TheNewsGuru

Tag: 2022 FIFA World Cup

  • Photo: Argentina’s Martinez mocks Mbappe again, carries a doll with his face

    Photo: Argentina’s Martinez mocks Mbappe again, carries a doll with his face

    Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper, Emiliano  Martinez mocked Kyllian Mbappe by carrying a doll with his face during World Cup trophy parade in Argentina.

    Mbappe’s teammate at Paris Saint Germain, Lionel Messi was pictured standing next to Martinez.

    Argentina defeated France 4-2 on Penalties to win their first World Cup trophy in 36 years.

    Martinez became the hero of the evening after saving a last minute goal bound shot and saving  Thuram’s penalty to give his side an advantage in the shootout.

    He had earlier mocked Mbappe in Argentina’s dressing room when they celebrated immediately after the win.

    Meanwhile. Mbappe made history  after scoring a hattrick in the encounter to become the second player to ever do so in the finals of the World Cup.

    The French forward also emerged the tournament’s highest goal scorer with eight goals.

    And now Martinez has continued to mock the 23-year-old superstar, who won his first World Cup with France at the age of 18.

    During Tuesday’s bus parade, Martinez was seen carrying a doll which had a picture of the France striker’s face while other team mates including Lionel Messi watch on.

  • Qatar 2022: Messi’s former coach, Pochetinno offers Argentina winning tips

    Qatar 2022: Messi’s former coach, Pochetinno offers Argentina winning tips

    Former Tottenham and  Paris Saint-Germain manager, Mauricio Pochettino has offered some pieces of advice to the coach of Argentina to win Sunday’s World Cup final against France on Sunday.

    Pochettino identified what Argentina must do with captain Lionel Messi to win the 2022 FIFA World Cup final.

    Lionel Messi’s Argentina reached this year’s World Cup final and aiming to win it first time in many years for the South American country.

    According to Pochettinno, the rest of the team must play for Lionel Messi to stand a chance to win the 2022 World Cup for Argentina.

    He said “When you’ve [Lionel] Messi in your team, you’ve to run for him. And when you’ve the ball, you’ve to give it to him as soon as possible so that he can create something. So the players know what they need to do in every single moment, to give Messi everything he needs to be decisive like he was on Tuesday night against Croatia.

    “It has been one of the keys of this side [Argentina team], how they all believe that by playing for Messi, they can win the World Cup,” Pochettino said (via The Athletic).

  • Qatar 2022: Germany crashes out, Japan, Spain zoom into second round

    Qatar 2022: Germany crashes out, Japan, Spain zoom into second round

    The Blue Samurai of Japan came back from a goal down to score two important goals that ensured their qualification to the second round of the 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in their most cherished 2-1 win over the La Furia Roja of Spain.

    The win for Japan was the reason Germany crashed out of the competition at the group stage, despite pummeling Costa Rica by 4-2 in the other group E encounter.

    Japan eventually top Group E to book a Round-of-16 date with Group F runners-up Croatia, while Spain will face Morocco in the first knockout stage.

    There was a little drama surrounding Japan;s second goal when it appeared that Kaoru Mitoma had taken the ball over the left byline before cutting it back for Tanaka to tap home.

    However, after a lengthy check by Video Assistant Referee, (VAR), the goal was surprisingly awarded and effort by Spain to level things up proved abortive in the thrilling encounter.

    La Roja were in cruise control at the break after Alvaro Morata headed home Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross for his third goal in three group games.

    But half-time substitute Doan transformed the momentum two minutes after coming on when he seized on a loose pass from Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon and drilled home the equalizer, before Tanaka’s close-range strike earned Japan another stunning win after upsetting Germany in their opener.

    Meanwhile, in the other group E encounter, Germany somehow managed to remove themselves from the World Cup by narrowly winning a game which they initially seemed set to win by more Spain’s 7-0 margin.

    Jamal Musiala ran the show for the most part of the game, but  the flaws at the heart of the German engine revealed themselves on a night of monumental drama which left this place drowning in permutations.

    Just when the Costa Ricans appears like they will be roasted by the Germans they found a way to reduce the tally and made the scoreline respectable.

    In all, after three matches in group E the Germans and the Costa Ricans will head to different directions to their various destinations.

  • Qatar 2022: About 500 workers died on construction site – Qatari official, al-Thawadi

    Qatar 2022: About 500 workers died on construction site – Qatari official, al-Thawadi

    The total number of workers who died during the construction and renovations of stadia in Qatar has been put between 400 and 500 a top Qatari official has said.

    This is by far the country’s highest figure of casualties in history, according to Daily Mail.

    This  was confirmed by secretary-general of Qatar’s Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Hassan al-Thawadi, during an interview with a British journalist Piers Morgan.

