Category: Football

LAHORE: The glittering trophy of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 has been unveiled by the former french footballer Christian Karembeu in a ceremony, held here at a local hotel today.

The unveiling ceremony was attended by the Pakistan football stars Kaleemullah, Hajra Khan, and Saddam Hussain along with other footballers.

The officials of the Pakistan Olympic Association and Pakistan Sports Board were also present on the occasion.

Ahmed Orakzai, secretary of Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC), received a souvenir from the French footballer, who expressed his delight over the occasion. He also presented souvenirs to Kaleemullah and Saddam Hussain.

Young football talents hailing from Gilgit, Malir, and Lyari were also invited to the ceremony.

The mega event of FIFA Men’s Football World Cup will be held in Qatar this year from November 22 to December 18 between 32 teams.

READ: Kramaric equals France lead as Croatia force draw in Nations League

SPLIT: Croatian striker Andrej Kramaric netted the ball in a late penalty to make the reigning World Champions France wait for their first victory of the ongoing UEFA Nations League.

The reigning world champion France are still searching for their first triumph in the tournament as the side, once again witnessed the game slipping out of their hands in the closing minutes as the home side forced a 1-1 draw.

Following the team’s 1-3 defeat against Denmark, the manager Didier Deschamps made changes to the Playing XI with Aurelien Tchouameni the only player, who managed to keep his spot. Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe, on the other hand, also remained as the substitutes.

In the first half of the match, France received a number of chances as Christopher Nkunku saw a goal called back for offside. Moussa Diaby and Tchouameni also had a chance each but the Croatian goalkeeper Ante Budimir responded for the home side and made multiple saves for his side.

Despite having enormous firepower on the bench, France finally managed to make the scoreboard move in the 52nd minute as Adrien Rabiot’s left-footed strike dodged the Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.

However, just like against Denmark, France lost their way in the match as Jonathan Clauss took Kramaric down in the penalty area and a quick VAR check resulted in the favour of the home side.

Kramaric, despite having the pressure of a second consecutive defeat for Croatia, kept his nerves calm and netted the ball comfortably to give both teams their first points in the tournament.

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LAHORE: The FIFA Trophy of the Football World Cup 2022 in Qatar, has reached here for its tour to Pakistan.

Former French player and 1998 World Cup winner Christian Karembeu brought the glittering trophy to Pakistan.

The FIFA World Cup Trophy was taken to Pakistan via a chartered flight following the conclusion of its tour to Azerbaijan.

Karembeu, on this occasion, talked to the media and expressed his excitement about touring the country for the second time. He also commented on the future of football in Pakistan and claimed that playing more often will help in the promotion of the sport.

“I feel immensely pleased to be touring Pakistan for the second time. I had a desire to tour the country again which has now been fulfilled,” Karembeu stated.

“If more and more football is played in Pakistan then it will help in the promotion of football in the country,” he concluded.

The captain of the Pakistan women’s national football team Hajra Khan also received the trophy at the airport and termed its tour to the country honour.

“FIFA World Cup Trophy’s tour to Pakistan is an honour for us. People here love and play football and are passionate about it,” Hajra stated.

“The situation of Pakistan football is not good but still the tour of FIFA trophy is a big thing,” she concluded.

According to the details, the official ceremony of the FIFA World Cup trophy will take place at a local hotel this afternoon. Whereas, will leave for Saudi Arabia tonight.

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CARDIFF: The Wales National Football team has qualified for the forthcoming Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 after defeating Ukraine 1-0 in the European Qualifiers Playoff Final, here on Sunday.

In a rain-hit match, the Ukrainian captain Andriy Yarmolenko made a major mistake as he netted the ball in his side’s post while attempting to block the free-kick from Wales’ Gareth Bale.

Following this, Wales took the lead 1-0 in the 34th minute and managed to maintain their lead till the final whistle.

Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey displayed brilliance as he made nine saves to bolster their side for an easy win.

Following this victory, Wales will now go into the Group B of the World Cup beginning in Qatar in November, alongside England, the United States and Iran.

READ: Ronaldo double leads Portugal to sweep Switzerland in Nations League

LISBON: Portugal secured a home win against Switzerland as Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice to thrash the away side 4-0, in Group B match of League A in UEFA Nations League.

Ronaldo put on a phenomenal show as he reached 117 international goals with the double strikes in the game. The Manchester United star remained the leading goal scorer in the international games.

Portugal scored their opening goal in the 15th minute as the mid-fielder William Carvalho tapped the ball into the nets after a freekick.

The 37-year-old Ronaldo then netted the ball twice in the 35th and 39th minute to take his team towards a comfortable lead in the game before the halftime.

After superb work from clubmate Bernardo Silva, it was the Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo who took the scoresheet to 4-0 by putting the ball past the onrushing Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobell and into the empty net.

Previously Portugal finished in a tie with Spain 1-1 in their first game of the UEFA Nations League.

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PAMPLONA: Lionel Messi scored five goals as Argentina completely thrashed out European opponents Estonia with an unbeaten 5-0 in an international friendly match, here on Sunday.

The inspirational feat by the Argentinian captain, who has scored 86 goals in 162 international appearances, enabled his country to remain undefeated in 33 international games after an easy win over Estonia.

