Brazilian football great Pele will spend Christmas in hospital, his medical team and family said Wednesday, as he receives treatment for worsening cancer as well as kidney and heart problems.

The 82-year-old “requires greater care related to renal and cardiac dysfunctions,” said the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo.

It also reported a “progression” of his cancer, but said Pele was not in intensive care.

Considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time, Pele was hospitalized in Sao Paulo on November 29 for what his medical team called a re-evaluation of his chemotherapy treatments, which he has been receiving since having surgery to remove a colon tumor in September 2021.

Doctors have also diagnosed Pele — whose real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento — with a respiratory infection.

Earlier this month, Pele’s daughters Kely Nascimento and Flavia Arantes sought to reassure fans about his health, denying reports that Pele had been placed in end-of-life care as supporters held a vigil outside the hospital.

They said Wednesday on Instagram that they would be spending Christmas with their father at the hospital.

“Our Christmas at home has been suspended,” they wrote.

“We decided with the doctors that, for various reasons, it would be better for us to stay here with all the care that this new family at Einstein gives us!!”

Accompanied by a picture of them smiling, the sisters thanked Pele’s fans for their support and wished them a happy festive season.

“We are going to turn this room into a Sambodrome (just kidding), we will even make caipirinhas (not kidding!!),” they joked, referencing Brazil’s famous cocktail.

The siblings promised an update next week.

‘The King’

Pele dazzled from an early age and took the 1958 World Cup by storm when he was 17 years old, netting a hat trick in the semifinals and two more goals in the final, catapulting his own career and launching the soccer dynasty of the Brazilian national team.

Pele scored more than 1,000 goals in one of the most storied careers in sport. He is the only player in history to have won three World Cups (1958, 1962 and 1970).

In recent years, the man dubbed “The King” has faced deteriorating health and his public appearances have grown rare.

He has dealt with his ailments with trademark good humor, remaining active on social media.

Pele posted regularly during the Qatar World Cup, including a message of congratulations to captain Lionel Messi after Argentina took the top prize.

“Congratulations to Argentina! Diego (Maradona, who died on November 25, 2020) is probably smiling now,” he wrote.

Pele also watched from hospital as star player Neymar equalled his goal record of 77 with the “Selecao.”

Pele has received messages from well-wishers all over the world, also recently from French striker Kylian Mbappe who called on fans earlier this month to “pray for the King.”

It was with Mbappe that Pele made one of his last public appearances, in April 2019, in Paris, for a promotional event.

World Cup host nation Qatar also showed its support for Pele, lighting up buildings with a “Get well soon” message.

Source: AFP

Argentina’s World Cup heroes had to abandon an open-top bus parade in Bueno Aires on Tuesday as millions of ecstatic fans flooded onto the streets and brought the city to a standstill, with Lionel Messi and his team mates whisked into helicopters to complete the celebrations.

The players who were triumphant in Sunday’s World Cup final in Qatar were unable to reach the central Obelisco monument as planned because the route was completely blocked by the heaving crowd, estimated by local media at four million people.

With social media footage showing some fans trying to jump onto the team’s bus when it passed under a bridge, the scheduled eight-hour journey was cut short due to security fears. The players were transferred from their parade bus and into helicopters.

“The world champions are flying over the entire route in helicopters because it became impossible to continue on land due to the explosion of joy,” presidential spokeswoman Gabriela Cerruti wrote on Twitter.

Television images showed people all over the city, including those waiting around the Obelisco and on surrounding highways trying to catch a glimpse of their returning champions.

“It’s crazy, it’s incredible, it’s the best thing that can happen to you in life,” said 25-year-old metalworker Matias Gomez.

“It is an enormous joy to see all these happy people, all together, one with the other, holding hands, giving each other hugs, kisses. We are all one today.”

The team had arrived in the early hours of Tuesday at Ezeiza airport. Despite it being around 3am local time (0600 GMT), thousands were waiting with banners, flags and flares and howling with joy after Messi and his team mates ended the country’s 36-year wait to win the World Cup.

By around midday millions had already congregated in downtown Buenos Aires, with major roads shut down for the parade. People held up banners of Messi and late icon Diego Maradona, played instruments or climbed lamp-posts or bus stops.

