Tag: FIFA World Cup

DOHA: Spain sacked coach Luis Enrique on Thursday after the 2010 champions were dumped out of the World Cup by Morocco at the last-16 stage, quickly naming his replacement as under-21s boss Luis de la Fuente.

Spain started their campaign in Qatar in style by hammering Costa Rica 7-0 and qualified for the knockout phase despite a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan.

They were strong favourites for their last-16 match against Morocco but crashed out on penalties after the game finished goalless following extra-time.

“Both the president, Luis Rubiales, and the sporting director, Jose Francisco Molina, have told the coach their decision,” the RFEF (football association) said in a statement.

They said they wanted to thank Luis Enrique and his staff for their work, but had decided to start a “new project”.

Shortly afterwards, the federation announced that De la Fuente, who led Spain’s men’s team to the silver medal at last year’s Olympics, was the new man in the hotseat.

Luis Enrique had said he wanted to stay on as coach after the defeat by Morocco on Tuesday.

“I am very happy with the Spanish FA, the president and with (the sporting director),” he said.

“If it was up to me I would stay all my life, but that is not the case. I have to think calmly what is the best for me and for the national team.”

Spain last lifted a major trophy a decade ago at Euro 2012, while they have not won a single knockout game at the Word Cup since triumphing in South Africa in 2010.

New Project

Luis Enrique took over in 2018 after Spain’s disappointing showing at the World Cup in Russia, and led La Roja to the semi-finals of Euro 2020, where they were also beaten on penalties, by Italy.

His time as Spain coach was characterised by a firm commitment to maintaining possession.

They attempted more than 1,000 passes against Morocco but ended up with nothing to show for it, forcing Yassine Bounou into only one save before the shootout.

“We dominated the game but we lacked a goal,” lamented Luis Enrique. “We could have been more effective in the final third, but I am more than satisfied with what my players did.

“They represented perfectly what my idea of football is.”

The RFEF announced De la Fuente as Luis Enrique’s replacement and his appointment will be ratified next week by the federation’s board of directors.

“The new coach will make his debut in March for Euro 2024 qualifiers, taking charge of his first games against Norway and Scotland,” said the RFEF in a statement.

De la Fuente will be officially presented on Monday as the coach.

The 61-year-old is a coach who also likes his team to keep hold of the ball, but is more flexible than his predecessor and willing to try other strategies when necessary.

Many of the young players in the Spain World Cup squad previously played for De la Fuente at youth level.

Last year De la Fuente coached the Spain national team in a friendly against Lithuania, using U21 players, as the first team squad and staff were forced to quarantine after one positive Covid case, as protocol demanded at the time.

READ: List of local players in silver category for PSL 8 Draft released

DOHA: The Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) on Thursday denied Cristiano Ronaldo’s threat to abandon the World Cup squad after being benched against Switzerland.

The 37-year-old striker was surprisingly dropped for the last 16 clash on Tuesday, with his replacement Goncalo Ramos netting a hat-trick in the 6-1 victory.

Ronaldo appeared from the bench, but a report from Portuguese publication Record said the striker had previously threatened to leave in a tense conversation with coach Fernando Santos.

“The FPF clarifies that at no time did the captain of the Selecao, Cristiano Ronaldo, threaten to leave the national team during the stay in Qatar,” said the federation.

“Every day Ronaldo is building up a unique track record at the service of the national team and the country, which must be respected.”

The FPF said Ronaldo’s appearance against Switzerland was a further demonstration of his commitment to the cause.

Ronaldo is the most-capped Portuguese player and the top men’s international goalscorer of all time.

Portugal face Morocco on Saturday in the quarter-finals, where Ramos may again get the nod over Ronaldo.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner did not train with the other substitutes on Wednesday after the game, instead taking part in a gym session alongside the starters against Switzerland.

READ: ‘We’ll play according to situation’ Babar refuses to match England style

DOHA: Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick and powered Portugal to hand a crushing 6-1 defeat to Switzerland in the last Round of 16 clash and set their quarter-finals clash with Morocco in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022.

Ramos justified his shock selection over star player Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring a stunning hat-trick on his full debut and played a crucial role in Portugal’s qualification into the quarter-finals.

