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Tag: World cup

  • Neuer to be Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper despite fitness issue

    Manuel Neuer will be Germany’s first-choice goalkeeper if he makes Joachim Low’s World Cup squad, despite not having played since September.

    Bayern Munich’s Neuer, 32, missed almost the entire season after breaking his foot and undergoing surgery.

    Head coach Low picked four goalkeepers in his 27-man preliminary squad, which he will cut to a final 23 on Monday.

    “Manuel will go to the World Cup as our number one,” said Germany team manager Oliver Bierhoff.

    “If he makes the squad then Marc-Andre [ter Stegen] will be number two.

    “Manuel is already full on track. He does not need to get back on it.”

    Germany are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, and play their first match on Sunday, 17 June.

  • Russia 2018: Banned Peru captain cleared to play at World Cup

    Russia 2018: Banned Peru captain cleared to play at World Cup

    Peru captain Paolo Guerrero can play at this summer’s World Cup after a Swiss tribunal ruled on his drug ban.

    The court agreed on Thursday to temporarily lift a 14-month suspension, imposed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas), while it considered the 34-year-old striker’s appeal.

    The captains of Peru’s Group C rivals Australia, Denmark and France wrote to Fifa asking them to lift the ban.

    Guerrero tested positive for prohibited substance cocaine in October.

    The sample was taken after Peru’s World Cup qualifier against Argentina and Guerrero was initially banned for 12 months by Fifa.

    That suspension was then halved by Fifa’s appeal committee but the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) appealed to Cas and, less than two weeks after his six-month ban ended in May, they extended it to 14 months.

    A Swiss tribunal has now ruled that the extension was “unjustified” and is “provisionally deprived of effect”, leaving Guerrero free to play in Russia.

    Peru won a play-off against New Zealand in November to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1982.

  • Salah will be fit for the World Cup – Egypt

    Injured Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will be fit to play some part at the World Cup, the Egyptian Football Association says.

    The Egyptian, 25, fractured his shoulder during Liverpool’s Champions League final loss to Real Madrid on Saturday, prompting concerns he might miss the tournament.

    But Egypt’s national team doctor has met with Salah and in a subsequent tweet the country’s FA said his absence “will not exceed” three weeks.

    Egypt’s opening World Cup fixture is against Uruguay on 15 June.

    They meet hosts Russia on 19 June and conclude the group stage against Saudi Arabia on 25 June.

    Salah also met with Egyptian FA president Hany Abu Rida on Wednesday.

    “After the meeting of Abu Rida and the doctor of the national team in Spain today, the Football Association reaffirms Salah in the World Cup, God willing, will not exceed the absence of three weeks,” the Egyptian FA tweeted.

    The forward struck a 95th-minute penalty in the final qualification game to send Egypt to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years.

    But in the Champions League final – the last fixture of a season in which he scored 44 goals for his club – he left the pitch in tears after landing heavily on his shoulder following a challenge by Sergio Ramos.

    At the time Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp described the injury as “really serious”.

    However, the Egyptian FA has since said that Salah’s x-ray showed he had a “sprain in the shoulder ligaments” and that it was “optimistic” he would be fit for the World Cup.

  • Nigeria cut World Cup squad ahead of England friendly

    Nigeria have trimmed their 30-man provisional squad down to 25 ahead of the 2018 World Cup ahead of Saturday’s friendly against England.

    Coach Gernot Rohr has told Stephen Eze, Dele Ajiboye, Junior Lokosa and Uche Agbo they will not be needed in Russia.

    BBC Sport understands Moses Simon remains with the travelling group to undergo tests on his thigh injury.

    “It’s tough because we can’t take all the 30 players to the World Cup,” team spokesman Toyin Ibitoye told BBC Sport.

    “They’ve been informed and they’ve thanked the coaching staff for the opportunity and promise to keep supporting their colleagues.”

    Despite KAA Gent winger Moses seemingly ruled out of the World Cup altogether the coaching staff are keen to give him more time to ascertain the true extent of his injury.

    The 25-man travelling to London includes Premier League quintet of Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi, Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi.

    Former Chelsea midfielder John Mikel Obi is the captain of the squad which must be whittled down to 23 by June 4, with the tournament starting on June 14.

    Rohr is expected to make his final cuts to the squad after the England match, needing to drop two players before travelling to Russia with his final 23.

    The Super Eagles will be making a sixth appearance at the World Cup tournament in Russia where they will play Argentina, Iceland and Croatia in Group D.

    The three-time African champions reached the Round of 16 in 1994, 1998 and 2014 but exited the 2002 and 2010 tournaments in the group stages.