    Morgan asked Mr al-Thawadi: ‘What is the honest, realistic total do you think of migrant workers who died from… as a result of work they’re doing for the World Cup in totality?’

    “The estimate is around 400, between 400 and 500… I don’t have the exact number.

    “That’s something that’s been discussed.’ The figure is a drastically higher number than any other previously offered by Doha”, Mr al-Thawadi replied.

    In a later statement issued regarding the controversial figures, the Supreme Committee said Mr al-Thawadi was referring to, “national statistics covering the period of 2014-20 for all work-related fatalities (414) nationwide in Qatar, covering all sectors and nationalities”.

    A foreign based publication had erroneously put the figures at 6,500 since the country got the hosting right in 2010,  but it has now been debunked by the Qatari official.

     

  • Qatar 2022: Richarlison’s stunning scissor kick goal for Brazil melts Serbia [VIDEO]

    Qatar 2022: Richarlison’s stunning scissor kick goal for Brazil melts Serbia [VIDEO]

    Tottenham Hotspur striker, Richarlison de Andrade, put Brazil up 2-0 on Thursday with a stunning bicycle kick in the 73rd minute against Serbia for his second goal of the game.

    The ball control and the finish were simply sublime for the Tottenham Hotspur striker.

    The Brazilians could not score in the first half before Richarlison converted his first in the 62nd minute. It did not take long after that for the second, stunning, goal.

    The Selecão’s afternoon went according to plan against Serbia, with a dominant performance leading to three points and a successful World Cup opener.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Brazil have come to Qatar as the favourites for a sixth title, two decades after their last victory.

     

    Richarlison's stunning scissor kick goal for Brazil melts Serbia in FIFA World Cup

    The result continues Brazil’s superb record in the World Cup group stage, in which their last defeat came in 1998 against Norway when they had already secured a place in the next round.

    Tite’s side is now already on top of Group G ahead of Switzerland, who beat Cameroon 1-0 earlier and who are Brazil’s next opponents.

    The scoreline here was the same as when these sides met in the group stage in 2018 but Brazil is determined to do far better than four years ago when they lost to Belgium in the quarter-finals.

    However, Brazil would have known not to take Serbia lightly, given that the side that lie 21st in the FIFA rankings are one of Europe’s most improved teams and topped their qualifying group above Portugal.

    Yet it still would have been a huge shock for Brazil to lose at a ground where they intend to return for the final on December 18.

    Tite sent out a very attack-minded side, with Neymar in support of Richarlison while Raphinha and Vinicius occupied the wings and Lucas Paqueta added creativity in central midfield.

    Neymar, the world’s most expensive player, kicked off needing just two goals to equal Pele’s all-time record tally of 77 for Brazil, but he will have to wait a little longer to get them.

    Serbia did their best to frustrate the Paris Saint-Germain superstar, who came close to scoring direct from an early corner that would have raised the roof at the magnificent Lusail Stadium, where the stands were filled with yellow and green.

    Watch Richarlison’s stunning scissor kick goal below:

  • Kizz Daniel honours Fela at Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup

    Kizz Daniel honours Fela at Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup

    Popular Nigerian singer, Oluwatobiloba Anidugbe, better known by his stage name Kizz Daniel, has paid tribute to music legend, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

    The 28-year-old and his music crew honoured Fela during his performance at the world event on Wednesday, November 23.

    Kizz Daniel honoured the Afrobeat star by performing one of his hit songs ‘African Woman’ on stage while the audience cheered him.

    The singer also posted a video of the tribute in an Instagram post.

    Captioning the video, the father of two wrote: “MAJOR TRIBUTE TO FELA ANIKULAPO KUTI.”

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports that Fela died on August 2, 1997, sending fans all over the world into a state of shock.

    Kizz Daniel, whose dream of performing at the World Cup was finally achieved on Wednesday also thrilled the audience with his hit songs ‘Buga’ and ‘Cough’, making the crowd eager for more.

    He also posted clips of his performance at the event on his Instagram page on Wednesday where he expressed gratitude to his fans all over the world.

    In his words: “As a Naija boy, I say thank you Africa, thank you world.”

    Before he was announced as one of the headliners for the event, Kizz Daniel born Daniel Anidugbe had expressed his desire to perform his hit song ‘Buga’ at the World Cup.

    Kizz Daniel said this in a tweet on June 23 after the release of the music video which became an instant hit.

    He wrote: “God I want to perform BUGA for World Cup with a mass choir help me say amen #qatar2022worldcup.”

