Argentina superstar Lionel Messi insisted on Monday he is determined to make the most of what will likely be his fifth and final chance to win the World Cup.

At 35 years of age, the diminutive magician is close to winding down his remarkable trophy-laden career.

And after playing already in four World Cup tournaments, including suffering the heartache of losing the 2014 final in Brazil to Germany, Messi is adamant that he wants to make the most of what could be his last hurrah on the global stage in Qatar.

“It is probably my last World Cup, my last chance to land this great dream that we all have,” Messi told reporters in Doha.

“I don’t know if this is my happiest moment, but I feel great. I’m older, more mature, I want to make the most of everything, to live it with the maximum intensity and to enjoy every moment that I have.

“Today I’m enjoying everything much more. Before I didn’t think about that.

“Age makes you see things differently and makes the little details more important: those that before you didn’t give much importance to.”

The seven-time winner of the Ballon d’Or is widely regarded as one of the two greatest players of his generation — if not of all time — alongside Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

But after winning almost everything else in football, Messi is desperate to emulate fellow Argentina icon Diego Maradona, who inspired the South American giants to glory in Mexico 1986.

In recent days, Messi has twice trained apart from the rest of the squad but he moved to dispel any concerns amongst Argentines that he might not be fit for Tuesday’s Group C opener against Saudi Arabia.

“I trained apart because I had a knock, it was precautionary, but nothing unusual,” he said.

‘Favourites don’t usually win’

Argentina head into the tournament as Copa America holders and unbeaten in 36 matches dating back to 2019.

But coach Lionel Scaloni is wary about too much expectation and being lauded as one of the title favourites.

“The big favourites usually don’t win the World Cup. There are great teams, no less than eight or 10 that can win the World Cup, mostly Europeans.

“It’s true that the South Americans haven’t been able to reach the final recently, apart from Argentina in 2014. It is details that will decide the world champions and they don’t have to be favourites.”

Argentina’s Copa America success last year — defeating Brazil 1-0 at the Selecao’s Maracana fortress — lifted the weight of a painful 28-year barren spell without a major title for the Albiceleste.

Both Scaloni and Messi acknowledged that the victory had freed the team of intense pressure.

“Having won decompresses you a lot, it gives you peace of mind,” said captain Messi.

“This allows the people to be less anxious and fretting over results.”

Scaloni added: “Now the team goes out to play with much more tranquility, the external pressure isn’t there.”

Saudi Arabia’s French coach Herve Renard is looking forward to testing his team against Messi having led Morocco against Portugal and Ronaldo at the last World Cup in Russia.

“It’s an honour to come up against the best players on the planet. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are football legends and thanks to them, football has changed,” said the much-travelled 54-year-old, an Africa Cup of Nations winner with both Zambia and Ivory Coast.

“It’s an honour to be here and an honour to play against them but when you compete you have to put all your energy and motivation into trying to topple the best, that’s what’s beautiful about sport, sometimes you get surprises.”

Source: AFP

England made a scintillating start to their World Cup campaign as Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham inspired a 6-2 rout of outclassed Iran in Monday’s Group B opener in Doha.

Saka and Bellingham were England’s driving forces with dynamic displays that underlined their emergence as two of the game’s brightest young stars.

Bellingham, 19, shattered Iran’s hopes of frustrating England when he rose to head his maiden senior international goal in the first half.

Gareth Southgate’s side were in sparkling form at the Khalifa International Stadium and goals from Saka and Raheem Sterling put them in complete control before half-time.

Saka, 21, netted again after the interval and, although Mehdi Taremi struck twice for Iran, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish completed the demolition.

There will be far sterner tests to come for England as they bid to win their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup.

But this was a welcome step in the right direction for Southgate, whose team arrived in Qatar on a six-match winless run that triggered scathing criticism of the Three Lions boss and his perceived negative tactics.

The only concern for Southgate was the sight of Harry Maguire being replaced in the second half after being checked for a potential head injury.

England play their second match against the United States on Friday and conclude their Group B fixtures against Wales on November 29.

Just hours before kick-off, England revealed captain Harry Kane would not wear a rainbow-themed ‘One Love’ armband after the Football Association and several other European countries dropped their campaign in support of LGBTQ rights.

Because the armband was not a FIFA-approved piece of kit, it was reported any player wearing it would be booked — a risk England were apparently unwilling to take.

The match also took place against the background of turmoil in Iran after months of female-led demonstrations sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman of Kurdish origin who was arrested by the morality police in Tehran.

