Tag: FIFA World Cup

LUSAIL: Lionel Messi’s Argentina recovered from a shock loss against Saudi Arabia to thwart defenceless Mexico 2-0 to keep their FIFA World Cup 2022 campaign alive.

Argentina’s star player and skipper Messi ended the deadlock with a vital 64th minute strike to put former champions on track of a much-needed victory.

Following Messi’s magic, Enzo Fernandez joined the scoring with a sublime strike when he received the ball from Messi following a short-corner routine and executed a couple of stepovers before dispatching the ball into the top corner with a curling effort.

The triumph powered two-time champions Argentina to the second spot in the Group C standings behind leader Poland.

Mexico, on the other hand, who are yet to taste a triumph in the ongoing World Cup sank to bottom but are still in race for the Round of 16 berth.

Argentina have still a major task ahead of them as they take on Robert Lewandowski’s Poland in their last group match on Thursday (December 1), while Mexico will lock horns with Saudi Arabia on the same day.

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: 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

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.

DOHA: Brazil were sweating on the fitness of Neymar on Friday after their talisman sprained his ankle in the World Cup win over Serbia.

The forward suffered the injury in a collision with Nikola Milenkovic during the second half of the 2-0 win in Qatar on Thursday in Brazil’s opening match.

The 30-year-old Paris Saint-Germain player attempted to continue but was substituted with about 10 minutes to go, shortly after Richarlison put Brazil two goals ahead.

Neymar was seen limping heavily after the game in Doha and photos showed swelling on his right ankle.

He declined to speak to journalists as he left the stadium, but posted a light-hearted message on Twitter, without making reference to his injury.

“Tough game but it was important to win,” he said. “Congratulations team, first step taken… six to go.”

Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said it was too early to jump to conclusions.

“We need to wait 24 to 48 hours to have a better assessment,” said Lasmar. “We have not scheduled any MRI (scan) and tomorrow we’ll have a new assessment.

“We need to wait, we cannot make any premature comments about his evolution.”

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

They next face Switzerland on Monday, with their final Group G match against Cameroon.

“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”.

Brazil struggled to impose themselves in the first half against Serbia before finding their spark.

Richarlison poked home from close range shortly after the hour mark and then produced an acrobatic finish to double the lead

Pele Record

Neymar follows in a long tradition of great Brazilian number 10s and needs just two goals to equal Pele’s all-time record tally of 77 for the South American nation.

Brazil boast an impressive array of attacking talent including Raphinha, Richarlison and Vinicius Junior and they were able to bring Rodrygo and Gabriel Jesus off the bench against Serbia.

But Neymar, who is playing in his third and possibly last World Cup, is the player who makes the team tick.

The Brazilian’s career has though been peppered by injuries which have impacted on his previous two World Cups.

In 2014 he suffered a fractured bone in his back in the quarter-final win over Colombia before the hosts were humiliated by Germany in the semi-finals, losing 7-1.

Four years later he raced to recover from injury in time for the tournament in Russia, but Brazil never hit the expected heights before losing to Belgium in the last eight.

The former Barcelona star, who has 122 caps for Brazil, also missed the 2019 Copa America after suffering torn ligaments in his right ankle.

In 2021 Neymar was out for about 10 weeks of the French season after suffering ligament damage to his left ankle.

This time he arrived fit and firing in Qatar after a fantastic start to the season with PSG, in which he has scored 15 goals in 20 games.

His latest issue could prove just to be a scare. But until we know more, a nation will be holding its breath.

READ: Richarlison strikes twice as Brazil sink Serbia in FIFA WC clash