Roads started to clear after the players took to the sky in helicopters, with some people left disappointed not to see the team.

The Argentine capital has been in party mode since the dramatic victory over France in Sunday’s final in Qatar, which has helped mask economic woes in the South American nation battling one of the world’s highest inflation rates.

The penalty shootout victory made the country world champions for the first time since Maradona hoisted the trophy in 1986 and the third in total.

The government made Tuesday a national holiday to allow fans to celebrate the win.

‘I can’t cry and more’

As the open-top bus snaked through the city, players danced and cheered with fans who circled the bus. Police were having to hold people back to allow the vehicle to move forward on its slow journey towards the centre of town.

But eventually they could go no further.

“They don’t let us get to greet all the people who were at the Obelisco. The security agents that escorted us won’t allow us to move forward,” tweeted Chiqui Tapia, president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA).

“A thousand apologies on behalf of all the champion players.”

Messi, 35, has burnished his reputation as one of the world’s greatest ever with the win as Argentina beat France 4-2 on penalties after a scintillating 3-3 draw after extra time.

He has said it was his last match in the World Cup, though he plans to play a few more games for the national side.

At times it has felt that the whole country has been partying through the night from Sunday onwards in the southern hemisphere summer, the joy of victory infecting everyone with cars regularly blaring their horns in celebration.

“There are people lying on the floor who came straight from the last party to get up and keep partying,” said Elio Maisares, 25, as he celebrated in the city where everyone and everything was covered in the white-and-blue of the “Albiceleste”.

“Just look at all this, look at everything that is painted in light blue and white. Along the roads, the highways, all the people are rooting for Argentina,” he said.

“It’s really impressive, it’s unique, what a way to cry. I cried this morning, yesterday, the day before yesterday, I can’t cry anymore, it’s incredible!”

Source: REUTERS

France are disappointed they could not successfully defend their World Cup crown after losing to Argentina on penalties in Sunday’s final but leave Qatar with heads high having fought until the end, players Raphael Varane and Hugo Lloris said.

France fought back twice through Kylian Mbappe, who erased Argentina’s 2-0 lead in 97 seconds in normal time before scoring a third in extra time to level it at 3-3.

But the South Americans won 4-2 on penalties.

“We are very disappointed of course, we gave everything. We had to face a lot of obstacles during the competition, we gave up nothing,” Varane said.

“For an hour we were not in the game. We could have won too. I’m very proud of this group and of being French. We keep our heads high. We came back in this game when it was complicated.

“We pushed and we believed until the end. We almost turned the game around, which was not going well… There was mental strength in this group, a lot of heart. That allowed us to come back in this game. We’re disappointed but also proud.”

Argentina were the better team in the first half and stormed into a 2-0 halftime lead before Mbappe brought them level with goals in the 80th and 81st minute of the contest which France skipper Lloris described as a “boxing match”.

“The Argentines got off to a great start, being aggressive, using all facets of the game. We were a bit reactionary all night,” the goalkeeper said.

France had also come into the final after several players missed training sessions due to illness over the past week, but Lloris refused to use that as an excuse.

“We’re not going to make excuses, we gave everything,” he added. “You have to congratulate the guys because we didn’t give up until the end.”

Source: Reuters

Qatar’s ruler said Sunday that the Gulf state had delivered on a vow to hold an “exceptional” World Cup.

Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who gave Argentina captain Lionel Messi a traditional Arab cloak after his side won the trophy, paid tribute to the finalists and fans in a Twitter statement after the match.

“We have fulfilled our promise to organize an exceptional championship by Arab countries, which provided an opportunity for the people of the world to learn about the richness of our culture and the originality of our values,” the emir said.

Qatar spent more than $200 billion on stadiums and new infrastructure ahead of the first World Cup in an Arab nation, which FIFA leader Gianni Infantino has said was the “best ever”.

But the Gulf state has faced relentless criticism over its rights record and the treatment of foreign labourers.

Qatar’s leaders said the attacks were an attempt to cast doubt on the Arab world’s right to hold such big events.

Messi was prominently pictured wearing a ‘bisht’ traditional cloak that the emir presented the Argentina icon before he lifted the World Cup trophy.

Source: AFP

Plans for a new 32-team men’s Club World Cup have been confirmed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.