Messi completely dominated the opponents as he scored two goals in the first half with an opening goal in the 8th minute and the second one in the last minute before halftime.

The 34-year-old Messi waited for the break to complete his hat-trick two minutes after the game resumed in the second half. Messi continued with his exceptional form and made two more strikes in the 71st and 76th minutes.

Last week Argentina defeated Italy 3-0 in the first Finalissima encounter between the South American and European champions, with Messi contributing two assists. He helped Argentina win the Copa America last year, which was his first major achievement for the national team.

The international friendlies are part of Argentina’s preparation for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 which will be held in November. Argentina are in Group C along with Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and Poland.

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LAUSANNE: UEFA apologized for the first time over the distressful and chaotic events outside the Stade de France stadium on the day of the Champions League Final- a much-celebrated European football event of the year- between Real Madrid and Liverpool.

The European Football’s governing body in a statement issued on Friday offered an apology for the ‘frightening’ and ‘distressing’ events on the UCL final as thousands of spectators were denied entry into the stadium and witnessed the use of tear gas by the police.

“UEFA wishes to sincerely apologise to all spectators who had to experience or witness frightening and distressing events in the build-up to the UEFA Champions League final at the Stade de France on 28 May 2022 in Paris,” said UEFA in its published statement.

UEFA also published the terms of reference of the commission which it had announced immediately after the event for the independent review of the incident.

“UEFA commissioned an Independent Review to identify shortcomings and responsibilities of all entities involved in the organisation of the final, and has today published the Terms of Reference for this review.” further added in its statement.

The independent review announced by the UEFA will be led by Dr. Tiago Brandao Rodrigues from Portugal to determine what happened leading up to the final and what lessons should be learned to guarantee the acts and events of that day are not repeated.

The review will go through the planning, ticketing, and security of the final while also looking at fan meeting points.

It will engage with UEFA, fan groups, including the Liverpool and Real Madrid, the French Football Federation (FFF), the police, the stadium operator, and other public authorities.

“Further information on how relevant parties can submit their testimonies (via a dedicated email address or an online questionnaire) will be communicated shortly,” added UEFA in its statement.

The body also confirmed that the review would start immediately and would be concluded within the shortest possible time frame.

Once completed, the Report will be published on UEFA’s website.

It is pertinent to mention here that Real Madrid has defeated Liverpool 1-0 in the Champion League final on May 29.

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BRUSSELS: Netherlands’ Memphis Depay struck twice to earn his team a historic feat against the home side Belgium, who lost to the Dutch after 25 years, in the UEFA Nations League Group D match. 

The Barcelona striker Depay looked in a fierce form as Steven Bergwijn and Denzel Dumfries also shared the team’s thumping lead of four goals. Belgium retaliated with a lone goal by Michy Batshuayi in the extra time.

Belgium started aggressively and could have taken a lead early on if Timothy Castagne hadn’t hit the crossbar, but the tide turned towards the Netherlands when Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku was taken off after an injury.

Bergwijin netted the ball for the first time in the 40th minute of the game, rendering his opponents to a deficit before the halftime.

Netherland completely dominated the opponents in the second half as Depay hit home in the 51st minute. Dumfries also got into the action and kicked the ball into the net in the 61st minute, quickly followed by Depay’s second blow in the 65th minute to thrash Belgium out of the game.

Netherlands will now be playing against Poland and Wales-the other two teams in Group D- after starting their UEFA Nations League campaign on a high note.

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PARIS: Danish striker Andreas Cornelius sealed the fate of his national team with two startling goals in a tough game against the world champions France, in UEFA Nations League Group A match, here at Stade de France Stadium on Friday.

France striker Karim Benzema, fresh out of UEFA Champions League victory for his club Real Madrid, looked in a sublime form in this match as well. He forced Denmark under enormous pressure from the start and was finally able to net the ball in the 51st minute as he dribbled past Denmark’s defense.

Cornelius who came as a substitute in the second half, however, leveled the France lead in the 68th minute.

France remained undeterred by the goal and continued with its attacks. French midfielder N’Golo Kante could have put France back in the lead, yet his fierce shot hit the right-hand post.

The 29-years old Cornelius, however, blasted the ball into the net in the 88th minute of the game to lead his team towards victory.

Denmark will now face group leaders Austria in an away game while France will take on Croatia on the latter’s home soil, who lost 3-0 to Austria on Friday.

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SEVILLE: Portugal striker Ricardo Horta stunned Spain with his late equalizer to draw 1-1 in the opening match of Group two in the UEFA Nations League, here at Estadio Benito Villamarin Stadium on Thursday. 

Spain made a promising start to the game after Alvaro Morata netted the ball in the 25th minute, following a fine showcase of passing by midfielders Gavi and Pablo Sarabia.

Horta, who came as a substitute in the second half, however, nullified Spain’s lead, eight minutes before the final whistle.

Horta’s goal ensured a fourth consecutive draw between the two historic rivals. Portugal have not beaten Spain in a competitive match since 2004. Portugal have also been unable to win against Spain on the latter’s home soil.

Both the teams will play three more Nations League matches in the next 10 days. Portugal will host the Czech Republic and face Switzerland twice while Spain will travel to Switzerland between two matches against the Czechs.

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