LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Just days before the World Cup opens in Mexico City, the Mexican soccer federation on Tuesday lost its latest appeal against FIFA punishments for fans chanting an anti-gay slur at opponents’ players.

It first gained widespread international attention during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and was heard again at the 2018 tournament in Russia and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Tomas Soucek is the Czech Republic’s midfield enforcer. He wins duels, mops up loose balls while also posing a major aerial threat for their set-piece-heavy approach. Since making his West Ham United debut in February 2020, no Premier League midfielder has scored more headers than his tally of 11.

Other already established players are older than 19 but are set to make their first World Cup appearances, including 20-year-old Warren Zaïre-Emery and 21-year-old Désiré Doué, the France internationals who have been regulars with two-time defending Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain.

Mexico hosts Serbia on Thursday at Estadio Nemesio Díez in Toluca for an international friendly that serves as El Tri's last World Cup tune-up.

MEXICO CITY — Seventeen-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora could become the youngest Mexican player to appear in a World Cup. He was among the initial 12 players picked by coach Javier Aguirre in Mexico’s World Cup squad on Tuesday, all of them from the ...

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Mexico’s Gilberto Mora controls the ball during ...