The current format of the tournament involves seven teams competing for the title, with Chelsea the current holders after victory over Palmeiras in the United Arab Emirates in the a delayed 2021 edition held in February.

Infantino, speaking at a press conference ahead of the World Cup final between Argentina and France on Sunday, said the 2022 tournament would continue in its current format and be held in Morocco from February 1-11, 2023.

But Infantino announced that a much wider competition would take place from June 2025, saying: “It will go ahead, making it like a World Cup”.

The FIFA boss said it would feature the “best teams in the world” but added that competition details and the location of the first expanded edition were still to be decided.

FIFA had originally planned to introduce a 24-team tournament in 2021, before the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted an anticipated inaugural edition in China, but an even bigger competition has now been scheduled from 2025 and will take place every four years.

The international match calendar will be altered from 2025, with one extended break taking in four matches in late September and early October replacing two separate windows in September and October. The governing body said that the other windows — in November, March and June — would remain unchanged.

FIFA also confirmed plans to launch friendly tournament called FIFA World Series to take place in even years and “increase the possibilities for teams from different confederations to play each other”.

Currently the top teams of every continental competition as well as the hosts’ national champion battle it out for the Club World Cup title.

European champions Real Madrid, South American champions Flamengo and Seattle Sounders, the first CONCACAF Champions League winner from the United States, will compete in Morocco.

Infantino said FIFA’s ruling council had also approved the creation of a new Women’s Club World Cup and a new FIFA Futsal Women’s World Cup, as well as the expansion of the Olympic women’s football tournament from 12 to 16 teams.

Culled from The Athletic

After a dazzling run of wins captivated the footballing world, Morocco crashed out in the semi-finals after France’s solid attacking display gave them a 2-0 win. Les Bleus will now take on Argentina in Sunday’s final, after the genius Lionel Messi powered them to a resounding win over Croatia.

This wasn’t the stylish, thrilling march to the final that saw France’s rivals Argentina vanquish Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday. But it was a clinical, decisive performance, with an early goal from Theo Hernandez and a late strike from Randal Kolo Muani giving them a solid 2-0 win.

Despite a recurrence of France’s occasional defence errors, Les Bleus gave Argentina a lot to worry about with that performance. Kylian Mbappé was dazzling as ever with his lacerating pace and cool ingenuity under pressure – especially when he kept the ball when surrounded by Morocco defenders to set Kolo Muani up with that second goal. But arguably the greatest performance tonight was from Antoine Griezmann, who not only linked midfield to attack with those lovely passes, but also tracked back to basically play in centre-half position when Morocco offensives rattled France in the second half.

There will be tears aplenty, though, for Morocco after that ended a remarkable series of victories which saw them become the first ever African team to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

Source: France 24

Mbappé’s France faces off against Hakimi’s Morocco at 8pm Paris time in the semi-final of the World Cup on Wednesday. The winner of the match will meet Argentina in the final, who resoundingly beat Croatia 3-0 on Tuesday.

Defending champions France know victory against surprise package Morocco would leave them just one win away from becoming the first team in 60 years to successfully defend the trophy.

Didier Deschamps’ France are heavy favourites to win at the Al Bayt Stadium but face a team that have conceded just once in their extraordinary run to the semi-finals.

Morocco are the first African side and the first Arab nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.

It was a richly deserved win for Argentina, who played with tremendous spirit to reach the final. Lionel Messi fired home his penalty in his trademark calm yet joyous style. Then Julian Alvarez’s remarkable solo goal almost stole the show from Messi, as he just kept running from the halfway line, exploiting some terrible Croatian defending, to tap it in from close range. The third goal came from Messi just being magnificently, inimitably Messi, keeping the ball under enormous Croatian pressure in the tightest of spots to carry on with his run and set it up for Alvarez to tap home.

Croatia, by contrast, looked stifled throughout the whole match. Luka Modric orchestrated some nice midfield passing for much of the game, but it never came close to producing anything. Modric came off with ten minutes to spare, a sad end to the 37-year-old’s illustrious World Cup career.

But all eyes now will be on Lionel Messi and his attempt to cap off his long and dazzling World Cup career by seizing the trophy in Sunday’s final.