    Other artistes slated to perform at Al Bayt Stadium include American DJ Thomas Wesley better known as Diplo who would be performing today, November 22, Canadian actress, dancer and singer Nora Fatehi who is set to perform on November 29 after Kizz Daniel, American singer and songwriter Trinidad Cardona who would be performing on December 1 and award-winning DJ Calvin Harris set to perform on December 10.

  • Qatar 2022: Messi equals C. Ronaldo’s World Cup record

    Qatar 2022: Messi equals C. Ronaldo’s World Cup record

    Argentina’s  captain, Lionel Messi, today  equalled the record of his closest rival in world football.

    Messi scored Argentina’s only goal from the penalty spot against Saudi Arabia to equal C. Ronaldo’s  FIFA World Cup records.

    The 35-year-old converted an early penalty in Argentina’s World Cup Group C opener against Saudi Arabia after Saud Abdulhamid had fouled midfielder, Leandro Paredes, in the box.

    Both players have scored seven World Cup goals at the Wo
    His goal against Saudi Arabia was Messi’s 92nd goal for Argentina in all competitions.
    His eternal-rival Ronaldo can become the outright record-holder if he scores at Qatar 2022.

    The dimunitive forward  has now scored against 34 different national teams, including the likes of Bolivia, Uruguay and Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Estonia and Venezuela.

    Argentina is rooted to the bottom of the table after losing to Saudi Arabia, they will look to redeem their image in their next match against Mexico on Saturday.
  • Qatar 2022: This is my last World Cup appearance – Messi admits

    Qatar 2022: This is my last World Cup appearance – Messi admits

    Argentina and Paris Saint Germain  (PSG) forward, Lionel Messi, has admitted that Qatar 2022 is the last World Cup appearance he would be making as a player.

    Messi made this statement on Monday during his pre-match press conference ahead of Argentina’s World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.

    Messi has won many trophies with Argentina but the World Cup is still missing in his cabinet.

    The 35-year-old helped Argentina lift the elusive Copa America trophy last year after beating Brazil 1-0 in the final

    “I have not done anything different, I just took care of myself,” Messi said.

    “I have worked as I have done throughout my entire career.

    “This is a special moment, most likely my last World Cup. My last opportunity to make my dream, our dream, a reality.”

  • Qatar 2022: Gakpo, Klassen score dying minute goals as Netherlands beat Senegal 2-0

    Qatar 2022: Gakpo, Klassen score dying minute goals as Netherlands beat Senegal 2-0

    After what seem like a goalless affair in the second group A clash between African champions Senegal and Netherlands, the Oranje boys broke the deadlock in the dying minute of the game.

    Senegal had nine players from their Africa Cup of Nations winning squad in their starting line-up.

    The Teranga Lions  turned to Diatta to replace injured talisman Mane on the left side of their attack with Boulaye Dia given the striking role.

    Frenkie de Jong of Netherlands came the closest  in the first half but the Dutch midfielder couldn’t capitalize on a golden opportunity provided to him by Coady Gapko.

    Earlier, the Netherlands named uncapped goalkeeper Andries Noppert in their starting line-up against Senegal who missed the services of their point man Sadio Mane.

    However, deadlock was broken in the 84th minute  after a brilliantly timed run sees  Cody Gakpo get in behind the Senegal defense to connect with a De Jong cross and steer a glancing header past the onrushing Edouard Mendy from the edge of the six-yard box.

    Just as Senegal pushed up front to get their second, the Dutch open them up on counter. Memphis Depay has the initial shot from the with his left foot from outside the box. Eduoard Mendy parries it away but is unable to clear it far off from Davy Klaassen’s reach, who taps the ball inside an open goal.

    Senegal could also be without the services of star player, Cheikou Kouayate after he laid flat on his back in what seems like either a hamstring or knee injury after vying for a high ball.

    The 32-year-old is stretchered off the pitch and replaced  Papa Gueye.

     

  • Qatar 2022: Sadio Mane ruled out of FIFA World Cup

    Qatar 2022: Sadio Mane ruled out of FIFA World Cup

    Bayern Munich and Teranga Lions of Senegal forward, Sadio Mane has been finally ruled out of the mundial in Qatar after sustaining a leg injury while playing for his clubside in the Bundesliga.

    The forward emerged as a doubt earlier in the week, and Senegal have now confirmed he will not be fit to take part in the tournament.

    Senegal has been drawn in group A alongside Netherlands, Qatar and Ecuador at the mindial and will play its opening game on Monday.

    The Senegal medical team had initially hoped he would recover before the tournament is over but eam doctor, Manuel Afonso, announced he would not be able to recover from the injury in time, and will therefore withdraw from the squad.

    Senegal will slug it out in its opening game of the mundial  on Monday against European side Netherlands.