Breaking News English

There has been a last-minute change to how teams [singing / sing] their national anthems at the 2026 World Cup. FIFA, the organization that [walks / runs] the World Cup, announced the change [past / last] week. It said that for the first time [in / at] World Cup history, all of the players in the [squids / squads] will come onto the [pitch / patch] to sing their anthem. FIFA president Gianni Infantino commented [on / in] the change to the national anthem ceremony. He said: "As the FIFA World Cup grows, we continue to innovate the way the game is [experiences / experienced] . The pre-match ceremonies... will be no [difference / different] ." He added: "The FIFA World Cup is about every player and every fan and this new pre-match ceremony [reflects / reflect] that."

FIFA said more players will have a [roll / role] in adding to the pre-match atmosphere. In the [new / news] ceremony, all squad members will stand [up / around] the centre circle and sing their national anthem. Mr Infantino said: "Having all players and referees [head / face] each other in the centre circle during the national anthems will create a moment of [unity / unite] , pride and emotion that truly [belongs / belong] to the teams and to everyone in the stadium." Other parts of the pre-game ceremony [remains / remain] unchanged. Team captains will still participate [on / in] the coin toss and exchange pennants with the opposing captain. Another tradition [keeps / kept] for the 2026 tournament is players from each team [shaking / shook] hands with players from the other team.