Page 3 - Fifa World Cup 2022

Morocco makes another World Cup statement despite loss against France

Yassine Bounou stretched out his arm with everything he had, desperately trying to get something, anything, in the way of the ball. It was no use. France substitute Randal Kolo Muani had come on only seconds earlier and with his first touch assured the defending champions of a second straight World Cup final, putting an end to Morocco's proud fight once and for all. France ended up winning 2-0 and will face Argentina for the title on Sunday. But it wasn't until that moment, in the 79th minute of an enthralling semifinal match at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, that the two-time champions could breathe easily. My players gave everything, Morocco coach Walid Regragui said. They've gone as far as they could. It's difficult for them to take now. They wanted to rewrite the history books, but you can't win a World Cup with miracles, you have to do it with hard work and that's what we are going to do, keep working. The team that has provided the most improbable story of this year's World C

Mbappe, France advance to FIFA World Cup 2022 final, beat Morocco 2-0

France and Kylian Mbapp are headed back to the World Cup final for a much-anticipated matchup with Lionel Messi after ending Morocco's historic run at soccer's biggest tournament. France beat Africa's first ever semifinalist 2-0 Wednesday, with Mbapp playing a part in goals by Theo Hernandez in the fifth minute and then substitute Randal Kolo Muani in the 79th. France will head into Sunday's title match against Argentina looking to become the first team to retain the World Cup title since Brazil in 1962. Mbapp has the chance to cement his status as soccer's new superstar when he comes up against the 35-year-old Messi, who has dominated the game with Cristiano Ronaldo for the past 15 years. There will be no team from the Arab world in the final of the first World Cup in the Middle East, a prospect that seemed nigh impossible before the tournament. Yet Morocco did break ground for Africa and generated an outpouring of pride among Arab nations after topping a group containing Croatia

Fifa World Cup, FRA vs MAR, SF Highlights: Easy 2-0 win see France in final

Fifa World Cup 2022, France vs Morocco Highlights: Morocco gave had far more possession of the ball than France and an almost equal number of shots on goal and on target, yet they lost the game 0-2

Messi becomes highest goalscorer for Argentina in Fifa World Cup history

Lionel Messi broke Gabriel Batistuta's record to become the highest goalscorer for Argentina in the history of the Fifa World Cup. This was Messi's 11th goal

Alvarez, Messi help Argentina beat Croatia to enter Fifa World Cup final

Julian Alvarez's brace and Lionel Messi's goal help Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 here at Lusail Stadium to enter the final of the Fifa World Cup 2022

Fifa World Cup ARG vs CRO Highlights: Alvarez, Messi get Argentina in final

Fifa World Cup, Argentina vs Croatia Highlights: The Albiceleste beat Vetreni 3-0 in a battle of Messi and Modric. Argentina reached a record sixth World Cup final. Croatia go home without the trophy

Fifa World Cup 2022: A tournament of underdogs and major upsets in Qatar

Fifa World Cup 2022, Qatar: The tournament has seen a lot of upsets, and Morocco has been the best team that has upset many big teams in the world.

Fifa World Cup 2022 semi-final: Argentina take on Croatia tonight

Fifa World Cup 2022, Argentina vs Croatia, semi-final preview: It will be a test of Messi and co's attacking prowess against the midfield dominance of Modric and company

Messi will play for Argentina after Fifa World Cup, hopes coach Scaloni

Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni is pinning hopes that Lionel Messi will continue to play for Argentina much after the FIFA World Cup is over

'Al Hilm' replaces 'Al Rihla' as the official ball for Fifa World Cup 2022

Al Hilm uses the same 'connected ball' technology as Al Rihla, which assists the match officials in determining offsides and other decisions

FIFA WC 2022: After Neymar, Croatia aims to end Messi's World Cup dream

Croatia has already ended Neymar's World Cup dream. Now it hopes to do the same to Lionel Messi. Croatia, runner-up in 2018, is the next obstacle for Argentina to overcome on Tuesday in the semifinals as Messi aims to win the one major trophy that has eluded him. But Croatia, which lost to France in the final in Russia, is on its own mission to go one step further this time around. "I don't think we need to fear anybody. We need to look at ourselves to play our best game," Croatia defender Josip Juranovic said Sunday. "I would say the secret of our success is our togetherness, our unity. The fact that we act and play as a family." Neymar was left in tears after Croatia beat Brazil 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw through extra time in their quarterfinal match. Messi has been in inspired form during Argentina's run to the semifinals, scoring four goals in five games. His assist for Nahuel Molina against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals was a moment of magic from the seven

FIFA 2022: World Cup dream was beautiful while it lasted, says Ronaldo

Portugal were denied a berth in the semifinals after they suffered a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to Morocco in Doha

