Category: Football

DOHA: Defending champions France continued their dominating campaign in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 as they edged spirited Denmark 2-1 to make it to the Round of 16 with one group match to spare.

Star footballer Kylian Mbappe netted twice in France’s hard-fought victory over Denmark that powered them to become the first side to qualify for the Round of 16.

Mbappe was again the star of an important clash for France as his match-winning 86th-minute goal steered them to claim a second consecutive victory.

Denmark put up a decent fight in the first half as their defence stood up to bar French strikers to fire a breakthrough and the scoreboard remained clean until the first half.

Theo Hernandez high-pressed on Denmark as he charged up the pitch on the left side before feeding it to Mbappe, who carried the ball brilliantly to the edge of the area and the former continued his run to provide an option for a one-two pass that allowed Mbappe to dispatch a tricky short.

Denmark, however, took just seven minutes to draw level as Andreas Christensen converted a risky corner into an equalizer courtesy of a well-judged header.

Les Bleus then needed Mbappe to produce a tie-breaker and he did so in time as he turned in Antoine Griezmann’s cross to put Denmark’s resistance to rest and allowed his side to avoid a stalemate.

Following his double against Denmark, Mbappe became only the second French player to score in three consecutive world cup games. He now has seven world cup goals in nine appearances for France.

READ: Lewandowski scores first WC goal in Poland’s 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia

AR-RAYYAN: Poland’s star footballer Robert Lewandowski scored his first-ever World Cup goal in his side’s much-needed triumph over the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Group C clash of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022.

A late second-half goal marked the first-ever World Cup goal of Lewandowski’s prolific football career that led Poland to an emphatic victory over Saudi Arabia, who stunned Argentina in their opening match.

Piotr Zielinski opened the scoring for Poland with an early 23rd-minute strike when he produced sharp work in Saudi Arabia’s box off Lewandowski’s assist.

Saudi Arabia, however, soon got an opportunity to fire an equalizer when Bartosz Białek fouled Saleh Alshehri which led to the penalty.

Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, however, cut Saudi Arabia’s celebration for an anticipated equalizer as he blocked Salem Al-Dawsari’s strike at the brink of the first half.

Lewandowski’s Poland then kept on high-pressing the inexperienced Arab side and soon got the reward in the form of a historical goal for their skipper.

Following their first victory, Poland captured the top spot in Group C standings with four points, followed by Saudi Arabia with three.

Lewandowski’s men, however, have a major task ahead of them as they take on Lionel Messi’s wounded Argentina, who will take on Mexico later today.

READ: Saudi Arabia’s Alshehri denies reports of Rolls Royce gift on Argentina win

RIYADH: Saudi football player Saleh Alshehri has denied news about a Rolls Royce Phantom car being gifted to players of the Saudi Arabian football team after their win against Argentina in their inaugural game of the FIFA world cup in Qatar, ARY News reported. 

According to details, Saudi players put all speculation about receiving super luxury Rolls Royce cars for defeating Argentina to rest in a press conference on Saturday. The news about the KSA Crown Prine gifting Rolls Royce to the team had started circulating over social media after the KSA team beat two-time world champions Argentina.

Saleh added that representing their country is the most significant honour. The green falcons had beaten Argentina by 2-1 in their first game of the FIFA world cup 2022.

The Saudi team will play their second tournament game against Poland today.

Earlier, news about the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud promising the football players of the national team a Rolls Royce Phantom for their win against Argentina in their Fifa World Cup opener in Qatar had started circulating over social media.

The speculation have been put to rest after Saleh Alshehri’s statement.

READ: Australia stun Tunisia to stay alive in FIFA World Cup

AL-WAKRAH: Mitchell Duke scored a sensational header to steer Australia to their opening win in the FIFA World Cup 2022 as they defeat Tunisia 1-0 in a Group D encounter, here at Al Janoub Stadium on Saturday.

Duke struck the lone goal of the match in the first half as he glanced a header beyond Tunisia’s goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen to help the Socceroos secure three crucial points in the group which also includes favourites France and Denmark.

Australia then desperately kept Tunisia’s ferocious strike at bay and managed to clinch a vital victory after the stoppage time.

The first sniff of goal for Tunisia came in the 19th minute, but captain Youssef Msakni was forced out and defender Mohamed Drager blasted over.

Australia’s triumph over Tunisia marked their third world cup victory overall and their best performance came in 2006 when they made their way into the Round of 16.

