Category: Football

OSLO: Pakistan street child football team on Monday, edged Årvoll IL 2-1 to qualify for the next round of the ongoing Norway Cup here.

This was the national team’s second consecutive victory in the ongoing tournament, which handed an 11-1 thrashing to Frigg Oslo FK 11-1 in the campaign opener on Sunday.

In their second match, however, the national street child football team got off to a contrasting start as Årvoll pulled ahead with an early strike in the first half.

Pakistan created a few chances in the middle phase of the first half but finally scored an equaliser, minutes before the break.

Abdul Wahab struck the first goal for Pakistan.

The visitors, relishing the momentum, pulled ahead in the second half courtesy of Tufail Shinwari, who scored the match-winner.

Pakistan’s 2-1 advantage remained intact till the final whistle, meaning the national team progressed into the next round with one game to spare.

Pakistan street child football team will now take on Skjold IL in their last Norway Cup group fixture tomorrow.

Notably, Pakistan had a dominant start to their Norway Cup campaign as they blew away Frigg Oslo FK 11-1 by the scoreline of 11-1.

The national team pulled ahead just six minutes into the game thanks to a goal by Saud Ahmed. Abid Ali then doubled Pakistan’s advantage within a minute.

Saud and Abid then struck again respectively and put Pakistan in command with a 4-0 lead after just 15 minutes.

Scott McNol finally glimmered a ray of hope for the hosts when he pulled one back to reduce Pakistan’s lead to 4-1.

McNol’s goal, however, failed to change the fortune of the Frigg Oslo side as Pakistan struck twice in quick succession to go into the break with a 6-1 lead.

The Green Shirts put on an even more dominant show in the second half as they scored five more to their tally to finish at 11-1, the biggest margin of victory in the Norway Cup by now.

Abid Ali was the star performer for Pakistan in the first match as he scored four goals.

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Bayern Munich announced on Saturday that Senegalese striker Sadio Mane was in talks “about a change of club” with reports suggesting he was destined for Saudi side Al Nassr.

The German champions left Mane out of a friendly match in Tokyo, posting on social media: “Sadio Mane is in contract negotiations about a change of club and is therefore not in the line-up today.”

The 31-year-old former Liverpool star is expected to become the latest high-profile player to join the cash-rich Saudi league.

As Bild and Kicker magazine reported Sadio Mane was on his way for a medical with Al Nassr, and Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel declined to be drawn on the player’s future.

“We are still in the transfer window and I would like to see what’s going on and wait and see how things will happen,” he told reporters after Bayern’s 1-0 win over Kawasaki Frontale in Japan.

Sadio Mane would be another major signing for the club that pulled off the first coup of a raft of signings by Saudi clubs, luring Cristiano Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

Mane won the Champions League and Premier League in six seasons with Liverpool and was a key part of Jurgen Klopp’s devastating front three with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

When Liverpool won their first English league title for 30 years in the pandemic-disrupted 2019-2020 season, Mane scored 18 goals.

But in the summer of 2022, when he won the African Player of the Year, Mane decided he wanted a new challenge — unconfirmed rumours said he had tired of sharing the limelight with Egypt’s Salah at Anfield.

Bayern made a big play for Mane, promising to make him the focal point of an attack which had just lost the services of Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona.

After a strong start to the season at Bayern, it soon become clear that Mane was not clicking in Bavaria.

In a Bundesliga game against Werder Bremen in November, Mane suffered an injury to his fibula and his season was put on hold.

The injury forced him to miss the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year in a crushing blow to Senegal’s chances.

While Sadio Mane returned to the Bayern team in 2023, his problems were underlined when he became involved in a physical altercation with teammate Leroy Sane following a Champions League defeat to Manchester City.

Bayern reportedly fined Mane around 350,000 euros ($385,000) and gave him a one-match suspension for his part in the incident.

He ended the season with an underwhelming 12 goals in 38 games across all competitions.