Source: France 24

The four teams are still riding high after their respective wins in the World Cup quarter-finals, but anticipation is already building ahead of the next step: the semis on Tuesday and Wednesday. Croatia will attempt to reach its second World Cup final in as many competitions, and Morocco is looking to continue its historic run after it became the first African team and the first Arab team to ever make it to the final four.

Defending champions France edged England 2-1 on Saturday as Harry Kane missed a late penalty in the World Cup quarter-finals, after Morocco became the first African team ever to reach the semi-finals.

France will face the surprising North Africans on Wednesday, earning their place when Olivier Giroud’s header proved the difference at Al Bayt Stadium.

In a tense match, Aurélien Tchouaméni’s strike opened the scoring with 17 minutes gone, but Kane brought England level from the penalty spot early in the second half.

England were the best side for large parts of the match but Giroud scored when it mattered most, rising above Harry Maguire to nod the ball into the net on 78 minutes for his 53rd goal for France.

As England desperately searched for an equaliser, they were thrown a late lifeline when Theo Hernandez needlessly shoved over Mason Mount and the referee gave a spot-kick following a VAR review.

But Kane blasted his kick high over the crossbar, spurning the chance to send the game into extra time. He was the first England player to sink to his knees at the final whistle, his head in his hands.

“We gave them a little ammunition with two penalties, but it is with hearts and guts that we held on to this result,” France manager Didier Deschamps said. “It’s fabulous because it was a big match against a very good English team.”

“We responded once again, it’s wonderful to reach the last four again, you have to savour it, a World Cup semi-final is quite something.”

England manager Gareth Southgate said he had told his players, “I don’t think they could have given any more”.

“They’ve played really well against a top team. It’s fine margins and things at both ends that have decided the game,” Southgate added.

Morocco make World Cup history

Only the most fervent Morocco fan would have bet on their side reaching the World Cup semi-finals before the tournament kicked off.

On Saturday, they beat Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal 1-0 thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri’s first-half header to go further than any African team ever has at a World Cup.

Morocco, ranked 22 in the world before the tournament started, have surpassed the three other African sides to reach the quarter-finals – Cameroon in 1990, Senegal in 2002 and Ghana in 2010.

Ronaldo, who came on as a second-half substitute, was unable to rescue his side and at the final whistle walked off down the tunnel wiping away tears without acknowledging either his teammates or the victorious Moroccans.

Ronaldo, 37, who with Lionel Messi has dominated world football for the past two decades, has likely played his last World Cup match after making a world record-equalling 196th international appearance at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha.

The Moroccans have wildly surpassed expectations in Qatar and coach Walid Regragui lauded the battling spirit of his injury-hit side.

“We’re drawing on all we have, we still have guys injured. I told the guys before the match we had to write history for Africa. I’m very, very happy,” Regragui said.

As their national team made history, crowds gathered in Casablanca and chanted “Qualified! Qualified!”

There were also celebrations across the Arab world and in Europe as Morocco are also the first Arab team to reach a World Cup semi-final.

“My heart will stop, what a team, what stamina, what an achievement,” Ilham El Idrissi, a 34-year-old woman, told AFP in Casablanca.

Argentina and Croatia go head-to-head on Tuesday

Argentina and Lionel Messi will face 2018 finalists Croatia in the other semi-final after the Croatians dumped out pre-tournament favourites Brazil on Friday.

The five-time champions crashed out in dramatic fashion, losing on penalties after a 1-1 draw, while Argentina survived a fightback from the Netherlands to also win in a shootout.

Brazil star Neymar said he was contemplating retiring from international football after the crushing loss, but on Saturday Brazilian legend Pele urged him to “keep inspiring us”.

“I’m 82 years old, and after all this time, I hope I’ve inspired you in some way to get this far… Your legacy is far from over,” Pele wrote on Instagram.

Neymar had equalled Pele’s official Brazil scoring record of 77 international goals in Friday’s match.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Moroccan soccer fans exploded in joy on Saturday as their team became the first from any African country to reach a World Cup semi-final, filling the stadium in Qatar with a deafening roar and unleashing cheering, crying, dancing and singing on the streets at home.

The 1-0 victory over Portugal was celebrated further afield, with exuberant fans from Abidjan in Ivory Coast to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia lauding what they saw as a historic win for both Africa and the Arab World.