    Nigeria squad travelling to Europe:

    Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna, Spain); Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba); Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United, South Africa)

    Defenders: William Troost-Ekong and Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor, Turkey); Tyronne Ebuehi (Ado Den Haag, Netherlands); Olaoluwa Aina (Hull City, England); Elderson Echiejile (Cercle Brugge KSV, Belgium); Bryan Idowu (Amkar Perm, Russia); Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC, France); Leon Balogun (Brighton, England); Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa, Turkey)

    Midfielders: Mikel John Obi (Tianjin Teda, China); Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor, Turkey); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Las Palmas, Spain); John Ogu (Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Israel); Joel Obi (Torino, Italy), Mikel Agu (Bursaspor, Turkey)

    Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Victor Moses (Chelsea, England); Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai, China); Alex Iwobi (Arsenal, England); Simeon Nwankwo (Crotone, Italy)

    NB: Moses Simon (KAA Gent, Belgium) travels to undergo further medical tests.

  • Liverpool star Salah to miss the World Cup, Saudi sports administrator confirms

    Outspoken Saudi sports administrator, Turki Al-Sheikh claims that a shoulder problem picked up in the Champions League final will dash the international dreams of the Egypt star.
    Mohamed Salah will be sidelined for two months by the shoulder injury he sustained during Liverpool’s Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid and miss Egypt’s World Cup campaign, according to Al-Sheikh.

    Salah was substituted after 30 minutes of Saturday’s showpiece encounter in Kiev, having grappled with Madrid captain Sergio Ramos and landed heavily on the turf.

    Gareth Bale came off the bench to steal the headlines with a game-changing overhead kick after Sadio Mane cancelled out Karim Benzema’s opener – Reds goalkeeper Loris Karius culpable for the latter as he was Bale’s second seven minutes from time in a 3-1 Madrid victory.

    In his post-match interviews, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp expressed fears Salah would miss Russia 2018, but the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) tweeted a statement claiming there was “optimism” the Premier League Golden Boot winner would be fit for their Group A opener against Uruguay on June 15 after speaking to Liverpool officials.

    Al-Sheikh holds a number of administrative roles, including chairman of the Saudi Arabia Sport Authority and president of the Sports Federation of Islamic Solidarity.

    Until the end of last week he was an honorary president of Egyptian club Al-Ahly and is understood to have close links to the federation in the North African country.

    Al-Sheikh used social media to give a message of support to Salah before the final but, in a Facebook post on Sunday, he claimed the 25-year-old’s World Cup dream was over – at odds with the EFA’s official line.

    “With great sadness, sadly our great Arab star Mohamed Salah was confirmed in his absence [of] two months to injury, which means that he will miss the World Cup,” he said. “We wish him a speedy recovery.

    “I think that Liverpool will not allow Salah to take the cortisone because it is dangerous for the player in the long term and will press hard to complete the treatment for two months, which unfortunately means that we will not see the star Mohamed Salah in the World Cup.”

    Saudi Arabia have also been drawn in Egypt’s World Cup group alongside hosts Russia and Al-Sheikh caused controversy in March when, after Salah scored in a friendly versus Portugal, he tweeted to suggest it would be beneficial for the Liverpool favourite to miss the round-robin match against the Gulf state.

    “When it comes to Twitter, I speak as fan and not as a minister,” he told Four Four Two Arabia when discussing the incident this month.

    “When I commented on the Saudi team, it was because of excitement. I may make mistakes and I might be right and I might be harsh in some of the terms I use.

    “But when it comes to Mohamed Salah, he’s a great Arab player and has allowed us to lift our heads high as Arabs. I am a fan.

    “But what I wish is he wouldn’t play against our team during that match [at the World Cup]. I want to miss him during this match, just this match.”

     

  • Russia 2018: Eagles not setting World Cup target – Iwobi

    Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi has said the Super Eagles will not set a set a target for themselves at the upcoming Russia 2018 World Cup but is hopeful the team can advance from Group D of the competition.

    Iwobi scored his first goal for the Eagles as Nigeria beat hosts Zambia 2-1 to open their Group B African qualifiers for Russia 2018 on a winning note.

    He would then hand the Eagles their sixth World Cup ticket when he scored the only goal against the Chipolopolo in Uyo to ensure the three-time African champions became the first African side to book a ticket to Russia with a game to spare.

    Iwobi scored twice as the Eagles earned a comprehensive 4-2 win over Argentina last October in Krasnodar but he admitted that they were in a difficult group that has the two-time world champions Croatia and Iceland.