He is set to quit Bayern with two years left on his contract.

On the international stage, Sadio Mane helped Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022.

Apart from Cristiano Ronaldo Al Nassr have also signed this summer Croatia midfielder Marcelo Brozovic, Brazil full-back Alex Telles and Ivory Coast midfielder Seko Fofana.

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Cristiano Ronaldo was replaced at half-time as Al Nassr drew 1-1 with Champions League finalists Inter Milan in the second game of their pre-season tour in Japan on Thursday.

Abdulrahman Ghareeb opened the scoring for Al Nassr midway through the first half before Davide Frattesi equalised for Inter a minute before half-time.

Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joined Al Nassr from Manchester United in January, a moment that brought Saudi football to world attention.

Since then, the Public Investment Fund — one of the world’s richest sovereign wealth funds — has continued to recruit players for Saudi clubs from Europe’s biggest leagues, including France striker Karim Benzema who joined Al Ittihad from Real Madrid.

Alex Telles followed in Ronaldo’s footsteps by signing for Al Nassr from United on Sunday, making his first start in Osaka.

The Brazilian left-back created the first clear chance in the 20th minute, but compatriot Talisca’s header was saved by Inter goalkeeper Filip Stankovic.

Cristiano Ronaldo then sent an ambitious effort from range wide two minutes later before Ghareeb struck in the 23rd minute, guiding home beautifully as the ball dropped to him from a chipped Talisca pass.

Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa both spurned opportunities to equalise for Inter, but Frattesi made no mistake with a header from a Denzel Dumfries cross in the 44th minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo was one of many to depart at the break, as both Al Nassr manager Luis Castro and his Inter counterpart Simone Inzaghi opted to make mass substitutions.

Martinez went on to miss a couple of gilt-edged chances in the second period but neither team could break the deadlock, leaving Al Nassr with their second draw of the week after a 0-0 against Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.

PSG are next up for Inter, with the European heavyweights set to meet in Tokyo next Tuesday.

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Pakistan men’s football team will face Cambodia in the Preliminary Round One of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Asia Qualifiers.

The game’s apex body on Thursday, unveiled the draws for the first and second rounds of the qualifiers.

The first-round matches will be played on the basis of one home and one away match on October 12 and 17, with the 10 winners advancing to the second round.

🤩 The first step on Asia's road to #WeAre26!

These 20 sides will face off for a place in the second round group stage of 2026 AFC #WCQ.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Vif9J5BbxH

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 27, 2023

Those 10 nations will then join the remaining 26 teams, already slotted in the second round on the basis of FIFA Rankings, which will feature nine groups of four nations, with the winners and runners-up then progressing through to the third round.|

The race is on! 🤩

Asia is ready to begin the run for the finish line in Canada, Mexico and USA. 🙌 #WCQ | #WeAre26 pic.twitter.com/hLGIqZ1xu9

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) July 27, 2023

 

A total of 18 nations that reach the third round will be divided into three groups of six, via a draw conducted at a later date, with the top two nations in each group qualifying for the FIFA World Cup.

The remaining six teams that finished third and fourth in the third round will then be divided into two groups of three teams for the fourth round, with the victor of each group earning a direct entry ticket to the FIFA World Cup.

Finally, in the fifth round, Asia’s representative in the FIFA play-off competition will be decided by a two-legged, home-and-away match between the two runners-up from the fourth round.

Notably, in the 2019 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Pakistan took on the same opponent and received a 1-4 thrashing.

It is worth mentioning here that Pakistan men’s football team recently partook in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship last month.

The national team was drawn in Group A with hosts India, invitee Kuwait and Nepal.

Pakistan received a 0-4 thrashing each from India and Kuwait respectively before Nepal edged them 1-0 in the dead rubber Group A clash.

Thus, the green shirts concluded their SAFF Championship without a win.