Iran’s players refused to sing their national anthem in apparent support for anti-government protesters.

Sublime Saka

Having reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 before losing to Italy in the Euro 2020 final, England are desperate to take the last step to silverware in Doha.

Southgate had urged his team “play on the front foot” and they responded in style, after initially finding their rhythm disrupted by a long delay when Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand smashed into team-mate Majid Hosseini.

Despite being in no state to continue amid fears of a concussion, the bloodied Beiranvand played on before finally being substituted.

England eventually penned Iran deep inside their own half and Bellingham delivered in the 35th minute.

Sterling found Luke Shaw on the left flank and his cross was perfectly weighted for Bellingham, who looped a fine header into the far corner.

Playing for Birmingham in the Championship just two years ago, the Borussia Dortmund star’s goal made him England’s second youngest scorer at a World Cup behind Michael Owen.

Eight minutes later another of England’s gifted prodigies doubled the lead.

Maguire headed down a corner and Arsenal forward Saka swivelled to lash a superb left-foot finish into the top corner.

Sterling put the result beyond doubt with his first goal at a World Cup in first-half stoppage time.

Bellingham fed Kane, whose pin-point cross was volleyed home by Sterling with the outside of his boot.

Saka made it four in the 62nd minute when he shuffled across the Iran area before stroking his shot past Hossein Hosseini.

Taremi fired into the roof of the net to reduce the deficit three minutes later.

Rashford’s cool finish in the 71st minute, 49 seconds after he came on, was followed by Grealish’s 90th-minute tap-in.

Taremi struck from the penalty spot with the last kick of the game after a shirt pull by John Stones, but the margin of victory reflected England’s total dominance.

Source: AFP

Qatar’s first ever World Cup match ended in dismay for an overmatched team and with a place in unwanted soccer history.

The controversy-laced tournament opened Sunday with Qatar getting outplayed and embarrassed in a 2-0 loss to Ecuador in front of 67,372 fans at Al Bayt Stadium. In 92 years of soccer’s biggest event, a host team had never lost its opening game.

The first World Cup in the Middle East is a chance for Qatar, a tiny Arab country jutting out into the Persian Gulf, to showcase itself to the wider world. Its soccer team, playing at this level for the first time by virtue of hosting the tournament, couldn’t live up to the moment as Ecuador captain Enner Valencia scored both goals in the first half.

The match took place after a colorful 30-minute opening ceremony — fronted by Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman and attended by powerful dignitaries including Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — that promoted inclusivity and mankind living “under one tent.”

For many, that would jar with this World Cup being hosting by an emirate where homosexual acts are illegal, one that has come under strong criticism for how migrant workers have been treated building stadiums and tournament infrastructure since Qatar won the scandal-shrouded vote in 2010.

The yearslong scrutiny was never going to stop just because play on the field finally entered the narrative of a tournament dogged by human rights controversies, yet a win for the host nation would have at least put a favorable light on Qatar, soccer-wise.

Instead, Qatar’s players, fresh from spending seven months together in a pre-tournament training camp under Spanish coach Felix Sanchez, froze in front of an expectant crowd and a disciplined Ecuador team that might just pose a danger to more high-profile opponents over the next few weeks.

Valencia thought he had scored in the third minute when he headed in from close range following an acrobatic cross from Felix Torres. After a video review of about two minutes, Ecuadorian celebrations were cut short when the goal was ruled out for what appeared to be a marginal offside.

Ecuador did take the lead, however, in the 16th minute when Valencia was tripped by Saad Alsheeb after rounding the goalkeeper, who was booked for the challenge. Valencia was nonchalant as he trotted up and converted the spot kick into the bottom corner. The 33-year-old striker added his second in the 33rd by heading in a right-wing cross from Angelo Preciado.

With Qatar’s passes often going astray and its defensive raggedness repeatedly exposed, Ecuador had no problem holding onto its lead as Sanchez stood helpless in his technical area and the home fans fell quiet.

There were lots of empty seats for a second half that was almost a damage-limitation exercise for Qatar.

Source: AP

The World Cup kicks off in Qatar on Sunday in a high-stakes event for the tiny nation which has faced a barrage of criticism and staked its reputation on delivering a smooth tournament, the first held in the Middle East and most expensive in history.

In a show of Gulf solidarity, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was among the political leaders arriving in Doha ahead of the opening ceremony to be held in a tent-shaped stadium at 1440 GMT, before the first match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.

