Author: Barkha Roy

Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored the opening goal with a sublime effort in his 1,000th career match before Julian Alvarez scored in the second half to set up a quarter-final tie against the Netherlands and knock Australia out of the tournament, as the Socceroos were unable to build on their fortuitous late goal. Despite Argentina’s firepower, Australia managed to keep the early proceedings calm, with neither side asserting dominance. However, the Socceroos’ defence was breached on 35 minutes when Messi demonstrated his undeniable talent by scoring his first goal in the World Cup knockout stage. https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1599156257784442880 The Paris Saint-Germain forward…

With two first-half goals, the Dutch demonstrated their firepower, leaving the young US team with an insurmountable mountain to climb. Despite cutting the deficit in half in the second half of the game at Khalifa International Stadium, hopes of a USMNT comeback were dashed when Denzel Dumfries scored the Netherlands’ third goal, knocking Gregg Berhalter’s team out of the tournament. Concerns about the fitness of star Christian Pulisic were put to rest before the match when the Chelsea forward was named to Berhalter’s starting lineup despite being forced off injured against Iran on Tuesday. The Chelsea attacker almost put the US ahead…

According to the Express, Germany central defender Antonio Rudiger got into an argument with a teenage FIFA volunteer after his team was eliminated from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Die Mannschaft defeated Costa Rica 4-2 in their final Group E game on Thursday, but Japan’s victory over Spain forced the 2014 world champions to withdraw from the tournament. Rudiger’s tensions erupted as he walked down the tunnel following the victory over the South American side. A teenage FIFA volunteer approached the Real Madrid centre-back and allegedly yelled at him: “Off home!” The player came to a halt and reportedly responded to…

Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri scored the opening goal in Switzerland’s 3-2 Group G victory over Serbia. The former Liverpool striker smashed a left-footed shot into the bottom right corner of Swiss goalkeeper Gregor Kobel’s net. He is now one of only three players to have scored in the last three FIFA World Cup tournaments, the other two being Lionel Messi of Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal. The Kosovo-born attacker has also scored for Switzerland in five major tournaments, including the previous two European Championships. Portugal captain Ronaldo is the only other player to have done so. https://twitter.com/livescore/status/1598800425125232640 Shaqiri’s goal against…

Brazil has received positive news regarding Neymar’s recovery from an ankle injury as the team prepares to enter the knockout stages of the 2022 FIFA World Cup later this week. The Paris Saint-Germain attacker could be on the bench for the Selecao’s round of 16 clash, reports UOL. The five-time world champions won Group G and will now take on South Korea, who finished second in Group H, on December 5. The 30-year-old suffered an injury in Brazil’s 2-0 World Cup opener against Serbia. Since then, doubts about his fitness for the rest of the tournament have crept in. Because of…

Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has confirmed that he is no longer in charge of the Red Devils following their elimination from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Belgians, who have won the bronze medal at the World Cup 2018, failed to advance past the group stage, finishing with only four points from three games. A narrow victory over Canada in their tournament opener had all the warning signs. After the devastating 2-0 loss to Morocco, those trademarks became even more prominent. Belgium’s qualification fate was still in their hands, as a win over Croatia would have propelled Martinez’s team to the tournament’s last 16. The…

Belgium were eliminated from the World Cup after a 0-0 draw with Croatia on Thursday. To advance past the group stage, Roberto Martinez’s side needed a win against the 2018 World Cup finalists, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Croatia dominated from the start and had a chance within the first 20 seconds, but Ivan Perisic blazed his shot over the crossbar. After 14 minutes, Belgium counterattacked quickly, but Dries Mertens was unable to find the target after a fine through ball from Kevin de Bruyne. Croatia were awarded a penalty less than a minute later after Yannick Carrasco was…

Japan rallied from a goal down in the second half to defeat Spain 2-1 on Thursday and advance to the World Cup knockout stages as group winners. Nevertheless, Luis Enrique’s have qualified for the round of 16 on goal difference, thanks to Germany’s win over Costa Rica in the other final game of Group E. La Roja appeared to be in complete control after Alvaro Morata put the 2010 champions ahead after only 11 minutes, and they finished the first half with nearly 80% possession. But Japan, knowing they needed at least a draw to advance, exploded at the start of the…

Having saved Lionel Messi’s penalty in their final Group C game, Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny has hilariously claimed that the only person who can stop Kylian Mbappe at the FIFA World Cup is himself. The Juventus custodian also stated that France is the favourite in the Round of 16 match but he is confident of putting in a strong performance. Poland lost to Argentina in the final group stage match on Wednesday night but still managed to qualify for the pre-quarters. They finished with the same number of points as Mexico but finished second in the table due to a better goal…

Australia advanced to the World Cup last 16 for the first time since 2006, thanks to a 1-0 win over Denmark in their final Group D match on Wednesday. Denmark created chances in the first half of the match at Al Janoub Stadium in Wakra and could have taken an early lead, but Jesper Lindstrom’s close-range shot was blocked, and Australia goalkeeper Mat Ryan parried Mathias Jensen’s attempt. In the 19th minute, Australia’s defence gave Joakim Maehle space on the left and the defender drilled the ball into the box, but Ryan came to Australia’s rescue again, kicking the ball away. As forward Duke Mitchell took aim from…