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Lionel Messi made a Hollywood start to his American adventure, scoring a last-second winner with a curling free-kick in his debut game for Inter Miami on Friday.

Deep in the fourth minute of stoppage time, with the Leagues Cup match against Mexican club Cruz Azul standing at 1-1, Lionel Messi won a free-kick just outside the box, in perfect range for his famous left foot.

The script had been written and Messi delivered his line perfectly.

The seven-times Ballon d’Or winner took a glance at the position of Cruz Azul goalkeeper Andres Gudino, then put his head down before curling his shot high to the keeper’s right and into the top corner to deliver the 2-1 triumph.

The capacity 20,000 crowd at Miami’s DRV PNK Stadium went wild, with some fans running onto the field before being apprehended by security. Smoke bombs in Miami’s trademark pink went off in the area behind the goal, occupied by the team’s most passionate supporters.

“We wanted to start like this by giving these people a victory,” said Messi.

“We knew that it was very important for us to start this championship in winning fashion and luckily we were able to do it in the end, and I am very happy,” he added.

Inter Miami are rock bottom of Major League Soccer and without a win in 11 games in league play, so Messi said the victory was sorely needed.

“It is a huge joy to get this first victory after how we have done in the league,” he said. “It is important to start winning, beyond the fact that it is another championship, for confidence it is very good to get victories.”

Inter Miami and Major League Soccer hope that the arrival of the Argentine World Cup winner and all-time great will transform the sport and push it into the American mainstream.

If Lionel Messi’s debut was any guide, the former Barcelona star still has plenty to offer.

Even before his wonderful goal he had looked sharp and alert, his touch belying the fact that until little over a week ago he was vacationing on a Caribbean beach with his family.

Sergio Busquets, the Spanish midfielder and former Barca team-mate, who has joined Lionel Messi for his American adventure, also made a strong impression after they both entered the contest in the 54th minute as part of a triple change with Venezuelan Josef Martinez.

Busquets showed his famous, almost telepathic understanding with Lionel Messi remains, after over two years apart from each other, with the midfielder delivering pieces from all angles into the Argentine’s feet.

But it was Lionel Messi’s magical finish that will remain long in the memories of Inter Miami fans.

He also made sure that the club’s co-owner David Beckham had a broad grin at the final whistle.

“To be honest, as soon as I saw the free kick given I thought this is the way it’s meant to end. Especially when you’ve got players like Leo and Sergio on the pitch, that’s what they produce,” said the former England midfielder.

“It’s so exciting tonight for our fans. All of these people that come down here to see Leo just step onto the pitch, let alone just do what he’s done. It’s a dream come true for everyone in this stadium to see.

“It’s such a moment for this country, such a moment for this league,” he said.

Lionel Messi became the biggest name signing in MLS’s history when he joined Miami after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain came to an end in June.

NBA great LeBron James, reality television star Kim Kardashian and tennis legend Serena Williams were among the stars who turned out.

Many fans were decked out in replica pink Miami shirts with Messi’s name and number 10 on the back. Others sported Messi masks and banners, one wore a goat mask in a nod to Messi’s Greatest Of All Time status.

There was some disappointment when the teams were announced with Messi on the bench and it was clear that plans had been made to celebrate his first start as fireworks exploded above the grandstands when the referee blew the whistle to start the encounter.

Against the run of play, after Cruz Azul wasted a series of chances, Miami took the lead in the 44th minute with a fine, low shot from Robert Taylor which flew off the post.

Lionel Messi and Busquets came in with that lead intact but saw the Mexicans draw level through a powerful drive from Uriel Antuna in the 65th minute.

Then came Messi’s moment, the perfect introduction to his new fans and his new country.

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Hannah Wilkinson scored the only goal as co-hosts New Zealand recorded a historic 1-0 win over Norway in the opening game of the Women’s World Cup on Thursday.

