Tag: FIFA World Cup

DOHA: Senegal star Sadio Mane has been ruled out of FIFA World Cup 2022 after a knee injury he sustained in a Bayern Munich match last week. 

The Bayern forward was diagnosed with an injury to his right fibula after he limped off during a Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen, 13 days before his national team’s Qatar campaign.

Mane will miss out on the World Cup since he has not recovered in time before the megaevent, confirmed Senegal’s team doctor on Thursday

“Unfortunately, today’s [Thursday] MRI shows us that the improvement is not as favourable as we imagined and unfortunately, we have to withdraw Sadio from the World Cup,” said Manuel Afonso in a video posted on the official Senegal Twitter account. He added that surgical intervention was needed.

The former Liverpool forward’s phenomenal run this year earned him the runners-up spot in the 2022 Ballon d’Or – bagged by Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.

Mane, 30, was named African Player of the Year as he was voted ahead of ex-teammate Mohamed Salah and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Senegal will face host Qatar four days after its opening game against the Netherlands. Its final game in Group A is against Ecuador on November 29.

The absence of its talisman will be a fatal blow for Senegal, as Mane inspired his national side to the African Cup of Nations title at the start of 2022, scoring the winning penalty in a shoot-out with Egypt.

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DOHA: Argentina and superstar Lionel Messi arrived in Qatar for the World Cup early on Thursday, just hours after a 5-0 warm-up victory, while defending champions France have also touched down in Doha.

Messi, 35, has a sackful of trophies but the tournament in Qatar is likely to be his final chance to equal the achievement of fellow Argentine great Diego Maradona in leading his country to World Cup glory.

He landed with the Argentina squad in the Qatari capital Doha at 2:30am (2330 GMT, Wednesday) from Abu Dhabi where they had beaten the United Arab Emirates 5-0 Wednesday in a friendly in which Messi scored.

One of the favourites going into this year’s World Cup, the South Americans will begin their campaign on Tuesday against Saudi Arabia in Group C, which also includes Mexico and Poland.

The 1978 and 1986 World Cup winners extended their unbeaten run to 36 matches as Messi scored his 91st international goal.

Messi was cautious about the team’s chances in Qatar, even though they are among the favourites.

“We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little. We know that World Cup groups are not easy,” the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner said in an interview with CONMEBOL, the South American football federation.

France arrived in Doha on Wednesday, seeking to become the first team to retain the World Cup since Brazil in 1962.

Ten members of the 2018 title-winning squad are in the squad, including captain Hugo Lloris, Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann.

But the defending champions, grouped with Australia, Denmark and Tunisia, are without first-choice midfield pair Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.

Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, who has missed a series of games for Real Madrid this season because of injury, is set for his first World Cup appearance since 2014.

The United States return to football’s top table after an eight-year absence and Christian Pulisic says this World Cup is an opportunity to change global perceptions of American soccer.

“That’s what we’re here to do,” Pulisic told AFP. “Maybe it hasn’t been the top sport or whatever back in the States.

“But we want to change the way that the world sees American soccer. That’s one of our goals.”

The build-up to the tournament in Qatar has been dominated by concerns over Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers, women and the LGBTQ community.

Pleas from football’s world governing body FIFA for a switch of focus to football have gone unheeded by some countries.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal said on Wednesday supporters boycotting the tournament were “right to do that” but hoped his team would do enough to persuade fans at home to follow them from afar.

“I hope that we play so fantastic that at the end of the tournament when we play the final they shall look on television and see how good we are.”

The veteran coach hit out at FIFA earlier this year, calling its decision to award Qatar the World Cup “ridiculous”.

“I think you have to play in football countries. (They have) more experience with everything,” he said on Wednesday.

England supporters from India outnumbered fans from England nearly 10 to one as Gareth Southgate’s team rolled into their World Cup base on Tuesday.

The supporters said they were angered by reports in the British and French media that they were “fake fans”.

Sajidh, 29, said Indian football fans in Qatar had been “outraged” by reports suggesting they had been paid to wear the shirts of World Cup nations.

“It is purely fake news and I would like to say loud and clear that none of us have been paid in any way,” added Sajidh, who gave only one name.

“We are diehard England fans.”

World Cup organisers weighed in on the issue on Wednesday, saying supporters from across the world had contributed to the local atmosphere.

“Numerous journalists and commentators on social media have questioned whether these are ‘real’ fans,” they said in a statement.

“We thoroughly reject these assertions, which are both disappointing and unsurprising.”

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KARACHI: Shakira has stepped back from performing at the glittering opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar due to personal reasons. 

With the biggest football event of the year just around the corner, the famous ‘Waka Waka’ singer has changed her mind and decided to withdraw her name from the list of performers at Sunday’s opening ceremony, reported Spain’s Marca Magazine.

According to Marca, the claim about the Columbian singer’s purported withdrawal from the opening ceremony was made on the show El programa de Ana Rosa.

“It’s been confirmed to me that Shakira will not perform at the opening ceremony, but they won’t say if she will have another role throughout the World Cup,” said Adriana Dorronsoro quoted Spanish news outlet.