The Socceroos have an alike outcome in sight when they take on Denmark in their final group game on Wednesday as a victory over the latter would power them into the knockout stage.

Tunisia, who are yet to taste triumph in the ongoing world cup with a goalless draw against Denmark and a narrow 1-0 defeat against Australia, have a major ask for the Round of 16 berth as they take on defending champions France in their last group match on November 30.

READ: USA hold England for a goalless draw in FIFA World Cup

AL KHOR: The United States of America (USA) put on a valiant fight to hold off one of the tournament favourites England for a goalless draw in the Group B clash of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 at Al Bayt Stadium on Friday.

Following the goalless draw against the USA, England missed the chance to qualify for the Round of 16 with one group match to spare, while the USA need to beat momentum-filled Iran to go through.

The USA came close to scoring in a goalless draw when Christian Pulisic ‘s strike hit the woodwork in the first half.

Having thrashed Iran 6-2 in their opening, England failed to retain their dominance in Group B as they failed to secure victory against the USA to carry on their underwhelming record in three successive world meetings against the American side.

Gareth Southgate’s side seemed off-colour in the match and could hit just one shot on target and nearly conceded one in the first half as the USA dominated for long periods.

Despite two draws in their two games, a victory over Iran would still take the USA into the next round, while a draw in their final group game against neighbours Wales on November 29 would ensure England’s progress into the next round.

READ: Ecuador, Netherlands draw forces host Qatar crash out of FIFA WC

DOHA: Ecuador captain and forward struck briefly after the break to power his side to hold Netherlands for a 1-1 draw that resulted in the hosts Qatar crashing out of the FIFA World Cup 2022.

Following Qatar’s second consecutive defeat earlier today when Senegal outclassed the hosts in a must-win game, the host nation needed Ecuador to beat the Netherlands in order to stay alive in the tournament.

The result, however, did not turn out in their favour and thus, crashed out from the group stage with one game to play.

The 1-1 stalemate also barred the Dutch to become the first side to qualify for the Round of 16 on Friday and will now have to wait until Tuesday.

The Dutch forward Cody Gakpo put his side in front with a superb strike in the sixth minute at the Khalifa International Stadium.

Following the early lead, the Netherlands were looking favourites to seal an easy victory but Ecuador held their composure and fought back and left the Dutch side rattled.

Their spirited fightback soon paid them when Ecuador’s key player Valencia fired an equalizer four minutes into the second half.

The two sides then carried on their respective hunt for a tie-breaker but to no avail and in the end settled for a 1-1 draw.

The Netherlands still top the standings of Group A despite the draw against Ecuador but only one point is separating them and Ecuador from third-placed Senegal.

Senegal and Ecuador will be up against each other in the last round of Group A matches on Tuesday, while the Netherlands will take on hosts Qatar on the same day.

Senegal would need to take down Ecuador in the virtual qualifier, while a draw each would be enough for Netherlands and Ecuador to storm through to the Round of 16.

READ: Neymar to miss Brazil’s next World Cup match with ankle injury

DOHA: Neymar will sit out Brazil’s next World Cup game after he suffered an ankle injury in his team’s opening win against Serbia, the team doctor said on Friday.

The Paris Saint-Germain star suffered the injury in the 2-0 victory against Serbia on Thursday when he collided with Nikola Milenkovic during the second half.

The 30-year-old tried to continue but was substituted with about 10 minutes to go and underwent an examination on Friday.

Rodrigo Lasmar, the doctor for the Brazilian football federation (CBF), said the 30-year-old had suffered “ligament damage” and would miss the match against Switzerland on Monday.

Brazil right-back Danilo will also miss the second Group G game with an ankle strain.

“We will not have these two players for our next match but they continue their treatment with the aim of recovering in time for the rest of the competition,” the doctor said in a video released by the CBF.

Coach Tite was optimistic after the Serbia match that Neymar would be back to lead Brazil’s bid for a record-extending sixth World Cup crown.

“You can be certain that Neymar is going to play in the World Cup,” Tite said, adding that the attacker had initially stayed on the pitch after hurting his ankle “because the team needed him”.

READ: Qatar hit first-ever World Cup goal in 3-1 defeat against Senegal

DOHA: Mohammad Muntari scored Qatar’s first-ever goal at World Cups but Senegal pushed the hosts to the brink of elimination in Group A after a crushing 3-1 defeat, here at Al-Thumama Stadium on Friday. 