Ramos, who started for Portugal instead of Ronaldo, took just 17 minutes to open the scoring for his side courtesy of a delicate clip from Joao Felix into the former’s feet who quickly dribbled past Fabian Schaer and fired the ball into the roof of the net.

Switzerland soon came close to firing the equalizer when Xherdan Shaqiri took a dipping free-kick from distance but Diogo Costa’s incredible safe denied the Swiss from doing so.

Pepe then struck in the 33rd minute to double Portugal’s lead when Bruno Fernandes swung in the corner and the former rose and connected the ball with a thumping header that went past Yann Sommer.

The unstoppable Portugal attack did not settle after the break as Ramos struck again from Dogo Dalot’s cross just six minutes into the second half to enhance their lead to 3-0.

He then switched roles, allowing Guerreiro to score four minutes later as the Swiss defence was relentlessly pulled apart.

Switzerland then finally found a moment to cherish in the 58th minute when Manuel Akanji pulled one back for them as he was first to a flick-on.

Akanji’s strike too, could not change the fortune of a toothless Swiss side as Ramos completed his hat-trick after superb work by Felix, elegantly dinking over Sommer with one of his final touches before making way for Ronaldo.

Ronaldo received a major uproar from the crowd at Lusail Stadium as he walked in for Ramos, the star player, however, did have the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out for a clear offside.

Rafael Leao’s stunning curling strike in the stoppage turned out to be the icing on the cake for Portugal as they completed a comprehensive 6-1 victory and stormed into the last eight.

Fernando Santos’ side will now take on Morocco in the quarter-final on Saturday (December 8), who sank former champions Spain on penalties to make it to the last eight for the first time.

READ: India denies visas to Pakistan team for Blind T20 World Cup 

ARY-RAYYAN: Brave Morocco continued their dream run in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 as they downed Spain 3-0 on the penalty shoot-out to book a spot in the quarter-finals for the first time in their history.

The African side put on a defiant show against former champions Spain as they held them for a goalless tie in regulation time.

The teams were evenly matched throughout the nail-biting contest, with Spain enjoying the majority of the possession while Morocco, despite having fewer opportunities, created the better chances but all to no avail.

The 30-minute extra time followed the same procedure as both sides failed to break the deadlock before the knockout match entered the penalty shoot-out.

The 2010 champions produced a dismal show at the penalty shoot-out as they could not fire a single goal out of their three attempts despite coach Luis Enrique having claimed his players prepared by taking a thousand penalties as homework.

Pablo Sarabia hit the post as he took the first penalty for Spain, while Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets saw their strikes blocked by Yassine Bounou.

For Morocco, however, Abdelhamid Sabiri opened the scoring before Hakim Ziyech doubled their lead over Spain.

Achraf Hakimi then struck the decisive penalty to send Spain crashing out and Morocco into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.

The African-Arab side are undefeated in their last five games at World Cup and will now take on either Portugal or Switzerland. Their defence played a crucial role in their success, keeping three clean sheets in four games.

READ: Asian teams ‘getting closer’ despite World Cup knockout blows 

DOHA: Asian teams came crashing back down to earth in the World Cup last 16 but the region still enjoyed its best-ever tournament to suggest it is closing the gap on the global elite.

The continent’s finest will be back in Qatar for the 2023 Asian Cup and, if the World Cup is anything to go by, it could be the finest yet.

Australia, Japan and South Korea — three of the six Asian Football Confederation teams at the World Cup — reached the first knockout stage.

It was the first time three AFC sides had got to the last 16, even if South Korea in particular suffered a sobering defeat, going down 4-1 to highly fancied Brazil.

There would be no repeat of 2002, when South Korea reached the semi-finals as co-hosts, still the best World Cup showing by an Asian side. The Koreans did though defeat Portugal in the group phase in Qatar.

Saudi Arabia, also part of the AFC, pulled off the biggest shock of the tournament in coming from behind to defeat Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-1 in the group stage.

Japan also roared back to stun former champions Spain and Germany and top Group E, before suffering a heartbreaking defeat to 2018 finalists Croatia on penalties.

Speaking ahead of the game, defender Kou Itakura said: “I feel that Asia is getting closer to Europe.”

Hajime Moriyasu’s side boasts a growing number of players in top European leagues.

