Football’s global governing body FIFA said Wednesday it had received more than 500 million requests for tickets to this year’s World Cup despite rumbling controversy over sky-high prices to attend the event.

FIFA said in a statement it had received applications from fans in all of its 211 member nations and territories for the tournament staged in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The window for submitting requests to be entered in a lottery which will allocate tickets closed on Tuesday. FIFA said fans would be notified of whether their requests had been successful “no earlier than 5 February.”

Outside of the tournament’s host nations, FIFA said the heaviest demand came from fans in Germany, England, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Argentina and Colombia.

The most requested ticket was Colombia’s clash with Portugal in Miami on June 27, followed by Mexico’s game against South Korea in Guadalajara on June 18, and the World Cup final in New Jersey on July 19.

“Half a billion ticket requests in just over a month is more than demand – it’s a global statement,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “I would like to thank and congratulate football fans everywhere for this extraordinary response.”

“Knowing how much this tournament means to people around the world, our only regret is that we cannot welcome every fan inside the stadiums.”

FIFA has faced sharp criticism over its ticket pricing strategy for the 48-team tournament, with fan groups branding the cost as “extortionate” and “astronomical.”

Football Supporters Europe (FSE) said ticket prices were almost five times higher than at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.

Those criticisms prompted FIFA to introduce a new category of cut-price tickets in December set at 60 US dollars (51 euros) each.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — John Harbaugh and the New York Giants are working to finalize an agreement to make him their next head coach, and barring a setback, a deal is expected, sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Wednesday night.

The deal is not final and contract numbers still are being negotiated, with one source telling Schefter: “There still is a lot to work through.”

But barring any setbacks, Harbaugh is ready to accept the Giants’ deal and the team is expected to hire him as soon as possible, sources said.

New Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa took responsibility for the team’s “painful” 3-2 Copa del Rey defeat to second-tier Albacete on Wednesday, defending his decision to rest a number of senior players.

A 94th-minute winner from Jefte Betancor gave Albacete — currently 17th in the second division — their first win over Madrid, after Gonzalo García looked to have forced extra time at the Estadio Carlos Belmonte with a 91st minute header.

Arbeloa took charge of Madrid on Tuesday, stepping up from coaching the reserve team after the departure of Xabi Alonso.

“At this club a draw is bad, a tragedy, so imagine a defeat like this,” Arbeloa said in his postmatch news conference. “It’s painful, especially against a lower division team. … Obviously we have to improve.

“I’m responsible, I take the decisions: the team, how we want to play, the substitutions. We’ll try to recover our morale and physically, and improve for the game on Saturday [against Levante in LaLiga].”

Madrid’s Copa exit came only three days after they were beaten by Barcelona in the Spanish Supercopa final in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, a result that preceded Alonso’s removal as coach.

Arbeloa left several key players out of the squad for the trip to Albacete, including Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Álvaro Carreras, Rodrygo and Kylian Mbappé, who has been struggling because of a knee sprain.

“I was convinced the squad was the right one, and I still think that,” Arbeloa said. “We have an extraordinary squad, with great players. It isn’t easy for them to do everything I’ve asked of them after just one day [in the job]. We have a lot of players to get back to their best physical level.

“I don’t regret anything. I’d pick the same team again.”

Madrid had previously progressed only to the round of 16 of the Copa, needing an Mbappé brace to beat third-tier Talavera de la Reina 3-2 in December.

“I think we’ve hit rock bottom today,” defender Dani Carvajal told reporters. “We’ve been knocked out by a second-division team. Congratulations to them. From tomorrow we’ll all do some self-criticism, individually and collectively. There’s still time to turn the season around.”

Said Arbeloa: “If people want to describe this as a failure I’d understand it. For me, failure lies on the way to success. … I don’t fear that word. I’ve failed a lot in my life, I’ve suffered defeats in cups, I’m excited about getting to Valdebebas tomorrow and working with the players, to [play] much better on Saturday.”

The new coach cited the need for his squad to improve physically, and refused to view the cup elimination as a positive in terms of reducing the workload going forward.

“Losing is never a relief at Real Madrid,” Arbeloa said. “Obviously it can have some positive consequences, but it wasn’t our objective to lose today. Physically we have a big margin to improve, that’s what [fitness coach] Antonio [Pintus] is here for, I think we need that.”

Emotional scenes at the final whistle saw Albacete’s players perform a lap of honor, while former Madrid defender Jesus Vallejo — who sat out Wednesday’s game because of injury — left the field in tears.

“It’s the biggest thing I’ve ever experienced in football,” matchwinner Betancor said. “It’s what you dream about.

“Nine years ago I wanted to leave football. Now, by dreaming, and working hard, look where we are. I think we deserved it.”