last month it will offer $60 tickets for every game to the 48 national federations in the tournament, and the federations will decide how to distribute them to their fans who attended their previous games.
It said the most-requested match in the third sales phase, which ran from Dec. 11 through Tuesday, was Colombia vs. Portugal on June 27 at Miami Gardens, Florida; followed by Mexico vs. South Korea on June 18 at Guadalajara, Mexico; the final on July 19 at East Rutherford, New Jersey; the opener between Mexico and South Africa on June 11 at Mexico City; and a second-round match on July 2 at Toronto.
FIFA said it will notify people about their ticket applications no earlier than Feb. 5 and will allocate them randomly for matches in which demand exceeds availability.
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Manchester City's Erling Haaland, top, heads the ball past Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion in Manchester, England, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson)
RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Youssef El-Nesyri scored the winning penalty and Yassine “Bono” Bounou saved two as Morocco advanced to the Africa Cup of Nations final with a 4-2 win on penalties over Nigeria on Wednesday.
Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali saved one but was bettered by Bono in the shootout after the teams drew 0-0 with extra time in front of 65,458 mostly Morocco fans in Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
The host nation set up a title match in the same stadium Sunday with 2021 champion Senegal, which defeated Egypt 1-0 the other semifinal earlier in Tangier.
Morocco is bidding for its first title since its only success in 1976 and tickets for the decider are likely to command steep prices.
There were reports before Wednesday’s game that tickets with a face value of 300-500 dirhams ($32-42) for the semifinal were going for as much as 7,000 dirhams ($760) or more on the black market.
It was easy to tell which team was in possession from the deafening chorus of fans’ whistles any time a Nigeria player had the ball.
Calvin Bassey was the first to receive the home fans’ piercing welcome when he took a walk out alone on the field before the match. He responded with a huge smile.
Morocco went close with the early chances with Semi Ajayi producing a brilliant block to stop Ismael Saibari. Brahim Díaz whipped a shot past the far post and then tried riling up the already riled crowd.
Bassey was booked for a tactical foul outside the penalty box, which would have ruled him out of the final with a suspension if the Super Eagles made it. Instead he'll miss the unpopular third-place decider against Egypt in Casablanca on Saturday.
Ademola Lookman had Nigeria’s only shot on target — too close to Bono in the Morocco goal after some fine team play. Ultimately, there was too little of that from the Super Eagles.
Morocco had 16 shots, five on target, with Díaz, Ayoub El Kaabi and Achraf Hakimi all enjoying good chances. Nigeria held on to get the game to the shootout, where Bono saved from Samuel Chukwueze and Bruno Onyemaechi to set up El-Nesyri for the winner.
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Morocco's head coach Walid Regragui reacts after winning the penalty shootout during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match between Nigeria and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Morocco players celebrate after winning after a penalty shootout during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match between Nigeria and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Nigeria's Alex Iwobi , left, and Morocco's Brahim Abdelkader Díaz fight for the ball during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match between Nigeria and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Morocco's Achraf Hakimi, left, and Brahim Abdelkader Díaz celebrate after winning the penalty shootout during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match between Nigeria and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
Morocco players celebrate after winning after a penalty shootout during the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match between Nigeria and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Mosa'ab Elshamy)