Boulaye Dia, Famara Diedhiou and Bamba Dieng struck a goal each to relieve Senegal from the earlier 2-0 loss against the Netherlands in the opening game.

Qatar, on the other hand, have now faced consecutive defeats at their opening World Cup and will automatically be disqualified unless Ecuador pull out an upset against the favourite Dutch side later on Friday.

Dia scored the opener in the first half when he took advantage of Boualem Khoukhi’s slip and fired a shot past into the back of the nets before Diedhiou doubled the lead three minutes after the break with a brilliant header on a corner delivery from Jakobs.

Muntari won great applause from the Qatari fans in the stadium when he thumped a header past the goalkeeper into the far corner in the 78th minute and etched his name as the first goal-scorer for Qatar in World Cups.

Substitute Bamba Dieng, however, was quick to react and took back the two-goal cushion for Senegal six minutes later as he kicked the ball past the goalkeeper Barsham into the middle of the nets.

Senegal, who entered the tournament without their talisman Sadio Mane, have kept their hopes alive to qualify for the next round after this victory.

READ: Mark Wood likely to miss opening Test of Pakistan Tour: English Media

LONDON: Saudi Arabia would back private bids for Manchester United or Liverpool, its sports minister said, adding that the conservative kingdom was keen to host the World Cup.

Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal even said the Gulf state could be a new home for clubless superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Prince Abdulaziz said oil-wealthy Saudi Arabia, which has been on a buying spree of sports assets, would “definitely support” bids for the English Premier League giants, whose owners are canvassing investors.

“From the private sector, I can’t speak on their behalf, but there is a lot of interest and appetite and there’s a lot of passion about football,” he told the BBC.

“We will definitely support it if any private sector comes in, because we know that’s going to reflect positively on sports within the kingdom,” Prince Abdulaziz added.

“But if there’s an investor willing to do so and the numbers add up, why not?”

Saudi Arabia, much criticised by activists for its human rights record, last year snapped up England’s perennial under-achievers Newcastle, who are now third in the Premier League.

Manchester United’s American owners stunned fans this week by revealing they would consider selling the club — just hours after announcing the departure of Ronaldo, 37.

Liverpool’s owners, also American, have said they are open to new shareholders but stopped short of confirming reports the club is up for sale.

After Ronaldo told British TV that he had rejected a huge offer to join a Saudi club, Prince Abdulaziz said: “Anything is possible, I would love to see Ronaldo play in the Saudi league.

“It would benefit the league, the sports eco-system in Saudi and it will inspire the youth for the future. He’s a role model to a lot of kids and has a big fanbase in Saudi.”

Lionel Messi, Ronaldo’s great rival on the global stage, is already the recipient of Saudi money as a tourism ambassador for the country, which is courting foreign visitors and businesses.

Prince Abdulaziz also said Saudi Arabia’s chances of bidding for the World Cup would increase if it wins hosting rights for the 2026 and 2027 women’s and men’s Asian Cups.

Saudi Arabia is in talks with Egypt and Greece about a continent-crossing bid for the 2030 World Cup, an Egyptian official said in September.

“Any country in the world would love to host the World Cup,” the prince said.

“We need to uplift some of our venues,” he added. “We have a lot of stadiums that meet the requirement that we need, but hosting such an event is not just about the stadiums, it’s about the infrastructure, the people, about preparing everyone (for) such an event.”

READ: Pakistan Test squad starts training ahead of England series

DOHA: Iran stunned Gareth Bale’s Wales, downed to 10 players, with back-to-back strikes in the stoppage time to propel a comeback at the FIFA World Cup after a 6-2 defeat against England. 

Rouzbeh Cheshmi hit a brilliant strike from outside the box eight minutes into the stoppage time before Ramin Razaeian struck another one three minutes later to complete a sensational 2-0 victory, here at Al-Rayyan Stadium.

With the famous win, Iran kept their hopes to qualify for the knockout stage alive as they secured their first three points in Group B.

Iran nearly scored a breakthrough in the first half but Gholizadeh’s goal in the 16th minute was disallowed for the offside after a VAR review.

Iran crashed the woodwork twice in the 52nd minute when Azmoun kicked the ball on the right side of the post before Gholizadeh hit at the other side.

Wales’ defence, however, turned fragile after their goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey received a red card in the 86th minute for crashing into Mehdi Taremi outside the box.

Hennessey became the first player to be sent off in this tournament, however, overall he is the third goalkeeper to get a red card at the World Cups.