Eight of his 26-man World Cup squad play in Germany’s Bundesliga and Moriyasu said Japan’s success was good for all of Asia.

“In order for Japan to win the World Cup we have been nurturing our young players and trying to create an environment where we can produce good players,” said Moriyasu.

“At the same time, the JFA (Japan Football Association) also has a target of contributing to Asian football and has been sending Japanese coaches to many countries in the region to try to improve their level.”

He added that the standard of Asian football would have to improve further if teams were to have a chance of becoming world champions.

READ: India denies visas to Pakistan team for Blind T20 World Cup 

DOHA: Five-time champions Brazil handed a hammering 4-1 defeat to South Korea as they stormed through the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022.

Following their qualification, Brazil will now take on last world cup’s runners-up in the quarters, who edged Japan on penalties to progress into the last eight.

Tournament favourites Brazil sent a strong message to their rivals as they displayed ruthless domination to halt South Korea’s dream run.

Vinicius Jr opened the scoring for Brazil in just the seventh minute when Raphinha sprinted away from Kim Jin-su on the right and cut the ball perfectly to the feet of well-positioned Vinicius, who calmly sent the ball crashing into the nets.

Returning from the injury, Brazil’s star Neymar Jr then soon doubled his side’s lead over toothless South Korea after Jung Woo-young fouled Richarlison in the box and Neymar positioned his penalty strike to perfection.

Just before the half-hour mark, Richarlison initiated to press and displayed incredible skills to dribble past the Korean defender before passing to Marquinhos, who in turn played the ball to Thiago Silva.

He then played through Richarlison, who finished in style to put Brazil in complete control.

Minutes later, Lucas Paqueta made it 4-0 for Brazil as Richarlison carried the ball forward from deep before finding Neymar, who in turn played to Vinicius. He then pulled the ball back across the face of the goal for the upcoming Paqueta, who finished magnificently.

The Brazilian attack seemed to have eased out in the second half as they made several substitutions including Neymar and goalkeeper Alisson Becker; allowing struggling South Korea to pull one back courtesy of Paik Seung-ho’s 76th-minute strike but it was too late for the Asian side to trigger a late twist.

It was Brazil’s most dominating triumph in world cup knockouts since 1998 as they scored four goals for the first time since then.

READ: Haris Rauf ruled out of Multan Test: Sources

DOHA: Gareth Southgate’s England hammered Senegal 3-0 in the Round of 16 clash to book a blockbuster quarter-final against defending champions France in the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022.

One of the tournament favourites England continued their march in the ongoing world cup as they downed Senegal 3-0 in a one-sided affair to book an exciting last-eight clash with Kylian Mbappe’s France.

The spirited Senegal side tried their level best to frustrate the English attack and had a nervy start before Jordan Henderson broke the deadlock to put them ahead in the late first half.

Jude Bellingham sprinted away in front and dribbled past several defenders in his path before he cut the ball back and Henderson, perfectly positioned, slotted it below Edouard Mendy and into the nets.

Henderson’s opener turned out to be an adrenaline booster as nervy England soon doubled their lead moments before the interval through skipper Harry Kane.

Bellingham provided the spark again with his perfectly timed tackle and a sharp pass to Foden, whose perfectly weighted lay-off allowed Kane to break free for a precise finish.

Following his magnificent goal, Kane has now scored 11 times at major tournaments and surpassed Gary Lineker to become England’s all-time top scorer in those competitions.

Bukayo Saka then put an end to any aspirations of a Senegal comeback by scoring England’s third goal when Foden made a dynamic run down the left and Saka reached his cross to flick a clever effort over Mendy from close-range.

READ: Mbappe strikes twice as France sink Poland to reach FIFA WC quarters

DOHA: Star footballer Kylian Mbappe struck twice to lift holders France thrash Robert Lewandowski’s Poland 3-1 to make their way into the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022.

France continued their world cup title defence in style as Mbappe’s men outclassed Robert Lewandowski’s side to storm through to the last eight.

In a knockout match, majorly dominated by France, Poland, however, did well to keep the French strikers quiet for almost the entirety of the first half before Olivier Groud’s scintillating bicycle kick opened the scoring for Les Bleus.