It was the country’s first-ever victory at the tournament and came in front of more than 42,000 in Auckland, the biggest crowd in New Zealand football history.

It came at the end of a day which started when New Zealand’s largest city was shaken in the morning by a shooting which left two people and the gunman dead, the incident happening in a downtown area close to where several World Cup teams, including Norway, were staying.

The host country’s prime minister, Chris Hipkins, attended the match alongside FIFA president Gianni Infantino at Eden Park, where a moment’s silence was held in memory of the victims.

The Football Ferns, who are co-hosting the first 32-team Women’s World Cup with Australia, were not overawed by the occasion as they went on to claim a deserved victory thanks to Wilkinson’s early second-half goal.

“I still have goosebumps. We waited for this moment for such a long time,” said New Zealand’s Czech coach, Jitka Klimkova.

“Hearing our fans behind us was just an unforgettable moment, for me as a coach and for all the players involved. It is an incredible, incredible feeling.”

New Zealand had not won any of their 15 previous matches across five previous appearances at the Women’s World Cup and had set ending that dreadful record as their modest objective this time.

They duly did so against the former World Cup winners, to the delight of a near-sell-out crowd of 42,137 fans, a national record for any football match in the country, men’s or women’s.

Their margin of victory on a cold, wet and windy evening could even have been greater, had Ria Percival not missed a late penalty.

Qualifying for the knockout stages from Group A is now a realistic aim, with Switzerland and minnows the Philippines their other opponents.

“For me now, let’s just celebrate this because New Zealand waited for this moment for such a long time,” added Klimkova, whose team saw Hipkins pay a visit to their dressing room after the match.

“He came to the locker room and he was very proud for this team and thankful for the performance that he saw.

“It was a very nice moment for us to have this kind of guest.”

Norway, whose squad were woken early by a helicopter and emergency vehicles responding to the shooting just metres away from their hotel, were disappointing, although coach Hege Riise dismissed suggestions that the morning’s events had impacted them.

“It was nothing we were scared of. We knew it was under control quite early,” Riise said.

“Some players slept through it, some woke up, but we had an early morning meeting with everyone just to tell them they were safe. That was it. It didn’t affect how we performed in the game.”

“It was an opening game that we feel like we want to play one more time,” she added.

Wearing all black at the home of the country’s all-conquering rugby union team, New Zealand were the better side in the first half without creating anything to seriously trouble Norway goalkeeper Aurora Mikalsen.

The breakthrough came three minutes after the restart as Jacqui Hand’s low ball into the box from the right was swept into the net by Wilkinson, the striker based in Australia.

The game opened up as Norway, world champions in 1995, went looking for an equaliser, and Frida Maanum somehow missed the target from a promising position.

Indiah-Paige Riley had a fine effort turned over at the other end, while Norway’s former Ballon d’Or-winning forward Ada Hegerberg remained subdued.

Tuva Hansen came closest to equalising with a long-range strike that was tipped onto the bar by New Zealand goalkeeper Victoria Esson.

And it was Hansen’s handball that was then penalised following a VAR check late on, but Percival hit the bar from the resulting 90th-minute penalty.

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David Beckham believes Lionel Messi will need time to adapt to Major League Soccer (MLS), even though the standard of play is at a “different level” from the European game.

Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder, watched Inter Messi take part in his first training session for the club on Tuesday after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract.

Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, a former team-mate of Messi’s from Barcelona, also trained at the club’s complex, after signing on Saturday, with former Barcelona and Argentina coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino leading the session.

“Leo’s still going to need, no matter how good he is, no matter what his stature is, he and Sergio are going to need time to adapt no matter,” said the Englishman.

“They might surprise us, we might start winning every single game, but we have to be patient,” he said.

Miami’s fans may need to show that patience at Friday’s Leagues Cup game against Mexicans Cruz Azul, with Beckham saying the Argentine may not necessarily start.