The report further added that Sandra Aladro, another contributor to the Telecinco program, also confirmed the development after speaking to Shakira’s entourage.

“They have confirmed that she won’t be performing,” Aladro said. “She was going to be a guest performer, now she will have to send a statement to explain everything.”

It is pertinent to mention here that the colourful opening ceremony of the magaevent will take place on November 20, ahead of the opening Group A match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

Shakira set the stage alight with her mythical ‘Waka Waka’ song in the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa and ever since she has been ruling football fans’ hearts all around the globe.

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DOHA: England and Netherlands on Tuesday became the first two heavyweights to land in Qatar to partake in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022.

With five days from kickoff, England and Netherlands are the first two heavyweights to land in Qatar for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, scheduled to commence on November 20.

The month-long mega event will feature 32 teams, divided into eight groups, while France are to defend their title.

Meanwhile, the United States of America (USA), Australia, Japan and other teams have already arrived in Qatar, which expects more than a million fans amid the upcoming World Cup.

Both England and Netherlands will start their campaigns on November 21 against Iran and Senegal respectively.

Whereas, most of the participating teams are still due to arrive in the country as many star players were involved in the European leagues that paused on Sunday.

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DOHA: Qatar announced its first arrests of World Cup ticket touts on Monday, with three foreign men detained outside official ticketing centres in Doha.

Six days from the start of the tournament, the interior ministry said “three people of different nationalities” were arrested and now face criminal proceedings.

The ministry released a statement on Twitter but did not specify the nationalities of those arrested, only stating the men were caught “reselling tickets” outside “official outlets”.

Queues form daily outside FIFA’s main ticketing centre in central Doha, with people hoping to purchase sought-after match tickets.

The statement said those arrested could face fines of up to 250,000 riyals ($68,000) for each ticket they were found to have sold.

FIFA and the Qatari government repeatedly warn about fake World Cup merchandise.

Last week, authorities reported the seizure of 144 counterfeit World Cup trophies.

Previously, car number plates illegally using World Cup imagery and counterfeit clothes using official logos have been targeted by authorities.

Last year a factory producing perfume bottles with World Cup branding was raided.

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Army troops on Monday left for Qatar for the security of the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 — the mega event scheduled from November 21 to December 18.

The Pakistan Army troops comprising officers, junior commissioned officers and jawans will assist the Qatari government during the FIFA WC22.

The Qatari Interior ministry delegation had visited Pakistan in August and requested Pakistan to provide troops for the security of the mega event.

Earlier, an eight-member FIFA team also visited Pakistan and gave training to the Pakistan Army troops before leaving for Doha, Qatar for the security of the mega event.

The approval was given by the federal cabinet to the Pakistan Army-Qatar agreement on providing assistance during the mega football event.

The FIFA WC22 will be played from November 20 to December 18 in Qatar.

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DOHA: Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) on Friday, dropped the official anthem — Light The Sky — of the forthcoming World Cup 2022.

The enthusiastic soundtrack features renowned Bollywood actress Nora Fatehi, Emirati singer Balqees, Iraqi artist Rahma Riad and Moroccan singer Manal Benchlikha.

The latest single from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Soundtrack has just been released! 🚨

'Light The Sky' features @BalqeesFathi, Nora Fatehi, Manal, @RahmaRiad and @RedOne_Official ✨

Watch the official music video ⤵️

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 7, 2022

 

Fatehi, who made headlines as she announced becoming the first Bollywood actress to feature in the official music video of FIFA, also contributed with her melodious voice as she contributed not only in Hindi but also in Moroccan Arabic.

The FIFA World Cup 2022 soundtrack also paid tribute to the women on the field as it featured a short clip of female referees of the mega event.

It is pertinent to mention that the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup will embark on November 20 with hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador in the curtain-raiser. The final of the mega event will take place on December 18.

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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army will provide security assistance to Qatar to host the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022.

The federal cabinet on Monday approved the Pakistan Army-Qatar agreement to provide the Gulf country with the security arrangements for the extravaganza.

The gulf country will be hosting the mega football event for the first time, scheduled from November 20 to December 18.

The development came as Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif prepared to depart on Tuesday for his first trip to Qatar at the invitation of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The premier’s trip to Qatar will be his first since taking office in April 2022. A high-level delegation, including important members of his cabinet, will accompany him amid his visit.

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ZURICH: FIFA on Thursday officially brought forward the opening match of this year’s World Cup by one day to November 20 in a rare change so that hosts Qatar feature in the gala game.

Football’s top officials universally approved the decision, FIFA said in a statement while Qatar said it would give unspecified help to fans affected by the change.

On the old schedule, Qatar against Ecuador was to be the official inauguration match on November 21 but Senegal against the Netherlands would be the first match of the day. England against Iran would have been second.

Qatar had also been frustrated as it has invested in a huge opening ceremony show.

“Host country Qatar will now play Ecuador on Sunday 20 November as part of a stand-alone event,” said FIFA.

“The opening match and ceremony of this year’s tournament at Al Bayt Stadium have been brought forward one day following a unanimous decision taken by the Bureau of the FIFA Council today.”

The bureau is made up of FIFA leader Gianni Infantino and the six heads of the continental confederations.

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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