Mbappe slid a through-ball into the path of Giroud in the box as he gained a step on Jakub Kiwior. The forward shot on the turn and had the placement to find the bottom-right corner.

Giroud’s first-half goal was his 52nd for the Les Bleus that allowed him to leapfrog Thierry Henry to become France’s all-time record scorer.

After setting up a history-making goal for Giroud, Mbappe joined the party in the 71st minute when Ousmane Dembele cut inside from the right flank and fed Mbappe in the space, who took a touch before hammering a right-footed strike past Wojciech Szczesny.

Mbappe then put an end to any aspirations of a Poland comeback by scoring again at the death to move to nine goals in 11 World Cup appearances, the second-most for a French player at the tournament.

The French defence, on the other hand, snuffed out the threat of Robert Lewandowski, who, although got a consolation goal on a penalty in the stoppage time but it was too late for him to trigger a late twist as France ran away with a comfortable triumph.

Following their Round of 16 victory, Deschamps’ side will now take on either England or Senegal in the last quarter-final on Sunday.

READ: PAK vs ENG: PCB updates on Azhar Ali’s injury

DOHA: Lionel Messi scored his first-ever goal in the world cup knockouts to set up a resounding 2-1 victory over brave Australia to power Argentina into the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022.

Argentina’s star player and skipper Messi opened the scoring for his side in a 2-1 win over the Socceroos.

Making his 1000th appearance, the star player scored his 789th goal which was his first for Argentina in world cup knockouts and helped set up a Round of 16 victory that propelled them into the last eight.

Despite being outraged, the gutsy Australian side defied all expectations in Qatar and went down fighting and frustrating the strong Argentine attack that included Messi.

Argentina and coach Lionel Scaloni desperately needed something exceptional, and Messi provided it 10 minutes from the interval.

Messi bent the ball left-footed along the ground and into the corner after Alexis Mac Allister feed defender Nicolas Otamendi while he was still in the box for an Argentina free kick.

Australia desperately needed to attack in the second half but instead self-destructed when goalkeeper and captain Mathew Ryan attempted to play out under intense pressure in his box from hard-running Rodrigo De Paul just before the hour-mark.

Ryan, however, was dispossessed by Alvarez, who nipped in, stole the ball, and swivelled to slot into an empty net to double Argentina’s lead.

In a game, majorly dominated by Messi’s men, Australia, however, found a moment of fortune when substitute Craig Goodwin latched onto a loose clearance and his shot hit Enzo Fernandez and ricocheted in with 13 minutes left.

Teenager Garang Kuol then forced Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez into a desperate save deep in injury time and denied further drama as Argentina clinched a stunning victory.

Messi’s Argentina will now take on Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands in the quarter-finals on Saturday.

READ: Netherlands thrash USA 3-1 to reach FIFA WC quarter-finals

DOHA: Dominant Netherlands thrashed the United States of America (USA) 3-1 on Saturday to make it to the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022.

Group A winners Netherlands displayed their domination over Group B runners-up USA as they handed the latter a thrashing 3-1 defeat that ended Gregg Berhalter’s side’s world cup dreams.

Memphis Depay opened the scoring for the Dutch just 10 minutes into the game when he received the ball from Denzel Dumfries at the edge of the USA box before burying it into the bottom-left corner.

Dumfries then again invaded the USA’s defence, moments before the conclusion of the first half before cutting the ball back to Daley Blind who slotted the ball into the bottom corner to double the Netherlands’ lead before heading into the break.

The start of the second half followed the same procedure as the USA enjoyed more possession but to no avail as the Dutch defence spoiled their chances most of the time.

Midway through the second half, Berhalter substituted Haji Wright for Weston McKennie, and the substitution sparked a comeback.

Pulisic’s cutback from the byline looped up off for Wright and spun over Andries Noppert and into the net to cut the Netherlands’ lead to 2-1.

The USA’s comeback, however, was short-lived as a third Dutch attack threw the USA’s defence off guard. Blind calmly passed to an unmarked Dumfries at the far post, who smoothly made it 3-1 for the Netherlands.

Following their triumph in the Round of 16, Louis van Gaal’s side will either take on Lionel Messi’s Argentina or Australia in the quarter-final on Saturday.

READ: Pakistan women’s football team to tour Saudi Arabia in January