“Leo will play some part of the game but that will be down to the coach (and) it’ll be down to Leo to decide if he’s ready because we know that he’s been away for a few weeks with his family but he looks sharp, he looks great but he’s going to need time to adapt as well,” said Beckham.

David Beckham was the biggest name to have moved to MLS when he signed for the Galaxy in 2007 when the league had just 13 clubs, compared to 29 today and the standard of play was significantly lower.

But Beckham said that there was one area where nothing had changed.

“One of the similarities will be, when I came, all of a sudden, everyone thought: LA are going to win everything. LA are going to win every game, 7-0, 8-0, and that’s it, nobody else is gonna win anything,” he said.

But despite Beckham’s arrival, the Galaxy weren’t even able to make the playoffs in his first two seasons.

LA finished next to bottom of the Western Conference in 2007 and 2008 but then in 2009 were beaten finalists before winning MLS Cup in 2011 and 2012.

“Those first two years for me, it was a challenge, getting used to everything, bringing the club and the league to be a little bit more professional, but things changed very quickly,” he said.

“I started enjoying the soccer a lot more, not just because we were winning (but) because I could see the change that was being made — the academy stuff coming into each of the clubs… we’re now at a stage where things are definitely different to how they were in 2007,” he said.

While the standard of MLS is still well below that of the top leagues in Europe, where Lionel Messi has spent his entire club career, several foreign players who joined the league late in their career have found it difficult to thrive.

The frequent travel across time-zones, playing on artificial surfaces at some stadiums, and having team-mates who might not be on the same wavelength or have the expected technical ability, are some of the challenges players have faced.

David Beckham has no doubt that Lionel Messi will be a success but accepts his impact on the field might not be as instant as some may be anticipating.

“It’s a different style of football, it’s  a slightly different level to what obviously some of the players that are coming in are used to,” he said.

“But at the end of the day, this level of football in this country now is a good level, it’s a great level, so there are going to be moments where we have to be patient,” he said.

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Lionel Messi got down to business with his new Inter Miami team-mates on Tuesday, taking part in his first full training session with the Major League Soccer club.

The Argentine World Cup winner took to the club’s training field at 9:00am local time with temperatures already above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit).

Along with his former Barcelona team-mate, Spanish midfielder Sergio Busquets, who signed for Miami on Sunday, Lionel Messi was given a ‘tunnel’ welcome from his new team.

The players lined up opposite each other and Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets ran through the ‘tunnel’ to applause and slaps on the back from the other Inter Miami players.

Chatting with Venezuelan international Josef Martinez, likely to be his strike partner for Miami, Messi was watched by over 200 media representatives who had attended the session as he did some basic drills.

Miami’s training sessions had barely attracted double figure attendance from the media prior to Messi’s arrival.

Lionel Messi had been unveiled to the club’s supporters at the stadium on Sunday at a celebratory event alongside Miami co-owner David Beckham and his first game is scheduled for Friday.

Inter Miami, who are ranked last in the 29-team MLS, face Mexican club Cruz Azul in the opening game of the new Leagues Cup, a tournament style competition featuring all top-flight teams from MLS and Mexico’s Liga MX.

It is not clear yet if Lionel Messi will start that game or make a cameo appearance from the substitute’s bench and his coach, fellow Argentine Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino has asked for patience while the 36-year-old builds up his fitness.

After watching his side’s winless streak extend to 11 games, the recently appointed Martino left open the possibility that Messi might not be ready to go just yet.

“We look to the future with hope (given) that the best player in the world will play for our team, but also with the patience that we have to have so that he can get in good physical shape and can play at the right moment,” he said.

Lionel Messi played his last competitive game for Paris Saint-Germain in the French league on June 4 and then turned out for Argentina against Australia in a friendly in Beijing on June 15, scoring after just 79 seconds in a 2-0 win.

Unlike in most of Europe, MLS’s season runs from late February to the end of October, followed by the playoffs and the championship game, MLS Cup, on December 9.