“They made us happy and proud and they proved that they can make it to the final. Why not? We are so proud of this team that is supported by Africa and Arabs” said Siham Motahir, a young woman in Rabat, where cafes had filled with fans to watch the game.

To the rhythmic playing of a horn, men and women jumped up and down waving the Moroccan flag – part of a sea of people who had filled Rabat’s city centre, raising a cacophonous din of triumph.

The win over Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal is Morocco’s third over a highly ranked European team in the tournament, a run that had brought delight both in Morocco and for Africans and Arabs more widely.

African Union President Macky Sall wrote on Twitter, using capital letters to emphasise his excitement: “HISTORIC! AND FANTASTIC! THE ATLAS LIONS ARE QUALIFIED FOR THE SEMI-FINALS OF THE WORLD CUP! BRAVO MOROCCO.”

Arab and African political and sporting leaders paid tribute to Morocco, including tweets from the prime ministers of Libya, Iraq and the Palestinian Authority and the rulers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.

Former Ivory Coast soccer star Didier Drogba tweeted, “They did it!!!! Well done Morocco for this feat. Long live Africa.”

In an Abidjan cafe where people were watching the game and drinking beer to celebrate the win, customer Jules Goule said Ivorians were proud of Morocco’s win. “Through Morocco Africa has just shown that it can compete with other continents in football,” he said.

Arab and African Joy

“Waoh, waoh… Morocco! It’s with great joy! Africa is shining! Go Africa!” shouted Agwe Jefferson, 28, a driver in Cameroon’s capital Yaounde.

In Libya, a crowd watching the game in the port city of Misrata lit red flares and waved Libyan and Moroccan flags, while in the Tunisian capital people celebrated the victory.

“Today Morocco honoured Africans and Arabs and made the dream we all have possible,” said Ameur Souilam in Tunis.

Meanwhile in the Palestinian territories and Israel, thousands of people packed cafes, restaurants and soccer stadiums screening the match, bursting into cheers with Morocco’s triumph. After its previous win, Morocco’s team had posed with the Palestinian flag.

“Seeing the Palestinian flag being waved by Morocco footballers made us feel as if we won,” said Gaza businessman Imad Joudat.

In the Edgware Road district of London, long a centre of the city’s Arab community, the street was jammed with cars honking horns and waving flags and in Paris chanting and cheering Moroccan fans filled the Champs Elysees.

Singing, Flag waving, Cheering

Moroccan fans erupted when Youssef En-Nesyri scored the game’s only goal. In the Jmaa al-Fnaa, the historic main square of Marrakech where authorities had put a big screen for fans, thousands of people leaped up and down as the ball went in.

As the game wound on, Morocco fans in the stadium screamed “Ole, ole, ole!” in unison, drowning out the handful of Portuguese fans and whistling whenever Portugal took possession of the ball.

Behind the two goals, banks of Moroccan supporters stood for the whole match with drummers and fan leaders coordinating the chants.

One man wearing the red and green of Morocco’s national flag and its football kit raised his hands in supplication as the final minutes ticked away, shouting “O God, o God”.

In the media box, a security guard, screaming with triumph, hugged a Moroccan journalist who was weeping with happiness.

As Moroccan player Jawad El Yamiq circled the pitch with a half-Moroccan, half-Qatari flag draped around his shoulders, one fan stood motionless, looking out over the pitch with his hands over his mouth as if unable to take in the scale of the win.

Outside the stadium a drummer led fans in a chant of “Go, go, go” before they sang “Al-Andalus al-Andalus” – the name of the historic Muslim state once ruling Spain and Portugal, the two teams Morocco has now knocked out.

With many Moroccans living and working in the Gulf, Morocco’s World Cup matches have felt like home-team games and Ismail Chakour, a Dubai-based banker, said he had been determined to attend the match “whatever the cost”.

In Rabat, joyful fans thronged the streets and headed towards the downtown square where Morocco’s victories are celebrated.

Children were hoisted onto parents shoulders and bounced up and down with the rest of the crowd, singing songs and waving flags.

“The last few minutes felt like hours,” said Samir Saqri as he joined a crowd pouring out from the cafe where they had watched the game to head downtown.

Source: Reuters