    “No doubt, we are in a very tough group but we are going to work hard to qualify from the group. We have a great team, so we have no reason to fear because we’ve got what it takes to make it,” he added.

    “We are not setting targets but we are confident we can come out of the group. With our fans behind us, we can go far at the tournament. I don’t have personal targets as well, it’s my first World Cup and I can’t wait to play at the World Cup.”

    Asked if the Eagles, who have been beaten four times at the World Cup by the Argentines, can repeat the Krasnodar performance against the South Americans again in Russia, Iwobi added, “We are confident we can repeat that at the World Cup. We were unbeaten in the World Cup qualifiers and we are confident and have young talent, who want to prove themselves any time they are on the pitch.”

    The 22-year-old, who arrived the Eagles camp in Uyo on Monday aboard a Peace Airline accompanied by his father, Chuka, described the departure of Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, as “depressing.”

    The Frenchman was a key figure in Iwobi’s rise and has been a major source of motivation the Nigerian forward since handing him his Gunners debut in 2015.

    “The fact that he’s going is depressing; he gave me confidence to become who I am today,” Iwobi added.

     

  • Liberia to vote against Morocco’s World Cup bid

    Liberia’s FA (LFA) is to break ranks with Africa and vote against Morocco when the decision on who will host the 2026 World Cup is held next month.

    The North Africans are taking on a triple North American bid from Canada, Mexico and the United Sates.

    In a statement, LFA president Musa Bility said the decision came after talks with President and former World Footballer of the Year George Weah and the Government of Liberia.

    The vote will take place on 13 June.

    It will be held in the Russian capital Moscow, with more than 200 of Fifa’s member associations deciding who will host the first 48-team World Cup.

    “Bility said the long-running traditional relationship between Liberia and the United States, the many Liberians living in the US and the impact the World Cup will have on them were key in its endorsement decision,” the statement added.

    It also highlighted the “commercial value” of the triple bid.

    Bility is a member of the Confederation of African Football’s Executive Committee.

    Morocco, who are bidding to host the World Cup for a fifth time, want to become only the second African nation to stage the finals – after the 2010 finals took place in South Africa.

    BBC

  • Russia 2018: World Cup referee banned for life

    A World Cup-bound referee has been banned for life for a match-fixing attempt in Saudi Arabia just weeks before he was due to fly to Russia, says the country’s football federation.

    The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) says Fahad Al Mirdasi confessed to offering to fix the King’s Cup final between Al Ittihad and Al Faisaly.

    According to the SAFF, 32-year-old Al Mirdasi contacted an Al Ittihad official, who handed the messages over.

    Fifa has requested more information.

    “Fifa notes the information that referee Fahad Al Mirdasi has allegedly been banned from all football-related activities by the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF),” the world governing body told BBC Sport.

    The SAFF added that Al Mirdasi, who has been a Fifa referee since 2011, admitted soliciting the corrupt payment after being taken into police custody.

    British former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg – who became Saudi Arabia’s head of referees in February 2017 – replaced Al Mirdasi for Saturday’s King’s Cup final, which Al Ittihad won 3-1 after extra time.

  • Ikeme’s absence my biggest W/Cup regret – Rohr

    Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has said his greatest regret heading to the 2018 World Cup is the absence of goalkeeper Carl Ikeme.

    Ikeme is undergoing treatment for acute Leukemia.

    The Wolves man was in goal for the Nigeria at the start of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in Zambia, October 2016.

    “My biggest regret is the absence of Carl,” admitted Rohr, who visited the goalkeeper in hospital in England.

    However, Ikeme will take the traditional kick-off at Wembley when Nigeria tackle England in a friendly on June 2.

    Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Dele Ajiboye and Daniel Akpeyi are battling for the team’s goal keeping spot.

  • Russia 2018: Joachim Low extends contract with Germany

    Russia 2018: Joachim Low extends contract with Germany

    Joachim Low has extended his deal with the German national team until after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

    His previous contract was due to expire following the 2020 European Championship.

    Low has been linked as an outside contender to take over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal following this summer’s World Cup in Russia.

    He guided Germany to World Cup glory in Brazil in 2014.

    Low’s backroom team of Thomas Schneider, Andreas Kopke, Oliver Bierhoff and Marcus Sorg have also all extended their contracts.

    “I feel a great desire for the upcoming World Cup in Russia and the intense weeks with the team,” said Low.

    Germany revealed their preliminary squad for the tournament on Tuesday, with Low opting not to include Liverpool midfielder Emre Can.