Despite sitting rock bottom of the Eastern Conference with the worst recording in the league, Inter Miami are not mathematically ruled out of contention for the playoffs but it would take a huge impact from the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner to turn their season around.

Lionel Messi is the biggest star to join an American club since Brazilian legend Pele moved to the New York Cosmos in 1975.

MLS hope that his presence will massively boost interest in the league, which features clubs from the USA and Canada, and generate fresh revenue for their broadcast deal with Apple TV.

MLS’s 10-year deal with Apple TV, worth a reported $2.5 billion, will allow fans in 107 countries to watch Messi in action via a subscription.

On Sunday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber said the league, which is already broadcast in Spanish and with some games in French, was considering introducing other languages to broaden the appeal of the broadcasts and cash in on interest in Messi.

“I think you’ll see more and more multiple languages on Apple. That’s the uniqueness of the technology. We’re looking at launching other languages as early as next year,” he said.

“I think there will be more opportunity for us to be very, very targeted to specific audiences,” he said.

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Farah Nurzahirah struck the match-winner as Singapore edged Pakistan women’s football team to win the lone friendly match 1-0.

The two sides put on an engaging battle in the lone friendly, which remained in the balance till half-time.

The home side then launched a lethal attack in the second half and got the reward in the 81st minute when Farah Noor Zahra fired the ball into the nets.

Pakistan made desperate efforts to neutralize Singapore’s lead in the dying minutes but it remained intact.

Notably, Maria Khan-led Pakistan women’s football team reached Singapore on Tuesday morning.

The national team was originally scheduled to play two friendly matches against Singapore. However, a delay in the issuance of the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Pakistan Sports Board (PCB) cut the tour short to just one fixture.

According to the details, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) received the NOC on July 13 after Shaza Fatima, special assistant to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, intervened in the matter.

The PSB had demonstrated its incapacity to process the NOC for the national women’s football team’s tour of Singapore.

However, according to the PFF, the Football Association of Singapore sent an official confirmation of the tour on 26th June. Consequently, the PFF requested the NOC by writing a formal letter to PSB a day later but it was delivered after the Eid holidays.

A similar deadlock occurred between PFF and PSB when the Pakistan men’s football team had to wait long for NOCs to tour Mauritius for the four-nation cup and India for South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship.

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Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday, asserted that Saudi League “is better” than the Major League Soccer (MLS) and that he has no plans to play in the United States nor to return to Europe.

Ronaldo spoke to the media after featuring in Al-Nassr’s 0-5 defeat to La Liga side Celta Vigo in the pre-season friendly in Portugal.

The Portuguese superstar, when asked about whether he is planning to join his great rival Lionel Messi in the United States, said Saudi League is better and it will continue to grow with the arrival of more prominent names.

“The Saudi league is better than MLS,” said Ronaldo.

“Now all the players are coming here,” Ronaldo said. “In one year, more top players will come to Saudi Arabia.”

“I opened the way to the Saudi league, and now all the players are coming here.”

Notably, numerous top players made a move to Saudi Arabia after Cristiano Ronaldo’s shocking yet huge deal with Al Nassr estimated at 200 million euros.

Top amongst them was Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who left Real Madrid at the end of the 2022-23 season and joined Ronaldo’s Al Nassr’s rival club Al-Ittihad.

Furthermore, N’Golo Kante from Chelsea also joined Benzema in Al-Ittihad.

Notably, Ronaldo’s great rival Lionel Messi had also been in talks with Saudi Arabia prior to his deal with MLS club Inter Miami.

The Argentine World Cup winner inked the deal with Inter Miami this week on a contract which binds him to stay with the club till 2025.

Following his deal, “America’s number 10” Lionel Messi was unveiled at Inter Miami in a glittering ceremony at Miami’s 20,000-capacity stadium, which was close to full despite a huge thunderstorm just before the event.

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