Dream of winning World Cup has ended, says Ronaldo on social media

Cristiano Ronaldo said in a cryptic social media post that his dream of winning the World Cup with Portugal has ended, while stopping short of announcing his retirement from international duty. The 37-year-old Ronaldo left the field in tears after Portugal lost 1-0 to Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday. In his first comments after the elimination, Ronaldo said Sunday that it was time to take stock without saying explicitly if he wants to carry on being available for Portugal after 19 years in the national team. There's no point in reacting rashly, Ronaldo wrote on Instagram. I just want everybody to know that a lot has been said, a lot has been written, a lot has been speculated about, but my dedication to Portugal has never wavered for an instant. I've always been just one more (Portuguese) fighting for everyone's goal. I would never turn my back on my teammates or my country. Ronaldo, who is the all-time leading scorer in men's international soccer with 118 goals, said put

Morocco beats Portugal to become 1st African country to reach WC semifinals

Morocco became the first African country to reach the World Cup semifinals by beating Portugal 1-0 on Saturday, likely ending Cristiano Ronaldo's chances of winning soccer's biggest prize. Youssef En-Nesyri scored the winning goal in the 42nd minute to continue Morocco's improbable run that has generated an outpouring of pride in the Arab world during the first World Cup to be staged in the Middle East. The 37-year-old Ronaldo, one of soccer's greatest players, didn't start for the second straight game but came on as a substitute in the 51st minute. The five-time world player of the year is set to finish his career without capturing the World Cup or ever getting to the final. Morocco will play either France or England in the semifinals. It is a seminal moment in World Cup history, with an African nation finally advancing to the levels typically only reached by European or South American teams. Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and Ghana (2010) all reached the quarterfinals but got n

Fifa opens probe after ugly scenes in Argentina vs Netherlands quarterfinal

Both Argentina and the Netherlands face disciplinary action from FIFA as a result of some ugly scenes towards the end of their dramatic World Cup quarterfinal match at Lusail Stadium on Friday night

Fifa WC, ENG vs FRA Highlights: England head home as Kane misses penalty

Fifa World Cup, England vs France Quarterfinal Highlights: Harry Kane, the joint-highest goal scorer for England missed a penalty in the 83rd minute. It was game-changing as France eventually won 2-1

Fifa World Cup, MAR vs POR Highlights: Morocco create history, reach semis

Fifa World Cup, Morocco vs Portugal Quarterfinal Highlights: It was yet another surprising day in history as Morocco became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.

US sportswriter Grant Wahl, 49, dies at FIFA World Cup match in Qatar

Grant Wahl, one of the most well-known soccer writers in the United States, died early Saturday while covering the World Cup match between Argentina and the Netherlands. U.S. media seated near him said Wahl fell back in his seat in the media tribune at Lusail Iconic Stadium during extra time and reporters adjacent to him called for assistance. Emergency services workers responded very quickly, the reporters said, and the reporters later were told that Wahl had died. Wahl tweeted on Wednesday that he had celebrated his birthday that day. American reporters who knew Wahl said he was 49. "We could always count on Grant to deliver insightful and entertaining stories about our game, and its major protagonists," the U.S. Soccer Federation said in a statement. "Grant's belief in the power of the game to advance human rights was, and will remain, an inspiration to all. Grant made soccer his life's work, and we are devastated that he and his brilliant writing will no longer be with us." W

Pele sends message of support to Neymar after Brazil's FIFA World Cup exit

Brazilian soccer great Pele congratulated Neymar for matching his national team scoring record on Friday, and then commiserated with the player for his World Cup exit. Pele, who has been hospitalized while being treated for a respiratory infection, posted his message on Instagram after Brazil lost to Croatia in the quarterfinals in a penalty shootout at the tournament in Qatar. "I saw you grow, I cheered for you every day and I can finally congratulate you for reaching my number of goals with Brazil. We both know that this is more than a figure," the 82-year-old Pele wrote. "Our biggest duty as athletes is to inspire. Inspire our teammates of today, the next generations and, above all, everyone who loves our sport. "Unfortunately this is not the happiest day for us," Pele added. "My record was set almost 50 years ago, and nobody had managed to get near it until now. You got there, kid. That shows how great your achievement is." Neymar scored Brazil's only goal against Croatia at

Neymar ties Pele's record but Brazil loses again at FIFA World Cup 2022

Neymar walked off the field with teammate Dani Alves by his side, tears still rolling down the Brazil forward's cheeks. Other players had already tried to console Neymar as he cried while sitting near midfield, head down, hiding his face. There wasn't much they could say to get the team's biggest star to lift his head up. Again there was disappointment instead of joy at the end of a World Cup for Neymar. Again he couldn't lead Brazil to a major title. It was his third failure at a World Cup, and his only triumphs with the national team are the 2013 Confederations Cup and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, when Brazil won its first gold medal in soccer. Neymar said it wasn't the time to talk about his future with the national team. "Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen. It's hard to talk about it right now," he said. "It would be too hasty to come here and say that this is it, but I can't guarantee anything. I have to take some time to think about it. I'm not closing any