The tournament marks a culmination of Qatar’s soft power push on the global stage and a show of strength after emerging from a 3-1/2 year boycott by Saudi Arabia and its Arab allies, which ended in 2021. The event will also see the first direct flights from Israel to Qatar for the World Cup.

Onstage, South Korean singer Jungkook of K-pop boy band BTS will perform a new official tournament song called Dreamers alongside Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi. The U.N. secretary general and Algeria’s president will be among foreign dignitaries.

Qatar and FIFA hope the spotlight will turn to action on the pitch after facing mounting criticism over foreign workers’ rights, LGBT rights and social restrictions. Organisers have denied allegations of bribery for hosting rights.

Denmark’s and Germany’s team captains will wear One Love armbands, their teams said, as they prepare to compete in a conservative Muslim state where same-sex relations are illegal.

Alcohol has been banned at stadiums, and organisers have warned against public displays of affection while saying all fans are welcome to the event.

A cost of $220 billion

As some visitors savoured their first sips of beer at the launch of the FIFA Fan Festival on Saturday in central Doha, hundreds of workers, all men, gathered in a sports arena in an industrial zone on the city’s edges where no alcohol was being served. They will be able to watch matches there.

“Of course I didn’t buy a ticket. They’re expensive and I should use that money for other things – like sending it back home to my family,” Ghanaian national Kasim, a security guard who has worked in Qatar for four years, told Reuters.

Neville, a 24-year-old Kenyan, and compatriot Willy, also 24 and a Manchester City fan, were hired as security guards during the event. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it’s definitely worth it,” said Neville.

Wealthy gas producer Qatar is the smallest nation to host soccer’s biggest global event, organised at a cost of $220 billion. Crowd control will be key with some 1.2 million visitors expected – more than a third of Qatar’s population.

Many of the labourers who toiled to prepare tournament infrastructure will watch from the sidelines, priced out of the stadiums. Doha has been slammed for its treatment of migrant workers but points to labour reforms against exploitation.Labourers were putting final touches on outdoor gardens and sidewalks on Saturday and carting construction material to a site near the National Museum, where fans in Argentina jerseys were among dozens milling about.

With a limited number of hotels in Qatar, fans will also fly in on daily shuttle flights from cities like tourism hub Dubai, as Qatar shares the World Cup economic boon with neighbours.

“When we came in it was like a bit of a work site,” England fan Neil Gahan said in an area in Doha housing fan portacabins.

The cabins were “not brilliant”, he said, but there were sports facilities nearby and massive screens. “Yeah, I think it’s going to be all right”.

Source: REUTERS

For the FIFA World Cup that starts tomorrow November 20, 2022 in Doha, Qatar, Cameroon as a nation will not be represented only by the Indomitable Lions.  9 of its sons will defend the colours of other countries bringing the Cameroonian tally to 35 players in Qatar.

The French team have three players, two of whom have Cameroonian fathers and the last one, a Cameroonian mother: Aurélien Tchouameni (father and mother), Kylian Mbappe (Cameroonian father and Algerian mother), William Saliba (Cameroonian mother and Lebanese father).

In Switzerland, Breel Embolo’s parents are all Cameroonian. In Belgium, Amadou Onana has a Cameroonian father and a Senegalese mother. The two brothers Mmaee, Samy and Ryan have a Cameroonian father and a Moroccan mother.

The German team also have two players of Cameroonian origin, Youssoufa Moukoko (father and mother Cameroonian) and Armel Bella-Kotchap (father and mother Cameroonian).

By Allain Jules Menye

FIFA and Qatar on Friday banned beer sales around the eight World Cup stadiums in a stunning policy u-turn just two days before the start of the tournament.

Football’s world body said the decision was taken following “discussions” with World Cup hosts Qatar, an Islamic state which severely restricts alcohol consumption.

It gave no reason for the surprise decision, however.

A FIFA statement said alcohol would be focused on fan zones, “removing sales points of beer from Qatar’s FIFA World Cup 2022 stadium perimeters.”

Dozens of beer tents had already been set up at stadiums ahead of the first game Sunday between Qatar and Ecuador.

Qatar has predicted that more than one million fans will visit the country for the 29-day tournament and FIFA has had a longstanding sponsorship deal with major beer producer Budweiser, which is owned by AB InBev.

“The tournament organisers appreciate AB InBev’s understanding and continuous support to our joint commitment to cater for everyone during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022,” added the statement.

Beer will remain available in VIP suites in stadiums, which are sold by world football’s governing body, at the main FIFA fan zone in Doha, some private fan zones and in about 35 hotel and restaurant bars.

Source: AFP